Once upon a time, I realized that free hosting sucked. When I started, free hosting wasn't a real option (this was back with FortuneCities and Xoom). So I got a paid account. But my first host turned out to be a complete scammer, so I got a horrible taste in my mouth. After that, I moved to Communitech to host HongX.net, my old website (which was actually, in retrospect, quite a successful site and pre-empted the blogging revolution for a few years - my friends and I ran that group blog and had fun posting ...

Upon moving to a dedicated server, I decided that I had to give kids the opportunity to get free hosting - for those kids who were in my boat who were interested in web development but lacked the resources (free hosts SUCK and restrict their users in so many ways) ... I then opened up NeoPages.net around 2001 as a free hosting site - anybody could apply and get free webspace.

With more and more members signing up for the service (the service was never automated; every single application was read by me and was verified by me), I realized I needed some way to coordinate activity. I think NeoPages.net was one of the first free hosting networks on the web (that I know of) that was coordinated through a forum.

The site soon blew up as the prospect of getting ad-free hosting was too enticing for many. Sifting through the applications became too time-consuming ... so the wonderful community at NP Forums started helping me weed out the applications; the whole community soon evolved as the members of the existing network would vote in a new member each week.

The community itself always held a somewhat special place for me ... there was simply something about the forums that was always fun. Maybe it was the diverse demographics of the forums (people of almost all age groups from all around the world) ... but the community just felt different.

(For those of you who were wondering, the "Roy Kim fan club" evolved from these forums)

But things were not to be. As I got more involved with other projects and life started distracting me, my participation slowly waned. With the recent hackery of the server, I realized that I could no longer support the community with my money or time.

So it was with some reluctance I announced that the server was shutting down. So far, the replies have been heartwarming - a lot of people really spent a lot of time on the forums. It's been 3 years! 3 years! I was 17 when I first started moderating those forums ... a freshman in college. How things have changed.

Thanks to all those NP.net people who have been so gracious with the decision that I've made - it's going to be tough to find new homes for you guys ... but it's been a total pleasure getting to know you guys and seeing some of you evolve into great designers.