To my A-U Family,

What a journey the last (nearly) 8 years have been! A-U has been so good to me in the way it has nurtured and taught me over the years. I joined the old forum for a brief few weeks and was in awe of everyone and everything. People were excited about what I was excited about; they wanted to talk about everything! It was so easy to make friends and meet people from all walks of life. Even when interest in the forum waned we kept coming back - this was home, and we wanted it to feel that way again.

The Revival has been such a beautiful movement that I have loved watching over the years. From the first seeds of an idea to the grand debut of the new layout and many other wonderful parts of the site I have been amazed by the talents of our members, both new and old, and their willingness to put so much effort into a site that has captured my heart for many years.

So, some advice: keep being passionate about Tolkien and his works, be welcoming (the Welcomator side of me can't stress this enough!), share your story, have fun, and remember when things get rough that the other person you're having difficulty with is another human being on the other side of your computer screen, and that they love this place just as much as you do. Lastly, work together, and don't give up! We have so many great years still ahead for this fandom and so many people still to share it with!

I will always remember my time at A-U, and as a mod, fondly. Becoming a mod was a bit of a dream of mine when I joined (they seemed so cool!), and I am so grateful it came true! Life is messy and complicated. If I could go on saying that I could serve A-U, I would! But, as it is, in recent years, as I've studied abroad, worked, and am finally graduating I have found that real life has changed my focus. Not away from A-U, per se, rather onward to other experiences and other goals.

My time here is ended. It's the beginning of a new age. I'll always come by to check my private messages or to lurk around and post a bit, but I think this is becoming more of a formal farewell. You are all beautiful, wonderful, life-changing people! Please keep in touch. Feel free to send me a message, and I can send along the best contact information I have.

Thank you for the years I was given here. Many blessings upon all of you!

Much love,

Larael

I amar prestar aen...

The world is changed and so am I.

Since joining the old forum (many of you might not even know there was an old forum, it's one of those ancient stories that have turned into A-U myths and no one really knows if they are true or not!), I have been around A-U for almost a decade. I believe this is my 9th year on the site. Quite a long time to stick around the same place in an ever changing online world.

And these are the reasons why:

I love A-U for it's cosiness, and warm, friendly atmosphere.
I love that there are so many different people from all over the world coming together on the site in a shared love for Tolkien and a passion for his work.
I love that there is always someone willing to discuss even the tiniest detail, if only it has the slightest relevance to Middle-earth.
I love the fun and randomness, the activities and social events (Hallowfest, Winter ball, Secret Santa etc.)
I love to be in an environment with so many creative people making graphics, writing, drawing and sharing their other talents - so inspiring!
I love the people I've met and the friends I have made.

After graduating about two years ago I started working full time and it is gradually taking up more and more of my time. As a student I spent huge amounts of time on my own computer writing assignments and papers and doing research and it was a lot easier to take small breaks to check A-U (*cough* what procrastination??).
Now, I'm spending equal amounts of time on a computer, only at work and I usually only get to check private emails, Facebook, A-U and that kind of things from my phone during the day.

I realise that my life has changed. Checking in on A-U a couple of times a week and browse a few threads and new posts has been a habit for many years but now I rarely find the adequate time for it. I'm still visiting the forum but it's hard for me to keep up with things the way I need to do as a staff member of the site. In order to be able to perform my moderator duties and be in touch with what is going on here I feel that I would need to hang out here more regularly. And it does not seem possible at the moment.

So, I have decided to resign as a moderator.
This does not mean goodbye to A-U but only that I'll return my Rainbow Stars and shiny buttons for now. I've been happy to serve as a moderator on the site and I want to thank my fellow mods for a good collaboration and for being great people! I also want to thank everyone in the A-U community for contributing to the site with your membership, posts, opinions, inspiration, creative input, fun and friendliness. And Arweb of course for ... being Arweb and keeping the site going!

Thanks everyone - hugs all around.

Eä