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Minesweeper Addicts

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Minesweeper Addicts was a Yahoo Group with an extensive online collection of files and polls. As one of several Minesweeper groups, Addicts was the earliest and was the most popular with over 400 members. Founded 29 Jun 1999 by Sara Chrysler, in her words:

"This group is for anybody who enjoys the computer game Minesweeper. The group can be used to share tips, compare high scores, discuss strategies, post links to Minesweeper web sites, or anything else Minesweeper-related. If you're looking for people who understand and share your sickness...uh, hobby, you've come to the right place."

History

The Group had an impressive archive of letters on various minesweeping topics. It endured heated debates about the Dreamboard, UPK, the Timer Jump and Famous Cheaters while seeing the creation of the Winmine Congress, Project Minesweeper Utopia and the first international tournaments. Addicts had a valuable collection of the earliest programs and once served as the central source for player videos and screenshots. It reached its peak when it hosted the world ranking during 2002. That year saw a record 484 messages sent and 28 polls created. When Yahoo bought eGroups and merged them with Clubs in 2002, Addicts easily annihilated the new Clubs arrivals: Minesweeperclub, Minesweeper and Minsweepers.

Although a popular destination for sweepers, the group originally struggled with only 5 members in 15 months. 23 Nov 2000 saw the group first advertised at Authoritative Minesweeper, resulting in 15 new members in 5 days. New membership peaked in 2003 when nearly 100 players joined the mailing list.

The active role of the Addicts group was eventually replaced by the larger sites, although it maintained its status as the polling location for the community for many years. The database and all member photos disappeared in 2005 due to storage limits. The world ranking moved to Planete Demineur and then to the Authoritative Minesweeper, while the preferred locations for conversation now tend to be the Forum and the Guestbook. Regardless, Addicts is still valuable for its archive of the early community.

Sara announced the end of Addicts on 3 May 2010 with a post to the group:

"Hello Minesweeper Addicts, I just wanted to let everybody know that I will be deleting this group soon. Despite having over 400 members, there is no discussion in the group anymore, so I think it is time to finally delete it. It's hard to believe that this group has been around since June 28, 1999. We had some nice activity in the early 2000's, but it died down long ago. When I started this group, I was 16 years old. Now I'm 27, married, and haven't played Minesweeper in years. But I think Minesweeper will always have a special place in my heart. Goodbye to all of you Minesweeper addicts, past or present!"

After allowing Authoritative Minesweeper time to archive the group, it was finally deleted on 9 Jun 2010. It is available as a download.

Download

  • Minesweeper Addicts - Download of the group including all messages and files (15mb), archived by Damien.

Stats

Messages
  • 1999: 8
  • 2000: 88
  • 2001: 323
  • 2002: 484
  • 2003: 211
  • 2004: 141
  • 2005: 49
Polls
  • 1999: 0
  • 2000: 1
  • 2001: 5
  • 2002: 28
  • 2003: 14
  • 2004: 15
  • 2005: 12
New Members
  • 1999: 5
  • 2000: 18
  • 2001: 40
  • 2002: 63
  • 2003: 94
  • 2004: 87
  • 2005: 72