# Off Topic > The Water Cooler >  >  Why is Tigeravatar "A valued forum contributor"

## JapanDave

Why has he not been awarded the status of forum guru? And there are others should be forum guru's IMO. Is there some sort of thing you need to do , like chug a gallon of beer??? But seriously, some of these people should be forum guru's. Anyone else wonder about this?

Cheers  Dave

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## bonny24tycoon

I completely agree with you JapanDave. I wish we could give multiple reps at one time for him.

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## Kyle123

It's to do with the amount of time you've been a member and post count. I think it's > 2yrs, but could well be wrong, TA joined in 2011

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## JapanDave

@Kyle, I supose that would explain a lot. But I would think that rep would over ride time being a member. Being a guru means,




> a. A recognized leader in a field : Eg a leader in the area of finance



Some of the people answering here need better status if you ask me.

And I also think that chugging a gallon of beer is a worthy mention. BTW I can do that... In 15 seconds...

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## Kyle123

The problem with that is the rep system doesn't really work in describing a 'Guru' we all know how many posters actually leave rep. But yeah, I agree that there should be something more than 1200 posts and 2yrs. I know of at least one person who has had their forum guru status revoked as they never actually answered any questions, just asked loads  :Wink:

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## royUK

> I know of at least one person who has had their forum guru status revoked as they never actually answered any questions, just asked loads



Who was that? I don't recall that ever happening

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## Kyle123

e4excel If I recall correctly. Just checked the stats, seems I do  :Wink:

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## romperstomper

I remember that. I also recall that some kind soul upgraded my title to forum guru manually.  :Wink:

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## Pepe Le Mokko

" Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas "

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## Kyle123

Deserved too

first biblical quote in a while  :Wink:

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## ChemistB

Add my vote to Tiger being a Forum Guru, He is one, with or without the byline.   :Smilie:

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## Mordred

tigeravatar is definitely one of those people that I would consider guru.  He can take my guru title if he wants as I am not a guru.  Some "gurus" like myself got that title after being a mod. I don't mind seeing it but my skills pale in comparison to those like tigeravatar and all you other gurus (you know who you are).

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## tigeravatar

/blush

Thanks guys, this really makes my day  :Smilie: 
I'm not that concerned about my subtitle, but the thoughts here are very much appreciated.

EDIT
Also, I feel I should add that I am utterly incapable of chugging a gallon of beer, haha.  It would probably take me a whole day to drink that much ^^

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## Pepe Le Mokko

> /blush
> 
> 
> Also, I feel I should add that I am utterly incapable of chugging a gallon of beer, haha.  It would probably take me a whole day to drink that much ^^



And drinking it is only part of the problem....

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## tigeravatar

Additionally, when I started here, I was barely above the qualification of "noob".  I have learned so much from Romperstomper, JB, DO, DLL, ChemistB, Teylyn, and many more I'm sure I've missed.  If you look at my first few posts, I was getting corrected left and right, haha.  Ah well, live and learn, and I have learned so much from my time here.  And the more I learn, the more I find I still don't know (still weak on charting, VBA with APIs, advanced pivot table uses, the list goes on, lol)

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## Mordred

I once tried to drink a gallon of beer, I got most of it down which in turn made most of it come back up.  I spent over an hour letting that gallon go in jeans & a T-shirt, outside while it was about -15 C.  I don't remember being cold though.  Ah beer, I think I'm going to have to pick up a case so that I can work at becoming a beer guru!

---------- Post added at 11:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:05 AM ----------

You are definitely not weak at VBA ta, I've seen many of your solutions to myself and OP and sometimes I am blown away by your understanding, especially considering that you are relatively new to all this.

---------- Post added at 11:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:07 AM ----------

And besides, you know that you must being doing well when someone creates a thread like this about you!

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## Kyle123

> And besides, you know that you must being doing well when someone creates a thread like this about you!



Yes, indeed. 

are we talking about american gallons here, that doesn't seem so bad - about 6 1/2 pints. Though I'm not quite sure what "chugging" is, would that be drinking in a very short period of time?

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## Marcol

The whole system is a bit dubious, it is based on the members help to other forum members.
Rep is given by some OPs and interested parties, but totally ignored by most!

Tigeravatar has the highest accolade of  "*...has a reputation beyond repute*".
To have achieved this in 490 days and 2,976 posts is no mean feat!

Hold in there matey, only 241 days to go for that coveted, (by some), "Guru" title.

Mentioning a gallon of beer, I'm of to the pub for that at least ....  :EEK!:  ...  :Wink: 

*P.S.*
A Scots' Gallon is any *given* amount over 8 pints ...  :Smilie:

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## vandan_tanna

There are several contributors on this forum I consider to be Guru regardless of their titles. All you have to do is see a couple of their posts to realize how good they are.

Tigeravatar is definitely one of them.

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## royUK

I think I changed Rory's title. It is possible for admin to do, I'm not sure about moderators

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## romperstomper

> Additionally, when I started here, I was barely above the qualification of "noob".  I have learned so much from Romperstomper, JB, DO, DLL, ChemistB, Teylyn, and many more I'm sure I've missed.  If you look at my first few posts, I was getting corrected left and right, haha.  Ah well, live and learn, and I have learned so much from my time here.  And the more I learn, the more I find I still don't know (still weak on charting, VBA with APIs, advanced pivot table uses, the list goes on, lol)



That's the beauty of forums like this - you can always pick up tips that you never thought of/came cross before or better ways of doing something than the one you always use. The sheer variety of questions also prompts you to explore areas of the application you wouldn't normally touch.

FWIW, I too consider you a forum guru.

---------- Post added at 06:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:03 PM ----------





> I think I changed Rory's title. It is possible for admin to do, I'm not sure about moderators



Yes, you did. I think DO was tired of getting corrected by a mere 'forum contributor'  :Wink:

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## bonny24tycoon

*@Tigeravatar -* I have surely learnt and gained a lot of knowledge from you from the day I joined.. I remember asking you example sheets for your codes so that I could practise.. And you have helped me always.. Your learinng has surely increased my knowledge and in turn allows me to help others..

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## tigeravatar

@Romperstomper, I agree 100%, and thank you.  Being called a guru by someone as established and knowledgable as yourself comes as exceptionally high praise  :Smilie: 

@Bonny, I'm glad I was able to give back some of what I have been given, and that you took it to heart ^_^

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## JapanDave

> EDIT
> Also, I feel I should add that I am utterly incapable of chugging a gallon of beer, haha.  It would probably take me a whole day to drink that much ^^



I take it all back, if you can't chug a gallon of beer, than what good are you!!!! LOL 

But seriously, some people here should be promoted to Forum Guru for sure and Tiger is one of them.

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## roki4

Repped tiger many times but here's another!

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## FDibbins

i couldnt agree more with you on that last post TA.  when i 1st started coming here, i thought i knew a fair amount about excle.  boy was i ever wrong...it was 1 of those "i didnt know that i didnt know" things.  but the guys you mentions...AND you...have taught me so much, as well as teaching me how much there still is to learn.

having said that, i agree completely with the rest of the posts abut you being a guru, whether your title says that or not

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## Marcol

Hmm?
Am I loosing the thread here ...  :Confused: 

Is VBA a better pint than IPA?

Never tried the stuff myself.

I do, however, have a perchant for the ol' formula Bills' ol' gran keeps mysteriously hidden in cells.
A li'l drop o' that can of'n do the trick ...  :Wink: 

*P.S.*
Tiger from the far east is'na a bad pint either ...  :Wink:

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## JapanDave

What a joke , I see that TA status has not changed... Who is in charge here?

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## Cutter

All this talk/praise about tigeravatar (which I fully agree with) but no mention of Haseeb A?  Haseeb has accomplished the same maximum rep level in 2 months less time and with far fewer posts.  So, I think all the great comments already made in this thread apply equally to Haseeb A.

Maybe instead of an arbitrary time period/post/rep combination deciding one's 'guru title' there should be a nomination process.

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## daddylonglegs

> FWIW, I too consider you a forum guru.



...me too...

Haseeb is also a guru in everything but name, as Cutter says. Keep up the good work guys.......

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## vandan_tanna

I couldn't agree more about Haseeb. He, too, is a true Guru!

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## martindwilson

i drank a gallon of still cider once in 25 minutes for a bet ,and boy was i sick (at about 25mins 30 seconds)

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## vlady

@all that say's Haseeb A is true Guru, I second the motion. :Cool:

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## JapanDave

> All this talk/praise about tigeravatar (which I fully agree with) but no mention of Haseeb A?  Haseeb has accomplished the same maximum rep level in 2 months less time and with far fewer posts.  So, I think all the great comments already made in this thread apply equally to Haseeb A.
> 
> Maybe instead of an arbitrary time period/post/rep combination deciding one's 'guru title' there should be a nomination process.



I fully agree with you, that is why I said others as well. I probably should have included a few more names. 

Can someone from admin please explain what the conditions are for these people to become forum gurus? 

Just a thought as well, what about a mark below the users names for an Excel MVP. I am not sure if the MVP's would like like, as they are some of the most humble people I have seen so far. But from a an excel noob such as myself, it is good to know these things.Again , just some thoughts for food. :EEK!:

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## Pepe Le Mokko

This entire thread looks kinda funny when you think of it .It seems like those asking that others should be called "Guru's","supermen", whatever hyperbolic title in fact, are saying " and please don't forget to make me a "Guru", "superman", "batman", whatever, when the time comes...."Vanitas vanitatum..."  :Smilie:

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## TMS

You can do some sums based on the Members' List sorted by Rep descending ... if you want to, and we do all like playing with spreadsheets, don't we?

Taking the Join Date and working out how many months/years someone has been a member, you can calculate a position in the table based on Posts Per Month.

TA comes in at 13 with 16 months' membership and 187 posts per month; Haseeb A comes in at 20 with 14 months and 119 posts per month.  Pepe has 38 months at 21 posts per month.

In terms of page 1 Rep, they are the newest members.  MarvinP, Andrew-R and I tie for third newest at 24 months with snb just a little older at 26 months.

I'm sure the guidelines can be worked around with sufficient support from the membership as a whole.

Regards, TMS

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## vandan_tanna

> This entire thread looks kinda funny when you think of it .It seems like those asking that others should be called "Guru's","supermen", whatever hyperbolic title in fact, are saying " and please don't forget to make me a "Guru", "superman", "batman", whatever, when the time comes...."Vanitas vanitatum..."



Pepe: You are diluting our genuine admiration of these highly skilled contributors!

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## JapanDave

> This entire thread looks kinda funny when you think of it .It seems like those asking that others should be called "Guru's","supermen", whatever hyperbolic title in fact, are saying " and please don't forget to make me a "Guru", "superman", "batman", whatever, when the time comes...."Vanitas vanitatum..."



LOL, obviously directed at me.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):  Could you possibly take a look at my first posts here, even up until about a year and a half ago, I could not put together a countif formula. Then you will realize how ridiculous that statement is. Maybe give me a few more years of studying excel and then , maybe I would be deserving a Guru status (But I still have a long way to go IMO), so don't include me in as a forum guru wananabe category ,as I am not. But what ever floats your boat Pepe. I honestly don't care about how many reps someone one has received, I am going off the quality of those peoples posts.

---------- Post added at 10:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 AM ----------





> You can do some sums based on the Members' List sorted by Rep descending ... if you want to, and we do all like playing with spreadsheets, don't we?
> 
> Taking the Join Date and working out how many months/years someone has been a member, you can calculate a position in the table based on Posts Per Month.
> 
> TA comes in at 13 with 16 months' membership and 187 posts per month; Haseeb A comes in at 20 with 14 months and 119 posts per month.  Pepe has 38 months at 21 posts per month.
> 
> In terms of page 1 Rep, they are the newest members.  MarvinP, Andrew-R and I tie for third newest at 24 months with snb just a little older at 26 months.
> 
> I'm sure the guidelines can be worked around with sufficient support from the membership as a whole.
> ...



This sort of brings up another point I was thinking about. I am not saying anyone with lots of rep does this, but it is possible for someone to obtain lots of reps just by answering very simple formula questions. They could then be called a forum guru. Should there also be a system where they have achieved a certain amount of reps and post and then be considered by their peers for guru status? Ie, current gurus and MVP's? This would keep the level high for those that do make guru status.

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## TMS

I think you're over-engineering the process.  I personally am not interested in being part of a panel to assess other's ability and status.  There are some guidelines, whatever, that can be / are applied and, to a large extent, they work.  I guess no automated process is perfect but, when it comes down to it, we're here to answer questions.

If someone keeps answering questions correctly, be they simple or difficult, the residency plus post count will earn them the status.

As it stands, their contribution is clearly recognised by veterans and OPs alike.

Regards, TMS

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## JapanDave

I could be, and I can understand where you are coming from. As I said before, you guys are a very humble bunch. :Smilie:

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## JapanDave

So I gather admin don't read posts here, or they are drinking to Pepe Le Mokko's koolaid. Can someone please change TA to guru status?

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## tigeravatar

JapanDave,

While I appreciate the sentiment, it is not necessary to have my status changed.  That will happen on its own in due time, and there is no reason that I need to be an exception to the rule.

You, and all the others that have posted here, have my profound thanks for the support and kind words  :Smilie:

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## Mordred

I think you've all made ta blush!  As it is, I think you can use the praise by those in this community who truly respect what you do.  After all, your employment is going to change soon which can obviously be a real downer.  Who knows, with all this praise you may one day be nominated for Excel MVP which always looks good in OPs signatures.  I'm just sayin!

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## JapanDave

> JapanDave,
> 
> While I appreciate the sentiment, it is not necessary to have my status changed.  That will happen on its own in due time, and there is no reason that I need to be an exception to the rule.
> 
> You, and all the others that have posted here, have my profound thanks for the support and kind words



Fair enough TA, I just though everyone was in agreement and maybe a nice admin would do something for a "More than valued community member". I don't know, I just really value being helped here over the years by people for absolutely nothing, including you.

Cheers

Dave

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## arlu1201

Congratulations to Tigeravatar & Haseeb A who's status has been changed to Forum Guru.

Appreciate all your contributions to this forum.

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## vandan_tanna

Congratulation to both of you  - TA and Haseeb - for a well deserved promotion!

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## Cutter

Nice work, Arlette!   :Smilie: 

And congratulations to both of the Gurus.

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## Pete_UK

Yes, congratulations to both - well deserved.

BUT, does this mean that we can expect similar "promotions" for dilipandey and for Fotis1991, both of whom have a higher post-count and have been members for a shorter period of time than the other two?

Pete

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## JapanDave

> Yes, congratulations to both - well deserved.
> 
> BUT, does this mean that we can expect similar "promotions" for dilipandey and for Fotis1991, both of whom have a higher post-count and have been members for a shorter period of time than the other two?
> 
> Pete



I honestly don't think post count alone should come into it. As someone has said before, you could only ask questions and have a high post count and if your time here was long enough you could become a forum guru. I personally would rather have people's status changed on there knowledge, judged via by what answers they post. So keep the post count there, but when that person is eligible maybe have a vote or something like that to see if they should have there status upgraded. 

But if you have a look at TMS's post, he has a vaid point as well,




> I think you're over-engineering the process.  I personally am not interested in being part of a panel to assess other's ability and status.  There are some guidelines, whatever, that can be / are applied and, to a large extent, they work.  I guess no automated process is perfect but, when it comes down to it, we're here to answer questions.
> 
> If someone keeps answering questions correctly, be they simple or difficult, the residency plus post count will earn them the status.
> 
> As it stands, their contribution is clearly recognised by veterans and OPs alike.
> 
> Regards, TMS



I understand where TMS is coming from, but from a member like myself who came to this forum with barely the skill to put together a countif formula, it is good to know when a guru is helping you out, not detracting from the fact that there are certainly "Valued Forum Contributors" such as your self Pete, who I also consider a Guru that may not yet have enough posts to be considered. But, it is just good to know this from member who is still in the learning process.

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## vlady

Congrat's Tiger and Haseeb

regards,
vladimir

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## Fotis1991

*Congrat's Tiger and Haseeb!*

As my name was reported in The Post#48, I would say the following.

I'm not and physically do not feel I am a guru in excel.

Such views have with me and members of the Forum, who have too much reb power.

For this and less than 5 times one of them has given me reb star.

So it is clear that experts of the forum, feel that my skills are limited.

I learn every day and try to improve my skills.

I intend to continue to do this.

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## arlu1201

Fotis, I dont think you can judge yourself by the reps you receive.  Other people can assess your skill level by the answers you give.

Rep points all depends on the giver.  Sometimes, you give one of the best solutions and no rep comes your way, sometimes, you give an easy solution which any person can give and you get rep points.

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## Pete_UK

Fotis,

personally, I don't care about the titles or indeed the rep points system - there was none of those on the old news groups, but over a period of time you could see posters' names cropping up frequently and could judge for yourself who gave good answers. Google Groups gave some statistics like top-10 posters each month, based on post-count, and you could form your own opinion from these.

I was merely pointing out in post #48 that there were some anomalies. If there is a rule that says you need to have a minimum of 600 posts AND a minimum of 2 years' membership before being classed as a Forum Guru, then IF the membership criteria is relaxed, as in this case, then it should be applied equally to others. I'm sure that on 11th October 2013 (2 years after you joined) you will get that title, and by then your post count may well be 7,000+ if you continue posting at the same frequency that you have achieved so far, and the same applies for Dilipandey on 5th December 2013. I'm sure you will continue to learn, even with that title, as indeed we all will.

Pete

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## martindwilson

i want to be a forum  gnu  ..much more fun

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## arlu1201

Gnu?

You know a Gnu means - A large dark antelope (genus Connochaetes) with a long head, a beard and mane, and a sloping back.  lol

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## Fotis1991

@ *Martin*

..And me a Zebra.

@ *Arlette & Pete.*

I don't care about the titles or indeed the rep points system. I NEVER asked for a title and i'll never will do.

My English(as you know) are not very good, so i'll try to explain better what i said.

I said i don't feel that i am an Excel Guru, meaning Excel Expert.

For reb*, i have to say this.

Most of the times when i give a difficult(for me) solution, i have no reb* from the OP. Some times i have one for answers like, =1F(A1=1;"GNU";"ZEBRA")!

In this Forum there are some Excel Experts and Excel MVP, too. So i said that if you have no reb* from them or a positive comment, this for me, means, that they don't believe to your Excel skills.

If someone has 1600 posts and 11 scales in his reb scale, this means that some Excel Experts with great reb power, gives reb to him because they believe that he(she) has very good Excel skills.

Or else you can not have more than 1500 points in 1600 posts, adding points one by one.

That's all.

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## john55

Hey Fotis, I am on your side, you should be Guru, your title must be changed as soon as better....(the autumn is coming!), then you should pay me, I might accept "all inclusive"! 

LoL

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## Fotis1991

> Hey Fotis, I am on your side, you should be Guru, your title must be changed as soon as better....(the autumn is coming!), then you should pay me, I might accept "all inclusive"! 
> 
> LoL



In which island do you prefer, John? :Wink:

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## john55

Santorini (JTR), thank you! 
))))

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## Kyle123

I like all the Islands I've been to, only been to Crete and Cyprus though  :Smilie:

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## Fotis1991

> Santorini (JTR), thank you! 
> ))))



Is this hotel(photo in my signature) ok for you, or do you need something better?

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## john55

Fotis, yes, it's ok, thx!

Arlete?

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## arlu1201

Yeah that hotel is splendid....

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## JapanDave

Ok, someone show me how to put these back in...

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## Fotis1991

Use same way that you  used to open the box.

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## john55

Arlete, I promise I tell you how it looks like when I come back, now you know very well that title needs to be changed. so, please! )))

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## Mordred

As far as rep goes from other members that I view as elite in this game, I think that someone has to offer exemplary solutions to get rep points from them.  I know my skills don't match those of the many gurus on here (not even close) so I don't expect reps from them but the handful of times that I have received reps from gurus, it made feel good getting the acknowledgment.  Romperstomper once gave me rep when I caught a simple error in a solution  (sorry no link to provide as it happened a couple years ago) and that made my week.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I like the rep acknowledgement when I help others but mostly I do no receive reps, especially from the one-off posters that frequent here and the CC. In saying that, I don't expect them anymore and therefore don't get my hopes up with them.

@Fotis, the day that I can vacation in Greece I'll be looking to you as someone I know there and I'll be hoping for a list of to-do's if and when it happens.  My wife and I are seriously planning a European vacation in our 5 year outlook and we'll need stuff to do.  I've also got it in my mind's eye to visit and drink beer with a few of the chaps from the GB/UK area when we hop over the pond.

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## Haseeb A

Firstly, I am also agree about TA.

I was not in online last 40 days, so missed all these threads. I am still in 1st standard, require a long journey to get graduation. But Thanks to everyone recommending my name.

Haseeb

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## Cutter

Hey - good to hear from you again.  I was asking if anyone knew what happened to you.

Now that you're back, congrats on your official recognition as 'Guru'.

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## Haseeb A

Cutter,

I had a vacation. I didn't know my title has been changed. Just checked it now. Thanks for everyone  :Smilie:  This doesn't mean i have earned graduation, still learning lessons...  :Smilie:

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## arlu1201

Congrats Haseeb.  You deserve it.  If you say you are in Standard 1, where are we?  Is there something called standard 0.001?  :Smilie:

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## vlady

Welcome back Haseeb. :Smilie:  nice your back!!!

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## john55

Hi Haseeb,
congrats!  :Smilie:  
you should know Tigaravatar organized for us a sort of "team recreation" (we know, helped by Fotis!  :Wink:  ) in a very nice island in Greece! 
... you have so much oil! LoL

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## tigeravatar

Welcome back Haseeb, and congratulations on the guru title!  :Smilie:

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## Fotis1991

John.

I'm invited? :Wink:

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## john55

yes, you are! we change to 29N 47E from 36N25E  :Wink:

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## Fotis1991

OOOOOOOOO! Thank you!! I am a really happy man now! :Smilie:

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## Haseeb A

> Congrats Haseeb.  You deserve it.  If you say you are in Standard 1, where are we?  Is there something called standard 0.001?



Thank you Arlette

What I mean by '1st Standard' is 'Studying on First Standard, it is a 15 years journey to earn graduation' No any other meaning  :Smilie: 

@John,

Thank you John. I love to be in Greece. Hope TA & Fotis will come up with a good package  :Wink: 

Again, Thank you very much for everyone  :Smilie:

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## arlu1201

> Thank you Arlette
> 
> What I mean by '1st Standard' is 'Studying on First Standard, it is a 15 years journey to earn graduation' No any other meaning



I meant the same thing Haseeb.

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