Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. Today, as part of our celebration of 10 years of KarateForums.com, we will be putting on a three hour, livestream party featuring special guests and a chat room where you can listen and participate. The livestream will be from 5 PM to 8 PM Eastern Time (GMT/UTC -4). Access the livestream: http://www.karateforums.com/livestream.php When you visit the actual livestream page (at http://www.karateforums.com/livestream.php), you will be presented with instructions on how to sign in. On the show, we will be discussing the history of KarateForums.com, how it got started, taking questions from this thread and the chat room and more. We'll also be talking with a number of guests about their background and what KarateForums.com means to them. Danielle Williams (DWx), Brian Walker (bushido_man96) and James Dasher (jamesdasher) will be joining me as guest hosts for the first, second and third hours, respectively. Guest wise, we'll be joined by Jay (Jay), Jeff (Jeffrey), Joey (ShotokanKid), Bob (sensei8), Alex (tallgeese), JusticeZero and Doug (SBN Doug). We hope that you'll join us for the fun, listen in and chat with everyone via the chat room, which will be an important part of the show for all 3 hours. I can't wait! Thank you for reading and for supporting KarateForums.com. Sincerely, Patrick

Congrats Rusty! Patrick

Thanks for sharing, Brian. Patrick

Thanks Brian. Keep them coming! Patrick

Welcome aboard. Patrick

Thanks Danielle.

Welcome aboard, Paul. Patrick

I do a lot of administrative stuff behind the scenes. Heh. Patrick

Awesome, Alex! Of course, anyone is welcome to ask me a question at any time via PM or through the contact form, but I figured it'd be fun to see what people would like to hear me talk about on the show. We'll tackle both of those! Thanks, Patrick

Thanks for sharing that, Alex! Very well said! That is cool about you, Groinstrike and MasterPain! Patrick

Hey all, When you think of KarateForums.com, who stands out to you as someone who makes the site more enjoyable for you? It doesn't have to be one person, it can be many. You can never name everyone, but that doesn't mean you can't praise some of them! Thanks, Patrick

Good idea. Thanks Dobbersky! Patrick

Hey all, The livestream is on Saturday from 5-8 PM ET (GMT/UTC -4) and as part of the show, we're going to talk about the history of KarateForums.com. Is there anything that you'd like to know about me or the community's history? Please let us know and we'll likely ask and answer it on the show! Thanks, Patrick

Thank you for sharing this, Heidi! I didn't realize that you met Laurie here! I thought you had known her previously. That is so wonderful. I appreciate all of the kind words. It's very touching to read this and I appreciate all of the great contributions that you have made to this community. You are certainly one of the people I think of when I think of people who have had an impact around here! Thank you! Patrick

Excellent! Patrick

Wow, James, thank you. It is great to read this and I appreciate all of the kind words. It means a lot to me and to look back at this story and those times... it's special. Thank you. Yeah. As I like to say, I can't be biased if I don't know anything! Haha. Patrick

My pleasure. Patrick

Nice of you to say, Brian. Thanks. Patrick

I asked all members of staff if they'd like to write an article like this and Jeffrey was one of the ones that did. Thank you, Jeffrey, for sharing these sentiments and for all of your contributions to the community. Patrick

Excellent, Ashley. I hope to have a guest list posted up tomorrow, so you will have an idea of who some of the people are who are coming on as a guest - plus, we may just pull people on from the chat and call them up. Patrick

Thanks nanook660, Danielle and Ashley. Anyone else?

Tammy! Awesome. Thank you! I appreciate you stopping by and adding your thoughts, which I really enjoyed reading. It's interesting to learn what people take away from their time, not only on this community, but also as a member of the staff, which is a completely different experience. It's funny to look back, isn't it? You're absolutely right, some of what we dealt with made it into the book, without names, of course. "Pretty epic" about covers it. Hahaha. Congrats on your continued advancement in life, Tammy. Even if you never pick up the martial arts again, you'll always be an important part of the history of this community. For those who don't know, Tammy was a fairly early and long time member of the staff. She hasn't been active in a number of years, but was a very important part of the team during her tenure as we dealt with, probably, the biggest challenges that we've ever faced as a community. Doug and Pat were part of that time, too. Thanks, Patrick

She is the longest currently serving member of our staff! I'm not sure if she has spent more time on the staff than anyone has, ever, but actually... I expect that that is probably the case, without looking at it too hard. Patrick

Hey all, With everything else going on, I didn't want to let this slip: Heidi (ninjanurse) hit 5,000 posts earlier this mark! It's a huge mark. Only four have reached it and I'm proud and happy to say all 4 visited the forums today - me, Brian (bushido_man96), Pat (SaiFightsMS) and Heidi! Heidi's posts count for quality and her contributions to the community as a whole have been hugely important. Thank you, Heidi! Patrick

Hey all, Way back when, if you can remember, what led you to KarateForums.com? And, if you remember, why did you hit the register button and sign up? What prompted you to do so, rather than moving on? Thanks, Patrick