# Civic Matters > Ask Anything About OKC >  OKC Talk origins and future

## Eddie1

I have been a long time lurker and only recent poster, I think this site provides a very interesting perspective on the city.  

My question may be best answered by Pete, specifically, but I was curious about the origins of this website; When did it start? How has it evolved over time? What was the first topic discussed?  Where do you/we see the future of this website going...

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## Pete

I did not start the site, I believe that happened around 2002.

I began as a poster, became a moderator and then bought it in 2007.  Frankly, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision and I paid the original owner a bunch of money for something with only expense and virtually no revenue.  But, I wanted to keep it going.

As for the future, I want to continue to build the content which is already pretty staggering.  I know most people don't look at a lot of what is already on the site but it's a massive amount of information.  The biggest challenge by far is managing all the info as it continues to grow.

I have a longer-term plan which includes a much more robust database and mapping system.  Been working on that for a while but to do it properly, it's going to take a big chunk of money.

Also, I've identified other mid-sized cities that are sorely lacking something like this site and I'd like to expand to those markets.

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## BG918

Do you cover the hosting costs with ad revenue?

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## Dennis Heaton

This sure is better than those first start-ups on the old Yahoo Chat...Hackers were all over the place causing all kinds of mischief! Gotta laugh now...I started out with Microsofts WebTV Black Box back in 1997 or 1998.

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## Easy180

Slightly off topic, but Pete would it be tacky for you list all the folks that have been banned over the years?  Just think seeing some of the names would bring up some interesting memories.  :Cool:

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## Plutonic Panda

> Slightly off topic, but Pete would it be tacky for you list all the folks that have been banned over the years?  Just think seeing some of the names would bring up some interesting memories.


That would be interesting. Create a list of the most infamous OKCtalker's  :Wink:

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## Dennis Heaton

I have been wondering whatever happened to possumfritter?

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## Pete

I don't want to list people who have been banned...

We really, really don't like to do that at all and I suspect most those people are perfectly nice in real life, just tend to get far too emotional when discussing things on the 'net.

It's really not a long list considering the amount of traffic.

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## Urbanized

The best moderation on a message board is the quiet, respectful kind. I don't even like much to see threads about moderation/admin stuff because they can often turn into referendum on the topic and even into an us vs. them issue. Pete, I've mentioned it before to you here and in person, but I think you do a remarkable job here of handling that stuff in a way that keeps it from taking on a life of its own.

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## Pete

Thanks for the kind words.  Martin does a great job handling the more difficult situations and deserves great credit.

And to be fair, the community here is pretty self-moderating.  It helps that almost everyone here really loves OKC, even though we might not always agree on what is best for it.

It helps that a lot of people here know each other in R/L, either before coming here or because of the site.

Everyone I've met in person has been fantastic.

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## kevinpate

FWIW, I can't come up with a list of anything off-hand that would less interesting to me than a list of folks who failed sandbox 101 back in kiddiegarden and never quite got over it.

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## Midtowner

I can't see talk about the past of OKCTalk being positive.  Ever since Pete acquired it, he's made some very positive decisions regarding the direction of this site.  I appreciate having this resource available.  I don't post nearly as much in the real estate development threads as I used to, but I read just about everything.  I think Pete could really market this sort of site to other towns' Chambers of Commerce.

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## RadicalModerate

> FWIW, I can't come up with a list of anything off-hand that would less interesting to me than a list of folks who failed sandbox 101 back in kiddiegarden and never quite got over it.


Remember that book, "Everything I Didn't Learn, I Didn't Learn in Kindergarten"? The subtitle was: ("and that's what got me banned from OKC Talk").  Historical Note: Within a week of when I discovered this wonderful oasis in Cyberspace (thanks, again, Pete), c/o following a link on Doug Loudenbach's (sp?) Doug Dawg Blog (regarding Springlake Amusement Park), I got a PM from a person asking me if I was serious or if I was kidding about one thing or another that I posted.  I was shocked, a couple of days later, to see that that person was exiled to oblivion (not because of contacting me . . . at least I don't think so).  Not long after that, I got a friendly warning about something I said.  I took the warning to heart and I think it was the last time my manners needed alignment.  Although my styling and punctuation still have a long way to go in the direction of perfection.

Thanks, again Pete (and Martin).

p.s.: Thunder . . . Torea . . . Double Edge . . . HWTJ . . . etc.  Gone, yet not forgotten. Many hours of pleasurable banter were exchanged with those "nemesises" [nemesia?] of mine . . . and nobody ever really got mad or got hurt. =)

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## Plutonic Panda

I'm just curious what happened to Preudra(I think that was his name?). He was a funny poster I know that much..

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## traxx

Whatever happened to Mr. Anderson?

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## Easy180

> Whatever happened to Mr. Anderson?


Ahh the good ole days lol

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## Pete

Mr. Anderson left voluntarily not long after I bought the site.

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## Martin

> Whatever happened to Mr. Anderson?


oh man... i have not heard that name in a long time. -M

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## Plutonic Panda

Who was Mr. Anderson?

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## PhiAlpha

> Who was Mr. Anderson?





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Plutonic Panda

Lol

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## HangryHippo

Was Mr. Anderson the poster long ago that had the Garfield avatar?  If so, that guy was a trip.

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## Midtowner

One and the same.  Best treat him like Beatlejuice--don't mention his name in hopes that he'll remain away.

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## traxx

> Was Mr. Anderson the poster long ago that had the Garfield avatar?  If so, that guy was a trip.


Yeah, that's him. He thought all malls were filled with gangbangers ready to kill any average person who dared shop there.

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## Of Sound Mind

He was very entertaining, though.

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## Midtowner

Agree to disagree.

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## venture

Ahhhh.  Mr. "Don't let the facts get in your way."

Memories.

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## SoonerDave

> Was Mr. Anderson the poster long ago that had the Garfield avatar?  If so, that guy was a trip.


WOW Had not thought of that name in a looooooong time. Thunder also. Don't realize how quickly a place like this develops its own special kind of history!  :Smile:

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## trousers

> WOW Had not thought of that name in a looooooong time. Thunder also. Don't realize how quickly a place like this develops its own special kind of history!


Thunder was a regular when I first started posting.  An interesting world view to say the least.

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## HangryHippo

> WOW Had not thought of that name in a looooooong time. Thunder also. Don't realize how quickly a place like this develops its own special kind of history!


I know.  I've been with OKCtalk from the beginning and we've had our fair share of characters and developed our own neat history.

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## Easy180

> Was Mr. Anderson the poster long ago that had the Garfield avatar?  If so, that guy was a trip.


And it was big trouble if you left off the Mr. Lol

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## Easy180

I also remember a colorful poster with Conservative in his name. Think he supposedly owned an energy company. Maybe Christian Conservative??

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## HangryHippo

> And it was big trouble if you left off the Mr. Lol


Oh yeah.  He hated that.  As I recall though, he hated a lot of things.

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## zookeeper

What are your bets that a lot of those people are still here? Maybe not Thunder as he was one of a kind, but many of the others, I'd put a fairly high wager that most of them are still here with different usernames.

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## RadicalModerate

Wasn't there a lady in here, with a Corvette for her Avatar, who was about as crazy as the X-Files Sign Dude (outside of Perry, OK) about one thing or another, that was really bugging her?  This would have been back about the time I checked in to see what condition my condition was in . . . at least a couple/three years ago.  (Actually, back in 2011 =)

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## Easy180

> What are your bets that a lot of those people are still here? Maybe not Thunder as he was one of a kind, but many of the others, I'd put a fairly high wager that most of them are still here with different usernames.


Yep. Always say once you go okctalk you never go back.

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## Dennis Heaton

> What are your bets that a lot of those people are still here? Maybe not Thunder as he was one of a kind, but many of the others, I'd put a fairly high wager that most of them are still here with different usernames.


keeper of the zoo...shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

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## Spartan

The funniest thing was finding yourself on the same side of a debate as Mr. Anderson.

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## venture

> The funniest thing was finding yourself on the same side of a debate as Mr. Anderson.


The horror if that were to happen.  :Smile:

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## Eddie1

What was the first post? Who has been on the site the longest?

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## RadicalModerate

> What was the first post? Who has been on the site the longest?


Don't those questions remind you of something from Family Feud?
They can't be from Jeopardy, on account of they are already phrased in the form of a question.
(aren't they?)  =)

(sorry about the phrasing and punctuation. it wasn't intended to confuse.)

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## venture

> What was the first post? Who has been on the site the longest?


First post I'm guessing would have been by the previous owner (Todd was it?). That would be early 2004ish. As far as who has been on here the longest, you could find people who were members since 2004 but haven't been active for 7 or 8 years. Would they still count?

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## Spartan

> The horror if that were to happen.


Well I used to be conservative and pro-sprawl, but I wasn't belligerent.

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## Midtowner

> I also remember a colorful poster with Conservative in his name. Think he supposedly owned an energy company. Maybe Christian Conservative??


That was one of our former moderators impersonating Tom Ward.

There's a reason I left for awhile.  Lots of games were played.

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## kevinpate

by the by, was the site down this am, or did I manage to type in the wrong name a few times?

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## RadicalModerate

I, too, got the dreaded "Account Suspended" screen a few times.
I wondered if it was something I said.

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## kevinpate

Yeah.  i had to get gone and see someone so I didn't have time to mess with it much.  It came right up after i got back to the machine this afternoon.  Come to think of it, when I got home I moved to near the front of the house, reducing the distance between me and the street front.  I guess the Lady of the Urbanistas decided to bestow good fortune on me after that.

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## Stan Silliman

I wonder what happened to HeWentToJerad? He didn't get banned, did he?
He seemed to be pretty engaged about climate change.  I hope he didn't get skin cancer.

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## AP

> What was the first post? Who has been on the site the longest?


Here's what you are looking for -> http://www.okctalk.com/members/list/...joindate&pp=50

okcpulse is the oldest member who has stayed active. Logged in on 4-25-2014. Joined 6-1-2004. Been a member for almost 10 years.

There are definitely still active members who have been around for a long time.

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## soonerguru

> What was the first post? Who has been on the site the longest?


I was number 64! Congrats to me. Some notable posters before me: Steve, Pete, Midtowner, Metro, OKCPulse, adadaniel (and I'm probably missing a few). It would be interesting to remove the ones who signed up and for whatever reason only posted a few times.

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## Jeepnokc

> I was number 64! Congrats to me. Some notable posters before me: Steve, Pete, Midtowner, Metro, OKCPulse, adadaniel (and I'm probably missing a few). It would be interesting to remove the ones who signed up and for whatever reason only posted a few times.


Look at the most number of posts.  Prunepicker is the hands down winner with Metro coming up behind.  
http://www.okctalk.com/members/list/...rt=posts&pp=50

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## AP

> Look at the most number of posts.  Prunepicker is the hands down winner with Metro coming up behind.  
> http://www.okctalk.com/members/list/...rt=posts&pp=50


Kerry wins if you add up both of his profiles.

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## Jeepnokc

> I was number 64! Congrats to me. Some notable posters before me: Steve, Pete, Midtowner, Metro, OKCPulse, adadaniel (and I'm probably missing a few). It would be interesting to remove the ones who signed up and for whatever reason only posted a few times.


I didn't realize they were the same.  You are right when combining his, that would put him about 500 ahead of Prunepicker.

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## ctchandler

I thought I was a big mouth when I saw that I had posted 1,388 since March, 2007, but after seeing Prunepicker's numbers, I feel like a novice.
C. T.

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## catch22

> Kerry wins if you add up both of his profiles.


I swear on some of these threads he is talking to himself.  :Big Grin:

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## Midtowner

Number 19 here.

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## Stew

Number 99 here. In your face hoyasooner(100).

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## venture

Dear god I have too much time on my hands it seems.

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## workman45

WOW!! February 2005, can't believe it's been that long!

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## Patrick

nm

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## Patrick

Just to give a little history on OKCTalk. OKCTalk was started on April 25th, 2004, by then owner Todd Reagor, from Edmond. Todd was a district manager for the Oklahoman, and ran a webhosting business on the side, called urljet, which he later sold. He still owns RivalHost. He created OKCTalk originally as EdmondTalk in 2002, but later changed it to OKCTalk due to OKC being a larger market. okcpulse, AKA, Chris, was one of our first members, along with Karrie D, whose husband owned an auto repair place on Main Street. I originally came to the site in May 2004. I was under a previous reincarnation of my name. I left for awhile after the change in ownership (I asked that my username be deleted), and came back and created my current username, so my current username doesn't reflect my original join date. The original moderators were myself, Keith S., Karried, and DarlingDiva (who ran "Boardroom to Bedroom", a sexual discussion forum on this site). Martin and Malibusooner (AKA Pete) were later added as additional moderators.

 Many of the original posters were brought over by Todd from a previous message board which was on City Hall's website, known as Talkback. It was run by city webmaster Bruce Gilmore. The city opted not to continue their message board, and Todd created OKCTalk as a replacement. Of note, we all also participated on a forum board on the Oklahoman's website, called MAPS Forum. We later moved over to Oklahoma's Own, which was owned by Brian Bates. We then moved over to OKCTalk when Todd created it, and the site exists today. Some of the originals from the city hall site were myself, Kerry Decker (AKA JustTheFacts, from Tampa), Hot Rod (from Seattle), Keith S., Mr. Anderson, floater, metro, Luke, Laramie, and okcpulse. Steve Lackmeyer was also part of the crew. In 2002, we all formed OCART, which was a lobbying group to bring better metro transit to OKC. 

Pete purchased the site in 2007. The reasons that Todd sold the site were because his heart really wasn't in it (he created it more as a side investment, and never really had a love for OKC development like the rest of us), he was losing tons of money on the site (it had little in the way of revenue streams and had hefty price tags for operation), and the offer Pete made looked pretty good in the eyes of heavy financial bleeding. Pete basically came to the site's rescue, because Todd was ready to get out and lick his financial wounds. Had Pete not purchased it, Todd likely would've shut the site down to avoid further financial losses. Since I was pretty close to Todd, I opted to step away after the sale of the site. My love for OKC ultimately led me back to the site in due time. I think I was only away for a few months, and ended up rejoining in Jan 2008. I'm not near as active as I once was. When I started here I was in college and had plenty of free time. Now I have a busy career and a family, so I'm not on here near as much as I used to be. I mainly lurk now though. I will say that the site has tremendously grown and expanded since Pete purchased it. Much praise should be given to Pete for making this site into what it is today. But it is fun to look back on and reminisce about the founding of this site.

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## Eddie1

Very cool, thanks for the extensive back story.  I find these history lessons very compelling.  There are so many interesting stories from the early 2000's and the rise of the Internet.

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## Easy180

> Just to give a little history on OKCTalk. OKCTalk was started on April 25th, 2004, by then owner Todd Reagor, from Edmond. Todd was a district manager for the Oklahoman, and ran a webhosting business on the side, called urljet, which he later sold. He still owns RivalHost. He created OKCTalk originally as EdmondTalk in 2002, but later changed it to OKCTalk due to OKC being a larger market. okcpulse, AKA, Chris, was one of our first members, along with Karrie D, whose husband owned an auto repair place on Main Street. I originally came to the site in May 2004. I was under a previous reincarnation of my name. I left for awhile after the change in ownership (I asked that my username be deleted), and came back and created my current username, so my current username doesn't reflect my original join date. The original moderators were myself, Keith S., Karried, and DarlingDiva (who ran "Boardroom to Bedroom", a sexual discussion forum on this site). Martin and Malibusooner (AKA Pete) were later added as additional moderators.
> 
>  Many of the original posters were brought over by Todd from a previous message board which was on City Hall's website, known as Talkback. It was run by city webmaster Bruce Gilmore. The city opted not to continue their message board, and Todd created OKCTalk as a replacement. Of note, we all also participated on a forum board on the Oklahoman's website, called MAPS Forum. We later moved over to Oklahoma's Own, which was owned by Brian Bates. We then moved over to OKCTalk when Todd created it, and the site exists today. Some of the originals from the city hall site were myself, Kerry Decker (AKA JustTheFacts, from Tampa), Hot Rod (from Seattle), Keith S., Mr. Anderson, floater, metro, Luke, Laramie, and okcpulse. Steve Lackmeyer was also part of the crew. In 2002, we all formed OCART, which was a lobbying group to bring better metro transit to OKC. 
> 
> Pete purchased the site in 2007. The reasons that Todd sold the site were because his heart really wasn't in it (he created it more as a side investment, and never really had a love for OKC development like the rest of us), he was losing tons of money on the site (it had little in the way of revenue streams and had hefty price tags for operation), and the offer Pete made looked pretty good in the eyes of heavy financial bleeding. Pete basically came to the site's rescue, because Todd was ready to get out and lick his financial wounds. Had Pete not purchased it, Todd likely would've shut the site down to avoid further financial losses. Since I was pretty close to Todd, I opted to step away after the sale of the site. My love for OKC ultimately led me back to the site in due time. I think I was only away for a few months, and ended up rejoining in Jan 2008. I'm not near as active as I once was. When I started here I was in college and had plenty of free time. Now I have a busy career and a family, so I'm not on here near as much as I used to be. I mainly lurk now though. I will say that the site has tremendously grown and expanded since Pete purchased it. Much praise should be given to Pete for making this site into what it is today. But it is fun to look back on and reminisce about the founding of this site.


Mr. Anderson was quite a character.

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## MadMonk

> Just to give a little history on OKCTalk. OKCTalk was started on April 25th, 2004, ...


Thanks Patrick.  That was very interesting.  I don't even recall what led me to this site, but I'm glad its around.  I don't recall my original join date.  Back in 2013 something inadvertently happened with my account and it had to be recreated, but I think is was around 2006 or 2007.  Some of those names (Mr. Anderson in particular) ring a bell.

Looking through some of my old posts trying to figure out when I started, I came across this.  Ah, memories!

http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.ph...469#post283469

I can't believe its been nearly 7 years since then!  And if you haven't been through that thread, its worth a look at the progression of the Devon tower project as documented here.  If you were around during that time, its a great walk down memory lane!

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## Easy180

> He was very entertaining, though.


Yes he was. Had quite a few back and forths with him when I first joined.

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## Midtowner

> Mr. Anderson was quite a character.


Ehh... he was a little unhinged.  I recall that he took the whole Governor Hall conviction thing a bit too seriously.

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## Swake

> Ehh... he was a little unhinged.  I recall that he took the whole Governor Hall conviction thing a bit too seriously.


I do recall that he very oddly claimed over and over to have been allowed to overhear the phone conversation of the CEO of US Airways promising that Oklahoma City would be their next hub city.

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## kevinpate

a little unhinged ..... in oklahoma ..... sounds like a tuesday to me

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## RadicalModerate

I was drawn to OKC Talk via Doug Dawg's History Blog. I reckon that Doug Dawg's Blog was something akin to "Networking" or whatever. In any case, OKC Talk's accuracy and entertainment value is vastly superior to other "Civil Socialization Sites" . . . Why? Because people in here share the common sense and denomination of being Nice and Civil, without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, age, experience etc. ad infinitum.
The only exception to that rule of thumb, that I can recall, was Torea from KC who had something against train whistles . . . =~)

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## RadicalModerate

Did someone piss off that Steve L dude who used to write for what used to be The Daily Oklahoman? Or was it the closing of Coit's that was "the final straw" . . ? The only thing I vaguely recall is that somebody's feelings got hurt . . . and that would be filed under: "Personal Problem." =~)

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## RadicalModerate

. . . and when did the "Like" button disappear? . . .  Was it a "cost cutting" gambit? =~)

^spec. ref. KevinP. quip.

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## turnpup

Hi, RadMod! Glad you're still around.  I hadn't seen any posts from you for a long time.

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## catch22

> Hi, RadMod! Glad you're still around.  I hadn't seen any posts from you for a long time.


Likewise, I was reading a thread and saw his username and had to check the date to see if I was reading an old thread that was revived.

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## OklahomaNick

@Pete would you mind sharing some of your OKCTalk site analytics with us?

I am most curious about how many unique clicks per day you get and what the average time a person stays on the site is.

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