Transmission from the Static **KEEPING TWOISM ALIVE**

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Aesthetics
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Transmission from the Static **KEEPING TWOISM ALIVE**

Post by Aesthetics »

For more than two decades, Twoism has existed as a unique little corner of the internet that somehow survived everything the modern web became.

No algorithms.
No endless scrolling.
No ads.
No engagement farming.
No disappearing conversations.

Just people.


People discovering Boards of Canada together, sharing music, memories, theories, artwork, friendships and live moments that genuinely mattered. A place that quietly kept going while countless forums disappeared into the static.

But behind the scenes, Twoism is currently standing at an important crossroad because the forum software powering Twoism is now badly in need of a major phpBB upgrade. Under normal circumstances this would already be a fairly complicated process, but Twoism has never been a “normal” forum.

Years ago, Angel Draganov custom built and reshaped large parts of the forum itself(both themes). The distinctive Twoism look and atmosphere, the thing that makes the site *feel* like Twoism instead of a default phpBB board, was deeply woven into the codebase. A straightforward upgrade would effectively wipe much of that away. In other words: this is not a simple button press.
A huge amount of custom work needs to be rebuilt, adapted and tested carefully so the forum can move forward without losing its identity. That responsibility currently falls largely on **Techboy**.

After I personally hosted Twoism out of my own pocket for a very long time (with the occasional donation helping along the way), Techboy stepped in a few years ago and has generously hosted the forum himself ever since. Not because he had to, but laws between twoism.org HQ (Holland) and twoism.org datacenter (Techboy's mansion in the UK) made it challenging to pay for his service. Since he genuinely cares about keeping this place alive, and in control, he offered free hosting... :shock: .

He’s also the reason the forum has remained stable during recent traffic surges and BoC-related chaos. (Unlike a certain websites I could mention… ;))

Everything he does for Twoism happens in his free time. We’re hoping to begin this migration work asap (June 9th??), but realistically this will require both time and support.
Some members have already offered technical help, which is hugely appreciated. If you have phpBB experience, frontend/backend knowledge, migration experience, artistically or any related whatever skills, feel free to reach out, there may still be areas where an extra pair of hands could help enormously.

And for those who have asked how they can support the forum: donations are also deeply appreciated and will give Techboy a TurboBoost (promise!). Donations simply help cover hosting costs, keep 99,99% uptime and the enormous effort required to keep a nearly 20-year-old custom community, running properly in 2026.


I think sometimes it’s easy to forget that places like Twoism are no longer guaranteed to exist on today’s internet. Communities like this survive because people choose to keep them alive. And honestly… there still isn’t really another place quite like this one.

More information on the migration will follow soon.



Thank you all for continuing to make this unique little corner of the web feel like home.


Please >> DONATE HERE <<.
Do not use the donate button at the top of the forum because that'll go directly to me.
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Jonse
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Re: Transmission from the Static ** Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by Jonse »

Next paycheck. You got it. Thank you both, dearly.
Okay...now...wait for fog machine.
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llydia
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Re: Transmission from the Static ** Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by llydia »

Here's to many more more years. Always happy to assist you with your phpBbBBbBB migration. Good luck to Techboy, spiritually wishing him many coffees and very little PHP 503 errors. You know where I am at if you need extra eyes. Expect some juicy orange hexagonal dollars soon.
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hexagon
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by hexagon »

Happy to support. Thanks to all for keeping the ship running!

I can help with the migration - my background is in software.
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The Other
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by The Other »

A massive thanks to TechBoy and Aesthetics for keeping this special place so special for so long.

Great many memories here and I hope a great many more to come.
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by observation »

Brilliant work Aesthetics and Techboy, and all others who have served/are serving. I bet the recent firehose of activity that was directed at the site has been challenging to manage, so well done for keeping Twoism on its feet!
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mechanismj
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by mechanismj »

This is pretty much the only website I view anymore. I will chip in here soon!
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by turquoise70 »

Dropped a little skrill your way. Least I can do for the years and years of memories, getting my music career off the ground, and all the good friends. My life wouldn't be the same without this place.
"grand mistress of the grace note freedledeedee melodies" - Cupz, 2026
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by 1(90).png »

Truly the light that has shined the longest in this community. I really don't have much to offer other than best wishes to all involved in the enourmous task at hand. Hoping this place continues existing Somewhere Right Now in the Future :wink:

Much love <3
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by Techboy »

awh, thanks guys. from my perspective the technical challenges haven't been insurmountable so far - we recently had an outage because a thread blasted through the maximum number of posts the developers of phpbb anticipated, and of course the explosion of AI data scraping increased bandwidth needs and overwhelmed the database at one point because bots were creating many millions of sessions a day.

to me the real hard work is done by Aesthetics and the mod team, keeping a community as active as that relatively peaceful over the course of so many years is no mean feat. Not to mention to foster the atmosphere so well that we have people who've been using the forum for 20 years coming back here to discuss it when there is finally some activity around the band.

that said, it's undeniable that the upgrades are overdue. for a start there might be other hidden limits like the thread post count coming around the corner. and, I'm personally writing this right now on mobile using the "Tapatalk" thing and it's not a great experience... the current design predates phpbb support for responsive web design and came before smartphones being everyone's main internet surfing device. and you can tell!

I saw some people mentioning in another thread that they might be able to assist and I'll reach out with some details soon...
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meaty
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by meaty »

THANK YOU everyone who helps keep this forum alive!
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Manios
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by Manios »

I'll be sure to chuck in a couple of quid towards the monolith.
let's keep the pillar standing, aye? :D
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llydia
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by llydia »

Techboy wrote: we recently had an outage because a thread blasted through the maximum number of posts the developers of phpbb anticipated.
Oh my god my dear, my sweet summer child. You hit the integer limit? I should not be giggling right now. Techboy might kill me if I even say a word. I don't even want to know how you unconfucked that one. Hopefully it was.... just using "BigInt".

Also, was it the speculation train? Did it derail?

Edit:

Thread -32_768 to +32_767 be like

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747Music
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by 747Music »

Big thank you to Techboy and Robin both. Legends.

Techboy, have you considered writing a custom automated transfer of data? Although pre-phpBB, twoism.org still follows a predictable structure. Just need to determine and create reliable pointers from read to print and then start the process. This may only really work if the new location allows lower-level access to editing metadata like thread and post dates/times. I'm not sure about what options you're looking at or what's available, but I might be able to lend a hand in at least brainstorming solutions. I'm starting up a new semester in computer programming on Tuesday. That means I'll have my work environments set up, but it also means I may be a bit busy with schoolwork. I'll help where I can.
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by Josh »

Thank you Techboy and everyone keeping this place going. Twoism is an oasis in a world of shitty social platforms and I'm glad that it's going to keep on keepin' on. I will definitely make a donation.
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by Nikanj00101 »

Thanks for keeping this place up, I just sent a small thing your way.
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by SallyBear »

Well… here I am again. I was a wide‑eyed 28‑year‑old music obsessive when I first found this place, back when the internet was mainly forums, MP3s, and hope rather than ads, algorithms, and despair. Like many others, I arrived looking for fellow BOC music nerds from across the globe—and somehow, I never quite left (emotionally, at least).

Pretty much every other forum from that era has now shuffled off into the great digital afterlife, and I do miss that chapter of my life. Except this one. This one stubbornly refused to die. Respect.

One memory that’s really stuck with me is from a time when things were tough with my daughter, Kitty. Members here put together the most beautiful, spot‑on mix for her—a bedtime soundtrack that got us through years. It was played religiously. The mix itself has since vanished into the tech‑void, but I can still hear it in my head. (And if whoever made it is reading this: you genuinely mattered more than you knew.)

Fast‑forward a couple of decades, a new album drags me back in, and—miracles do happen—I’ve managed to recover my original account. Like finding an old coat and discovering money in the pockets.

I’ve recently had a bonus at work and when it lands at the end of the month, I’ll be sharing a bit of it with the place that was my online home for so many years. Anything to keep this place going and staying so relevant.

Now, entering my 50th year (!), this forum somehow feels even more relevant, and my appreciation that it’s still standing is honestly impossible to overstate. Thanks to everyone who helped me get back through the door. Still weird, still wonderful—still one of the very best corners of the internet.
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by broke »

Thank you for keeping this place alive and for remembering me that not all internet is evil.
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Aesthetics
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by Aesthetics »

Thank you all for the good vibes!

SallyBear wrote:One memory that’s really stuck with me is from a time when things were tough with my daughter, Kitty. Members here put together the most beautiful, spot‑on mix for her—a bedtime soundtrack that got us through years. It was played religiously. The mix itself has since vanished into the tech‑void, but I can still hear it in my head. (And if whoever made it is reading this: you genuinely mattered more than you knew.)
If I remember correctly there were a few compilations by other members and this one:
[media]https://www.twoism.org/various/GrimOnMb ... (2006).mp3[/media]

Cheers!
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MyKneesAreCold
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Re: Transmission from the Static **Keeping Twoism Alive**

Post by MyKneesAreCold »

Happy to support. I have not been as active here until recent events, but being able to log in to my account that I created during the TH hype over 13 years ago feels like nothing short of a miracle. My life has changed in so many unpredictable ways since then and this place truly feels like a portal to a simpler time.
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