it just struck me today that the oldest members of the forum (and in fact the forum itself) are turning 18 this year, a sort of Downer Coming of Age. Now we have a LOTR coming of age thread for becoming "mature" readers of Tolkien, but not really a way to recognize the coming of age of Downers. And of course it's more difficult to judge that. The Downs has many members who drop off never to return again, many of them barely making a couple posts before disappearing; it's easy to have made an account 18 years ago, it takes a bit more effort to actually be present for 18 years. And like in Fangorn Forest, some once active Downers become more and more treeish, but also some former lurkers become active posters. People come in and out as the currents take them. And sometimes you think that a Downer has become sleepier than Bilbo in ROTK and you're just about ready to give up on having a conversation with them, when out of the blue they wake up and make a Red Book-worthy post or score a record on the Fun and Games subforums.
So here's to all the Downers who are coming of age in their undead lives this year!