Farewell World Crossing

This topic was opened to archive the above titled thread from the Harry Potter Lexicon Forum (HPLF) as it was created and hosted on World Crossing (WX) until WX ceased operation on 15 April 2011. ~ John.
(Note well: Embedded images and links were not saved in this text based process. Written URLs were made active links, and some character based emoticons were recognized and replaced with graphic emoticons automatically by the ForuMotion software.)

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+ Farewell World Crossing

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shepherdess - Apr 9, 2011 7:17 pm
Edited by Kip Carter Apr 9, 2011 11:16 pm

World Crossing (WX) has not only been home to the Harry Potter Lexicon Forum almost since it's beginning, but it has held a special place in many hearts for several years. Friends were made and the love of a common work has been shared by many.

People have come and gone; people have stayed. We've made friends, supported one another, celebrated marriages, births and special occasions, and mourned deaths.

Discussions have been heated, intriguing, informative, sad, fun, and even silly. And through it all, we have always done our best to make sure it was kept intelligent, clean and friendly.

As for me, I have loved this forum from the beginning. I am proud to have been a host on what I still believe is the best Harry Potter forum on the planet. I'm honored to call the members here my friends.

This was my first forum, and it has taught me more than I can possibly begin to list. For that, I thank everyone who has been a part of this phenomenon.

A very special Thank You to Lexicon Steve for creating this for us, to Kip Carter for taking on the lead role in maintaining the forum and doing it so well, to Denise for being Kip's "right hand man" and working so hard here, and to all my present and former co-hosts who have also given time and energy for our benefit.

Now a chapter is closing, and new one is opening. I, for one, felt the need for a little closure here; the need to say the things I did. I thought I'd also give the opportunity to anyone else who would like to reminisce or close this chapter properly. The floor is yours.

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Potteraholic - Apr 9, 2011 8:01 pm (#1 of 41)

shepherdess,

What a beautiful message! I need more time to think of how to put my feelings about this place in writing, and know I don't have a lot of time to do that , but your words rang true for me in many ways.

What a wonderful start to our 'farewell' thread.

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shepherdess - Apr 9, 2011 8:16 pm (#2 of 41)

Thank you.

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Solitaire - Apr 9, 2011 9:10 pm (#3 of 41)

I'm not sure I can add anything to that beautiful sentiment, Shepherdess. I agree with every word. I can only say what a joy it was to me to find such a warm and respectful community of people online. Coming as I had from a board where people had become frequently hurtful and disrespectful to each other, I was looking for a safe online haven where people treated each other with respect. I was also looking for a site which treated HP with a more G-rated tone than those I had visited. I found it here. I will always be grateful to the person on one of those other sites who suggested that I might find this site more to my liking. She was absolutely right. I lurked for a day or so, but it was not long before I realized this was the place for me.

In addition to finding a whole world of people who loved to discuss literature--Yes, I was in English major heaven!--I made many online friends. I continue to correspond with many of you, I've talked to a few of you on the phone, and I've even met some of you face to face over the years. I hope that doesn't stop.

I am so grateful to Steve, Kip, and all of the moderators who have done such a wonderful job of maintaining a first-class forum for us over the years. Sites like this don't just happen, and they don't just run themselves. I know that Steve, Kip, and the core group of moderators have given literally thousands of hours over the years to make the HPLF a place I return to every day. Even now that the series is finished, I still seek out the chat thread for friendship, laughter, support, and comfort every morning and every evening. I've laughed and cried and rejoiced and prayed with many of you as I've followed everyone's lives over the months and years.

I am particularly grateful to Kip and especially to Denise for getting our new home up and running. This community and its members have become so much a part of my life that I don't think I could bear to lose touch with any of you. I know that we will lose a lot of things when WX goes--but John, Elanor, Lady Arabella, Mona, PAH, Julia, Josephine and Anne, and others have really been doing a heroic job of archiving and moving as many of the favorite threads as they can to our new home. I don't know if you all know how much this means to me, at least, so I just want to say thank you to all of you right here. Your hard work is noticed and appreciated.

I would have been a member 7 years this July. Thank you for a wonderful seven years.

Solitaire

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Potteraholic - Apr 10, 2011 8:37 am (#4 of 41)

images c/o ellibookblog.wordpress.com & timelines.com

I posted this on the Chat thread... and then thought this would be a good place for it, too.

Hi, everyone! Over on the Five Words thread, we are writing about Harry's first journey to Hogwarts, as he's retelling Lily and Hugo the story in a café, after dropping off the others at Platform 9 3/4. (Ron, Hermione, and Ginny are there, as well.) It seemed like a fitting theme for our last story here.

So, as we finish out this thread for the last time on World Crossing, I thought I'd just post the images I've been using as the my avatar for this story, here. This picture of Dan, Emma, and Rupert, also seemed like a fitting thing to post, from the time when things all started for them.

As much as we're all going to miss this place, the new place looks more 'homey' with each passing day, so we'll be all right.

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Viola Intonada - Apr 10, 2011 9:15 am (#5 of 41)

I first came to this forum after having read Order of the Phoenix. I didn't know anyone else who had finished reading it. So I went online to find a forum. I found the Harry Potter Lexicon Forum first. It was right when they were having server problems. It took me a few days to find it on the Easy Boards. I was so excited to have a place to discuss the books and it was the first time I had ever visited a forum. I was an avid poster on the Easy Boards and would stay up late in the chatroom. After we moved back to World Crossing, there were just a few threads that I would post on. Again I could be found in the chat room most of the time. World Crossing was too overwhelming at the time to keep up with. I was an inmate at St. Mungos over on the Fanfict forum, also. I attended the forum gathering that Betty hosted to see PoA together. This forum has developed into being a very important part of my life. I treasure the camaraderie.

I'm thankful that a new forum was started before this one ended, so that we could have the proper time to complete the move.

Thank you to Steve, Kip, Denise and all of the hosts for making such a comfy home here and to those responsible for our new comfy home.

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Choices - Apr 10, 2011 9:25 am (#6 of 41)

I second all of the above stated sentiments. Simply put, I love this place and all the wonderful friends I have come to know here. This forum is so special and it has forever spoiled me for any other forum out there. I know our new home will continue in the spirit of this one and for that I am very grateful. Thanks to everyone who has worked to make this place what it is - a home we can come to that is family friendly and respectful and appreciative of proper English. I joined this forum on 9/18/03 and it has been such an important and enjoyable part of my daily life ever since. I hope it never ends. May we all prosper and grow in our new home just as we have here. :-)

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Verity Weasley - Apr 10, 2011 11:58 am (#7 of 41)

I would also like to echo all the comments that have already been made. This forum has become a very important part of my life and checking the threads here is now part of my daily routine, and has been for a long time. I first came to the forum shortly before Order of the Phoenix was released, as I had been desperately trawling the web looking for information. I found it after visiting JKR's own site where she had just given the Lexicon an award. I lurked for ages, just reading all the threads. After OotP was released I could contain myself no longer, and just had to start posting, so I joined. This was my first experience of belonging to a forum, and I am thankful that I stumbled across such a friendly, welcoming, professional community.

I know that here I am in good company, with fellow fans who share and understand my obsession. It is hard to explain to an outsider just what a profound influence Harry Potter has had on my life (even my husband doesn't understand), but I know you all do. Along the way, we found out other things we have in common, whether it is our age, our profession, or other shared interests.

Helping to archive some of the Five Words threads has made me a little wistful for the good old days, when the site was just buzzing with activity. Nothing stays the same, however, but I am extremely thankful for all the hard work that everyone has contributed to create our new home and make it as comforting and welcoming as this one has always been.

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Elanor - Apr 10, 2011 12:49 pm (#8 of 41)

A beautiful post Shepherdess, and wonderful idea. I cannot find the words to tell what the forum has meant for me all these years. I have found wonderful friends here, met some of them too, first at Accio (we were the one table cheering madly when Lexicon Steve during his speech at the "feast" mentioned DIGS - simply unforgettable ) and then later in California. Thank you so much Steve, Kip, Denise and all the hosts who have worked so hard to make this place a rare haven on the internet.

These last days, I've been taken by a "saving threads frenzy" (I think I copied 50 threads or so today ). Like Lady Arabella (I so empathized with your nightmare) and I think all the other "archivists", I can't bear the idea of losing any of the wonderful conversations we've had here. To me they're like the photo album of our family, with all its laughter caught in writing if not picture, bickering also sometimes (like in any true family, right? ), but passion always. The threads are our shared history, one very dear to my heart, and I think this is a photo album we will enjoy browsing in the years to come.

Today, I saved the "Cabbage" thread, in the "Potter-pourri" folder. A thread about cabbage in HP... many outside our "family" would find writing about the topic, not to mention wanting to save it, insignificant but I realized while archiving it that it was, on the contrary, of the utmost importance - because it shows who we are. We have been dedicated enough, thorough enough, passionate enough (who said obsessed enough? ) to care about cabbage in HP. This thread is the perfect example of what made us all, coming from so different countries and cultures, feel at home here. This is who we are.

I'd better stop before I become teary. I'll just paraphrase an old saying to finish this post:
The forum is dead. Long live the forum!

And add: thank you Jo, and Harry.

Audrey

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dizzy lizzy - Apr 10, 2011 2:41 pm (#9 of 41)

Thanks everyone for all your hard work in making this forum the best around. Most importantly thank you Jo for writing the books without which 99% of us would never have met.

I agree so much with shepherdess and what she said. It's a little sad to be looking at the end of the forum in this incarnation.

But like a phoenix it's already had its burning day as is now residing happily at it's new home. Many thanks to Denise and Kip to get the new home up and running and looking quite spiffy. Many thanks to the archivists who've saved more than a few threads. At least we have a good cross sample of our forum in its heyday!

I'm sad this forum is closing, but I'm grateful we already have a new home! See you all there!

Lizzy

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Choices - Apr 10, 2011 3:00 pm (#10 of 41)

Lizzy, how wonderful to compare the new forum to "a phoenix". I love that idea and I think from here on I shall refer to our new home as "The Phoenix Forum". It is so apropos! We are rising from the ashes of our old home and taking on new life in a new dwelling place. I love it!

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Solitaire - Apr 10, 2011 5:16 pm (#11 of 41)

The Phoenix analogy is perfect, Lizzy. I think Fawkes and Dumbledore would approve. Like everyone else, I've become rather teary-eyed when writing as well as reading on this thread. I've also become a bit soggy as I've been reading through some of my old favorite threads, remembering how excited I was to find this little piece of Harry Potter Heaven on the Net. I'm just so pleased that we have a new place to go.

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Thom Matheson - Apr 10, 2011 9:59 pm (#12 of 41)

IT IS OUR CHOICES THAT TRULY TELL US WHO WE REALLY ARE. Isn't that the truth. We all made a choice. Mine came back about Goblet of Fire. I could not understand why I had become so geeked about a kid's book. A kids book? Yeah right. After looking at the internet for a place to intellectualize my thoughts and of course opinions about the future of this story and where it was going to go, I found a number of places to communicate. Most talked in a language I could not understand. I called it acrnymia. LOL, OMG. Who talks like that. Cussing and road rage discussions about a kid's book?

Then an obsure link came to me called the Lexicon. Whooaa, stop the presses. Rules like talk in real words. Must have proper grammer. Grammer? Then all the threads. There were so many. I even got to name one. Good Ole Aunt Petunia. It's the little things folks. We talked over everything. A stranger would come in with that cybertrash mentality and the "Mods" would swoop down like Falkes after the Basilisk, and just like that gone.

I discovered great friends, that I could trust to have my back as I would theirs. Not too many places that I openly leave out my email. We have been able to openly assist each other through good and hard times. We have watched families grow, give birth, change careers, lose loved ones, go through the trama of selling and moving homes. Is there anything that our "little" family has not been part of?

I have a few people I need recognize and then I will stand down and leave this place, with all of the memories that have become ingrained inside of me.

Fisrt, Tim Rew. My God man I miss you. My foil, my partner in crime. Always first with a joke, first to break the tension, and my original "wet noodle" partner.

Next, Kip. My second and last "wet noodle partner". Kip, I have a box coming to you from FedX. More ammo. You should probably open it right away and get it in the frig.

Denise. 42 kids, 83 birds, scouts of every flavor, and every reject from Father Flannigan's Boys Town in Northern Virginia. You are the only one I know who actually gets a 28 hour day. I offer you my very best. The Lord has not necessarily blessed you, as much as us who have the privalige of knowing you.

John, Steve, and Squid Mike. Guys we must stick together. Remember that without roosters, ther are no hens, in the house.

MP. All I can say is, Lets go squirrel hunting sometime. I'll bring the cocoa and cheese sandwichs.

Soli. Well what can I say. See you at the new house. Remember I called the front bedroom. Lose the Honda.

So many friends, so little time.

Thank You finally Jo Rawling. You started this incredible journey, and then left it up to us to finish it. Don't worry, we will. God Bless all of you everywhere. See you all at the new house.

Thom

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jose043 - Apr 10, 2011 11:31 pm (#13 of 41)

Thanks to Steve Lexicon, Kip, Denise and all the monitors for a well run forum. Both Anne and I have enjoyed the read and posting. To all the members see you over on the new forum where quite a few us are all ready, signed in and talking and helping to get things over before Friday.

Josephine and Anne

Little Werewolves of West Aussie

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Julia H. - Apr 11, 2011 12:47 am (#14 of 41)

Despite all our efforts there will be things we must leave behind, things that cannot be transferred to the new place - something we have loved and enjoyed will end forever, and it is always sad. But a new opportunity has started as well, and the future of the new forum depends on us. The old days are gone, but it seems we still have a lot to say to each other.

I'm really not good at this ... Luckily, there are many others here who express my feelings precisely and so much better than I could.

(((((Hugs))))) to all.

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boop - Apr 11, 2011 4:40 pm (#15 of 41)

Wow so this is the last week of this home. This Place has such a special place in my heart. I have made so many life long friends, who I feel are part of my family. We have all gone through so much together the good the bad the funny the sad. This forum has been a life saving support system. I want to thank Jo for writing the books. Steve, for starting this forum. Kip, Denise for keeping it running smooth. Also the hosts for all their hard work too. I also want to thank everyone who has been working so hard to bring threads over to our new home. Thank You all for memories that I will take with me. Good bye World Crossing, time to move on to make new memories at our new home. Big Hugs All!!

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Betelgeuse Black - Apr 11, 2011 6:25 pm (#16 of 41)

I am so glad that I found the Lexicon Forum. I stumbled upon the forum after JKR gave an award on her official website to the HP Lexicon and I started browsing. I was glad to have a rational place to read everyone's thoughts instead of emotional drivel and shout downs. I always appreciated the tone of the discussions and the necessary interruptions on the Snape thread when things got heated.

This was the place where I became convinced that Snape was in love with Lily after HBP. I remember the irreverent jokes that would make me laugh out loud. I'll miss this place but I'm glad that there is a refugee camp set up for us. I'm not the most talkative person but I've always enjoyed revelling with all of you here with my HP obsession.

Betelgeuse

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John Bumbledore - Apr 12, 2011 11:33 pm (#17 of 41)

Wow you we all left volumes of written words here. This thread, is not the least. Most of these threads have been packed up and are traveling in many 'moving vans' to the new location for our forum. This one will be saved too.

I counted 858 threads with over 355,000 (yes thousand) posts. My tally tonight shows 530 threads have already been saved leaving just 328 threads (most remain in the vote section) unarchived.

What we have known as Worldcrossing is merely a piece of old, tired, thread-bear, and much patched, software that in the not so recent past developed dis-associative personality disorder (commonly call multiple personality disorder). I'm not too sad to say good bye to Wx but I will say that I hope to continue to see you all at this forum in its new home on ForuMotion (FM).

May we all fare well and meet again soon. --John

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Solitaire - Apr 13, 2011 7:11 am (#18 of 41)

John, I am flabbergasted that you have all moved that many threads! It really will seem homey over there. I have found, too, that archived threads are often easier to search, because there are so many posts on a single page. Thank you so much for getting that whole project moving. (Tell me ... did the thread about whether or not Fudge was a DE make it over? LOL I enjoyed that one a lot, although I'm not sure I could tell you which one it was.)

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Steve Newton - Apr 13, 2011 7:24 am (#19 of 41)

Well done with moving the threads. Has anyone moved the job interview thread? I includes my one noted witticism.

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mona amon - Apr 13, 2011 8:12 am (#20 of 41)

did the thread about whether or not Fudge was a DE make it over? LOL

Soli, is this the one? Jimmy Bell, "-- I have figured out Cornelius Fudge's dirty little secret!" #, 1 Mar 2003 11:37 pm If so I just copied it. It was faster to just copy and save than to try and check if it's already been saved, LOL.

Steve I couldn't find your thread. Any idea where it is? I'd love to read your one noted witticism, and copy and save the thread.

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And while I'm here, farewell, WX! Hello new forum! Thank you Lexicon Steve, Kip, Shepherdess, Denise and all other hosts, and my fellow forumers, for making this the very best forum in the whole world, and for finding a new home for us.

I'm not feeling sad because we have a new place now, and all of you will be there.

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Choices - Apr 13, 2011 8:31 am (#21 of 41)

I agree.....we are the forum and the forum is us. Where we are, there shall the forum be also. So, goodbye WX and hello to our new home. See you there!

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Elanor - Apr 13, 2011 9:16 am (#22 of 41)

Steve, I did save it this very morning!

(Mona, it was in the "Opinions On All Things Harry Potter" folder, I copied the whole folder this morning).

I know there is no way we manage to save everything but still working on saving as much as I can in the remaining time. That must be the historian training I've had, it just kills me to lose information/data/references.

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azi - Apr 13, 2011 9:33 am (#23 of 41)

Bye bye, WX.

I'm sad the forum is going, but having a period of transition has helped me get over it a bit. Thanks to all the archiving people who have saved so many threads!

Lizzy's phoenix analogy is spot on. This forum is going, but a new one has risen in its place.

See you all in our new home!

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journeymom - Apr 13, 2011 1:50 pm (#24 of 41)

Well said, Everyone. Nothing original to add.

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Potteraholic - Apr 13, 2011 3:29 pm (#25 of 41)

This is like waiting for the other shoe to drop.

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shepherdess - Apr 13, 2011 4:57 pm (#26 of 41)

We have a special thread for remembering Timrew, but does anyone remember the other two forumers who have passed away?

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Potteraholic - Apr 13, 2011 5:21 pm (#27 of 41)

Hmmm... I have a faint memory of a young man from Australia or New Zealand... whose name escapes me...

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Barbara J - Apr 13, 2011 6:40 pm (#28 of 41)

I have participated in fits and starts, but have mostly lurked. I have been touched by what a close community some of you have created, and want to thank you all for creating a place where Potter Geeks can safely gather. (The fact that so many of us write in full sentences is no small bonus.) I will be joining the new forum as well, mostly to be sure I can find sympathetic ears when I go through withdrawal after Part 2 comes out this summer.

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Solitaire - Apr 13, 2011 8:52 pm (#29 of 41)

Mona, I think that may be it. Thank you so much!

I agree with Azi that having the transition time, with both sites open, has made the move a bit easier ... although I still get a bit teary when I read some of the good-byes and the old threads. I also like the idea that Choices had: we are the forum and the forum is us. Where we are, there shall the forum be also.

Barbara J, you remind me of my mom. Her first name is Barbara, and her middle name starts with J!

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Madam Pince - Apr 14, 2011 4:46 am (#30 of 41)

We have a special thread for remembering Timrew, but does anyone remember the other two forumers who have passed away?

Hamaunara was the young man, and Lynn __ (some initial?) was the other man, I believe. (I probably mis-spelled Hamaunara...) Denise knows, I think...

Wow. You guys have just expressed everything so eloquently, that there's nothing left to say. I agree with everything, and I love you guys.

And Thom, way to make me cry first thing in the morning... Seriously, I thought I was doing OK until I got to yours...

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Steve Newton - Apr 14, 2011 7:39 am (#31 of 41)

Mona, the job interview thread is near the bottom of this page:

http://wc6.worldcrossing.com/webx/.1ddf6d43/

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mona amon - Apr 14, 2011 8:07 am (#32 of 41)

Steve, it was hilarious! I'm so glad Audrey has saved it.

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Verity Weasley - Apr 14, 2011 8:59 am (#33 of 41)

Aw, come on Mona! You can't just leave it like that. What did Steve say?

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mona amon - Apr 14, 2011 9:50 am (#34 of 41)

Verity, the whole thread is hilarious! This is Steve's post but you have to read the opening post and at least some of the other posts to get it.

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Thom Matheson - Apr 14, 2011 11:10 am (#35 of 41)

There there, my dear MP, just eat a bit of chocolate. It helps, really. See?, better now? I knew it. I will attempt to do better at the new house, but STEEEEEVVVVVEEEEE, keeps sitting on my side of the car taking MY space. I'm telling..... DENISEEEEEEE, Steve won't sit right. You should make him live in the basement with the other naughty children.

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Detail Seeker - Apr 14, 2011 1:45 pm (#36 of 41)

So, last post on this Forum after starting posting in the beginning of 2003. Sad feeling on the one han, but good, that the new Forum is already running. Thanks to all those, who found the time to save, what we have spoken about here.

I hope to see everybody again on the new Forum. To thoae, who will not change: Fare well and thanks for all the good ideas and nice laughs !

Thanks, WC for the good time here.

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boop - Apr 14, 2011 3:11 pm (#37 of 41)

LOL Thom!

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Julia H. - Apr 14, 2011 4:12 pm (#38 of 41)

Farewell, World Crossing... Thanks to all who made this Forum such a wonderful place!

See you all on the new site!

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Chemyst - Apr 14, 2011 5:12 pm (#39 of 41)

As Harry said at the end...
All was well.

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Choices - Apr 14, 2011 6:15 pm (#40 of 41)

Now you've gone and done it......I am feeling very emotional about the final 24 hours of our WX home and then you had to say, "All was well." I'm glad the Kleenex is handy. :-(

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Madam Pince - Apr 14, 2011 9:38 pm (#41 of 41)

Thought of something today -- everyone, if you want to save your description of yourself that's behind your avatar (what is it called? your introduction or something?) then don't forget to go do that...

I had forgotten about that post of Steve Newton's -- I am so glad to be reminded of it again. Classic! Needs to be a "Far Side" cartoon, actually.

Thom, LOL. Stay on your side and keep your hands to yourself or we'll have to separate you two.

You know, I thought of one bright side to this site closing. At least now we can hit the "Mark As Read" button and not feel badly about it.