[Coolsvilleman]

I've had less time to vist ngemu recently but it seems everytime i come its the same news with the same threads, or new stranger ones. And the amount of noobs asking not just dumb, but ridiculous dumb questions has definitely been on the rise. Very few threads worth reading, spare actually posting in now adays. If I knew had to program anything to do with emulation I would... but sadly I am not up to such masterful programming, nor have the time now adays. Maybe i'll try snes or nes in summer. Just wish there was something I could do to boost the emulation scene. Anyone got any ideas... that are not dumb or filled with a sarcastic undertone?

 

[The Captain]

I know exactly what you mean, as some of the older members around here have been noticing it as well. The "golden age" of the emulation scene is gone now. Most of the game systems have been emulated, save for a few next-gen ones that require faster computers than are currently available. As a result, threads usually fall into one of two categories:
1) n00bs asking stupid questions about pcsx2, which have already been answered tens of thousands of times.
2) threads about funny flash animations or stupid polls, such as "How many chicken wings have you eaten?"

Every once in awhile there is some intelligent discussion, but such threads aren't nearly as prevalent now as they once were.

Many people from the "golden days" of the scene have left due to the lack of news. The current board population consists now of the n00bs that actually read the rules (which is a VERY small number) and the old members who stay due to bonds of friendship or memories.

But many of the older members are leaving, one-by-one. The reasons are different, but I think all of the old members share the same fate. Sooner or later, we will all leave this board. I just hope that day does not come soon for me or for any of the rest of the "old guard."

 

[aerith099]

I've been here just over a year (believe it or not, I only recently got into NES/SNES emulation...ahhh, childhood memories), but even I've noticed the lack of content around here lately. I must admit that I only ever pay attention to the occaisional science/intellectual Boltzman/Proto threads nowadays. And I, too, have had about enough of those flash cartoon/poll threads.

 

[Keith]

Now this is not to knock ngemu, because I do consider it one of my many communities.

News - NGEmu tends to either miss news, or post late. This is not really their fault because the majority of the news is from submitted news. I also don't blame the news posters, because I don't expect them to always be ready to post news 24/7 or spend their day searching for it. It is very hard to find dedicated news posters that can do this on a daily basis. It seems easy enough, but you can get burned out fast. It also doesn't help when the nextgen scene has pretty much slowed to a halt. There is plently of general emulation news, maybe NGEmu should expand to other nextgen stuff such as GP32 or give some coverage to other emulators for the nextgen consoles. Such as homebrew emulators for the Dreamcast if they want to expand their coverage and keep ngemu fresh on a daily basis.

Forums - The forums go through ups and downs and this is normal. Most of the people that have been here long enough know that it is no big deal. There has been many discussions on this and the only solutions is for us to make it better.

 

[netghost2.0]

2) threads about funny flash animations or stupid polls, such as "How many chicken wings have you eaten?"

I guess that's a direct shot at me.

Message boards reach a critical point where they become so popular that the influx of n00bs or n00bish questions/topic threads are inevitable. You can't really do anything about it unless you're willing to have a elite or VIP members only message board along the lines of "TotalFark" status at Fark.com.

 

[Grv]

Many people from the "golden days" of the scene have left due to the lack of news. The current board population consists now of the n00bs that actually read the rules (which is a VERY small number) and the old members who stay due to bonds of friendship or memories.

But many of the older members are leaving, one-by-one. The reasons are different, but I think all of the old members share the same fate. Sooner or later, we will all leave this board. I just hope that day does not come soon for me or for any of the rest of the "old guard."

Oh, how this post reminds me of every other board I've been to.

The feeling you describe here is shared by a number of people in any community, at any given time. When I joined my first board, I noticed people saying the exact same thing. A couple of years later, I agreed to the exact same thing repeated by other members, regardless of the fact that not I, nor them, were part of "the old guard" the last time such words were spoken, save the few who had learned there was nothing to agree to. "Golden days" are 100% subjective, just like it is in any gaming community and any other forum. The next board I joined had the exact same thing, and the next, and the next. I'm not sure who or why, but I vaguely remember posts on NGEmu claiming something similar just a few months after I finally registered. I don't know about my lurking days here.

I also remember my newbie days in UT all too well, and heard about many great players leaving the competitive community already 1 year after release. 3 years later, I was long-time part of the european elite, and noticed people telling me how they missed the good old days.. regardless of the fact that they weren't even around during what I believed to be the good old days.


If I've learned anything from the communities I've been part of, it's that Keith is mostly right, but that it is to yourself whether times will look up again or not. People who remain nostalgic don't get this very often. Everything in the world goes through ups and downs, the downs just look mere severe as you age and long for the highlights you once experienced.

The forums go through ups and downs and this is normal. Most of the people that have been here long enough know that it is no big deal. There has been many discussions on this and the only solutions is for us to make it better.

BTW, I spoke of past highlights.. Another thing life had taught me (and online gaming had repeated to me) is that the human mind makes a habit of exaggerating the severity of past experiences. More so the longer it's been. If I might give anyone good advice: it is never wise to cling on to glory or happy days and such. It can only make you unreasonably more pessimistic for time to come.

 

[Kaiser Sigma]

Lord of Darkness not another "things aren't what they used to be..." thread... well, at least the fabled Maggots and batards haven't been mentined so far so I guess it's not that bad... yet.

Asides from what Keith mentioned, which is a very real point, forums are what its community make them. I became worried like a year ago when I noticed that the threads on the game discussion were becoming light in content and their living ratio wasn't greater than a week or two... but again, it's up to us and to tell you the truth asides from a couple of deranged stuff I haven't contributed to the place anymore than any of you...

2) threads about funny flash animations or stupid polls, such as "How many chicken wings have you eaten?"

Not everyone enjoys political/religious/science threads... and they don't mess with them either. If people find fun in flash animations or "stupid polls" (which by the way, they are nothing compared to the deranged thread I made with the aims of reviving Ngemu's community's sense of humor) then let them be... again, nobody messes with the threads you guys like to hang on.

 

[Kane]

Indeed, I'd have 'If you're Female say Aye' over 'Your Weekly Philosophical Discussion XXX' any day of the week.

 

[Proto]

Indeed, I'd have 'If you're Female say Aye' over 'Your Weekly Philosophical Discussion XXX' any day of the week.

WTF I haven't done anything remotely bad recently, why me?

On another point, I almost agree with you.... you'd only have to change the order of the comparison items

 

[Tori-Yama]

I was never interested in emulation, or at last not too much to make me stay till now. A big plus for Ngemu if you ask me. But what I don't get are ppl whining about the low news count, totally ignoring emus like chankast, the recently released handheld front for which emus are already in production, the PS3 cell processor, which may emulate everything else out there.

Dont except the "szene" to grab you at your neck and throw you into something, yet complaining about the good old times, the good old games ... same goes for the community. Not every new member is to be claimed as n00b right away, thinking like that does not allow any change.

 

[Coolsvilleman]

Oh i wasn't saying every new member is newbish tori-yama but common some of them are pretty bad you gotta admit. And to rebultle kaiser, i wasnt complaining about the good old days as much as i was stating that the whole community itself has pretty much slowed down lately. I was wondering more how as a "community" we could pick it up again despite many members lack of emulation programming ability. I think ther have been some good suggestions though for adding in new emulation sections to the site as stated by keith above.

P.S. I know my spelling and grammer sucks.

 

[Dark Watcher]

The Dark Watcher has been around a long time, and has graced quite a few boards...Just some things to note:

When you first join a community like NGEmu it is new and refreshing. You spend the first few posts learning the do's and Dont's. You stick around a little longer, and finally find your niche. People start to know your name. This essentially becomes your "Golden Age"..So the "Golden Age of NGEmu" will vary from member to member.

When a person joins a community, and get's past their "n00b" stage, they usually bring refreshing views, content, and interesting posts. This drives a community...you can't post unless there is something to post about. This also seems to happen with newly appointed Admins and Mods....They try to spur interesting topics, or are highly motivated to assist with questions..

Eventually, you become that "older veteran member". It begins to seem like everything that is worth discussing has already been discussed. Where you were once motivated to assist, you now grow frustrated by the "n00bs" who so saught your knowledge (Typically illustrated by the "Read the F&*^ Manual" responses ). Since nothing seems interesting, the members begin posting topics that are normally not discussed in everyday life (and are usually controversial).
The perfect analogy would be the difference between first meeting a lover for the first time, and then being married for 50 years. In the beginning there is so much to talk about, afterwords you respond to each other with grunts and nods

Essentially, The very same "n00bs" that are usually frowned on become the lifeblood of the community. If they stick around, they bring fresh perspectives and topics. We all were "n00bs" once
As for "Old NGEmu Vets" like ourselves...Many usually move on, and leave the community. They need something new and refreshing. They do this to once again become "The new Guy" or "n00b" to another community. The cycle begins again. Some...like us..stick around. Although we are bothered by some posts, we occasionally step in to lend assistance, or share wisdom that only someone with our experience can share. We stick around to sometimes talk of what some call "The Golden Years of NGEmu"..

In short....We old timers are the historians of the past, and the "n00bs" are the lifeblood for the future.

Hope our rant has enlightened...

 

[The Captain]

I guess that's a direct shot at me.

Don't take it personally. Since there are threads like that, I think it shows how bored we are becoming.

Not everyone enjoys political/religious/science threads... and they don't mess with them either. If people find fun in flash animations or "stupid polls" (which by the way, they are nothing compared to the deranged thread I made with the aims of reviving Ngemu's community's sense of humor) then let them be... again, nobody messes with the threads you guys like to hang on.

I have nothing against any of the "humor" threads. If people like them, that's fine with me. It's just that threads like these have become the highlights of the forum now that the emulation scene has died down. Still, I would like to see more Kaiser-inspired humor.

Indeed, I'd have 'If you're Female say Aye' over 'Your Weekly Philosophical Discussion XXX' any day of the week.

So would I, but I don't think that is going to happen because we have already scared most of the female members away :lol: .

I was never interested in emulation, or at last not too much to make me stay till now. A big plus for Ngemu if you ask me. But what I don't get are ppl whining about the low news count, totally ignoring emus like chankast, the recently released handheld front for which emus are already in production, the PS3 cell processor, which may emulate everything else out there.
Dont except the "szene" to grab you at your neck and throw you into something, yet complaining about the good old times, the good old games ... same goes for the community. Not every new member is to be claimed as n00b right away, thinking like that does not allow any change.

You're right; there are some new members that aren't n00bs. However, the ratio of "quality" new members to those who ask for roms/bios and why pcsx2 is so slow is frighteningly small.
You're also right that there are many new and exciting emus and technologies coming out in the future. However, we're at a dead point right now. Most of the old systems have been emulated, and the majority of the new systems need much faster computers for proper emulation. The only practical emu for a "next-gen" system right now is Chankast.

My main point right now is that without new things, new emus, new stuff, etc, this board is dying. Without novelty or some crazy new members, all we are left with is humor/poll type threads and annoying n00b posts about roms/iso's.

All in all, we have become bored. The war between the Batards and Maggots is either over or forgotten, and everyone is too tired/disinterested for any more philosophical or religious debates.

I wish we could have another war or another interesting debate, but I don't think it will. We all know each other's opinions and personalities too well.

@Klatch
Yes, my feelings about the "old days" are completely subjective, but that doesn't change how I feel.

 

[Esturk]

Many things are fun and exciting when you first try and get into them. But over time they tend to slip away into oblivion only to be eventually forgotten...

Well I still enjoy reading all the hardware threads. I don't think there will be any lack of computer hardware threads anytime soon.

 

[Grv]

@Klatch
Yes, my feelings about the "old days" are completely subjective, but that doesn't change how I feel.

I know, which is why I shoved in the other stuff near the end of my post.

In addition, all I can offer you are these words: The next best thing you can do besides showing how you feel is to try and make a difference.

 

[Kaiser Sigma]

I have nothing against any of the "humor" threads. If people like them, that's fine with me. It's just that threads like these have become the highlights of the forum now that the emulation scene has died down. Still, I would like to see more Kaiser-inspired humor.

Personally I don't see a difference between the "humor" threads becoming highlights of the forums or the science/political/religion ones... both are completely off topic for an emulation site

As for seeing Kaiser-inspired humor... well, I guess you must be the only one :lol: