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What began as a simplistic fan site in
1998 as "Randy's Star Trek Site", would undergo constant changes in
name, design, and content to eventually grow to be one of the
largest and most recognizable Star Trek websites on the internet.
Early Beginnings
The first website developed by Randy Hoffman was Randy's Star Trek
Site in 1998. During that time, webmaster Randy Hoffman has seen some of
the largest and most popular Star Trek websites come and go, and
established close relationships with its webmasters. After a quick name
change to Star Trek: Badlands, the website began to take off, but still
had a long way to go to achieve the success of its successors. Star Trek
Badlands was short lived, eventually changing names to the "Ultimate
Star Trek Website".
Star Trek Webmaster Services
Shortly before the name change, the website had expanded into web
service offerings for fellow Star Trek webmasters. These services
followed the "Ultimate" branding upon the name change. The first
offerings were a banner exchange, award, webring.
First Domain Name: St-Misc.Com
In the year 2000, The Ultimate Star Trek Site grew by leaps and
bounds, and once again changed names, and for the first time landed its
own domain name, St-Misc.Com ("Star Trek Miscellaneous"). It was at this
time that the website would finally establish its own tone and content,
and gain ground as a primary destination for Star Trek fans. During the
course of the next year, St-Misc.Com underwent major revamping and
expansion, while experimenting with numerous new techniques and content
offerings.
Star Trek Masters & Red Alert
Webservices
Shortly after the launch of St-Misc.Com, the webmaster services
became an increasing focus. The web services were rebranded "Red Alert"
and placed onto a separate website called "Star Trek Masters". These
newly branded services also expanded to feature a top site list and
links search engine. "Red Alert" was also used as branding for the
short-lived "Red Alert Star Trek Movies" content.
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Strekonline.com Debuts
By the end of 2000, it became clear that St-Misc.Com was inadequate
to meet the needs of its visitors. The domain name was complicated and
easy to forget, and therefore the need had arisen for a permanent name
and destination for the popular and growing website. Strekonline.com
first debuted in February 2001, shortly before the Voyager series
finale. St-Misc.Com was officially shut down that summer, and the new
website quickly gained attention and acclaim. It was at this time that
the website debuted its flagship product, screen captures.
Elite Force Alliance &
Other Partnerships
Over the years, Strekonline, and its
predecessors, has teamed up with some of the best Star Trek
fansites. In 2002, Strekonline.com was honored to be inducted into the Elite
Force Alliance (EFA), a group of some of the largest and most recognized
Star Trek websites at that time. Strekonline.com webmaster Randy Hoffman
eventually became one of the highest members of the Elite Force
Alliance. The EFA has since disbanded, but Strekonline has continued
partnerships with many of the websites. In addition to the EFA,
Strekonline.com had also established partnerships with
StVoyager.Co.Uk and TrekConnection.com, both have since been
taken offline, but at the time were some of the largest websites.
The site's partnership with both sites went far above simple
link exchanges, with several joint ventures. Strekonline had
teamed up with Trek Connection to establish and maintain Warp 9
Webservices, which replaced the Red Alert services.
Continued Changes and Expansion
Over the next few years, the website underwent continued changes,
from logos and layout, to content. 2003 was a big year for
Strekonline.com, a year it debuted two spectacular designs and logos,
and a brand new section. A brand new logo and website layout was debuted
in March 2003, and would become the primary base for future layouts on
all Hoffman Creations websites. A short-lived layout debuted in October
2003, and with it came a brand new section, Deep Space Nine, the only
series that had virtually no content on Strekonline.com.
New Strekonline.com Debuts
In 2004, Strekonline.com was relaunched with an exciting and bold new
layout that paved the way to what the website is today. This new layout
was the longest used in the website's history, and provided the site's
first true identity. Even after Enterprise finale, Strekonline.com
continued to expand and grow in leaps in bounds. With the ending of
Enterprise, Strekonline.com was able to further grow the content from
all series and movies.
Incorporating New
Elements
At the end of 2007, Strekonline reinvented itself once again,
with a revamped new design and brand new content offerings.
Elements from other Hoffman Creations websites were integrated
into Strekonline.com, testing the new website under the "Hoffman
Creations" banner. For the first time, Strekonline.com branched
into other series beyond Star Trek. First to come was
Pirates of the Caribbean,
followed by Jack of All
Trades, X-Men,
and Star Wars. The
former layout and design was in use for over four years, and the
Strekonline webmaster felt it was time for change. In addition,
the former layout was not designed for widescreen resolutions,
which have grown increasingly popular over the years. Thus, the
new layout was far more versatile than before, with improved
navigation and design. With the new design came a reorganization
of the website content. Some of the site's less popular sections
were removed, and others temporarily shut down to allow
restructuring.


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