What is this forum to you?

A place where you can chat about anything that isn't to do with games!
neorichieb1971
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What is this forum to you?

Post by neorichieb1971 »

As one of the really early members of this forum way back in the early 2000's, i've seen changes and things have changed.

Back then, you imported physical copies of Japanese shmups on consoles such as PS2 and Dreamcast. I'm still a member of that group of people that still buys mostly retro, but sometimes newer games on their disc/cartridge platforms. For me, its a way of not letting go of the past because gaming was about unearthing gems and using tools like this forum to get exposure to the deepest roots of the genre.

But now we have downloads, we have hardware emulation, we have software emulation and we have those people that like to mod older tech. The forum has shifted away from what it was, to what it is now. I don't even comment on here much because I don't really see that I'm part of the majority anymore, i've become the minority.

So much in fact that this forum only helps me decide what hardware to buy. The selling/trading/wanted forums rarely get attention and when they do its an item that is very rare and usually on PCB format only.

I remember the days when you used to buy arcade cabinets on here, you could buy modified joysticks and parts and people shifted proper gaming consoles left and right on the trading forums. Not to mention the buying and selling of said compatible games.

When I have looked in the past year or so, there isn't any of that anymore. So why is that? Are we all hoarders? Are we all overly bloated on original hardware or have you just switched to the download/emulation market?

Alot of the people that were members way back when are still here now. What is your feeling about this forum, what does it mean to you? Obviously its a great community of skill, expertise in hardware and its international to boot. Discuss.
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BIL
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by BIL »

Same as always tbh. Hobbyist gaming/etc community with a lot of excellent people and a tone I find agreeable. I like contributing back what little I can! That's about it.
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by Bananamatic »

a place to piss off retro and arcade fanboys
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by MintyTheCat »

Yes, I've been a lurker way before I officially joined. Throughout University I was using the site in particular the Xenocide Files for guidance and it crucially helped me to find out just what was available and that there were other Shmuppers who loved Shmups as I did :)

When I ws growing up we had importers and it was quite a cool time to be growing up.
To me, and I still don't own a PS2 (although I have a collection of PS2 Shmups to play when I eventually get my hands on one...) I never really grew out of the platforms that were around when I was young - MD, SFC, PCE, NeoGeo, and in fact I went backwards and ended up really liking the famicom - it's the machine that I play the most these days. I found out through the Xenocide Files about the Saturn being 'the machine' for 32bit Shmups and promptly tracked some machines down and began collecting titles. In the late 90s to early 2000s these games were being just short of being 'thrown away' and even a student on a small income could afford to amass a decent collection ;)

I find parallels between books, music, films and videogames: as Richie alludes to, it's all about unearthing gems and titles that you basically cannot comprehend just how you managed to miss a given title for so long :D I recall playing RECCA and thinking 'this is the answer (cue angelic voices in sustain :D )'.

I am of the opinion that we can all not worry about downloads and such. It doesn't touch me in any capacity. I don't use Emulators for gaming really but I do use them for some projects as a tool. I think that Emulators fulfill the needs of many gamers though and that's up to them. Personally, I am happier with the real hardware and it's just how I've done it apart from the very late 90s when I was using NeoRAGE to play NeoGeo games and then about a year or so later I bought a NG AES in the flesh and then bought another a few years later on.

Well, there's only so many people who actually want the gear and then only so many who can afford to buy everything that they want to own given the increase in prices.
There are hoarders, that's true, but many folks simply just amassed a collection haivng collected for a couple of decades or so - in my case at least. Personally I don't give any care to hoarders as to me they aren't gamers. If you want to own items of real value buy property, gold, stock in ARM during the very late 80s to the early 90s, etc.

I don't see any real problem with there being many ways for people to play older titles now. It's important that people can play the games to me as that's kind fo what keeps the interest going. I cannot argue with anyone who wishes to play classic Castlevania, makai murai, Contra or Mega Man as they are all decent titles that the passage of time doesn't really detract too much from. That's what's important: is a game still fun years after release?

I am glad to see that we have plenty of decent Shmuppers who are accomplished players who offer advice and guidance and discuss the titles, that we have more casual but very interested Shmuppers who aren't brilliant at Shmups but enjoy them all the same.

What I don't like are the elitist pricks that came along a few years ago and joined and for some ridiculous reason fancy themselves as being all-important but, you get dicks where ever you go so I take the rough with the smooth and get on with it. We haven't ended up anywhere near as bad as the NeoGeo Forum and let's hope that things remain decent :)
Last edited by MintyTheCat on Thu Jul 05, 2018 12:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Xyga
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by Xyga »

neorichieb1971 wrote:So why is that?.
TBH I don't know if you're joking here or what. Sorry but you sound a bit like Marie Antoinette wondering why the starved plebeians don't eat cake if they're hungry.

Prices of games - console or pcb - has multiplied to the point you need to be fucking loaded to afford anything. Games of even little interest we could find for 10 bucks back in the 2000's (I'd say up to approx 2010) now often cost several hundreds, and many pcbs that were in the lower hundreds now easily in the thousands.
Part of the hardware has also become quite expensive and some things like arcade monitors in good shape are getting super rare. Stupid shipping rates and taxes are also adding to the difficulty.

So it's natural that the interest for alternative solutions would take more room over time in the forums, because they're much more affordable.
These days decent alternative hardware solutions (flat panels, scalers, flashcarts, emulation, mods etc), and new consoles and PC games are all I can afford.
All the 'real stuff' I still own I've bought many years ago, and you can bet this is the case for a lot of members as well.

Regarding shmups games, the genre's been almost dead for years and will probably never know glory days anymore, and lots of people who enjoyed those a lot during the 80/90's and 2000s 'final boom', are long burned out on the genre, more aged-busy with life, and only hanging out here leisurely for all that old stuff, or just come for angry old man politics and other random offtopic.

Of course there's also those who've never really stopped playing and rather aimed at competitive heights, superplaying, projects etc.
And there's the third wave shmuppers, who have for the most joined the hobby on the late and mostly have the same interests as those still active veteran players, but the mentalities/culture are sometimes dramatically different, while some are great players and members that improved the discussions and community in gegenral, some like that little shit Banana and his 4chan-minded kin are complete PITA who persistentlyand globally ruin the mood even more efficiently than the angry politics threads.

Personally I'm mainly here for the hardware/emu stuff and hanging out with people discussing same interest topics (duh!), games and random stuff, even though I don't play nearly as much as I used to in the 2000's and before (I was hanging out at mostly french forums back then), and shmups are only a portion of my already short total playtime these days.
Last edited by Xyga on Thu Jul 05, 2018 2:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by neorichieb1971 »

Xyga wrote:
neorichieb1971 wrote:So why is that?.
TBH I don't know if you're joking here or what. Sorry but you sound a bit like Marie Antoinette wondering why the starved plebeians don't eat cake if they're hungry.

Just trying to get a measure of whose who on this forum. Getting explanations of why people have changed in their ways. You gave some good examples.
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Xyga
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by Xyga »

Oops, sorry I read that the wrong way. ^^ But yeah in short; the market and time (edit: and society) reshaped the hobby/community, everything gets old can't be helped, but I still enjoy all that stuff, just in different ways.
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Sumez
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by Sumez »

The only reason I'm actively posting on this forum these days is that I've found it the best place to discuss classic video games in general. Not just shooters. In fact, mostly not shooters, but really people around here do offer great insight into almost any genre that interests me.

I still consider myself "one of the new guys", but like a lot of other people I used to lurk a lot. I was super intimidated by the place. It was a great source of information about releases, developers, and strategies at the point, but I didn't feel like I was good enough at shooters to actually take part in the discussion, I just knew of the place via a bunch of other guys who used to post a lot.
What ultimately caused me to sign up as a user was the sudden change of Cave titles being released in the west, and namely in Europe. I couldn't keep out of the discussion any longer.

I eventually drifted off when I started focusing on some other communities, and didn't play a lot of shooters anymore, only to poke in occasionally. I think what's caused me to stick around for now is the best thread in the universe.
It's not STG related, but it's enough reason to visit this place by itself.
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Herr Schatten
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by Herr Schatten »

I discovered the site back when I was still at university and a spontaneous purchase of a Mega Drive I saw in the window of a pawn shop rekindled both my love for videogames in general and shmups in particular, which had kind of fizzled out a couple of years prior after computer gaming had shifted from the Amiga and mostly 2D action games to PC and mostly Doom plus clones. Shmups had always been a favourite genre, and the main site's reviews gave me great pointers to stuff to check out, even though, in hindsight, those reviews weren't all that great or as in-depth as one would wish for. (Let's not speak of the bunch of rather useless reviews I apparently felt compelled to add to the site myself. :oops: )

Subsequently, this forum became my favourite place for hanging out on the internet. In retrospect it feels like there were only about 20 active users with 30-40 more that posted semi-regularly back then. I'm sure that's wrong, but that's what it felt like. Most importantly, I feel that the behaviour towards each other used to be always polite and respectful, even when arguments got heated.

Nowadays, I still visit regularly, but with the genre effectively dead, there's little to talk about, and I feel less and less inclined to actually enter a discussion, because it seems to me that everything's been said a million times already. It doesn't help that my playtime is severely limited and game prices have skyrocket, too. Additionally, at some point there seems to have been some sort of influx of people who are just acting hostile against anyone for no apparent reason, and I feel like I'm too old to put up with crap like that.

So now I spend most of my time reading threads in off-topic, which is still a great place for discussing classic gaming, even though I don't post a lot myself anymore.
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by Randorama »

I don't really know how to answer the main question, to be fair.

I might say "something important" or "the only place where I actively post", but probably Richie had something more personal and subjective in mind (Right, Richie?).

I am actually not one to develop deep emotional bonds to any individuals, places, times, memories or whatnot, and in fact I spent years not really posting here. It seems to be a characteristic of orphans, apparently.

I would also say that I started posting here in December 2000, when shmups were already dying, and the general feeling that the genre was slowly fading away was palpable. Back in the day I felt like most people posting here were ultra-nostalgic collectors who perennially complained that "modern" shmups were too hard, and that the true way to enjoy these games was to collect them and let them collect dust on the shelf (...and that Japanese had the shmup gene, or that rank is an evil Illuminati conspiracy to oppress we, the people, and so on: but I digress).

The so-called third wave shmuppers (Xiga...analogy to "Third Wave feminism?" Just to be sure) seem to mostly be hikkikomori who found some way to channel their uselessness and frustration. I generally skip.

I would nevertheless note that a certain toxic attitude to discussing gaming topics (among others) is a typical pathology of high-level hobbyism. People who spend a lot of time and energy in hobbies tend to do so for many reasons, and with little actual gain in life. I have friends who are into Initial D-like road racing, and they waste thousands of euros and hours in trying to be the kings of the local hill...i.e. to have little or no return for their efforts. Unsurprisingly, they tend to have toxic attitudes to life. We could also add that the emergence of social media has had one main effect: give a mirror and a megaphone to most people, so that they could shout as loud as possible how much the image they see in the mirror is horrendous (and keep alive the worst thread in the universe...ahem!).

We could add tons of other musings, but if this forum would disappear tomorrow and with it the zombie genre, good riddance. I will find a way to pester GP regarding whiskey in one way or another. We closet Buddhists always feel relieved when we can detach ourselves from worldly connections, relations and possessions.



BTW, how much is Saturn copy of Garegga? Maybe I should get paid first, before doing the detaching thing :lol:


EDIT: I admit that there are 2-3 users I'd like to pummel to death, but aside those 2-3 everyone else is fine. Sooner or later we should organize real-life meet-ups and go to the pub, talk stuff, and other normal activities that normal people do (e.g. fist...ehrm, cuckol...ok, you know what). I know where you live, so you can run but you cannot hide!

EDIT of the EDIT: I have no idea anymore on how to play Battle Garegga (wot? Letter score? Is it yummy?), but I hope that I can listen to its OST until I die, really.
Chomsky, Buckminster Fuller, Yunus and Glass would have played Battle Garegga, for sure.
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MintyTheCat
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by MintyTheCat »

Herr Schatten wrote: Additionally, at some point there seems to have been some sort of influx of people who are just acting hostile against anyone for no apparent reason, and I feel like I'm too old to put up with crap like that.

So now I spend most of my time reading threads in off-topic, which is still a great place for discussing classic gaming, even though I don't post a lot myself anymore.
I am glad that the sentiment is echoed. There's really no need for it. It smacks of some kind of cult or religion when things end up being about worship :D :D :D

I tend to read the Off Topic section every couple of days and I quite enjoy finding out about platform games from the likes of BIL, Kitten and Sumez to name a few.
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GaijinPunch
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by GaijinPunch »

This to me is basically the last active online community I give a shit about, really. Most of those are pretty inactive (even my own). I have not been playing games much for the last few years, as real life has finally caught up to me. (I do pop some stuff in from time to time, but it is "light gaming" to say the least).

I do miss the old days:
Turbo Grafx Mailing List
Assembler (still around but a shadow of it's former glory)
Dreamcast.net
Click Stick
And loads of other communities based around games I used to play at the time.

Reddit is good for information to an extent, but I don't like the discussion flow TBH.

Anywho, I'm sure this forum format will soon be looked at like Facebook (It's what our parents use!!). But, for me it works. There's virtually no "unearthed gems" popping up these days - which I think is why a lot of the other communities have faded. Japan/Akihabara has been scoured, covered, and translated to almost perfection. (And almost ironically, it has jumped the shark in spectacular fashion). No finding some obscure import game in a psuedo pedo-den in Akihabara then posting about it to a forum on dialup when you get home. Those days are over. In that regard, the internet has done it's job.

Maybe for that reason, I really just discuss/bitch about random shit here (Movies, Twin Peaks, every now and again politics, etc.) I think a lot of us, being similar ages and on here so long, know what to expect from each other. Quite often we share similar non-game interests, and thankfully levels of sarcasm. For the most part I really just hang around for the off chance that a life-changing event, like the introduction (and exit) of a user like Regal Sin will occur again.
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by SynthRicardo »

Edited.
Last edited by SynthRicardo on Wed Sep 19, 2018 8:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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JBC
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by JBC »

I started out interested in discussing shmup lore, but then realized the forum was more about strategy. That got me into learning about scoring systems & whatnot. I played pretty heavy for awhile but burnt out some years back. Still love shmups, but there's so many other genres that are just as great in different ways. Gotta have a little bit of everything or I'll get bored.

Now I just lurk for info on retro gaming stuff mostly.
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

This thread is too deep for me.
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KAI
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by KAI »

I just love how people here hate the rest of the web.

Coolest place on earth, pls never change shmupsfarm.
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by neorichieb1971 »

SynthRicardo wrote:Are you guys for real here? This thread is hilarious.
This forum is cool as a database for strategy / tips since it's hard to know about these games if you don't know Japanese.
Other than that you can die of cringe here, holy shit. So no wonder it has many lurkers but not as much activity (myself included)
Also, it's been a month and I still haven't gotten an answer as to how to apply .diff patches to MAME.
So you fit into the category of a person who will sponge lots of info from people and then insult them.

It didn't get to where its at by people insulting others on their 4th post.
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by FinalBaton »

I'm a new guy but here's my take anyway :

The first thing that attracted me to this forum, is the knowledge of the Big F.
Fudoh

I had a shitload of question regarding upscalers and Extron matrixes and analog hook ups and video capture and so on and so on. He helped me get started quickly and answered quantity of my questions as I was a bit lost in all of this. With his knowledge but also his willigness to help, he truly is an invaluable member of the community and it's an honor that he calls this place home. I personally wish to thank him for all the help.

After that I stayed because there are some great people on here, funny and interesting and who have the same interests as I do. And very knowledgeable regarding retro games (this part is important, I've seen completely inaccurate reviews of oldschool games(mainly 8-bit ones), from people who didn't even gave the game a chance or who couldn't see the solid arcade-y gameplay that's standing right there in front of them, on most of the other retro-gaming site.

I really like the action sidescrolling thead, and lately been more active in the FromSoft one. As my gaming habits are hitting a low peak(it's always been cyclic like that : pretty long periods of highs and lows), I still find myself drawn to the forum. To discuss bands, music production, oldschool anime, etc. I dunno, I can't find that mix of all these hobbies + some great people anywhere else, really. There's that other place where I like talking retro hi-fi with peeps, but they don't give a rat's ass/aren't knowledgeable about vidja games.
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by SynthRicardo »

Edited.
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by Blinge »

I come here for such edgey boiz^
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by Marc »

It's just fun to shoot the breeze with like-minded folk about older/arcade gaming in general. Even when I joined some 16 (fuck) years ago, it wasn't really because I was a rabid shmup fan, more that they're a genre I enjoy and the place also has a great off-topic board as well. A lot of boards I've checked out either seem to be pretty inactive, full of shitposting, or wildly defensive about stuff, this place strikes a nice balance for the most. Plus it's had some... characters, over the years.
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by sven666 »

Still love shmups and the forums, loads of great folks on here (many i have met irl) and still lots of good work going on.

Im a dinosaur tho and for me its 15khz crt or nothing and on that subject pretty much every stone has been turned already so i just lurk nowdays.. but i still play a little and still organise tons of events where i try to push the genre to the masses :)
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by FinalBaton »

Blinge wrote:I come here for such edgey boiz^
:lol:
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by Drachenherz »

I just like the people here. Mostly.
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Post by NYN »

In one word - shelter.
And I don't mean 'a-coming out of the cold, hard rain to rest my weary bones' kinda trope. Just as I opened my eyes on how "gaming" is created to cater to a (younger) demographic as this coolio thing-y (needs more exposition cutscenes, dude, like, seriously), I turned to the attendance of players, who would care for the game, not the age of it. Though being admitted into 'the company of men' brings oddities on their own (the monastery), I'm trying to focus on people who are teaching without preaching and introduce me to things I had no knowledge of.
Up to now it works in my favor.
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by Randorama »

MintyTheCat wrote:
I am glad that the sentiment is echoed. There's really no need for it. It smacks of some kind of cult or religion when things end up being about worship :D :D :D
Well, as I mentioned before, high-level hobbyism tends to involve lots of sacrifices for some immaterial gain. Members can fight to define the Peking order and outline strict boundaries between the in-group and out-group based on dedication and ability.

It does sound related to cults and religions, yes :wink: (and there should begin to be a few books studying the parallels, even!)
Chomsky, Buckminster Fuller, Yunus and Glass would have played Battle Garegga, for sure.
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by Zen »

Randorama wrote:I would nevertheless note that a certain toxic attitude to discussing gaming topics (among others) is a typical pathology of high-level hobbyism. People who spend a lot of time and energy in hobbies tend to do so for many reasons, and with little actual gain in life. I have friends who are into Initial D-like road racing, and they waste thousands of euros and hours in trying to be the kings of the local hill...i.e. to have little or no return for their efforts. Unsurprisingly, they tend to have toxic attitudes to life.
Randorama wrote:Well, as I mentioned before, high-level hobbyism tends to involve lots of sacrifices for some immaterial gain.
While I would, of course, agree with all disdain shown towards pecking order toxicity and any and all ignorant surrogacy that may be part of any focused interest,
is it not perhaps bordering on the narrow minded, to think in terms like "little actual gain in life" and "immaterial gain"?
Or am I misinterpreting your meaning?

Once something, anything, is done in full awareness and because it is something that you love, is this not truly the most productive use of "time"?
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by Sumez »

I would hope so
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by Bratwurst »

I come here for the technical detail. Just an absolute wealth of information focused on vintage electronics, if unfortunately scattered and disorganized.
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Re: What is this forum to you?

Post by Randorama »

Zen wrote: While I would, of course, agree with all disdain shown towards pecking order toxicity and any and all ignorant surrogacy that may be part of any focused interest,
is it not perhaps bordering on the narrow minded, to think in terms like "little actual gain in life" and "immaterial gain"?
Or am I misinterpreting your meaning?
You are not, but do not shoot the messenger, please!


We are peculiar beasts enough that we tend to develop stress and other toxic behaviour when we do not see immediate gains (not necessarily physical, but short-term) from our efforts. This means that we evaluate immaterial gains (say, social status) in often the most peculiar ways, or do not even acknowledge them at all.

I am not too sure about what counts as “productive” if we do not decide goals (short and long-term) and the participants in the task. Toxic behaviour is also related to the lack of a common vision, who is part of the group vs who isn’t, and so on.

Once something, anything, is done in full awareness and because it is something that you love, is this not truly the most productive use of "time"?
To be practical: if users of a forum decide that they need to spend their (free?) time to eviscerate a game, because they are well-aware that they can record this information and benefit from it for the years to come, they may not see a penny from it (…unless they find a way to get paid for it). However, they could find enjoyment and satisfaction in the task, because they can sit down and work together for a common goal. I am too lazy to dig up links, but there are a wealth of studies showing that cultivating hobbies is good for health, fights Alzheimer, and so on.

I am a dyed-in-the-wool atheist, but I do know that people can live religions in a healthy manner. Not all humans are dickheads, only 99% of them :wink:

...I still think we should properly edit and package the Ninja Gaiden thread and sell it as great content for the ages, though :wink:

And just to be the devil's advocate. A certain someone wanted to create a forum, with a name regarding the sleep deprivation problem, which was meant to be read as a videogame encyclopedia to be written on-line, semi-asynchronously. I think it was the right idea developed by the most inappropriate person for the task...wasn't it?
Chomsky, Buckminster Fuller, Yunus and Glass would have played Battle Garegga, for sure.
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