Today is my 25th anniversary of being a noder here. That means it's my (counts on fingers, learns Latin) Viginti-quinque-versary. (If that's wrong, don't tell me. I will not care.)
I've been an Everythingian for longer than Wikipedia has been in existence, or Facebook or Twitter or Netflix or MySpace or YouTube. I've been a noder for longer than there's been an iPhone or a Crunchwrap Supreme or "American Idol" or the entire "Fast and the Furious" franchise.
I'm honestly not sure whether I should consider this a big deal or not. It isn't that I'm in any way unhappy with spending a quarter-century on this site. What else could I have been doing in these past 25 years, after all? I wasted more than enough time with social media, I read book after book after book, I failed at every job I worked at. Everything2 has been here for me almost constantly over the past 25 years. It's given me lots of practice writing, it's given me wonderful things to read, it's given me friends who I've rarely met in person, but who I count as some of the most important people in my life.
I do struggle to think of any great accomplishments I've got on this site. I did a full review of everything I'd written here about six months ago to make sure I'd saved copies of my work, and the more I look at my writing, the less impressed I am with it. It's why I've been posting most of my writeups hidden -- if the site has new users, they should be learning the ropes from our many truly excellent writers, not some guy who's just managed to hang on like grim death for 25 years.
There are so many people I'd want to thank for making this place somewhere I've been so happy to spend a quarter-century playing in. The founders, nate, CmdrTaco, CowboyNeal, hemos, dem bones, Kurt, and others whose names escape me. Those who have fled or passed, but left beautiful writeups and happy memories. And you. You've written such great stuff here, and I've been so pleased to read it all. Please don't stop, okay?