How did you discover GWJ?

It was definitely the podcast.

I had just gotten a new smartphone, and being bored at work, I searched for "Games" or something on the podcast app I downloaded. Gamers With Jobs was near the top, and the rest is history.

Coolbeans wrote:

I think I came here after Rich LaPorte's Gone Gold site disappeared. Timing might be a bit off, but pretty sure as I was pretty into that community as well.

Same for me. Bill Harris mention Gamers With Jobs on his blog a couple of times and so I came to check it out. Lurked for a couple of years then got involved in this mess. And the TF2 of course.

I started with the podcast. After I listened to my first episode, I checked out the site and I was hooked. The forum community makes this site really special and unique. It's big enough where you can find someone to play just about anything with you, but small enough where you really get to know the people that you're playing with.

When Gone Gold died people mostly split between two pages - Gaming Trend for the consoles and Octopus Overlords for the PC folk. I went to Octopus Overlords. We were challenged by GWJ's TF2 crew and that's when I learned that OO'ers aren't really first-person shooter gaming types, for the most part ;). We got owned. Been playing on the GWJ TF2 server ever since.

Dimmerswitch wrote:
ThingumBob wrote:
Dimmerswitch wrote:

Everything old is new again. ;)

Holy smokes, that thread is from 2009. I can't even remember what I did wrong yesterday to make my wife refuse sex last night.

You should shower when you get back from the gym before making a pass at her.

Spoiler:

Also, I linked to two threads. :D

Oh god, you just inspired me to check my account. I've been hanging out here for over 5 years guys. I still feel like a newbie sometimes, and there are plenty of people still around who were old-as-the-hills when I joined.

Edit: To answer the original post, I came over for the podcast when GFWL Radio "The Brodeo" died, a bit before they ripped the soul out of 1up. I stayed for the TF2 community, and when I quit playing that I just lurked around.

Ah, I see from my comment in the prior thread that I forgot something.

3.5 years ago, I said:

Gonegold -> Bill Harris -> here.

Hey, in two weeks it's my five-year goodjerversary.

At the height of the "brainysphere" of games writing, I must've followed a link from some blog to either the podcast or an article, I don't remember which, though one naturally led to the other. I was fired up the brainysphere and was full of Big Ideas About Video Games, and this place seemed like the right milieu for spilling those thoughts. I posted in threads about Shadow of the Colossus and used words like colonialism of course.

I've since disabused myself of that, grown less fond of video games generally, and stopped listening to the podcast or reading the front page articles ages ago. But I know everyone would miss me too much if I left, so I stick around like a bad mould (and the board gaming and feminism—plus ça change).

Was listening to Weekend Confirmed and Jeff Cannata mentioned guesting on the Conference Call. Checked it out, enjoyed the show and kept listening. After almost a year of listening I finally decided to check out the community. I've never been 'into' forums as it seemed like a lot of Female Doggoing and arguing, but this community was way different so I felt like I had to try and be a part of it.

I was a General Manager at a short-lived Geek Squad store in 2006. I was looking to up the number of podcasts I listened to in the morning before the store opened and on some random list of "gaming podcasts to check out", I found the original Gamers With Jobs Radio which was Certis and Russ Pitts/Fletcher. I liked that show, found these forums and I've been here ever since, though oddly, I stopped listening to the Conference Call a while back. Come for the audio, stay for the community!

I met Robear and Kiri years ago by random chance in Asheron's Call. Later on my wife and I moved close to them (my wife got stationed up here) and we hung out at their house quite a bit. Robear kept telling me about this awesome site for adult gamers, but it still took me a while to check it out.

So blame Robear. He's why I'm here.

Still a fairly light poster but I found this wonderful site through an iTunes search of gaming podcasts. I had been a long time listener of the CAGCast and wanted to see if there were other podcasts that were...perhaps a bit more mature than the CAGCast and here I am.

I'm pretty sure Bill Harris mentioned GWJ on a Gone Gold post and the rest is history.

I was having really bad trouble with carpal tunnel-ish issues at the time and I went searching for somewhere with people who played video games who had jobs (seriously). My goal being to find people who were actively engaged in gaming as a hobby and who spent a lot of time at a desk, assuming they might get me, at least on that one issue. And then I figured out there was more here than just "better gamefaqs". Although it took me a while to not take that for granted.

Still not sure about this Elysium fellow

God, no kidding! Riding Shawn's coat tails for ten years now.

I heard about the CC on the Fear the Boot RPG podcast, and figured I would take a listen. Jumped into the forums later.

I was looking for a relatively cool, relaxed place to talk about video games with other adults. I remembered a Penny Arcade strip about being too old to compete in most games online, and an accompanying article about groups of adults who play games. A few searches at Google ultimately turned this place up.

So I signed up wanting that relaxed, cool atmosphere for adult gamers.

PurEvil wrote:

So blame Robear. He's why I'm here.

In my case, you can blame Duffman, a friend since high school.

You can blame me for TheWalt, but I'm reasonably sure no one minds TheWalt.

I was playing Joint Operations and ended up with a few goodjers. The rest is history.

I think I was linked here by something with CGW/GFW like so many others. Listened to the podcast, joined the forums, eventually stopped listening to the podcast but I guess I'm still using the forums.

I'm also a refugee from The Bar falling way back in the day but there's a good five year gap between that forum going defunct and my coming to this forum, so it was probably podcasts.

Or, as I said in 2009:

bnpederson wrote:

I got back into the Internet after a bit of a hiatus. I've little idea why I ended up here, though it was just after PAX so I undoubtedly had video games on the brain. Probably something to do with the Conference Call, I've been listening to that for a bit.

Hemidal wrote:

I'm pretty sure Bill Harris mentioned GWJ on a Gone Gold post and the rest is history.

Same.

The overlords should probably be paying Mr. Harris royalties.

From How did you find GWJ? (Nuean Edition) (specifically, my post on Dec 24th, 2009)

trueheart78 wrote:
DonD wrote:

There are also a few people that I know here that also frequent the Octopus Overlords board.

Similar to this: For me, about a year ago I was checking for other well-aged gamers and the Octopus Overlords forum wasn't doing it for me - I really yearned for something like gonegold.com again, and some way or another I was led here. By whom, I can't remember. But, I can tell you that I won't be leaving until the zombie apocalypse happens and one of you guys close the safe house door before I get to it...

So glad someone linked to the previous threads, because, well, I completely forgot how I ended up here.

manta173 wrote:

I randomly searched for gaming podcasts... then after loving the Conference call I came here. Changed my perspective of the internet fundamentally.

This. Exactly this. A long time ago, I used to walk the halls of the Escapist forums and listened to the podcast. Filled my needs. But then Russ Pits left. And then Steve Butts left. And Susan Arendt left. Felt like it was all going downhill, so I searched iTunes for a replacement. So glad I did.

tboon wrote:

got involved in this mess.

Classic thread.

It was all this guy's fault that I'm here. He kept bugging me to join up, having known me from City of Heroes. *spoilers* Eventually I did join.

Of course this was after playing many hours with the group in TF2. My first visit to the forums here was to find the password to Stan's Pub, though I didn't sign up for an account for some time after that. Not even sure if I was a member of the Steam groups at the time, for that matter. I know those weren't far behind me becoming a regular in TF2, if I wasn't before.

manta173 wrote:
dejanzie wrote:

(I often feel that the most intimidating aspect holding back lurkers to start posting, is the incredible level at which the average Goodjer writes)

This make me feel bad about my level of writing... and prper use of punctuation... and spell checking...

Please don't, that's the exact opposite of what I was trying to convene

Those old threads are like a time capsule. Anyhow I've been here for ages and started posting after I found an awesome review of Freelancer. Basically they created an article that read like the CC sounds. I am disappointed that this review series was discontinued in article form.

However the CC is a good and competent replacement.

I joined in 2007. I think I was looking for something on Parasite Eve 2, and one of GWJ's pages popped up. Listened to the podcast, and decided to hang around.

I posted a little bit here and there, but I didn't really get super involved until Minecraft came out in 2010.

I came here via a Penny Arcade link about 10 years ago, lurked for a few years and signed up about 8 and a half years ago, now my online identity is so tied to GWJ (whenever Prozac is taken as a username it gets a GWJ_ in front) that I'd be lost without the site.

Prozac wrote:

I'd be lost without the site.

Heh, yeah... I give more to this site, in the yearly donation drive, than I give to Consumer Reports.

I listened to the CGW/GFW podcast at work and when that went belly up I needed a replacement. IIRC, Jeff Green mentioned the CC and anything cool with Jeff is cool with me so I gave it a shot. While I set up an account right away, I lurked for the better part of two years before I started posting. That was almost five and a half years ago.

This is the best community on the "interweb". I'm glad to be a (small) part of it.