OptiBoard Community Newsletter - September 2003
Welcome to the OptiBoard Community Newsletter for September 2003
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Today's Date is: 09-11-2003. This newsletter covers activity activity since 08-01-2003.
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[Originally Published in the September 2001 OptiBoard Newsletter]
"The Power of Community" by Steve Machol
It was a pleasant day, sunny and mild, and I was watching television in the living room. Suddenly a news bulletin flashed on the screen to announce the horrible tradegy that had just taken place many miles away. After staring at the screen in disbelief for several minutes, I picked up the phone to call my Mom. 'Yes', she said sadly, when I asked her if she had heard the news. Everyone, it seems. had heard. The date was November 22, 1963. I was just 11 years old, home sick from school, and on that day my life changed forever.
On September 11, 2001 my life changed again. This time it was my Son calling his Mom to tell us the news and we both stared in disbelief as the shocking images were displayed for the world to see. Once again I picked up the phone to call my Mom, and again she had already heard the news. We also called other family members to touch base and make sure they were alright. Thus, this scene was repeated millions of times around the world as people reached out to their community of family and friends to reassure themselves and re-establish their social connections, which now seemed so tenuous and fragile.
After talking to family members, my thoughts turned to my friends on OptiBoard. I needed to do something but didn't know what. There were already messages on the Board about the tradegy. I quickly put together a new page and logo designed to show respect for the victims and their families. It seemed so trivial, but it was all I could think of doing at that moment. I then began to read the messages on the Board. People from around the world wrote messages to others they'd met only in cyberspace - messages sharing their grief, their anger, their disbelief and their sadness.
Much has been written on the power of a community to heal and provide support. Humans beings are social creatures and contact with other humans is a central component of our lives. But most of these references are to direct human contact, with little regard for online communications.
However as our experiences on OptiBoard have shown, these methods of communication can enhance the feeling of community and enrich our lives in ways that weren't possible before. There are many people on OptiBoard that I consider close friends, even though I've never met them in person. These people were important to me on September 11th and my life is richer for knowing them.
Though it may only exist in cyberspace, OptiBoard is an important and valuable community of friends and colleagues. My thanks go out to all of you for being a part of it.
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OPTIBOARD SPONSORED FORUM!
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Please show your support for OptiBoard and our forum sponsor by visiting their forum and learning more about the products and services they offer.
o Smart Lens Technology by Transitions Optical
http://www.optiboard.com/forums/foru...?s=&forumid=28
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OPTIBOARD FEATURED MEMBER OF THE MONTH
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This month's featured member is:
Chris Ryser
Chis contributes daily to this board and and is very knowledgable about the industry. According to the Mods, Chris' posts are "generally logical and well thought out. His 2 ongoing threads - 'Wisdom to start the day' and 'Optical News Flash' have provided vehicles to encourage daily participation of other members. That is a substantial contribution to the betterment of our board. He has volunteered his expertise and his products to help members solve their problems or questions. A good all around member."
Congratulations Chris, and thanks for being a valuable member of the OptiBoard Community!
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HOT TOPICS
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Threads with the most replies:
Title: "Strange Facts!" (posted 07-31-2002 by Sean)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=5183
Title: "Wisdom To Start The Day,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,," (posted 11-07-2002 by Chris Ryser)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=5855
Title: "Calling All OptiBoard Photographers!" (posted 11-06-2002 by Steve Machol)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=5849
Title: "Should Opticians Refract - The Poll" (posted 06-08-2001 by Pete Hanlin)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=2204
Title: "What if WMDs are never found?" (posted 06-18-2003 by Pete Hanlin)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7457
Title: "The "new" VSP??" (posted 01-22-2003 by Jana Lewis)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=6319
Title: "Question - There's A Eye Exercise Program...., that's like the See Clearly Method" (posted 08-21-2003 by leeuniverse)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7847
Title: "Trade Exhibitions are flopping world wide" (posted 05-08-2003 by Chris Ryser)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7206
Title: "Why should you buy your eyeglasses from a licensed Dispensing Optician?" (posted 08-06-2003 by hcjilson)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7763
Title: "Optical News Flash .............." (posted 05-11-2003 by Chris Ryser)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7224
Threads with the most views:
Title: "Polycarbonate vs. Trivex (NEW THREAD - edited by Moderator)" (posted 10-30-2002 by Pete Hanlin)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=5807
Title: "FDA'a latest bulletin" (posted 02-11-2003 by Chris Ryser)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=6496
Title: "Luxottica/Marchon?" (posted 08-05-2003 by Judy Canty)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7756
Title: "Vision Expo West OptiBoard Meeting" (posted 07-24-2003 by Steve Machol)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7683
Title: "Eyemed" (posted 08-13-2003 by Jeff olson)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7798
Title: "What line is too upscale for discount market?" (posted 08-09-2003 by paw)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7783
Title: "Ray Ban now available at Target!" (posted 07-30-2003 by JSBell)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7727
Title: "What is the best way to explain..." (posted 07-10-2003 by ShellyJaffer777)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7587
Title: "Sales rep relations" (posted 03-27-2003 by varmint)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=6941
Title: "Teach me about progressives ,please." (posted 05-16-2002 by so)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=4675
Threads posted most recently:
Title: "Recycling..." (posted 09-11-2003 by Eddie G's)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7953
Title: "Need a "Thickness Gauge" for surface area" (posted 09-11-2003 by heyjim43)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7952
Title: "Licensed Optician Needed - N. Brunswick, NJ" (posted 09-11-2003 by janet russell)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7951
Title: "Jerry Thornhill, where are you???" (posted 09-11-2003 by karen)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7950
Title: "Optician Needed - N. Dartmouth, MA" (posted 09-11-2003 by janet russell)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7949
Title: "bullying" (posted 09-11-2003 by Deepak)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7948
Title: "We Remember" (posted 09-11-2003 by Jo)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7947
Title: "Mothers birthday surprise" (posted 09-11-2003 by jofelk)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7946
Title: "Future IOL product" (posted 09-10-2003 by JennyP)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7945
Title: "Got a Few Minutes??" (posted 09-10-2003 by Cindy Hamlin)
o http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...&threadid=7944
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OPTIBOARD STATISTICS
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We had the following activity in August:
o New members: 68 (2,483 current total*)
o New message threads: 161 (7,656 current total)
o New posts: 1,426 (58,892 current total)
o Total hits: 858,142
o Total unique visits: 12,282
o Total Kb downloaded in August: 2,512,674 KiloBytes of information!
* Some obsolete memberships were removed last month.
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Once again, thanks to all of you for your support and for helping make OptiBoard truly the 'Premier Online Community of Eyecare Professionals Worldwide!'
Steve Machol
OptiBoard Administrator
smachol@optiboard.com
