The Lifetime Achievement Awards
The Lifetime Achievement Awards are funny things. They suggest you've already spent a lifetime at EoFF when obviously nobody has done that... yet. But perhaps what makes them a little more than unusual is which members get them. They're generally given out to active members who are still in the process of completing their EoFF "lifetime". What's more, they are often given out to people who have done less over their active time than other people have in the past. Three or four members stand out notably in this regard, and in 2010, it will be a time for recognising the efforts of those who joined in 1999, in 2000, in 2001 - they may not be active with us now, but they laid the foundations for the amazing site we see here before us today.
So, without further delay, I would like to congratulate two people who, in the first few years of EoFF, did immense work on EoFF and created the place we see today. One of them rather literally - he is the creator of EoFF. So, first of all, a big congratulations to...
Cid
The man who began it all, Sean Robinson, King Cid, owner of EoFF for the majority of it's existence and the charismatic leader that is still missed to this day. While not many are still around who were here in his most active periods, here's what a few members had to say about the man behind Eyes on Final Fantasy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raistlin
So we’ve had these “Lifetime Achievement” things for like 7 years or so now, when the first ones were given to Unne and Bleys, and just now, with EoFF well over 10-years-old, the staff decides to give one to the guy who started it all? Smurfing genius. You guys are certainly on the ball.
I remember back in December of 1999 when FFWA veteran Cid Highwind (back then you only had to be around for 6 months to be considered a veteran; oh, how times have changed) spam advertised his new EzBoard, the Highwind, in such a shameless way that such a thread would, amusingly enough, be immediately closed if it was made here today. But that thread was also responsible for many of EoFF’s most active, influential members in the early years: BOU, RSL, Jojo, Asorie, and even yours truly – and it also jump-started EoFF’s life.
We have Cid to thank for everything around here. The website, the message board, the people – none of that would be around without Sean. And he didn’t just create everything and sit back, either; he was the highest authority around here for years, and took EoFF from a tiny EzBoard to a large and well-known website and vB. It’d be hard to say anyone else had a bigger impact, since they wouldn’t have had a chance to without Cid’s contributions.
But then again, ShlupQuack wouldn’t be around if not for Cid, either, so maybe we should rethink this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Man
By the time I started posting here Cid had already ascended to godhood. He'd set up the basis of the system of the forum and largely stopped posting much outside of the staff forums, so I never saw him anywhere near as much as I would've liked, which I always regarded as a shame since all the old threads I read in the archive (and I read all of them) made it clear that was he was a pretty cool guy (who set up an awesome message board and didnt afraid of anything). I will say, however, that it's likely that I wouldn't have bothered posting much to begin with if he hadn't done such a good job ensuring that the forum would be equitably run, as I've always detested favouritism and have never been able to detect much here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Loony BoB
Cid was awesome - he had this thing about him that made you want to impress him, and when you did make an effort he took note. I liked that. I remember meeting him when I went to California in 2002, and I was actually vaguely nervous. It might have been the jetlag or something, but I didn't really know what to say to him - which is strange considering how easy it was to talk to him on the forums and whatnot. But he was cool, and it still strikes me how comfortable this guy is with posting, chatting or talking to anyone from this site.
Without him, this place wouldn't exist. He got the initial members together. He got them talking, he got them working together, he was updating the frontsite, he was organising the forums, he was getting everything just right. Over time, he would become a go-to man that nobody would disagree with, and even when they did, they would still be quick to accept his decision. When he said jump, we asked how high.
Not just staff, though. He got to know the members, bantered with thim, discussed things with them just like anyone else did. None of this "high up" crap where he only talks to the oldest of oldbies. He was "one of the guys" from day one, he just... well, I think EoFF will always be better off with a guy like him in charge. Sadly, it may never happen again, or at least not anytime soon, but here's hoping.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShlupQuack
Cid was the nerdy guy with the video game site that married the hot chick. He is a beacon of hope for all males of his ilk. He created EoFF, and then he outgrew EoFF. He's now an accomplished teacher, and earlier this week (yesterday, at the time of this writing) he celebrated his seventh wedding anniversary with his wife. Cid has accomplished what the rest of us have yet to do: he became a man. I'm still working on that. I finally got my first chest hair but my husband said it was unattractive so I had to put it back in the trash bin. Oh well, I will keep trying and maybe some day I will be as accomplished as Cid.
Oh wait, I got a Lifetime Achievement Ciddie last year. smurf this guy and his job.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Del Murder
Cid is like God. He created everything, but then sat back and let us do our own thing. In the beginning he was around more and had more direct influence on the lives of EoFFers (Old Testament). Eventually he moved on but people still idolized him and even one particularly loony member put his face on the Ciddies trophy (and that's why I don't post my picture online). Without him we wouldn't all be here, celebrating these imaginary awards. So many people would not have met friends and lovers if it weren't for Sean (including myself), and for that I'm grateful. He also seems like a pretty cool guy. I met him once only briefly, but he did come off as a nice enough dude and didn't have anything weird about him like purple fingernails or a white tuxedo. So that's something.
Big Ogre Umaro
aka GokuKid749876
While BOU was around for just a short time longer than Cid was, he too still achieved more in those few years than a lot of members did in ten. Not just for his game (EoFF: Sick Irony - one of a mere few EoFF RPG Maker games out there that were actually completed), either, although most people probably think of that first when they think of him. No, BOU was involved in more than most people realise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raistlin
BOU (or BUO, as I called him, for Big Ugly Ogre) was a good friend of mine early in EoFF’s history. We were both part of the original moderating team; we both came from FFWA; we were both part of tGA when it first started; and we were on opposing sides during the infamous Waiter Wars, which had numerous casualties and left countless others traumatized for life.
In short: we had fun.
Umy also did a lot for EoFF. He was a CK and later an administrator. He also did a lot of work on the frontsite, both with content and coding. During the first few years of EoFF’s existence, he arguably had as much impact as anyone. He is unquestionably deserving of this award, though unfortunately he is not currently active.
But he’s also the reason people who think they’re funny continually misspell my name and follow me around with an out-of-context, 10-year-old statement from tGA. So smurf him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Loony BoB
Mike was a laugh and a half, with a great soft side to him. Basically, the more I got to know him, the more I enjoyed knowing him. His stories in particular I loved. They weren't always happy or anything, but they were very real. I would buy a book if he wrote it, without question. I'd pay good money, too. If you want to check out his threads, I encourage you to do so - they may seem to be long, but that's what makes them enjoyable. I remember many a chat with him and when he talks about his life you listen. But as I said at the start of this, he was still a real good guy to joke about with. Definitely capable of making any good person laugh.
As for his contributions, where do I begin? A massive bulk of the frontsite content was put there by BOU. And I really do mean massive, like entire sections all put there by the one guy. That's just when he was doing the initial work in 1999 and 2000, too. Later, in something like 2002 or whatever, when I started the push to get the frontsite up and running again, he was the one that worked with me. Without him, I don't know if Site Staff would have ever happened. He was the connection between getting things made and getting things put onto the frontsite, and you know what, I don't think he ever complained, not once.
To add to that, he was a great CK/Admin during his two stints on staff. So that's a great forums staffer, a great site staffer, a great member, and yeah, he made that game for EoFF. Basically this guy was good for EoFF in every way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Del Murder
BOU (Big Ogre Umaro) is the definitely an Old Testament member. He started site staff, which is pretty cool because they've done a lot of stuff, and also the front site is what pays the bills. He also created that game Sick Irony, which is an RPG about a bunch of old school EoFF members. That's probably the only reason I'd wish to be a member back in those days, so I could play that game and get all the jokes. At some point he changed his name to gokukidNUMBERS, which was either so people wouldn't recognize him or for some satire. Every now and then he would come by and post a random long ass thread, and to be honest for me it was tldr but if I did read them I bet I would find them very amusing since he was a pretty clever and witty fellow.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
BOU made a nice little EoFF game called Sick Irony. I know how long it takes to make one of those damn things, so enormous respect to the man for sticking at it and taking it all the way to completion. Also he once hung out with us on Habbo Hotel as part of our dating scams where he gleefully pretended to be a sexy girl... even though his name on HH was John the Baptist. I never knew why. I never asked why. And now I fear it's too late.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Man
Mikey had written a good 90% of the pages on the site at the time I'm joined. I'm pretty sure I'm not even joking; whenever I went to look up info on one of the older games aside from FF1, I remembered 90% of them being written by BOU. That reason alone is enough for him to deserve this award, but his hilarious contributions to the boards throughout his long membership just add to his legacy. It's a shame he's stopped posting; the board is much less entertaining without him.
And finally a combination speech!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rodarian
Cid and BOU brought people together...Cid made everyone feel welcomed and wanted...BOU...What can I say, that man is simply Him!!! The love of Final Fantasy evolved to the love between members that reside here. I am so fortunately to have joined such a place when it was in its fledging stages...Times have changed and Cid moved on but I'm sure immensely proud of how this place continues to run, keeping its core intact.. So many things have happened here. The good , the bad and the weird!!
As for BOU....I hope you're still over the fat fred savage bit! XD
Congratulations to the two of you, maybe you might even stop by again someday. And post.
...
I said post. >=[ Do it! Chop chop!
Full list of Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Big Ogre Umaro (aka GokuKid749876)
Cid
Citizen Bleys
Dr Unne (aka God)
Loony BoB
ShlupQuack
