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Happy 2nd Birthday to us

Started by McHeath, September 05, 2010, 12:23:19 AM

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McHeath

Well today marks the forums second birthday!  Mark Stevens started this little place, it was an offshoot of his blog "classicrotaryphones".  He was in conversation with Dennis Markham and myself about being involved in a forum, as I recall Dennis was his co-moderator from the start.  (Dennis may need to correct me on this)  Eventually Mark moved on to other projects and Dennis took over as head honcho, a job which he does very well.

We started out with pretty slow growth, I recall getting impressed when we hit 25 members!  I literally thought we'd never get more than 75-100 people on this planet who were interested in old telephones, I've never known another person who had any interest in them in my neck of the woods.  Now we have a bit over 400 registered members, and a good number of highly active ones and a range of ages and nationalities.  

This forum has even made some contributions to telephone history, Dan Panther's find of the prototype Western Electric model 500 being perhaps the biggest coup. That was quickly followed by "discovery" at a Seattle phone museum of a 1949 production model of the same phone by another group of members.  (Brineybay/Greg and Phonesrfun/Bill as I recall, though I may have left someone off)

And throughout it all the forum has managed to maintain an atmosphere of respect and enthusiasm which is rare in the cyber world.

So happy birthday to us, and many more!


Phonesrfun

..... And many more.....

I believe this forum is a huge success, and I must say that Dennis Markham deserves much of the credit for that.  Another feature of this forum is the ability to post photos, which the listserve formats of the telephone collector clubs lack.

We are all in this hobby with different aspects of what keeps us going.  To me, I like the circuitry and making them work.  Others like the restoration projects.  Some may just like to look at them on the shelf, and dust them once a week.  Yet others may still dream of getting their first 302 or 500.  Those differences create a very rich and varied membership.  The best part is that it is FREE, and we can truly develop some genuine friendships here.

I joined in May of 09, and I have enjoyed every day here since.

Hip, Hip, Hooray!
-Bill G

Kenny C

thanks to all of the people who help me and keep our little world spinning ;)
In memory of
  Marie B.
1926-2010

JorgeAmely

Quote from: Phonesrfun on September 05, 2010, 12:55:47 AM
,,,
I believe this forum is a huge success, and I must say that Dennis Markham deserves much of the credit for that.  Another feature of this forum is the ability to post photos, which the listserve formats of the telephone collector clubs lack.
...

This format is even better than Google Groups. I belong to a Yahoo Group (Neon Nixie tubes) and they are abandoning the group because of some "upgrades" Yahoo force on them. Of course, the upgrades don't allow as good searches of archived material as you could do before.

To quote Bill, Hip, Hip Hurray to Dennis Markham!

PS: The above message was not approved by Dennis Markham.
Jorge

Dennis Markham

Thanks Heath for pointing out the birthday of the Forum.  I guess it's time to put it in the calendar!

Aw shucks, thanks for the good words guys but as I've said before, this place runs on cruise control.  I do keep my nose in the posts every day but so do the other moderators.  It's sure been a quick two years and like Heath said, we never dreamed of getting 100 people to join.

You have the facts straight Heath.  Mark and I talked about the Forum before he made it "live" and he probably talked with you too.  We all kind of helped to moderate it in the beginning.  Bingster, BenHutcherson, Jorge, Dan/Panther, BillCahill all joined in right off the bat too.  We haven't heard from Hello Central or Phoneguy06 in a while but I'm sure they'll drift back when they get a chance.

It's been a lot of fun.  Thanks to all of you that contribute.  Bill you hit the nail on the head with your description of the membership.  A little something for everyone.  Your help Bill with circuitry issues has been invaluable.  I know I never could have been able to get that 334A subscriber set working right without your assistance.  Everyone has contributed.  It's great to see the young members too.

Happy Birthday everyone!  I look forward to wishing us a Happy Birthday next September.

~Dennis

Dan/Panther

To be honest I was thinking it had only been 1 year. My goodness how two years has blown by.
Happy Birthday all members.
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

Greg G.

We should celebrate with another conference call.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

Jester

Here's to a year of great discoveries, memories & enduring friendships.  There is something special & unique about our little cyberplace, and the phones are only a small (but important ;)) part of it.  A very Happy Birthday to the forum!
Stephen