The origins of the Pandora Project came from the thoughts of a single person who wanted to create a community where people could interact in a way which was both positive for them as well as them being able to enjoy something they loved.
It all started back with a "club" called YWADC (Your Writing and Drawing Club) which had members who interacted via the postal system and would get a monthly or so newsletter that had stories, poems, news articles, and drawings. While YWADC spanned through part of the 80's and 90's, it did end up disappearing due to time constraints and the introduction of other avenues that saw potential.
This led indirectly the project NFL Picks. It was originally created between a small group of local friends to see who could pick the best throughout the season. In 1999, there really were no free sites to be able to do this. As such, it led to the development of the NFL Picks website and brand. While membership does ebb and flow, this project is still active well over a decade since it's creation. This fuels it's development as people enjoy something for free that can be used as a point of pride as well.
The creator of this project (known simply as DaViceroy) loved RPG's and in the mid to late 90's created "Star Trip". It was a play by mail and paper system that allowed for a very open ended story flow. This was a very limited membership, but the stories fueled the desire to continue down this avenue to allow people to be able to interact in fun, fantasy environments. This game was a homage to Star Trek which is something that DaViceroy has been a big fan of. It was a great way to destress.
"Star Trip" directly led to the original Secfenia RPG. This change in format was decided upon in a way to get more people involved. Dropping the "Star Trek" vibe, it led towards a more interdimensional RPG with Secfenia being it's own planet. This RPG was played primarily during the late 90's. It was primarily a paper/Bulletin Board System (BBS). For those not aware, the BBS was a computer that you dialed into like Prodigy or Suncoast Free-net and predated what most would call the modern internet.
Towards the new century, Secfenia developed into a new version that kept some of the same history, but dropped the interplanetary travel aspect. This version is sometimes referenced as "Secfenia: Age of the Viceroy". This version continued primarily on forums and was a free-play interaction with a "Secfenia Tribune" that helped sum up some of the events that went on. Daviceroy as GM would help decide elections based upon all of the players interactions.
Unfortunately, the server that Secfenia was hosted on had a complete crash and we were never really ever able to recover. The RPG was shelved and a group decision by Nathan Albright and Bobby Russ was to make a Secfenia Dark story that was based on what could have happened in a Dark Alternate universe. These collection of stories are available on Secfenia's website.
After DaViceroy played in some other RPG's and some requests from players interested in a new RPG, development started in 2009 for "The World of Secfenia". The development of Secfenia has continued to this day attracting players who enjoy the fantasy and open aspect of the IG interface and forum combination.
Some players from "The World of Secfenia" as well as former co-RPG'ers mentioned to DaViceroy that they did not prefer the fantasy aspect of an RPG and wanted a more historical type of game. This got the creative juices going in DaViceroy's mind. This started the framework of what will be Colonies which will allow a different experience for RPer's while giving a bit more strategy options in a more historical context.