Where's Tales when you need her?

• Who are the Old Mods?
  There were quite a few old moderators when the board originally opened up- many of them did not post more than once or twice. They were friends of the original Administrators, Tam and Ashi, who co-ran the board together. The names of the old moderators even I have forgotten.
  The first active Moderators which quickly replaced the inactive original hires were myself, Meow, and Willowisp. Down the road a ways Skye and MyLittlePonyTales were added to that mix, as well as Dio and Dessa. All four of them are long time members from when the board originated.
  

• Why was Canterlot.com not G rated for a while and who made the change?
  When Artax and myself realized our site was attracting not only bronies and veteran MLP lovers from previous generations, but children and youth interested in the show, we decided to make Canterlot a safe place for all ages. Since our site is about a show for little girls, we think this is the safest course of action for those visiting, our users, and us as Admins.
  

• Is the anypony higher than Artax?
  Artax and I are co-admins, we share equal amounts of responsibility over the forum. There is no authority on the board higher than Artax or Myself. In a lot of ways, the board is our adopted foal to raise together.
  

• Why can I not grasp the true power of a moderator?
  You need all nine pieces of the tri-force first. Only when you have wisdom and courage together, will you be able to wield power responsibly. Keep searching, and you will someday find your goal within grasp!
  

• Where do all the Help Staff, Mods, Admins, etc. fit into the Canterlot.com story?
  That is a very long story- most of them have been hired on after I took over the board- but the names I mentioned above have a history here before the move. I would ask each one of them individually
  

• If Manestream is "Celestia's Adviser" then who is "Celestia?"
  Why, Celestia herself of course! When Artax agreed to join me and become my co-admin, he gave me this title. It makes me sound all wise and stuff, but i'm actually pretty derpy in reality :3
  

• Whats with the weird Princess Celestia Admin Bot?
  We like to have an automated Princess Celestia to wander around Canterlot. Makes the place feel a little bit more homey. She makes killer waffles, too. You should try some sometime.
  

• What's the story with some of the banned users, like Angie Cakes?
  I prefer to respect the privacy of others when it comes to issues like these; the best way to find out would be to ask the person themselves.
  

• Canterlot. Y U SO ADDICTIVE?
  I'm very glad to hear you are enjoying the community
  

• Who the heck is Tam?!
  Tam is one of the founding Administrators of the board. When Ashi and he decided to move on to different projects in their life, they agreed to entrust the board into my hands. Tam made that happen, and played a very large role in saving the board. He and I still talk to this day.
  

• What was Old Canterlot like?
  The old Canterlot was an electronook site with a basic forum skin and colour set- it was charming when I stumbled across it, and the community was small but passionate. Ashi and Tam set many roots down for the board that eventually evolved into Mane RP, our application process, and some of our other forums on the board. The board had its own set of problems back then, but it saw its way through them and has grown from 80 users, to thousands. I remember my first post on the board was an application for Applejack- things were very different back then.
  

• Who as the first member of Canterlot? Who was the first RP Helper, etc?
  Aside from Ashi, Tam, and the handful of moderators that made accounts (but didnt stick around), i'm not positive. When the board first launched, EqD mentioned it in one of their posts, and a landslide of members signed up the day after its creation- some of those members including Tales, Quicklime, and myself.
  

• When did Canterlot begin?
  Technically, March 8th 2011 is when the board first was created, known as Equestria- it was after I inherited the board a couple months later (sometimes around May 24th) and brought the previous staff and Artax onboard that it became "Canterlot".
  Hope that helps
  

• Who are the Old Mods?
  There were quite a few old moderators when the board originally opened up- many of them did not post more than once or twice. They were friends of the original Administrators, Tam and Ashi, who co-ran the board together. The names of the old moderators even I have forgotten.
  The first active Moderators which quickly replaced the inactive original hires were myself, Meow, and Willowisp. Down the road a ways Skye and MyLittlePonyTales were added to that mix, as well as Dio and Dessa. All four of them are long time members from when the board originated.
  

• Why was Canterlot.com not G rated for a while and who made the change?
  When Artax and myself realized our site was attracting not only bronies and veteran MLP lovers from previous generations, but children and youth interested in the show, we decided to make Canterlot a safe place for all ages. Since our site is about a show for little girls, we think this is the safest course of action for those visiting, our users, and us as Admins.
  

• Is the anypony higher than Artax?
  Artax and I are co-admins, we share equal amounts of responsibility over the forum. There is no authority on the board higher than Artax or Myself. In a lot of ways, the board is our adopted foal to raise together.
  

• Why can I not grasp the true power of a moderator?
  You need all nine pieces of the tri-force first. Only when you have wisdom and courage together, will you be able to wield power responsibly. Keep searching, and you will someday find your goal within grasp!
  

• Where do all the Help Staff, Mods, Admins, etc. fit into the Canterlot.com story?
  That is a very long story- most of them have been hired on after I took over the board- but the names I mentioned above have a history here before the move. I would ask each one of them individually
  

• If Manestream is "Celestia's Adviser" then who is "Celestia?"
  Why, Celestia herself of course! When Artax agreed to join me and become my co-admin, he gave me this title. It makes me sound all wise and stuff, but i'm actually pretty derpy in reality :3
  

• Whats with the weird Princess Celestia Admin Bot?
  We like to have an automated Princess Celestia to wander around Canterlot. Makes the place feel a little bit more homey. She makes killer waffles, too. You should try some sometime.
  

• What's the story with some of the banned users, like Angie Cakes?
  I prefer to respect the privacy of others when it comes to issues like these; the best way to find out would be to ask the person themselves.
  

• Canterlot. Y U SO ADDICTIVE?
  I'm very glad to hear you are enjoying the community
  

• Who the heck is Tam?!
  Tam is one of the founding Administrators of the board. When Ashi and he decided to move on to different projects in their life, they agreed to entrust the board into my hands. Tam made that happen, and played a very large role in saving the board. He and I still talk to this day.
  

• What was Old Canterlot like?
  The old Canterlot was an electronook site with a basic forum skin and colour set- it was charming when I stumbled across it, and the community was small but passionate. Ashi and Tam set many roots down for the board that eventually evolved into Mane RP, our application process, and some of our other forums on the board. The board had its own set of problems back then, but it saw its way through them and has grown from 80 users, to thousands. I remember my first post on the board was an application for Applejack- things were very different back then.
  

• Who as the first member of Canterlot? Who was the first RP Helper, etc?
  Aside from Ashi, Tam, and the handful of moderators that made accounts (but didnt stick around), i'm not positive. When the board first launched, EqD mentioned it in one of their posts, and a landslide of members signed up the day after its creation- some of those members including Tales, Quicklime, and myself.
  

• When did Canterlot begin?
  Technically, March 8th 2011 is when the board first was created, known as Equestria- it was after I inherited the board a couple months later (sometimes around May 24th) and brought the previous staff and Artax onboard that it became "Canterlot".
  Hope that helps
  

I didn't actually expect to get an answer to these questions, first off thanks so much!

I had always assumed that You and Artax ran the site from the very beginning its actually quite interesting to hear that there were other Admins besides you guys. To bad they didn't stick around, it would be cool to meet them!

From the looks of it it seems like the RP section was tons more lax back in the day than it is now.

Thank you so much for answering my questions! This is so awesome that I know all this stuff now. It might seem a bit like useless information to know, but I feel even closer to Canterlot now than every before. I guess thats sort of weird, huh...

P.S. I'd kill or a Celestia Waffle...

• Why can I not grasp the true power of a moderator?
  You need all nine pieces of the tri-force first. Only when you have wisdom and courage together, will you be able to wield power responsibly. Keep searching, and you will someday find your goal within grasp!
  

HA!

I like this one here

HA!

I like this one here

Did you get all the references?

I didn't actually expect to get an answer to these questions, first off thanks so much!

No problem, sometimes I get these weird spurts where i actually have time to interact with the community. I used to be a lot more active back in the day when i was still a member/moderator.

I had always assumed that You and Artax ran the site from the very beginning its actually quite interesting to hear that there were other Admins besides you guys. To bad they didn't stick around, it would be cool to meet them!

Tam and Ashi went their very different ways, and unfortunately there was a lot of upset during that time, a lot of users didn't understand the reasons, and things were pretty hectic. I had the pleasure of being able to work with them both on a daily basis, and had a much more intimate understanding of the situation. They were both nice people, but it was a tough time in their lives.

From the looks of it it seems like the RP section was tons more lax back in the day than it is now.

Very much so- the RP was Ashi's dig big then, and it was still something very, very small. Everyone knew everyone- their characters, and it was much easier to blaze new ground because it affected so few people. It was Ashi that introduced the griffon kingdoms into the RP that we still have today. This didnt last too long, as the RP began to explode and spiral. Applications needed a bar, and staff to approve them. And before long, we had to start scrambling to decide which elements were appropriate for the RP, and which weren't. Some very heated topics about the expression of politics, religions and sexuality within the RP threatened to tear the board apart once upon a time- and it was a very hard thing to set global guidelines for.

The solutions we came up with were never perfect ones, but we definitely put forward our best hoof, and thats why occasionally some of the old rules and procedures change nowadays. That, and we are catering to a much larger field of interest and group of people. It has been a real learning experience moving from constructing an RP for several hundred people, to several thousand, and keeping some semblance of continuity, quality, and vision.

Truth be told, our RP isnt big enough as it stands right now to cater to everyone, so some big changes will be coming out come 2013.

Thank you so much for answering my questions! This is so awesome that I know all this stuff now. It might seem a bit like useless information to know, but I feel even closer to Canterlot now than every before. I guess thats sort of weird, huh...

Its not weird, a lot of our members take pride in having been with this site through thick and thin- as do I. And while i'm sure I make decisions that upset people every now and then, I would think that many would agree that the site has come a long ways, and grown, and improved over the years. There is a lot of nostalgia for having the small tight-knit community we had back then, but having a big community is exciting and full of opportunity too.

P.S. I'd kill or a Celestia Waffle...

A robotic Celestia Waffle at that.

HA!

I like this one here

I'v been around since the start? Hah! When I joined I thought I was just a little blip of a noob

I'v been around since the start? Hah! When I joined I thought I was just a little blip of a noob

Oh- I must gotten my wires crossed somewhere in there, I thought you joined the same day I did- though you did join fairly early on QL; only five months in. :3

[colour=#3D3D3D]

Whats with the weird Princess Celestia Admin Bot?[/colour]

[colour=#3D3D3D]We like to have an automated Princess Celestia to wander around Canterlot. Makes the place feel a little bit more homey. She makes killer waffles, too. You should try some sometime.

[colour=#3D3D3D]Don't listen to Mane on this little tidbit. When she means killer, she means KILLER. [/colour]