In the Beginning

Cousin Couples, the website, was first launched on the world wide web on September 27, 1998. KC, the creator of the site, wanted to find others out there who, like himself, had found happiness in the arms of a cousin. Nobody knows exactly how old KC and his wife LC really are, or how long they have been married…. at least not very many people! The original design of cc.com was quite happenstance. The site was more of a hobby, an experiment than anything else in the very beginning, and KC’s web-designing savvy had not yet grown into its full potential. The site was difficult to navigate and very limited on information… and none too professional looking at the time! 😉 He was determined, however, to put it out there in hopes of finding others that he and his wife could relate to, and purchased scripts for a message board and chat room so that it would be interactive. In just a few short weeks, on November 8th, Cousin Couples had its very first visitor. KC and LC were elated. Before long, more people discovered the site, and began developing friendships among themselves. Never in his wildest dreams did KC ever expect the growth that his small, obscure corner of the web would experience over the next few years.

Administration

In August of 1999, another couple discovered cousincouples.org. CnMe (LadyC) had married her first cousin once removed (Me&C) earlier that year, and while searching for others like herself and her husband, stumbled across the website. CnMe, a newspaper columnist and literary reviewer, recognized the need for more in-depth information at cc.com, and voluntarily dedicated herself to conducting as much research as possible on the many issues that cousin couples face. Thanks to the combined efforts of KC and CnMe, the site now has the most comprehensive information available in the world regarding US laws, various religions and their stand on cousin marriage, genetics and kinship as the subjects apply to cousins. cousincouples.org continued to grow and suddenly was gaining attention in the national media. By the spring of 2000, three couples from cc.com had been invited to be on the Montel Williams show. To date, KC, CnMe, and a few other very special individuals at cc.com have been interviewed by Fox News, twice on Montel, and on numerous radio broadcasts around the country. Internationally, one radio news broadcasting station in Australia is currently putting together a series of documentaries featuring some of our Aussie cousins. For the most part, the interviews and responses have been favorable. By June of 2000, the extensive research and numerous pages on the website had outgrown its server and had to move to a new host offering more space. CnMe partnered with KC to redesign the website to make it more efficient and easier to navigate. Together they gave the site a brand new professional appearance. Before the first anniversary date at the new server, the site had exceeded its allotted 50 megabytes of space and 3 gigabytes of monthly bandwidth. The support of cc.com’s “family” became very evident when, within 36 hours, enough contributions had been collected to upgrade to 100 megabytes of space for the following 12 months. Together they accomplished a dream of making cc.com the leading information and support network for cousin couples in the world. By the spring of 2001, cousincouples.org was receiving between 30 and 35 thousand visits per month.

Membership

We are frequently asked, “how do I become a member?” Actually, we refer to all of our frequent visitors as members. At this time there is no registration process. Just jump in and introduce yourself, on the board or in the chat room!

Special Events

Periodically cc.com invites distinguished guests, experts in their chosen fields, to visit the chat room of cc.com. These special guests are very eager to answer questions that others may have, and give advice when appropriate. When such guests agree to join us at cc.com, they do so voluntarily and without compensation. We understand that their time is very valuable, and greatly appreciate their willingness to spare an hour with us. The transcripts are always made available on our website as quickly as possible for future reference, and for those who were not fortunate enough to attend.

Privacy

The administrators of cc.com are very protective of the right to privacy of our members. Email addresses are completely voluntary on the part of each individual visiting our site. Most individuals use an anonymous, web-based email program such as Hotmail so as not to reveal any personal information about themselves. We encourage all members and visitors be very careful about revealing anything more than general information about themselves. Revealing the state one lives in, for instance, is generally safe, where as giving people the name of the city in which one lives may not be wise. The administrators of this site do not sell, trade, or otherwise give any personal information to any third party. Occasionally if someone (a troll) is creating a disturbance in the chat room or on the board, their IP number will be traced and the proper authorities notified. We maintain the right to monitor all conversations made in public or private in the chat room or on the board, and to take whatever action is deemed appropriate for those who abuse the privileges associated with the public areas of cc.com.

Copyright

All information, including messages posted on the public areas of this site, are the property of cousincouples.org. We do not allow third parties to repost such information without written permission. No portion of this website may be reproduced without proper credit to cousincouples.org and our copyright notice accompanying the reproduction. Such reproductions are limited only to personal use. Any commercial use, including reprinting of any information in a publication or other media is prohibited without prior consent of the administrators.

P.S. A note from “KC”, the founding member:

This site started as a “home page”… remember those? It was a simple, single page with my email address. I wanted to meet a few others who had married a cousin. That’s all. The website very soon took on a life of its own. I didn’t just find a few cousin couples, I found hundreds of them from all over the world.

The website was never meant to promote anything but facts about cousin marriage. That’s all.

Thank you for stopping by. Please share your story on the message board if you are involved. We would love to hear from you.