Another Xmas Arrives,,,

[GhostShip]

It looks like its that time of year again folks, in an effort to bring some good cheer to you all we have turned on our xmas cheer generator and also grabbed for the warm blankies 

Its been a pretty quiet year this year on the forum but from those I have spoken to theres a lot going on in the real world and that has also been applying to my own circumstance, new job fresh stuff to learn and long work days to do it in, this has of course seen less news posted and less of anything else going on that you can all see , so I hear you ask whats going on and whats the plan for the oncoming year 

Firstly I will be looking to grab some of you to act as replacement staff, its clear having fewer volunteers is having an effect on how the site is  used and our ability to both deliver help and stimulate activity within the community is reduced, many of our longer served staff over the years have had to retire due to real life commitment changes and some with ill health, its vital we all do what we can to maintain this online support for our community as its only here to serve all of its user, the cost of maintaining it is bourne by the site staff and we are proud to continue doing so but only if theres a point to it all,  we ask that you get involved if you can with ideas, interesting news items , generate discussions that we can all join in on or debate or create something new, we actually mean it when we assert there are no leaders to this community and for this reason you all need to lead even if its just in a forum topic or posting a suggestion, we too need direction and you guys and ladies need to step up to the plate to take a turn. I hope you all get the message

On the developing front some hurdles have been overcome and some have arrisen, we are in a better place than ever and with time a lot of the previous problems have been located and addressed, however there are still some outstanding issues that need to be hammered before we can go to an open src platform , we are not too far away in reality and whilst its been a struggle with so few developers taking up a role the end is in sight at least as far as I can take the project, new ideas concepts and additions are going to be down to you guys when we release the src code, the future will be yours to build, we are simply delivering a decent base to generate both interest and a sustainable future for this network, the rest will be up to you, dont disappoint me 

To maintain the network into the future we also need users, we can retask the network amongst ourselves to increase its usefulness or we can sit and watch it decay, I prefer to help pull the cart as you all know and with many hands we can get our network going a lot faster than it currently is capable of, those many hands make for a lighter individual load so do your part, encourage folks to give the network a try , look after the noobs you come across and learn as much as you can about how things work as we cant rely on a few folks when there are many potential experts sitting idle out of apathy or are harbouring a misguided idea that their individual help wont make a difference, between us all we have done a great job and I want that success to go on for a long time but its got to be built on hard work and hard won experience, you cant get either of that sitting idle waiting for santa.

My apologies if this xmas message is a bit less inspiring than some of my previous ones but you all know me as a plain speaker and I want to alert you all to the dangers of apathy and indifference, you can all make an impact on this networks future direction if you want to.

Now down to the formalities, Merry Xmas Folks 

I look forward to hearing from you all and I hope some of you will be joining me this year in maintaining the site here and creating positive changes for the community, look forward and build your dreams into reality 

[wonderer]

Mele Kalikamaka to all of you

[GhostShip]

Merry Xmas Wonderer 

[Pri]

Merry Christmas

[White Stripes]

merry xmas!

[GhostShip]

Merry Xmas to you both 

[reef]

A bit late but.... Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and all the best to everyone for 2019 

[GhostShip]

Happy new year Reef 

I never worry about fixed ocsssions and dates much myself;  when it comes to friends all that is of importance is their wellbeing, have a good year to come 

[reef]

Cheers Ghosty, Happy New Year to you as well