AwesomeDude Turns Ten !

[dude]

I’d like to use the occasion of our Turning Ten to thank everyone of you for your support of AwesomeDude.com, creative, editorial, financial and moral, over the past ten years.

I had planned on writing a more extensive Tenth Anniversary Message, but as my sometimes irreverent cohort, Alien Son, comments, it might sound like “the Queen’s Christmas message” so I’ll just say thanks to every one of you for making AwesomeDude.com what it is today.

I take immense pride, not in anything I have done, but in the community of writers, editors and readers that have come together in this place and who have made the site so popular among our community.

I’ve received many warm emails, from young gay people who find hope in the stories they find here. Even ten years ago, the world wasn’t nearly such a cheery place for gay youth.. and it still isn’t in many places. But hearing favorable comments and kudos from these young people who have found hope and inspiration in our stories is motivation to continue what we do. Many of us are, ahem, a bit older and enjoying the stories here serve as a way of exploring what our lives might have been.

One of the greatest difficulties I’ve had personally is having to decline to post a story submitted by someone who aspires to be an ‘AwesomeDude Author.’ Because of the quality of the stories and authors we have gathered at AwesomeDude… some of the stories submitted are not selected. Many of them are because of suitability rather than quality of writing. So please don’t be disheartened if your story doesn’’t get picked up right away. If you think your story is suitable for AwesomeDude please send it along to submissions@awesomedude.com.

To sum up, as do our authors, we enjoy hearing from our readers –both by email and in the AwesomeDude Forums. If you’re not yet a member, I encourage you to sign up and make your thoughts known. Many of our current authors started as readers and we encourage everyone to join the ongoing commentary about stories, authors, current events or whatever. If you have any difficulty in registering… don’t hesitate to write me dude@awesomedude.com and I will expedite it for you.

Finally, thanks to those AD Authors who have contributed special short stories to commemorate our ‘Turning Ten.’ And a special thanks to Alien Son who brings immense technical and web expertise to AwesomeDude. He labored tirelessly to help bring these stories to fruition and has agreed to stay on with us behind the scenes as soon as he is recovered from his exhaustion.

Mike

[Nigel Gordon]

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY - I look forward to seeing the next ten years of AD.

[Cynus]

A dear friend of mine is a restaurant consultant, and has been in the restaurant business for over thirty years. There is a certain piece he tells all of his clients. "For every customer that tells you something about your restaurant, there are ten more who had the same experience and didn't say anything."

For each of those emails you've received, telling you about the influence AwesomeDude has had, there have been many more that have never been written, but were certainly felt. I for one am grateful to Awesomedude for what it has been, and I'm looking forward to the next ten years. May they be every bit as good as the last ones.

[Graeme]

:icon_thumright: Congratulations, Mike! :icon_thumleft:

:accordion[1]: :accordion[1]:

You've done something wonderful here and I'm both proud and humble to be part of this site.

[Lugnutz]

Congrats on the milestone.

[Camy]

Many happy returns, AwesomeDude!

[Chris James]

It was a wonderful party, I'm glad I came. Perhaps over the next week I will comment on the stories, until then I will go back to writing the serial I started before this interruption to my schedule. It was good to see the varied approaches to celebrating the AD birthday in story form and only reminded me that I am in good company here on the AD site. So...kudos to our ringmaster and his alien assistant for a job well done.

[Cole Parker]

I've now read them all, and must say, they're AWESOME!

You guys are the best.

C