Forum Spotlight!

Rim Shots: NBA Rants and Comics

Recently I was able to catch up with Richard R., AKA Canadiancartoonist, host of Rim Shots: NBA Rants and Comics, and arguably one of Go Jabber's most charming and entertaining hosts. Richard was kind enough to spare me a few minutes to tell me what his forum is all about. If you were going to guess the NBA and Comics, well I suppose you'd be right; but now that we have made it past the obvious, let's delve a little deeper.

Richard is an artist; along with doing freelance cartoons he has sold sketches, greeting cards, desktop wallpaper and T-Shirt graphics. But his artistic passion clearly lies with his comic, Rim Shots; which is about, you guessed it, basketball. It has been featured at websites including the Official Yao Ming Website, SLAMonline, the Official Dallas Mavericks Website, BDA Sports Management, This American Life, and others. In fact it has become so popular that last week employees of the Houston Rockets asked if they could use one of his strips featuring Yao Ming as a t-shirt for their Dragon Boat Race team. Richard complied, of course.

Not only is Richard a fan of the NBA, and we're talking a huge fan, he also has been known to play the occasional game for fun and has coached several teams; including the Saint Boniface Diocesan High School team in his native Winnipeg and the University of Winnipeg's men's basketball team. You can tell though, as he speaks with pride, that his best coaching job came when he had the opportunity to coach his daughter's community team for six and seven year olds. Naturally, I had to ask if Richard had a favorite pro-team too. Geographically, his favorite team is the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he's more of a player's fan I think, routing for Yao Ming and some old favorites like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. I asked if he had any special game time routines, and he replied "No, but I do yell at the TV a lot;" much to the chagrin of his wife, who is not an NBA fan but enjoys the human interest side of Richard's hobby.

Though Richard has been hosting his forum for three years, he just recently made the move to Go Jabber. He is excited to be in on what is proving to be an ever-growing community. I asked Richard what he liked best about Go Jabber to which he answered, "1.It is free. 2.The ability to create a start page, which can easily promote and link to my comic sites. 3.The WYSIWYG editor for posting. 4.It is free." He wishes that Go Jabber continues with a steady server and maintains a stable growth. When you visit his forum, you can expect to play games surrounding the NBA, the inevitable sports talk, opinions and information, tips and discussions surrounding comics and graphic arts. It's a fun place to be and you will always be welcome there.

To see more of Rim Shots please visit:

Rim Shots
HOOPSWORLD.com

Written by: Shannon
Date: April 29, 2004

KC's Corner

Have you been to KC's Corner yet? One of the most popular forums at GoJabber, KC and the staff often visit the political side of life. If you have a yearning desire to speak for or against the current political regime in Washington, go on over. Just be prepared to hear viewpoints from both sides of the issue. There's no bashing or name-calling, just good old-fashioned healthy discussion. But that's not all that can be found there. You can also peruse a humorous post or two, talk about your family or home-schooling, writers can find an entire folder for them, as well as dreamers and readers. In short, there is a little something for everyone. To quote KC herself, the forum is "eclectic, individualistic, and intelligent."

Recently, I had the opportunity to catch up with Kathan, the host of KC's Corner, who patiently answered my questions about her part of the GoJabber world. KC has had the forum going for about six years, first on Delphi and then onto a Webvelosix forum and finally to GoJabber a year ago. So far, Kathan is thrilled with the GoJabber experience. "It's Delphi without all of the BS," she says. KC and her staff work diligently to see that freedom of speech is guaranteed at their place. The wide range of personalities amongst the staff helps them to balance each other out. I asked Kathan what she thinks makes a forum successful, advice she could pass on to new forum owners, she answered, "Be yourself - it's like the advice given to young writers: write what you know. Don't try too hard, but at the same time, like anything else, you have to realize you will get out of your forum, what you put into it." Her hope, as is all of ours, is that GoJabber stays around forever.

With one last question to go I asked Kathan what makes her forum enjoyable for her. "I live in a podunkinbredrednecktouristinfestedbiblebuckle town on the coast of Oregon. I NEED to discuss issues - the two are not always compatible. But my forum is always there for me to vent, explore ideas, challenge my brain." Seriously, I could not have said it any better myself. Thanks KC for providing a fun and open forum for people to feel comfortable being who they are.

Written by: Shannon
Date: April 21, 2004