what was the first ever question

[zzxxee]

to appear on ab and how long ago was it?

[ummmm]

hmmm...who got removed?

[andy-hughes]

There was no actual 'first question'. The site was launched in 2001 and seven writers (including myself) were employed to provide weekly features in each catagory - mine was Music - and to answer the questions and moderate the sectons.

So the AB laucnhed with a set of questions in each catagory, fewer then there are now, and off we all went.

[zzxxee]

do they still employ you now andy and can you get me a job??????????? lol

[andy-hughes]

Sadly not.

Once the AB became well established, the owners decided to take a risk and abandon the features and we were all dismissed. I have stayed on as a standard vontributor, and I am no longer employed.

The AB has changed hands a couple of times since its inception - and the current owners have kindly posted our feature material in each section - if you want to read my deathless prose, hit the Music section and clike the Features button.

[zzxxee]

will do andy did it upset you when you were no longer an employee of ab???

[andy-hughes]

No, not at all.

As a freelance writer, I am at the mercy of the decisions of my employers, and opportunities come and go without warning.

I really enjoyed writing my features for the AB, and would be delighted to take up my post again, but I appreciated that our roles were conceived to generate interest in a new website, and once that was established, the owners decided - correctly - that the site would run purely with its Q & A input.

The nature of freelance writing is that an apparentlyu secure post can vanish over night, and you simply enjoy the experience, and in my case, because I freelance part-time and write in leisure hours - never rely on the money, it may suddenly stop!

[zzxxee]

well as long as your happy in what you do andy fairplay x