Hey Guys, (and to be Politically correct, girls..) ;) For those of you who don't know, I am flying out of NZ on Sunday, heading to the UK for the year, taking one of those new fangled GAP Years, before University next year (09). Thus come this weekend, I can no longer guarantee my editing times. I hope to be able to return to the project, hopefully sooner rather than later. It might be 6 months, a year, who knows. First of all, I would like to say that it is incredible; it is incredible that nearly three wonderful years spent on Wikinews have sped away irretrievably. I actually still remember my first time on Wikinews. A few years back, I was reading Wikipedia's current event's section thus somehow navigating a link to Wikinews in the process. Like Terinjokes said on this mailing list a few months back. I found a link to CGI:IRC and said "hi" to the channel, with Amgine responding with a cool "Welcome BrianNewZealand, are you a Kiwi?". I can never forget the community who are the driving forces behind the functioning of any Wiki. I doubt there are many Wikis which can boast a group of such dedicated and enthusiastic people with one main objective in mind - Neutral News.. So many wikinewsies have influenced me in my nearly 3 years of Wikiing here. I express my deepest gratitude to all everyone. I hope I have not been the cause of many headaches. I would especially like to thank a few without whom I could never have had such a successful time: Terinjokes; MrM, Cartman02au, Ironirids and Amgine from the old generation, that is forgetting DF and Brianmc. I saw the end of the first generation of Wikinewsies; the era of the second, and now the beginning of the third. For the last while, I have had the pleasure of working with NZGabriel, who has turned Wikinews New Zealand into the Official NZ News Source now, according to the last April 1st article. ;) Everyone one I have missed, you too, it is late at night while I am typing this.And everyone else. I have seen Wikinews, come from a sideproject of Wikipedia, to a project that could really be something good even if Brian's quote sadly still rings true we are still a "neglected step-child". The present community we have is choice, to quote Terin again "Everyone knows each other, we aren't too small to be boring, but not too large to be confusing" For these are the people who realise that the future holds more than the past ever could. That the dreams for our children and grandchildren are worth more than the base ambitions of men. As with them, all these things don't make me Left, Right or Liberal. They don't make me right, wrong or better than you. They make me who I am. A human being with flaws like any man. A human being who offers his hand and calls you friend. Thank you for a few wonderful years. I shall always treasure our memories of just being a part of this Wiki. Thank You. We have always had the come the end of each Generation, some rouge has got in, and caused disruption, causing mass quitting and etc, my sincere hope is that, in the future, we no longer have, this pan-generational hysteria. It is with some hope, that my term on Arbcom has been peaceful. Most of you guys have my contact information, Brianmc has stated that he'll be keeping my wikinewsie.org address (this one) active; feel free to send me the odd email (and others, who have my gmail address). If any bcart action is needed doing in a hurry, just yell, might be able to pop in. :) Now, I have two days left of solid editing left, <gets stuck into some OR> :) Brian Anderton [[User:Brian]] (Formally Brian New Zealand) Wikinews accredited Reporter, Adminstrator, Arbitrator, Checkuser, Oversight and Bureaucrat. <--Oh gosh, that's like everything :S The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well. ~~Horace Walpole