I started lurking about 2001, actively posting in 2002.
I don't post very much because I feel, shit, if I don't have anything constructive to say, why bother waste space and everyone's time?
I visit TNL daily for news and general tomfoolery. There are times when I've wondered whether I should just cut loose. TNL doesn't seem the same as when I started, and I'm not the same person I was when I started visiting the site.
I've never left for any reason. I enjoy this place! I've been annoyed at times with people here , esp. " Mortal Kombat and yer Mother gimmicks" but you have to take the bad with the good.
I think things are on a downswing simply because its inevitable. These times happen. There really hasn't been anything in the industry thats mind-blowing as of late. I'm sure that will change though. I hope something happens soon, though since I am sick of people trolling on the PS3 and the Wii. Yes we know they suck now, get the fuck over it. The SAME trolling gets old. We need some new trolling blood around here. Not these guys that talk shit on the Wii over and over again. Thats like raping a retard.
I'll always come here for news, regardless. This is a great place with some good people. Even Josh is funny sometimes :)
I'm more of a lurker here, but I try to pop in daily and check shit out. I've probably laughed more at this forum than any of the other ones I frequent.
I somehow managed to escape the STFU N00B image. I didn't post like a complete asstard, though, so I always figured it was for the 'lol gamefaqs' crowd that somehow found their way here. I'd like to think that if a new user (no matter how intelligent they are or their first post is) can't deal with that, then how would they deal with like 90% of the arguements or discussions here?Quote:
I guess if TNL has a problem it's that it's too hostile to newcomers. Someone can have a great first post, and they will still get dogpiled with STFU newbie stuff and "you're a fag, desu ne". It's funny for us but I get the feeling it probably weeds out the good as well as the bad.
My posting and browsing habits haven't changed since I joined, really. Less activity in the gaming board since I just don't play that many anymore, and when I do it's way late and beyond discussion point usually. Never really had a slump.
I was here before GameGO! and during...
Just posting to enter the contest, I have no opinion.
Nah, kidding. There's a lot of "I don't care anymore" floating around in here and maybe the TNL pool is just mellowing with age. I don't think the board is any worse than it was, but has perhaps chilled a bit over time as the flamewars end because we all just understand each other better now. Familiarity might be resulting in a board that isn't better or worse than it was, just different. I don't think content on the other side of the board means shit but I think over the course of 5 years many topics have already been covered and rehashed again. Newbies don't get unjustly crucified here - if anyone is deemed remotely intelligent or worthy then I don't think the piranhas go after them. I don't brand anyone as an idiot because of their post count. I say, let it run its course - if the community cares enough about the board and each other, TNL will be around for a long time.
I did post quite a bit after I first signed up, but when TNL got in it's jaded piss-ant mode, I dropped interest and it's been that way ever since.
When I joined 5-6 years ago, I was 14 years old, and I was considered one of the youngest then. Now being nineteen, that means that the majority of TNL is mid-twenties and beyond. I think that with so many members being out of college, not to mention out of high school, the demands of a 9-5 and a weekend social life simply displace the time that videogames and TNL used to occupy.
Five years ago, most members bought at least 20 games a year. That figure probably seemed pretty meager at that time, too. Now, as shown in the "how many games do you buy a year?" thread from last month or the month before, we honestly don't game as much as we used to. Perhaps TNL as a whole has grown out of gaming, or maybe it's just because we're all a lot more informed about our decisions; being swayed more by overall enjoyment opportunities, rather than "how many games can we get for $5 each?!"
I loved having all of the quirky games that I had a few years ago, Samba de Amigo and the majority of the DC titles, a NGPC, imports, Steel Batallion, IIDX, etc., but I don't really miss them at all. I just don't care that much anymore. The only system I still buy games for is the DS; I just bought Trauma Center a week or two ago.
I am in the "ban me plz" camp; I don't remember when it was, but I'm sure that if I was banned, I'd still lurk. This is a nice place to check out, and I admit that it's automatic to check TNL whenever I open up my browser.
I came over to TNL in the gamego exodus, most everyone here knows that Tracer and I are rl friends and such, Marskitten as well. To be honest, I never really participated in the gaming discussion boards that much at all unless there was a thread for a game I really liked (such as Morrowind or some such). It was always the sound-off and particularly the music discussion boards I was interested in initially, there was a good flegling metal community in the metal threads that developed and grew over time. I've never left the boards for a great amount of time.
The appeal of TNL to me is simply the people here, I've come to know so many of you that even if I've not met you I feel like I do. I am logged into TNL's irc chat @ #tnl daily and the people there I consider to be friends, I know their interests, temperments and such even if I dont know what they look like. Great times are had in there quite a bit too, good laughs that you often can't get in "real life".
So yeah, TNL is a pretty awesome place in my opinion, I may not think of it that much unless I'm actually sitting in front of the computer, but its always a site that is checked daily. I feel like I can call people like Arjue, Gohron, Ironplant, Rich, Schlep, DNG, Grave, DarqueBishop, Cynical Sphere, wEEman, IcarusFalls, FirstBlood, Joust!, HotlikeWasabi, Dolemite and many others friends.
And of course how can I neglect to mention Josh, Mykozo and Hubbitron? The only 3 TNL-ers I've actually met in person, in the most bizarre fashion possible (showing up where I work). I dont think there was another person more bummed when Corey vs Corey called it quits than me (barring you three of course). Good times. TNL has been a steady reliable friend these past 4-5 years, particularly through rough times when shit hasn't been so great in life.
I don't think my posting habits have ever really changed, I'm still a girl, and I still post occasionally about really retarded games that I love for some reason. I think I sort of slowed my posting down sometime in 2003 or 2004 because real life occured.
I like it here because we all sort of talk about nothing and it's funny and it kills a few minutes/hours/etc.
I've been here forever, I came in with Station and Tracer and will probally leave with them. I've droped out a few times just because real life is more interesting. But being into school now, i've got no social life. So, I post.
I dunno, TNL distills the internet for me. I don't mind the dickery or the fanboism. Its in check, its not like gamefaqs or somethingawful where fanboism or dickery is the baseline for all threads.
Kind wish I got to meet some of yall.