Welcome!! This will be a short speech..then on to the festivities. First I want to thank Jdal..the architect who built this area after real life buildings and gave me that soft shove to get things rolling... The Museum is a replica of the the Getty Museum in California. and Dharma Bum my Web Master...who has donated his considerable time and skills at HTML and conversion capabilites which made it possible to hang gifs as jpgs in the museum and in designing and maintaining the awhs web page. and Dataman who was kind enough to write the "new world times" which is very rich in history and allowing me to link to them and Spring Dew for archiving them. and Grover who has sent me several rare screen shots from the beginnings of AW from before the asteroid hit. and I want to thank Subgenius for his encouragement and inspiration because they reflect my feelings exactly. Here is a quote from one of his letters to me: "It's still needed; an historical society for the preservation of the dawning of virtual building and community on the Internet... And I wonder if I am alone in the belief that the works of AW and other worlds will be useful as an historical record when future generations look back on the growth of the Internet. I think Active Worlds deserves a page in that history book someday, but I may just be too idealistic for the rest of reality. "The prime directive of the idea (AWHS) was to save as much of what is now the aw world as possible, and lobby to get COF to not allow anything to be deleted without just cause. Property that is an obvious eyesore, incomplete to the point of uselessness, or simply vandalized beyond normal would be relented, but anything that showed a sign of being of interest to anyone should remain. "Secondly, a chronicling and cataloguing of "landmarks" in AW, then informing the public of what is out there waiting to be rediscovered. Regular parties and gatherings scheduled in various choice locations like Wascally's Amusement Park for example. Many of the places made in AW were designed for alot of people to experience together, rather than just one person going there alone. "Community is also an important thing to capture...fellowship. People getting together at times in certain places to enjoy one another's company and enjoy a locale together. Seven or more at any time in one place should be considered a success I think. My most memorable times in AW were when I was away from a Ground Zero somewhere, and there were many around sharing with me adventures and exploration of a locale. ...then you have my blessing. Remember not to make the mistake of previous attempts at a society like this. Do not be cliquish. Do not break the group up into smaller groups or find yourself in competition with another organization. Bring people together. Don't fall victim to division." He is not alone in his feelings as we see from the AWHS Membership List and the crowd gathered here today... Remember that anyone may request membership and are genuinely encouraged to do so. In conclusion i would like to thank Mindman who is photographing the event today and all the people who have sent me screen shots and information, which have all been documented, and submissions are still welcomed. SO!! Let's tour The AWHS Museum...the coords are 1501.4n 500e 1.05a 284

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! Return to AW Historical Society page