A whole decade ago, a small group of highly-motivated penguins ventured off of the comfortable Battlements of 2Fort and into the wider world of Team Fortress 2 to create a pub community in their vision. Thus, The Corner Pub was born for penguins from all reaches of the Internet to mingle and shoot each other in the face. Though penguins are flightless birds, the founding members of TCPub gave wings to the original All-Around server, and the community soared to great heights. In its heyday, The Corner Pub servers were brimming with faces, both familiar and new, with alltalk banter making children cry and grown folks feel vindicated. Before all of this Matchmaking nonsense, it was not an uncommon complaint that there weren't enough server slots like the other 32-player poopfest servers or that class limits meant that 5 Engineers could not egregiously defend Badwater last together. However, that was part of the beauty of TCPub: it was made in the best interest of the community we wanted to see playing, not simply to be as popular as possible (though, donations were greatly appreciated by dharma_bum). The Corner Pub was designed to be exactly what the name implied. It was just a place where you could come to after a long day dealing with life's woes and relax with your friends because everyone knew your name.

After 10 years, it's probably safe to say that most have gone in different directions both in life and online. Think of it this way: a young penguin who may have hung around at the crest of their adolescence at 13 years of age would now be 23 years old. That's old enough to have graduated college, be a working member of society with bachelor degree-level qualifications, be a parent, homeowner, AND do their own taxes. Feel old yet? Well if you are reading this, that means you are living in the past and have probably achieved none of those milestones since you spend your free time on the Internet keeping up with obscure Steam groups haha. Jokes aside, it warms what little of a soul I have to know that some people here are still in contact with one another and that bonds that were created in the yearling days of the community have stood the test of time.

From the first days of TCPub to its eventual winding down, unforgettable memories were made. What's more, irreplaceable friendships were formed, and for many, The Corner Pub became a second home. Though the TF2 server has been long out of commission, the spirit of TCPub lives on both in our hearts and via the black magic of the Internet (remember: once it's on the Internet, it lives forever). What does the future hold for The Corner Pub? At this point, nothing definitive. But who knows? Maybe a certain Scout-penguin hybrid may be waiting to be met on the horizon.

Happy birthday, penguins,

-Cathy