Bitzenbytes.com

Once upon a time…

          ...sorry, I’ll start again.

Way back in 1989, two young men volunteered to answer phones for ‘Kids Corner’, a daily, one-hour, call-in public radio program for kids aged 7-16, heard here in the Delaware Valley on WXPN (88.5 FM).

These two young men, Scott Manning and Peter Cook, had an interest in common, computers. After they had been volunteering for a few months, they, according to Kids Corner host, Kathy O’Connell, “informed us that they did more than just answer phones, and asked if they could do a one-time segment about computers on the show”. Kids Corner producer Robert Drake adds, “We realized that computers were becoming a staple in households”, and the segment was given the green light. Kathy O’Connell adds, “The chemistry on the one-time segment worked, and thus the CompuDudes were born. The name came about because of a contest.  A listener named Michael Hicks (“The Hickster”) won the contest by naming them the CompuDudes”.

The CompuDudes started as a monthly segment on the show. As interest in the segment grew, the ‘Dudes’ began to appear weekly.

About that time, Mrs. NoClue and I were doing a lot of volunteer work for WXPN. Mrs. NoClue even worked there for a few years. With my own budding interest in computers, I got to know the CompuDudes fairly well as time went on.

Soon, it became apparent that many of the questions were not coming from the kids themselves, but from their parents. ‘XPN decided to give the CompuDudes their own weekly show, to answer questions from adults.

The ‘adult hour’ ran for about 4 years, but never really did fit into ‘XPN’s format, which was, for the most part, music (Adult Acoustic Alternative, or Triple-A).

The show moved to WHYY, another public radio station here in the Delaware Valley, heard at 91FM (90.9). The CompuDudes show fit well into WHYY’s format (NPR news, information, talk), and it ran weekly, while the ‘Dudes continued their monthly Kids Corner segment.

I used to visit the CompuDudes website from time to time. One of those times, I noticed that they had started a Forum on the website. At the time, there were a handful of members and fewer questions. I joined on March 13^th, 2000 under the nom de plume, NoClue, and began to answer some questions. Peter took notice of my efforts and thanked me. I explained that no thanks were necessary...quite a few people had helped me along the way, and this was my way of ‘giving back’...besides, it was fun.

As they mentioned the Forum on the radio, more and more people began to post. I began to answer more and more questions, along with some other very knowledgeable people (you know who you are ). A mutual friend (an ‘XPN staffer who shall remain nameless...okay...it was Kathy O’Connell ), mentioned to me that the CompuDudes had a Forum that really seemed to be taking off, there was a guy that was answering a lot of questions for them, and that they were beginning to wonder who he was. I admitted to her that it was me, but made her promise to keep mum about it…I didn’t want Peter to thank me anymore…it was embarrassing. One day Peter clicked on the link in my profile and remembered the name of my company (we had sponsored the ‘Dudes hour’ on ‘XPN for a while), and posted that he thought he knew me. I told him to tell the mutual friend I said, ‘Hi’.

The CompuDudes Forum and website had been hosted by Odyssey, a company that was owned by fans of the show. The company had been sold, but they continued to host the site for free. In December 2000 (just before Christmas), Odyssey’s server crashed, taking all of our posts with it. Those were dark times *sniff*. I suggested to Peter that he move the domain to Bee.Net, a company that I had been dealing with for a few years, and from which I had always gotten excellent service. Peter seemed interested, so I contacted the owner to see if Bee.Net would be willing to host the CompuDudes forum and website for free. He was, and Peter contacted them to get things set up. The Forum came back online at the end of January 2001.

The Forum became an integral part of the CompuDudes show. Even though the show was an hour long, there were always many people who called in with questions, but couldn’t get on the air before time ran out. It was also handy for some of the trickier, more time-consuming questions…the caller could post a question where our merry little band of volunteers could give their take on it. It really complemented the show. After a while, The ‘Dudes thought it would be cool to give me my own little spot on the show, where I would read a question on the air and we would discuss possible answers; ‘ NoClue’s Question of the Week’. It was a lot of fun…I even got to scare away a skunk^* on the air when I called in while on one of my escapes to the Pine Barrens.

Our little online community continued to grow, adding new members every week. WHYY and the CompuDudes sponsored a Technology Event at the WHYY studios, where some of us got a chance to meet face to face.

The CompuDudes radio show ran for about 12 years, in its various incarnations. On October 9^th, 2001, Peter Cook decided to end his involvement with the show. Scott Manning did the show alone that night. It was to be the final show.

The Forum continued to thrive, however, and quickly reached 1000 Members. In February of 2001, Peter contacted me. He decided that he wanted to end his involvement with the Forum as well. He hoped that the Forum could continue without him, and asked me if I would be willing to take it over. I agreed.

Peter wanted to retain the name CompuDudes (a name he had trademarked), so I had to come up with new names for the forums and website. I contacted some of the more active Forum Members, and together, we came up with CompuClues and Bitzenbytes. Then I checked with Bee.Net, who graciously agreed to support our community in cyberspace by continuing to host the forums and website under the new names. I registered both names, and renewed our UBB software license.

So I now find myself the proud owner of a Forum and website. Who’d’a thunk it? The CompuDudes show, website, and Forum existed for the benefit of the community…a not-for-profit, kid-safe place dedicated to the free exchange of information. I plan to continue this noble idea for as long as there is a need, with a little help from my friends, of course.

In the Summer 2003, the forum and webpages underwent a major design change to the format you see today.

Speaking of friends, I’d like to thank the folks that have made this possible:

Peter Cook and Scott Manning - The CompuDudes, who started this whole thing. You gave us a place where we can get help and help others…a place where we can both learn and teach. Thanks guys. Our debt to you can never be repaid.

Peter, thanks for entrusting me with this, I won’t let you down.

Scott, thanks for your continued support. It is comforting to know that you remain a Member of the CompuClues Forum, and that you will continue to be there for us when we need you.

Betsy Manning - Scott’s wife, and our artist-in-residence, who designed our logo.

Forum Member janus – for the name bitzenbytes, assistance with the transition, help with the website, taking on moderation duties, for teaching me a little HTML, and for spurring me on to finish some of the things that I've started.

Forum Member ntwrklarry – for the name CompuClues, assistance with the transition, help with the website, and for taking on moderation duties.

Kathy O’Connell and Robert Drake – from Kids Corner, for recognizing Peter and Scott’s talent, and for helping me ‘get my story straight’.

Rich Goldberg and Rus Wetherill – from Bee.Net, for giving us a home on the web and making the transition painless. You guys rule!

Forum Member ComcastOnline – for his continued support, and for his patience with some of our more ‘challenging’ Members.

The Members of the CompuClues Forum – for asking the questions…and answering them. You folks are the reason we are here. I’d especially like to thank you for ‘keeping it clean’; nothing offensive, no flame wars, no RTFM answers. You guys make forum administration easy. You have my gratitude.