# New Year 2008 changes



## Harri Rautiainen

Another eventful and exciting year for The SOTW Forum is behind us. The forum readership has been growing steadily and number of registered users is well on its way to 18,000. In April 2007 we upgraded to a more powerful dual-core server to facilitate our rapid growth.

We (you members and the Admin Team) have been discussing the faith of the _SOTW Forum Lounge_. As a step toward the final solution we made it available now _only for registered forum users_. The occasional forum viewers won't be able to read the lounge section. Many members have felt more comfortable if their social, non-saxophone related messages would not be retrieved by search engines.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for keeping this place busy and humming. Special thanks to our sponsors and the members who donated toward upkeep of the site. For running a tidy ship the we all are grateful to the Admin/Moderation team:
*drakesaxprof, kcp, Bill Mecca, saxismyaxe, "Chris S.", Hurling Frootmig* and *Gandalfe* as the leader.

Hurling and Gandalfe are leaving the SOTW Admin team effective today. I hate to see them going. They both have volunteered their time for several years as moderators and advanced the forum and the whole SOTW site in so many ways. We all wish them good luck in their new endeavors. I am sure that they won't be strangers here, either.

Happy New Year 2008,
Harri Rautiainen


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## ianhart

Thanks for the message, Harri, and of course thanks for this great site!

So many of my questions have been answered by the other users here, and hopefully I have helped out some others in my time here, as well.

Thanks again, and I wholeheartedly agree with the changes being made (the forum lounge ones). I will be sad to see Gandalfe and Hurling Frootmig leave the admin team, but I am sure that they will still be around here, as you also mentioned.


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## soybean

Thanks for this wonderful resource and community.


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## gary

Harri Rautiainen said:


> I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for keeping this place busy and humming. Special thanks to our sponsors and the members who donated toward upkeep of the site. For running a tidy ship the we all are grateful to the Admin/Moderation team:
> *drakesaxprof, kcp, Bill Mecca, saxismyaxe, "Chris S.", Hurling Frootmig* and *Gandalfe* as the leader.


Amen to that.

And a special thanks to Hurling and Gandalfe for your dedication and work. The time and energy you've put into keeping this place manageable can't have been easy. Although you won't be moderating anymore, I hope we can count on your continued expertise and guidance as contributors to SOTW. :salute:

And Harri - wow. Almost 18,000 readers? That says volumes about your vision and guidance. Personally, I've learned a great deal in my years here and look forward to participating and learning in 2008. My hat's off to you!!!!

Cheers! Gary


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## Dog Pants

Three cheers for Harri and all the admin team. Aspecial thanks to Hurling and Gandalfe.  As far as hall monitors go, you guys were ok.  

Things we'd like to see for 2008

A swimsuit edition of the celendar

A return to animated avatars

A tribal council where we can vote people off the forum

A one on one interview with Candy Dulfer (I'll do it!)

A Rastafarian section in the Sacred Sax area


Here's to a great 2008 everyone.


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## Pete

I have seen more than one Conn Virtuoso Deluxe finished horn featuring someone wearing a bathing suit. If you've got one of those hors and got a camera, I'm not stopping you from taking pics for the 2009 calendar, DP.

I'm totally serious.


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## Gandalfe

gary said:


> ... Although you won't be moderating anymore, I hope we can count on your continued expertise and guidance as contributors to SOTW.


Thanks Gary! This place is way too interesting to ever really leave. And I have so many friends here that I'd be hard pressed to wander too far.


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## gary

Pete said:


> If you've got one of those hors and got a camera, I'm not stopping you from taking pics...


Uh, Pete. You want to reword that? :shock:


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## fballatore

gary said:


> Uh, Pete. You want to reword that? :shock:


And please do it quickly before DP sees it...


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## Dog Pants

Pete said:


> If you've got one of those hors and got a camera, I'm not stopping you from taking pics for the 2009 calendar, DP.
> 
> I'm totally serious.


I've given my Hors the week off to recover from New Years Eve. Made a pile of bread but the Hors are in need of a repad. 

Seriously Pete, you need to edit that post.


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## SAXISMYAXE

Just say yes to double entedres for 2008.


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## fballatore

Before this thread gets too derailed (hey Gary, is that dead horse out of the barn yet?), I'd like to thank Ed and Jim (and all the mods) for their fine work over the years, and echo Harri's best wishes in your future endeavors.


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## Saxmusiclover

Just to add my personal thanks to: drakesaxprof, kcp, Bill Mecca, saxismyaxe, ”Chris S.”, Hurling Frootmig and Gandalfe.:salute: 

Good luck to Hurling and Gandalfe, you'll be missed. 

A HAPPY, BLESSED AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR TO ALL! :cheers:


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## SAXISMYAXE

fballatore said:


> Before this thread gets too derailed (hey Gary, is that dead horse out of the barn yet.


You mean this one?


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## Harri Rautiainen

*Careful articulation requested*



gary said:


> Uh, Pete. You want to reword that? :shock:
> 
> 
> Pete said:
> 
> 
> 
> ..................
> If you've got one of those hors and got a camera,
> ........................................................
> I'm totally serious.
Click to expand...

As you all well-educated people do know, Finland has two official languages because we have also a Swedish speaking minority.
A few years ago I was playing in a prominently Swedish community band: Lappböle Hor_n_ Kapell. (It was easy because the sheet music is the same in any language.) But you have to be very careful to pronounce the "_n_". Otherwise it is the same in Swedish what Pete wrote "of those hors and cameras".


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## Hurling Frootmig

fballatore said:


> Before this thread gets too derailed (hey Gary, is that dead horse out of the barn yet?), I'd like to thank Ed and Jim (and all the mods) for their fine work over the years, and echo Harri's best wishes in your future endeavors.


Thanks.


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## Reedsplinter

Hurling! We hardly knew ye!


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## Gandalfe

fballatore said:


> Before this thread gets too derailed (hey Gary, is that dead horse out of the barn yet?), I'd like to thank Ed and Jim (and all the mods) for their fine work over the years, and echo Harri's best wishes in your future endeavors.


Hey, we're still in this sandbox too. We just have different roles now. I do find myself using the 'exclaimation mark' a lot when I find a post in the wrong forum, but that's a lot easier than moving it myself.


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## Pete

Harri Rautiainen said:


> As you all well-educated people do know, Finland has two official languages because we have also a Swedish speaking minority.
> A few years ago I was playing in a prominently Swedish community band: Lappböle Hor_n_ Kapell. (It was easy because the sheet music is the same in any language.) But you have to be very careful to pronounce the "_n_". Otherwise it is the same in Swedish what Pete wrote "of those hors and cameras".


 Y'know, amusingly enough, I do type most of my stuff in Firefox. Firefox has a built-in spellchecker. Which has had problems with vBulletin -- what SOTW runs on -- for some time, now.

Anyhow, I was initially unintentionally amunsing. That's fine. I try to be intentionally amusing and that only works 50% of the time. "Unintentionally" has a MUCH higher success rate.

Considering I don't include people in my calendars, unless they're engraved on saxophones, assume I meant "horns". (Might be a very interesting saxophone, otherwise.)

My apologies. I write English like a second language.

I also don't mind animated avatars. I just block 'em with Firefox.

On another subject, Harri. I got an e-mail just yesterday from one of your countrymen with a last name that ended with "-ainen". Is that ending anything like the "-ston" or "-son" endings in English languages?


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## kcp

*Beware people!*



Gandalfe said:


> Hey, we're still in this sandbox too. We just have different roles now. I do find myself using the 'exclaimation mark' a lot when I find a post in the wrong forum, but that's a lot easier than moving it myself.


That's how tattletalers are born... Ex-mods! - IMO they're worst than wannabe-mods


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## tbone

Gandalfe said:


> Hey, we're still in this sandbox too. We just have different roles now. I do find myself using the 'exclaimation mark' a lot when I find a post in the wrong forum, but that's a lot easier than moving it myself.


Don't use it too much or the new staff might have to give you a time out!


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## tbone

kcp said:


> That's how tattletalers are born... Ex-mods! - IMO they're worst than wannabe-mods


What are you saying Kim? Once you get there, there's no turning back? :shock:


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## kcp

tbone said:


> What are you saying Kim? Once you get there, there's no turning back? :shock:


That's difficult to tell since I haven't verified that myself.


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