Evil Avatar

I, like many others, ended up at this site via Evil Avatar. Certis and Elysium are former posters for Evil, and they did a pretty dang good job in retrospect. Odd thing: I never see either of you post at EA anymore. Burned bridges? Or just not enough time? I still peruse the site and post, and while I believe the site's deteriorated, it is still worth going to. Any other fellow EA'ers have comments?

I still read the site, but I rarely post there now.
You can''t have a decent discussion over there w/o some jackass ruining it 5 comments in.

Well, what time and comments I have now, I pretty much want to share here. I usually figure if it''s something I want to really talk about, then I''ll do it in, what I think is a pretty good collection of people whit whom I can converse. Also, the fact is that I have a history there that I''m pretty happy to have severed cleanly. I''ve not burned bridges necessarily, though really I only spoke directly to Certis 90% of the time, and never had a strong relationship with Phil. That''s not to say Phil and I never spoke or disliked one another, but that my inclusion at EA was entirely a result of Certis. Phil and I just rarely encountered one another, though he always seemed satisfied with my work, and I was pleased to be associated with the site while I was there.

As for Evil Avatar.com, I still think that picking up Spunior and Pureboy was a terrific move, and fit the focus of the site being largely interested in providing a wide range of news content. I appreciate your comments that we did a good job, but I always felt a bit out of place there, as I tend to ramble on a bit about specific topics rather than posting a variety of news. You may have noticed. Which became a large part of the reason I left.

I suppose the short answer to your question regarding forum participation at EA, is simply I''m more interested in what you guys have to say than what some of the less desireable EA members contribute. I like that we moderate these boards, that we hold a standard for participants, and that because of those things the level of discussion seems, to me at least, elevated. I guess once you''ve founded the forum you''ve always wanted to participate in, you don''t really want to talk anywhere else.

It''s still a good site for news (as long as you ignore the blatant editorialization), but the forums have gone right in the toilet in the past 4 or 5 months. Oh well.
I find places like GWJ and QuarterToThree provide a much better experience from a discussion point of view. GWJ since most of the reasonable people from EA post here too, and Qt3 because that''s where a lot of industry-types seem to hang out.

Much like Elysium, when I want to talk about something I''d rather do it here than anywhere else. To be honest, posting anything in the EA forums these days is like spitting into a whirlpool of trolls. Not to say there aren''t still quality posters there it''s just that the noise:intelligence ratio is a bit high at this point.

I still visit the site once in a while for Spunior (news god), Pureboy (good commentary) and Emabulator''s excellent posting but that''s about it. Evil is a great guy but I''ve lost my tolerance for his own special brand of news. His tentative swipes at commentary strike me as both lazy and lacking any of the intelligence or creativity we used to see from him.

I''m not sure if that''s because something changed or if it simply became more noticeable after I became a regular reader again.

The thing that always gets me is the ""Nintendo fanboys"" absolutely cannot let it slide. It almost comical the fact they know he is baiting them on purpose and they fall victim every time. I used to think the Charlie Brown and Lucy field goal kicking bit would never be funny. I look at it in a different light now.

Please, this is not a flame against Nintendo or the people that enjoy their products and support them eagerly. I couldn''t come up with a simpler way to characterize the people affected.

Its puzzles me that people that have been visiting the site for years cant see the blatant sensationlism injected into these editorials. It has to be some of best hyperbole on the web!

I personally still enjoy EA''s. It''s usually the first and last stop I make to check on news during the day. When looking for discussion though I much prefer the laid back, respectful atmosphere that has developed here at GWJ''s. Most of the people here seem pretty thoughtful and courteous in their post''s even when they disagree. It''s a nice change to see that kind of thing.

As a regular ot Evil''s site for the last 4 or 5 years, I''ve come to expect and even enjoy, at times, Evils hateful nature. I take it with a grain of salt though, and feel fortunate in being the type of person who dosen''t let that kind of stuff get to me.

The thing that always gets me is the ""Nintendo fanboys"" absolutely cannot let it slide. It almost comical the fact they know he is baiting them on purpose and they fall victim every time. I used to think the Charlie Brown and Lucy field goal kicking bit would never be funny. I look at it in a different light now.

Dude, I absolutley could not agree more. I know the Xbox and PS2 have their rabid fanboys, but the Nintendo fanboys honestly just take it to another level. I just don''t get why they don''t take the high road and say ""f*ck it""? You know you''re being baited, and yet you can''t just leave it alone and walk away.

I agree with the sentiments posted here earlier, EA''s is a great news and decent commentary site but here at GWJ I feel we just have a better ''community'' going. Big ups to Certis and Elysium for making it possible and to all you guys for creating a laid-back atmosphere

I migrated here after getting flamed by too many developers. I think it''s a little unreasonable when I say that I own an Xbox I''m called a troll, ""not a real gamer"", and blanket assumptions about me hating the Cube and PS2 are just a little ridiculous.

EA is still my homepage just for the news but the thing that initally drew me there, Evil''s commentary and creativity, has just kind of gone down the toilet, as Certis said. As I seem to recall I hopped a link from Penny Arcade one day because Tycho had noted that the news was pretty top notch especially for a free content site. I started hanging out quite a bit after I found out that Eric T. Cheng, one of the creators of my most favorite gmae EVAR11!1, Jagged Alliance 2, posted there regularly.

I tend not to post there anymore, either. If I do, it''s to correct someone''s factual error. Then again, I''ll post at Actiontrip... and that''s like trying to help 8th grade ADHDer''s off of their ritalin.

My problem with EA is that his trolls and baiting just brings in Xbots who can''t allow someone who likes a Nintendo product to say anything. Evil is a troll.

What I like about this forum is that we haven''t had the penis size contest yet about our consoles.

It''s not the size that counts, it''s... oh, never mind, it IS size that counts.

Elysium, I would suggest that you bring here all the articles you wrote for Evil Avatar, because they were mostly great entertainment. Except for that one, you know the one.

If we''re going to have console contests, could we please base them on how many we have? At least then there''s something to actually measure

I like to think that eventually I''ll write an entertaining article for this site.

I don''t think I should move the articles I wrote for Evil. They really were written for that site, and as such belong more to him than to me.

Well I still read and post on EA regularly. I think it is too well known now to not catch some trolls, but it could be worse (several german boards come to mind).
But it is without a doubt true that the community here on GWJ really shines. This site went from ""another gaming site?"" to a regular visit several times a day within a few days for me.

I first went to EA when I linked to the Wednesday Night in Norrath stories from Everquest sites. I was drawn to the brief rundown of everything game-related on the main page. So I stuck around and posted a couple times a day. I still read it nearly every day and try not to steal too much content. The forums are a little rough, but the quantity of posts really gives me a good idea of what the general reaction to each of the posts is. I''ve sort of returned to lurker status there, but I''m still definitely in the audience.

I still visit EA''s site regularly but I never took part in the forums anyway (they''ve really sucked for the last 5 months or so) GWJ''s forum is a much better moderated and administrated forum area. Besides which normally on EA''s forum the most intelligent posts belong to the guys who post here anyway!

"kegboy" wrote:

GWJ''s forum is a much better moderated and administrated forum area.

""...much MORE better moderated"", kegboy.
Sorry I had to moderate the hell out of you just then, but it''s not easy running as tight a ship as this.

"Ulairi" wrote:

My problem with EA is that his trolls and baiting just brings in Xbots who can''t allow someone who likes a Nintendo product to say anything. Evil is a troll.

What I like about this forum is that we haven''t had the penis size contest yet about our consoles.

Agreed, theres way too many people, of various console orientations, who can''t let someone talk about how they like a game that happens to be on Console Z.

I remember back in the good old days, before the console wars. Like when they had those forum interviews? That was very cool, I dont think Ive seen another site do that.

Yeah, whoever came up with those forum interviews was a king among men to be sure. I loved that guy!

Like most of you, I still go there for news and even to browse the forums from time to time, but post there? Well, let''s just say I''d rather stick my special little friend into a coffee can of rabid weasels.

"Naked" wrote:

Well, let''s just say I''d rather stick my special little friend into a coffee can of rabid weasels.

That explains why the coffee around here tastes funny.

I thought that was because Elysium was making it despite not having passed his recipe final and graduating.

I like to think that eventually I''ll write an entertaining article for this site.

Oh. Well, I just suggested that because it seems it''s going to take you a while.

(I''m winking! I''m winking! Joke! It''s a Jouchouchouch)

I remember back in the good old days, before the console wars. Like when they had those forum interviews? That was very cool, I dont think Ive seen another site do that.

Oh no don''t stroke his ego any further he has a hard enough time getting his head through his apartment door already.

Well, it''s definitely the console part that sucked down the quality of the forum. It amazes me everytime how much people can argue the crap out of nothing instead of simply enjoying games.

My problem with EA is that his trolls and baiting just brings in Xbots who can''t allow someone who likes a Nintendo product to say anything.

And debating is going to change that how? It''s not like a thread has actually convinced anyone of anything so far. The problem is there always will be trolling and baiting as long as there are people who are ... er ''clever'' enough to care enough and respond. Anyone noticed that there are hardly any NWN comments anymore ever since DaveC has stopped posting/reacting and acting like Rumpelstiltskin whenever that happened?

Of course, there''s an easy way to avoid the absolute mess that some threads are: any console or politics-related post with more than 30 replies is a guaranteed thing to be ignored. The forum is still better than the ones of various other mainstream sites, however, communities of smaller sites are naturally better.

"Certis" wrote:

Yeah, whoever came up with those forum interviews was a king among men to be sure. I loved that guy!

Oh no! I didnt remember it was Certis. Well, see anyways I was being sarcastic. Yeah thats it.

I''m with everyone else, I have posted at EA for a few years, even got picked up to do news. The community just went downt the crapper, I swear I have never seen a bigger group of people obsess over a hobby they so obviously loathe. I can''t remember the last time I read something POSITIVE about a game there that wasn''t some fanboy defending his system of choice from another.

It just got to be too much for me, so I bowed out quietly and spend most of my time elsewhere now.

Shiat Sinatar, thats pretty bad I still check EA more than daily for the news though which still is high quality thanks to guys like Spunior, Pureboy and Emab.

[quote=""Sinatar""]The community just went downt the crapper, I swear I have never seen a bigger group of people obsess over a hobby they so obviously loathe. quote]

Kinda like reading AICN these days. (sorry, couldn''t resist).
The fact that adults are arguing over which video game system is better amuses me. Currently, all I own is an original Playstation and a Sega Genesis. Thus, watching people argue wether the X-Box, the GC, or the PS2 is TEH GRATEST EVAR!!!!1 is just fun to watch. To me, they all have pretty much the same games, with different window dressing.

Since you''re clearly and utterly unqualified to make that assumption, I''ll let it slide. You honestly couldn''t be more incorrect.