Oh God. Here we go.
It's been over 2 years of lurking here. I could introduce myself, but I'm sure my posts over time will do that better than I ever could. Instead, I'm going to tag some people and quote some posts. Honestly, if you got a notification I'd probably just search your name here.
I'm going to start by bringing your attention to the existential threat to the site that has been provoked inside of
Fat4all. Take this exchange from last year:
i used to think i would make for a terrible mod but at this point im not so sure
the only thing im competent at is shitposting and making bad photoshops
and describing a Terminator threesome
i have no administrative qualifications at all
"Alright, so this happened last year. Sure it's weird that his username has a capital F yet only types in lower case, but he's a flamin' hot shitposter, not someone to watch out for."
Or so you'd think. No, this runs much deeper. I present to this honorable forum evidence from only last month:
i will be a mod someday
that scares me more than it scares any of you, trust me
I only quoted posts Fat4all responded to. Many more were agreeing, not realizing what they opened in the process. He saw the people and knew they'd usher in his rise to power. Despite his surprisingly nuanced and diplomatic understanding of takes when he's being serious, he must be stopped. We have to destroy all Flamin' Hot products and ban their production to fix things. Potentially ban all gifs from the internet. Only then will he have something else to focus his energy on.
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Rotobit
Okay, this is going to seem unrelated for a second, but it's relevant.
There's this musician, Laura Veirs. Someone recommended her to me and I ended up following up on that. I really enjoyed some of the songs, but a lot just kind of washed over me. I'm an album guy so a lot of my favorite artists have an album or two I just connect with on this extreme level. Things like Joanna Newsom's Ys, Kate Bush's The Dreaming, and Bjork's Vespertine. None of Laura Veirs albums hit me the entire way through, but there were songs I really enjoyed on each of them.
One day I was curious to see what my most played music was, and was surprised to find Veirs's work at the top. It turned out that because of how much I enjoyed certain songs, I kept returning to her albums. And I found that none of the songs made me want to skip them. Without realizing it, I had grown to love her entire catalog. And since then, every album she's released has been a highlight of that year for me.
The way I reacted with Veirs work is how I was with your posts. Nothing changed my perspective in an immediate way, but I always found myself agreeing with you, but kind of glossing over that. Sometime a couple of months back that changed, and I've come to really appreciate your presence. Your posts aren't loud, but they all distinctly sound like your voice. That's kind of hard to qualify, but it's from examining your own thoughts rather than internalizing those of others. I'm really glad you're a part of this site.
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This is the best post on this site. I don't really have anything else to add. It just bears pointing out.
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PlanetSmasher
I am so glad I didn't have an account before now. I was so frustrated by your posts last year. I thought surely you just didn't enjoy things you were posting about. I was presumptive and close-minded, which is odd because I'm usually the mediator in situations.
Over time I've realized your posts were more critical than aggressive, but also that you tend to put a decent amount of thought into your judgments, even if it's not always visible. I waited years for Final Fantasy versus XIII. I went into Final Fantasy XV knowing it wasn't that. Despite a really sloppy story, some brutal late game linear chapters, and being disappointed that a lot of the concepts of Vs. XIII were lost, I came out enjoying my time with that game. Seeing you express similar thoughts when so many people dismiss it outright was the turning point for me.
I pretty much stopped playing games from around 2012-2017 simply because nothing coming out was appealing to me. The Nintendo DS was always there when consoles started drowning in shooters, but the 3DS never clicked with me. I tried. My account is a pre-pricedrop ambassador one so I went in expecting good things, but they never really came for me. I know a lot of people herald that system's library so I felt pretty left out. The Switch and indies really brought me back, but I miss a lot of the weird ambition even major publishers put out from the SNES to PS2 era. It really feels like AAA gaming has scared them off from experimenting or even using systems which may seem old-fashioned.
(I was going to tie this to a larger and more personal point, but I can't find the right words, so I'll just awkwardly move on lol)
You're a very thoughtful person and I've seen some of the advice you give to others, especially dealing with mental issues like depression. You give your own thoughts and experience, but also take into account what the other person might be feeling. Not everyone understands that, but as someone who has fought depression and anxiety for most of their life, it makes a difference. Like I mentioned with Rotobit, all your posts feel personal and not just internalizing the most popular opinion. It's just nice to see.
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Pyccko
You have my favorite avatar by quite a large margin. It's graphic and simple at the same time. Naturally, I've taken the opposite approach. Maybe if I ever get my monitor set up I can whip up something cleaner. Oh well.
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I have more but I'm writing this on my phone and oh god I need to stop now.