The story of how The Magic Café got started is interesting:
Steve Brooks Interview on The Magic Newswire

Congratulations Steve!

Thanks Dynamike! I truly enjoyed this podcast. Just when I was about to hitch my cart to the "fix the #$%& search engine 2-minute wait process!" bandwagon, I listened to Steve's history and had an immediate paradigm shift. Steve is to be commended for respecting that this resource does have a life of it's own and a lot of us really DO need it, utilize it, and appreciate it's existence.

I know there are lots of younger magicians (and older as well) who take for granted the amount of useful insight and information this site provides. Growing up in WV (I was Michael Ammar's first student of magic when I was 11 and he was I think 17), I can remember checking every week to see if a new magic book had come in at the only bookstore in town and feeling drunk with excitement (or was that moonshine) when a new one was on the shelf. Not to mention the absolute thrill I got when Mark Wilson's Course of Magic was given to me as my combined Xmas and 13th birthday present.

I am new to this site but have read a great deal so far. I get the impression that sometimes we might forget the value and purpose of this site as a community, and a place to share, learn, and support the whole. And we should try our best to not make it a place to complain ad nausea, fuel conflicts, or use as a vehicle for personal rants, targeted insults and negative, unproductive arguments.

I highly recommend anyone who spends any real amount of time on this forum to follow the link to Steve's interview, learn a bit about the forum, and become a better member as a result.

That's just my .02 worth!

"KEEP THE FAITH, STEVE!!"

:applause:

Thanks Dynamike...The Café has been extremely helpful to me, and anyone interested in magic should join asap....