Patrick

Hello, Welcome to the voting period for the 17th annual KarateForums.com Awards! Through these awards, we recognize just a few of the individuals who have made outstanding contributions to KarateForums.com in the past year. You submitted your nominations and, from those, we have our KarateForums.com Awards 2018 nominees. In all, 19 different members have been nominated in the various categories that make up this year's awards. They are MatsuShinshii, singularity6, P.A.L (first time nominee!), OneKickWonder (first time nominee!), Wayofaswede (first time nominee!), Fat Cobra (first time nominee!), sensei8, bushido_man96, DWx, JR 137, Lupin1, TJ-Jitsu, Wastelander, shortyafter (first time nominee!), neoravencroft, cheesefrysamurai, Bulltahr, Alan Armstrong and Spartacus Maximus. Congratulations to all of you! JR 137, sensei8 and singularity6 lead in nominations with 4, followed by bushido_man96 and OneKickWonder with 3. Our historical award numbers have been updated and several members have hit new milestones! Congratulations to DWx on reaching 25 nominations (now with 26, third all-time), JR 137 on reaching 15 (now with 16, fifth all-time) and Alan Armstrong, cheesefrysamurai, Lupin1 and singularity6 (now with 7) on each of them reaching 5! With the ballots crafted, it is now time to vote. What You Should Know Before Voting 1. These awards take into consideration all community activity between October 19, 2017 and October 18, 2018. You should vote based upon activity during this period - not activity prior to or after it. 2. To vote, you must have a KarateForums.com account with at least 10 posts made on or before October 18, 2018. 3. You cannot vote for yourself. 4. Your votes will be kept private. We do not publicly reveal who voted for whom. 5. Please do not attempt to artificially inflate our vote totals in any way. This includes, but is not limited to: Trading votes, encouraging people to vote indiscriminately (publicly or privately), sending spam and any other behavior that could lead to results being artificially skewed. Members found to be participating in these activities will be disqualified from nomination in any category. 6. Please note that you do not have to vote in every category. You can vote in as many or as few as you would like - please go for as many as you feel comfortable with. The more valid votes we receive, the better! Categories The categories are listed below. For each category, you will find a link to the ballot where you can vote. Member of the Year https://www.karateforums.com/member-of-the-year-vt52006.html New Member of the Year https://www.karateforums.com/new-member-of-the-year-vt52005.html Community Spirit Award https://www.karateforums.com/community-spirit-award-vt52004.html Staff Member of the Year https://www.karateforums.com/staff-member-of-the-year-vt52003.html Funniest Member of the Year https://www.karateforums.com/funniest-member-of-the-year-vt52002.html Karate Contributor of the Year https://www.karateforums.com/karate-contributor-of-the-year-vt52001.html Equipment Contributor of the Year https://www.karateforums.com/equipment-contributor-of-the-year-vt52000.html Health, Training and Fitness Contributor of the Year https://www.karateforums.com/health-training-and-fitness-contributor-oty-vt51999.html Instructor Central Contributor of the Year https://www.karateforums.com/instructor-central-contributor-of-the-year-vt51998.html Vote Now Please vote. Voting will be closed on November 25, 2018 at 8 PM Eastern (UTC -5). Please do not post your votes in this or any thread. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to private message me or reply here. Thank you for reading and for visiting KarateForums.com. Your participation in these awards is what makes them meaningful. I can't wait to see who you vote for this year. Sincerely, Patrick

Please vote for the Member of the Year in the KarateForums.com Awards 2018. Award Description: This award is intended to acknowledge the member who you feel best exemplifies the qualities that KarateForums.com puts a premium on. Knowledge is valuable, but most valuable is a kind and helpful nature. You don't need to be a martial arts expert to be nominated for this award - you need to be someone who is kind and who shares what they know in a productive fashion that helps others. Here are the nominees: MatsuShinshii singularity6 P.A.L OneKickWonder Wayofaswede Voting will be closed on November 25, 2018 at 8 PM Eastern (UTC -5). Please do not reply to this thread. Thank you for voting.

Please vote for the New Member of the Year in the KarateForums.com Awards 2018. Award Description: This award is the same as Member of the Year, except that this one is strictly for members that registered on or between the dates of October 19, 2017 and October 18, 2018. Eligible members must have made at least 50 posts by October 18, 2018. Here are the nominees: Fat Cobra OneKickWonder Voting will be closed on November 25, 2018 at 8 PM Eastern (UTC -5). Please do not reply to this thread. Thank you for voting.

Please vote for the Community Spirit Award in the KarateForums.com Awards 2018. Award Description: This award should go to a person whom you feel has a strong passion for this community. A person who is all about the home team - in this case, KarateForums.com. Here are the nominees: sensei8 bushido_man96 Voting will be closed on November 25, 2018 at 8 PM Eastern (UTC -5). Please do not reply to this thread. Thank you for voting.

Please vote for the Staff Member of the Year in the KarateForums.com Awards 2018. Award Description: This award is the same as the Member of the Year award, except that this award is for current staff members only (except Patrick). Here are the nominees: DWx JR 137 sensei8 bushido_man96 Lupin1 Voting will be closed on November 25, 2018 at 8 PM Eastern (UTC -5). Please do not reply to this thread. Thank you for voting.

Please vote for the Funniest Member of the Year in the KarateForums.com Awards 2018. Award Description: Humor is an important aspect of the forums, and this award recognizes the member who has brought a smile to your face many times. Here are the nominees: JR 137 TJ-Jitsu Voting will be closed on November 25, 2018 at 8 PM Eastern (UTC -5). Please do not reply to this thread. Thank you for voting.

Please vote for the Karate Contributor of the Year in the KarateForums.com Awards 2018. Award Description: This award is for your favorite contributor within the Karate forum - a member who has added substantial value to that section in the past year. Here are the nominees: MatsuShinshii JR 137 sensei8 Wastelander shortyafter Voting will be closed on November 25, 2018 at 8 PM Eastern (UTC -5). Please do not reply to this thread. Thank you for voting.

Please vote for the Equipment Contributor of the Year in the KarateForums.com Awards 2018. Award Description: This award is for your favorite contributor within the Equipment forum - a member who has added substantial value to that section in the past year. Here are the nominees: neoravencroft singularity6 JR 137 cheesefrysamurai Bulltahr Voting will be closed on November 25, 2018 at 8 PM Eastern (UTC -5). Please do not reply to this thread. Thank you for voting.

Please vote for the Health, Training and Fitness Contributor of the Year in the KarateForums.com Awards 2018. Award Description: This award is for your favorite contributor within the Health, Training and Fitness forum - a member who has added substantial value to that section in the past year. Here are the nominees: OneKickWonder singularity6 bushido_man96 Alan Armstrong Voting will be closed on November 25, 2018 at 8 PM Eastern (UTC -5). Please do not reply to this thread. Thank you for voting.

Please vote for the Instructor Central Contributor of the Year in the KarateForums.com Awards 2018. Award Description: This award is for your favorite contributor within the Instructor Central forum - a member who has added substantial value to that section in the past year. Here are the nominees: sensei8 DWx Spartacus Maximus singularity6 Voting will be closed on November 25, 2018 at 8 PM Eastern (UTC -5). Please do not reply to this thread. Thank you for voting.

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 November is... conrad665. Congratulations! Thank you for being a member for 9+ years, and for all of the great contributions that you have made during that time. Sincerely, Patrick

Thank you for mentioning the SSL error, aurik, shortafter, Ken and Brian. Sorry about that. It has been corrected. In this case, this error isn't really related to the migration, just the expiration of our SSL certificate. Given that more than 3 months has passed since the migration, I am going to go ahead and close this thread. But if you should see any errors, please don't hesitate to send me a note. Thanks again, Patrick

Well... congrats!

Nominations are now closed! Thank you to everyone who nominated. The ballots will be revealed next week! Patrick

Hey all, Did you dress up for Halloween? If so, what were you? My consume was LeBron Jams, Ghostbuster. http://www.karateforums.com/img/photos/patrick-costume.jpg http://www.karateforums.com/img/photos/patrick-costume2.jpg Hope you had a fun day! Patrick

Thank you to everyone who has nominated thus far! Your voices are the most crucial part of our awards. If you haven't yet done so, you still have time! Please submit your nominations by 7 PM Eastern on Saturday. Our ballots come from your nominations, so we'd love to have your input as part of this process. Thanks again, Patrick

Welcome to KF, luv2flyjrn. Glad to have you. Patrick

No worries, Karate_John. Thanks for following up! Patrick

If you have not yet submitted your nominations, please be sure to do so! These awards represent the community recognizing the contributors who have made a different in the past year, and your participation makes all the difference! Thanks, Patrick

Welcome back, aurik. Patrick

Hello, Welcome to the 17th annual KarateForums.com Awards! Through these awards, we recognize just a few of the individuals who have made outstanding contributions to KarateForums.com in the past year. Over the last 16 years, we have honored 148 different members with a nomination and 53 with an award. Both of these numbers will grow again this year. Your participation is vital. It is the members of this community who select the nominees and vote for the winners. What You Should Know Before Nominating 1. Review the KarateForums.com Awards 2018 Nominations Guide, serving as a starting point in filling out your ballot. 2. These awards take into consideration all community activity between October 19, 2017 and October 18, 2018. Members must be nominated based upon their activity in this period. 2. To nominate, you must have a KarateForums.com account with at least 25 posts made on or before October 18, 2018. 3. Only one member can be nominated for each award. In other words, you cannot nominate two members for Member of the Year. You have to pick one person. One person can be nominated for more than one award, however. 4. You cannot nominate yourself for any of the awards. 5. Your nominations will be kept private. We do not publicly reveal who nominated whom. 6. Please do not attempt to artificially inflate our nomination totals in any way. This includes, but is not limited to: Trading nominations, encouraging people to nominate indiscriminately (publicly or privately), sending spam and any other behavior that could lead to results being artificially skewed. Members found to be participating in these activities will be disqualified from nomination in any category. 7. Though it is unlikely to occur, a banned member cannot be nominated. 8. Please note that you do not have to nominate in every category. You can nominate for as many or as few as you would like. Please go for as many as you feel comfortable with. The more valid nominations we receive, the better! From these nominations, the ballot for each award will be chosen, consisting of the top 4 nominees plus ties. Through the poll system available on these forums, you will be able to vote for the winners! Categories Important note: All members (including Sempais and Senseis) are eligible for nomination in any category, except where otherwise noted. However, I (Patrick) am ineligible for nomination in any category. 1. Member of the Year This award is intended to acknowledge the member who you feel best exemplifies the qualities that KarateForums.com puts a premium on. Knowledge is valuable, but most valuable is a kind and helpful nature. You don't need to be a martial arts expert to be nominated for this award - you need to be someone who is kind and who shares what they know in a productive fashion that helps others. Current staff members (Sempais, Senseis and Patrick) cannot be nominated for this award. 2. New Member of the Year This award is the same as Member of the Year, except that this one is strictly for members that registered on or between the dates of October 19, 2017 and October 18, 2018. Eligible members must have made at least 50 posts by October 18, 2018. Current staff members (Sempais, Senseis and Patrick) cannot be nominated for this award. 3. Community Spirit Award This award should go to a person whom you feel has a strong passion for this community. A person who is all about the home team - in this case, KarateForums.com. 4. Staff Member of the Year This award is the same as the Member of the Year award, except that this award is for current staff members only (except Patrick). If you are unsure of who is on staff, please visit http://www.karateforums.com/staff.php for a complete listing. 5. Funniest Member of the Year Humor is an important aspect of the forums, and this award recognizes the member who has brought a smile to your face many times. 6. Karate Contributor of the Year This award is for your favorite contributor within the Karate forum - a member who has added substantial value to that section in the past year. 7. Equipment Contributor of the Year This award is for your favorite contributor within the Equipment forum - a member who has added substantial value to that section in the past year. 8. Health, Training and Fitness Contributor of the Year This award is for your favorite contributor within the Health, Training and Fitness forum - a member who has added substantial value to that section in the past year. 9. Instructor Central Contributor of the Year This award is for your favorite contributor within the Instructor Central forum - a member who has added substantial value to that section in the past year. Please note: Due to a lack of activity, the Jiu-Jitsu and Grappling Martial Arts Contributor of the Year award has been removed this year. We hope activity in that section grows, and we are able to add it back in the future. Ready to Nominate? Please nominate. You will find a blank ballot at the bottom of this message that you can copy and paste. You nominate by sending a private message to the account with the username Awards through this link: http://www.karateforums.com/privmsg.php?mode=post&u=2715 - nominations will be closed on November 3, 2018 at 7 PM ET. Please do not post your nominations publicly in this thread or elsewhere in the forums. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to private message me or reply here. Thank you for reading and for visiting KarateForums.com. Your participation in these awards is what makes them meaningful. I can't wait to see who you choose to honor this year. Here is a blank ballot that you can use:

Hello, Thank you for your interest in participating in the 2018 edition of the KarateForums.com Awards! To aide you in doing so, we publish this guide, where we list the members who have made the most posts in the sections that are represented within our KarateForums.com Awards categories. We recognize that it can sometimes be difficult to choose nominees, and hope that this guide will be helpful. How to Use This Guide Post count is not necessarily what you should look at, when deciding who should be honored. Perhaps someone doesn't post as much as others, but when they do, their posts are amazing. Maybe they made a post that really stood out to you, and you want to recognize them for it. Maybe someone makes a lot of short posts in that section. For this reason, we are going to list the top 10 posting members, from the last 12 months, in each section, plus ties, but without the actual number of posts and in alphabetical order. Our goal here is to provide a useful guide, but also to not prejudice the nominations toward only those with the highest quantities of posts. We hope this will provide you with a reasonable starting point for your nominations. However, you can nominate members who are not listed here at all, and I encourage you to conduct your own research, by viewing and thinking about a members posts within a given section, as you put together your ballot. Nominations Guide With that said, here are the top 10 contributions to award-eligible forums, plus ties, in alphabetical order: Karate Contributor of the Year JR 137 MatsuShinshii OneKickWonder Prototype sensei8 shortyafter singularity6 Spartacus Maximus Wastelander Wayofaswede Equipment Contributor of the Year Alan Armstrong Bulltahr David the Gnome DWx JR 137 LLLEARNER MatsuShinshii mushybees neoravencroft Prototype sensei8 singularity6 Spartacus Maximus Health, Training and Fitness Contributor of the Year Alan Armstrong bushido_man96 DWx JR 137 LLLEARNER MatsuShinshii OneKickWonder sensei8 singularity6 Spartacus Maximus Instructor Central Contributor of the Year Alan Armstrong Bulltahr bushido_man96 DWx JR 137 MatsuShinshii Nidan Melbourne sensei8 singularity6 Spartacus Maximus Wastelander For the full details on submitting your nominations, please see our nominations announcement. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly or ask in that thread. Thanks, Patrick

Happy birthday to Bob! Thank you for all of the incredible contributions that you have made over the years. I appreciate all of your kindness and support. Have an awesome day! 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 October is... P.A.L. Congratulations! Thank you for being a member for 14+ years, and for all of the great contributions that you have made during that time. Sincerely, Patrick

Hello and welcome, Hokie6260. Patrick