Dropping by to say hello

[Jack]

Hello to those who might recognize me and those who might not.

I feel compelled to post after a long absence to express my gratitude for the experience I gained on this site in my adolescence that is benefiting me now as blogger. Ultimate Disney was my first real community experience on the internet, sharing a long held enthusiasm for animation and family films with the initially small community here. I was a regular forum poster and was really just learning to express myself in the online setting. Luke was kind enough to give me the opportunity to begin writing from time to time, and that proved invaluable for what I'm doing now as a tech reviewer. Learning to dissect a product and come to a conclusion on its merit while serving a niche audience.

After a few years as a steady reviewer, I abandoned interaction with the site community for personal reasons. I feel comfortable telling you that I've spent the majority of my time since offline doing volunteer work, while maintaining an interest in Disney as well as the entertainment industry in general as a hobby. I actually did not own a personal computer for a decade, and only started to spend more time online once I bought an iPad, mainly for reading. Within the past year, I've gradually been dipping my toes in article writing and interaction with fan bases again.

I was reading the Wikipedia page a few moments ago and was surprised to see that the scope of the site's reporting has grown more than I expected. I'm glad to have been given the opportunity to learn to express myself better here, I just wanted to say thanks for the support that I received during the process. The internet has changed a lot since I was active on UD, but I think in many ways it's for the better, as the communal experience has improved.

[disneyboy20022]

Welcome Back Jack. Will you be posting more around here?

Could you post a link to these new articles you wrote within the past year? It's also cool how time here helped you do that. You should try e-mailing Luke to catch up on old times. I think he would appreciate that a lot

[Escapay]

Whether it's just this one, singular post, or perhaps a continued presence here, let me just say welcome back, Jack. You've been missed.

Glad to hear you've been doing well, especially as your disappearance was quite surprising all those years ago (as was your brief return some years later). And I must share in your sentiment and thank UltimateDisney for being such an open and welcoming community. While I don't write reviews for the site anymore, I've continued to hone my writing skills in other outlets (both online and elsewhere). But I like to think that UltimateDisney is where I first became a serious writer.

Albert

[Jack]

Good to see some familiar faces. Yes, I've not had much of an online presence on UD or elsewhere from the time I left till 2012. It really wasn't a rejection of technology but a reorganizing of priorities. My volunteer work mostly required that I work long hours and I didn't live in a place with internet. This was before the boom in cellular data connectivity.

Part of my current fascination with tech has to do with the fact that if it weren't for mobile devices, I would never have come back to communicating on the internet. I think it's a very significant shift.

I only just started to write articles again. Here's my review of the iPhone 5s for a friend's blog http://www.mandatory-tech.com/2013/10/a ... iphone-5s/

I'm not sure if I'll be posting here much or not. When I have something to say, I'm delighted to partake in the discussion. But I don't think message boards will ever be a priority the way they were initially.

[Jules]

Are you Jack as in Jack Seiley? I don't think we ever met online (I believe you were already gone when I joined), but I read quite a few of your reviews in the years leading up to 2006, even before I registered.

It's nice to see old members come back.

[pinkrenata]

Yo, Jack. WB!

[ajmrowland]

Good to see you're doing well!

[Musical Master]

I maybe new here but I want to wish you a good old fashioned welcome back.

[Maerj]

I remember you Jack. Welcome back!

[Jack]

Hello to everyone! Renata, yo!

I just thought I would share my most recent article for Mandatory Tech, which is kind of a summary of why I switched from buying discs to exclusively streaming. I think the audience at this site would find it interesting. Imbedded is a little video of my current home media setup. http://wp.me/p3yB0v-uv

Also, you'll notice my public social accounts at the end of the article. You're more than welcome to follow me on any of those platforms to stay in touch.

[ajmrowland]

Nice article. I'm still on the fence because shopping in a store is more physically healthy than downloads, and I like to know I have the best quality and the bonus features.

I also like package arrived, but I don't think I'll be going full digital until I can get a full blu-ray experience with it.

Also, 4k is a full on standard now?