Grimstonefire:
Well, CDO has been going two years now (maybe not to this exact date), and I thought it would be fun to reflect on how much of a change it has made to each of us.
A brief history lesson for our newer members…
For many years the Hand of Hashut was the only Chaos Dwarf forum out there. It’s still going, albeit at a snail’s pace.
Then along came Xander, who I think may have been a long time lurker before I joined. Long were the discussions we had, me, Lord Zharkov, Revlid, Metro, Uzkul Werit (where for art thou?), harvestmouse, HB, the voice and all the old gang. Those were the days sighes, oh the memories. I hadn’t formed many strong opinions on how I perceived the Chaos Dwarfs, and my fan pdf’s were but a distant dream.
Xander began to assemble a Wiki over there, with limited support from the only admin. No doubt he would give reasons why he decided to start CDO, but boy were we all hugely grateful he did! That was a good day I can tell you. 
With CDO started we began to form all the various sections very quickly, delighting in how new things were, and united in our common belief that we were truly grateful for Xander for allowing us the opportunity to have an active CD forum. At any moment he could have called time and said he’d had enough, but he hasn’t yet (fortunately).
Over the years CDO has evolved and grown. We’ve had some truly awesome contributions from people who were not there at the start, and the commitment the Staff have put into putting in place all these fun competitions has paid off. We could have very easily said it’s all too much hassle, but being an active staff we put a lot of time and effort in behind the scenes try to keep things interesting.
Yet I for one know I will never take the fact that this forum even exists for granted, and as a sign of my appreciation and eternal gratitude for all that Xander has done in creating this forum I recently posted him some free minis (both of which cannot now be easily reproduced, so a piece of CD history). With any luck they won’t get lost in the post!
If it was not for CDO and all those who have contributed over the years, I would not have made those models in the first place, and would certainly have lost interest in CD.
Not sure if I ever mentionned this privately or publicly, but I was actually prepared to turn my back on CD until the day a new army came out, just before Xander invited me to be staff. If he had not done so I know for a fact I would have left for good. I probably would have been a mod on Bugmans Brewery by now. :cheers
But with the dedication most of us put in to keeping CDO a friendly and inspiring forum, I know my small fledgling force will eventually grow.
Anyone else care to share the impact CDO has had on them personally and in terms of their CD armies?
Kera foehunter:
Thanks grims ! for this!! See most of us never would of known !!
This whole site for sharing… Even that most of us where not the first part of your gang!!
We to have become part of this CDO !
thanks for sharing this this is apart of the staff we never see!!
Grimstonefire:
If you want Kera I could hark on for pages about everything CD related I’ve done and seen over the years, I just assumed most people would get bored (edit: and most of the people involved are no longer part of CDO or HoH, so it would be a very one sided conversation).
But I guess for the newer members this very brief history lesson could be interesting, after all it’s a shared history of the CD community as a whole. Whether we like it or not we are all part of the ongoing history of our community, and hopefully we’ll have plenty to look back on favourably in the future.
Ishkur Cinderhat:
It seems to me that back in the days when I was invited by Xander to come here the community was still very small and fresh - I had also only been a member at HoH for a few weeks or so. While I initially didn’t want to be a member in several CD forums and therefore hesitated to register at CDO, the differences between the two forums became quickly very obvious to me.
The short story is that I at some time stopped being active in the one forum because I was just blown away by all the buzzing activity in the other one. It is clear to me that a lot of that actually came from Xander himself who especially in the starting time of the site regularly mused and questioned how to increase CDO’s popularity and how the forum and the site as a whole could be further improved.
After having collected quite a few armies in WHFB and 40k, I just started Chaos Dwarfs because they kind of appealed to me because no one has them - or so it seems. ^^ I never dreamed of building a fully functional army within such short time, but the response and ideas of the people at CDO were instrumental in pushing my enthusiasm to new heights. It’s a thing of mutual exchange of ideas and feedback that kept me personally going and create new stuff for an army I grew more and more fond of (and an army that I played quite successfully in our gaming group’s tabletop battles, I might add not without a decent amount of curlybearded pride. :hat).
2007 was my great year in Chaos Dwarfishness and, due to private setbacks and because my job was killing all my spare time I was all but inactive in 2008. Still, even if I wasn’t posting a lot here last year, I witnessed a lot of action and great creative potentials unfolding every time I checked the recent posts.
Which is nothing that is usual or even common in any Warhammer forums, or at least the ones I really know. I can’t really grasp or identify what it is exactly that makes CDO so special compared to these other groups on the web - I just know it is. Totally. ^^
Kera foehunter:
Grims i would like this !! and other staff members of the history of this site !!
Baggronor:
Happy Birthday (kind of) CDO!
I think I joined just as things were buzzing, shortly after my evil stunties went to the GT last year (where my anvil of doom detonated itself 4 times in 6 games, on normal power - woohoo).
I have to say, this is without doubt still the best Warhammer forum, and the only one that I check everyday. Lets keep it that way :cheers
I do remember the HoH too, I was checking all the CD stuff on the net while making my army. I’m currently tied up with other things, but there are plans afoot for my CDs, and not just army-wise 
I just started Chaos Dwarfs because they kind of appealed to me because no one has them
Same here :cheers then I found this place and it was crawling with them!
Willmark:
Indeed we will hit bumps in the road, sometimes things will be rocky. But at the end of the of the day we all know this is this best warhammer site.
On that note I am eternally grateful for Xander in creating this site, because if he hadn’t I would not have been inspired by all of the awesome works here.
Xander:
Basically it boiled down to me trying to make HoH the best site. But the admin wouldn’t give me an ear. There was next to zero active administration over the site. I really wanted to make the wiki work, but without admin abilities it died. I even installed a forum on my own server to show the Admin that I could create a cool theme for phpBB. Then I sent him all the changes to make the site. I even made a new banner for the site.
Basically after doing all this work and having the HoH staff basically yawn, I had learned enough by that point to just make my own place. I invited over a bunch of key members and made them staff. Then I structured the site well and made it really accessible to new comers. Then I went super heavy into recruiting. Like Bagg, I recruited him. 
Sometimes I wonder what people think when they first get a message from me. “Hi, I am an Administrator from Chaos Dwarfs Online, you should post your work on my site!” Haha. I guess that’s why I chose the custom user title that I did. Hehe.
Sojourn:
I remember when Xander told me he wanted to do this. I probably met the idea with mixed emotions, but he loves this hobby and CDs. I know I remembered vividly that he liked CDs 'cause when I went to buy models for him at the GW bunker for the first time and the clerk asked what army he plays I proudly said “Chaos Dwarfs!!!” and then the looks that followed, haha.
I know he put a lot into this site initially, and now the community effort to make this the best CD destination has come to fruition. All the staff work tirelessly to keep things running smoothly, and every member is supportive and encouraging to new and old CD players alike.
What this site has meant for me is a way to be involved in something someone dear to me, holds dear to himself. From that has developed friendships, that even if they become rocky at times, I adore and would never want it any other way. This gives me something to be involved in and keep my incredibly busy life even busier. If I didn’t have WOH to edit, or posts to keep up on, well, I’d probably get adequate sleep at night but I wouldn’t have nearly as much fun or experience as much happiness. Heck, the site even made me convert and make a female CD for a GH competition. I never, ever, saw that one coming!
Canix:
Two years ,how time flies .I remember deciding to sort out my fantasy lead pile,thirty years of collecting and i was only playing wood elfs.I knew i could make a good chaos mortal army with my pre slotta warriors and had loads of stuff to Ebay or just strip and paint.
Little did i know that the chaos dwarfs i had would grab me with a fever:D.I searched the net while stripping the few CD and mass of pre slotta orcs stumbling across Hands of Hashut .I joined however it was quiet and there where only a few people to froth with;)
Somebody (i have a feeling it was Grim) posted a link to Xanders video and from there i found CDO .As i sold other minis and bought more CD on Ebay they arrived and i joined CDO eager to froth with others.I started to use GS and convert for the first time.I didnt realise the site was so young as it was a hive of activity with members joining in droves ,something which hasnt changed.
My thanks go out to all the staff and to Xander in particular :hat off .It seems you tuned into the Zeitgeist of the warhammer community and filled the Chaos Dwarf sized hole :D
wallacer:
Has it really been two years already?
Congratulations, Xander. You made me spend a small fortune on eBay, but it was worth it.
Sometimes I wonder what people think when they first get a message from me. “Hi, I am an Administrator from Chaos Dwarfs Online, you should post your work on my site!” Haha. I guess that’s why I chose the custom user title that I did. Hehe.