There’s a new forum in town: www.atomiccitytalk.com.

Most of us in the Ridge’s online community found one another through a different online forum, hosted by the town’s daily newspaper. For a few years, it was an arena for spirited discussion on a wide variety of topics — politics, sports, advice, and the kind of general chat that used to occur in country stores, greasy spoons, and barbershops. However, when the original moderator (Shane) left for greener pastures, the quality of moderation began to slide… eventually, to the point where most of us just didn’t frequent the place any more.

I’ve been stopping by less and less frequently since late last Fall. I admit that it’s something I’ve missed; the conversation was intellectually stimulating and often more entertaining than the best stand-up comedy.

Now, there’s a new game in town, and it appears to have all the things I’ve missed about the other one! Topics of the last couple of days span everything from the Gore kid’s 100-mph Prius to the fireworks war… it’s everything that I liked about the old one, and more.

Farewell, Oak Ridger Forums. It was good in the beginning, but we’ve, you know, grown apart, and I need to take a new direction.