I genuinely didn't think this game was still active, considering TF2 has been out for a while now and all the animations on Youtube are from that game. But coming back to the game after almost twenty-three years and seeing people playing on a few dedicated servers was surprising.

It reminded me of when I used to play when I was around 10-12yrs old (can't remember exactly) on my families home PC in the living room. This is the part where I ask if anyone remembers this or the person running the server. But there was a particular server that was run specifically for kids, as a way to play the game without being in the normal public lobbies. There would be around 8-15 of us kids in the server at a time, ranging from as young as 7 all the way up to almost late teens? And the server was filled with fun custom maps, props/assets, soundbites, etc. We could play make-believe in whatever fashion we wanted all without worrying about being in adult lobbies. We'd play house or have 'jobs' in stylized mall maps, or whatever game us kids that age could come up with on such an open server.

But the person in charge of this whole server was this lady whose name I can't remember, except oddly, I remember her voice and mannerisms. Her voice was warm, slightly nasally, with a boisterous, kind laugh. She was there practically every single day giving us this safe space to play, she also: uploaded assets and skins for us to use and took requests if it wasn't in the library, taught us how to use in-game console commands to spawn items or get ourselves 'unstuck', moderated any disputes we had, etc. She never got angry with us or raised her voice, she encouraged us older kids to solve problems (social or asset) on our own but would step in if needed.

I say all of this as a way to celebrate the most positive and formative gaming experience I ever had as a kid, and tbh even now as an adult who has played way too many online games. I just wanted to write this so it would be out there, as a record. That maybe someone else who was in that server remembers us playing there too and it brings them a small positive memory. But in the incredibly tiny chance that the woman who ran that server is still around, surfing these discussion boards or through some other means, I just want to say-----


Genuinely. I don't know if you've ever been thanked properly for what you provided to the kids of TFC, but you definitely should be. You may not even remember it or thought it was that big of a deal, but to this human being, it was. I didn't have a lot of friends at that age and home life was....hard. But I knew I could count on hopping into that server at night, and be treated to warmth and laughter with my friends and you. You provided a place where kids could gather and play safely online, which says volumes about your character as a person.

On TFC, my name was Atrium. I don't expect you to remember me, but I for sure remember you. Thank you ❤️