About Hyrule.net
Hyrule.net was created December 30, 1998 (almost 10 years ago!) as a hobby by Dustin. As one of very first Zelda fan sites on the entire internet, it soon became very popular and very active. With the addition of The Zelda Chat Network which led to thousands of visitors to be able to chat with each other from Zelda sites across the net, Hyrule.net became one of the top[ 3 Zelda websites online in terms of visitors and popularity. It was THE best known and the most visited at points.
Hyrule.net’s slogan “The Original Zelda Online!” is not just a slogan, it isreminiscent of it’s history as being one of the oldest, most popular and well known Zelda fan sites online. Although popularity dwindled due to its downtime for a while, it is rapidly growing again and regaining popularity.
Hyrule.net plummeted in popularity when Dustin had to begin college and lacked time to run it. The site then was much more reliant on Dustin to manage it and provide content and news and had to be closed down and turned into just a forum. Mid 2005, Dustin received an offer by someone to run the site for him while he didn’t have time. Although these people worked hard in running the site, conflict arose as advertising proceeds were used by the volunteers to purchase unnecessary digital cameras and printers “to be used for the site”. As advertising funds were meant to be used to pay for the site’s vast bandwidth (as agreed upon), this caused major problems as Dustin was stuck with the bill. As Dustin felt it unfair that he was paying for bandwidth while the volunteers were purchasing electronics, Dustin removed the volunteer’s access to the site in 2006 and took it back into his own hands and completely re-created it from scratch.
On December 30, 2008, ten years after Hyrule.net’s creation, Dustin launched the latest version of Hyrule, complete with improved graphics, design, layout, content, and features. This is the current site you see today!
Hyrule.net is always interested in new ideas and new people to help run things and help with content. If you’re interested in helping, let Dustin know, post on the forums, or submit content through the forum. Get to know the moderators as well. The site is very much run by moderators these days. They work hard day and night to provide news and keep everything under control. This site wouldn’t be here without them. Click here to view the current staff.