From a tiny PC-help crew, through our first own TeamSpeak server, all the way to gamets6.com โ here's the whole (slightly quirky) story.
Honest answer: roughly since Skypecast disappeared โ so since around 2008. Back then I moved from Skype to my very first own TeamSpeak server, and the topic simply never let me go since.
No big corporation, no marketing team โ just a guy from Mรผnster who has kept servers running for over 15 years, loves tinkering with tech and bringing people together. The โjust-take-care-of-itโ attitude from the PC-help days stuck around: rather roll up my sleeves than complain.
It all started with a small community around โWikinger8โ: a colorful crew of about 12 helpers who helped total strangers with everyday PC problems every single day. The classic in our support slang: โddnโ โ Drucker druckt nicht (โthe printer won't printโ) ๐จ๏ธ. Plus everything from โinternet's goneโ to โmy PC is making weird noisesโ.
Back then it all ran over Skypecast โ Skype's public voice rooms for up to 100 people. And that's exactly how packed it was: on good days 100+ people at once. Those were really good times. ๐ซถ
Then Skype pulled the plug: Skypecast was discontinued in 2008 (it had been around since 2006). Suddenly our little living room was gone. The fix was obvious โ my first own TeamSpeak server. And the rest is, wellโฆ this site right here. ๐
For over 5 years our big TeamSpeak 3 servers got flattened by DDoS attacks practically every day. Right in the middle of a match: lag, disconnects, server gone. And no matter what we tried โ we could barely fight back. That's annoying. Really annoying.
โHalf the channel gets kicked mid-game โ and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it.โ
The curious part: behind the attacks were mostly other TeamSpeak server operators themselves (often from Romania). The โbusiness modelโ behind it is simple and pretty nasty โ knock enough foreign servers offline and their fed-up users eventually wander over to your own server. And that's exactly how it played out.
Instead of keeping on fighting windmills, we flip the script: no more fat single-server targets, but lots of small TeamSpeak servers. Small servers are simply uninteresting as an attack target โ and if one does wobble, the rest just keeps running. Let's see if the math works out. We're optimistic. ๐
And if an attack does catch you: a DDoS attack usually lasts only 5 to 15 minutes. So don't throw the router out the window โ just wait a moment, the server comes back all on its own.
Within a quarter of an hour you'll be back in. GG. ๐ฎ
Stress-free above all. A place to game, chat and hang out โ without the server dropping out from under you every few minutes. TS3 is running today, TS6 is coming as soon as it's ready. On gamets6.com you'll find all our servers in one place.