Forum Memories |
 Sep 20 2005, 01:59 PM
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The Newest Googlebot  Posts: 6,600 Joined: 1:00pm January 4, 2005 Location: Waiting for the G2   |
What a long, arduous, more-than-a-little-stressful, fascinating, surreal, strange, and oftentimes simply amusing trip it's been.
One year, eh? What have I done in the last year? I've taken a ton of college classes, learned Perl and PHP programming, managed an amusement park food stand (yum, funnel cakes!), I've gotten a new winter job shipping out Yogi Bear merchandise, now known as my "Yogi-work", I've gotten a nice new car....oh, wait, no, I didn't :dry: But I did get a nice new computer, that I did get. Wait, what? I didn't get that either? Oh, well crap. :lol: But the Lounge--man, that's a whole different story. We have done SO MUCH in a year. It all started with in November 2004, when a mostly-innocent comments poster who looks something like a cross between Orlando Bloom and Conan O'Brien e-mailed the mugwump-ess of a modest uber-site for HP, showing a modest proposal for a forum that, in truth, little resembles the final product you guys see before you today. The key ideas, though, remain. Our opening night was amazing and a leeetle bit overwhelming for the three admins and five mods seemingly pitted against half of the known world. Thankfully, our readers were more than willing to work together to help create the great atmosphere that we still have to this day of a feeling of warmth, welcome, and goodwill, and we found that we really didn't have to work very hard against our members as "forum cops", but could work with our members as guides and assistants, answering their questions and keeping things orderly while not cramping their style. Our April Fools' Day celebration was.....amazing. That had to be some of the most fun I've had in a day. The creation and subsequent amok-running of Peeves and Co. made for great comedy, but more importantly, it brought the staff closer together and it brought the members closer together as we played with each other and interacted in a way where we didn't have to worry about our actions and could just kick back and have fun. I value these moments where we can all gather as one and just revel. The reading groups, aww man. It took me sooo long to get my butt in gear, guys, on getting those finished. We finally got the whole shebang ready for you guys, and I think we got it right. :wink: When we closed those groups down in October, we had people who had to be dragged out kicking and screaming, they enjoyed it so much, and now we're about to unveil our new reading groups--more about that tonight as we look to the forum's future instead of looking back as we are now. Our Halloween celebration was definitely a not-to-be-missed night, as our ghosties prowled the board for a certain missing Noe. I must say, I really cracked up at how well our members seemed to interact with our characters and at the great interplay there. Once again, our whole forum seemed to not just come out of its shell, but to ditch the shell entirely and be worry-free and carefree for 24 hours, as we all worked together to have a truly great event. And that brings us to today. If there's anything I'm most proud of, it's the desire that our members have (whether intrinsic or learned) for a great forum. Our members love to make the effort and come up with true works of quality thought, and to spend the time to really invest themselves into the topic being discussed and frpm there, into the forum itself. From our members with fifteen posts to our members with fifteen hundred posts, everyone seems to want to contribute meaningfully to the forum and to truly make it their online home, and this is the warmth that we receive great compliments on time and time again, and honestly, all I can do is make the rules. It takes a great readership to take a forum beyond a "forum cops" relationship with their staff, and I really do think we've accomplished that here. So, we dedicate this day to you guys. We've planned a great scavenger hunt for you guys, we've wheedled some great new characters into showing up just for today, and anguinea, one of our forum moderators, has designed a beautiful (and funny!) banner just for our celebration. We hope you enjoy the next year with us as much as we all enjoyed the last. Sincerely, --Nick |
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Oct 21 2005, 12:04 PM
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MelvinTLC  Posts: 2,696 Joined: 1:57pm January 4, 2005 Location: My happy place  |
I don't have a favorite moment on the Lounge. I could never.
I have a favorite moment pre-Lounge. My favorite moment is when Nick Rhein e-mailed me with the most thorough proposal I've ever seen, in effect convincing me that we could have a forum. Leaky had always been against having a forum - not because we didn't want one, but because before the forum, we had exactly five staff members. Because of Nick, and because of this forum, Leaky has grown exponentially. Nick showed me what was possibly by opening the staff up. His vision and execution showed me what would be possible if Leaky allowed itself to grow. His dedication since has showed me that we made the right decision. This forum is always a joy for me to visit (and let's face it, I can't do much more than visit it, these days). The moderators and staff are so committed, that in a year, a whole year, this place has not even come close to degenerating into the kind of chatterfest I feared a Leaky forum would become. It is such a fun, intelligent, fun, innovative, fun, inspirational, fun, great, fun, hilarious, fun, insightful, fun, lots-of-stuff-and-oh-yeah-fun place, that I marvel each time. So no, I don't have a favorite moment. Except... all right, Peeves showing up is always pretty cool. -Melissa -------------------- "I am not big enough to love things the way I do!"
~Edna St. Vincent Millay |
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Jan 5 2006, 04:43 PM
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Hufflepuff Princess Posts: 1,371 Joined: 2:04pm January 4, 2005 Location: Head Bartender at the Cauldron News Bar |
When we discussed having this thread, and I knew I would be asked to write down my thoughts, my honest reaction was how in the world am I going to cram a whole year full of joy hard work and happiness into a few short sentences?
At the risk of sounding dangerously like I was listening to RENT while writing this, it surely is so hard for me to pick out those key moments of all the seconds of all the days that made this last year here in the lounge so special for me. Do I start with the conversations , and then the most amazing emails from Nick Rhein? It is because of Nick Rhein we have our forum; just amazing. Can I possibly describe the long hard hours, the amazing work, thought, care, and joy that our tiny group of friends with Nick, Melissa, John, Puffin, Torill, Lilly, Clare, Lord Fishcake and myself tried to bring as we sat around deciding about this forum...things like hey this bubbling cauldron would be cool, nah that thread topic sucks, woot! that skin looks bright welcoming and friendly? Do I say how nervous and exciting and wonderful our great red herring launch was? Can I tell you how much we laughed and thrilled along with you?. Then doors to the lounge finally opened, and we never looked back. There are a series of words and moments which are flashing through my mind right now. Peeves. April Fools. July 16. A week of Polls. Horcruxes. Halloween. Ships. Book Sorting. GoF Film. Alchemy. Snape. not to mention the RAB discussion that will never end. There are plenty of chats with members, in fact one really cool chamber is always full of em. I personally dig this Potter Party site the likes the fandom has never seen before that brought me such pride and joy. Does it sound lame to say how much I truly love all the new theories, new people and new topics all the time, every single day when I come to this place? well I do...and oh yes, there is one more thing, something called PotterCast. Squee to yall for sure!  But so far, all of this has just been words; words for just things, events that we all shared in. These were moments that brought ,I hope, each of us some sort of joy, fun, and a way to be part of the magical journey we are all on here together. But if I had to be completely honest, these things pale, and I do mean that, pale in comparison to the joy I get talking and working with the people on this site-members and staff alike. Does that sound hokey and sappy? Probably so. I can't possibly begin then, to articulate the great joy, affection ,and pride I have, knowing I am lucky enough to be around some truly exception people here as part of the lounge. I surely lack the ability to describe that at all, so I will finish here ,with just a few more words that come to my mind. 29,325 members. Elves. Graphics. Chat mods. Flooies. Tekkis. Worlds greatest Moderators. Admins. Family. Joy. Heart. Sue -------------------- 12/18/07: VICTORY FOR MY QUEEN HELGA HUFFLEPUFF
JKR:Hufflepuff did what was the most moral thing to do at that time...SU: She did not go around with a whip and say"Yah! You must work in the kitchens!"Right? JKR: No, definitely not. That would not be- No (SU: See?)Definitely not, John. SU: Thank you, Jo! |
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Jan 5 2006, 06:26 PM
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Waiting for Wednesdays Posts: 9,209 Joined: 7:57am January 28, 2005 Location: Hiding from Hurricanes |
I have so many favorite lounge moments, it's really hard to just pick one, or even just a few.
I remember the day I signed up for The Lounge, and the teacher in me thought this would be a great place for my students. Within a week I had my students here doing research and laughing at the antics. Some of my best Lounge moments have also been some of my best teaching moments, laughing and listening to the ideas of the members while I showed a wonderful group of kids that literary discussion could be fun! I had no idea what was in store for me when I received the PM from Nick, the man who is responsible for this madness we call the Lounge, asking me to come on as staff. I was suddenly thrust into this mad world of late night editing, and posts and CSS and red buttons that dump entire forums if you are not careful (we don't touch those)! The best moments for me were really based on the people I associate with them. I loved the ROR thread where we brain stormed the practice reading group. We blazed our way onward to setting up the HBP reading groups and we awaited the book release. Summer madness led to the Pottercast craze and the Live Pottercast in Salem, where I was finally able to meet several staff members (more on them below). Halloween was such a great time for me on the lounge and I felt such a great bond with the moderators! November meant New York, where I met several other staff members and was able to attend the red carpet event! Then in December Melissa asked me to join the Leaky staff while Nick offered me a job as a forum administrator. One of the greatest things about this place are the people. I am afraid if I named all of them names you'd go to sleep - or I'd leave someone out. I realized as I wrote this, that as much as I love Harry Potter and I enjoy this forum, but it's the people here are what keep me coming back. The Lounge family has been an incredible asset to my life over the past year. The most incredible thing about the past year has been all of you! Have a great birthday everone! Doris --------------------  My Avon Breast Cancer Walk Page and Blog! I'm In It to End It! |
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Jan 25 2006, 11:58 AM
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Manager of the Rabble-rousers  Posts: 8,840 Joined: 11:41am June 29, 2005 Location: Wishing I was shopping  |
*My favorite Member moment: The Halloween scavenger hunt... I loved the Halloween scavanger hunt because it gave the members an opportunity to have fun, meet new members, hang out in different areas of the boards, and hang around with the mods and characters. (Not to mention I found John!)
*Other great moments: The polls leading up to the Half Blood Prince release. Without them I would still be a LL lurker! They are what got me interested in the Leaky Lounge (I had known about it since it started, but never really felt like posting.) These discussions of if the squid would end up on the quidditch team, or who would be snogging the squid made me want to join and start sharing my theories! *The start of Pottercast! Pottercast launched my full on Leaky Lounge obsession. Before I was just slightly addicted; Pottercast brought that addiction to another level. Pottercast lead to my coming out of the Harry Potter closet, and lead to me meeting many wonderful people at the live Pottercast in NYC! I got to meet Leah, Doris, Sue, Melissa, John, Nick, Alex, Other Kim, and so many other cool people! -------------------- |
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Jan 25 2006, 02:08 PM
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Diagon Alley Magical Bricklayer Posts: 2,876 Joined: 8:17pm June 28, 2005 Location: waiting on summer |
For me - it was Halloween - although it was more for seeing all the threads rather than saving John... :wave: My other favorite was the Vaults. I loved my cozy vault! That and spending WAAAAY too much time in Obscurus.
-------------------- "
It's not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers." J. Blume |
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Jan 27 2006, 04:07 PM
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Director of Farcical Aquatic Ceremonies  Posts: 9,160 Joined: 2:55pm January 28, 2005 Location: Classified, until such time as the Ministry sees fit to release it. |
My favorite Leaky memory is the run-up to the release of HBP. Everyone was so excited and the Lounge was a bit insane while we all waited for the milk to expire. Tied in with all of that is reading Melissa's accounts of her trip to Scotland and meeting JKR.
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 Jan 27 2006, 06:04 PM
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President of the Order of the Bun Posts: 2,195 Joined: 10:47am January 28, 2005 Location: Burlington, WI USA |
I have a couple of favs:
[*]PEEVES on April Fools. Best surprise ever. [*]Book discussion groups--I absolutely loved having some in-depth analyzing with everyone in my vault. Hopefully I'll find some time to do this again! [*]Finding other librarians who love and support Harry Potter. I actually like that we have our own section on these boards... -------------------- "Not the ruddy librarian again?" said Ron. p 218 GoF
Where's it coming from? The LOUNGE! (from: Clue, the Movie) |
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Jan 27 2006, 08:02 PM
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My all time favorite moments of Leaky: the weeks leading up to HBP.
Complete and total pandemonium. Crazy posts, waiting for the milk and cheese to spoil, insane theories, stalling out in the shipping lanes, and blissful banter with other freaked out obsessed fans! |
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Jan 27 2006, 09:32 PM
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Selling Illegal Items at Borgin and Burkes Posts: 2,820 Joined: 7:09am January 28, 2005 Location: Trying to get ready for new school year |
Favourite moments:
* Cauldron Shop launch night---I foudn that thread recently it was fun to read through. That was how I got to know a lot of my friends around here, camped out in that thread trying to figure out what the ??? were for. * PotterParties--the whole process from getting it planned out and contacting book stores to the frantic pace to get everything in before the book came out. But especially the launch  Teasing members was a blast.* Run up to HBP--otherwise known as "spoiler week". The endless YIM conferences while patroling the boards, the staff had as much fun as the members. *MY FRIENDS!!! KIM --------------------  Together we will find a cure ~Families of SMA Help find a cure for neuromuscular diseases--make life easier for these families. |
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