• Celebrating 21 Years on the Web

    Mandolin Cafe logo from 1997

    Mandolin Cafe circa 1996
    21 years ago today we fired up a state of the art 14.4k modem and uploaded version one of the Mandolin Cafe onto the world wide web. For those of you not old enough to remember what a modem is, be thankful. The entire site was less than 100K, far smaller than the page you're reading.

    Six months prior to launch my wife Annie and I--typical computer nerd couple, me a techie, she's a graphic artist--attended a MacWorld conference in Boston. There was but one book at the show on how to build a web site. I brought it home, read it twice and never looked back.

    21 years later to the date I'm busy at my computer working hard to ensure the success of the Mandolin Cafe... OK, not really.

    At the moment, if all has gone as planned, I'm breaking camp on Day 3 with a one-man tent in Big Bend National Park (Texas) on their signature Outer Mountain Loop through the Chisos Mountain and across the daunting Dodson Trail. A wireless signal out there is but a dream.

    This is my idea of fun.

    Being off the grid is exhilarating, something I don't often do but relish. I pressed the publish button on this article a week ago. The hike ends this afternoon and if you're in the vicinity of Marathon, Texas tonight you can join me in celebration of 21 years of mandolin nuttiness at the historic Gage Hotel's White Buffalo bar. I'm buying. Big Bend Brewing Company's Oktoberfest is sublime and I'm hoping there's one on tap like last year.

    I keep thinking I'm going to make a big deal out of these anniversaries, but I never do.

    Some very good friends help run this site and deserve our collective gratitude. It's for them this article is meant.

    My thanks to Ted Eschliman for leading the forum and for being a friend and mentor. Dan Beimborn for his expertise as a system administrator and programmer, allowing us to have features and the kind of speed and reliability that most large corporations can only dream of. Forum moderators Jamie Stanek and Charlie Jones for their valuable input and support of our members. Forum moderator Mike Edgerton who handles registration requests, a 24/7 job, and other various technical duties while I'm off the grid. Annie Tichenor for being my best friend, graphic artist and all-purpose business partner. If there's something that looks bad on the site, I'm responsible. If it looks good, she did it. And to Shannon Skye Tichenor, our musically talented college attending daughter who was not yet born when the site launched. She brought incredible new music into our house we never would have dreamed of hearing.

    In 1996 I wrote words that still appear on our About page, and yes, still apply today more than ever:

    We hope you enjoy your visit and find our site a welcome relief from the stress of life. Thank you for allowing us to indulge in this bit of fun.

    Thanks for visiting. Here's to the next 21 years.

    Scott, Annie & Shannon Tichenor and Mandolin Cafe staff
    Comments 47 Comments
    1. Matt Livingston's Avatar
      Matt Livingston -
      This is a great site! Thanks for all the effort and hard work! Always worth a visit!
    1. Clement Barrera-Ng's Avatar
      Clement Barrera-Ng -
      Thanks for making this one of my favorite place on the web. I'm a relatively late comer to the site ('09 I think), and I hope we can keep the party going for a long time.
    1. Matt Long's Avatar
      Matt Long -
      Love this site! Thanks so much for the hard work you and the others have put into it. Checking the forums and other stuff has become my go-to sanity break from deranged printers, virus-plagued Java programs and all the other manifestations of lunacy that go with IT work.
    1. JeffD's Avatar
      JeffD -
      Quote Originally Posted by MikeEdgerton View Post
      If anyone wants to take a trip back in time on the Mandolin Cafe check out this link to archive.org's Wayback machine. Pick the year, the blue circles are actual dates that a copy of the Cafe was archived.
      Its pretty cool that the relevance of much of the articles and advice from wayback still applies today. Technology has changed, particular heroes come and go, but as players we still struggle with many of the same things.
    1. Dagger Gordon's Avatar
      Dagger Gordon -
      Thanks from me too. This site is terrific, and indeed has been quite an important part of my life for most of those 21 years.
    1. Mark Gunter's Avatar
      Mark Gunter -
      Although a newcomer to the mandolin and to this website, it has become my favorite webpage in a short time. Amazing resource with such a variety of subforums and members from around the globe. You guys got it right, and do it better than any other forum I've joined. Congrats on turning 21! The Mandolin Cafe is worth celebrating.
    1. musicology's Avatar
      musicology -
      I've found you only about two years ago, but since then I visit almost every day, usually more than once. Great page with everything my mandolin and I need!
      Happy anniversary :-)
    1. dorenac's Avatar
      dorenac -
      One more big THANK YOU and congratulations to Scott and the rest of the team. A day doesn't go by that I don't check in to The Cafe numerous times to stay in touch. This site is a major contributor to the popularization and enjoyment of all things mandolin for so many people. Thanks again!!!!
    1. Bob Clark's Avatar
      Bob Clark -
      Congratulations, Scott, to you and all your helpers. Back at the beginning of the Web, there were those who predicted doom for social interactions and others who predicted it would lead to the development of new 'communities.' Your site has proved the later prediction to be true.

      This is the strongest community I've found on the Web, and it is filled with friendly, helpful people. You really got it right. I spend more time here than I would like to admit. I learn a lot and, once in a while, even have something to contribute. Thanks and best wishes to your entire team!
    1. Paul Statman's Avatar
      Paul Statman -
      Quote Originally Posted by JeffD View Post
      Its pretty cool that the relevance of much of the articles and advice from wayback still applies today. Technology has changed, particular heroes come and go, but as players we still struggle with many of the same things.
      "Unspoiled By Progress"!
    1. Jonathan Ward's Avatar
      Jonathan Ward -
      Thank you, Scott, for this wonderful resource.
    1. jasona's Avatar
      jasona -
      Congrats Scott! May you have many more!
    1. Steve Sorensen's Avatar
      Steve Sorensen -
      Thank you for building the best home-away-from-home on the web!
      Steve
    1. danmills's Avatar
      danmills -
      Thanks, Scott and Team. This site not only has lots of fun and valuable information, it is hands down the fastest and most reliable of comparable sites I visit regularly. Whenever I think there might be something wrong with my internet connection, I visit mandolincafe.com to be sure. If it's slow or unresponsive, then I know I've got a problem on my end!
    1. Larry Howe's Avatar
      Larry Howe -
      Piling on here--this site is a daily ritual, most days a multiple ritual. Thanks to Scott and everyone who makes it happen.

      Best,

      --LH
    1. Marvelle's Avatar
      Marvelle -
      I've been on this site off and on for a few years and I'm always astounded at how much I can learn. I'm back on because I think my rheumatoid arthritis has abated enough I
      can try once again to attempt to play this beautiful instrument. Thank you so much for the info and the encouragement you give. What a gift you've given us,
    1. d28martin's Avatar
      d28martin -
      I stumbled across this site many years ago while lurking in flatpick-L. I'd always enjoyed the mandolin but I had never even held one. This site caused me to buy my first one, taught me my first chords, then songs. Directed me to the best books, online lessons, new music than I never would have found without the guidance of The Mandolin Café.

      I now have a pile of stuff on my music stand, a new Gibson Mandolin on my stand, the coolest hats around and carpal tunnel in both hands......All thanks to the Mandolin Café! The coolest site on the web!

      Happy 21!

      Tim O'Neill
    1. Scott Tichenor's Avatar
      Scott Tichenor -
      Not a shred of mandolin content but those interested in hiking are welcome to see what I was doing while this blog posting was being auto-posted. Spent three days off the grid this past Wednesday through Friday in Big Bend National Park, my second visit there.

      https://www.flickr.com/photos/mandol...h/31137873175/

      Being without cell phone or any kind of wifi for that long is pretty exhilarating.
    1. Paul Cowham's Avatar
      Paul Cowham -
      Quote Originally Posted by Scott Tichenor View Post
      Not a shred of mandolin content but those interested in hiking are welcome to see what I was doing while this blog posting was being auto-posted. Spent three days off the grid this past Wednesday through Friday in Big Bend National Park, my second visit there.

      https://www.flickr.com/photos/mandol...h/31137873175/

      Being with cell phone or any kind of wifi for that long is pretty exhilarating.
      Nice one , I try and get away for a couple of weeks "off-line" a year, as you say it's very refreshing and I think healthy, although I don't have the responsibility of running this (and my favourite) website which to my mind epitomises the best things about t'internet, thanks
    1. Uncle Choppy's Avatar
      Uncle Choppy -
      Not been around here for quite a while but after picking up (and picking on) my mando for the first time in a few years I'm lurking again and learning a lot. I suppose this place is one of the great success stories of the internet for me, making a very dispersed (particularly outside the US) community seem genuinely local.

      Anyway, I'm late to the party but at least I brought a card....

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