1000!

It's here: we've passed the long-awaited milestone of 1000 members!

In January, Lupa.cz wrote that we'd pass the 1000-member mark this year, and here we are. There are a thousand of us, and we're still growing.

It's been more than six years since the association was founded, and that's how long it took to welcome our thousandth member. We're growing quite quickly year on year: more than 200 members joined in the past twelve months.

How does vpsFree.cz founder Tomáš Srnka remember the beginnings six years ago?

How do you remember the early days?

The beginnings were a lot of fun. I was 17 and had a server left over from a project that didn't work out. I was bored, reading abclinuxu.cz, when I came across a blog by someone called "snajpa". His idea seemed interesting, so I messaged him on Jabber asking whether he wanted a server :).

Did you hope for a thousand members in six years?

I think we joked a little from the start that we'd reach a thousand one day. The first days were a bit uncertain: we had a server, there were fewer than 10 of us, but members kept joining. I remember having a long discussion with snajpa at around 300 members about the likely ceiling on how many people might join us.

Do you have a funny story from those years?

I think the funniest story is from the very beginning. One January morning, when I was still 17, I packed the server into a box at my parents' home in Bratislava and caught the 5:50 train, aiming to drop it off with snajpa in Mladá Boleslav around 13. The funny part was that I was going to meet a complete stranger I'd never seen before. Fortunately, everything went well: we met, chatted, I gave him the server and headed back from Mladá Boleslav towards Slovakia. On the way, I hoped snajpa would write to me again and I'd see the server again :).

Where would you like to take vpsFree.cz?

I'd like vpsFree.cz members to keep getting value from the association, increasingly focused on the community. I really enjoy the members' gatherings over a beer, the active mailing list, and the fact that we've built a community that helps when needed but also enjoys a discussion.

On the other hand, I have a personal ambition to take vpsFree.cz as an organization beyond the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

When will we reach the second thousand?

Phew, I wouldn't dare guess. I'm happy about every new member whenever I see an application :).