MegaMan Legends Station (b.2003-d.2006)

[Chiz]

Before I start this, I want everyone to know, I really don't care what people think of this post. I don't really care if I offend anybody, or if I get banned over this. There's stuff that needs to be said, needs to be addressed, needs to be taken care of. Sadly, that isn't happening, and it's resulted in this.

I joined the MMLSF back in December 2004. Rules were enforced back then, and any spam/rule violations were caught almost immediately and were dealt with quickly and firmly. That's what I liked about this site, it's strict code of behaviour. This site had a standard that, if you didn't live up to it, you were gone. It was as simple as that. All the posts had to be relavent to something. The forums were respectable.

Jump ahead to late 2005. A ton of unfortunate happenings started the vicious cycle of degeneration. Blame it on whatever you want, weither it be Feldi's abrupt leaving or the Mumbo Jumbo section opening, or anything else you can possibly thing of.

The point is, over the last 4-6 months, this forum has become trash. It's a horrible place now, compared to when I joined. Had the site been the way it is now back in late 2004, I would've kept going to find another MegaMan Community to join.

The amount of SPAM posted has gotten out of control. It's just not funny anymore. The worst part is that, Dashe, the only mod around nowandays, is condoning the SPAMming (even participating in it). I don't care that the SPAM is limited to one part of the forums. That's the only part of the forums that are active anymore!

It's sickening that my favourite online community has gone to pot. Nobody gives a d**n about stuff like keeping up standards and moderation anymore. Let me quote fab from the rules section:

A lot of these may seem like petty crimes to the casual observer, but I, fab, have seen my two favorite online hangouts both ruined by idiotic members who SPAM. The sort of posts listed above make a forum look messy, and can chase away good members who don't want to engage in a forum filled with such idiocy.

Look at this place. Look at the number of idiotic members who SPAM at this place! It IS messy, and it's driving the long-standing members away.

Here - I want you to read a transcript with Pitch over AIM with you:

Pitch: I'm just sick of MMLS.
Me: Why?
Pitch: I dunno. It's just not fun anymore. All everyone does anymore is post in Mumbo Jumbo.
Me: Yeah...it's all a half-dozen people spamming. Then after Feldi left, the place really went downhill. I mean, the reason I joined was for it's high standards.
Pitch: Exactly!
Me: And, hey, I'd start my own forums, too, if I were any good at it.
Pitch: You know, a lotta people left to do that. Except, because MMLS was 'too strict'. Now you say they're too lenient!
[[[THE NEXT DAY]]]
Pitch: I'm going to delete my account.
Me: Why?
Pitch: I dunno. I feel like it. I mean, what exactly am I throwing away? Check this out - I just searched all the posts made in the last month. There's a metric ton of spam. There's no point in sticking around anymore. There's almost 1000 spam posts. It's insanity. It's no fun. It's a waste of time. I'm just going to leave. *shrug* People there are making me mad. Should leave before I do something stupid.

So, why haven't I left? MMLEx. The only reason why I haven't gone is I'm part of MMLEx - I made that commitment, and I need to stick around to be able to coordinate stuff. I'm fairly sure, though, that if MMLEx was independant of MMLS, or was based on another forum, I might have left already.

There's also the point that there really isn't any competing Legends-themed site. I think the fact that there isn't anything 'better' (or any alternative) has led to everyone becoming lazy and letting this place slip to a new low.

It's depressing that it's like this. Good members disappearing left and right...new members who won't know the threat of a ban like we did.

I look forward to seeing what becomes of MMLS regardless of the response to this message. All I know is, if nothing is done, many of the members that make MMLS what it was aren't going to continue to bother.

That's the end of my rant. Do what you want. I'll still be around, I might post occasionally too (assuming I don't get banned for some reason). These are just my views on the subject. I welcome any remaining long-standing members to post concerning this, I'd like to hear the thought of the rest of the community, as this is probably going to be the last real topic (that requires any kind of thought) on MMLS the way things are going.

[Shift]

Well, to point out, I've been given one SPAM warning, but other than that, I abide by the rules religiously. I'm sorry if you feel that I may have been contributing to the spamming in any way but I feel that I haven't. I participate in ALL of the threads, in ALL of the categories, and I distribute my posts amongst them equally. In fact, i think that I've made a total of about 4 or 5 posts in the Mumbo Jumbo section. I'll admit that recently, I've been focussing my attention on the Forum Games section, but that's because it's entertaining. At any rate, my apology stands firm if you feel that I'm one of these "idiotic members", but I've said so before, and I'll repeat it now, I have planned on and still plan on being a permanent member of the forums, and I promise to abide by the rules to the best of my capabilities.

[JMC47]

I doubt this is a permanent state though. MMLS will turn around eventually, we just need some kind of boost, maybe version 4 will be that boost we need, maybe the next Alt Trigger Comic, maybe when I finally get MMLEx ready. I don't know yet though, or even a combination of the aformentioned events.. I bet MMLS has had slow times before you or I have even gotten here.

I don't post that often because most threads I feel no need to post any more, its kind of hard to explain. I'm sure when fab redoes the site, and everything settles down, everything will be back to normal, or better.

MMLS may be down, but it sure as heck is not out. We just need to get to our senses and start getting some fun stuff to do around here.*coughmaingatestuffcough*

BTW, I don't think the problem is any one person myself, its the community as a whole... not sure what to think to tell the truth.

[GSG]

Here was Dashe's answer when I made a similar comment:

The reasoning behind that is WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO NEW MATERIAL ON THE DASH SERIES. *Glares menacingly at Crapcom* It takes months just to think of new things to talk about. And then if we're really desperate for something to discuss somebody unearths an old topic and we exhaust it all over again.

And it's true. It's been six years since MML2 - quite frankly, it's pretty impressive that the forums is still as active as is it is after all this time. MMLS has been chugging along for a long time now, and even before that, there was SuperDanny's MMLU. Over that time I guess people have made friends and found people they enjoyed talking to here, so I wouldn't blame them for sticking around just for that.

I don't agree when people say that the forum rules and general attitude is too strict, but when I first joined I admit I found it pretty intimidating. All I'll say is that maybe people here should bear in in mind that the MML series is rated E - Suitable for all, and is marketed to kids. Mostly, the members here with a high post count are the older members, and I get the feeling that immaturity and grammatically incorrect sentences (although they aren't a joy to read) get looked down upon an awful lot. I was around MMLU too, and I completely understand why fab laid down the rules like he did, as a solid foundation of forum etiquette and how not to piss other members off. But I still think that people are making a little to much of post content. A legends fan is a legends fan - if they're not malicious or purposely trying to SPAM, then I'd welcome them with open arms.

But that's beside the point, I suppose. Even if it is just silly topics that are being posted in, don't leave. Wait around for a bit and eventually someone will think of something new to talk about, and then MMLS will be right back on track. Everybody can do their bit by dragging out their old PSX copies of MML, blowing the dust off and giving them a good ol' replay to re-awaken the Teisel fan within.

In the words of SuperDanny: Long Live Legends!

[Chiz]

@ Shift: I tried not to name names when there was not a need to name names. I didn't explictly name you in my post, at least I don't believe I did. *checks* nope.

@ Gesellschaft Gal: I'm all for little kids coming and going, but the minimum age for the boards is 13, and it seems there are a few members that don't quite live up to that age group (again, not naming names). If you were 8 when the original MML came out (which is the age group MegaMan is marketed for, right?), you would be 17 years old now. But that's not the point.

I realize that the Legends series hasn't seen anything substantial for 6 years now. I'm just saying that there's a better alternative to spamming the crap out of the boards. I'm not against forum games (I'm all for them) and I'm all for non-Legends themed chat. Hey, I even approve of the razing of new members (there's nothing wrong with initiation ceremonies). I just think that the endless pointless threads about being more random than the next person, or cheese eating people (wtf?) are destroying the atmosphere of the site. It's not so much cutting down on the 'have fun' part, it's about cutting down on the 'go ahead, be stupid' part.

---

On a somewhat related note, can we crack down on the sig/avatar size limits? The number of 100kb+ sigs on the site (esp. Shift's 280kb shining blade animation) now are bringing down my internet, and I've got 5Mbit cable. That's just wrong.

I'm willing to help people compress their sigs to under 50kb for free.

[Shift]

I've tried, and so far haven't been able to reduce the size of the animated .gif. I would like it if you could compress my signature though, as it'd help both you and a lot of other members.

And as for the apology that I made, I specifically said that it was meant to apply if and only if I was one of the said "idiotic members". I'm fairly certain that you don't consider meone, and nor do I, as I've brought up many new threads in the Legends sections, and have posted replys in ones that are already made, but I apologized just in case. I understand where your passion against SPAM is coming from, so I agree with you on many points, Eric. But GSG too has a point. Six years is a long time. There really isn't much to do, other then speculate and theorize on different things, but we've already done tons of that (mltmlt22, GSG, and I even took over that Elder System thread...) I really feel that if and when MML3 (or something new related to Legends) is released that this forum will be more active than ever, and will probably attract a good amount of serious members as well, but until then, I think that we all need a bit of patience.

I really do like both your sense of humour, and just you as a person in general, and it'd be a shame for you to leave, or stop posting as much over this. Hmm.. maybe this is just the sort of message fab needs to get rid of the Mumbo Jumbo section. It honestly wouldn't effect me in any way, as I can't really see the point in senseless randomness...

[Fire Griffin]

Eric, you sound like a great guy, but honestly, I'm not really going to hold back how I feel about what has been going on as of late:

I'm assuming the Mumbo Jumbo section is the crux of the problem.

I'm indifferent and baffled that people are using Mumbo Jumbo as it was supposed to be, for pointless nothing, and still getting called off about it. We're not allowed to make stupid topics lacking a point already (So I stepped the line: The Valentines day thread I made had a point, I imagine, and some thoughtful replies, so that made me smile) and posting in the already created threads seem to be a call for complaint. We don't even add to our post count posting there. What more do you want?

Please, give us people who do appreciate the section and use it accordingly (I got to know some of you all through the Mumbo Jumbo, and I think that counts for quite a bit in the social aspect -- what I feel is the point of a forum to begin with!) some kind of grounds for compromise. So far, I'm getting that some of the random stuff is a little too stupid. Sure, it can be, but I've built up a reasonable tolerance for it, and I usually respond in jest to people that have some semblance of a point. Either case, fine, that is noted.

For anyone, deletion is not a reasonable compromise. If it comes down to it, the most extreme case, I'll still post here, of course, but I'll finally unveil my dirty, little secret:

I don't really care about Legends that much anymore. I still love it, but not like I did when I had initially joined, as evidenced by my lack of motivation for sections. I can still RP Legends, I can still write Legends, and I can still talk of Legends, but I can't drum up the passion I once had for it. I don't breathe Legends.

So why am I here?

Because of you people. I love you people. Through this series I have gotten to know some fantastic folks I wouldn't trade for the world. For fab, mlt, Dashe, Shift, Myoku, yes, even you and Pitch and the gang.

You folks are great. Now the hearts and hugs aside, for the harsher bit:

If you consider me one of the "idiotic members who SPAM," terrific. Also, if I were in charge of the forum, I wouldn't ban people just for expressing an opinion. Knowing fab, he does not seem to be the type either; I imagine he's very open to all opinions.

Threatening to delete your account is similar to an emo temper tantrum to me; if you want to leave, just do it without deleting your account and stamping your foot. You're actually making things complicated by deleting your account in that people have difficulties in searching for posts made by you using your profile.

You think that's silly? I'm also taking into account of the people that might use that function of the forum along with those that use the recent 15 posts feature that so far has been the only major complaint about the Mumbo Jumbo section I can somewhat agree with.

fab's a great guy, by the by. I think deserting the forum and hurting him is not going to solve problems.

If worse comes to worse, I'll be over here, if you are that determined to trail me wherever I go.

[JMC47]

Right now, I don't care about the mumbo jumbo section. I don't believe I posted in it, and it doesn't bother me. But the lack of Legends spirit has. Heck, I think we could all say that we were at one point a lot more interested in Legends than we are now.

and FG: I don't think Chiz was threatening account deletion, I think he was just pointing out a problem, unless you were talking about the AIM Quote.

We need some kind of moral booster at this point maybe. The forums just aren't the same for some reason. I still love the site and Legends, but being on the forums before was different.

We need young members at the site, if you remember, those who have been around longer than I, I was once a horrid noob, with no sense of spelling, and the maturity of a... noob. The new members will grow up like I did in most scenarios.

I hope I made some sort of point, I'm really not thinking straight as of recent.

[PharaohManXe54]

Wow... another thread where my existence on this site is denied.... Everyone acts like I do NOTHING around here..... The truth is, as of late, all I've been doing is managing SPAM related stuff. Seriously, what the heck is up with that?!

Anyways............................................

I really, I mean REALLY, REALLY, don't see what your problem is. Mumbo jumbo is... bad?? Just do what I do: DON'T LOOK AT THE FREAKING SUB-BOARD!!! That's all! Problem solved! As for SPAM around the site, it's been a little higher, yes, but OMFG, it's NOTHING compared to MLU.

And recently, we've gotten some really fun, cool, new members, like Shift, IrritatingSonata, AimMan.Exe, and Anti-Jumpsprings, just to name a few (sorry if I didn't mention anyone else. You're still in my heart ).

Like FG said, it's still really REALLY social. And like GSG said, there hasn't been a Legends game out for ages. And when they come to America on the PSP (I'm fairly certain that that is the recent standing on things), it'll be reinvigorated. Now, we can talk about Mega Man ZX and how that'll link the series. We can talk about something new that we found in Legends 1. But at the same time, WE CAN TALK ABOUT DIFFERENT VIDEO GAMES AND RANDOM STUFF.

[Shift]

Well, FG, you've easily won my vote. You're absolutely right... The Mumbo Jumbo forums are just a place for relaxation, and chatting with other members, and shouldn't pose as big of a problem as Eric Chiz is making it out to be. It was created so that we could post random dribble, while still abiding by the rules, and not be harassed for it, and it is treated this way.

Like Dashe once said before, it might even be what keeps many of the members here. And besides, there are still a few (if not many) threads being made in the Legends sections as well, so it's not as if we've all lost interest in the game completely, and just stay here for the Mumbo Jumbo. I have been, and still remain, a Legends enthusiast, but as FG said, I don't have that certain flame I used to have with Legends when I was younger. But when I came across this forum, I immediately recognized it as a kind, accepting place, and since it was dedicated to one of my most favorite games, I joined with haste.

And once again as FG said, deletion of an account is in fact a very serious thing. It might be best for both you and Pitch to simply take a break for a while. I mean, if you completely terminate your account, then you'd never return for many reasons, one being the humility. You may not care about it as much as I might make it sound, but it's still pretty embarrasing to come "crawling back", if you will, once you've come to your senses.

I too spoke with Pitch, and I guess there's no convincing him...

The good thing is that I'll remain in contact with him. I consider him a friend of mine, and would hate it if he were to just be turned off to Legends Station and all of its members completely.

So to re-cap, try not to exaggerate what's going on... The forums will become fun to you once again, whether it be by MMLEx, Version 4, updates on the actual game or another of some sort, etc. Like I said earlier, patience is the key, as well as tolerance.

[Fire Griffin]

I was speaking against Pitch, and whoever else wants to follow the trend of deleting their accounts, but he has seemed to already hit the "set us up the bomb account" button.

[JMC47]

Ah, sorry about the misunderstanding.

*notices Pitch is gone*

Awe, come on, thats not right. I really don't see the usefulness in deleting an account, you could just say you were leaving, and leave the account or something.

[Aim]

The forum is still doing great. I know I wasn't here for the earlier days, but I know that this forum is still 2x cleaner than most forums, 2x more relevent than most forums, and also still has a ton of fan activity, considering we're drawing from a dry well.

1) Caption Contest still updating just about every week.

2) I'm still submitting new MML artwork and fanfiction. Lots of people are. I just got done with a new fanfiction myself.

3) Still getting new members.

4) We still have a MML topic to post in occassionally. You know, we're hard-pressed to find topics.

5) mltmlt, pitch, you, and others still post on the RP. When this one's over, we'll get more people.

If you can't find Legends fandom, you're just not looking. Sorry to be so blunt, but that's a lot of stuff considering that there haven't been any Legends updates in forever. Surely you must agree?

I'm sorry I can't think of anything really nice to say. But you've got to admit, we're a nice little community. Everybody knows everybody, we have a few chuckles, we pump out a bit of fanart, we have a few chuckles, we have a few more chuckles. I guess all the chuckling is a problem... and well, it's not always chuckling so much as smarmy 3rd grader giggling, but don't worry. You can still find what you're looking for if you look hard enough.

And I'm sure the notorious mumbo jumbo will stop soon. You've got to admit, it's not as bad as it was a couple of weeks ago.

Heads up Pitch, Interordi reference. We get topics like this at the Interordi all the time. The good people of the community and administration pick up the tab, they put some checks on the spam, and everything works out. We've had tons of topics like this by board vets over there.

EDIT: My bad, I'm not sure if you are on the RP. I think I was thinking of FinalHazard. I'm always making mistakes like that.

[Chiz]

Yeah, Pitch said that with what I posted, there wasn't any point in posting a goodbye point (subsequently, he's pretty pissed with me, though I don't blame him.)

Pitch told me he doesn't want to be harassed on the subject via email or AIM.

I'm sorry if I come off looking totally overly emotional and overly sensitive and such. It's just that MMLS has changed in a way that I disagree with.

For those that are wondering, I had no intention of bombing my account. If I were to leave, I wouldn't stoop as low as an account suicide.

Alright, I perhaps exaggerated my hate of the Mumbo Jumbo section. It has it's place in all forums. Things to the extent of "What did you have for breakfast" or rambling on about your upcoming boxing matches I'm alright with. I was focusing on the completely pointless (I mean, the ones that have no intelligable subject) threads. And I probably wouldn't be complaining about them if it was limited to 1-2 giant SPAM threads.

I dunno what to add at this point.

[Shift]

Well, you're right about the senseless topics. But think about it, those have ceased, ever since fab's "party pooper" thread. Also, consider this: the last updated thread in the Mumbo Jumbo section is Sweet Moses, today. Other than that, there's nothing for today. Now turn your head towards the Forum Games, and you'll find that at least four threads were updated today. Hmm?.. what's that?.. by me?.. oh.. well nevermind then. But anyway, it's been like this for a while. People have still posted more in the other threads than they have Mumbo Jumbo. Of course there's still a lot of focus on the Mumbo Jumbo section, but that's because people easily get bored, as the forum isn't constantly active.

What I'm trying to say is, we should all be so thankful that the SPAM posts are at least being posted in the SPAM section. I rarely see any SPAM posts in the General Legends, MML1, or MML2 threads, and that's pretty d**n surprising, considering that I would imagine a lot of the members here (mainly the low-posters, not to stereotype, but it's true) to not read the rules, let alone follow them. So like AimMan said, it's pretty impressive compared to a lot of other forums. I remember how relieved I was when I found this forum after being on GameSpot. Difference? EVERYTHING. This place is ONE GIANT PRO, where as everywhere else is a con.