Patrick

OH MY GOSH... I just realized that if you look closely at the URL of this thread: https://karateforums.com/topic/52125-24-years-of-karateforumscom/ "52125" 5/21/2025. Today! That is wild! That number is simply an accumulating number that counts upward with each new topic posted here. I can't even begin to fathom the odds of that happening, like having the exact number of threads/topics here over 24 years to lead up to the day we turn 24 where the number of this topic matches the day we turn 24.

Hey all, It was on this day, 24 years ago, that we launched this community. Last year, at this time, I opened up public testing for a new version of KarateForums.com on modern software. We were still on our (very) old software that eventually would have led to this community breaking and simply ceasing to exist. After months of testing (between the staff and member testing periods) and years of testing behind the scenes that I had completed with @Chrispian, we migrated to our new platform over an intense 4 days culminating in an opening on September 9, 2024. Over 8 months later, it's clear to me that our combined efforts were a big success. Our slowly breaking platform is no longer breaking and, in fact, updates to the latest version of our software have been installed multiple times, helping to ensure our platform remains online and secure. All the work that @Chrispian and the folks at Invision Community did (along with my annoying insistence, ha) to ensure that passwords would work paid off. Whether you registered in 2001 or 2021, your password worked when our new site launched. It has all worked so well, and I'm grateful for your help and support. 24 years is such a long-time, and with it, there are so many people that have made a mark on this community over the years. I'd like to extend a thanks to all the members who made amazing contributions since our migration. This includes @ashworth, @aurik, @Bradlee, @bushido_man96, @Chuck, @crash, @DarthPenguin, @Drew, @Fat Cobra, @Himokiri Karate, @JazzKicker, @KarateKen, @Luther unleashed, @Montana, @Nidan Melbourne, @pandaGIRL, @Revario, @RJCKarate, @ryanryu, @sensei8, @Spartacus Maximus, @Wado Heretic, @Wastelander, @Wayofaswede, @Zaine, and others! Thank you! I celebrated today by uploading an avatar for the first time in several years, since I tried to change my old Yankees logo into something else and realized avatars were 100% broken on the old site! On that note, I'll continue to bring enhancements (mostly small, occasionally bigger than that) to this community, but the main thing I wanted to do was to get us on modern software that would be up-to-date, because that will naturally introduce new features over time, too! My ability to do things here always rests on the time I can squirrel away from chasing my toddler and other pursuits. Thank you to everyone who has made KarateForums.com a special place to be and, if you're reading this, that's probably you! This also means that next year will mark 25 years! Which is a massive milestone. Which means we now need to think about ideas to celebrate that! Please feel free to let me know if you have any. Thanks again, Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. Our honoree for February is... @ryanryu for the second time! Thank you for all of the contributions that you have made to our community over the last 15+(!) years, ryanryu. I appreciate you being a part of this community. Thanks, Patrick

Glad to hear.

Congrats! Happy for you.

Following up on recent conversations within this thread... https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-ineligibility-status-after-death-decision I'll be interested to see what happens with Joe Jackson.

Thanks Drew. Technically, I guess it also hasn't been different since I was a kid, too, ha. Thanks for sharing this. Sorry for the trouble. Is this with regard to private messages or public posts/threads? If public, can you link to an example? I appreciate it!

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. Our honoree for January is... @Montana for the third time! April 18 marked 18(!) years since Montana joined the community, which is pretty wild. And I see you are closing in on 1,000 posts, as well. Thank you for all of the contributions that you have made to this community over the years, Montana! Thanks, Patrick

Thanks for asking, DarthPenguin. It is, yes! We're catching up.

The 18th was published in English on January 7 (I think that's what I was referring to here). And the 19th just came out on April 1. Our library system got it quickly, so I've already devoured it! Really enjoyed the series! Not sure yet if I will watch the anime or not.

My wife and I love it, and that led to my brother loving it. We discovered it after it was already all done. So funny. We do use subtitles, but as the show went on, we needed them a little less. I've recommended it to many people. Finished the comic, as well, and loved it. I bought two signed copies (one for my brother) and an unsigned one, and they sent me three signed ones! We also have a couple of their Jack and Victor logo glasses even though I don't drink. We totally plan to visit "Craiglang" one day. My wife has actually been to Glasgow, but I never have.

Looks like you meant to include this video, KarateKen! Adding it in:

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. Our honoree for December is... @Wado Heretic, who becomes the first member to receive this honor for the fifth time! Wow! Thank you all of the incredible contributions that you have made over the years, Wado Heretic. You've definitely left a mark here. Thanks, Patrick

Love this topic, and look forward to seeing what others share. Thanks for starting it, @crash. This is only partially related, but it's something fun I've witnessed after managing this community for almost 24 years. It's actually one of the things I love talking about when I tell people outside of this community about this community. Which is that we have had people disappear for a long time (more than just a year or two... 5 years, 10 years I think) and then come back, join back in, and be glad we're still here (I hope, ha). Your activity over the years is actually an example of this sort of thing happening, because you went over 15 years without making a post, from 2006 to 2022, and then, you went from mid-2022 to this March, and popped up again, which I loved to see. I always find that really delightful because I know that some people have sort of ventured off on the internet and maybe they've done the Facebook thing or got active on mainstream social, and then decided they had enough of that and wanted more of whatever this community is to them. But there are other reasons. For example, it could tie into breaks in their training, as you discuss here. Like when they had a break, they had less to talk about. It is also true we've had people who were unable to train for a while stay engaged here as a way of maintaining touch with the martial arts, so it comes in all shapes and forms. It could also just be that something happened in their life that demanded priority, and they no longer had the time. But whatever it is, it's always fun when people come back.

Thanks for being for a good sport, @KarateKen! You're right, this was our April Fools' Day joke for 2025! I hope that everyone had a fun day.