This has been an interesting year for our fledgling community, marked by growth in a lot of areas - not so much in pure traffic, but a more diverse, developed user base than what we started off as. I'm happy to see the forum kind of take an identity of its own the longer its around; I think there were trying times when we (as in the collective community) wondered if this was a failed experiment. I think we can all pretty much agree that is no longer the case.
Some of you aren't privy to personal information of users outside of aliases and screen names, but I'm also glad to say that we've got a core group of actual good people. I've gotten to know some folks better over the past year, and I don't just like talking to them - I actually respect their opinions.
I personally have seen some real rough patches this year and right now I'm going through one of the most trying times in my young life, but several people have really been there for me. Several people from this very community. And that's the kind of community we have - we can be irreverent and asinine at times, but there's also a legitimate human side that's absent from similar places. I'm proud to say I know some of you as just not aliases, but people.
Merry Christmas to all of you and I look forward to ringing in the New Year at the 'bore.
