What makes Smogon fun for you?

[Oglemi]

Hi everyone :3

For my 5k post I seriously just want to know what makes Smogon fun for everyone else.

I love Smogon because it gives me a medium to contribute something and have it be appreciated by a huge multitude of people almost instantaneously. I get to create and help others create something brand new every day. It's an absolutely wonderful feeling to me. Normally when I write something I solely do it to turn it in for a grade. But here, when I write something, it's viewed by hundreds of people and is appreciated far beyond its initial worth.

Smogon's community is also particularly mature, which is not something you'd expect from a site dedicated to Pokemon, of all things. I've always been so insecure about my love for the game, but here I've met so many awesome people on this site that are all so similar to me. I feel welcomed and belonging to a community of people in an aspect of my life that I wouldn't normally get to have. I mean, I have a lot of friends irl, but none of them would ever be able to have a conversation about why Nidoqueen may or may not be broken in RU...

I've spent so many hours on this site, probably more than what is healthy lol (I swear if we find out that laptops give people cancer in the future I'm a goner). But, the thing is, I don't really regret it. Sure I could have spent more time doing something else like meeting new people, but as a natural introvert that's normally just really stressful lol.

Here I've been able to experiment with my personality. I've learned so much about myself and about others. And most importantly, I'll be able to use the experiences that I've learned here in my teaching, as odd as that may sound.

And I think most importantly, Smogon has given me friends. I had always been such a skeptic of having "Internet friends." But really, I do have friends here. And I think that's what really keeps me coming here.

I'm not going to do any shoutouts this time (I've done it 4 times already v_v) but if I'm friends with you you know that I'd give you a shoutout.

And finally, cuz I said I would: ium is cute

ugh this came out so sappy but idc, i just wanna read what you guys have to say ~(^.^)~

 

[Eagle4]

I don't know you very well, but congratulations on the 5k nevertheless! I think that the best thing about Smogon, and the reason I'm on it so frequently, is the community in general. Sure, I've had a few run-ins with members of Smogon, but (most) members are easy to socialise with, and great people. Also the art. Yeah, the art.

 

[ium]

And finally, cuz I said I would: ium is cute

:)

i met cool cats like you here

 

[Danmire]

eagle4's post in a nutshell. i love all yall

Congrats Oglemi!

 

[Chou Toshio]

For some reason talking about Naruto with friends from a Pokemon community is more fun than talking about Naruto with Naruto-nerds in a Naruto forum.

There's something to be said about being comfortable with a community you know.

Mostly just enjoy seeing stuff in a Forum, in-game tier stuff in Orange Islands, and sometimes--for a change of pace-- checking out a few choice threads in OU.

 

[More Cowbell]

I like hanging around in a forum (or eh forum, or whatever it's called these days), and discussing a wide variety of things with a wide variety of people. I used to frequent the competitive Pokémon section, but I haven't in a long way. I guess I appreciated the community enough to stay after all :) I also like checking out art threads, and recently I've been trying to get into the games hosted in Circus Maximus.

Anyways, I guess it's mostly the community that made me stay, even though I quit competitive Pokémon. I have hardly had any problems with any of the members here in the past three years, and that isn't something that can be said for any forum!

 

[PttP]

http://www.smogon.com/forums/member.php?u=9718

 

[Furosuto]

Hmmm... Good question...

I think it was smeargle's studio that drew me towards smogon. I loved to draw, and i admired many of the artists on this site, and really, they were the ones that convinced me to get a tablet and draw! Plus, it had pokemon in it, and I felt like it would be a place where I could make a name for myself.... Try and fit in really, make some friends and have a fun time, feel important and in a certain niche on the web.

I'm still looking for that niche, and still want to be accepted, but I feel that if I continue, it'll do me good. And smogon has made me not give up!

 

[jumpluff]

IRC.

To be honest, I've tried to leave the forums a bunch of times and I'd probably stop coming by now if I had another forum to be a part of, because I don't really enjoy them as much as I used to, and I mostly stick to the LoL thread now that Circus Maximus is on the decline... but I do enjoy IRC, even if the channels I'm a part of are mostly dead now. I spend a lot of time on it talking to the people I love. I've met so many wonderful people from Smogon whom I talk to daily, play video games with (League of Legends moreso than Pokémon, funnily enough -- I almost exclusively play LoL with people I met through Smogon, because Smogon is what got me to play LoL), Skype with, have exchanged mail with, etc. So every day I'm constantly on IRC talking to people while I do whatever else I do throughout it. I love the constant companionship and support.

My main contributions to the site nowadays -- although I've contributed to heaps of projects throughout the years -- are to The Smog, and I've been contributing since Issue #1, even though I've taken long breaks in the past. I keep coming back because I feel like I can do something useful for it and I really enjoy the team dynamic we have on it. The adrenaline of release week, the pride I feel in a finished product, the camaraderie that comes with working on a project like this with everyone (this bit is a huge factor!!), the joy of helping others with their creations and seeing the amazing things others do, as well as facilitating their publication... I guess at this point I also feel like I've invested so much of myself in it, and I'm proud of how it's grown. I enjoy being able to largely just do what I like with the team and not have to worry about other parts of the site~

Also, congratulations, Oglemi! <3 Haha, you've surpassed my postcount already, and I'm actually on the second page of the members list when you sort it by postcount (descending order obvs.)... it's lovely to have you around The Smog and senior staff, and I know you do a fantastic job and brighten everyone's day everywhere else too. ^__^

 

[Limi]

all the little frustrations and annoyances that make the day exciting and all the lovable, awesome people with their faults you just love to hate.

and then the realisation that you've just met a small fraction of the community.

you can't love something if you can't get mad about it.

 

[Crux]

dont lie jumpluff we all know the reason you stay is pookar

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

smogon really isn't that much fun for me, I keep on coming back because my inner child psychology won't let me give up trying to be "the best the ever was" when in fact I suck :(

 

[capefeather]

I don't know if this is more because of "Smogon" or because of "only internet community that I've been in very deeply" - I suspect it's the latter - but I've certainly met some cool people here who make the "experience" pretty fun. I guess that's really the core of why I'm around at all (other than CAP I guess). If any of you have seen the anime movie The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, I suppose Kyon's monologue near the end is a pretty good analogy. EDIT: Actually, Jumpluff's account is extremely similar to mine, now that I think about it. I've basically retreated to IRC channels I like, mainly contributing to a niche project in the forums.

 

[pookar]

dont know how you can call this website collectively mature, it is easily outweighed in the other direction.

i've met a lot of cool people through this website, and keep in touch with them by other means. smogon itself isnt really fun anymore, aside from aforementioned people, so i mainly avoid it.

 

[BigZac]

The community... and the large amount of non Pokemon threads..i mean we have a NBA thread, a Yugioh thread, a thread for League of Legends players(which i believe is like half of smogon's playerbase. Maybe more, not sure.)

Even the mods/admins are chillax.

Not to mention everyone i've talked to on the forums is helpful for the most part.

 

[Vintage Books]

Congrats on 5k oglemi

For me it used to be something to simply pass the time when I was bored (well playing competitive pokemon as a whole not just smogon) but now it's just the cool people I have met and also the league community is cool and having People to play with us better than playing alone

 

[WaterBomb]

I really enjoy smogon for the Football conversation I get. It's nice to be able to come talk with people who really know the game and can appreciate my fervor for it, because I don't know as many IRL.

Congrats on 5k, Ogles! My 4k is coming up too so I guess I need to figure out what I'm gonna do for that...

 

[Nova]

I like it because it allows me to meet new people. I don't play any other video games like Xbox Live stuff or PS3 so I really have no way of meeting new people outside of the ones I go to school with and such. Without Smogon, I would never know people from other countries and stuff and I love having conversations with the people I've met through this site.

Also I love ala

 

[Pidge]

The main appeal of Smogon was its competitive aspect when I first joined. I still like that part, but today I see a lot more. Smogon attracts the older/mature crowd, unlike other Pokemon forums. With that comes not only more intelligent discussion, but also a certain type of humor that I find funnier than other forums, where you will see some Reddit meme or animated gif response. Also, there's a variety of social groups, every IRC channel has its own subculture.

 

[RODAN]

i think smogon would be a lot worse off without irc.

irc is one of my favourite things to do when i have time to chat with smogoners. i have met a ton of cool people and even managed to meet a few irl. i try to get acquainted with every facet of smogon from the gp teams to the artists even though i dont contribute anything myself other than the occasional witty repartee

 

[Xephyr]

The people here know sports very well. Much better than 'normal' people. So that's why I'm here.

 

[KnightoftheWind]

The community is easily the best part of Smogon. I've managed to make many new friends through this website alone, and that means a lot more to me than any other aspect of Smogon.

 

[gsninja]

1. Talking about competitive Pokemon (Duh)
2. Sports

This is probably the first forum I've been on in which I've at least actively lurked the sports section.

 

[Electrolyte]

The fact that I can talk about 90's music on a pokemon website with someone who played pokemon before I was born

Lurking in eh forum

Rating teams

Driving through PS! and trying not to crash

Making friends

I haven't been around all that long but I'm certainly not leaving any time soon

 

[Superpowerdude]

Congrats on 5k Oglemi!

I love smogon because of the vast amount of activities and sub forums available to a user. Literally anyone can contribute to Smogon because there are so much sub forums available. You could make beatiful art, be active in thr social side of smogon, write content for the site, rate teams, discuss metagame trends anything!

I love contributing. My favourite places being rate my team and the smog. However the absolute best thing this site has imo is the communities of places like these. These. people are comfortable with eachother, kind, and funny in there own unique way.

<3 smogon