What does the brewing network mean to you?

[BrewTa2]

From an earlier thread, still true:

Why is this forum so different from 80% of all forums on the web? The members span the spectrum of just about any category I can think of - politically, racially, sexually, nationality, regionally, experience..... on and on, but we all get along pretty well. It's not that we are all brewers or interested in beer. Check out some other beer forums and you'll see that many require more moderation. Banned members here? I know of one since I've been here. [edit - now 2] No locked or removed threads that I know of and very few edited posts. [edit - with some recent exceptions] Most of the editing has been appreciated the next day by the sobered up poster.

I think the reason this forum is different is that the people here are not just screen names on the internet to the rest of us. We support the BN as we can and participate together in festivals and other events so we get to know each other as real people and become friends outside the cloister of the internet. Since we have that relationship, we can tell each other when we are getting out of line in the forum, just like your buddy can tell you to put your pants on and get down off the table at a bar. We keep ourselves in order because we are friends and respect each other so the moderators don't have to step in too often.

If someone we don't know comes into "our" forum and starts acting out - we'll try to get them in line so they can find a way to fit in and be one of our friends. We don't want to be exclusive or have everyone agree with us, far from it, we want to see the BN grow and prosper! We do expect people to get along and conduct themselves in a civil manner. I learned this lesson myself after making an appallingly bad spectacle of myself in my first live chat. Apologies were made, a lesson was learned. [edit - sorta]

OK, 12 beers down so I'll finish my ramble by saying that the BN is a special group of friends that get along amazingly well, all things considered.

I love you guys!

How's that for fucking feelings?

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

My first NHC was Denver in 2007. Didn't know anyone when we arrived. I met Peter Symons there, and a couple other folks. I had only recently discovered the BN so I wasn't out looking for them.

Cincy, on the other hand, was a lot better! I met Mash Gordan, who has sort of left us to go pro; Slanted and Enchanted; and McGruffus. I knew everyone at the BN, at least by voice, so it was fun to meet everyone. But I was still a little in awe of them all.

In Oakland I went to BNA4. I think I met everyone here in the forums: BadRock, Henning, Mylo, Baloo, Tap It Good, BrewTa2. . . It was great to meet a group of people that were your instant buddies, or some weirdly semi-dysfunctional family.

In the long run, that's what makes the BN the place I hang out the most. We're basically a bunch of s with a warped sense of humor and an unsettling attraction to .

See you guys in Minneapolis at BNA5.

[captain carrot]

See you there brotha!