What's great/bad about EoFF?

I want to make a thread about EoFF. I've not been around the forums a whole lot lately because my attention has been spent elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, EoFF is a great place and I have some friends that I want to stay in contact with, but as of recently, I've been having a love-hate relationship with EoFF. For one, I love EoFF's community. It's amazing, I love how it's very close-knit, but lately I've been feeling that I don't fit in as much as I used to. One of the reason is that I really don't like the lack of a real art scene here. There's hardly anyone providing art, there's probably a few of us who do still post art from time to time. I had to stop because I'm not getting anything from the members, about what they like, or not like. I don't see much of a real appreciation to the art here than I do elsewhere. There's more of a writing scene here, since we have a great collection of writers, and the writing prompt thread is still pretty active, compared to the dead art prompt I've tried. Anyway, yeah! EoFF: Great community/ Terrible art scene

So, to the other members. What do you think is great and bad about EoFF? And do limit your post to one thing for what's good and what's bad, unless you plan to pull a Steve.

Well, it doesn't surprise me that there are more writers than artists here, because the primary method of participating in a message board involves expressing oneself through words, not pictures. As has been pointed out to you before, you should also bear in mind that this is a gaming board, not an art one, and while we do have quite a few talented artists here, art will always be a sidenote, I think.

There are many great things about eoff, and right now the only thing I think is "bad" is that there is no communal feedback forum. I remember when Del took over the board and changed the forum description to "CLOSED FOREVER", I laughed for like five minutes straight because it was so ridiculous that we wouldn't be allowed to talk about site improvements...joke's on me, I guess.

I miss communal feedback, yes. There are many bad things about EoFF, but there is more good - and the bad is easy to ignore. It's easy to get frustrated with EoFF having been a staff member and been on both sides, this side is better, honestly.

Good: Lots of people who like to talk about video games!

"Bad": Most of the people here have different taste in games than I do! I've been spending more time on other sites (Twitter/Tumblr/SA) to talk about many of the games I'm really passionate about, because so few people here play them.

Everybody here has been very kind and welcoming, and none of you guys have judged me from my depression, bad spelling/ grammar and me trying to get myself back after being down for so long and being told for so long that I was nothing but worthless. I have been on a few online Forums in the past, and everybody was quite judgmental and holier than thou, though people here are pretty nice and understanding. The mods/ admins here are nice and helpful, and don't act like they're above everybody else or that they can get away with things, just because they're mods, as I've witnessed on other forums.

There probably isn't a real visual arts culture on here, since people are probably too busy playing video games, instead of harnessing and practicing any real tangible and useful talent. ;-) Forums also aren't what they used to be. The 'legacy' members on this site found it in their teens, and have been here a long time. Most are mid twenties-pushing-on-thirties. They probably have less time to really contribute anything, especially in today's society mission statement: kill other people to acquire a full time job slavery.

I think the community is a nice and friendly one. Sadly, I'm not that interested in people, so I tend to drift, come and go as I please, instead of trying to really get to know people and form bonds. :P

The bad? I dunno. The community Lets Plays tend to be cringefests. No offense! :p

The older I get the less I have to give to this place. And that's what's bad. I'm like many others, we're getting to points as adults where we are just far too busy. I don't draw or write as much cause i'm busy. I have half started projects all over the place between trying to balance this place and my real life. I just want to win the lottery and run away from it all so I can just sit around playing vidya and doing what I want.

The good part is the people around here. Everyone is pretty open and welcoming to each other. It's a very nice community. Better than most places. I do appreciate our moderation compared to other sites. I am not a fan of negativity for the sake of negativity and it seems like most social media is all about that. I like that if you're a jerk here you're going to get in trouble for it. It makes browsing and interacting with people way more tolerable then say on fb or reddit.

Psychotic's posting is great.

Iceglow's posting is not.

The Good: giggling with my EoFF Skype friends about how lame people are when they whine about dumb stuff. The Food Forum.

The Bad: Parker being banned, kotora not posting anymore or going into chat.

The good: a majority of the people. A lot of topics I enjoy discussing and/or reading. The podcast because it's something I enjoy working on.

The bad: lack of eoff events lately. There hasn't been a mafia in a while. People I miss who haven't posted in a while.

In regards to visual talent, a lot of the illustrators, designers and painters are not as active anymore so that goes back to my former point of missing people who haven't posted in a while. This place was always a geared more toward video games than art though.

I like how I can come back and just post wherever and it's like I never left! It's my home away from home that way. That's good. The bad is that Psychotic never made another RPG about us in full 3-D for the current gen systems. :mad2:

Good: All of you. Really. Your lives and your experiences and your stupid jokes and your opinions. I love it. And EoFF has been such a supportive community to my stupid creative endeavours. When I've done podcasts or ran the Ciddies or done Let's Plays (bugger off Leigh!) or written articles or made stupid video games (sorry Kyle :shobon:) or even when I'm just trying to be funny (and usually failing!) in a post, everyone has been really engaged and supportive. That's such a fantastic feeling and I'm so grateful. As a community I think we're lucky to have that. Even if I'm not friends with you I still enjoy having you around and reading your posts.

Bad: Nothing ever lasts forever. I can't tell you how many little groups of friends I've been in ever since I've joined and yet they've all eventually drifted away, one way or another. Staff is a completely different group of people (with the exception of the eternal BoB) from when I joined staff, probably enough to fill it three times only. But.

Good: I've always made new friends to replace any I've lost. Because EoFF is smurfing great. And if you don't like it, I'll just change your name to something dumb like A DIRTY MINGY ARMPIT. So there.

All Let's Plays are cringefests, let's be completely honest here.

EoFF is a good place. The people are friendly, and there's always a discussion to be had about something. I've found there's usually at least one other person who you can engage with a particular topic about, most threads get a reply! I like that there is a lot of diversity in the tastes of the people around here. Keeps conversations interesting.

The bad? I'm not sure. EoFF used to be tremendously cliquey, but since my return a few years ago, I've found that this is less true. It may never have been true and it was just me being a socially awkward teenager back in the day. Uh. I dunno. It is a lot quieter these days, and I would also like to see more events and stuff, but nobody is interested in doing fun things these days. We're all just getting too old for this. Which is a shame, but... it's life.

Good: I found my boyfriend here and made some friends and can discuss my nerd hobbies and also find new games and stuff to play

Bad: The forced slavery and bi-weekly beatings

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pumpkin

Bad: The forced slavery and bi-weekly beatings

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That's not true.

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Originally Posted by Bravely Proto

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pumpkin

Bad: The forced slavery and bi-weekly beatings

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That's not true.

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Yeah, it's weekly for me. Why do you get special treatment, Pumpkin?

I bribe them with chocolates

Good: The best thing about EoFF is its strong sense of community and casual atmosphere that make people feel relaxed when they come here. Even during the slow times it has a lot going on to post about and events to partake in. I also think the staff does a great job running the place and staying involved in the community and providing interesting activities and threads to be involved in. Also, EoFF is remarkably consistent in an internet world where things are ever changing due to new fads or whatever. I think that contributes to its staying power when compared to other communities that may have fizzled out years ago.

Bad: For the last year or so, the staff has really gone downhill. I used to like them but for the past year they've been really crappy. I'm not sure what happened but the life really went out of that group at around April 2014.

The good is definitely the people. We have our arguments especially when getting into political/social types of issues, but that goes for the entire internet/world and barring a few angry or incredulous words (I don't tend to hold a grudge - even the best of friends have heated arguments) there certainly isn't the trout-slinging that happens elsewhere. I've found that a good friendly forum is a combination of good moderation and good people. There's no denying that without good moderation it'd quickly go to Hell in a handbasket, anywhere would, it's an unfortunate aspect of human nature. But it attracts some really nice people and puts off those who just want to cause trouble, so there's a distilling effect where you end up with just a really decent community. For this reason I have zero problem with the strict moderation that can happen here and my other favourite forum.

The bad? Not enough people/activity. Better than it was a few years ago I think, but there's generally only any point in coming here once or twice a day. I miss the early days when there was like a new thread every minute, and IRC was lively. That's gone for all forums and IRCs though really since Facebook and Skype and probably just us being old fashioned.

Bonus awesome: who remembers the poster competition thing a few years ago, that was so much fun :D Great way to get people to "go forth and interact"

Good: Tight community where we know each other beyond our screen names. We are hardly the first community to do that online, but it was rare to see that sort of thing before social media grabbed the internet by its throat. Despite some minor drama in serious threads, this place doesn't get out of hand and never succumbed to the "internet hate machine" mentality that every community elsewhere seemed to adapt once 4chan made that look cool, and most people still don't realize it was Something Awful that spread that sort of thing.

Bad: Though efforts to curb this/make this more bearable has been more valiant, most serious talk turns into paragraph wars where people take nearly each sentence out of context to make their side of the argument look good. In fact, there shouldn't be any arguments. There should be a discussion or civil debate. It's hard for me to go into something I am passionate about without getting heated, so I don't blame people for getting upset overall. That said, no one really acknowledges this really weird mentality/course of action that repeats. I was one of the few that was glad that Eyes on Each Other was split up because I like that there is a forum just for personal things, which I feel this community actually discusses in a much more mature manner.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Del Murder

Bad: For the last year or so, the staff has really gone downhill. I used to like them but for the past year they've been really crappy. I'm not sure what happened but the life really went out of that group at around April 2014.

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Attachment 63922

everything is great and terrible all at once!

It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times.

The community is wonderful and even though it has changed a tremendous amount over the past years, it's been my home away from home. The friends I've made will last me through the rest of my lifetime, I am certain.

As for the bad, something really smells in here. Badly. When was the last time the fridge was cleaned out? I thought it was Bleys' job.

Great: Genuinely good heartwarming people that are nice to be around.
Bad: People who are dismissive and wave off legitimate points making it next to impossible to have any type of meaningful conversation.

Good: Echoing what everyone has already said, the people here are awesome, especially me. Seriously, I bring up the 'Awesome Person Average (APA) by a good 15%.

Bad: Not everyone agrees with everything I say. Those people must just enjoy being wrong, I suppose.

Ugly: No-one. Everyone on here is attractive.

there are some cool people here and...

well, i think i'll stop before i get myself banned!

Good: The football thread
Bad: The football thread

EoFF is a constant in my life. It provides me with a place I can always go to during the highest of highs and lowest of lows. Even when I'm not posting, it still is a place I can go to and read about what people think about pretty much anything. Effectively this place is my online home, and the members are my online family. The friendships I have made by communicating with people at EoFF are precious and important to me. It also never ceases to amaze me how people who I don't really know on any personal level will reach out to me privately when I suggest in any way that my life is not at it's best. This place seems to attract genuinely good people.

The bad, for me personally, is that I have lost all anonymity here. This is bad because when I have any kind of life problem I can no longer talk about it with online friends because my online and offline family and friends have become one. Everyone talks to one another. I have family members who Facebook with EoFFers, workmates that know about this place, things like that. This means that the initial thing that made me so love EoFF - a place where I could post with anonymity while still feeling I am talking with friends - is no longer something I can hold onto.

As for the current state of EoFF, it's just growing up into a different person. When you're growing up, your friendships become less active and sometimes they simply become fewer, although those bonds that remain can be tighter than ever. I think as the age of the average EoFFer has risen, so too has the dynamic. That's life. It's not good or bad, it's just different.

Ok I have a real answer to what is bad about EoFF: name changes. I'm not talking about the I'm A Smelly Armpit temp changes but the semi-permanent (until they get bored of it and change again) changes. I only discovered yesterday that Night Fury or whatever she's called now is Lockharted. It's fine if the new name is a play on the old name (Lockharted -> Locky for instance) but your screen name is your identity here and you shouldn't be able to change your identity. I've been ignoring Night Fury's posts all this time because I thought she was some random unimportant oldbie I didn't know and not someone who I actually enjoy. Sorry Lock!

Then it's your own fault for judging posts based on the user name rather than their content you dirty elitist. Although really it's her who should be apologising to you.

I don't have time to independently judge every post. Come on now. I only read the posts of those who are usually guaranteed to amuse me. Such as you, foa, and, uh.... bubba, I guess.

For instance, I don't who this fool Daniel is who just creeped up but I'm certainly not going to read posts by anyone with such a lame screen name.

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Originally Posted by Daniel

The bad, for me personally, is that I have lost all anonymity here. This is bad because when I have any kind of life problem I can no longer talk about it with online friends because my online and offline family and friends have become one. Everyone talks to one another. I have family members who Facebook with EoFFers, workmates that know about this place, things like that. This means that the initial thing that made me so love EoFF - a place where I could post with anonymity while still feeling I am talking with friends - is no longer something I can hold onto.

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That's an interesting one. For better or worse, I have always tried to maintain a separation with EoFF and my "real" life. Which sounds silly because duh, I met my husband here. But I never did open up my life to EoFF the way others have and that's probably kept me from forming closer friendships but it's also allowed EoFF to be somewhat of a safe place for me to go separate from offline friends/family/etc, which is honestly kind of nice. It's a give and take I guess.

Anyway. The good: EoFF is always here. I like that.

The bad: Chat v. Forums.

And also, "I WILL NEVAAH RETIRE FROM STAFF! ARGLE BARGLE!" Although that's probably no longer relevant.

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Originally Posted by Del Murder

Ok I have a real answer to what is bad about EoFF: name changes. I'm not talking about the I'm A Smelly Armpit temp changes but the semi-permanent (until they get bored of it and change again) changes. I only discovered yesterday that Night Fury or whatever she's called now is Lockharted. It's fine if the new name is a play on the old name (Lockharted -> Locky for instance) but your screen name is your identity here and you shouldn't be able to change your identity. I've been ignoring Night Fury's posts all this time because I thought she was some random unimportant oldbie I didn't know and not someone who I actually enjoy. Sorry Lock!

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lulz. Go to their profile and see who they are! :roll2

Having a bit of anonymity is important on the internet which is even though I have been fairly open, I refuse to reveal certain elements of my life on here and I don't really mantain relationships outside of this forum unless I know the person beforehand, but then again I hardly mantain relationships irl either so :monster:

Sometimes people ask me what message board I met my husband on (I'm quite open about that aspect), and I never tell them. Oooh, I should tell them it closed down!

My sister used to post here.

And it is bad that she does not any longer because I miss her terribly :(

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Originally Posted by Del Murder

I only read the posts of those who are usually guaranteed to amuse me. Such as you, foa, and, uh.... bubba, I guess.

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You guess? You guess?! Everyone of my posts is comedy dynamite.

Bubba - Most Charming Member Winter Ciddies 2014.

:cool:

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Originally Posted by Daniel

EoFF is a constant in my life.

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Much like your avatar. Loony BoB has not changed in 15+ years :D (I have been there - I remember when it was one of the first and only options, and a custom avatar was a sign of prosperity)


Also I agree with Del, this is a problem on a few forums. It feels like you're getting to know someone else. Unless it's someone iconic like Daniel/BoB.

Like other people have said, the sense of community and some of the friendships I've made have been the best thing about EoFF. I've had a chance to make long lasting friendships both on and offline, and I met my girlfriend here of which I'll be forever grateful.

The bad is just that I no longer find the forum 'fun'. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with my own changing personality and interests, but I honestly can't remember the last time I laughed out loud at something that was posted on the forum. I tend to come here as a result of boredom usually, which it is still great for because there's no shortage of things to read, and the rest of the time it's just because of habit.

I do still love when something like a Skype call or a particularly full #chat room happens though, they are always fun.

Great: Vibrant, active. Eternal repository of memories. Something worth donating lots of money to keep going.

Bad: The ratio of words to ideas is too low. I have changed and I don't fit in anymore.

Who says any of us fit in?

You know what else is bad about this place? Guilt tripping.

Try just being a remorseless sociopath; the only truly guilt-free lifestyle.

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Originally Posted by Sephex

You know what else is bad about this place? Guilt tripping.

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You know, saying we guilt trip just enables it to be so. Way to be part of the problem.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Del Murder

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sephex

You know what else is bad about this place? Guilt tripping.

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You know, saying we guilt trip just enables it to be so. Way to be part of the problem.

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How could you say such a thing?! OF COURSE a former mod WOULD say stuff like that!

*speeds off listening to KoRn*

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Originally Posted by Sephex

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Del Murder

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sephex

You know what else is bad about this place? Guilt tripping.

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You know, saying we guilt trip just enables it to be so. Way to be part of the problem.

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How could you say such a thing?! OF COURSE a former mod WOULD say stuff like that!

*speeds off listening to KoRn*

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Beating me down,
Beating me, beating me,
Down, down,
Into the ground,
Screaming some sound,
Beating me, beating me,
Down, down,
Into the ground.​

I disappeared for about a year and I can't really say why.

The Good: The people. Seriously, the people here are some of the wittiest and nicest people you can find on the internet.

The Bad: No events recently. It's frustrating because they are often among the most entertaining things we do around here.

When we have events people whine that there are TOO MANY EVENTS, and then when we cut them down a bit (there have been things going on) there are NOT ENOUGH EVENTS.

Make up your minds people. :colbert:

Events for some, small chocobo smileys for others.

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Originally Posted by Jinx

Bad? I think that EoFF isn't always a place that allows for a lot of diversity. It's been stated a million times before, but we get a bit echo-chambery at times. I've been on both sides of it, and I don't really see any way to change things, either. People are going to feel how they're going to feel.

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I echo this. Makes it hard to have an opposing viewpoint, even presented in a relatively calm fashion, without getting steamrolled.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by -N-

Bad: The ratio of words to ideas is too low. I have changed and I don't fit in anymore.

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Very apt, and succinct.

Playing off of that, I think my least favorite part of the community is the forum software. It feels like an antiquated and non-natural way of interacting with other humans. I think it contributes to what Neel mentioned as a lack of ideas, because all conversations are shoehorned into "topics." I don't look at GC 90% of the time because I don't really care what anyone's favorite color is, nor do I find the low-effort joke responses all that funny anymore. The serious forums likewise make it hard to interact because it's all in a bunch of interwoven paragraph-heavy posts.

Generally I like the people though, and there are certain magic moments where the community as a whole does incredibly memorable things that keep me from totally moving on. I just find it hard to stay engaged, and I think that's a result of the interaction medium feeling limiting for me.

Events can be really cool, they just need to be done via the forum through some mechanism like announcement threads. The only time I've ever thought there were too many is those times like "OMG a PM! :jess:" only to find that it's another spam (for lack of a more polite description) for a ciddie award thing where I don't know anyone well enough to nominate them for things :p

Ciddies happen twice a year and have done for some time. Pretty much the biggest event, which is why PMs go out for nominations and votes.

And events are done through the forum - most of them, actually. There is a thing happening right now in Wonder Square - the Newlywed Game. EoFF rates the music of FF has just finished up. Before that EoFF ranks the FF games went on for a while.

Lots of little events like this happen. You just have to keep your eyes open for them.

Pro: The people are great and I really like them.
Con: The people can be such jerks to each other sometimes.

Pro: There's a lot of activity and posting.
Con: Too much spam and not enough new ideas, mannn.

Pro: Lot's of great events.
Con: Too many events when we should be focused on Final Fantasy discussion.

Pro: Forums have an old school feel that has stayed consistent for years.
Con: Software/website is so archaic!

We just didn't do a big thing - we did do a fake article.

The Bad: No one will give me the Big Pink Truck forum back for even a day ;_;

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Originally Posted by noxious.sunshine

The Bad: No one will give me the Big Pink Truck forum back for even a day ;_;

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The Big Pink Truck forum lives on in our hearts.

NEVER FORGET! NEVER FORGIVE!

SPECTRUM:

Great -- The fact that it's still kicking. Seriously, I'm surprised.

Good -- Peoples. Nostalgia.

Bad -- Some of the best people have long since gone away, which is a little sad. The tech.

Awful -- Admin tyranny. Bubba's ego. How cute shion and sharkythesharkdogg are.

I like my on again off again relationship with EoFF. It's always still here when I come back after being gone, which is...comforting, I guess?

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Originally Posted by Del Murder

Ok I have a real answer to what is bad about EoFF: name changes. I'm not talking about the I'm A Smelly Armpit temp changes but the semi-permanent (until they get bored of it and change again) changes. I only discovered yesterday that Night Fury or whatever she's called now is Lockharted. It's fine if the new name is a play on the old name (Lockharted -> Locky for instance) but your screen name is your identity here and you shouldn't be able to change your identity. I've been ignoring Night Fury's posts all this time because I thought she was some random unimportant oldbie I didn't know and not someone who I actually enjoy. Sorry Lock!

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Ha! Thank you for the compliment :jess:

I changed my username to something entirely different because people were calling me Locky in real life after me telling them multiple times that I DON'T LIKE IT. It was also done because I use Lockharted for other things and I wanted to dissociate myself from here for personal reasons.

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Originally Posted by chionos

Awful -- Bubba's ego.

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Whoa whoa whoa! I don't have an ego. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I don't have any negative qualities whatsoever. As a human being, I am pretty smurfing spectacular.

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Originally Posted by Jinx

I was actually super disappointed that staff didn't have anything planned for April Fools this year.

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We did! It got a lot of people super mad!

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Originally Posted by Shauna

We just didn't do a big thing - we did do a fake article.

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

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Originally Posted by Jinx

I was actually super disappointed that staff didn't have anything planned for April Fools this year.

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We did! It got a lot of people super mad!

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I have to admit that was a damn good prank. Had me going.

Which article?

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Originally Posted by Bubba

Which article?

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This article.

The article was brilliant. Sometimes the more subtle pranks are the best ones. I wish people had kept it going instead of 'Ohhhhh prannnnk oh no you don't' and then 'oh shut up enjoy the prank you lame-o!' ALL OF YOU PLAY ALONG DAMMIT

Well, my problem with past April Fool's gags around these parts is that the whole prank started a month or something like a month and a half before April 1st. And most pranks stirred unnecessary drama. So instead of a fun prank that is supposed to take place in one day, most pranks were, "Ha ha! Basically everything that happened for the past month was a prank! It's just a prank, bro! C'MON IT'S JUST A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT, BRO!"

It's cool to set up a prank leading up to the 1st, but it is pretty lame to enact a prank for a whole month.

I have no idea what you trolls are referring to about a prank. Our friends @ Nishibun wrote a fantastic article about the return of Sakaguchi & I brought the news to the West. Some people are so ungrateful!

Bad: After I type something in italics but decide I don't want it any longer the cursor goes rogue and deletes everything before the italics. It really is just the worst. It did it as I was typing this post.

Good: N/A

The best April Fool's was when Del Murder pretended to quit EoFF staff, but what had really happened was that he'd locked Loony BoB away and secretly taken over the site. My NDA just ran out and the severance I got for keeping quiet wasn't that much, so cat's out of the bag now!

The Good: Purple Purses
The Bad: 90% of the old EoEO threads

Hey... Back in the day, I made like 90% of EoEO threads...

I thought of something great about here recently.

I play Agricola every two weeks with a regular group of people and one of them has a 17 year old socially reclusive son. He was telling me about his son's online relationship with someone from the East Coast. He was happy for his son because he could see a positive social change in him while he interacted with her, but was nervous about his general social functionality in the wider world. I was able to relate to him my experiences through this site and watching people grow up, form and break relationships, and even normalize a little bit. I think he appreciated what I could offer him.

During this conversation a second thread in the back of my mind grew louder. It said

Go
back
and
post

>>> The good: Is still about FF and Videogames. And the people, EoFF members are one of a kind.
The bad: FF is not as big as it used to be so this place has become a niche forum at this point.

About the art scene, it was never big here at Eoff to begin with.
EoFF always was the FF site who didnt care much about the art, compared to other FF sites like Caves of Narshe, FF Shrine or FF Online.
It had its moments though, like when Eoff used to have that fanart gallery. :luca:

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Originally Posted by Old Manus

Good: The football thread
Bad: The football thread

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Can't believe only this loser's statement still hold true. The rest are basically filled with bulltrout based on their absence. :mymelbert: