Twelve Years of XMarks?!!!

[Jimmy Carbomb]

Hard to imagine that Hank got this rolling that long ago!
Dude snookered me in after a few pints.
Y'all ought to proud for keeping this vision going and growing!
Congratulations XMarks!!

[Mael Coluim]

Aye, Jimmy and a BIG SHOUT to YOU!

[Richrail]

To you good sir

[Father Bill]

To the founders

and to XMarks indeed!

[Tarheel]

Thanks for the vision (even if blurred at the time) that gives us relative newbies a place to gather. Prost.

[tripleblessed]

To the founders and to XMarks indeed!

Indeed. And to Steve, as well.

[Standard]

To our founders int:
And to think that I've been here 8 years now. Tons of great advice that I've garnered over those years.

[Riverkilt]

Lots of fun, a wee bit of insanity, and piles and piles of money gone to kilts and accessories....

[Steve Ashton]

It took a little searching through all 1,128,809 posts, (Yes you read that correctly, 1 million, 128 thousand, 809 posts as of the time I write this) but I found the first post ever made to X Marks.

It was posted on the 22st of January 2004 at 11:14pm EST by our founder Hank Hanna who went under the username of Highlandtide.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=7750

I think I have posted before, the story Hank related to me, of how he started X Marks, but I though you may enjoy hearing it again.

Starting in the very early days of forums (called bulletin boards back then) there was one called Tom's Cafe. This was a gathering place for those who were looking for ways of dressing that was outside of the standard and accepted blue jeans. One of the most notable of the members of Tom's Cafe was a gentleman called Hamish.
Hamish lives in the SE of England and had retired after a career as a perfumer at the prestigious firm "Floris of London". On the day Hamish retired he went into his garden and burned all his trousers. From that day he swore off pants and decided to wear only kilts.

Hamish then came to the attention of the world by becoming the first non US purchaser from the brand new company Utilikilts.

In the fall of 2003 two things happened. Tom's Cafe began to be the place on the web for those men who prefer to dress in what would traditionally be considered ladies clothing. The second thing that happened was the passing of the owner of Tom's.

Many, like Hamish, began to look for another place on the web. Hopefully one that would be dedicated and specific to kilts. One that would be free from the influences and the flame wars that had killed Tom's Cafe.

At the same time a young man by the name of Hank Hannah, who lives in S. Carolina, was trying to get his Scottish themed t-shirt business off the ground. He would set up a booth at Grandfather Mountain and other events around the American SE. At these events Hank would notice that many attendees did not seem to know how to wear a kilt. There was always at least one guy with his kilt on backwards and there would always seem to be that guy with blue face paint and big sword like he had seen in the movie "Braveheart". Just for fun Hank began to take some photos of how people dressed at Highland Games. Looking for a 'catch' to promote his t-shirt business Hank decided to start a website and use the photos he has been collecting to attract interest. Using the now antiquated bulletin board format others could also post their photos.

Hank thought a good name for his website would be X Marks The Scot, using the Scottish Saltire flag as the "X". This had been a phrase that appeared on a license plate frame from the same graphic arts company that did the silk screening of Hank's t-shirts. He approached the company and asked for permission to use the phrase. They agreed as long as he added the .com to the end.

XMarkstheScot.com officially went on line on the 22nd of January 2004 and Hank made the first post which I linked to above. Within 24 hours X Marks had its first 4 members. Raphael was the first followed quickly by Jimmy Carbomb, bikercelt1, & colin.

Some other notable members from those very first days were -
Kiltedmusiclover on the 28th of Jan
Rocky R on the 7th of Feb
Derek on the 18th of Feb
And Hamish himself on the 1st of Mar

Of the first 100 members 56 are still with us today.

It is kinda strange but looking over some of the very first posts they could have been written today. "When will kilts become mainstream wear?" "When will we see a kilt available for the same price as a pair of blue jeans?" "Will solid colored kilts catch on or are they just a passing fad?" and of course "What Tartan is this and where can I get a kilt in it?"

In a very short time X Marks had grown well beyond Hank's ability to monitor it. He was trying to run his own business and raise his family. Hank had not started out to create an on-line community and X Marks had began to take on a life of its own. It became a living, breathing entity. Hamish was perhaps the first person to post photos of a kilt being worn that was not a uniform of a pipe band or the military. He we one of the first, if not the first, to post a photo wearing a kilt with hose scrunched down over hiking boots. He inspired other members with a sense of elegance and a touch of humor.
Soon the first advertisers came on board and Rocky set an example of business ethics which all the other business tried to emulate.

I personally found X Marks on the 1st of Mar 2004 the same day I registered my kilt making business, but I lurked for a while and did not actually join until the 25th of Sep 2004. I was the 134th member.

I can vividly remember when it was posted that we had just had our 100th, 200th and 300th member join us.

In 2009 I made a business trip to Scotland where I met with many of my suppliers. As an enthusiastic X Marker I would always ask them "Why are you not a member of X Marks? Having Scottish companies would be a great way to put your products in front of a huge and specific audience.". I kept getting the same three answers answers over and over. Answers which were actually questions that I could not answer.
First was "How can we know that this is not just another cross-dressing site like Tom's Cafe was?"
Then they would ask "What if something were to happen to the owner? How can we be assured that the site would continue?"
and "If we were to put our money into advertising, how can we be assured that we would get our monies worth?"

When I returned home I wrote an email to Hank and asked him the exact same questions that I had been asked. The answer shocked me. At the time there was no provision to keep the forum running if Hank were to meet with a sudden accident. His new wife did not want to run it. Hank told me that the site would more than likely go off line right after the hosting fees stopped being paid.
Hank also told me that he had always been keeping the site updated and current by himself. He said that since he had changed the forum over to the vBulletin software package that he was no longer technically capable of keeping the site updated and current.
And finally Hank told me that since the birth of his first child and a change in the direction of his business life that he no longer had any interest in X Marks. He said that he was only keeping it on line because the hosting fees and domain registration were already paid for the next year.

I then asked Hank if he had ever thought of selling the forum to someone who did have an interest in keeping it going. His answer was that he had been approached before but would prefer that the forum not become an specific advertising venue for any one business. As Hank and I had worked before on projects like the weaving and sale of the X Marks Tartan fabric he said that he felt confidant that I would keep the forum true to his original ideas and concepts. When Hank said "Make me an offer." I did.

I purchased the domain name, forum software license, and all the rights to the forum and name X Marks on the 21st of Sep 2010. Hank, his wife and five of the members of the staff came to Victoria, BC and we held an official signing over celebration in on the 10th of Oct. 2010.

Over the past 12 years a lot has happened on this little piece of the web. Members have come, some have left, but our numbers continue to grow.
We often get the exact same questions from new members that the first 10 members were asking 12 years ago.
Many of our members have formed lasting friendships here. Many of us have met each other in person. We have seen members pass.
We have sent two tokens of our love of the kilt completely around the globe three times. A small wooden dirigible, and a large pewter Quaich in which a dram has been shared with thousands.
We have our own, fully registered Tartan. The X Marks Tartan is now recognized the world over as the first Tartan specifically for an internet group. We also have our own cap badge and plant, the dandelion, which we use to recognize each other anywhere on the face of the globe.
Over the years we have, of course, had arguments. But we have always maintained a sense of respect for and shown courtesy to each other.
And I honestly feel that we have stayed true to Hank's original vision. A place on the web where those who appreciate and wear the kilt may come together and share their passion with each others.

Today X Marks is the largest and most active on-line community dedicated to the kilt, in the world. If you would care to look near the bottom of the home or forum listing page you will see that today X Marks has 19,317 members not counting the spammers. Of those 3,159 have logged on and made at least one post within the last 90 days. We have created 16,991 distinct threads which contain 1,128,816 individual posts.

Who could have predicted, or would even thought it possible 12 years ago, that there could be that much to write about a single garment. Who would have thought that one day an internet forum would become a voice to be listened to. Many of the weavers, kilt and kilt accessory makers and both the leaders and followers in the kilt world read what the members of X Marks are saying. (if you don't believe that you are the voice of the kilt world ask yourselves why white hose are no longer de rigueur on the websites of the world.)

To each and every member of this on-line community I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks. It is not me that makes X Marks. It is not the advertisers who make X Marks. It is you, the guys (and the girls) that wear and appreciate the kilt. You have built a unique community here. It is you that have made this forum what it is today.

[Riverkilt]

What a great history! Thank you.

Steve shortchanges himself. He was most active in building up the forum in the early days.

He told me about it in October 2004. He'd been on an English Yahoo Utilikilts board too. If he'd not spread the word many of us would have had no clue.

And there were some MOST UNUSUAL boards back then...you had to wade through the guys in dresses to get to the guys in kilts.

Quite a few XMarks guys have managed to pass through my little remote corner of the world to enjoy adventures and break bread. And I've been able to hook up with some XMarks guys, and gals, in their home towns. And at highland games for sure.

Heck of a ride.

One of the special aspects of X Marks is that we have a way to sell, or sometimes donate, our kilts and accessories to other XMarks folks who are a bit tight for cash. If I were ever called to go on the old What's My Line program my secret would be that I donated kilts and accessories to a nun. Where else?