The Old School

[[Sound_Nin]]

I know, I know. I'm not one of the oldest members, but I've been here since 2002 or 2003 and things have CHANGED, for better or for worse. Some of the past layouts were better, some were worse. Hell, I can't even remember the one that was here when I joined. The boards are overrun with n00bs. Yeah, I know, I used to be one too, but come on. There's more now than ever.
I created this thread to reminisce about the way things used to be. For instance, remember when there used to be more titles than New Member, Member and Moderator? Whatever happened to "Otaku"? I too a year long hiatus a while back, and since then things have been so different I had to learn how to navigate the boards all over again.

[Retribution]

[size=1]Don't let the nostalgia cloud your judgement.

There are far fewer noobs than there were in, say, 2004 when I first joined OB. Things keep changing for the better -- I think you're just looking back with misty eyes. The members seem more friendly, the post quality has improved overall (God save the Anime Lounge), and most importantly, the artists are getting better.[/size]

[Dagger]

I joined in 2003. I'm still not what most people here would call an oldie, but I've been through a couple of versions and watched various people come and go. And honestly, each time I see a post/thread like this, it astonishes me, because you'd need to be wearing heavily rose-tinted glasses to view the past as being better than what we have now. Post quality has gone up a lot, as has overall activity, thanks in large part to new members. The boards are much better organized, both visually and in terms of how the different sub-forums are arranged. The skins look far sharper and slicker than the skins we had in past versions.

I mean, I have nothing against nostalgia, but new members are what keep OB going strong. :)

EDIT: Oi, Retri, the Anime Lounge ain't got nothing on [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=52236&page=1][i][u]this[/u][/i][/url]. :p

~Dagger~

[KatanaViolet]

I no longer hold "n00b" status, as you would call it. I have been a fan of anime for a few years now, and I've been on many a message board before stumbling onto this one. Personally, I think it's just great. Compared to other boards that I post on, this one is the raddest of the rad. I still post on another one called AnimeOST, but the boards are seriously overrun with new members that post one sentance posts. Even though I was at that board before this one, I post at it alot less now, because I like the intellectual structure that this board has, and it's not just a bunch of Twinkies exclaiming "OMG I lyke totally luv [insert anime]!!!!1!111!!" and making other totally pointless threads and posts. I can't say I can compare the OtakuBoards now to the Old Skool OtakuBoards, but this is definately the best forum that I've ever came across.

[SunfallE]

[QUOTE=Dagger]I joined in 2003. I'm still not what most people here would call an oldie, but I've been through a couple of versions and watched various people come and go. And honestly, each time I see a post/thread like this, it astonishes me, because you'd need to be wearing heavily rose-tinted glasses to view the past as being better than what we have now. Post quality has gone up a lot, as has overall activity, thanks in large part to new members. The boards are much better organized, both visually and in terms of how the different sub-forums are arranged. The skins look far sharper and slicker than the skins we had in past versions.

I mean, I have nothing against nostalgia, but new members are what keep OB going strong. :)

EDIT: Oi, Retri, the Anime Lounge ain't got nothing on [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=52236&page=1][i][u]this[/u][/i][/url]. :p

~Dagger~[/QUOTE]
[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Dagger, that?s cruel, true, but cruel. :animecry:

I actually agree with both Retribution and Dagger. I've only been a member since February 2005 and in that time I haven?t seen anything that makes me think things are worse. Far from it, in fact since I?ve joined not only has the post quality improved but there are plenty of new members just this year who do a great job of working to fit in and increase their post quality. It may seem like there are a lot of noobs but there are quite a few who are not.

Sure a lot of people may seem like noobs, but to be fair plenty of forums don?t have the emphasis on post quality that OtakuBoards does so it?s only natural that it?s going to take time to get used to how things are done here. So I defiantly think that things here are better than they use to be in the ?good old days? so to speak. [/COLOR]

[Japan]

[COLOR=DarkRed]Even though it was spammy and more often than not, ridiculous at times, I still miss the picture forum.

I miss a lot of the old members that left or just disappeared: Shaun, Kittylyn, BabyGirl, Braidless_Baka, Shinmaru's sister, Ajeh, etc.

I joined back in 2001, heh. It's been a long while. But really, things come and go, and no matter how disappointing, I guess we must move on.

I remember the craze in the anime forum that dealt with .hack//SIGN. Shy posting this and that, as well as several other views on what a certain something that deals with that show in some way means. Even down to what certain letters represent that are on the DVD cases!

Anywho...some threads as of late I do admit have gotten irritating. I even stopped coming here for a few months. Just got to shrug them off, or ignore them all together. I feel like Otakuboards lost some of that 'fun atmosphere' but it is better than most message boards I've seen. Better than dealing with, "OMG u got 2 c tis!"[/COLOR]

[eleanor]

[color=darkslateblue] Actually, sometimes I wish I were a new member (I joined in 2002). I remember some of the posts I used to write, and it want to go hide in a corner. >_> I definately went through the wangsty, arrogant, all-around messed up teenage stage while I was on the boards. I regret a lot of things I've written on these boards, and I hope that no one remembers them. *mouth twitch* Then again, I'm still a teenager, but I guess you know what I'm talking about.

I really don't think they've changed that much. We still have a fair share of intelligent members, fun members, and good artists. We also still have a fair share of n00bs. We have always had a fair share of n00bs. *shrug* I was a total n00b when I joined. [/color]

[Raiyuu]

[font=Trebuchet MS][quote name='GoldScorpion78][/font']For instance, remember when there used to be more titles than New Member, Member and Moderator? Whatever happened to "Otaku"?[font=Trebuchet MS][/quote] We got rid of post-count-determined titles for a reason: people spammed to get enough posts to be an 'Otaku' or whatever. That's why we have custom titles now - you can have 'Otaku' as your title if you want, and you don't have to have 1000 posts to get it. Much preferable, ne?
[/font]

[Retribution]

[quote name='Dagger]EDIT: Oi, Retri, the Anime Lounge ain't got nothing on [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=52236&page=1][i][u]this[/u][/i][/url']. :p[/quote]
[size=1]Oh really? I stumbled across [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?p=715715#post715715][b][i]this[/i][/b][/url] (Read: 64 page thread on how and why fangirls want to have Sesshomaru's babies). I know you love the AL, but let's be honest -- it's the black hole of the boards. *pre-emptive dodge of all coming attacks*

I'm also proud to say I was never a "wangsty" noob, as Lunox so aptly put it. I was somewhat annoying, but nothing more. Hoorah. And I don't know about any of ya'll, but I wish Juu would come back. She totally disappeared on-line.

[quote name='SunfallE][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen']Dagger, that?s cruel, true, but cruel. :animecry: [/COLOR][/quote]
Defend your forum, you sorry excuse for a moderator! Don't let that big bully Dagger shove you around![/size]

[Dagger]

[quote name='Retribution][size=1]Oh really? I stumbled across [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?p=715715#post715715][b][i]this[/i][/b][/url'] (Read: 64 page thread on how and why fangirls want to have Sesshomaru's babies). I know you love the AL, but let's be honest -- it's the black hole of the boards. *pre-emptive dodge of all coming attacks*[/size][/quote]
Actually, the [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showpost.php?p=714986&postcount=11][u]Secret[/u][/url] [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showpost.php?p=635365&postcount=44][u]Staff[/u][/url] [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showpost.php?p=385810&postcount=49][u]Yaoi[/u][/url] forum is the [i]real[/i] black hole of the boards. You still have much to learn, grasshopper... ;)

~Dagger~

[eleanor]

[quote name='Retribution][size=1]Oh really? I stumbled across [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?p=715715#post715715][b][i]this[/i][/b][/url'] (Read: 64 page thread on how and why fangirls want to have Sesshomaru's babies). I know you love the AL, but let's be honest -- it's the black hole of the boards. *pre-emptive dodge of all coming attacks*[/size][/quote]

[color=darkslateblue] I remember when the Anime Lounge had multiple sections, and the Yu Yu Hakeshu section was like death and brimestone and Bill O'Reilly.

Actually, I think that the AL has always been plagued as the worst section of the boards. I used to post in it all the time, but I randomly stopped because it tends to get very repetitive.

Anywho, I just wanted to add that when I was in middle school I was a part of many forums, and OB is probably the most well-knit. OB reminds me of my high school in a way. Sometimes clique-y and draggy, but for the most part a friendly and accepting place. (Yes, I'm blessed to be in such a high school.) [/color]

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Well I haven?t even been here for a year yet and I think OtakuBoards just keeps getting better. My reasoning is quite simple, when I started looking for an anime forum to join the sheer volume of poor posting and spamming that I found appalled me. It gave me a headache just trying to figure out what people were saying! I?ve only been a member since June of 2005 but I have yet to see anything that would make me think this site is worse. Sure there?s always a rush of noobs so to speak but there?s also a lot of new members who really add to the over all quality one can find here. ^_^

It?s always easy to look back and think things were better. Since the fog of time has dimmed your memory of how things really were. :p [quote name='SunfallE][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Dagger, that?s cruel, true, but cruel. :animecry: [/COLOR][/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Retribution][size=1']Defend your forum, you sorry excuse for a moderator! Don't let that big bully Dagger shove you around![/size][/quote]That?s right! Down with bullies! ^_~ [QUOTE=Dagger]EDIT: Oi, Retri, the Anime Lounge ain't got nothing on [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=52236&page=1][i][u]this[/u][/i][/url]. :p

~Dagger~[/QUOTE] And to think, that?s after it was cleaned up! :animestun [/COLOR]

[Shy]

[size=1]It's simply not cool to bash our anime forums. I modded those things for literally [b]years[/b] and it was always a struggle to keep intelligent discussions around. The main problem is that our anime forums tend to have younger members in them, and that often leads to a lower amount of quality. Of course, all of the 'n00bs' who used to inhabit the anime forums are now some of our best members, so go figure.

Anyway, I'm grateful we don't have posts archived from versions 1 and 2 of OB. I, along with most everyone else, was a complete idiot back then. As much as I miss the spontaneity and certain people, things are much more coherent now. Just looking at the v3 archives makes me realize how much we've grown, and thankfully there's no going back to the way things were. Besides, I prefer custom titles over 'Cool Newbie' or 'Extreme Otaku' any day of the week.

Dagger: The Yu Yu Hakusho forums was the [i]real[/i] black hole of the boards. The Secret Yaoi Forum is just a lot of harmless fun overall, especially Stuart's latest topic about Kaiba/Kaworu. Mm.

-Shy[/size]

[Retribution]

[quote name='Shy][size=1]It's simply not cool to bash our anime forums. I modded those things for literally [b]years[/b'] and it was always a struggle to keep intelligent discussions around. The main problem is that our anime forums tend to have younger members in them, and that often leads to a lower amount of quality. Of course, all of the 'n00bs' who used to inhabit the anime forums are now some of our best members, so go figure.[/size][/quote]
[size=1]Oh chin up, Shy. You've got to understand that I was kidding, but my point still stands.

It never gets old reading my old posts. I tried to find dirt on Dagger, and came up with a completely coherent first post. I feel like a failure as a noob.[/size]

[Kei]

[quote name='Shy][size=1']The Secret Yaoi Forum is just a lot of harmless fun overall, especially Stuart's latest topic about Kaiba/Kaworu. Mm.[/size][/quote]

[color=darkblue][size=1]You don't know how much reading that made me cry, Shy. You really don't.

...Anyway, the Kurogane/Kurama topic was a lot better.

Getting to the topic at hand, though, I have to agree with what everyone else has said. I've been a member here since way back in v2, and the boards have only gotten better over the years. Yes, many things have come and gone, some with love and some with hate (I don't think anyone's going to forget that damn Newbie Lounge...), but there's not a time that comes to mind when a change has been a "one step forward- two steps back" type of thing.

From my viewpoint, we go nowhere but up on the greatness scale. [/OB patriotism] [/color][/size]

[Stuart]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]Hoay Etsybay.

I was quite the n00b back in the day; My first account was even banned :bow:.
Of course the ban didn't change much because I still remained a xn00bie to the end! My posts in my first two years are quite embarrasing, I'll admit ;D. So it amazes me how I'm at the status I currently am. If you had told me in 2003 I'd become a category moderator, I'd laugh and then maybe die a little on the inside. [B]n00b power![/B]
[QUOTE]For instance, remember when there used to be more titles than New Member, Member and Moderator?[/QUOTE]
YES! I remember. I think it went something like this:
[list][B]Newbie [/B] [/list]
[list][B]New member[/B] - 50 posts[/list]
[list][B]Member[/B] - 250?[/list]
[list][B]Otaku [/B] - 1,000.[/list]
[list][B]Extreme Otaku[/B] - Yeah... I'm not even sure if this was one.[/list]
[list][B]No Life[/B] - Like a lot...[/list]

I honestly have no idea, lol. Someone wanna help me out with this one? Anyways, I remember getting to Member somtime before the new version was released. I was so proud *tear*.

And who can forget the "Post Your Picture" forum!? I still demand we bring it back *chants*. Yeah, it spawned 0 discussion aside from the "Omfg you're so hawt.", but that's all fun. We could pull if off, I swear. Just bring it back already. There were also those really lame anime forums. Oh God. The Yu Yu Hakusho forum made me wish to shoot myself. I did however enjoy the .hack//SIGN forum when the series was still new, and every saturday night at 12:30am (Is that when the show got done) Shy would create a thread to discuss that night's episode <3.

I also remmber the orginal OAE (Otaku Artists Elite). Some of the members are still here, or vist once in a blue moon, but all the members who once commented in my first banner threads are no longer active members. Boohoo.
[quote name='Shy][SIZE=1]The Secret Yaoi Forum is just a lot of harmless fun overall, especially Stuart's latest topic about Kaiba/Kaworu. Mm[/SIZE'].[/quote]
My what? I'm frightened :nervous:

[RIGHT]80x80 avatars were teh bomb![/FONT][/RIGHT]

[Dagger]

[QUOTE=Stuart][FONT=Trebuchet MS]
My what? I'm frightened :nervous: [/FONT][/QUOTE]
[spoiler]You really don't remember anything? Hm, maybe we ought to ease up on the brainwashing.[/spoiler]

On a side note, all of the forums I post at regularly started hiding post counts at some point after I joined them. As it happens, OB was the first message board to do so. I still think it's one of the best moves that the staff has ever made. And I love custom titles--even if mine are never particularly clever.

~Dagger~

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]Things are pretty much the same. Now you have people articulating their idiocy instead of just spitting it out- a great leap forward for OBkind, obviously. Just because it's coherent doesn't make it any less irritating or pointless.

But, obviously, I <3 you all. Hugs! *hugs~*

Anyway, the past was good, the present is good and I'm sure the future will be good if we make it good.[/color]

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting.

As one of the few Oldies still around from the beginning of V3, I can say without hesistation that sadly nostalgia has a nasty tendency of clouding over one's memories of the not-so-nice things from the past, as well as highlighting those things we recall fondly. The boards now are without hesistation a place of much more intelligent discussion than they were a few years ago, members on the whole are more articulate as Ken pointed out in his own signature methods. The one thing that has perhaps taken a hit is that RPGs don't seem to last as long as they used to, although again that may be nostalgia twisting my memories of events.

There really can be no denying that OtakuBoards is a much better place today than it was when I joined, sure those of us who've earned the title of Oldie have lost friends but I've made as many and more new friends since, and I genuinely wouldn't trade what I have now to go back to then. [/SIZE]

[QUOTE=Stuart][FONT=Trebuchet MS]YES! I remember. I think it went something like this:
[list][B]Newbie [/B] [/list]
[list][B]New member[/B] - 50 posts[/list]
[list][B]Member[/B] - 250?[/list]
[list][B]Otaku [/B] - 1,000.[/list]
[list][B]Extreme Otaku[/B] - Yeah... I'm not even sure if this was one.[/list]
[list][B]No Life[/B] - Like a lot...[/list]

I honestly have no idea, lol. Someone wanna help me out with this one? [/FONT][/RIGHT][/QUOTE]

[SIZE=1]Close but no cigar, as the saying goes.

[B]New Member:[/B] 0 - 249

[B]Junior Member:[/B] 250 - 499

[B]Member:[/B] 500 - 999

[B]Otaku:[/B] 1000 - 1999

[B]Extreme Otaku:[/B] 2000 - 4999 [?]

[B]No Life:[/B] 5000 - 9999

[B]Old Member:[/B] 10,000 -

I'm certain of the order as far as after Extreme Otaku, something tells me there was a title in between than and No Life, although honestly the only No Lifer I ever recall was my dear wife Raiha. Old Member was the only title after No Life, although nobody ever reached the landmark 10,000 posts required to attain it, in fact the only reason I know of the title is I one day in an AIM conversation asked James if there was a title higher and that was his response. Old Member may not have been the exact title, but it was something along those lines.

[[i]Just realises he clicked the wrong choice in the Poll[/i]]

****.[/SIZE]

[Sandy]

Hmm, the post count titles were something that was somewhat important to my ego back in the day. I didn't spam for them (or else I wouldn't be here anymore), but I did always anticipate the day when my title got upgraded. Made it all the way to "Otaku" until the big update, when I lost 500 posts from my post count. X(

But yeah, I'm a happier person now when I don't have to obsess about my title (I really thought back then that the higher the title, the more respect I would get - yeah right!). I still check on my post count and ranking in the member list, but that's just my own quirky thing... ;P

To answer the topic at hand, I somewhat miss the old days when it was much easier to talk with people around here and answer to topics (not having to read through a series of "short novels" like so often nowadays), but on the other hand many things are much more organized and civilized now. I'd be reluctant to see things revert to their old state.

Anyways, I'm too attached to this board to leave it anymore, it has really grown into me. It's the only website that I have been visiting the whole time since I started using internet. OB is my online-home, with all of its lovely and annoying neighbors living here with me. ;D

[size=1]PS. To me the poll contains two options that are practically the same ("no major changes" and "things are the same"). Anybody notice that? :/[/size]

[Sara]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]I tend to miss the "old days" because the generation of members I was in has largely disappeared. Shy's still here, of course, but I'd say that everyone else that I interacted with back in the day has moved on.

In terms of everything else, though, there's no contest. We have equally wonderful people now, and standards so much higher that Edmund Hillary would be intimidated.[/size][/color]

[Boo]

[size=1]I'm so happy that post counts are a click away now. In the old days, I was so proud of my postcount that it really started to bug when I lost, first 300 and then 800 or so, posts. *kills updates*

No really, they have changed a lot. The quality went up incredibly [strike]because[/strike] [color=green]a year or so after[/color] I joined. Which has been a pretty long time now, so dare not look at my old posts >:|. If [i]dark_apocalyps[/i] [mark the missing [i]e[/i]] would've been here this day, he'd get banned in no time. I was even pretty close back then XD ([b]edit:[/b] I just noticed that myOtaku uses my old username *forgot*)

A lot of people have left, but many cool ones joined again. The only thing that I think has decreased is the friendly sphere the past year or two. No idea why, but I just think it has.

Oh, and at about 5,000 posts, your title was [b]I Live Here[/b]. I think only Raiha made it that far >_>

The "get 500 posts and you may use a custom avater" was a nice thing to look forward too :P[/size]

[Anime Elf]

How many changes has this board gone through in the past few years anyway? I came here way back a long time ago, probably a little over four years ago. After the first change I was there for, I kind of waned in coming and then I kind of stopped all together for a while. The thing I miss most about the older boards/version is the people because when I decided to come back a lot of the people that I knew before were gone.

Anyway, I'm not sure if this was a change from the older boards or not (I didn't care about this kind of stuff when I first started) but I do like the Lounge and how there is a medium for people to talk civilly about real issues not only going on in the world but also with everyone here.

[[Sound_Nin]]

[QUOTE=Stuart][FONT=Trebuchet MS]I honestly have no idea, lol. Someone wanna help me out with this one? Anyways, I remember getting to Member somtime before the new version was released. I was so proud *tear*.

And who can forget the "Post Your Picture" forum!? I still demand we bring it back *chants*. Yeah, it spawned 0 discussion aside from the "Omfg you're so hawt.", but that's all fun. 80x80 avatars were teh bomb![/FONT][/RIGHT][/QUOTE]

I remember I was a New Member for what I thought was too long of a time. I used to just sit in my room with no lights on, frying my eyeballs by replying to every thread I could find. Did we even call them threads back then...? Anyway, after being gone for a while, I realized I was a Member. I was like yesssss and then I thought maybe someone was hacking into my account or something and then I freaked out and I cannot remember how and when I figured out it was just because there were some changes. (woooo who needs punctuation do you need punctuation I don't I don't need it at all if you use punctuation you're a loser punctuation sucks like WHOA)

The post your picture thing [I]was[/I] fun. I used to post like 5 or 6 different pictures just to see if anyone noticed they were nothing alike. No one ever did...

I remember 80x80 avatars! I came back and someone gave me a notice that my av was too big. (That's what she said xD)

[Boo]

[size=1]Whee, I forgot the most important factor. For me, the summit of OB Old School is "The Newbie Lounge". It was the most insane board in OB history and eventually got fried. I wish I could find the old posts somewhere...

[i]Newbie Squad fo' life, homies.[/i] XD[/size]