Bhamwiki:Milestones

Bhamwiki was launched on March 15, 2006.

2006

• The 1st article, Interstate hole (renamed several times since) was added on March 15, 2006 by User:Gt9606a (logged in as Dystopos)

• The 100th article, Writer's Block, was written on April 17, 2006 by User:Dystopos.

On May 24, 2006 the logo was updated.

On June 12, 2006 the site was upgraded to MediaWiki 1.6.7

• The 500th article, Karl C. Harrison Museum of George Washington, was written on June 18, 2006 by User:Dystopos.

At 500 articles, Bhamwiki is more comprehensive than several Wikipedias - specifically those serving the Cantonese, Maori, Moldovan, Amharic, and Mongolian language communities.

• The 600th article, List of Birmingham police chiefs, was compiled on July 13, 2006 by User:Dystopos.

On July 28, notable Birmingham blogger Wade Kwon named Bhamwiki one of "Birmingham's Hottest Sites". The article identified some of the MediaWiki tools as our strongest features and noted the need for "a roadmap on how to get started with the group." The other four sites honored were BarCamp Birmingham, Birmingham Buzz, Birmingham Rewound, and the Magic City Flickr Group.

• The 700th article, 1997 City Stages, was created on July 23, 2006 by Dystopos.
  

• The 800th article, Anthony Barnes, was created on August 5, 2006 by User:Dystopos.

On August 10, a "favicon.ico" file was added to the server to dress up your bookmarks.

• The 900th article, Homewood Public Library, was created on August 18, 2006 by User:Dystopos.

The "Best of Birmingham" feature in the September 2006 issue of Birmingham Magazine noted Bhamwiki's historical resources in the context of Birmingham history websites publicized on Wade on Birmingham.

• Bhamwiki's 1000th article was John Farr Jr, contributed by User:Lkseitz on September 8, 2006

• The 1100th article was MAX Transit Route 5, by User:Patriarca12 on September 27, 2006

Bhamwiki:Sustainability, the first "portal" (a subject-specific entry page) was created on October 11, 2006 by User:Dystopos. It was requested for use by the Urban Sustainability Task Force of Catalyst for Birmingham.

• The 1200th article was Basset Apartments, added by User:Dystopos on October 13, 2006

• The 1300th article was 2005 Birmingham Steeldogs, added by User:Patriarca12 on October 30, 2006.

• The 1400th article was Jay Sebring, added by User:Dystopos on November 13, 2006.

An article on Bhamwiki was published in The Birmingham News on November 25, 2006, written by Erin Stock. Site traffic for November 25 was approximately 7 times our average load and we signed on 10 new editors over the weekend.

• The 1500th article was Peoples Bank of North Alabama, added by User:Wheresdib on December 6, 2006.

• The 1600th article was Storyteller fountain, added by User:Patriarca12 on December 31, 2006.

2007

An article on Bhamwiki was published in Black & White on January 11, 2007, written by Paul Brantley.

• The 1700th article was List of bottlers, added by User:Dystopos on January 18, 2007.

Bhamwiki was mentioned in an article about political wikis on the Personal Democracy Forum dated January 22, 2007.

• The 1800th article was The Club, added by User:Dystopos on February 4, 2007.

On February 11, 2007 the site was upgraded to MediaWiki 1.9.2 on PHP 5.1.2. The size of the database overstepped the memory limits for the web server when the PHP update scripts were run, meaning that for several hours edit attempts returned a database error.

• The 1900th article was Downtown Club, added by User:Dystopos on February 24, 2007.

• The 2000th article was Docena, added by Dystopos on March 10, 2007.

On March 22, 2007 the Birmingham Weekly made us their weekly pick for Monday March 26, encouraging readers to consult Bhamwiki to "learn a ton about our tortured, beloved, conflicted, potential-rich and angst-ridden Birmingham," and also to "double-check the facts you find."

On March 28, 2007 the site was upgraded to MediaWiki 1.9.3.

• The 2100th article was Geneva Mercer, added by Dystopos on April 4, 2007.

• The 2200th article was Helena Fire Department‎, added by User:Lkseitz on April 26, 2007.

On May 6, 2007 we registered our 100th user account.

• The 2300th article was Michael Gibbons, added by Dystopos on May 20, 2007.

On May 31, 2007 Bhamwiki was profiled in an article on The Terminal.

• The 2400th article was Jim Parkman, added by Dystopos on June 19, 2007.

On June 30, 2007 the site was upgraded to MediaWiki 1.10.0.

• The 2500th article was Tuscaloosa Horns, added by User:Rreach on July 6, 2007.

• The 2600th article was Tara Gray, added by Dystopos on July 18, 2007.

• The 2700th article was August 24, added by User:Wheresdib on August 9, 2007.

On August 17, 2007 The Terminal began using Bhamwiki's date articles as a source for its history column, "A Look Back."

• The 2800th article was the Daniel Building, added by User:Wheresdib on August 29, 2007.

• The 2900th article was the 2007 Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, added by User:Wheresdib on September 19, 2007.

• The 3000th article was Charley Boswell, added by User:MacroAlan on October 14, 2007.

• The 3100th article was December 4, added by User:Wheresdib on November 8, 2007.

• The 3200th article was Alexander Jefferson, added by User:Dystopos on November 29, 2007.

• The 3300th article was Holli Watts, added by User:Lkseitz on December 12, 2007.

On December 26, a Birmingham News article by Lisa Osburn depicted Bhamwiki as a straightforward "recitation of facts authored by the masses."

On December 28, Doc's Political Parlor began using Bhamwiki for its "Today in Alabama History" feature.

• The 3400th article was Raymond Boland, added by User:Wheresdib on December 31, 2007.

2008

• The 3500th article was Larry Lemak, added by User:Wheresdib on January 10, 2008.

• The 3600th article was Joe Cribbs, added by User:Wheresdib on January 26, 2008.

• The 3700th article was Eubanks Mercantile building, added by User:Wheresdib on February 20, 2008.

• The 3800th article was Dan Bynum, added by Dystopos on March 9, 2008.

• The 3900th article was Independence Drive, added by User:Lkseitz on March 25, 2008.

February and March 2008 brought unprecedented growth in traffic to Bhamwiki. See Special:Popularpages for an idea of what people are looking for when they find us.

• The 4000th article was Eddie Kendrick Memorial Park, added by User:Wheresdib on April 18, 2008.

An article entitled "Virtual Networks: An Opportunity for Government" in the Spring 2008 issue of The Public Manager mentioned Bhamwiki as an example of a municipal wiki that improves "people's ability to understand and control their government through citizen engagement in the political process."

• The 4100th article was Randy Smith, added by User:Lkseitz on May 8, 2008.

• The 4200th article was Jim St. John, added by User:Dystopos on June 2, 2008.

In early June we began experimenting with "beautified" URLs on Bhamwiki. Testing and tweaking continue.

On June 13 a new Bhamwiki logo was created.

• The 4300th article was Kyle Whitmire, added by User:Wheresdib on June 25, 2008

• The 4400th article was Parkside Home & Garden, added by User:Dystopos on July 22, 2008.

The August issue of Birmingham magazine included an article entitled "Birmingham on the Web", featuring Bhamwiki as "a resource for a quick overview on any number of Birmingham-related topics." Seventeen other valuable sites were listed, including our sister site, the Magic City Flickr Group.

On August 5 Bhamwiki began using Twitter.com to publicize new or interesting articles. (link)

• The 4500th article was Will Ferniany, added by User:Dystopos on August 10, 2008.

The site suffered prolonged outages due to a bad firewall rule on its file server on August 26-27.

• The 4600th article was Roberts Cemetery, added by User:Dystopos on August 27, 2008.

• The 4700th article was John Longwell, added by User:Dystopos on September 23, 2008.

On September 29 a beta / mirror version of Bhamwiki, hosted by the Birmingham Public Library, went live at bhamwiki.org.

On October 17 the Birmingham News posted the results of its "Best of the Best" readers' poll. Bhamwiki.com finished fourth behind al.com, bhamterminal.com, and nbc13.com for "Best Local Web Site".

• The 4800th article was Alabama Geocachers Association, added by User:Wheresdib on November 7, 2008.

The Aztec, New Mexico Chamber of Commerce cited Bhamwiki as an example of a proven success in using the wiki concept "to help foster community and commerce." [1] . Their wording may have been taken from the FAQ for the WikiCity website project. [2]

• The 4900th article was Jim Reed, added by User:Wheresdib on December 22, 2008.

2009

• The 5,000th article was Alagasco, added by User:Wheresdib on February 2.
• The 5,100th article was Odenville, added by User:Dystopos on March 3.

The site celebrated its third anniversary at Silvertron Cafe on March 15.

A Facebook group for Bhamwiki editors, supporters and fans was launched on March 16.

• The 5,200nd article was Henry B. Walthall, added by User:Lkseitz on March 28.
• The 5,300rd article was 9th Avenue Deck, added by User:Dystopos on April 26.
• The 5,400th article was Thomas Jeffers, added by User:Dystopos on May 24.
• The 5,500th article was Marian Ann Dowdell Woods, added by User:Dystopos on June 16.
• The 5,600th article was WERC-FM, added by User:Dystopos on July 6.

Sometime in July 2009 we passed the 4 million page views milestone, as recorded at Special:Statistics.

On July 15 an article by Kevin Makice in Wired.com's "GeekDad" blog referenced Bhamwiki among the local wiki's that are larger than Bloomingpedia.

• The 5,700th article was Trails of Africa, added by User:Dystopos on July 27.
• The 5,800th article was James Williams, added by User:Dystopos on August 16.
• The 5,900th article was John Holcomb Jr, added by User:Dystopos on August 30.
• The 6,000th article was John Moore (disambiguation), added by User:Dystopos on September 24.
• The 6,100th article was Jack Nelson, added by User:Dystopos on October 22.

A November 10 article about Carole Smitherman on CBS42.com was lifted entirely from Bhamwiki (with attribution, but without respecting our CC license)

The Jeffco Can website puts Bhamwiki atop their links section (jeffcocan.com/links).

• The 6,200th article was Kenneth Livesay, added by User:Dystopos on November 18.
• The 6,300th article was Dean and Company, added by User:Wheresdib on December 20.

2010

• The 6,400th article was Lakeshore, added by User:Lkseitz on January 18.
• The 6,500th article was Walter McAdory, added by User:Dystopos on February 10.
• The 6,600th article was Frederick Knight, added by User:Dystopos on March 7.
• The 6,700th article was William Spencer III, added by User:Dystopos on March 30.
• The 6,800th article was Toni Tully, added by User:Dystopos on April 25.
• The 6,900th article was Laura Rickman, added by User:Realkyhick on May 16.
• The 7,000th article was Desperado's, added by User:Dystopos on June 11.
• The 7,100th article was 9324 Parkway East, added by User:Wheresdib on July 14.
• The 7,200th article was Monte D'Oro, added by User:Dystopos on August 9.

On August 23, I quietly changed all mentions of "BhamWiki" to "Bhamwiki" in the main page.

Sometime in August 2010 we passed the 8 million page views milestone, as recorded at Special:Statistics.

• The 7,300th article was Hayes K-8 School, added by User:Dystopos on September 14.
• The 7,400th article was Kendal Brown, added by User:Dystopos on October 26.

A mysterious error involving server-side output compression causes the site to become inaccessible on October 28. A good samaritan stepped in early October 30 and commented out the offending line in the site's php.ini file. I'm still trying to determine what triggered the problem.

• The 7,500th article was Bulwagi, added by User:Dystopos on December 8.

2011

Bhamwiki's cumulative usage statistics, according to Dreamhost, from 2006–2011

• The 7,600th article was Dax Swatek, added by User:Dystopos on January 7.
• The 7,700th article was Montgomery Highway (Vestavia Hills), added by User:Lkseitz on January 27.
• The 7,800th article was Sonny Ferguson, added by User:Wheresdib on February 13.
• The 7,900th article was Mercedes-Benz US International, added by User:Dystopos on March 7.
• The 8,000th article was Demetrius C. Newton Gardens, added by User:Wheresdib on March 27.
• The 8,100th article was 1795, added by User:Lkseitz on April 27.
• The 8,200th article was Church of the Reconciler, added by User:Dystopos on June 4.

Bhamwiki was recommended as a "resource without peer" in the "blogs" section of Todd Keith's Insiders' Guide to Birmingham, published on July 19, 2011.

• The 8,300th article was Ira De Ment, added by User:Dystopos on July 19.

In September, Bhamwiki began contributing a weekly 10-question "City Quiz" to Weld for Birmingham.

• The 8,400th article was Bernice Wright residence, added by User:Dystopos on November 1.

2012

• The 8,500th article was Holiday Inn, added by User:Dystopos on January 2.
• The 8,600th article was Living Stones Temple‎, added by User:Dystopos on February 9.
• The 8,700th article was 1892, added by User:Lkseitz on May 7.
• The 8,800th article was Husky Grill, added by User:Wheresdib on June 25.
• The 8,900th article was Trio's, added by User:Wheresdib on September 28.
• The 9,000th article was The Southern Diner, added by User:Wheresdib on November 15.

On November 15, 2012, The Bhamwiki-insprired "MartinsvilleWiki" in Martinsville, Virginia went on-line.

Bhamwiki was cited as a source in Charles Buchanan's "Fading Ads of Birmingham".

2013

• The 9,100th article was Hogan's Hide-A-Way, added by User:Dystopos on January 20.

• on January 31, Madison Underwood referenced our Underground river entry in an article on al.com.
• on February 13, Underwood gave Bhamwiki a longer shout-out in his "The Boost" column. (link)

• The 9,200th article was Harrison Limited, added by User:Wheresdib on April 16.

• Genius Matthew Sheets rescued Bhamwiki again from the shady pharmaceuticals business, established a more robust backup-mirror, and promised to be on-hand for upgrades and customization in the future.

• The 9,300th article was 1914 Birmingham Barons, added by User:Dystopos on June 2.

• on June 11, Madison Underwood gave us another shout-out on al.com; this time suggesting people help support the site. If we get any donations, I'll let you know and we'll divvy the loot.

• The 9,400th article was Cambridge Shop, added by User:Lkseitz on August 6.
• The 9,500th article was Lucille Bogan, added by User:Dystopos on October 9.
• The 9,600th article was Acipco-Finley, added by User:Dystopos on November 27.

• on December 27, Bhamwiki.com was recognized as a runner-up to AL.com in AL.com's "Birmingham's Best 2013" reader's poll for "Best Local Website".

• The 9,700th article was Norrell Drive, added by User:Wheresdib on December 31.

2014

On January 26, Alabama Media Group reporter Jeremy Gray began compiling a "The week in Birmingham history" feature using Bhamwiki as a source.

• The 9,800th article was 2014 winter storm, added by User:Dystopos on January 30.
• The 9,900th article was Jefferson County Beekeepers Association, added by User:Thepainteater on March 7.
• The 10,000th article was Downtown revitalization, added by User:Dystopos on March 28.
• The 10,100th article was War Bond Breakfast, added by User:Dystopos on April 27.
• The 10,200th article was ‎'Cross Town, added by User:Dystopos on June 12.
• The 10,300th article was TASSCO, added by User:Dystopos on July 15.
• The 10,400th article was James McWane, added by User:Dystopos on August 24.
• The 10,500th article was 1944 Alabama State Fair, added by User:Dystopos on October 1.

On October 7, Bhamwiki was upgraded to MediaWiki version 1.22.6 running on PHP 5.4.11

• The 10,600th article was Harris Transfer Company, added by User:Dystopos on December 7.

2015

• The 10,700th article was List of homicides in 1991‎, added by User:Dystopos on January 23.
• The 10,800th article was Sammy's, added by User:Dystopos on March 25.
• The 10,900th article was Benchscapes, added by User:Dystopos on May 3.
• The 11,000th article was ‎St Theresa Catholic Church, added by User:Lkseitz on June 1.
• The 11,100th article was Magic City Steam Bottling Works‎‎, added by User:Dystopos on July 2.
• The 11,200th article was ‎Larry Barton, added by User:Dystopos on August 9.

• September 1: Chattanooga-based fantasy author Cherie Priest linked to Bhamwiki's Axe syndicate article to explain the real-life inspiration for her novel, Chapelwood: The Borden Dispatches (link).
• September 8: Al.com reporter Kelly Kazek quoted Bhamwiki at length in her article on "Alabama's most famous madams and brothels" (link).

• The 11,300th article was O. D. Henderson, added by User:Dystopos on October 12.

• October 23: The first paragraph of Bhamwiki's article on Nina Miglionico was quoted (without attribution) in a story in the "Alabama Messenger". (link)
• October 29: Bhamwiki's article on the 1921 National Balloon Race was quoted (without attribution) in a story on "Alabama Pioneers". (link)

• The 11,400th article was Vance McBride, added by User:Dystopos on December 1.

2016

• The 11,500th article was M-Tre‎, added by User:Dystopos on February 5.

• The site's 10th anniversary was celebrated on Sunday, March 13 at Good People Brewing Company.

• The 11,600th article was 1887 A. O. Lane residence, added by User:Dystopos on March 20.

• On April 18 the Alabama Historical Association honored Bhamwiki with their inaugural "Digital History Award, Small Projects Category". The committee's criteria included "projects that made obvious contributions to promulgating Alabama history or a component thereof, that were historically accurate, that exhibited superior design and navigation practices, that incorporated innovation and multiple media, that continued to be maintained at a high level, and that engaged the broader community through social media about the projects.". The Encyclopedia of Alabama won the award in the large projects category.

• The 11,700th article was James Walker, created by User:Bill Coleman on May 4.
• The 11,800th article was 2016 Birmingham Barons, created by User:Dystopos on June 2.
• The 11,900th article was Bangkok House, created by User:Dystopos on July 6.

• On August 13-14 I added "CloudFlare CDN, DNS & DDoS protection to Bhamwiki and ran some long-overdue maintenance scripts on the database. Note: The CloudFlare service has interrupted my ability to review server statistics. Planning to implement Google Analytics in the future.

• The 12,000th article was 23rd Street North, created by User:Dystopos on August 28.
• The 12,100th article was Jack B. Smith, created by User:Dystopos on October 13.

2017

• The 12,200th article was Birmingham Stove & Range Company, added by User:Dystopos on January 9.
• The 12,300th article was 19th Street North Bessemer, added by User:Dystopos on February 24.

• The site's 11th anniversary was celebrated on Wednesday, March 15 at Cantina.

• The 12,400th article was Doug's Coin & Jewelry, added by User:Dystopos on April 9.
• The 12,500th article was Jefferson County Mayors Association‎, added by User:Robert Matthews on June 4.

• In a June 15 editorial about William Bell's upcoming re-election challenge, Weld publisher Mark Kelly referred to Bhamwiki as a "local treasure".

• The 12,600th article was Hosea Lewis, added by User:Dystopos on July 20.
• The 12,700th article was SouthBridge, added by User:Dystopos on October 2.
• The 12,800th article was George Denny, added by User:Dystopos on November 23.

2018

• The 12,900th article was Vestavia Village, added by User:Dystopos on January 5.
• The 13,000th article was ‎Lansden electric wagon, added by User:Dystopos on March 6.

• Bhamwiki was featured in an article on Bham Now on the occasion of its 12th anniversary.

• The 13,100th article was Adventure Park at Grants Mill, added by User:Dystopos on May 11.
• The 13,200th article was Trussville Plaza‎, added by User:Dystopos on July 11.
• The 13,300th article was Freda Lesser, added by User:Dystopos on August 29.
• The 13,400th article was 2018 Riverchase Galleria shooting, added by User:Dystopos on November 26.

2019

• The 13,500th article was Naming of Birmingham, added by User:Dystopos on January 21.
• The 13,600th article was 55th Place North, added by User:Dystopos on March 7.
• The 13,700th article was Greenwood Cafe, added by User:Dystopos on April 30.
• The 13,800th article was Shelby County Commission‎‎, added by User:Dystopos on July 1.
• The 13,900th article was Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Board of Directors, added by User:Dystopos on August 28.
• The 14,000th article was UAB Technology Innovation Center, added by User:Robert Matthews on October 8.
• The 14,100th article was Sherry Traywick, added by User:Lkseitz on December 2.

2020

• The 14,200th article was Village at Lee Branch, added by User:Dystopos on February 3.

• User:Chivon Morse began a daily Bhamwiki feature on Instagram in March.

• The 14,300th article was Thomas H. Watts, added by User:Dystopos on March 25.
• The 14,400th article was William Mudd (disambiguation), added by User:Dystopos on May 26.
• The 14,500th article was James Hanes, added by User:Dystopos on July 30.
• The 14,600th article was Cornerstone, added by User:Dystopos on September 21.
• The 14,700th article was List of Birmingham Mutual Aid and Liberation Organizations, added by User:BootstrapsRiley on November 11.
• The 14,800th article was Charna Brown, added by User:Dystopos on December 16.

2021

• The 14,900th article was "Railroad Avenue", added by User:Wheresdib on January 25.
• The 15,000th article was "Pratt City Park", added by User:Dystopos on March 6.
• The 15,100th article was "WaveTech Therapy", added by User:Dystopos on April 13.
• The 15,200th article was "Accident Policy", added by User:Dystopos on May 27.
• The 15,300th article was "Cathy O'Donnell", added by User:Dystopos on July 6.
• The 15,400th article was "James Davis", added by User:Dystopos on August 25.
• The 15,500th article was "St Stephen's Episcopal Church, added by User:Dystopos on October 20.
• The 15,600th article was "First Baptist Church of Powderly", added by User:David Bains on December 10.

2022

• The 15,700th article was "Medical Properties Trust", added by User:Dystopos on February 17.
• The 15,800th article was "Vestavia Country Club", added by User:Dystopos on May 7.
• The 15,900th article was "First Baptist Church West Princeton", added by User:David Bains on July 3.
• The 16,000th article was "Flying disc at the 2022 World Games", added by User:‎Patriarca12 on July 16.
• The 16,100th article was "North Birmingham Library", added by User:Dystopos on August 3.
• The 16,200th article was "Russ Maddox", added by User:Dystopos on September 5.
• The 16,300th article was "Fraternal Day", added by User:Dystopos on October 13.
• The 16,400th article was "2201 3rd Avenue North", added by User:Dystopos on December 14.

2023

• The 16,500th article was "Pizza Grace", added by User:Dystopos on January 25.
• The 16,600th article was "Stephen Odaibo" added by by User:Dystopos on February 24.
• The 16,700th article was "1442 Montgomery Highway", added by User:Dystopos on March 23.
• The 16,800th article was "‎International Wines & Craft Beer", added by User:Dystopos on April 24.
• The 16,900th article was "Podiatry Associates building", added by User:Dystopos on May 20.
• The 17,000th article was "Grace & Truth Church", added by User:David Bains on June 29.
• The 17,100th article was "Birmingham Violence Reduction Initiative", added by User:Dystopos on August 11.
• The 17,200th article was "Documerica", added by User:Dystopos on October 3.

• On October 12, Bhamwiki changed hosts, from Dreamhost to Knownhost, and was upgraded to Mediawiki version 1.39.5.

• The 17,300th article was "Cyberdyne", added by User:Dystopos on November 13.
• The 17,400th article was "Mt Hebron Baptist Church Acipco-Finley", added by User:Dystopos on December 26.

2024

In January 2024 Bham Now began using Bhamwiki's date articles as a source for their history column, "This week in Birmingham history."

• The 17,500th article was "Kermit Dooley", added by User:Robert Matthews on January 29.

Bhamwiki celebrated its 18th anniversary with a party at Rojo on March 17.

• The 17,600th article was "The Church at GrantsMill", added by User:David Bains on March 23.
• The 17,700th article was "The Percée", added by User:Dystopos on May 7.