HOF Inductee #2 - Phantom

[CT]

Phantom

When Jaysif left, HMaM was in dire need of a leader if the community was to survive. His co-admin Phantom stepped up to the plate and ensured that our stimulating discussions of blood, guts, and much more could continue. Without full admin powers and not able to contact Jaysif at the time, Phantom had trouble doing everything necessary to maintain the board. Instead of giving up, he did something above and beyond the call of duty. He did something that is as big a reason we're here today as was the original creation by Jaysif. Phantom started an entirely new board so he could have full admin powers, and painstakingly transferred the codes from the old board. He also added many new features which we enjoy today and appropriately dubbed it "HMaM 2.0". The hours of work he must have put into this, I cannot imagine. Also, I don't believe Phantom was quite as well versed in coding and so forth as Jaysif, but he taught himself and learned what was needed to make it happen.

Later on, as often happens Phantom had less time to spend here at HMaM due to the blossoming of his lovely family. Graciously, he passed on responsibilities to Jen and myself. I especially appreciate his trust when it came to this. While it was no secret that Jen was a great and trustworthy person, I on the other hand was just some young twenty year old punk. He probably wondered if I would muck things up (and I'm not saying I never have ), but he had faith in me despite this and for that I am grateful. He also did much to expand our membership by introducing two of my favorite HMaMer's Matt (The Walking Dude) and Canetoad. Phantom's contributions are too many to name and we can only hope that this HOF Induction partially repays the debt of gratitude we all owe him. Thank you Phantom!

[The Walking Dude]

Ahhh Phantom

I bought some Fangoria mags from him on ebay and he directed me here.

Then a bit later on I got to meet the good fella,and we endured The Happening together at his local cinema.

Be great if he could stop by a say G'day.

[CT]

Jun 12, 2012 2:19:29 GMT -5 The Walking Dude said:

Be great if he could stop by a say G'day.

He told me on FB he might do just that!

[GL]

Truly well-deserved mention here. The fact that we continue on today under his creation (it's still technically 2.0 we're on at this point) alone speaks volumes about his needed placement here. Cannot find anything else to add, again well-deserved.

[Jen]

Great posting CT! I understand life gets busy, but it would be great if you could stop by sometime Phantom. Thanks for all you did to keep my favorite forum going.

[HNT]

Absolutely agree that Phantom deserves this recognition. This board survived from the original to 2.0 because it was so easy to trust that Phantom would be able to keep it just as worth visiting as the original place was. And, as we can see by the fact that we are still here some 8 or so years later, he delivered on that promise and then some.

[d3M0n]

He is a great guy! I miss him... I know how he feels. We all need breaks or sometime people just need to leave...
He really did an amazing job when Jaysif left. He even amped it up a bit.
You are doing a great job too brotha!

[CT]

Is that the best pic you could get?

*fixed*

[CT]

Hahaha I like the new pic!

[CT]

[from Phantom]

Humbled. That's how I feel. And there is a kind of irony to this induction to the HoF.

It's funny how joining one particular proboard (horror_inf3ction ) can lead you to joining up to half a dozen or so. Thus was how I came to HMaM. Already a thriving board long before I ever stopped by, HMaM seemed like the place to be.
I started making new friends there and I quickly got assigned moderator status by Jaysif. Unfortunately though, matters of a personal nature began taking its toll on poor Jay. And although we were communicating outside the normal forum channels, he just seemingly disappeared off the radar.
Eventually I took it upon myself to create an all new HMaM board. It wasn't a light decision either. Initially it was going to be something original (I did have a crack at it once with the old 'Phantom Zone' board... lol) but I came to the conclusion; "if it aint broke, don't fix it."
The necessity of a new board stemmed from my inability to access certain admin features. Jaysif had only authorised me very basic admin powers, and it simply was not enough to keep a board growing. And so on that fateful day in 2006, HMaM 2.0 was born.
At the time, I had anticipated Jaysifs eventual return and I made it quite clear that I considered this new board his property. I had made a 2nd profile for myself, so once Jay was ready to step back in, or had he wished to close this board, I could then step down. It was his decision. Sadly, Jay never returned. I created the 'Tribute Post' as a memorial to our fallen leader.
Flash forward to 2012. Now I myself am being honoured in similar fashion. And like Jaysif was, I was pretty much absent from the forum for a good while now. Like I said at the beginning, there was a kind of irony here. Events have reached full circle.
But... I am still here however.
I had reached a point in my life where I felt totally burned out on the forum. And not just this one either, but all forums in general. And I wont lie... my cursor did hover over the 'delete forum' button more than once. However a realization set in. HMaM was not mine to delete. Yes I created the board, but it belonged to everyone. I simply decided to walk away. HMaM would either die a slow death or carry on to newer and brighter things. Fortunately, it was the latter.
Now in 2012, we have verison 3.0. And I couldn't be happier. I clearly left the right people in the job. Kudos to you all. A special shout out to my man CT! I would say if not for you, we wouldn't be celebrating the new HMaM 3.0 today!

It's been a blast revisiting the site after such a long break. Great to see so many familiar names still active. A big thank you from me for this prestigious honour.

Your friend, Phantom.

[GP]

You did a great job Phantom and I'm glad you've mentioned Horror_Inf3ction as that board was instrumental, along with Jaysif's, in forming the foundation stones of this community. Although the lad himself comes and goes under a variety of names these days his contribution shouldn't be forgotten and he would be a firm nomination in my mind for this honour.

Since the very beginnings with Jaysif's and the Inf3cter's original boards there have been a few people who have gone by the wayside but I would like to give special mentions to Ashgurl (Inf3cters gf at the time), Phaedravelveta (New Zealander and goth) and Mrs Horror (Jaysif's other half and banner creator extraordinaire) who were active and enthusiastic contributors but, for one reason or another, never made the transitions to newer versions of the boards.

[CT]

Thanks for that great post and the kind words Phantom!

Didn't realize Horror Inf3ction had such a history, I didn't get there until the end of its run. Cool to know!

[HNT]

Great point, GP. Those are some folks who deserve acknowledgement. Especially Mrs. Horror, who was a very integral part of HMaM version 1. And CK and Speedy, of course. Along with you, my friend.

[GP]

Aah, those heady days HNT.

[CK]

Keep coming back on Phanny Im gonna try been burnt on even watching movies but trying to get back into it. Missed you guys.