Hey there, ezBoard SSMB. It’s me, Dreadknux. You know? The guy that looked after you for the past 2 years. Wow, 2 years, has it really been that long? Seemed to go really fast! The whole place is deserted now, so it’s just me on my own. Everyone has gone to the new SSMB – the YaBB. Can’t say I won’t miss this place – there are certainly some things I will miss however.
I thought I’d just place one final ‘log’ here, so that if this board is _still_ active in a few years time, people can defrost you, and look at all the messages of yesteryear. Kinda like those ‘messages from the past’ thingies where you slap a message in a capsule and it shouldn’t be opened until 20 years time.
The YaBB SSMB is practically the same as it always has been, but aside from the annoyingness of it all, ezBoard has been quite cool for a starter MB. I remember all of the names this place was under, still – Sonic Stadium MB, Dreadknux’s Forum… even the ‘Dead Sonic Message Board’ when I got really depressed last year. Before the re-launch of the Sonic Stadium in 2001.
You know what? I’m glad. I’m glad that this ezBoard was the first place I had for a Message Board. I’m glad that my last chance attempt at bringing people to my humble MB was successful. I guess if nothing works the first time, you gotta keep on at it, otherwise you just get nowhere…
That’s what I’ve learned. I think. I mean, The Sonic Stadium was never very popular when it was first launched in October 2000. But, I’m amazed at the progress it has made today. Sometimes I’m not even sure if it’s me that made that website – because there are quite a few fans of the website now. And, with the dawn of the site’s 2nd Birthday, my website is finally on track to being something I always had hopes it would be – just something special for people. Not everyone, but just something that seemed cool to a wide enough amount of people to generate proper interest.
And no, I don’t mean in money terms… I didn’t make my site for financial gain, and still don’t expect it to reap rewards in gold and silver and gold teeth when I’m in my prime and loving it.
No – a new domain name, actual web hosting, a large expansion of the website, and a YaBB board to hoard all of my SSMB members and move them to there. It’s weird, but I’d never actually thought that the members at this board would actually go to that YaBB willingly. I have had some problems here in this MB community, and at the start many members were questioning my authority as an admin (take 2001 for example – I was thinking of moving to a ‘better MB’ back then, yet the members were rebellious and I had to keep the ezBoard as is).
But to be honest, I’m glad I didn’t move MBs the first time – this place really needed to spread its wings in terms of members if we had any hope of surviving on a lone self-served MB, in hindsight.
Now, I’m glad things turned out the way they did. We had problems, sure – you can’t go through much in life without having any problems. But I must admit, that I am loving the joys of today, and am more excited about what will happen tomorrow. I have the perfect group of MB members, and thankfully all the good members happily made the transfer quick and easily.
The thing that brings a smile to my face is how this place managed to become ‘a cult’, as Joshu would so rightly put it 🙂 I couldn’t ask for a better band of guys to chat on my MB and make my life as an admin very sweet indeed. Some admins are happy to dismiss all existence of their own Message Board if it is doing badly, or if they have unworthy board members. I had that problem in the past (the unworthy board members one ^_^), but I’m happy to say that I actually spend more time on my own Message Board – chatting to some of my best friends – than even on The Sonic Stadium.
So, before I leave, I would like to say thanks to all the decent board members that have resided in these ezBoard walls – if I could, I’d carve all your names in chalk across these ezBoard walls, but it may just end up giving me chalk marks on my Monitor 😛
Those of special mention includes (and it’s no surprise I put his name on first in this list) the Guy that helped me do it all on this Message Board – the basic idea for the Sonic Battle Stadium, helping to get more members here when things looked their gloomiest and thinking of new ideas for forums and events.
I’ve had a heavy past with this person’s old-time-habits of bragging towards the universe about “I am uberl33t, mwahaha”, but this is all behind us – Sonic Guy, take a bow, dude. I would not have accomplished the popularity of this MB if it wasn’t for the fact that you almost broke your ankle. A small price to pay, but neh.
I’m joking! 🙂 😛 SG is now never like his “old self”, but now a very respected member of my community, and for that I am proud of him.
Secondly, all the moderators that have been by my side – there have been quite a few in the past, what with my old ‘revolving door’ system, but that proved to be too fiddly – Ryu and VG, step forward. I really couldn’t ask for better mods. Just do your job and you’ll be OK in my books in the future ^_^
Hell, I may as well thank even the most rotten of members, that got instantly (and in some people’s cases, not so quickly) banned, lol. One particular event of mention was the entire VCP backlash thing that involved all the SHQ forum’ers attacking our board for no reason o_O But still, thanks. If these events never happened, we would have nothing to learn from, and to make ourselves stronger the next time a similar problem looks us right in the face like a rabid baboon.
I want to go on forever about the times of this board, but sadly, time kills us all in the end, even ezBoards. 🙁 That’s not to say you cannot achieve anything during your time, because if you set your mind to what you want, the possibilities are endless! A perfect example of this is in my case – started out with no privileges of domain names etc, and I ended up having to work for my supper. Just don’t give up on your dreams – anything is possible. 🙂
Before I go, I’d like to especially say thank you to a very special friend of mine. I first met him (well, he came to me first actually) when he had a different Sonic the Hedgehog website. After that, we hit it off straight away and I’m now proud to say that he is my ultimately ultimate best friend on the internet, if not to say I feel as if I almost know him in Real Life. That one guy is Sonic_Hedgehogs, aka Andrew! You are the man!
So many memories, and so many words to say… still never mind, I’m hungry, I’m getting a pizza….
ezBoard, in our memories you lie as a death warrant, but the Message Board inside this ezBoard will bring back many good memories for all of us. Here’s to new beginnings, and a much brighter future ahead of all of us.
Rest ez, Board.