For anyone who is interested in this sort of thing, this is, as some mod who was probably trying to be cool at the time said, my "faggy goodbye speech."
I've been on this site for about five years and over that time, I've seen and been through a lot of things here, mostly through the forums. To be frank, this site was essentially my first major experience with a forum and interacting in that way with other people though the internet. I went from not knowing anyone, to gaining contacts, and people I'd consider friends, to actually meeting some of you guys through something so simple as a forum. Most people, don't have that type of claim to have been that involved in an online community either so it's a badge of honor of sorts.
Imagine my surprise when I was actually chosen to be a mod, which is supposed to be a sign that you're a trusted contributor to this website. It meant a lot to me that the admins and other mods would put that kind of trust in me and I was happy for the opportunity to help to try to make this place better. It's no surprise though that being a mod isn't for everyone and it can wear down some people. This is the case with me. I took up the position for about a year and a half before "hanging it up" and for the people who sent me messages asking me why I was no longer a mod that I didn't respond to, I simply asked Wade to demod me while I was trying to focus on other things in my life at the time. Hopefully that satisfies the people who seem to care about that sort of thing. But the reason I did it was not only to focus on IRL but also because I wasn't so enthusiastic about correcting a mistake and seeing nobody learn from that mistake and repeat it in a seemingly endless loop. General itself is just like looking upon an endless wasteland of 4chan memes, trolls, and unfunny jokes where I see barely a hint of meaningful, funny, or helpful conversation going on. (I can already sense the typical "If you don't like it, then just leave." comment coming.)
In the meantime, I've found other forums (SomethingAwful, NeoGaf) that have been far more entertaining/informative, and are full of people who I can see right off the bat, are willing to engage in that meaningful type of conversation that I mentioned earlier. In a basic sense, I feel too old for this site's forum, and at the ripe old age of 23, I probably am. This isn't to say that I'm completely going to stop going to the forums either. I still look at VG occasionally, and a few places in C&C, but just a couple of topics in two forums, and occasionally going into Stickam is much less than the previous activity of posting multiple times a day on 4 separate NG forums at any one time, and I can't deny that I no longer find 99% of the forums to be worth posting in anymore.
This also isn't to say that I still don't enjoy watching flash, playing games, or supporting NG in general. This place, in the oh so corniest of phrases, has a special place in my heart, and I'm not a big fan of burning bridges when this place has done nothing wrong to me anyways. I will always support the work of Newgrounds on the Flash side, and The Behemoth for making fucking sweet games. Both have provided hours of entertainment and if you've done that for me, you're A-Ok in my book.
Bottom line, it's time for this little birdy to leave the nest and go off into the big harsh internet world in search of more satisfying forms of entertainment. Maybe I'll be back posting full time if I get the urge and somehow see this place with as much excitement as I did when I first became a poster, or if by some miracle THE CONTENT OF THE FORUMS IMPROVES. But I'm not holding my breath on either.
See you all around.
![A minor farewell.]()
