Happy First Year Anniversary…

 

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After further review of the dates — it seems I was one day off on the start-up for THS 88 on the Web — 11/28 not 11/27 — not really a big deal — the announcement of its creation actually went out 11/29 — that means 365 days have passed since the idea started to come to fruition…  Also the creation of the back-up site that would become this site was 11/30 — again, no biggie — just everything happened so much closer than I remember — and how much forward thinking I had at the time…

 

Biggest thanks to Mrs. Martini for helping me out in exploring the aspects of Windows Spaces and its uses…   Thanks to all those who have posted and shared thoughts throughout this first year…  As for those who promised but have yet to — it’s been or is approaching a year !!!

 

To date both sites, the old and current have received over 15,000 page views.  This week, page views are already over 400 with patterns suggesting at least 2 unknowns aka LOST members have thoroughly checked us out, but have yet to identify themselves — Mystery Visitors, please feel free to e-mail me via kmax2k1@hotmail.com — let me know who you are and if you’d like your name and e-address added to THS 88 Addresses — we’d love to add you and read from you here.

 

Year 1 had a few close calls with me almost killing the site a time or two, but the most frightening was last week with the MSN shutdown — I am so relieved of that positive resolution…  Just for the record this is how I described the uncertainty at the old site (kmax2k1.spaces.live.com) prior to receiving my first response from Windows Live Spaces Customer Support:

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November 20

I do not know…

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what is happening at THS 88 on the Web — Windows Live Space — http://ths1988.spaces.live.com.

 

Today, about 4 PM CST, I began receiving the message  SPACE NOT AVAILABLE which is strange considering I had already accessed the site 6 – 8 times.  I addition even when logging in, I, the creator, got flagged as restricted access.  This was not anything done by me…

 

It is my sincerest hope that the site has not been deleted by the powers that be at Microsoft…  That site represents a lot of work and information that cannot be replaced.

 

I have submitted technical assistance requests to MSN — hopefully this will be resolved with the return of THS 88 on the Web — I should know something sometime tomorrow…  If not, I just don’t know — I still have most of the blogs as I had gone to publishing via e-mail (for spell check purposes) but the posts to the blogs since the switch over from this site would be gone.  Keeping a back-up site was good in the beginning and with the lack of participation would have actually be quite easy of late…  too bad…

 

If it’s gone — I’m out !!!  If it was caused or influenced by some outside THS 88 force I will notify the group of the information I receive in my "I’m done" e-mail…

 

Hoping this all gets straightened out to the benefit of us all…

 

Kev

 

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Thankfully that was resolved and THS 88 on the Web lives on…  (Full story in Blog:  THS 88 on the Web:  Rest in Peace ??? — Nov 25, 2006)

 

What I’d like to see in this second year — be it wishful, visionary, or just plain naive thinking — who knows ???

• More guest blogs…  (Members submitting blogs for posting aka starting the discussions)
• Continued growth in the E-address / Confirmed Contact List…
• Reading more from members along the likes of Where I’ve Been… Where I Am… and BITD…
• More comments and posts from the unexpected…

With everything aside…  It was a pretty good First Year and now let’s see where Year 2 takes us !!!

 

Thanks for being here THS 88 and thanks for reading…

 

 

Happy First Year

Anniversary

THS 88 on the Web !!!

 

 

 

Looking Back at Year 1

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About this time last year, the infamous Classmates.com Free 7 Day Trial offer arrived and the idea for this project began to evolve… 

 

Building on the 15 or so e-addresses I had stored away in my Outlook Express address book, which I had collected from Classmates.com in ’03 during talk of a 15, (by ’05 only 12 or so were still valid), the goal of an e-list began to take shape.  With the use Classmates messaging it didn’t take long for the e-list began to grow, doubling and tripling in size by year’s end.  As this project began, in mid-November, my thoughts of a THS 88 E-letter quickly morphed into what we know today as THS 88 on the Web.  (Whole story under And So it Begins… access via The Beginnings)

 

Accomplishments to date:

 

• 70 confirmed shared member contacts; of 181 who graduated; or of the 200 (plus or minus) that were with us most of the way.
• 87 blogs on various topics.
• 35 Post-Grad histories of some sort — that’s half our confirmed members.
• 27 under Where I’ve Been…  Where I Am…  with Stephen Higuera’s under And So it Begins…  (Dec ’05 and/or  The Beginnings).  
• Chip Durham’s via his Nicholls State University Bio, just click on his name at THS 88 Addresses. 
• And 7 short WIB…  WIA…-type mini-blurbs at "another" location.   
• Actually Ben Bordelon has a WIB…  WIA… snippet at THS 88 @ Yahoo Groups, message #29 of 170 — where else are you going to find out about the chihuahua ??? Try finding that post in the Chat section without your ever helpful blogmaster — the original chain to which this snippet is attached was started by Jason on a totally  unrelated topic…  So I guess that actually makes it 36 Post-Grad stories…  Better than half…  Now who are we missing ???

It had been my intent and vision to keep all these WIB…  WIA… together (can we say "organized") and this was a deciding factor in choosing a Blog format vs. a Chat page setting (remember #29 of 170).  (The Vision, March 2005)  The desire expressed for this organization and its benefit to all is stated in the last paragraph of And So it Begins… as seen below

One last thing for this to work properly, unless you are sending a message only to me, please use the comments section of the blog for each article.  You will need to set up a Passport account — it’s FREE — takes about 3 minutes — for ease of memory, chances are pretty good you can use the first part of your e-address as the ID and just a random easy to remember password.  This will allow everyone to see your comments and respond/react to each other…  (Passport / Windows Live Account creation has gotten much simpler since this writing — Posting to Comments…. Sept 2006)

To each his own — I thought everything out; people won’t do what they don’t want to do…

• 3 other THS 88 web sites formed…  All featuring "Chat".  First brought to you under the suggestion of "Top Gun" Stephen Higuera with the creation of THS 88 @ Yahoo Groups.
• Surprising posts from individuals themselves as well as the events described.
• The THS 88 @ Yahoo Groups Birthday Calendar.
• THS 88:  Briefs (Archived @ THS 88 @ Yahoo Groups)
• That I’m still doing all of this…

Overall it’s been a pretty good run — old friends reconnected, experiences shared, memories recalled, etc.  All in all doing most of what it was constructed to do…  So without further adieu…

 

 

Happy First Year Anniversary

 

THS 88 on the Web…

 

This web site would neither be complete

nor a success wthout you.

Thanks THS 88 !!!

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If it means anything…  Overall, I’ve enjoyed bringing you the THS 88 features under my control (THS 88 on the Web, THS 88 @ Yahoo Groups [runs pretty much on auto-pilot, Jason and Laura have been granted every control, except site deletion], THS 88:  Briefs, and the THS 88 Birthday Calendar) more than not… 

 

The future brings a slight change in bloggery as the Blogs @ THS 88 on the Web will begin to reflect my thoughts regarding various topics, i.e. politics, sports, movies, TV — at any given moment…  Who knows ???  Whatever I feel like typing about…  Guest bloggers, as always are encouraged…

 

This does not mean abandonment of the occasional memory lane visit, but with current response patterns as our guide, this probably will not be missed too terribly much.  This change in direction should also keep the heat off your "most appreciated" participation and prevent Rants from occurring, by removing the prior constraints that the focus of blogs should have some THS 88 relevance.

 

 

Special Thanks for this Year One experience:

• Lacye Guillard-Martini for helping me in setting this up and encouragement along the way and providing e-addresses.
• Stephanie Piper-King, soon to be Stephanie McKenzie Mattison, for help in gathering e-addresses and providing contact information to invite members to THS 88 on the Web.
• Jason Dukes who actually would and did tell me when I pushed too far — though sometimes you wonder if a little medication for Senoir Jason might be in order…
• Laura Free whose IMs helped shape some of the content and realize when mistakes had been made.  She also found Michael LaCour while perusing MySpace.com.
• Monica Partney-Ford for contributing member provided blogs but not the heart attack caused from discovering 8 Blog topics included in her Where I’ve Been…  Where I am…
• Stephen "Top Gun" Higuera for suggesting the Yahoo Groups site, supplying Tim’s e-address, and providing various links and input for THS 88 on the Web.
• Janet Butler-Raines whose assistance in so many ways cannot be thanked enough.
• Della LaCroix-Morris for her posts and bringing my old, ever so supportive, friend, "Fiddlin’" John Jeansonne (M&L #2, Jan 2006), to the party.
• Jennifer Maxwell-Lafosse, el presidente, my 3rd cousin or so, for being there to answer questions as to class members, number of grads, etc. in a most timely manner.
• And to all the rest of you who have posted comments, e-mailed me directly, provided e-addresses or other information to assist in finding "LOST" mates, encouraged others to visit, and personally enjoyed being a part of this forum.  Whether you’ve told me or not or anyone else for that matter, Thanks for all the little things you’ve done to make THS 88 on the Web the premier web site for Tioga High Class of 1988.  Thank you…

That’s nearly a wrap for one year… 

 

What say we go for 2 ???

 

As we continue to work our way to

 

20n08

 

Again…  Deepest Thanks for making

 

THS 88 on the Web

 

the #1 choice for THS 88 news… 

 

And finally, as always

 

Thanks for Reading.

 

Your thoughts on Year 1…

 

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Likes, dislikes, disappointments, concerns, etc. ???

 

What you’d like to see from all the web sites ???

 

Who’d you like to read from here ???

blog contributors

 

Topics to address…

 

Should we venture into political Debates ???

 

etc… etc…

 

This is totally open for you THS 88 do with it what you think best…

 

 

Most Amazing or Surprising Moment of Year 1…

 

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Not exactly under the context of 1st Year Favs, but could be for the right person and right circumstance…

 

Was it an E-mail out of nowhere from someone you had wondered about from time to time since HS ??? or perhaps had just thought about within the past couple of days and then BAM !!!  It arrived…  or even not having thought of for years ???

 

Was it being made aware of this forum after finding out from a friend ???  or finding out such a place existed ???

 

Was it being discovered by your blogmaster by accident or chance, or was your discovery due to use of my “superior” investigative internet techniques ???  or perhaps you found us by chance like James Coleman ???

 

As with everything in this category — it’s your story…  I have a few — and probably did most of the surprising — but I’ll post mine in the comments later… 

 

So the question again…

 

What is your most Amazing

 

or Surprising Moment

 

during Year 1 of 

 

THS 88 on the Web ???

 

 

 

Favorite Feature @ THS 88 on the Web

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Simply put — What is your Favorite Feature of THS 88 on the Web ???

 

Is it…

 

• The Blogs or any blog(s) in particular.
• The THS 88 Birthday Calendar with Announcements in THS 88:  Briefs
• Post-Grad Histories in Where I’ve Been…  Where I am…
• THS 88 Addresses.
• The THSpy Awards.
• THS 88:  Briefs
• The Comments.
• The Photo Gallery.
• Links to the other THS 88 sites.
• etc, etc…

or…  is it something else ??? 

I have my opinion of what it should be, but… 

 

What say you ???

 

Favorite Re-Connection thus far…

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Although I will ask to read Jason’s post under BITD VII it appears that I have run the BITD horse near death too fast, and too soon, so let’s change gears for a bit…

 

Let’s think along the lines of what THS 88 on the Web has done — now in its 12th month…  The next few blogs will ask questions along the lines of what the site has meant to you — I know… sorta touchy feelly and everyone knows I don’t like touchy feelly or when I try, it usually does not come over as intended and most of the time it’s not pretty — perhaps we’ll try being sentimental — I can do sentimental, but again like most things I put to paper or screen, most won’t quite get it — with all that aside, let’s reflect for a moment…  These blogs will serve as lead-in for:

 

The 2nd Semi-Annual

THSpy Awards

 

at or around the Official Anniversary date of November 28, 2006…  Feel free to submit nominations…  The categories used before (May 2006) will not necessarily be awarded this time, so nominate your favorite blog or post and we’ll all see what happens…

 

For this blog reflecting on the site’s first 11 plus months, I ask of the people you knew Back in the Day:

 

Who is your Favorite

Re-Connection

thus far ???

 

If you feel you can’t narrow it down to just 1,

how about your Top 3 or so…

 

 

I want to read from you THS 88 so my choice(s) will come after 5 of your posts.

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Just a reminder, If for some reason you are unable to post to THS 88 on the Web, you may e-mail your desired Comment to me via kmax2k1@hotmail.com.  Please be sure to reference the blog your post is intended…

Thanks…

ed.

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