Otakupedia Entries/Suggestions/Discussion thread

[Charles]

Hello all, and welcome to my latest Otaku Lounge thread!

As a longtime member of the boards, I realize that this place has a rich, unique culture. Older members often reminisce over fond memories and as time goes on, we make new ones. With Otakupedia, we can create a catalogue of entries dedicated to the past and present of OB. Newer members and older members alike can contribute entries based on almost anything relevant to the forums--whether that entry happens to be about the old Digimon forum, a current member, OB marriages, staff history, kuja's banning, safer sephiroth, OB spinoffs (AE Boards), thimok, Enter the Net, Otaku Idol 2--it's all up to you!

Here's how it works:

We're sort of going to do this like Wikipedia. Although members cannot directly edit the main post at will, they may make their contribution as a post within the thread--whether it's a correction, new entry, or an elaboration over an existing entry. You can provide images, content, whatever. Either myself or another capable staff member will edit the official sticked thread to include your contribution. You can even provide direct links, if possible. We can also use this thread to discuss the entries, because some of them may be fun to talk about.

[John]

Awesome idea, but it seems to me that the whole thread will get real sloppy real quick if people are making posts just to propose edits to previous posts. On the contrary, what if a public account called Otakupedia was created and people could write the posts in it, while still discussing articles and edits in the same thread in their own username. Otakupedia, I'm sure, would have to be given some special priviliges (such as making sure the password doesn't get changed or deactivating the password completely, if possible, and probably the permission to double-post, since that would just make good sense sometimes), but really nothing major. I think it'd be worth it.

[James]

[quote name='John']Awesome idea, but it seems to me that the whole thread will get real sloppy real quick if people are making posts just to propose edits to previous posts. On the contrary, what if a public account called Otakupedia was created and people could write the posts in it, while still discussing articles and edits in the same thread in their own username. Otakupedia, I'm sure, would have to be given some special priviliges (such as making sure the password doesn't get changed or deactivating the password completely, if possible, and probably the permission to double-post, since that would just make good sense sometimes), but really nothing major. I think it'd be worth it.[/quote]

[font=arial]I like that idea actually...we would have to make the username and password public and nobody could have "remember me" checked, so that one person can't hog the account.

Of course, if someone spammed under the account that would be the end of it, but regulating who can use it seems to go against the whole idea of an "Otakupedia" situation.

Charles's way could become messy, but if he's willing to "moderate" the thread, I think it would be fine. It's really up to Charles I guess.[/font]

[Charles]

[quote name='James][font=arial']Of course, if someone spammed under the account that would be the end of it, but regulating who can use it seems to go against the whole idea of an "Otakupedia" situation.[/font][/quote]

See, that's my primary concern and why I would like to have it physically on the boards. I like the idea of giving everyone control, but not so much that someone can just easily ruin it for everyone. I also like the idea of having Otakupedia right here where everyone can easily see it.

After it's built up on here and we have this as a decent back-up, I wouldn't mind creating a public account though to compliment it. For the time being, however, I don't mind moderating this thread and keeping it organized if/when people contribute.

[Retribution]

[size=1]I don't get it... why don't you just post this up on Wikipedia?[/size]

[Charles]

[quote name='Retribution][size=1']I don't get it... why don't you just post this up on Wikipedia?[/size][/quote]


[B][QUOTE=Charles][size=6]See, that's my primary concern and why I would like to have it physically on the boards. I like the idea of giving everyone control, but not so much that someone can just easily ruin it for everyone. I also like the idea of having Otakupedia right here where everyone can easily see it.

After it's built up on here and we have this as a decent back-up, I wouldn't mind creating a public account though to compliment it. For the time being, however, I don't mind moderating this thread and keeping it organized if/when people contribute.[/size][/QUOTE][/B]

There you go. You know, just in case you missed my explanation the first time, champ.

[DeadSeraphim]

[quote name='Retribution][size=1']I don't get it... why don't you just post this up on Wikipedia?[/size][/quote]
[size=1][color=indigo][font=arial]It'd be deleted on Wikipedia, dude.[/font][/color][/size]

[Shy]

[size=1]Fantastic idea. I hope this is acceptable as an entry. It probably needs some editing, though. My memory is hazy on the subject, and I'm also blind.

[b][u]OtakuBot[/b][/u]

OtakuBot was a mascot for the OtakuBoards Community created in August 2002 by Generic NPC #3 and James. This was the first, and most noteworthy of a series of failed projects coinciding with a site-wide initiative then known only as "My Otaku," (this My Otaku had no relation to the current myOtaku companion site.)

The idea was that site announcements, rules threads and "How to" guides could be more effective and more fun if they were posted by a cute, fictional mascot rather than an established member. OtakuBot was based on an original, Japanese Famicon disk, which served as a point of controversy and confusion for many.

From the beginning, many had problems with OtakuBot's appearance, likening it to a bathroom scale or a razor blade. Ironically, it was its? cutesy appearance which made it difficult for members to take OtakuBot, and the "My Otaku" initiative seriously.

This My Otaku was supposed to have featured an interactive guide to OtakuBoards, containing various tutorials and rules threads written by the site's staff. In a dedicated forum, "The Otaku Information Center," OtakuBot "posted" two rules threads, its? only posts on the forum. The forum laid abandoned for nearly a year due to a lack of staff involvement before being removed entirely. It wasn't until much later that OtakuBot's member account was deleted unexpectedly.

OtakuBot lives on as an inside joke between elder board members, and was given a significant cameo in Solo Tremaine's "Enter the Net" fan-fiction story.

-Shy[/size]

[James]

[font=arial]It's funny how OtakuBot ended up becoming [i]more[/i] famous as a non-used character than if we'd actually stuck him on the front of the site. I have a soft spot for the little guy.

And Shy...wasn't it really only you who didn't like the idea of OtakuBot? And wasn't that because you favored your own, much less appropriate mascot? (Bosko, who has nothing to do with Japanese culture whatsoever). I was just wondering about that, lol. :catgirl:

As it stands, I'm happy that Solo enhanced his personality in Enter the Net...I imagined OtakuBot to be very much like Solo made him. ~_^[/font]

[Baron Samedi]

[size=1]Why not have one thread with the actual 'Otakupedia' content in it [locked and stickied] and have another seperate thread for suggestions/entries? It allows the community to contribute without worry of vandalism, and keeps the main section clear and uncluttered.[/size]

[Stuart]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]As a man who touches himself to Wikipedia, I'd just like to say that this is an awesome idea.
[quote name='Baron Samedi][size=1]Why not have one thread with the actual 'Otakupedia' content in it [locked and stickied'] and have another seperate thread for suggestions/entries? It allows the community to contribute without worry of vandalism, and keeps the main section clear and uncluttered.[/size][/quote]
That was going to be my suggestion as I read on and thought about it. That's what I'd do.

[quote name='James][font=arial']Charles's way could become messy, but if he's willing to "moderate" the thread, I think it would be fine. It's really up to Charles I guess.[/font][/quote]I think with Baron's suggestion, Charles wouldn't really need to 'moderate', rather select what's accurate and detailed from the entires thread and simply copy/paste/edit them into the offical Otakupedia sticky thread. I also would have no problem helping out with this project.[/FONT]

[Red]

Bloody fantastic idea! The posts by Charles & Shy certainly brought a lot back instantly.

Will see if I can think of anything to write in a half-decent manner. Something about the horror that was the introduction forum springs to mind, along with Charles' long fight to get it deleted with that wonderful thread ;)

[Charles]

I like Baron's idea--the thread would probably run a lot more smoothly that way. Since Stuart gave me his blessing, I'll go ahead and make the necessary adjustments. See, this is what Otakupedia is about--progressive thinking and constantly evolving the project. I will also edit in Shy's fantastic entry.

Also, a newbie lounge update would be truly epic.

[Shy]

[quote name='James][font=arial']And Shy...wasn't it really only you who didn't like the idea of OtakuBot? And wasn't that because you favored your own, much less appropriate mascot? (Bosko, who has nothing to do with Japanese culture whatsoever). I was just wondering about that, lol. :catgirl: [/font][/quote]
[size=1]I've always argued that OtakuBoards is an anime message board frequented by people who couldn't care less about anime. It's only appropriate that our mascot have absolutely nothing to do with anime as well. (Although, for the record, silent cartoon stars like Bosko are incredibly popular in Japan to this day.)

And no, I'm not the only one who had issue with his appearance. Sara was the one who likened him to a razor blade, and it was Tony who said "Good riddance," after he was forcibly removed from the site. So there!

Fortunately I wrote a lot of old MyOtaku updates that can be transformed into Otakupedia entries pretty easily. Hopefully more member start to contribute, seeing as I don't want it just to be Charles and myself doing the whole thing.

-Shy[/size]

[Sara]

[color=#b0000b][size=1][b]GinnyLyn[/b]
[i]Categories: theOtaku Staff, OtakuBoards Staff, Artists, Fanfiction Authors, Digipeeps, Digimods[/i]

GinnyLyn was an early (ca 2001) contributor to the old theOtaku digimon site. Her work included writing character descriptions and episode summaries, as well as extensive work on theOtaku's "Digidex." Under her, theOtaku's digimon site was transformed from being nearly nonexistant to being one of the most thorough available on the internet.

She was a prolific digimon artist, submitting dozens of pictures at a time when it was rare for an artist to submit more than two or three. Prominently featured in her drawings were Ken Ichijoji/The Digimon Emperor (her favorite character) and her many FMDs (fan-made digimon).

At one point, she created a new, nameless FMD (or "ficdigi"), and a naming contest was held on the main page of theOtaku, wherein visitors could send name suggestions to her via email. The winning name was "Nekomon."

Aside from her artistic contributions, GinnyLyn was also in charge of Digimon fanfiction submissions. She herself wrote the two longest-running Digimon fanfics available at theOtaku at the time.

On OtakuBoards, GinnyLyn was a long-time moderator of the Digimon forum (styled "Digimod"), and an avid roleplayer. She later became the first "Goddess" (female supermod) of the boards. A strong Christian, Ginny often found herself to be in conflict with other members over this point, and this eventually led to her resignation.

She disappeared completely from the theO scene shortly after the launch of myOtaku.com.


[b]Requested articles[/b]: [size=3][color=red][font=century gothic][strike]kuja[/strike][/font][/color][/size], [strike]Safer Sephiroth[/strike], [strike]Babygirl(Jenna)[/strike] , Adam's Angels, Topaz, Piromunkie, Justin, Queen Asuka, Anna.[/size][/color]

[Shy]

[size=1][u][b]AE Boards[/b][/u]

AE Boards were an offshoot of the once-popular anime website, Anime Explosion, created in 2002 by OtakuBoards Anime Lounge moderator, Rick Hunter (also known as Kevin.) Rick Hunter worked alongside Adam and theOtaku.com to create original content, building an anime reviews website from the ground up. In return, theOtaku.com would link to Anime Explosion in hopes of attracting new visitors. Thus a strained symbiotic relationship was formed between the two.

Unfortunately, the end result of this relationship only proved to be beneficial for theOtaku. New visitors to Anime Explosion had difficulty navigating the poorly-designed site, and only rarely returned. As an attempt to attract more visitors to Anime Explosion, AE Boards were eventually created in hopes of achieving the same success that OtakuBoards had.

Rick Hunter used OB to draw prominent members towards AE Boards, promising staff positions and a chance to run an online community in what they felt was a more effective manner. Many members held their first staff positions on AE Boards before eventually being given the chance to moderate at OtakuBoards. Charles (then Crazy White Boy,) Babygirl, Shy, Queen Asuka, Syk3 (then Solid Snake) and countless others worked as staff during the boards' early months, often meeting over AIM to discuss the future of the site and issues of the day.

These "AE Boards Staff Chats" became infamous for the heated discussions between their participants, most notably between Rick Hunter and his fellow administrator Charles. In less than a year literally dozens of members rotated in and out of staff positions on AE Boards, with most being forcibly removed from their positions after disagreeing with Rick Hunter.

Although never as active as OtakuBoards, AE Boards received a significant boost in membership during the month long OB downtime of 2004. By this time Rick Hunter became obsession changed from creating a successful anime website to beating theOtaku.com and its network of successful sites. As a result he demanded that all of his content be taken off theOtaku.com, leaving the fledgling anime reviews site in shambles. It wouldn't be until years later that the anime reviews section had anywhere near the quality or quantity of content that it did during the time Rick Hunter served as head writer on the project.

Regardless of this falling out with Adam, he held onto his OB staff position hoping to destroy the community from the inside. Following several heated conflicts with OtakuBoards staff he was de-modded and eventually banned, coming back several times to wreak havoc in the forums under new user names and accounts.

AE Boards were deleted and re-formed several times as well, but without a popular companion site to draw members from, AE Boards, and Anime Explosion both suffered to develop a following of their own. By 2005 Anime Explosion and AE Boards had been deleted. Rick Hunter has not been heard from since.

Feel free to edit or add to this however you see fit, Charles.

-Shy[/size]

[James]

[QUOTE=Kazuko][SIZE=1]Uhm, correct me if I'm mistaken, but didn't OB orginally start as "AGB" (I can't quite remember what it stood for) sometime in 1998?

I first joined back in late 1999, and that's how I remember it. :3[/SIZE][/QUOTE]

[font=arial]Yep, that's right. Absolute Gameboy was actually the very first site - it pre-dated theOtaku. AGB Forums was actually the first, however it only really became an anime-centric message board when theOtaku.com came into existence.

Shy: Somehow I don't think three people are the same as the community at large, heheh. Still, I'm glad that OtakuBot went on to bigger and better things in Enter the Net...for better or worse, he's now truly embedded in OB history.[/font] :animesmil

[Shy]

[size=1]James: I dare you to find anyone who liked, or even understood what OtakuBot was supposed to look like. The fact that his avatar cut off his bottom half only helped my argument that he was a bathroom scale or razorblade.

-Shy[/size]

[James]

[QUOTE=Shy][size=1]James: I dare you to find anyone who liked, or even understood what OtakuBot was supposed to look like. The fact that his avatar cut off his bottom half only helped my argument that he was a bathroom scale or razorblade.

-Shy[/size][/QUOTE]

[font=arial]I know you didn't like him but, you know, he was cool.

Very few people actually saw him, since he never made a real public debut on OB. So it would actually be hard to find that many people who even know what he looks like in the first place! :animeswea

He was going to be fully-displayed on information pages and we actually had various pictures of him that were really appropriate (waggling his finger, getting frustrated, overjoyed, etc). It would have been glorious.

I'm just glad he isn't forgotten. Poor little guy. :animesigh

[b]Edit:[/b] While I'm here I might as well add something about My Otaku.

The whole point behind My Otaku was to provide an informational service for OB members; not just rules, but tutorials about a myriad of subjects (basic guide to creating banners, information about good RPG creation, FAQs about using the site's functions, etc).

So I guess you could say that it was designed to be a much easier and more pleasant way to learn how to use OB and to participate in all of its various activities. It was going to be an alternative to a pretty dry rules page.

However, I think it ended up becoming largely unnecessary. We had a very well-written FAQ put up (thanks to Charles - without him that FAQ wouldn't exist, and I think it's an incredibly good guide) and that was really all we needed. I also wanted My Otaku to be built into the site rather than to have its own forum...but I had trouble getting the programming support to do that, which further hindered its progress.

In the end it became clear that we were better off focusing on more important issues, since the FAQ and Rules basically covered what we needed to say anyway.

[b]Edit 2:[/b] While I'm here I might also suggest to Charles...if you can get screenshots of other OB versions (namely 4, 5 and 6), I can help you put together information about what these versions introduced - each version brought various changes with it that weren't just cosmetic. And then an article can also be written about V7. I'm happy to do those if you like, since I know how the development process went and stuff.[/font]

[DeadSeraphim]

[COLOR=Indigo][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial][u]Group Sounds[/u]

[B]Group Sounds[/B] is where all the cool kids hang out. It's Generic NPC #3's forum, and is made up in large part of OB's best and brightest trolls, with the occasional well-meaning member and Dragon Warrior (oh, burn!). It's had two version, the first quickly being destroyed and overrun once people realised it was entirely possible and within their power to post stupid news articles from Fark (plus, you know, the violent xenophobia that had developed), and the current forum, a more mature attempt that gets some really good videogame discussion going, and enjoys a lot more relaxed environment. This can probably be traced directly to the abscence of some key members who brought about the collapse of version 1 (you know who you are), but the lack of games and competitiveness probably helps too. Yeah.

Both sites have been predominantly orange, and thus awesome; though stupid arguing about the controls in Twilight Princess by Papa Smurf - the very same that ended in banning [I]right here[/I] - threaten that awesome. Luckily, unlike OB, no one at Group Sounds takes Papa Smurf seriously, and the threat remains just that - a threat.

[u]Generic NPC #3[/u]

[B]Generic NPC #3[/B] is a slave to OtakuBoards. He consistently claims he doesn't enjoy the place, yet follows up these wild accusations with posts in Play It that show a whole lot of forethought for someone who isn't having the time of their life. He originally came to OB as Gr3ymalkin at the urging of James, and went on to make an amazing 24 posts before getting bored and leaving again. However, OB had already started to cast it's evil magic on him, and he eventually returned - this time as Semjaza Azazel.

As Semjaza, GNPC#3 quickly rose through the ranks of mod-dom, first as a mod of the long-dead 'Mario' forum, then 'GameCube/GameBoy', before finally finding himself the SuperMod of the 'Otaku Gamer' section in its entirety (this could probably be all put down to black magic, as he is a known listener of Marilyn Manson and this therefore makes him a warlock). Here he stayed, wandering over the entire site like a dry-humoured (possibly chromosome) cowboy, casting everyone under his thrall.

When v7 dragged itself painfully around the corner of progress, he was still the all-powerful figure of authority he had always been, this time ruling over v7's version of Otaku Gamer, 'Hardwired'. This proved too much for him however, and in 2004 he resigned, saying it felt too much like a job and some other things to the effect of "I liked it better in the old days". He stuck around for a while, then disappeared entirely, as is his habit. This wasn't the last we would see of him, however.

Every so often he would reappear, making posts that thoroughly pwned whoever was the target of his attack, until finally he made a triumphant, low-key return as who we now now as Generic NPC #3. As GNPC#3 he posts mainly in Play It and occasionally in other forums when the mood takes him, all the while quietly plugging his own forum, Group Sounds (which is where ALL the cool kids go - all of them, every last one). He still doesn't find OB enjoyable, but that's okay, cause he still posts anyway. You know, because he just hates the place so much.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Charles]

Okay, I have added the AE Boards entry. Thanks for that Shy. I also edited it a bit and fleshed it out based on my own memories of AE Boards and Kevin, since they are pretty extensive.

I also added your My Otaku entry, James only revising it slightly so that it would be told from a third person perspective. Sadly, I couldn't fit in the compliments about the FAQ, although my ego desperately tried to.

With the laptopsr I have access to right now, I cannot take screen caps (since there is no art program on here) but here are links to the only two remaining iterations of the site that I can acesss via the Internet Archive, which can be found [URL=http://www.archive.org/index.php]here[/URL].

[url]http://web.archive.org/web/20030124192450/http://www.otakuboards.com/[/url]

[url]http://web.archive.org/web/20021128045934/http://www.otakuboards.com/[/url]

In one of these, you can actually see My Otaku, so that should be pretty helpful. If no one can get screen caps of these, I should be able to do it sometime tomorrow.

I'll try to have one on kuja done up sometime soon; I think it's pretty necessary. :cool:

Also, if anyone has any criticism for me on the actual layout/organization of Otakupedia and would like to make some suggestions, let me know. If anyone would like to make images to make it prettier, then that'd be fine too. :p

[James]

[font=arial]I am loving the whole thing and I think it's something we can continually add to - it would be great to have a comprehensive history of OB. As you know, this probably covers less than a per cent of OB's history right now...there are literally a million things we could add.

I was even thinking that once this gets bigger, we can think about creating a full web page for it at its own address (perhaps [url]www.otakuboards.com/otakupedia[/url]). It's up to you, Charles, but I think it might be a cool idea - we could even put a permanent OB link to it. [/font]

[Charles]

[quote name='James][font=arial']I am loving the whole thing and I think it's something we can continually add to - it would be great to have a comprehensive history of OB. As you know, this probably covers less than a per cent of OB's history right now...there are literally a million things we could add.[/font][/quote]

Thanks, that's really my goal. Right now we're adding a lot of cool OtakuBoards history that I don't really want to have disappear as time goes on, but if really if any newer members are reading this, feel free to contribute with what's going on right now or fairly recently that's important.

[quote][font=arial]I was even thinking that once this gets bigger, we can think about creating a full web page for it at its own address (perhaps [url]www.otakuboards.com/otakupedia[/url]). It's up to you, Charles, but I think it might be a cool idea - we could even put a permanent OB link to it. [/font][/QUOTE]

If this keeps buidling up then that'd be a really cool idea. I really can't contribute in making a sensible-looking website myself, but if any of you want to undertake that then it'd be super awesome. I'd love that.

[James]

[QUOTE=Charles]


If this keeps buidling up then that'd be a really cool idea. I really can't contribute in making a sensible-looking website myself, but if any of you want to undertake that then it'd be super awesome. I'd love that.[/QUOTE]

[font=arial]I'm happy to put a design and layout together...we will keep it really simple, but I'll need someone to update it. Desbreko's probably the first choice, because he knows the code and he can have access to our server to make updates as required.[/font]

[DeadSeraphim]

[quote name='James][font=arial']I'm happy to put a design and layout together...we will keep it really simple, but I'll need someone to update it. Desbreko's probably the first choice, because he knows the code and he can have access to our server to make updates as required.[/font][/quote]
[size=1][color=indigo][font=arial]you could just install some wiki software, like Mediawiki. That way it only takes one install, and Charles can keep editting without relying on someone else, all the while keeping the software closed to new registrations and users.[/font][/color][/size]