Happy Birthday Eastgate!

Rosemary Michelle Simpson, Providence

Your youth and young adulthood years have been so fertile and productive of joy in those lives you've touched that I can hardly wait to see what your mature powers will bring over the coming 22 years.

Michael Joyce, Poughkeepsie

I have the enormous pleasure of interacting with a lot of very bright and creative 22 year olds here at Vassar and they are very much like Eastgate at this age, albeit perhaps not quite with the same record of accomplishments you have, for instance changing the face of literature and electronic culture. Still many of them, too, will change the world and I am happy to say that a good many of them will have formed at least part of their vision through the extraordinary hypertexts you have published over the years by writers like Stuart Moulthrop, Mary-Kim Arnold, Carolyn Guyer, Wes Chapman and Shelly Jackson, among others.

I have often said, both on public platforms and in print, that Eastgate is the New Directions publishers of the late 20th and 21st century, which makes Mark Bernstein the new James Laughlin. In an age when publisher increasingly means a corporate conglomerate rather than a person of integrity and vision, your contributions transcend your list and indeed add to the fabric of intellectual and artistic life in general.

I count myself fortunate that I have seen you come of age and been blessed by the gift of publishing with you, reading the works your publish, and working with such interesting and tirelessly creative human beings.

Geoff Davis, London

Happy birthday, 22 years is a long time, I started working with computers (after a degree in Psychology) in 1980... so well done!

Steve Ersinghaus, Farmington CT

Congratulations on hitting the 22 mark. Here's a wish for 22 more!

Jill Walker, Bergen

Hey, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Eastgate!

I still remember the joy at realising someone was actually publishing electronic literature and hypertext fiction. I think my first purchase from Eastgate (back in 1994 or 95, I think? [September 8, 1995--ed]) was also my first online shopping experience, and it worked perfectly. Thanks for having published hypertexts and the tools to create them with for 22 years!

Liz Adams, Australia

I am new to hypertext (1st year mature uni student) but am eternally grateful to Eastgate for providing a wonderful treasure trove of hypertext to learn from. I am also considering purchasing Tinderbox - it seems like a great tool.

Kent Alexander, New York

Wow! Hard to believe you folks have gotten this old this quickly. Nevertheless, Happy Birthday to one and all at Eastgate! I have learned more about hypertext work and have found great joy in the innovative and groovy software you've produced!

Keep up the good work and enjoy your birthday party!

Kenneth Tompkins, Absecon

I have admired Eastgate and its staff since I first found you 4 or 5 years ago. It was, quite literally, love at first sight. Now we are both older but the flame is still there for me. Is it still good for you?

Best wishes on your 22nd.

Nick Tyler, Atlanta

Best wishes on your birthday, and hopes for many more. I see that you've turned 22 while I wasn't looking, which means, of course, you are too old for me to date.

I'll be knocking back a few shots after midnight in honor of your years, and apologize in advance for the offensively drunken message I'll be recording on your orders hotline after I leave the bar.

Jonathan Leavitt, Albany CA

Tinderbox has changed my life (incrementally)

I attended the Tinderbox West conference after buying Tinderbox just for the hell of it. I had a read a review in MacWorld, and it sounded like the kind of program I would dig (do they still say thatÑdig?). At the time I was not even blogging or writing much HTML. Now I am totally hooked and am doing a practice blog for family members, very well received, I might add, with lots of weblinks. The Tinderbox principle of "idea first, organize it later" has now taken over my whole approach to everything. Of course, I can't just credit Tinderbox with thatÑmy brain was programmed to work that way anyhow, but tinderbox now makes it easy. Perhaps it's a text tool for the whole brain, not just the left hemisphere. I'm a psychiatrist, by the way, not a journalist or news pundit.

So, you guys, don't hold back on the celebration of a quarter century of Eastgate. You deserve it.

Johndan Johnson-Eilola, Potsdam

22? Wow, that makes me feel old. I can still remember John McDaid showing up to a workshop on computers and writing at Michigan Tech with a beta version of Storyspace. And Michael Joyce showing up the next year with what I think was a pre-release version of Afternoon. The vision of these projects lead to a dissertation, and then more than a decade's worth of related work on h/t (much of it involving Eastgate products in one way or another--I think I've referenced something coming out of Eastage in nearly half the work I've published), all of which can be traced back to Eastgate.

Always connect

Walt Hopkins

Happy Birthday!

22 years is a very long time in computer software years. Way to go. Keep up the good work.

It runs in my mind that 1982 was around the year Apple offered "the rest of us" hardware.

Diane Greco, Brooklyn

Happy birthday, Eastgate! Here's to 22 more!

Fred Cagle, San Diego

Happy Birthday. Best of luck with everything you and the staff are producing!

John Makeni, Nairobi

A moment like this is the right time to say that a place which is as nice and HYPERTEXTÊas Eastgate deservesÊa wonderful Birthday. Hope you'll findÊ22nd exciting as 21.

Paolo Petta, Vienna

From an academic/researcher's point of view (I have been lecturing on Hypertext since the early 1990s) the importance of Eastgate can hardly be overstated: a reference case for the transition and bridging from research into commercial applications; an invaluable resource to stay on top of the multifarious developments in the many related areas of importance - from theory to the arts to commercial aspects; and most importantly, dedicated people permeating enthusiasm, conferring credibility, and instigating curiosity and interest.

Here's a toast to the Eastgate's significant contributions to support and further an open view on hypertext: AD MULTOS ANNOS! AD MULTOS ANNOS!

Debra Di Blasi, Kansas City, MO

It's redundant to repeat...

But happy birthday anyway! You're still the best source for hypertext fiction, poetry, etc. A great resource for students.

Pamela G. Taylor, Richmond, VA