Dear Family,

Today is my 1 year anniversary. I have been with the amazing RRU Community for 1 full year. Scratch that. I have been with the amazing RRU Family for 1 full year. (Now, before some of you question this forum being a family, remember that this is my own opinion of RRU.) I can't believe the things I learned since I joined in 2012. The people I've met. The friends I've made. I believe that is where this comes in.

"This has to be the most beautiful, the most peaceful place I've ever been to. It's nothing like I've ever seen before. When I think how far I've come I can't believe it, and yet I see it, and then I see Family. I see the way we used to be."

^ That. That is truly how I feel about all of you guys. This place has been my online home. It is literally the most visited website in my browser. Breaking down the above quote in my meaning:

"This has to be the most beautiful, the most peaceful place I've ever been to."

It truly is beautiful. It's peaceful (for the most part). A few dents and scratches, but RRU is a great place to hang out and chat with my new online friends.

"It's nothing like I've ever seen before."

This is very true. This was the first forum to treat me equal. Compared to the gaming forum I described in the wonderfully written "Wot I Fink: Family" by McJobless, RRU is just amazing.

"When I think how far I've come I can't believe it, and yet I see it..."

I honestly didn't think I would make it to a year. There have been a couple times that I had actually thought about leaving RRU behind. I was depressed and felt like I couldn't do anything productive towards the forum, but talking to you guys on Skype, helping me overcome my depression, really made a difference.

"...and then I see Family."

You are my Family. RRU became the third Family I have, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

"I see the way we used to be."

I have seen so many changes between the forum and the members, including me. But that is what a Family does. They change either a little or a lot, but they change together. I have changed a lot, learning about other members, topics, having fun in the Sbox, and many other things. I would like to point out special members that have helped me out through the year I have been here.

Cyrem:

If it wasn't for him, this family wouldn't exist. He has really helped me out personally with giving me step by step directions on how to extract the .wad files, helping me out with the Map Creator, and just recently made .mid files uploadable so I can post my compositions for you guys to hear. Cyrem, I think you are a great Administrator, and a great friend.

Cirevam:

He has helped me out with LRR issues, but I was really supprised when he PM'ed me asking about my space station biome. I never thought that anyone, let alone a Moderator, would care about this small little biome that I was making at the time. Even more shocking was that he wanted to implement it into Time Raiders. I was really happy about that. He also encouraged me to get Skype and added me to the RRU chat room. Cirevam, thank you for all the help and patience you gave me over the year.

McJobless:

He is just an awesome friend. I can talk to him about anything, random or serious, and he'll listen. His "Wot I Fink: Family" really got to me. It was just great and I wouldn't have been able to write anything as good. McJobless, I am glad to have you, an Australian, as one of my friends.

Sadie Meowsalot:

She has really helped me to overcome my depression phases. She is a great motivational speaker, typing up paragraphs of inspiring words to make me feel better. She is a very good friend, and I can come to her in a time of need. Sadie, you may be an online friend, but I see you as a friend I've known forever.

Fushigisaur:

He has been a good friend, helping me out with some of my projects, as I help with his. He makes good suggestions, his creations are great, and he is just a good person to be around. Fush, you are really cool and you are just a great person.

Addictgamer:

It's nice to have a fellow composer to talk to and share music with. I can send him my music and he can give very accurate criticism and it is just nice to meet other composers out there. Addict, You are a really good music friend, and good work on your composing.

Lair of Rockwhales:

I don't need to say anything. It's Lair. Lair, you have been a good friend, and you were one of my first friends, so thank you.

There are many other people I'd like to thank, but these members really helped me out a lot this year. I came to this forum just for Rock Raiders modding, but I got way more than that. A Family. Before RRU, I did nothing but browse the internet for random stuff. Then one day I found my old Rock Raiders game and played it beginning to end. Then I thought, "wouldn't it be cool if there were mods for this?" I typed in LEGO Rock Raiders on Bing. Sure enough, the first link. Right to this site. I could not believe that a forum existed for a game that I thought was long since abandoned. I can't imagine how my life would be if I didn't find that disc.

Some things that have happened throughout the year:

Many member creations have I seen. Good, bad, weird, but still cool creations have flowed through the forum. New Members came and gone, with only a few staying. The following is of an old status update of mine:

Drill Master

It's sad to see all the people that sign up just to download something and then hit the road...

Sep 01 2012 05:01 PM

Comments:

Cirevam

>spends dozens of hours on a mod

>asks for feedback

>sees 200 downloads and five people say anything at all

Sep 01 2012 05:12 PM

I have a few topics that I have made that are still alive including "Fortunately, Unfortunately" which was started back in Jul 09 2012 11:37 PM, as well as some new topics in need of updates. Also, "Story Of My Life: My Life As A Composer" will be updated soon with more music.

And, of course there were the recent uproars, in which this is all I'm going to bring up about it. (You guys know the things that had happened.) Sometimes these things come up and slow us down, but the best we can do is put it all behind us.

All in all, you guys have been the best. This forum is great, and if I had the authority, I would give it the "Best Forum" award. Thank you all for taking me in and welcoming me to the Family, and I will await the many years to come.

DM