Maybe this will put things into perspective for you guys. When we started this forum, it was not really with the intention or expectation that it would be big. A few us had been on a general forum (JEDDS) in the discus section and it was a fun place to hang out. It started to change a bit and The owner decided to sell the forum. I contacted the owner as I did not want us to lose our home and it appeared that it would not be the same anymore. At the same time , April Ross, a friend on that forum introduced me to Ryan Smith, who had web skills and was a cichlid nut also. We decided to make our own forum. Ryan built it and I managed it was how it was to be. WE didn't even have our own server initially. We shared one of Ryan's Friends servers. We were just looking for a place for the handful of us to hang out and talk fish. Its phenomenal growth was not anything we envisioned and caught us completely off guard. Fast forward and alot of people have come and gone, some have passed on from this life others have left the hobby...other migrated to other platforms. Remarkably there are some still around here.. I love seeing the year they joined in their profile...2002, 2003,2004..
Alot has changed. One thing that hasn't is the forum is still a fun place to hang out and talk fish. Its a great place to make good friends.It has always been a solid community that tries to help hobbyists with their discus. I do miss many people that moved on in one way or the other, some not so much
BUT, there is a really good group of people here now that post regularly that remind me of the members in the early days. I like what I see here today and look forward to tomorrow. For me.. That is what a forum is for and its why we are still here. I'm fairly sure If I pulled the plug on SimplyDiscus today there would be alot of unhappy people, myself foremost.
Thats how important it is.