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[PsychoticThoughts]

Just wait, we'll get you hooked here and you'll quickly join @Nebulous in the 80k club

I really do hope to stick around for a really long time... but I'm prone to mental breakdowns and erratic behavior (I chose my username quite perfectly, I must say), so I might keep vanishing and re-appearing. Maybe. I don't really know at this point.

Anyway...

This is one I really wish I could back to.

I used to spend entire afternoons on the pool and domino games, and I remember how fun it was just being on the lobby, chatting (and arguing!) with complete strangers about and over nothing night after night. I can't even really explain what was so alluring about the whole thing, but I know that I'll forever remember my time there and all the fun I had just being part of such massive chatrooms.

With time one learned the "secrets" of the place, like who were the top dogs and when they'd show up... and once the entire gang was hacking away at their keyboard in the lobby, all sorts of hijinks would ensue. I don't think there was anything else like it at the time (nor now). I also loved how spotty the profanity filter was, like MY GOD XD

----

Oh, and I would love to tell you all about another site... it was called "TeCuento.com" and it was a gossip board for teenagers. But it wasn't JUST that, it was local and it was based on anonymous messages. Not only THAT, but it was centered around the schools of my area. Needless to say, it was complete and utter chaos. Day after day there would be all sorts of wild rumors and accusations about everyone under the sun being posted and discussed among faceless and eager commenters.

And the funniest thing? My school (Irish. Private.) got wind of it and forbade us from using it on campus, going as far as to blocking it on the crappy computer room machines... that really didn't stop anyone, of course, and just to spite the authorities further, someone launched a not-so-stealthy ad campaign, pasting the site's URL all over the place XD!

Ahhhh... good times.

PS: I totally did troll people left and right on both sites XD

 

[PGen98]

I really do hope to stick around for a really long time... but I'm prone to mental breakdowns and erratic behavior (I chose my username quite perfectly, I must say), so I might keep vanishing and re-appearing. Maybe. I don't really know at this point.

Well you're not alone there, I've got a slew of mental health issues myself and take breaks to look after my mental health while dealing with bouts of severe depression, so if anyone understands that, I certainly do!

Anyway...

This is one I really wish I could back to.

I used to spend entire afternoons on the pool and domino games, and I remember how fun it was just being on the lobby, chatting (and arguing!) with complete strangers about and over nothing night after night. I can't even really explain what was so alluring about the whole thing, but I know that I'll forever remember my time there and all the fun I had just being part of such massive chatrooms.

With time one learned the "secrets" of the place, like who were the top dogs and when they'd show up... and once the entire gang was hacking away at their keyboard in the lobby, all sorts of hijinks would ensue. I don't think there was anything else like it at the time (nor now). I also loved how spotty the profanity filter was, like MY GOD XD

----

Sounds like that was a fun time, lol, kind of reminds me of the old TacticsArena, it was a tactical online game sort of similar to chess, but also really different, lol, and the chatrooms there were very much a mess of nonsense! Fun days!

Oh, and I would love to tell you all about another site... it was called "TeCuento.com" and it was a gossip board for teenagers. But it wasn't JUST that, it was local and it was based on anonymous messages. Not only THAT, but it was centered around the schools of my area. Needless to say, it was complete and utter chaos. Day after day there would be all sorts of wild rumors and accusations about everyone under the sun being posted and discussed among faceless and eager commenters.

And the funniest thing? My school (Irish. Private.) got wind of it and forbade us from using it on campus, going as far as to blocking it on the crappy computer room machines... that really didn't stop anyone, of course, and just to spite the authorities further, someone launched a not-so-stealthy ad campaign, pasting the site's URL all over the place XD!

Ahhhh... good times.

PS: I totally did troll people left and right on both sites XD

Oh that sounds like absolute chaos, lol, totally like the original wild west days of the internet, love it!

 

[PsychoticThoughts]

Well you're not alone there, I've got a slew of mental health issues myself and take breaks to look after my mental health while dealing with bouts of severe depression, so if anyone understands that, I certainly do!

Sounds like that was a fun time, lol, kind of reminds me of the old TacticsArena, it was a tactical online game sort of similar to chess, but also really different, lol, and the chatrooms there were very much a mess of nonsense! Fun days!

Oh that sounds like absolute chaos, lol, totally like the original wild west days of the internet, love it!

Thanks, my friend.

It really does mean a lot knowing that you know and care. It just sucks that you know from personal experience. If you ever feel down or something, feel free to drop me a PM, ok?

I wish I knew what site/game you are talking about there, but I'm afraid that a large part of the English-speaking side of the web was completely lost to me due to a language barrier.

But that remains me... ever heard of something called "OGame"? I swear, my deskmate would not shut up about that thing... like, for a second. Every day it was "my planet this" and "my planet that". And don't even get me started on his obsession with getting a Death Star or whatever (spoiler: he never did, despite yakking about it for A YEAR).

Re-reading that, it sounds like I'm salty about the game, but that couldn't be further from the truth... I'm salty because he was an **** to me and he didn't get a clue. I would dig a hole to China through the desk with my forehead whenever he started talking and he would never get that it was sheer torture for me XD

 

[PGen98]

Thanks, my friend.

It really does mean a lot knowing that you know and care. It just sucks that you know from personal experience. If you ever feel down or something, feel free to drop me a PM, ok?

Thanks, and likewise, if you ever need someone to chat with, I'm always around, feel free to reach out

I wish I knew what site/game you are talking about there, but I'm afraid that a large part of the English-speaking side of the web was completely lost to me due to a language barrier.

Understandable, it was a very fun game in its' day. There are some videos still existing that show some of the gameplay and strategies people used to use, like this one:



But of course it doesn't give the full experience, lol.

But that remains me... ever heard of something called "OGame"? I swear, my deskmate would not shut up about that thing... like, for a second. Every day it was "my planet this" and "my planet that". And don't even get me started on his obsession with getting a Death Star or whatever (spoiler: he never did, despite yakking about it for A YEAR).

I have heard of OGame, or something similar to it, but it wasn't one I actively played. Sounds like it might've been interesting, lol.

Re-reading that, it sounds like I'm salty about the game, but that couldn't be further from the truth... I'm salty because he was an **** to me and he didn't get a clue. I would dig a hole to China through the desk with my forehead whenever he started talking and he would never get that it was sheer torture for me XD

lol, totally understand, he sounds like the time to get salty about

 

[PsychoticThoughts]

Thanks, and likewise, if you ever need someone to chat with, I'm always around, feel free to reach out

Understandable, it was a very fun game in its' day. There are some videos still existing that show some of the gameplay and strategies people used to use, like this one:



But of course it doesn't give the full experience, lol.

I have heard of OGame, or something similar to it, but it wasn't one I actively played. Sounds like it might've been interesting, lol.

lol, totally understand, he sounds like the time to get salty about

Thanks !

Wow... NGL, that game looks AWESOME! I wish I could have played it as a teen.

There are a few other stories I'm looking to share, but I can't decide the order lol!

 

[PGen98]

Thanks !

Wow... NGL, that game looks AWESOME! I wish I could have played it as a teen.

There are a few other stories I'm looking to share, but I can't decide the order lol!

Yeah, it was a really fun game, I had an absolute blast playing it, I really wish it was still around, lol.

Totally understand, lol, decades to explore!

 

[PsychoticThoughts]

Yeah, it was a really fun game, I had an absolute blast playing it, I really wish it was still around, lol.

Totally understand, lol, decades to explore!

During my tween and teenage years, my online places of choice were all retro and Abandonware sites, mostly because the AVGN had made the topic extremely popular, but also because my computer of the time was a literal toaster which couldn't really run anything newer than, maybe, Half-Life 1 (funny thing: I "won" most of my Counter-Strike matches because my opponents would quit after seeing how long it would take for my computer to load the damn thing XD!). And those were truly great places to hang out at after a grueling day of school... I mean, what else would I do? I wasn't handsome (or brave) enough to join the massively popular, picture-based, local social media site "Fotolog.com", nor did I know what "MindViz" or "MySpace" were (hell, I barely even knew what "a YouTube" was!).

But the thing was that those sites HATED each other to the point of you getting shunned for being a member of more than one. Crazy, right? But it's true... and it wasn't as if that just lasted for a couple of months. In fact, it seems to have grown on intensity as the years went by, reaching the boiling point around the year 2013 (I was already 22-years-old at that time!). I swear, the amount of bad blood some of these sites had was so intense that many eventually closed shop among heated arguments, blows-below-the-belt stances, "partisan" attacks on each other, and even legal threats (yes, that was always going to work... a site hosting illegal material threatening to take another one to court!). If only I knew what "download" was, I could have skipped them altogether and moved on to "Home Of The Underdogs" and "Abandonia", but that wasn't in the cards for me at the time.

It's sad because these were all HUGE sites (some were even leaders on the region on page visits), but if you can even find one still afloat, they are all barely hanging onto dear life. I guess I should be thankful that they are even still online, but when one has grown so paranoid as to even disable new sign-ups, it really makes you wonder what's the point.

 

[PGen98]

During my tween and teenage years, my online places of choice were all retro and Abandonware sites, mostly because the AVGN had made the topic extremely popular, but also because my computer of the time was a literal toaster which couldn't really run anything newer than, maybe, Half-Life 1 (funny thing: I "won" most of my Counter-Strike matches because my opponents would quit after seeing how long it would take for my computer to load the damn thing XD!). And those were truly great places to hang out at after a grueling day of school... I mean, what else would I do? I wasn't handsome (or brave) enough to join the massively popular, picture-based, local social media site "Fotolog.com", nor did I know what "MindViz" or "MySpace" were (hell, I barely even knew what "a YouTube" was!).

But the thing was that those sites HATED each other to the point of you getting shunned for being a member of more than one. Crazy, right? But it's true... and it wasn't as if that just lasted for a couple of months. In fact, it seems to have grown on intensity as the years went by, reaching the boiling point around the year 2013 (I was already 22-years-old at that time!). I swear, the amount of bad blood some of these sites had was so intense that many eventually closed shop among heated arguments, blows-below-the-belt stances, "partisan" attacks on each other, and even legal threats (yes, that was always going to work... a site hosting illegal material threatening to take another one to court!). If only I knew what "download" was, I could have skipped them altogether and moved on to "Home Of The Underdogs" and "Abandonia", but that wasn't in the cards for me at the time.

It's sad because these were all HUGE sites (some were even leaders on the region on page visits), but if you can even find one still afloat, they are all barely hanging onto dear life. I guess I should be thankful that they are even still online, but when one has grown so paranoid as to even disable new sign-ups, it really makes you wonder what's the point.

Sounds a lot like me, I never liked social media. I still don't use it, I find it toxic and devoid of what made forums so much fun. I spent my formative years bouncing around so many different forums because they were just so much more enjoyable, and even social media started to poke it's head up I stayed away because it seemed disinteresting to me.

Drama was a big, big part of many sites back then, forum to forum, network to network, it was quite strange!! But it was part of the experience I suppose, lol. Nice to meet someone else who lives through the wars lol.

 

[PsychoticThoughts]

Sounds a lot like me, I never liked social media. I still don't use it, I find it toxic and devoid of what made forums so much fun. I spent my formative years bouncing around so many different forums because they were just so much more enjoyable, and even social media started to poke it's head up I stayed away because it seemed disinteresting to me.

Drama was a big, big part of many sites back then, forum to forum, network to network, it was quite strange!! But it was part of the experience I suppose, lol. Nice to meet someone else who lives through the wars lol.

I just want you to know how much I am enjoying this conversation... and I guess it's fitting that it feels SO old-school by nature -- all we are really missing here is for a moderator to come up screaming and demanding that we stopped this forum-chat immediately !

I have a rather... complicated relationship with social media.

I still don't like, mostly because sites like Instagram make me feel bad about my life and seem to prey on that fact by recommending me the most damaging stuff to see (travel things when I'm too poor to leave my own city, extraordinary pretty and successful people when I have extremely low self-esteem...), whilst Facebook did nothing more than to recommend me former tormentors to "befriend". But I actually run a wildly successful Twitter account that has a ton of followers and interactions because it allows me to be as blunt as I can be without any repercussions while still making sense and furthering my own goals (and I would be lying if I said that I didn't profit monetarily from it at least a couple of times). Still, I find them all very toxic and akin to picking my own poison.

Yeah! Ancient forum drama was amazing... if you can read Spanish (or trust automatic translators enough), I can show you the mother load. A threat so vicious that it killed one of the biggest sites ever (and it was WebArchived for our future pleasure).

 

[PGen98]

I just want you to know how much I am enjoying this conversation... and I guess it's fitting that it feels SO old-school by nature -- all we are really missing here is for a moderator to come up screaming and demanding that we stopped this forum-chat immediately !

lol, so true! Good thing we're on Off Topix, so we can always go off topic . Besides, I'll just pull rank if I have to lol

I have a rather... complicated relationship with social media.

I still don't like, mostly because sites like Instagram make me feel bad about my life and seem to prey on that fact by recommending me the most damaging stuff to see (travel things when I'm too poor to leave my own city, extraordinary pretty and successful people when I have extremely low self-esteem...), whilst Facebook did nothing more than to recommend me former tormentors to "befriend". But I actually run a wildly successful Twitter account that has a ton of followers and interactions because it allows me to be as blunt as I can be without any repercussions while still making sense and furthering my own goals (and I would be lying if I said that I didn't profit monetarily from it at least a couple of times). Still, I find them all very toxic and akin to picking my own poison.

Understandable, if you find your niche that works for you, run with it, absolutely! I never did, and that's fine.

Yeah! Ancient forum drama was amazing... if you can read Spanish (or trust automatic translators enough), I can show you the mother load. A threat so vicious that it killed one of the biggest sites ever (and it was WebArchived for our future pleasure).

I can read a little bit of Spanish, it's been years since I took Spanish classes, lol. I'm from the UK, but I live in Arizona, I SHOULD be far more fluent than I am, we have Spanish speakers everywhere here. Pretty shameful that I'm not, lol.

 

[PsychoticThoughts]

lol, so true! Good thing we're on Off Topix, so we can always go off topic . Besides, I'll just pull rank if I have to lol

Understandable, if you find your niche that works for you, run with it, absolutely! I never did, and that's fine.

I can read a little bit of Spanish, it's been years since I took Spanish classes, lol. I'm from the UK, but I live in Arizona, I SHOULD be far more fluent than I am, we have Spanish speakers everywhere here. Pretty shameful that I'm not, lol.

HAHA, nice ;D!

Not shameful at all, my friend... I didn't learn your language until I was 24-years-old, and even then I still have to master it. Besides, my own personal experience has led me to believe that any form of a new language taught in school tends to be so bare-bones as to result almost useless.

Ok, here you go: https://web.archive.org/web/20060510060339fw_/http://www.lukaswebs.com/lacueva/foro1.htm

The gist of it is that the person who started the thread was calling out the webmaster of another site for selling two CDs full of Abandonware games gotten off the internet (which was true... that webmaster was totally doing that --and for a hefty profit, too--). The poster was also threatening legal action because they were apparently a lawyer IRL (but considering they tried to dox the webmaster after he finally joined the conversation, I find that highly unlikely). Other commenters just jumped in with the intention of drawing blood, but a couple of them were actually from an Abandonware ring called "Abandonsocios" (which still exists) and were studying revoking the webmaster's membership on the basis of "highly unethical" behavior (I don't know whether they did it or not).

As a result of the legal threats and ensuing drama, the webmaster took down his whole site and then promised to re-open it again and again over the years... but, as far as I can tell, that still hasn't happened.

Worth noting that I was a member of the webmaster's site at the time, but since I didn't have home internet at the time, I missed this out entirely. Maybe for the best.

 

[PGen98]

HAHA, nice ;D!

Not shameful at all, my friend... I didn't learn your language until I was 24-years-old, and even then I still have to master it. Besides, my own personal experience has led me to believe that any form of a new language taught in school tends to be so bare-bones as to result almost useless.

That's very, very true, languages learned in school is hardly even conversational, lol, it's pretty disgraceful.

Ok, here you go: https://web.archive.org/web/20060510060339fw_/http://www.lukaswebs.com/lacueva/foro1.htm

The gist of it is that the person who started the thread was calling out the webmaster of another site for selling two CDs full of Abandonware games gotten off the internet (which was true... that webmaster was totally doing that --and for a hefty profit, too--). The poster was also threatening legal action because they were apparently a lawyer IRL (but considering they tried to dox the webmaster after he finally joined the conversation, I find that highly unlikely). Other commenters just jumped in with the intention of drawing blood, but a couple of them were actually from an Abandonware ring called "Abandonsocios" (which still exists) and were studying revoking the webmaster's membership on the basis of "highly unethical" behavior (I don't know whether they did it or not).

As a result of the legal threats and ensuing drama, the webmaster took down his whole site and then promised to re-open it again and again over the years... but, as far as I can tell, that still hasn't happened.

Worth noting that I was a member of the webmaster's site at the time, but since I didn't have home internet at the time, I missed this out entirely. Maybe for the best.

Oh wow, lol, that's very brazen of the webmaster to sell the CD in the first place, but also so very typical that yeah, sites like that going at each other over abandonware and threatening legal action, lol. Drama. It was so much better back then, because it was mostly empty threats and lulz.

 

[PsychoticThoughts]

That's very, very true, languages learned in school is hardly even conversational, lol, it's pretty disgraceful.

Oh wow, lol, that's very brazen of the webmaster to sell the CD in the first place, but also so very typical that yeah, sites like that going at each other over abandonware and threatening legal action, lol. Drama. It was so much better back then, because it was mostly empty threats and lulz.

Yeah... if I had to rely on what I learned in school, this conversation would make zero sense XD

It was definitely better drama... no body-shaming, no doxxing, no racism, mostly nerdiness-measuring contests lol.

And the webmaster didn't even collect that much money out of it... he sold exactly four copies by the time that thread was made.

 

[PGen98]

Yeah... if I had to rely on what I learned in school, this conversation would make zero sense XD

Oh same, I'm sure if I tried to speak Spanish right now I'd end up saying something completely irrelevant about a grapefruit. I definitely could not be trusted for any kind of accurate level of Spanish dialogue, lol, but I think that's a big problem with schools, particularly those that are in English-native countries. We're LAZY!

It was definitely better drama... no body-shaming, no doxxing, no racism, mostly nerdiness-measuring contests lol.

Yep, we were all anonymous usernames back then, just words on a screen, so drama wasn't personal, it was all for the fun of it.

And the webmaster didn't even collect that much money out of it... he sold exactly four copies by the time that thread was made.

lol, that sounds absolutely textbook for the times, lol.

 

[PsychoticThoughts]

Oh same, I'm sure if I tried to speak Spanish right now I'd end up saying something completely irrelevant about a grapefruit. I definitely could not be trusted for any kind of accurate level of Spanish dialogue, lol, but I think that's a big problem with schools, particularly those that are in English-native countries. We're LAZY!

Yep, we were all anonymous usernames back then, just words on a screen, so drama wasn't personal, it was all for the fun of it.

lol, that sounds absolutely textbook for the times, lol.

LOL! You are from the UK, alright XD One of my first online friends was from England and all he would know how to say in Spanish was "pomelo" (grapefruit). That took me back.

Then again, I would struggle with anything more complicated than "hi" XD

Yeah... I miss being able to hang out without having to worry about my personal life being compromised.

 

[PGen98]

LOL! You are from the UK, alright XD One of my first online friends was from England and all he would know how to say in Spanish was "pomelo" (grapefruit). That took me back.

lol, we are an original bunch, aren't we?

Then again, I would struggle with anything more complicated than "hi" XD

Basically me, lol

Yeah... I miss being able to hang out without having to worry about my personal life being compromised.

Same!! Ridiculous that this is the world we live in now!

 

[PsychoticThoughts]

lol, we are an original bunch, aren't we?

Basically me, lol

Same!! Ridiculous that this is the world we live in now!

Oh, yeah ;D

I like how you changed the place where it rains all the time for the place where it never rains lol.

Yeah! It's really, really stupid! Life outside the screen is already hard enough... and it's seriously not cool having to worry about every interaction, fearing that we might say the wrong thing to the wrong person and paying dearly for it.

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Hey... a bunch of you are reading this topic. Feel free to join in! We don't bite... or, at least, the admin doesn't XD

 

[PGen98]

Oh, yeah ;D

I like how you changed the place where it rains all the time for the place where it never rains lol.

Oh absolutely, I took the scenic route, too! From the UK to California to Arkansas(!!!) to Texas to Arizona, with trips to Oklahoma, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, New Mexico, Missouri and a couple of other states in there, too. Tried to see this place while here, lol

Yeah! It's really, really stupid! Life outside the screen is already hard enough... and it's seriously not cool having to worry about every interaction, fearing that we might say the wrong thing to the wrong person and paying dearly for it.

----

100% agreed! Do the wrong thing and end up getting doxxed, it's a scary, scary thought!

Hey... a bunch of you are reading this topic. Feel free to join in! We don't bite... or, at least, the admin doesn't XD

lol, please do join in! It's fun talking about forums and the archive!

 

[PsychoticThoughts]

Oh absolutely, I took the scenic route, too! From the UK to California to Arkansas(!!!) to Texas to Arizona, with trips to Oklahoma, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, New Mexico, Missouri and a couple of other states in there, too. Tried to see this place while here, lol

100% agreed! Do the wrong thing and end up getting doxxed, it's a scary, scary thought!

lol, please do join in! It's fun talking about forums and the archive!

Nice! I always wanted to see Colorado (and Arizona)! Frankly, just driving around the US sounds like it would be a ton of fun. Glad you got the chance.

Right? That's why I thread carefully... and I really shouldn't have to.

So... this probably wasn't a thing on your side of the net, but a bunch of people here started fangames once "Adventure Game Studio" was released. None of them ever saw the light of day (of course), but one almost made it to beta. Yet another thing of those pioneering days.

 

[PGen98]

Nice! I always wanted to see Colorado (and Arizona)! Frankly, just driving around the US sounds like it would be a ton of fun. Glad you got the chance.

Yeah, it was nice to explore, absolutely, I hope you get the chance to see Colorado and AZ one day, both beautiful states!

Right? That's why I thread carefully... and I really shouldn't have to.

Agreed, we've lost so many of our abilities to just be open.

So... this probably wasn't a thing on your side of the net, but a bunch of people here started fangames once "Adventure Game Studio" was released. None of them ever saw the light of day (of course), but one almost made it to beta. Yet another thing of those pioneering days.

Sounds like the early days of what would become rom hacking almost!