It is with great pleasure that I announce the Town of Odyssey has officially turned one! It has been an incredible ride that has far exceeded my meager expectations going into this year and I want to thank every single member here for making this place such a wonderful community. Real friendships, real relationships, real feelings... this board has been blessed and I look forward to many years to come!
Here are some of these amazing statistics for the year:
Posts: 244951
Average # Posts Per Day: 671.52
Average # Topics Per Day: 19.73
Number of Topics: 7200
Users: 412
I always said this board would never maintain the traffic level we had when we started up, but the board got busier not quieter. I guess there really is no limit to what we can discuss
.It is also with my pleasure that I present for all of you the present DanP740 has been building up to for the past week. Here it is, the final image:
Thanks DanP740 for the Official Town of Odyssey Birthday Cake!
And finally, to commemorate our birthday, Mayor Jonathan and Chief of Police Evil Chick went on a mission to gather comments from members who have been here from day one. They responded with comments about the past year and I would like to share those with everyone here:
Catspaw wrote:The ToO - the short little phrase that has come to mean friends, fun, flirting, and so much more to me! There have been so many fun moments ever since I joined that first morning, wishing that I had stayed up until 1 a.m. to be able to join even sooner. Before the ToO, I never would have imagined talking on the phone with some weird peope I met on the internet, or writing letters to some odd person who has a boy's name.There have been very few days that I have not been on the ToO for at least a little while, and it has never been by choice that I have been kept from my beloved land of the ToO. It's hard to believe that a year has passed since the ToO opened - so much has happened, yet it feels like hardly any time at all. Yay for the ToO! Long may it exist, and long may Shadowpaw (:inlove:) reign!
~ Catspaw Blackgaard
Dr. Watson wrote:I must say this past year has been quite special for me. I joined the ToO on its first day and instantly loved it! It was a little confusing at first with all the different subforums, but it was so much fun exploring the board. Perhaps my favorite memory was supporting Top and EB in their bid to become the first mayor and COP. I really liked being on their police force as well, and working with the other great moderators. I have also enjoyed being part of the Blackgaard Clan, and the fine comraderie that the members have. All in all, I thank Shadowpaw for this website; I can honestly say that the friends and memories I have made here will last the rest of my life.
Cheerio,
Doc
MDB17 wrote:The past year has been sooooooooo fun i have learned so much from yall about Odyssey and how crazy some of the fans can be.(EK...)The board has changed so much. we have about 450 members in only a year. Tons of Factions, a bank, a church, and even some news papers. It benn fun and i hope the next year is as good as the last.
AIO Psyche wrote: As most people know, I've had what some would call a 'checkered past' here on the ToO. As a Christian, a person, and a man, I have grown so very much. I learn new things almost daily. The biggest things that spring to my mind, is that I have learned a very valuable lesson about forgiveness. After writing some........questionable material for the Tattler, I threw a huge fit, pretty much screwed all my frindships on here (on purpose), and left in a grand flurry of hate, rage, and a general feeling of not really caring. And I came back, for what ever reason, and shared my new found hate with everyone. Then, for reasons that I still don't know, almost everyone forgave me. Shortly after that, I had a literal life changing event with God, and my life was changed for the better. For the rest of my life. And all of that happened while here on the ToO. Some of my best friends are here on the ToO. Jonathan, for instance. We've been good friends for a few years now I beleive. That is one of many valued freindships that I have here.
The ToO will always have a special place in my heart. No matter how old I get. Here's to an eventful first year, and many more eventful years to come.
Itaque wrote:I simply love reading the boards and have come to appreciate the personalities around here. I also like the idea of jobs, as I don't have to post to earn money.
serrebi wrote:Ok, her egoes, I'll do my best here. I love thetoo for the AIO discussions. I come here to exchange and watch the speculations fly. Some of the ideas expressed I'd never see somewhere else. I also like that I found some AIO fanfiction. I'm glad the idea for that isn't just confound to the inside of my brain. TheToo has inspired a lot of creativity in the AIO community, and I pray that the town of odyssey stays around for years to come!
Andrea Meltsner wrote:Wow, a whole year already? Boy time sure flies by huh. I guess the major thing that hass affected me is that because of the Too I have come to realize how much I like writing! Aslo I have many good friends! Here's to ya Too! and God Grant us many more!
Me wrote:When the ToO first started, it was just another AIO message board (albeit a really cool one). But over the last year, what was nothing more than a place to talk about a cool radio show turned into something else for me. I have met so many wonderful people here, and many of you who were before faceless entities, have become friends. Thank you all so much (Shadowpaw especially (for starting it)) for a wonderful year.
Fenix wrote:The ToO is a nice break from my life. Its full of excitment and consists of tremendously awesome people that I have come to call friends. The Town Of Odyssey is Heaven on the internet.
Lady Simbelmynë wrote:Over the past year, The Town of Odyssey has really meant alot to me. I could go on and on about it, but I don't want to make this too long!No matter how busy and hectic my life gets, I always enjoy coming to the ToO, and I want to come to it the rest of my life! If I never get to meet everybody on the ToO in person, in this life - I'll look forward to the giant ToO conference in Heaven! Thank-you, everybody! ~*~Ruthie~*~
Bmuntz wrote:A great memory I have of the ToO is the first day it was launched. It was happening at 1 AM where I live and I had to stay up to see what Shadowpaw's big surprise was. I put in a Home Improvement DVD and I watched for 4 hours. I stayed up to 3 AM posting and I remember that the first thing I thought when I saw the ToO was that it looked very strange. But it wasn’t long before I was hooked. Thanks to Shadowpaw and the others that worked on the ToO!
Chandler wrote:The Town of Odyssey is now my favorite forum ever with its unique blend of AIO, Christianity, and everything else.Thanks to all the people who’ve worked hard to keep this place running smoothly!
AIOFan11 wrote:The ToO has been the most fun place to come to on the internet, this past year. I have gained "internet" friendships, and just how to deal with people. This place means alot to me, and I thank all the members for their friendship, all the Mayors, Chief of Polices', and Moderators that have kept this place running, and Shadowpaw for an EXCELLENT board. You are brilliant, Shadow!
Continental Crusader wrote:This past year on the ToO has been amazing... it's odd, because a good number of the people I've got to know well here were on the TH, yet somehow the ToO was just more condusive to getting to know people.
Hope wrote:well it has been a great year. even though i havent been around i have had great time spending the last year in the town of odssesy. i love talking to my brother about it and seeing what is new espically when he is the mayor and all. there has been times where i have argued with my brother and just go nuts cause there is something he has done. but i have enjoyed it a lot.
JesusFreak777 wrote:Wow, I can't believe it's been a whole year! A year ago when I sw the countdown, I never would have thought that it was a messageboard, or that I would join, or make such wonderful Friends. A year ago, I would have never even thought of chatting with people I didn't know much less meet them, talk on the phone with them, exchange letter and packages, and even get dragged across the country to go to college with a guy from the internet..a guy who is now my bestest best friend.
It is amazing how God uses things...even the internet, to further his plan for our lives. Without THe ToO and the wonderful Shadowpaw, I can honestly say I probably would not be where I am today. I have so many friends. Through this site, God took me from my comfort zone back home in Washington State, and brought me out to Virginia and Liberty University, one of the best Christian Universities in the nation. Through that I also got to meet David O in person, and he is now my bestest best friend. I have also met Me, and Top, and Jessicado, and talked with so many of you. I would consider many of you here some of my closest friends. I m so thankful for all that God has done all He has grown me and stretched me in, strengthed my faith in so many ways, and it is all because of this site. So Happy Birthday ToO! And thank you Shadowpaw for all your hard work.
Evil Chick wrote:This past year on the ToO has pretty much been the best year of my life! I have made so many good friends, good memories, and I've experienced so many awesome things here! It's been a lot of fun getting to know great friends like JF, Trent DeWhite, Jonathan, EK, Sonuna, and even Shadowpaw. That's actually rather funny, because a year ago I was almost a little afraid, and definitely in awe of Shadowpaw. And now we're working together on the mayoral staff! (I'm still in awe of him, though now I've overcome my fear of him.
Jonathan wrote:The only word I think can describe the past year here for me is 'Outstanding!' I couldn't ever imagine a messageboard getting better then what I found in Oct '04, then here last April, but so far only good things have happened ^_^ And serving as a mod and admin has been fun too
Seriously, I really enjoy this board and the people here, and am looking forward to another great year
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), I must agree with pretty much all that has been already stated. It's truly incredible to see a board connect such a diverse group of individuals together... all in the name of AIO. 
Happy Birthday, ToO! 
*starts tearing up*
