Bashing Rocks Together- The Article

[Necromancer]

I have been in this game for 3 years. I just missed the "heyday" of the game by about 6 months, because I came into the game at approximately the same time IOC did.

Back, when I first started, There were many "casual" players & "fun" players, until many (including myself) discovered the wonderous joys of the Envoys.

I also had many on-line friends, as well as those in real life (about 40-50) & now, only 4 of the "original" crowd remains & they play the game at a very high level & have no time/patience with those who do not (& to think, they used to be my FRIENDS)

There are a few newbies I could meet, yes, I have tried..they are usually (not mostly) all arrogant & think their crappy deck is the best & wont let me/anybody help them, even after losing a gazillion times. They usually either:
1. Give up 2 months(at tops) later or
2. Get talked into netdecking & then get taught the subtle art of "mind tricks" & the "1337 srs business attitude" at the same time.

It's so funny to watch as noobs call other noobs "noobs"

I used to be very active online too.
I was moderator on two forums & admin on one.
Now, all that remains is a forum I have been moderator on since AGES!!
Its the only forum left of those now & has a tiny active membership (you guessed it. 4)
We have been trying to get more members, but the Administrator has a zero tolerance policy towards "swearing", "leetspeak", "flaming" & ANY references to either Metagame.com or Duelistgroundz.com (I don't blame him)
However, this is NOT what many duelists nowdays want (not the kind people here, of course)
A lot (not all & especially those under 20) want a forum where they can swear & be vulgar, flame others, abuse mods, spam in whatever forum they like, post hentai & have sigs of nude/semi-nude women..etc etc
If they cannot get to do that, they are uninterested, no matter HOW MUCH useful content is on the site. We are struggling to get membership due to this.
Over the past month I have scoured forums on the net worldwide to bring members on my forum, the very latest news, decks, gossip, information etc.
I have started over 40 topics on there, reviewed cards, run 2 competitions, started a webring, posted all my decks, my trades..made chat threads dedicated to Anime..Music...Sports..Made a YVD online battle zone...etc
Prob is, those 4 active members only reply to about 3-4 topics per week on the whole & that's IF they feel like it.
Many times, when I am on the forum, I see them sign in & then leave after about 15 minutes & there's nothing I CAN do, that I have not already tried. Nothing!!!
I cant hold a gun to their heads & get them to post/get us more members. Whoever I advertise my forum to just says "i'll think about it"....their thought processes must be VERY slow...
Today, somebody asked for a ruling on the forum. Somebody else actually started a topic for once..WOW!!!
When I answered it & gave the correct answer, the silly sausage just said "anybody ELSE?"
Jeez!!! Sheesh!!!! as IF!!!!
I locked it immediately, due to pure annoyance, only to have another of the remaining 4 whine to me about locking it, in another thread.
I asked him if he had any problems with my answer? he said "nope" but then told me I was being harsh & abusing my powers as a mod by locking it.
I simply said "he deserved it" & then I locked that thread too.
And then there were two..

Anyhows, I just feel like I am wasting my time in this game now. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy it, I still love it..but whats the use of even having an opinion if nobody listens or even cares?
Whats the use of your deck even winning, if it does not do so on a consistent enough basis to warrant any consideration by others? (much like opinions).
I have just become a dueling automaton. Its pointless to talk, let alone argue with an idiot & all those "nice" people I once knew in the game are no more. I'm still looking, but maybe in all the wrong places.

I, basically am the only one left on my forum now & continue to post articles & threads I KNOW hardly anybody/nobody is ever gonna reply to. Yes, I think this game has finally driven me insane. Then I keep remembering:

In prehistoric times, there was a caveman who had nothing better to do than to bash 2 rocks together.
I guess he must have liked the sound of it.
Other cavemen thought he was crazy..they showed him how to make spears..how to draw animals on cave walls...how to use rocks like they should be used..ie to bash their wives & smaller marsupials..etc
The Caveman just said the prehistoric equivalent of "meh" (actually I think that's where the word came from) & went back to bashing 2 rocks together.
Some of his more intrepid prehistoric peers ate a few wild forest mushrooms & then proceeded to join him in bashing 2 rocks together, to see if there was any spiritual connection to a prehistoric pagan deity that they somehow forgot about in their "killing animals to survive" hedonistic mindsets.
They gave this up after a time though, after they realised bashing rocks together had no bearing upon quantum theory whatsoever & that they better go "kill something now" before a rival tribe beat them to it.
Meanwhile, the caveman sorta said the prehistoric equivalent of "meh whateva" & went back to bashing 2 rocks together.
This time, though, he grabbed a different rock..& said the prehistoric equivalent of:
"Wow, something cool happens when I bash THESE two rocks together..check it out fellow caveman dudes..now we can all COOK our meat without eating it raw (I prefer medium rare, myself) & we dont have to freeze our collective caveman proverbials off in the winter...<*insert some prehistoric profanity here*>"

I guess thats why Im still around & acting like a lunatic.

 

[Peps]

It simply sounds like you've been involved with the wrong type of people so to speak. The description about how the members wish to have the privilege of posting inappropriate material shows they are simply immature and have no desire to help the game move forward. I'll assume there is a lot of younger people on those forums? Probably around the 13-15 mark?

It's a pity none of them appreciated your dedication for improving the activity of the forum. Just sounds like they didn't share the same desire or motivation. If I noticed someone trying to make a place more active, I'd probably help as well, not mock it or ignore it the way those members seem to do.

I suppose the only way to get their attention once in a while is probably making them seem insignificant. Try and win countless tournaments, no matter how hard it is, and simply give the same treatment to them back. As the phrase goes, treat others the same way as you like to be treated. If they are being cruel to you, don't bother trying to be nice to them. Let them suffer in the mess they'll get themselves into. Perhaps then, they might have a change of heart. Even just ignoring them, they'll probably end up getting bored and they'll eventually quit their actions.

I myself like to write Card of the Day articles for an Irish website, while I know they won't be massively popular, I still enjoy writing them every Friday and have yet to skip one. Sure nobody else may have noticed my dedication but I couldn't really care about that. It's what I enjoy doing. Also, I like to write articles on simply my thoughts in regards to different matters. Nobody else ever gets to read them though. I just write them for the fun of writing.

 

[EmeraldDragon]

Well I can give you some small pieces of advice and really its up to you to take them or not.

First off distance yourself completely from places that do nothing but put people down. Ive been told that you frequent certain places often even after being witnissing such things and that really doesnt help you. Not to toot our own horn or anything but stick with places like this or even the lair where you know firsthand people will be kind and wont try to abuse you or put you down and by all means bring your friends along.

Your so called friends that have distanced themselves from you are sadly gone for the most part. You can try as you might to bring them back to the peoplee you once knew but that will only drive them further away by your views clashing with theirs. If you still wish to be friends then be friendly through things other than yugioh.

As far as locking threads on your forum it sounds as if youre slowly becoming the type of mod you yourself have professed to hate. Lots of people ask for a second opinion mainly because they dont like the answer and would like it confirmed or preferrably for them have an answer they like given. Its just the way it is and you need to accept it. Chances are your rash actions will mean said member will likely never post again for fear of similar actions being taken.

Im going to lock this topic because it has a lot of things in it that some people might want to argue over (Seen it to often to pretend it wont happen) and i will give you one final bit of advice. You know some of the mods here from various other places. Feel free to chat with us about things and we might be able to help you find a way to deal with this stuff. Be it by teaching you new modding skills or introducing you to more places with a similar mindset to ourselves where you can have a more relaxing online experience.