My Joomla! story started after I finally found a satisfying solution to present my genealogy in a proper way. The software required PHP support and got me to find web hosting that provided that. Curious as I always am, I discovered all the *free* software on the automatic installer the hosting also provided. Yes, I tried them all, but somehow Joomla! triggered something in me and soon I found a purpose to use it for. I started building a website with Joomla! and running into to trouble. But every time I got stuck, the Dutch forum I searched on helped me find the solutions to my problems. While being at that, I saw questions from other users that I already found the answer on, and I started answering their questions, totally unaware of that I was actually getting involved in an Open Source Project and developing a passion for it. My contribution on that Dutch forum didn't go unnoticed. Soon I received a message from a team member, asking me if I'd be willing to get involved with the translation team. My answer was positive, and not much later I found myself working on a translation of the entire backend of the, then new Joomla! 1.5 version. There is no better way to learn Joomla then to translate it! While translating and testing the translation, I run into the famous "bugs". I learned that they most likely wont get fixed if I didn't report them. It took me to the next level of involvement in the international project, the Joomla Bug Squad. Meanwhile we had to fork the Dutch community, together with a couple of others we started JoomlaCommunity.eu which evolved until today to a very vibrant Dutch community containing a huge number of Joomla User Groups spread over the country, organizing several Pizza Bugs and Fun events over the year, and of course the Dutch JoomlaDays each year. After getting more and more involved in the international project I was, much to my surprise, nominated and elected as a board member of Open Source Matters. If someone ever told me back when I started looking at Joomla for the first time, I would be doing what I do today, I probably would have never believed it. I am grateful for everything I learned by working in the project and the friends I learned to know all over the world. It's truly amazing how a passion can connect us across boundaries and language barriers.

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