An anniversary message from Mikey and Don

[ezdays]

Well, well, today, June 17th is our "official" 6th anniversary. Yep, it’s hard to believe but it’s been six months since we opened Big Blue and welcomed all train enthusiasts. When we (Mikey and Don) started to seriously talk about reviving what was once a top-rated train forum, we had some rather large misgivings. Mikey had some eight years on the old Gauge, Don had almost six and it was difficult to leave all that we built up over that time. We really didn’t want to abandon all the information that was there, plus the tutorials and all those great pictures, wow; but mostly we thought about not leaving behind all the friends we made there. The question was, could we save what we had, or did we need to start anew? We concluded that saving the old Gauge was out of our hands and we had hoped that our friends would all agree, so, we decided to start anew. We wanted to make our new forum, look and feel the same as it was, when all our long time Internet friends were members of that close knit forum. Well you answered the question, and you followed us in droves. All of our staff followed us, and most all, joined our new staff. Some old staff members that had left because of the many changes that happened over time even joined us. The first day that we were open to posting here, we had a phenomenal number of posts and it hasn’t stopped since.

We are proud of what we’ve accomplished, it feels uh, comfortable again. We have close to 300 members and we’re averaging 100 posts a day, not bad for a “new forum”. We appreciate your support and your confidence in what we’ve put together here, and we assure you, that we’ll never let these forums get into the situation that has befallen us in the past. No ads, no unreasonable rules. Our growth has been slow but steady, and we think we’ve given you what you want, the ability to post pictures and links, our own chat room, the return of the Big Blue colors but most of all, a friendly place, that feels like home. Now, for those of you that have a hard time with our color scheme, hang in there. We’ve asked Pat to see what he can do to add another color style so you can have your choice, white text on blue, or black text on white. It’s not as easy a task as it might seem and Pat’s been a bit preoccupied, but it is on his “to do” list. Believe us, we listen to you. Some things take longer than others, but this is your forum, we just make sure it runs smoothly.

Aside from thanking you from the bottom of our hearts for being here, we can’t ask any more of you beyond that. Keep these forums what we intended them to be, a family-friendly place where good friends can come to get away from other worldly things and to share their experiences and information on all aspects of railroading.

Don (ezdays) and
Mikey (ngauger)
Administrators and co-owners of Big Blue

[Gary S]

Even though I haven't been around much for the past year, I just want to say "thank you!" for expending the effort on the new Gauge. I too had grown weary of what had happened at the other forum. Your work is appreciated!

[upnick]

Hi Don/Mikey,

TC introduced me to the forum where i have always felt welcome and happy to be here ........ heres to more anniversaries
You guys have helped me in lots of ways that have revolutionised my way of thinking with the layouts

[Trucklover]

I wasnt a member of the old Big Blue for too long, but i do remember it before the switch to the other forum. When we switched to the other forum, it wasnt so bad for me in the beginning, but i noticed alot of the old members wernt too happy with the switch, some of them left, some of them stuck it out and stayed with the forum. I guess it was because i wasnt apart of the old Big Blue forum that i didnt really mind the switch up until about a month before Mikey, Don, and Pat opened up this beautiful new Big Blue Things just really started going down hill over there, and to be quite honest, i thought the forum was done for, and it would just keep getting worse everyday or i would just wake up one day to find the forum gone lol.

Getting that email from Mikey and Don about the grand opening of the new Big Blue was a great surprise, and i wasted no time coming over here lol. In fact, i remember i had logged onto my email that late afternoon at my girlfriends house and saw the email. I was exited and i went to the new forum and joined up right away. I finally got kicked off her computer about an hour after i had joined, she was getting annoyed because i was on the computer so long so she shut her laptop and drug me over to the bed to lay down LOL

Im proud to say im a member of the New Big Blue, and im glad to hear this place will be sticking around for a long while to come, as long as this place is around, it will always be my favorite place to hang out on the web

Mikey, Don, Pat, and all the Moderators, thank you guys for everything you do and have done, trust me, we appreciate everything you guys do here

[Steamtrains]

Best thing to ever happen to us "Gaugers"...

When the resignations & farewells started over there, I figured something bad was going on...but had no clue as to what was happening on the "flip" side of the coin. When I got the invite to join I was on here in a flash....and have enjoyed every minute of it..!!!

Thanks to Mikey & Don who got the ball rollin', and to all the mods who have contributed with their time & effort to make this forum what we were all used to in the "real" Gauge...

[ngauger]

...... Things just really started going down hill over there, and to be quite honest, i thought the forum was done for, and it would just keep getting worse everyday or i would just wake up one day to find the forum gone lol.

Mikey, Don, Pat, and all the Moderators, thank you guys for everything you do and have done, trust me, we appreciate everything you guys do here

We were afraid of that very thing.... The only solution we could think of, was to open a new forum and Path made that possible....

~~~ Thanks everyone for all the comments!!! We do appreciate all the members and Mods here..

[Sumpter250]

Even in the midst of ultimate chaos, the simple beauty of creation can be seen, if one knows how to look.
Ultimate chaos is ongoing at "the gauge", but here at "dot net, there is peace, calm, and friendly, good, people.
Most often it is the simple pleasures of life that seem the greatest, and are the longest remembered.
Big Blue, is one of those simple pleasures.
Thank You.

[eightyeightfan1]

One door closed...Sort of......This one opened.
Thank-God...........

[BR60103]

Only six months? It feels like a year!
Thanks to all the mods, admins, and owners who have contributed, plus Path. And to all those who have contributed.

[sgtcarl1]

Thanks, guys 'n' gals, for all you do to make this place feel like "home!!" I feel honored to be a part of this great group of great people!!

[cn nutbar]

Sincere thanks to Mikey,Don,and all the moderators who have made this the best model railroad forum around.

[steinjr]

Happy Anniversary!

And may there be many, many more - you are doing a great job here.

Smile,
Stein

[ezdays]

We all are doing our best to give you what you want. So far we don't need expensive servers and we don't have salaried executives or paid underlings to run things. We don't even have a staff of lawyers on call to protect our interests. What we do have here is an ad-free place where you can exchange information, get ideas and meet with friends under a very relaxed set of rules. We listen to you and try to run this place the way you think it should be, as a result, we've had very few conflicts, and no major upheavals, all to your credit. It's a fun forum and I've always said, I get much more out of being here than I could possibly give back.

Thank you all for your confidence and trust in us. We'll try not to let you down, but I'm sure you'll let us know if you think we are heading that way.

[RobertInOntario]

Thanks for all of your work and effort to get this going and keep it going! It's a great forum.

Rob

[MasonJar]

Andrew