This blog is a little different than most. Truthfully, I don't even know what I'm going to say but I feel the need to express the impact that PMC has had on my life and how much the site, the community and the staff all mean to me.

I've been a member of PMC since Feb 28, 2012 (this is what the site looked like at the time). That means as of the day this blog is posted, I have been a member for 10 years. That's a decade of PMC being an important piece of my life.

Growing up, my family travelled a lot due to my parent's jobs. Never in one place for too long, always a new town every weekend, and I did distance education for my schooling. This meant that I was never really able to make friends or keep friends. I'd make a friend somewhere, then not see them for 2-4 years. When I saw them again, I'd be excited and they wouldn't even remember me because we only played together for 1-2 days.
Other people's lives kept on moving normally, and I just made a rare appearance in their life.

This is why PMC became my home.
It was a community and family that I could always talk to and make new friends. Even to this day, I am still making friends on PMC. I miss my old friends who no longer use the site, but at least there is always someone new that you can become friends with on PMC.

PMC filled a void in my life that so desperately needed to be filled. It was my creative outlet and my social life while constantly travelling.
I used to make skins so fast that I had to force myself to spend a full 24 hours on each skin before posting.
I made more texture packs than I could keep up with.

Over the next few years, I eventually became a chat moderator, then later a site moderator. I've helped judge a number of contests, and organized a few.
All of this while I also graduated highschool, graduated college, got a job as a web developer, bought a house and now... Here I am writing a blog on PMC. I grew up with PMC. I grew up with many of you on this site. Yuki and I discussed it the other day, how it is rather neat being able to see people you've been friends with on PMC for years, grow up, become adults and progress in their own lives.

PMC Chat was also a very dear part of the site to me. Foxy I miss you meeping down the chat door.
I have so many fond memories of PMC chat. The conversations, the insanity, the good times, the bonding and just...hanging out.

We have recently seen a return of old members of the community. Including the likes of Teddy, Allergy_Man, and many others.
It seems that no matter how long you are away from PMC, you will always find your way back eventually.

PMC is a Minecraft fan site, but it is more than that. PMC is a community and a family.

Organizations such as SSPBL are actively engaging in the community aiming to bring people together. We have seen the introduction of groups where members are creating groups to help provide support and content to the community. The site has progressed drastically from what it was when I first joined. Some changes I wasn't a fan of, others I liked. But in the end, it is the community that makes this site what it is. PMC isn't fun without others.

Perhaps 10 years from now, when I have been on the site for 20 years, this blog will serve as a reminder of those who impacted my life.

What drives me as a moderator is to improve the community. That was my motto for myself when I first joined and it remains true to this day. I do this because I want to give back to the site that has given me so many friends and memories.

Perhaps I am a rather rubbish moderator now who doesn't regularly look at reports (I've got a job now, sorry), but I will always remain committed to the community. PMC is truly a family considering a lot of us kind of "grew up together". Friends came and went IRL, but I have more friends from PMC than I do from college.

Thank you. Yes, specifically you reading this. You are part of PMC and you are what makes the site what it is today.

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Shout outs:

Cyprezz & Paril
Everyone here on PMC owes you two everything we have gained from PMC. Thank you Cyprezz for paying the bills that keep this site running. Thank you both for meeting the community needs with hosting, server load and features.
I believe this is the main reason why PMC stands out from nearly every other community website. The features you have delivered are unique and well liked.

Azie & Palaeos & Zeranny & Zaralith
Foundational members of the mod team who's work, influence and guidance made the mod team what it is today. Your policies and approach to content moderation impacted PMC and ensured that PMC didn't turn into another Skindex. PMC remains one of the gold standards in the Minecraft community at large.
There are older mods than that, before my time, who also had such an impact on the site rules and keeping moderators accountable.

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In Memory:

taterman88
Sam
Kefka
Bubz
Neo
macaroniface