From rule changes to recipe and flavor reviews, unpopular opinions and meta discussions, recipes posts, weekly threads and the ever present new mixers questions; here are the people and posts that were the most memorable last year.

> At the start of 2018 we crowned Leche De Coco by /u/HashSlingingSlashur as Recipe of the Year for 2017. Best Recipe of 2018 is now live and in your hands!

#The Recipes

• Recipe Dumps get all the upvotes, it’s the law around here--or at least it appears to be, with the second and third most upvoted posts of last year being /u/HashSlingingSlashur’s “Small” recipe dump and /u/VoopiesEliquid’s closing of their eJuice line, respectively.
• Silky AKA The Custard King AKA /u/xGRANITEx delivered Vanilla Custard and My Process which is equal parts recipe (Malted Vanilla Custard) and epic writeup.
• And when it comes to recipe posts that are more than just recipes /u/ID10-T never fails to make a controversial splash. Fuck You, Shaun Casey! might be the only recipe to get its creator threatened with a lawsuit (unless you include VGOD’s “oops, we accidentally threatened legal action against ELR”)

 

> If you want more recipes check out: The Top Recipes (Monthly Threads), The Top Recipes (Front Page), FAQ Friday (Simple Recipes) or This “BEST” Recipe Request which includes 10 MIND-BLOWING DIY E-JUICE RECIPES YOU WON'T BELIEVE. >

 

#The People There’s really no way to make an all inclusive list of the awesome people that contribute to the sub. I’ve seen so many people come and go over the years and many have left their mark on the subreddit in subtle but meaningful ways while others have been consistent contributors of their time and knowledge. I’m not trying to play favorites or get all circle-jerky but I feel compelled to give shout outs to these people (in no particular order):

 

• /u/OdieDoodah, primarily known for his comprehensive and straightforward guide to steeping is also the purveyor of the Flavor Facts, the wildly informative companion references to the Flavor of the Week.

• “I know you must get this a lot but you are such an invaluable resource! Your passion and intelligence really come through in your comments/notes/suggestions. You rock, don't ever change!” /u/CultureViolet When I got to /u/ID10-T, the first thing I thought of was that quote and “I’m gonna need a bigger post” There is literally no one else in DIY who is as prolific in composing recipes as they are in composing helpful responses, or describing the worst flavors in the best ways. Professing the full spectrum of my love for the man would crown me a mod of /r/suddenlygay so I’ll keep it light and suggest you check out the post “Our ID10-T”

• /u/EdibleMalfunction is succinct.

• /u/ConcreteRiver only made it a little less than halfway through 2018 before he quit on us in a vain attempt to appear in as many DIY-related YouTube videos as possible. But before abandoning the sub in May he still managed to review 118 different flavors and write two FAQ Friday’s on Single Flavor Testing (Part 1 & Part 2). There will never be anyone who can fill his shoes both literally, because he’s a walrus sized man and figuratively because the kind of wit and eloquence he generated for our niche hobby is typically reserved for much more meaningful or financially beneficial endeavours.

• Cokecan AKA /u/matthewkocanda is brash and unapologetically himself; but a lot of newer members of the community might not know the true breadth of his contributions here. Not only was he co-creator of the long lost Beginner Blending podcast and Modest Monday series but, as I pointed out in one of the weekly highlights, he has the distinction of being the most prolific front page recipe poster in the subreddit’s history, with well over 40 recipes!

• /u/isuamadog is our official ambitious idea man. If he contributed nothing else (which is not the case) his enthusiasm and positivity would be a welcomed addition to any thread. He hit the ground running and carried that new mixer experience over in many helpful replies and posts like “DIY First Order (on a Budget)” and “Simple DIY Example and Price Break Down (updated)”

• /u/juthinc may be known to many as the guy that doesn’t like things, so very many things, but in reality he’s a guy who likes the sub enough to dedicate his time to help people here, evidenced by posts like Mixers Math for Dummies and Simple DIY Example and Price Breakdown and even FAQ Friday: Newbie Errors he must really like us, despite the fact that we all seem to love vanilla, strawberry and mango.

• Thanks to /u/c5b4c91772c729fc7d0a Wednesday has become the official day to talk about what you’re currently vaping. “What are you vaping?” is such a great idea because it generates a lot of conversation around recipes; covering everything from what you’re working on, to recipes you’ve remixed, to just plain talking about how good some new flavor is that you got just for such and such recipe. After more than 30 weeks in a row, c5b4(etc) has yet to miss a week and has proven to be more reliable than even our esteemed AutoMod.

• I don’t think /u/ChemicalBurnVictim is a self-proclaimed Tobacco expert but it is his claim to fame and gets him paged to pretty much any thread where it’s the topic of discussion. The topic of tobaccos can be as fascinating as it is confusing but when CBV is writing about it, it definitely becomes less confusing and much more fascinating.

 

The Posts

Besides coming here for recipes and flavor notes a lot of people come here to simply learn--how to mix and how to become better at it.

I’m really proud of how well received the FAQ Friday series was and thrilled that I was able to convince more than a few people to put together write ups for it. The two that garnered the most love in the form of upvotes were Additives/Enhancers & Shake and Vape while the one I had the most fun putting together was probably Is Flavorah too Expensive?*

> But enough congratulating myself, here are some other excellent and informative posts worth checking out:

 

• The "worst" Flavors I have ever tried
• Cokecan's attempt at version control in the DIY scene /// Cantaloupe Ice Cream
• Simple DIY Example and Price Breakdown
• Flavor Inventory!
• Recipe Reviews: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
• FAQ Friday: Getting into Tobaccos

 

#The Meta

• Flavorah holds the distinction of having the most upvoted post of last year (as well as the second most upvoted post of all time) in response to the Reddit policy changes that resulted in the banning and censorship of ejuice related subreddits, including ours. While we managed to come through relatively unscathed (no links to nic sources) there was an uncomfortably long period where the future of the subreddit and all the knowledge contained in it could disappear without notice.

• When /u/EdibleMalfunction isn’t busy being succinct in every thread he will occasionally be seen stoking the fires of revolution with titles like “Let’s Fucking Do it” a cry for change and the call that launched a thousand shiposts. I KID--many good things have come from the changes! And while those changes were already being discussed behind the scenes, his post was a decidedly pivotal moment.

• /u/kindground besides having the top rated recipe at the end of last year and more than a few delicious recipes posted throughout was also briefly a martyr for the change in how strictly the rules were being applied. His unfortunate and unjustified temporary ban played no small part in affecting the way the subreddit is being run these days. And lucky for us all, he stuck around to make more than his fair share of contributions.

• The always affable [deleted] asked “What are your politically incorrect DIY opinions?” and as with any “unpopular” opinions thread, it’s full of a bunch of shit people agree on, with a few controversial comments being downvoted for actually being “politically incorrect.” Can’t wait for the next one to pop up so we can rinse and repeat.

• /u/AlfredPudding, the mixer of the year if there ever was one, was kind enough to put together a Recipe Template that is essentially the best way to present your recipe to the subreddit if you want to do it outside of the Monthly Thread.

 

#The New Mixers

• /u/redditisnowtwitter was, and possibly still is, very excited about the cost of DIY. I’m just a little disappointed they couldn’t live up to their name and keep the character count under 280.
• /u/CherryDarlingxx had “A message to new mixers from a new mixer” nu-meta!
• /u/k4win was excited to share their first mix
• /u/YellowGreenKappa shared their thoughts on their first month of DIY
• And many other just wanted to say Thank You...
• Thank You
• Thank You
• Thank You
• Thank You
• Thank You

 

> And a big thank you from me to all the people who take a little time out of their day to make this place awesome. If there’s anyone I missed, please shout them out in the comments (as well as any posts or comments that you think are worth highlighting) If you don't know; I do a much shorter version of these highlights every week in the Questions Thread.