Who's Dman?

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Who's Dman Archive

Who's Dman - Issue 11b: Interview With Luke

(Editor's note... although the original Who's Dman had Joanie and Luke's interview on separate pages, I've broken it up for easier readabilty -- Duncan)

Now on to Luke. If you've followed Who's Dman from the time I started, you'd know that Luke started one of the first teams. Even before The Site Fights had it's own server. Now you can get inside his head and see the thought from the beginings of the Site Fights. And drop Luke a line Luke@TheSiteFights.com and give him a great send off. We're gonna miss you Luke.

DUncle
When did you become involved with the Site Fights?

Luke
I can still remember signing up for the competition with my site, Luke's HotSpot... I got a letter from Dman, who at that time only had an aol email address from what I can remember. Let's see, there were something like 3 rings, the Warzone, and then the Dman Dome. I got to know Debbi, the original DSpirit (in fact, I thought she and Dman were married when I first talked to them) =) Anyway, my site made it to the Warzone, but no further. Dman was just starting some "Satellite Teams." Steve's Ring was there, and Nick and Jim were also starting teams. Dman asked if I wanted to run a team, and I said YES!

DUncle
How did you pick the name of the FireFighters?

Luke
Luke: Well, I had my old site, Luke's HotSpot, and there were so many images of fire on the 'net, it just kind of jumped out at me! It was just Luke's Fire Fight, but as time went on and teams started representing people (Knights, Warriors, Warlords, etc) I figured I should do that too, so I adopted the FireFighters as the new name.

DUncle
What is the biggest change you've seen in the Site Fights?

Luke
Definately the size and the amount of things you have to do to compete. Like I said, when I competed there were only a couple rings, there were no spirit cheers, the idea of a spirit page was out of the question, and as soon as you signed up you got in. DPatrol and DFairy weren't around yet, and Dman had the idea of maybe going to a frames version of the fights becuase of the amazing number of pages he had (at that time there were about 15) this was aslo before thesitefights.com -teams had to operate on their own servers.

DUncle
What was your favorite accomplishment as being part of the team?

Luke
My favorite accomplishment was making people happy to compete in the SF... I loved getting emails saying, "thanks for everything," or "your team is the best." I still keep in touch with some of my past fighters too, so it was a good experience. Dman probably remembers gAx and the 2 Girlz... =)

DUncle
What prompted your first departure from the Site Fights?

Luke
When I left in June until Spetember 1997 it was because I was on Summer Vacation and I was traveling everywhere. I knew I wouldn't have the time to run the team decently, so I closed it down for a while.

DUncle
What prompted your second departure?

Luke
I retired in February, because my life started getting crazy (yes Char, a girl was involved, hehe) and I knew I would have to start concentrating on getting into college. It was a tough decision, because I loved running the team, but I just couldn't balance my real life with my SF one.

DUncle
How many changes did the Firefighters go through in the year (and more) you were with the Site Fights?

Luke
Actually, not very many. I had a "cheers" page from day one, and all the other pages the teams have- past champs, the last week's final results, etc etc. When I first started, I had I think 3 rings and then the Radioactive Rumble (my championship round) But soon Dman made all of us add another round, so I added 2 arenas in between the rings and the RR. Then teams started going with the "links down the left side" (LDLS) ;) format... and finally, I conformed and changed my layout too... I think most of the teams still use that layout today, at least on their front pages.

DUncle
What kept you motivated as a Team Leader?

Luke
Definately the positive emails I got from my fighters and the fact that I kept making new friends.

DUncle
What advise can you give those who are just starting out with the Site Fights?

Luke
Don't be intimidated by all the stuff you have to do. Have fun- there's no rule that says you HAVE to make a spirit page... if you think doing something (anything!) might help you get votes, then by all means do it... cheers, message boards, vote exchanges... they all help. Make sure to make "alliances" with other fighters on yout team, and on the other teams too. If you vote for them, they will vote for you!

DUncle
In your mind, Who's Dman?

Luke Dman is an inspiration to me. I watched him build his dream and I watched how hard he worked (and how hard he still does work!) to keep the Fights a place where fighting is fun and friendships are begun. Though he might not be the greatest typist, if you can figure out what he's saying, usually it is great advice. I'm glad and thankful he let me have a team- being part of DFamily was a great experience for me. I'll never forget it...