Editing Homestar Runner (section)

===2000–2009: Launch and initial popularity===
Around 1999, Mike recognized how popular [[Adobe Animate|Flash]] animation was taking off, and he and his younger brother Matt Chapman started to learn Flash on their own.<ref name="io9 oral" /> Looking for something on which to practice, they found inspiration in the old "children's" book.<ref name="kevinscott">{{Cite web |title=The Homestar Runner Interview |url=http://members.shaw.ca/kevinscott/Homestar/index.html |last=Scott, Kevin |date=May 20, 2003 |website=Kevin's Spot |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20051222112111/http://members.shaw.ca/kevinscott/Homestar/index.html |archive-date=December 22, 2005 |access-date=May 28, 2006}}</ref> Their initial cartoons were launched on their dedicated website, homestarrunner.com, by 2000. Mike animated the cartoons, Matt provided the voices of the male characters, and Mike's girlfriend (now wife) Missy Palmer provided the voice of Marzipan.<ref name="Wired" /><ref name="FAQ" />

They initially started off with shorts that featured competitions between Homestar Runner as a heroic character and Strong Bad as the villain, but these did not really capture viewers. Mike and Matt came up with the idea of animating the scenes between competitions; Matt stated "that was the stuff that was funnier, the stuff happening between the plot points, which is hilarious because we hadn't even established a routine of making cartoons about competitions, we'd made like one".<ref name="io9 oral" /> From May 2000 to February 2001,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Homestar Runner Evolution Photo |url=http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/homestar-runner/images/37785/title/homestar-runner-evolution-photo |last=Temptasia |year=2002 |publisher=Fanpop |access-date=May 26, 2013 |archive-date=May 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526141235/http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/homestar-runner/images/37785/title/homestar-runner-evolution-photo |url-status=live }}</ref> the website and cartoons started out with different art styles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Original Website! |url=http://www.homestarrunner.com/oldflash.html |last=The Brothers Chaps |publisher=Homestar Runner |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011227035300/http://www.homestarrunner.com/oldflash.html |archive-date=December 27, 2001 |access-date=May 26, 2013}}</ref> In February 2001, it gained a new look, which has largely remained consistent to the present with minor changes.

The site grew slowly at first and primarily through word-of-mouth. They were able to sell a "few dozen" T-shirts by 2001.<ref name="io9 oral" /> Mike moved back to New York in mid-2001 and he and Matt started crafting the first Strong Bad Email ''some kinda robot'', intending this to be a weekly feature.<ref name="io9 oral" /> The Strong Bad Email series proved very popular, generating significant interest in the site; when the brothers were late in publishing a new Strong Bad Email, they received angry emails asking where the new short was, which Matt said was "a cool feeling to know you're as important as a cup of coffee or morning crossword to some folks".<ref name="io9 oral" /> Their father suggested Matt quit his full-time job to devote time to creating more Homestar Runner shorts.<ref name="io9 oral" /> With the number of visitors to the site growing, by January 2003 the site had outgrown its original web host, [[Yahoo]]. Merchandise sales paid for all of the costs of running the website as well as living costs of the creators, whose retired parents managed many of the business aspects.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holy crap |url=http://www.dennews.com/media/paper309/news/2004/04/23/TheVerge/holy-Crap-669677.shtml |last=Meinheit, Matt |date=April 23, 2004 |website=The Daily Eastern News |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927230404/http://www.dennews.com/media/paper309/news/2004/04/23/TheVerge/holy-Crap-669677.shtml |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |access-date=August 18, 2006}}</ref>

The brothers considered the period between 2002–2005 to be their most creative and successful, exploring various different media for the shorts and having a large quantity of merchandise. Matt considered a day in February 2004 to be the highlight of the series, having received a demo tape from [[They Might Be Giants]] for a song to use in a Strong Bad Email short and a life-sized replica of [[Tom Servo]] from ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' producer [[Jim Mallon]] on the same day.<ref name="io9 oral" /> They also reflected on how Homestar Runner had been a common point of reference over which newly formed couples bonded and how [[Joss Whedon]] incorporated references to Homestar Runner into his television shows ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and ''[[Angel (1999 TV series)|Angel]]'' as further signs of success.<ref name="io9 oral" />