There have been comments about the COTM "meaning nothing". I take exception to this statement, although everyone is entitled to having and sharing his or her opinion. Calling for the COTM, tallying up the votes, and posting the results aren't difficult tasks, nor do they require much time: however, they are tasks that take time and energy that I could spend elsewhere. So why have I done it consistently every month since May of 1997? Because I care about this community and the quality of discussion here.
Let's be very honest about one thing. CBR is a place that we come to for entertainment. We are not to take it overly seriously. We do not come here to discuss solutions to war, poverty, disease, and social inequity. We come here to socialize with like-minded people about a hobby we have in common. If CBR were to disappear tomorrow, it would have no major impact on the world at large or issues that really matter.
All that being said, this is a community that I have been very happy and honored to have been part of for the past five years, and I continue to feel grateful to be a part of it. However casual we are here, we must realize that Jonah and his staff put a great deal of effort in making this the finest forum of its kind devoted to this subject matter (comics) on the Web. He has invested his heart and soul into this project. The very least we can do in return is to make sure this will always be the kind of forum he envisions it should be.
To that end, I created and have mainted the Citizen of the Month award for CBR. No, the rules are not particularly stringent as for who qualifies to win this award. No, it is not of any great consequence in the greater scheme of things. It does, however, serve as a reminder of what this community's common values are. It should not, therefore, be cynically disparaged as "meaningless".
99.9% of the time, 99.9% of the members of the community abide by these values. There's next to nothing to complain about. While I would not claim that COTM in any way is the cause of this, it does serve as an effective reminder of what level of discourse is valued at this community. Many of you have been to enough other similar forums to understand how poor the alternatives can be.
Anyway, that's enough said on the subject from me for now. Let's look forward to awarding the COTM for August, 2001 at the end of the month.
