@Empire, what made you want to start a gaming community?
It's a long story and has a good background on how it became as it is now, so seatback with your tea and biscuit and keep on reading. The name of BaysideGamers was initially been started back in November 2014, the month when the name was created and the hosting server was alive. Throughout November and December, the site was being made and run on SMF (simple machines forum) since at the time wanted a free forum software, and it was a learning curve for me since it was my first significant site to be running. It goes far deeper than that though, in fact, let's go back to the year 2010 when I got into the world of GTA4. Yes, when I first got into the world of GTA modifications where you were able to run scripts and plugins in the game of GTA (Grand Theft Auto) and become anything that you want, even change the game style. I so focused back then that I would spend hours doing it as well as busy in college, watching videos at collage on GTA roleplaying. With that, I joined many sites based on the subject and the ideas that I was leaning to is what and how BaysideGamers became, in late 2011 and into the new year of 2012 I joined a site named MajorGaming (running on invasion power forums) as I was interested in a mod that I wanted and since that, I joined it has changed me. At the time I was at college doing my I.C.T certificates and my courses were web designing and programming that I really enjoyed. Soon after in early 2012, I was so active on MajorGaming that the owner decided to make me a moderator, for me, it would be my first time being a community staff member. First time first for everything right. Spent just over three years on major gaming as a moderator who I became most active than other the owner who I did not like, truth to be told that the owner was very aggressive and doesn't like anyone telling him things to the point that I have no idea how I was able to survive. Many staff and members been and gone over the three years. I can go on with what I had to deal with but then this will be a 50 pages book, but it gave me so much experience.
My time with Major gaming (running on invasion power forums) and part of the GTA community one day in 2012 part of the forums were open and it was a GTA roleplaying community was being opened and made public and right away I joined, the name was "Bayside Virtual Emergency Services" (domain I still got till today, baysideves.com) Hance of how the BaysideGamers. Long story short I Was the first member to join and who I became active and also how I mate my mate who I'm still talking and gaming with right now since 2012, Long friendship, got into so deeply that I became part of the staff team and I was running the website for the community. Yes, I decided to run the site and the deal with the applications. Started off with Enjin free account for just over a year with own domain before moving away from Enjin to WordPress in late 2014. At the time it was my first website on a free low-cost end. I was running the front end mostly and my other mates were dealing with Teamspeak and other things when members join to move to the next step.
So the name of BaysideGamers was based on the name "Bayside Virtual Emergency Services" where I wanted to the Roleplay community linked as one company that never happen. Since most of 2013 and 2014, I always wanted to become my own boss of my own website, was sick of being members on different sites and moderator. So one day I decided to let my dreams became real and thought to myself that it's time to make my own site up for GTA modifications. November 2014 the name was created and also got the hosting server that was paid and order, started with SMF and after six months I moved away from SMF and did a full clean install of invasion power forums since SMF was good however it was just bugged and didn't like how they were dealing with things, shame that SMF databases couldn't be saved. BaysideGAmers had so many histories in its six years running and over time it had changed from GTA5 coming out to the point that how modifications became dead that the site had a full revamp and went away into me of a gaming site. When I first started it had so many categories that anyone got lost. Roleplaying community didn't last that long afterwards, in 2015 I decided to close it fully since TeamSpeak that I didn't own expires and most members left and other staff members had a busy life, my mate, in fact, he was a real police officer.
So there is my story, well some of it anyway about how it became as Bayside, end of the day I always wanted to manage my own site and able to do things that other sites do not have. For six years it's still running even that it's dead as flip and that being said that I'm looking to hire for a manager, a person who will take full control of the site and work with me. It's still ongoing on how and when I am opening the position but I will say this that I will be looking for a person who as knowledge to work with me and think that you own the site also, you have control to do what I have. I mean the single guy is hard to keep it active.
@Empire - what's been your favourite moment so far running Bayside?
Ohh so much I can say, but maybe I might not type a 700-word book right now
😛
