Can you believe it?  A time before Outpost10F?  Could it be possible?  Well, it is and was possible.  The Internet, as we know it, was relatively new.  Andrew Maxwell was a regular at an X-Files based chat room known simply as Spooky’s.

In May of 1997, Andrew Maxwell concocted a wonderful idea:  A Star Trek chat room.  Andrew Maxwell called on his friend and partner in crime Octavius Piraeus, for advice and assistance.  The original chat room was named Ten Forward, or as it was nicknamed, TF.  It was the beginning of what we now know as the Online Sci-Fi & Fantasy Community, Outpost10F.  TF opened for beta testing in June of 1997, after weeks and weeks of tireless work by Andrew Maxwell and Octavius Piraeus.  Andrew and Piraeus started a campaign to recruit chatters, starting with their fellow chatters from Spooky’s. 

The login page was very different from what we see today.  The official opening of TF was in August.  The official opening introduced the LCARS format for the chat top, very similar to what we continue to use today. 

At this point in Ten Forward's history the site had managed to gain quite a few loyal regulars, some of who are still active to this very day! It was due to these dedicated members, playing an instrumental role in the site finding it's footing, that Ten Forward, a small chat room, turned into a booming chat site.

Soonafter, in November 1997, a new concept was introduced to the chat site structure. Ten Forward introduced Departments, due mainly to ever-increasing membership and the need to assess whether those members deserved promotions. The first departments were:

• Security
• Research & Development
• Engineering
• Counseling
• Communications
• Intelligence

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