I have some very sad and heartbreaking news to share.
I just received the news very early this morning that longtime RealGM Moderator Dharam Raghubir who went by the Username Magnumt and behind the scenes was always Mags passed away last month on April 18.
For many years, he had many health issues that he had opened up to me about and despite how difficult they were to hear about, he was always in good spirits.
Magnumt started off on RealGM in 2004 as someone who was trying to recruit for his sports website off of The General NBA Board.
At the time, the Forum was a mess and undergoing it's first reiteration. A Moderator that I had recently installed and given Magnumt a warning StevenKaz who now goes by UCF came to me with a suggestion.
He told that he had PMed with Magnumt and after some back and forth with him asked me to make him a General NBA Board Moderator.
I was surprised and Kaz urged me to take a chance on him. I went with it and it was the beginning of a legend.
In my over 15 years of being an Administrator and in charge of The RealGM Moderator Team, I do not know if anyone had more passion for moderating than Magnumt.
Behind the scenes, he always advocated for Users and for action to be taken against the ones who were ruining the experience for others.
While Magnumt might have started as a Moderator on our General NBA Board, he also had a big impact on our New York Knicks Forum where he was beloved by many Users and his co-Moderators. He loved his New York Knicks and was so excited about this coming offseason.
The Knicks Fans will all have their own memories as well as our New York Knicks Moderator Team as he was their leader.
Magnumt was very assertive as well and had previously retired as a Moderator. However, when he returned, he flat out said that he wanted to be a Global Moderator. I obliged and from that moment on, he was truly a Global Moderator.
His assertiveness and dedicated effort to make The Forums a better place was always on display and I do have some stories.
There were times when he would take care of a reports that had not been taken care of on other Forums the past couple of days. He would then proceed to send me a message requesting to me that he needed 7-9 Suspensions and/or Bans that I would receive right when I woke up Saturday morning. He'd always make a joke about it and it would drive me nuts. LOL! Please note that this was before we isolated General NBA Board warnings. If I was older, he might have given me a heart attack although I've learned to be more calm over the years.
In his later years at RealGM, I became aware of some of his health issues. Most of the time he was very vague about them and I never do intrude on anyone.. However, he did open up to me that he was on dialysis and one time he was blind for two weeks due to treatments. Those treatments also caused him to act erratic at times over the last few years. Some of you noticed this via PM's that I received. When I talked to a nurse about the situation, they said the treatments he was undergoing could do this. It is why he voluntarily scaled back his moderating duties earlier this year and then retired for the last time.
This will not be my last memory of Magnumt though. As everyone knows, our General NBA Board underwent some changes with an updated policy back in 2017. There were also some issues behind the scenes that had to be resolved. When I needed a hand to deal with these issues, Magnumt stepped up to the plate and was instrumental in helping me get the ball rolling with recruiting Moderator help for a difficult assignment among some other things that I will never reveal. It was not the first time Magnumt would help change The General NBA Board and this one will be his most lasting.
Over the years, he did retire 2 or 3 times to take a break for various things but I did tell Magnumt something once that I tell very few Moderators when they retire. Back before the treatments had an effective on him. I told Magnumt one time after he retired years back that he not only was a great Global Moderator but someone who would be able to sit in my Chair and that is not an easy thing. When he was on, he was the full package not just in terms of Moderating but knowing good Moderator talent. Please do not ever judge him by these last years.
I took a big chance in 2000 at the age of 19 to join this upstart site with people whose faces I never saw and knew simply through the internet lines that went through my computer. My goal was to run a great message board for Users and to get good people to moderate it while having a fun night.
From the time the Forums started in 2001 and I became in charge of The Moderator Team back in 2003, I usually am pretty careful in the selections I make. However, one of the best Moderators this site has ever had came by a chance and I am grateful (I just burst into tears a sentence ago) that I took that chance back in 2004. While I am grateful for the moderating he did, it's not why my eyes are now dry and tears are stuck on my face, it was for the person he was and the one many of us Moderators and Users came to know when they needed a break from the real world and just wanted to talk basketball or something on their minds on one of our Off-Topic Forums.
Magnumt loved just being around these Forums and I loved having him for the great person he was and will always be remembered for.
I know he is with the angels and a better place but this place is not going to be the same without you Mags.
Thank you so much for the years that you blessed us with your presence, knowledge, jokes and your trademark beer
Emoji.I would like everyone to please share their memories of on of the greatest Moderators and people to ever grace RealGM.
Here is to my friend and many of yours Magnumt
