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Post by Morgan Sierra on Dec 20, 2010 23:15:23 GMT -6
In the BeginningIn the beginning there was a forum called the Mufon Message Board, part of the Mutual UFO Network's short-lived effort to reach out to the people. It grew over a period of four years until it had around 10,000 registered members, over a hundred of whom took part in it on a regular basis. I was one of those members, part of an internet community that over time grew to be like a family to me. I couldn't wait to log on each day to discuss the latest UFO topics, talk about my own paranormal experiences, or just interact with my friends. It was a very important part of my life...and it was good. That all came to an end on July 16, 2010, when the Mufon Board of Directors, lead by new International Director Clifford Clift, decided to pull the plug on it. They gave us no warning at all. One minute it was there, and the next...gone. All of my friends, our conversations, our ideas and opinions, wiped away like it was meaningless. That was not good. A small group of people lead by a young lady from Bulgaria, and another from Australia, decided to start a new forum to try to rebuild our community. I was one of the first few people to sign up on it, and I immediately started working hard to help put it together. We slowly rounded up most of our former members and we all worked side by side to build a new internet home. We called it...Ufomania. When I first joined, I went there just to try to find my friends, but over time I grew to love that forum. It became a part of me...something that I couldn't live without. I needed to be there, to be a part of it. I began putting more and more effort into it. I started writing a blog, created an investigations thread, made posts every day. I developed a close working relationship with the administrator there, and we did everything we could to make it the best place it could possibly be. I planned on being there the rest of my life. I didn't think there was anything that could possibly have made me want to leave...then the unthinkable happened. I got into a huge fight with one of the members there, and as a result, a few days later he was promoted to be a Moderator. I could not believe it had happened. The one person there that I could not get along with and that was who they chose for the position...just two days after I had gotten into an argument with him. They may as well have just slapped me in the face. As hard as it was to believe, I actually thought about leaving. So did a lot of other people. The new mod was not very popular. I probably would have left if it had not been for the friends that I still had there. I just couldn't stand to walk away from them like that. They meant too much to me. And so did that forum. Luckily, over time, we managed to work things out. I am still a member there, and I am still planning to always be one. I still love that forum...I am just working on this one now as a side project. The Edge of Reality initially was started during the troubles that I was having at Ufomania. At first I just wanted a place where I could continue writing the blog I had started, but over time it gradually evolved to become a forum of its own. I am not trying to compete with Ufomania, or take any of their members away...I just want to talk about a few other things besides UFOs. I have a wide range of interests, as you can see by the topics that I have created on this board. There is no reason why I can't be in both places at the same time. I have never created a forum before, and I admit I am not the greatest in the world when it comes to computers, so please bear with me as I try to work out all of the details. I have no idea what most of these silly little buttons do, but I will figure it out. It just takes time, and I have plenty of it. I plan on being here the rest of my life. If you see anything interesting you want to talk about, come on in and join me and we will take a walk along the edge together...and who knows? Maybe we might even become friends.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2010 21:18:09 GMT -6
Well written Morgan.
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Post by Morgan Sierra on Dec 23, 2010 17:42:25 GMT -6
Just FriendsI am starting to ask a few of my friends to come and join us here, and some have accepted. Others will be along soon. I'm not really planning on going berserk right now trying to get gazillions of new members. I would rather this just stay a nice, friendly laid back sort of a place for right now...especially since I am doing it all by myself. It isn't easy figuring out what all of these little buttons are for. I tried to add some color to the board today and my first attempts ended up looking like Godzilla swallowed Tokyo and then vomited all over the forum. I do have a colored skin available if you like purple. It looks kind of interesting. You can see it if you modify your profile and click on the skin button, then click on the one called Plumb Crazy. That pretty much describes what I am most of the time. ;D If anybody has any suggestions on ways to improve things, by all means let me know. This isn't just my forum, it is for everybody, and I want us all to be happy here. Merry Christmas to everybody!
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Post by Morgan Sierra on Dec 24, 2010 20:45:22 GMT -6
My Christmas GiftI used to love Christmas. When I was a little boy it was my favorite day of the year, and not because I used to have a lot of goodies waiting for me under the tree. The fact is I never really got that many gifts. I grew up living in poverty so there was never much money to be spent on extravagant things like Christmas presents. I am not saying I never got any, it just seemed like Santa's sack was always running a little low when he got to our house. That is okay though. The thing I liked the most about Christmas wasn't the getting, it was the giving. I loved to give presents to people. I have no idea why, I just did. At the beginning of each year I used to start making a list of all of the people I knew, my friends and family members, and I would try to think of the perfect gift to give them the following year. Then I would spend the rest of the year trying to find them. They were never things that were very expensive...just a small toy for my brothers and sister, or some little hand-made item for my mom and dad. I was a pretty good artist, even when I was young, so I was always able to draw or paint something. One year I found a rock that was shaped like a heart so I painted it red with gold trim and wrote "I love you, Mom" on it. It wasn't the most expensive thing in the world but the happiness in her eyes showed me that she had gotten the message. That is what made Christmas so special to me...making other people happy. Over the years I kind of lost sight of that. I grew up and found a job, and a lot of bills that had to be paid, and I was just never able to celebrate the holidays like I used to. I don't have a family of my own so I don't really have anybody to share Christmas with. For a while I kind of "adopted" my best friend's family and I used to give his kids presents, but they are practically grown up now, and I doubt they would be happy with a painted rock. They probably want some super sophisticated computer controlled satellite navigated video game or something like that...I have no idea what kids want nowadays. As soon as you buy something it seems like it's out of style anyway. I still try to do things to make people happy though. Right now I am away from home working...on Christmas Eve...and I will be working tomorrow also. Not because I have to...I always volunteer to work so the guys with families can take the day off. That's my Christmas gift to them. I don't really mind either, because even though I am away from home I am still with the people that I care about...that is all of you here on the forum. Some of you I have known for a long time, some I am just getting to know, but you guys are like family to me. And even though I can't actually give you anything in person, I would still like to give you a gift, and that is what I hope this forum is. It is a part of me, my time and effort, that I am giving to you...and I hope that you can be happy here. I definitely am. Merry Christmas everybody.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2010 0:58:50 GMT -6
Merry Christmas to you too Morgan. ~hugz~ Thanks for sharing your memories with us. The painted rock you mentioned reminds me of a present I gave to my mother one Christmas. I got her a little heart-shaped keyring, about an inch wide. She still has it on her keys, even though she is now too blind to drive. The color has faded somewhat, but she has kept it after all of these years... It really truly is the thought that counts. This year, I did a couple of recordings of Christmas music which I arranged, and I got her a little tin of International Delight instant Cappuccino. I got my father a small shooter bottle of his favorite (expensive) cognac for $5. Both of them were very happy with their gifts. My other Christmas gift to them was a few Christmas feast items which were on sale at the grocery store where I work. One day, they were practically giving away spiral ham, so I got one. I got some yams and a bag of marshmallows, and other such things as that. I'm going to make Christmas dinner at my grandfather's house for all four of us. Merry Christmas everyone, and may your holidays be full of joy, love and peace. ~hugs again~
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Post by skywalker on Dec 25, 2010 7:53:17 GMT -6
When it comes to Christmas it definitely is the thought that counts. I remember a story that jokelly told me on the old forum about how one year she didn't have enough money to buy a Christmas tree so she went out into the desert and found a tumbleweed and brought it home, then painted it silver and decorated it. I thought that was so cool. It just shows that you don't need money, fancy gifts, multi-million bulb lights, or toys that say "batteries not included" in order to have a good holiday. As long as people remember what Christmas was all about, the spirit will keep shining through. Merry Christmas Jo...wherever you are.
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Post by Morgan Sierra on Dec 27, 2010 22:27:40 GMT -6
Any Suggestions?Okay, I think I am starting to get the hang of this. I figured out what a few of the million or so admin buttons do and I haven't accidentally deleted the board yet. I would say we are doing pretty good. Does anybody have any suggestions or comments on anything that you think the board might need? What do you think about the colors? Can you even see the colors? Auntym and I are working on getting a twitter thingy hooked up. After that I am going to see if I can start working on a header design and logo. I have an idea in mind, and if it works out the way I think it will it might be pretty cool. I think for now we should just keep adding posts to the board, and once we get settled a little bit more we can start trying to attract a few new members. I have a few ideas in mind that I want to try. If anybody has any other suggestions don't hesitate to yell at me. Well, not actually yell, but you know what I mean...
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2010 2:11:06 GMT -6
~yells at skywalker~
"CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? ....................GOOD!"
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Post by heidihybrid on Dec 31, 2010 20:22:24 GMT -6
OHAI THAR. Wow, so that's what happened to the old forum. I can't believe either what happened to you on UFO Mania, it's a good forum though, but I understand you because I passed through a similar situation. :/ Oh and Mr. Sierra! How big the banner can be? the pixels thing like how much of width and height? just curious lol ;D Edit: PS: PURRRRRRPOOOOOOOOOOOOLLL, I LOVE PURPLEEEEEEEEEEE ;D ;D ;D
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Post by skywalker on Dec 31, 2010 21:01:40 GMT -6
Howdy, Heidi. Actually Morgan Sierra and skywalker are the same person. I'm just using one of them for my administrator name. Do you know anything about designing banners? We could use a good banner designer. I'll have to check to see how big it can be. I'm not very good with computers unfortunately. It just took me and auntym 4 hours just to get the twitter thing to work.
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Post by heidihybrid on Dec 31, 2010 21:22:12 GMT -6
Howdy, Heidi. Actually Morgan Sierra and skywalker are the same person. I'm just using one of them for my administrator name. Do you know anything about designing banners? We could use a good banner designer. I'll have to check to see how big it can be. I'm not very good with computers unfortunately. It just took me and auntym 4 hours just to get the twitter thing to work. lol hi skywalker! of course! I can give it a shot practice makes perfect my dear friend ;D it reminds me when I received my first computer when I was 9, I discovered everything myself by clicking everything and sneaking on every program, until one day I ruined my computer O: but if I don't try I'll never know
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Post by skywalker on Dec 31, 2010 22:25:40 GMT -6
Ok. let me go see if I can find out how big it is supposed to be. Do you have any ideas for what you think the banner should look like? I have an idea in mind but I would like to here other people's suggestions also.
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Post by skywalker on Dec 31, 2010 23:31:40 GMT -6
Hi, Heidi. Try 720px by 150px. That is supposedly the size that most forums use. We'll just have to try it and see what happens.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2011 2:12:43 GMT -6
I'm artistic... but not in a visual sense. If you want a theme song for the forum... call me.
However, I have been known to sketch a fairly decent stick figure from time to time...
~smirk~
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Post by Morgan Sierra on Jan 1, 2011 16:48:59 GMT -6
Happy New YearHappy New Year! Today is the first day of the new year, and I think it is going to be wonderful. The forum is finally starting to look like a forum, Auntym and I finally got the Twitter link hooked up (after only 4 hours ) and we are working on making a banner design. I am eventually going to change the colors a little so if you come here and things look weird, don't panic. I did that once on Ufomania when they changed the color scheme without telling anybody. It used to be kind of orange and purple then one day I logged on and everything was blue and white. I thought the computer had taken me to the wrong website or something so I kept clicking on it over and over again. Silly me. I also plan on doing a lot of writing this year. I am working on an article about an investigation I did into an "alien abduction" that turned out to have nothing to do with aliens. It was still an interesting case though. I am still finding out some of the details about it even now. I'll put it on as soon as I get finished with it. I am also currently doing research for some other articles that I plan to write. I am planning to do one comparing Green aliens to Grays, another one about H.G. Wells, and I am working on a really interesting one about MUFON. That one should be cool, but don't tell them about it. The last thing we need is a bunch of spooks rushing in here and trying to shut me down. If anybody can think of any other topics you might want me to write about, let me know. I am always looking for interesting topics. Happy new year everybody! Let's all have a wonderful year.
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Post by heidihybrid on Jan 1, 2011 17:23:47 GMT -6
Hi, Heidi. Try 720px by 150px. That is supposedly the size that most forums use. We'll just have to try it and see what happens. Hey Skywalker! ;D I played with Photoshop today...decided to add a neutral color so it would fit any color of the forum or something I don't draw either lolz, I'm a newbie with making nebulas and that stuff but I know I'll get better... Tell me whatcha think!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2011 17:46:10 GMT -6
Melikes... Melikes a lot heidi.
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Post by skywalker on Jan 1, 2011 17:47:10 GMT -6
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Post by auntym on Jan 1, 2011 18:32:27 GMT -6
i love it!....... and with the colors skywalker suggested....it will make it even greater.... its going to be BU TI FUL....... ;D
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Post by skywalker on Jan 1, 2011 18:43:18 GMT -6
I can adjust the colors of the board to match the banner colors too. This is going to be cool.
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Post by heidihybrid on Jan 1, 2011 20:15:51 GMT -6
lol ty ;D well here it is! I tried to match the colors as much as I could to the picture you posted I also tried to mix all the many colors but it was impossible lol tell me what do you think
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Post by skywalker on Jan 1, 2011 21:08:04 GMT -6
I like it! What does everybody else think?
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Post by auntym on Jan 1, 2011 21:48:05 GMT -6
lol ty ;D well here it is! I tried to match the colors as much as I could to the picture you posted I also tried to mix all the many colors but it was impossible lol tell me what do you think WOW heidi.....thats beautiful..... ;D....you're very talented.... are you studying this in school??
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Post by heidihybrid on Jan 1, 2011 23:05:46 GMT -6
lol ty ;D well here it is! I tried to match the colors as much as I could to the picture you posted I also tried to mix all the many colors but it was impossible lol tell me what do you think WOW heidi.....thats beautiful..... ;D....you're very talented.... are you studying this in school?? Hi Auntym ;D thank you! and no lol I made it all by myself by reading tutorials over the Internet and practicing ;D glad you like it!
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Post by skywalker on Jan 2, 2011 10:15:47 GMT -6
Well, I managed to get the image to show up finally, and I even got it in the center of the page. Now I need to figure out how to make it bigger. I'll get there eventually...
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Post by heidihybrid on Jan 2, 2011 17:33:08 GMT -6
wow the banner looks awesome! ;D ;D ;D
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Post by skywalker on Jan 2, 2011 17:38:15 GMT -6
It does look good. I should say thank you to whoever made it.
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Post by skywalker on Jan 2, 2011 17:39:44 GMT -6
I still need to make it bigger though. Or maybe I should just get rid of the adds. what do you think? I need to change the colors some also.
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Post by lois on Jan 9, 2011 13:49:12 GMT -6
Love your banner..
shamira Lois
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Post by skywalker on Jan 9, 2011 14:22:46 GMT -6
Heidi made that for us. Isn't it cool?
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