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Thread: History of LHC

  1. #1
    Member barnet_fair's Avatar
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    Post History of LHC

    This is one for the mods and old members, who I hope will direct me elsewhere if what I'm looking for already exists. Otherwise:

    LHC has been around for a long time. As a new member of LHC, I get glimpses of that here and there - antediluvian references to the "old forum", ancient links to long-lost articles, first posts from 2008 in which members greet each other as old friends.

    Internet forums that have been going for a long time tend to have a fascinating history, and The Long Hair Community has some features that I'm sure have encouraged this longevity: large age range and geographical distribution of members, a friendly and well-moderated community of kind people, and a "hobby" that always takes years to practise if done properly. I believe that's what keeps members coming back over the decades.

    However, as webmaster myself, I know how hard it is to keep websites available over long periods of time, and I am always saddened when I find a broken link to a personal page (how many of us mourn our GeoCities or AngelFire personal webpages?). My thanks go out to the owners and mods of LHC who keep our community alive.
    As someone who works with computers, I'm interested in archiving the public pages myself. Some of them are available on archive.org, which crawls and archives public websites automatically, but in an incomplete form (e.g. https://web.archive.org/web/20140805...d.php?t=108732).

    For those who are curious, or who have a background in more traditional archival practices, this is often called digital preservation, and you can read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_preservation.

    So I want to bring together some of the oral history of LHC in once place, for the education of new members and the entertainment of old ones. I'll start off with some questions that I was curious about.



    When was LHC created?

    According to the following thread, LHC was created by Stephanie, the site owner, in 2002.
    https://forums.longhaircommunity.com...d.php?t=108732

    What changes has LHC undergone since 2002?

    I know that at some point the forum was migrated to new infrastructure with led to the articles reorganised, and I think a change occurred that led to some old photos not being displayed in posts any more, but I'm not sure about dates or details.

    Did LHC follow from another forum with a different name?

    Are there any other significant changes or milestones in LHC history?
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  2. #2
    LHC FairyGodMum lapushka's Avatar
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    Default Re: History of LHC

    We had the site break down at one point, and it had to be started from scratch, but I can't pin a date on it. I think it was before I joined here, so before 2005. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
    WCC method (washing) --- Rinse-out oil (MO) --- LOC/LCO method (styling)

  3. #3
    Lacemaking longhair MusicalSpoons's Avatar
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    Default Re: History of LHC

    Oooh this is such a wonderful idea!

    There are sometimes references to The Beauty Bottle way back in some of the oldest threads (I think I found a link to a bun created/explained over there - Nightshade's Equilibrium Bun, IIRC) where it seems members hung out whilst LHC was down at one point. I would certainly be interested in hearing more about that.

    I would also be interested to know when the current privacy structure was defined, and any previous security measures before the current one was arrived at. I've not experienced something like it before on a forum, but I think it's a fab idea. [Before I came here I had no idea a certain subsection of the internet specifically stole photos of long hair ] I also like that spammers and trolls don't usually get past the first level
    Length goal well and truly met, now just seeing how it grows ...
    Picky scalp but easygoing hair, thank goodness

  4. #4
    Silverado EdG's Avatar
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    Default Re: History of LHC

    I joined in December 2007, just before the Great Crash of 2008.

    Most people associate that phrase with a financial crisis, but the real crisis was LHC being down in January and February of 2008.

    LHC has outlived all the other Internet long-hair forums that I know of. I think the reasons for LHC's longevity are:

    • LHC is for people who have long hair or are growing long hair. Unlike other forums, LHC proactively keeps out "hair admirers" because they are no fun for people who actually have long hair.
    • LHC welcomes both long-haired men and women. That makes LHC much more interesting than boards for only long-haired men or long-haired women.


    LHC is also unique in that I have met many LHC'ers in-person over the years. We have a blast whenever we get together.

    I know what you mean by digital preservation. For that reason, I keep local copies of everything that I have ever posted to the Internet. Websites vanish because they were losing money. LHC seems to get enough traffic to cover its expenses.
    Ed
    If there's something strange with your long hair / Who you gonna call? / L-H-C! (sung to the tune of Ghostbusters)

  5. #5
    Member Zesty's Avatar
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    Default Re: History of LHC

    This might not be what you mean, but the cultural ebbs and flows of the LHC interest me. Hair toy makers that come and go, different users being active during different time frames, etc. And some trends in hair care. When I first joined I remember sulfates and silicones and even brushes being demonized way more than they are now, for example. (Nothing crazy, but attitudes seem to have shifted.) Plus I haven't seen the Monistat thread in a long time -- maybe that's good.

    But the best things about the LHC endure, and have been listed more eloquently already.

    But anyway, I'm not a super oldie. Just old enough to remember when the landscape was different. It's fun to see the people who have stuck around and continued to grow, also. Like... does anyone else remember SarahLabyrinth's early posts? Her hair has grown a bit!
    Caution: LHC-itis may become terminal.
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  6. #6
    LHC FairyGodMum lapushka's Avatar
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    Default Re: History of LHC

    Quote Originally Posted by EdG View Post
    I joined in December 2007, just before the Great Crash of 2008.

    Most people associate that phrase with a financial crisis, but the real crisis was LHC being down in January and February of 2008.

    LHC has outlived all the other Internet long-hair forums that I know of. I think the reasons for LHC's longevity are:

    • LHC is for people who have long hair or are growing long hair. Unlike other forums, LHC proactively keeps out "hair admirers" because they are no fun for people who actually have long hair.
    • LHC welcomes both long-haired men and women. That makes LHC much more interesting than boards for only long-haired men or long-haired women.


    LHC is also unique in that I have met many LHC'ers in-person over the years. We have a blast whenever we get together.

    I know what you mean by digital preservation. For that reason, I keep local copies of everything that I have ever posted to the Internet. Websites vanish because they were losing money. LHC seems to get enough traffic to cover its expenses.
    Ed
    Gosh that means I already was here. That darn memory of mine! <grumble> I was convinced I joined post-crash. But that obviously didn't happen. Haha!
    WCC method (washing) --- Rinse-out oil (MO) --- LOC/LCO method (styling)

  7. #7
    Prairie Pintsize Shorty89's Avatar
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    Default Re: History of LHC

    I remember the great crash. What a terrible time in LHC history. I think I had a Word document that I used instead of a hair journal when LHC was down.
    Lady Meikyo of the Cerise Blade

  8. #8
    shapenote singer embee's Avatar
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    Default Re: History of LHC

    Way back, we used to have "group orders" - in which members could join to order large quatities of some item. I joined in a microfiber towel order. Somewhere I have the paperwork from the package my towel came in, and I paid by personal check as I didn't have PayPal and such available. Yes, I still have the towel. It's large, and it was originally intended for a large *dog*! Because we long-hairs couldn't find microfiber towels the right size for our hair. It was organized by drblue79, in December of 2005. I feel as though the "feedback score" is connected with the group orders.

    Also, when I joined, one had to have a certain number of posts to become a "guru". It was a rather large number, like 100 or 1000, as I recall.

    I still miss some of the old members. We had a good time. Justy, LisaJaney, TeacherBear...
    Opting out of Friend Requests, thank you very much!

  9. #9
    Member Dark40's Avatar
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    Default Re: History of LHC

    This is a great idea! I joined after the crash in 2010.

  10. #10
    Prairie Pintsize Shorty89's Avatar
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    Default Re: History of LHC

    Quote Originally Posted by embee View Post
    Way back, we used to have "group orders" - in which members could join to order large quatities of some item. I joined in a microfiber towel order. Somewhere I have the paperwork from the package my towel came in, and I paid by personal check as I didn't have PayPal and such available. Yes, I still have the towel. It's large, and it was originally intended for a large *dog*! Because we long-hairs couldn't find microfiber towels the right size for our hair. It was organized by drblue79, in December of 2005. I feel as though the "feedback score" is connected with the group orders.

    Also, when I joined, one had to have a certain number of posts to become a "guru". It was a rather large number, like 100 or 1000, as I recall.

    I still miss some of the old members. We had a good time. Justy, LisaJaney, TeacherBear...
    Don't you still need 1,000 posts or so to become a guru?
    Lady Meikyo of the Cerise Blade

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