I don't know about you guys, but this website is awesome. I may be a tad biased because...well just because, but seriously. The collaborative effort that's going on is so great to witness.
A little back story to the creation of kavaforums to those who found us after our first incarnation as the kavasseur's yuku lounge forum:
Our beginnings:
I'm sure most of you are familiar with the kavasseur's blog at blogspot. We were a community that banded together around his yuku platform forum. At the time there was literally nothing even close to a review about kava circulating anywhere on the internet so we hung on his every word. Every review he would post would cause a flurry of activity of members on the message board. I myself remained a lurker for a good year at least. I joined and lurked further until I jumped in and started to converse with the members there. Everyone was so helpful and insightful. There were all sorts of projects going on and every new discovery made by a member was celebrated. A year or so on things began to quiet down since the kavasseur moved to Ghana. Fewer reviews were posted and it felt as if the community as a whole was loosing steam. About this time (November of 2012) is when I purchased the domain name for kavaforums. I and several members pitched the idea of a new forum that had better control over features (and maybe even a "like" function!). It was met with some enthusiasm, but most were happy with the platform as it was, so kavaforums.com sat unused for a number of months in the interim. There were many days where we wouldn't see a single post being shared which caused me and I'm sure a number others to begin to feel the tension. I knew something had to be done to keep the kava community as populated and as colorful as it was in the old days. Hence the first green incarnation of kavaforums. We still owe our communities beginnings to the efforts of Doug LaRose (aka the kavasseur).
Our website is now lightyears ahead of where we were in the past. Better spam control (although yes a few have gotten through), richer contact options, LIKES and chat! We're seeing around 100 new unique visitors a day on top of our loyal daily visitors. We're beginning to become a real force in the kava industry and hope to be a growing influence for ethical sales of kava in the future.
I believe it's time for some shout-outs
Headhodge has voluntarily taken on the occupation here as chief data organization administrator. He's doing a bang up job at getting things in place, code written, and sorting through the mountains of data. I want to let everyone know I have full confidence in him.
I want to publicly announce that infraredz is the newest member of our moderator team.
Infraredz has been with us from the beginning and has tirelessly documented scientific data on kava. I trust his judgement and honestly I think he's as qualified as you can get to hold the job.
Kavadude has been working in the background of the website since its beginnings and has been an integral part of moving all of the old posts form the yuku lounge to this new xenforo platform. He is a full administrator and moderator. He actually has the same root access to the website as I do, and has been helping me the whole time.
I also want to thank all the members and vendors who have stuck with us so far and continued to be a valuable part of our community. When we all continue to work together as we are now we can be sure to give the future of kava a fighting chance.
As we move into another weekend together I want everyone to know that they have my most sincere thanks in making this website as awesome as it is!
A little back story to the creation of kavaforums to those who found us after our first incarnation as the kavasseur's yuku lounge forum:
Our beginnings:
I'm sure most of you are familiar with the kavasseur's blog at blogspot. We were a community that banded together around his yuku platform forum. At the time there was literally nothing even close to a review about kava circulating anywhere on the internet so we hung on his every word. Every review he would post would cause a flurry of activity of members on the message board. I myself remained a lurker for a good year at least. I joined and lurked further until I jumped in and started to converse with the members there. Everyone was so helpful and insightful. There were all sorts of projects going on and every new discovery made by a member was celebrated. A year or so on things began to quiet down since the kavasseur moved to Ghana. Fewer reviews were posted and it felt as if the community as a whole was loosing steam. About this time (November of 2012) is when I purchased the domain name for kavaforums. I and several members pitched the idea of a new forum that had better control over features (and maybe even a "like" function!). It was met with some enthusiasm, but most were happy with the platform as it was, so kavaforums.com sat unused for a number of months in the interim. There were many days where we wouldn't see a single post being shared which caused me and I'm sure a number others to begin to feel the tension. I knew something had to be done to keep the kava community as populated and as colorful as it was in the old days. Hence the first green incarnation of kavaforums. We still owe our communities beginnings to the efforts of Doug LaRose (aka the kavasseur).
Our website is now lightyears ahead of where we were in the past. Better spam control (although yes a few have gotten through), richer contact options, LIKES and chat! We're seeing around 100 new unique visitors a day on top of our loyal daily visitors. We're beginning to become a real force in the kava industry and hope to be a growing influence for ethical sales of kava in the future.
I believe it's time for some shout-outs
Headhodge has voluntarily taken on the occupation here as chief data organization administrator. He's doing a bang up job at getting things in place, code written, and sorting through the mountains of data. I want to let everyone know I have full confidence in him.
I want to publicly announce that infraredz is the newest member of our moderator team.
Infraredz has been with us from the beginning and has tirelessly documented scientific data on kava. I trust his judgement and honestly I think he's as qualified as you can get to hold the job.
Kavadude has been working in the background of the website since its beginnings and has been an integral part of moving all of the old posts form the yuku lounge to this new xenforo platform. He is a full administrator and moderator. He actually has the same root access to the website as I do, and has been helping me the whole time.
I also want to thank all the members and vendors who have stuck with us so far and continued to be a valuable part of our community. When we all continue to work together as we are now we can be sure to give the future of kava a fighting chance.
As we move into another weekend together I want everyone to know that they have my most sincere thanks in making this website as awesome as it is!
) . But well..this has become that place. I may not check out the forums every single day but when I do it's like coming home and sitting in my favorite comfy chair. I'm glad to see our community growing. I'm also glad I've been around long enough to witness and take part in that transformation.
...is over.