GWJ's 8th Anniversary

This week is the eighth—count them, eight!—anniversary of the moment when your favorite source of elderly-gaming curmudgeonliness foisted itself upon this fine old series of tubes we affectionately call the “Inty.” Hard as it may be to believe, it’s been eight long trips around that hoary, old sun since first I planted something patently wrong about the industry upon the virgin soils of GamersWithJobs.com and took my liberties on the quivering optic nerves of our new readers.

Looking back at my very first GWJ post, “Valve Milks Cow, Plans Dead Horse Kick,” within the short span of 2 paragraphs I both implied that Valve was not a viable development house and called their distribution platform “stream.” Gross inaccuracy, truly you are and have ever been my faithful companion.

Such were the humble days of our launch: discussions of Unreal 2 going gold, the mind-boggling possibility of a merger between Square and Enix, and the sad, sinking, inescapable truth that Firefly was dead. With such unglad tidings as the wind beneath our disgusting baby-bird wings, it would have been no surprise at all to have not lasted the year.

Instead, it is eight years later. Firefly is still dead, I’m still wrong, and we’re still going strong.

What always surprises me when I wander into the vault is the weird incongruity between how very different the site is now and how, in some ways, it hasn’t really changed much at all. Looking through the comments of old articles, there are many long-lost friends, but also familiar faces. Though it was extraordinary to see an article’s comments or forum post’s replies reach into double digits even at the end of Year One, the site was built from the very beginning on the foundation of building community. I can only speak for myself, but I feel extremely certain and satisfied that this core foundation of Gamers With Jobs has remained steadfastly the law of the land every day since, and though we may never command the real estate of an IGN or your run of the mill pornography site, the tight-knit sense of belonging that comes from a site like this is so much better than all those piles and piles of money. This is what I tell every single repo man that comes to my door.

There is a lot of history in those 8 years: Half-Life 2 Source Code Stolen, Sway’s Box, The Press Pass, GWJ Radio, The Post a Picture Thread, The Legend of Roo, The Pillow of Heterosexuality, Vanguard, The Banning of Derek Smart, The Weiner Bomb, dysfunctional relationships with Warren Spector, “Welcome Perverts,” Cory’s Rabbitcon Antics, Mex’s various conquests, Dannon Light ‘n Fit Smoothie Fanfic, and on and on and on it goes.

If you have not yet discovered the treasure trove of The Goodjer Commandments (http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/2...), then I am happy to have destroyed any productivity you may have hoped to squeeze out of Thursday.

As we enter year nine, there are now far too many people who deserve thanks and recognition. I will let it suffice to say that we have been impossibly fortunate to have been able to feature content from some of the best videogame writers anywhere. And to you, our faithful, occasionally disturbed readers, thanks for your support whether this is your first year or your eighth.

Comments

Congratulations for making, and maintaining, the safest haven for the most mature and diverse group of individuals that I've ever seen!

I am proud to call this place my home on the Internet.

Yay for everyone!

I'm also part of the community that was basically here when the website went live, and I'm always meandering between 'man, it's been around forever' and 'what, only [number] years?'. Fascinating how that works.

I hate how the community has grown around here, thus destroying my status as token dude from Europe!* Raaaaage!

-Spunior

*Actually, that wasn't even really true way back.

P.S.: I was also kidding about the 'hate' part, obviously. Duh.

JohnnyMoJo wrote:

Sheesh Ely. Facebook has only been around half as long, and they have, what, like twice the members? ;-)

Facebook turns 7 next month.

Fact-checked.

One of the first stories I ever wrote for the front page was that JoWood Stays Afloat back on January 13th, 2003. They were facing bankruptcy and managed to keep going by issuing more stocks.

Cut to late last week where they announce their attempts to restructure yet again. As happy as I am to see GWJ go eight years already, I'm even more impressed JoWood is still hanging in there and churning out buggy euro-games.

Congrats and Thank you!
Take a bow everyone.

I can't believe this site is 8 years old.

More importantly, I can't believe I've been posting here for almost 6 and a half years. Wow.

Apparently it's my sixteenth week, and I must say, you are probably the most gentlemanly (And ladylike) internet body I've encountered since I bought my top hat three years ago!

Keep it up, the writing's great.

Hooray! We're useful!

For me personally, discovering GWJ was one of the best things that happened to me in 2010. Though I am not active a lot in the forums, the podcast has become a permanent companion of mine. Finally a place where I feel surrounded by other "mature" gamers.

Here's to the next 8 years, and hopefully more to come... *cheers*

4 weeks until my 5 year anniversary with GWJ, Maybe I should get the site something special

Congrats!

The question foremost in my mind, though, is that when people move on from GwJ, where do they move on to? Is it like Logan's Run? Is there something I don't know about?

Grats to Certis and Elysium. I lurked that first year but lucky for everyone I started posting 7 years ago! I feel old now.

Congratulations! Have a birthday cake!
IMAGE(http://www.groovy-kids-parties.com/images/number-8-birthday-cake-21123110.jpg)

Spoiler:

it's a lie.

VicD714 wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

Halfway to legal! IMAGE(http://rps.net/QS/Images/Smilies/fingerbutt.gif)

Dont let *Legion* find out sixteen is the legal age of consent in NC.

I'm betting he's "intimately" familiar with ages of consent in all 50 states.

8 years on the "Inty" is equal to way more years anywhere else.

So, kudos and stuff!

Grimmi Meloni wrote:

For me personally, discovering GWJ was one of the best things that happened to me in 2010. Though I am not active a lot in the forums, the podcast has become a permanent companion of mine. Finally a place where I feel surrounded by other "mature" gamers.

Here's to the next 8 years, and hopefully more to come... *cheers*

Man, I second everything he said. Except for the racist undertones.

Happy birthday GWJ.

A well deserved congrats/happy 8th birthday! Here's hoping to many more.

I think this is the longest I've ever stuck with a community. I'm proud to call this place home. Congratulations on the birthday, and thanks for being awesome.

Minarchist wrote:

Congratulations! Have a birthday cake!
IMAGE(http://www.groovy-kids-parties.com/images/number-8-birthday-cake-21123110.jpg)

This image just gave me the awesome idea for a bagel-themed birthday, so thanks for that!

Congrats Gents! 8 Years positively FLEW by! Now let's make the next 8 just as memorable!

Gratz!!.... cheeeers for the next 80 (eighty)....

El-Taco-the-Rogue wrote:
Grimmi Meloni wrote:

For me personally, discovering GWJ was one of the best things that happened to me in 2010. Though I am not active a lot in the forums, the podcast has become a permanent companion of mine. Finally a place where I feel surrounded by other "mature" gamers.

Here's to the next 8 years, and hopefully more to come... *cheers*

Man, I second everything he said. Except for the racist undertones.

Huh? Would you mind elaborating on that? As english is not my first language, I would like to know what part of my posting you understood as racist - as it was not my intention to offend anybody.

Please help me learn from my mistakes. Thanks!

What you said was just fine. Very sweet. He's just making a joke.

Yeah Grimmi, I reread your post a few times after that. The post is fine.

El Taco on the other hand, well, he's a rogue.

Hip Hip Hoor... oh my god, I was in my 20s when I joined here. And less fatter I think. Here's to another 8! (Also, most likely much fatter, and in my 40s)

Thanks for clearing this up.
Let the party commence....

Been here so long I've forgotten how I got here...

Aries wrote:

Congratulations for making, and maintaining, the safest haven for the most mature and diverse group of individuals that I've ever seen!

I am proud to call this place my home on the Internet. :drink:

QFMFT.

Here's to the crazy ones. The writers. The conference callers. The goodjers. The BLU Spies in the RED bases.

The ones who spell things properly. They're fond of the CoC. And they have no respect for LobsterMobster's mom. You can [quote] them, *cough* them, unintentionally declare that Certis is awesome.

Maybe they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at an empty document and see a Front Page Article? Or play an impenetrable "art" game and see a Fringe Buster? Or gaze at a pillow and see a bastion of heterosexuality?

While some see them as the crazy ones, we see gamers with jobs. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change gamer culture, get shouted down by a filthy mass of angry, socially {ableist slur} apes. So we hang out here.

Female Doggoes...

Gravey wrote:

...Female Doggoes...

*applause*