The content began way before the site did, in September 2003. Back then, a site with lots of info and content called SpongeBob Area was the largest site about the show on the web. One weekend morning, I (a mod known as WIrules on the site's forum) didn't have much to do. Thinking it'd be fun to help with content on the site, I asked Chi Chi, SBA's owner, if I could help out. She thought it was a great idea and approved.
Wondering what to make for SBA, I came up with the idea of 'episode capsules': pages with a bunch of info on each episode. I put in my SpongeBob "Halloween" DVD and gathered info on the episode "Scaredy Pants" to form a
capsule. (Back then, capsules didn't have info on the episode's running time, which VHS it's on, a one-sentence summary ("In Brief"), the production number, observations, or as much of a detailed description ("Story"). Chi Chi put the capsule on the site in October.
I kept making these capsules for SpongeBob Area. The Secret Box; Dying For Pie; Something Smells; Welcome to the Chum Bucket; Pizza Delivery; Mermaidman and Barnacleboy IV; Sailor Mouth; I Was a Teenage Gary; Pickles; and My Pretty Seahorse became capsules throughout the site's existance. (Mermaidman and Barnacleboy IV and Pizza Delivery aren't on The Mermalair, if you're wondering.)
Sadly, SpongeBob Area didn't last long (only fourteen months after it was created). Chi Chi disappeared, and ETaB685, the site's co-owner, wasn't satisfied with the site. He deleted it in June of 2004, and my capsules no longer had a home. A lot of work was put into them and I was still making more, so I needed somewhere to put them. The sites I liked weren't interested in taking them, and I didn't want to give them to sites I didn't like. Then, I was in luck. My friend planned on making a site and wanted my capsules, so I was happy to let him have them. Before the site launched, he changed his mind and didn't make it. I still had nowhere to put my content.
In October 2004, I was messing around with Page Builder on my Geocities account late at night when I realized something: I could use this to make a capsule site! So I chose the name The Mermalair over Robot Pirate Island (I wanted the site to be named after a location on the show), whipped up this uninteresting banner, and begun to transfer my capsules onto Page Builder. However, I quickly realized that you don't have much freedom with Page Builder, and it plain stinks. HTML was the way to go, so I learned it. (And the rest is history)
