How active is this forum?

That is false. It's as scrubby as this forum in a lot of cases, but with the benefit that at least their the racism is checked to just centerist types.

Game specific discords better, or while I don't care for everything about the forum, but places like RPGcodex where more complex conversations on games are worth having. Era's only real advantage over SW, is that if you put multiple paragraphs together there, people will actually read that shit and properly respond, where as the idiots on here go "hur durr wall of text".

Also Pablo is a piece of shit.

@jg4xchamp: I mean stuff like industry insider info, latest news, sales data, gaming history, etc. In terms of discussions on gameplay mechanics, I wouldn't say it's much better than here.

Nah I would go with better than here on that front. You get all the same meme takes you get here like "more complete game" or whatever the ****, but the general discourse to actually discuss mechanics is better. Admittedly it's also a by product of on era you actually have to behave in conversations n stick to the arguing points, where as here you can say whatever you want. Aint like the bum mods gonna do shit.

That's a bit little extreme. I've seen plenty of, "all Cops are racist" posts on Era, though. Black Cops are self-hating racists looking for acceptance from the white man... Then there was that thread where some LGBTQ+ mods were exposed for being acephobic. Era became a woke competition that was so intense there was nearly a hole ripped in the space-time continuum that could have destroyed the entire Universe.
Any thread that follows race, sexual orientation, rape allegations, politics or being a victim of any kind turns into a graveyard with dozens being banned and Era being pigeon-holed even further into the extreme left.

Is this thread derailed already and discussion has nothing to do with System Wars?

@SOedipus: Maybe, I honestly can't remember forum users from 10 years ago all that well lol. It all starts to blend together.

I remember the names, but not much else.

@parkerrand: Personally, not very compared to other forums. Before this boring phase it was basically just a giant console war. Yet after Quad and other people got banned, it's just boring now. No information is actually put here, and the console wars have slowed down so it's not even entertaining anymore.

These forums are somewhat active, however they were at their peak during the PS3/360 days. Oh and you already have joined.

Resetera is a giant console war, but it's not entertaining. At least on here it's so obvious that it's just laughable. Yet on Resetera is subtle and laced in hypocrisy.

I could never join Resetera and wouldn't wish that on the TC. Though if you could deal with the cult of Steam/Capcom, and the subtle Steam vs trolls or Sony vs Nintendo war, then go for it. GameFAQs is okay if you can get around the Trumpers and anti-SJW crap. Anti-SJWs are just as annoying as SJWs with their spam and tendency to get triggered by everything. Personally for me, Reddit is the best.

The Azatis kid, I think that's his name, was exhausting in my opinion. Though I do admit, him and Quad did keep the forums active.

@Jag85: Reddit is better than Resetera! lol.

I don't even mind the left leaning thing ResetERA has going on. Though I find if hypocritical that they're lowkey racist about a lot of Japanese companies and praise Western centric things, yet go on about how racism is bad. My issue with them is their cult mind, particularly about Capcom. Capcom is literally the only company that you can't critic or really discuss. If you don't suck Capcom off, then you're bitter and want Monster Hunter on the Switch. You can't objectively talk about their strategy and how they haven't really done well in the mobile market in BUSINESS threads, not game threads just talking about the game(s) but financial threads.

Like I said in a previous post, I don't really visit ResetEra much. I visit GameFAQs and Reddit way more, though mainly for non-gaming stuff in the latter case.

The way Japanese games often depict females (e.g. sexualized, revealing, attractive, youthful, etc.) makes them an easy target for feminists and "SJW" types on Era. The irony is that most Japanese female gamers have no issues with the way they're depicted in Japanese games, yet many Western feminists feel the need to get offended on their behalf.

What's wrong with Capcom? They're currently one of the best developers in the industry. So what if they haven't had much success in mobile games lately? They're delivering the goods when it comes to consoles and PC, which are of course what most game forum users care about.

Do you mind sharing info on how you come to this assertion?

Lol, It's all good bro! Same here. I was starting college during that year too. I'm glad I'm not the only one that felt the nostalgia from the post. Those were some hilarious times here.

Era has had more than a few threads praising Marx, Lenin, and communism. It is very much far-left from what I've seen.

Typically I'd laugh my ass off at such pathetic rats that infest that sewer, but unfortunately, it is one that holds influence due to many of its members placement inside the industry. What they do, and what they believe, affects people. They've organized and launched campaigns against individuals and companies predicated upon nothing but their own self-righteous morality, and taken over ludicrously insignificant issues. They presume the moral foundations furthering their causes are sound before the issue can even be challenged. They are the moral arbiters, and any attempt to question that, even in the most civil of manners possible, results in an immediate ban and slung accusations assassinating one's character.

Many of their mods don't even attempt to hide the fact they are racists (this is impossible against whites due to "power dynamics and historical contexts", apparently). They're also hypocritical and inconsistent in implementation of their ToU (wishing death upon anyone is an immediate ban.....right up until COVID has penetrated into the West Wing), and favoritism amongst users and mods is rampant.

NeoGAF, for all its faults and disgusting views, at the very least doesn't attempt to destroy the lives of people simply because they disagree with them, and they allow standing up for a position. Era doesn't even have the balls to allow for debate challenging their foregone moral conclusions, yet they arrogantly presume they have foundation to destroy others based on them.

**** them. One of the worst websites on the net.

Kinda crazy to think I've been coming to this board off and on since like '02-03...

Well ghosts4eva has to make 20 threads a day or a dinosaur will eat his family. Most of them are about STALKER though.

@tenaka2: lol

The most active on the site for sure, but nothing like the glory days of the late 2000's. There were days where if you posted a new thread, it would be on the second page within the hour.

But thank Gamespot for their draconian ToS, some volunteer mod staff that take their jobs *way* too seriously and the site owners trying to push everyone towards the comment sections on their "news" articles rather than an open forum for discussion for the drop in traffic.

There have been polls which indicate this to be the case. For example, this SNK poll in Japan asked male and female gamers to vote for their favourite female SNK characters:

In the West, Mai Shiranui is seen as the epitome of sexualized misogyny in video games, designed for horny Japanese boys. Yet in this poll, Japanese male gamers didn't even vote Mai among their top 5 favourite SNK female characters, but their top choices are female characters who are relatively more modestly dressed. On the contrary, it was Japanese female gamers who voted Mai as their favourite female SNK character, showing a preference for more sexualized female characters who wear revealing outfits.

Seems pretty active to me. I have been in some forums where a response could take a few days if not over a week.

I just joined today, so I wouldn’t know, really.

@MirkoS77:

I personally haven't come across pro-Marx/Lenin threads on Era (though that might be because I'm not a regular there). While I'm sure there are a handful of those types on Era, I don't think the majority of its userbase cares about that stuff. What a majority of Era's userbase do care about is so-called "SJW" stuff, like complaining about sexism, racism, homophobia, etc. Which is a different ballpark from communism, Marxism, Leninism, etc.

Like I said, if you dislike Era's politics, then just avoid the political discussions and stick to the gaming discussions. The only reason I'd even recommend Era is for the gaming discussions, which are far better than anything you'd find on GAF.

Besides, why even go on gaming forums for political discussions anyway? The main reason we visit gaming forums is to discuss video games, not politics. While there's nothing wrong with having some political discussions on gaming forums here and there, that's not the main reason we visit them. It's not a major issue like you're making it out to be.

The reason why you'll hear Gamespot forums are dead these days is because this website used to be significantly more than what it is now. This site used to be a riot with a far larger community active.

Fact is: System Wars is still more active than a lot internet forums these days. Posting a thread here won't take a couple days just to get a response, unlike many other forums these days.

In conclusion: internet forums is a dying breed. Internet forums will never match their glory days they once had back in the 2000's. While you can best enjoy System Wars with modest activity in its current state, you can only best understand the glory days this place once had in legend.

@foxhound_fox: Come on Fox, you know you miss CaseyWegner... /s

No where near as active as it once was.

Good point. Hadn't thought of that. I wonder if hotlinking article comments sections straight into mirrored forum threads would increase traffic for both.

Gamespot removed unions, among other community-friendly functions that were essentially the gears that kept this site lively. The Gamespot staff singlehandedly chastised the very elements that made this site successful.

There had been glaring lashes towards Gamespot's reputation, like the infamous firing of among the most respected reviewers on this site - Jeff Gertsmann - Gamespot could never quite recover their reputation after that one, and then other of Gamespot's strongest reviewers started to leave as well. I'm pretty sure to this day the Gamespot elites have found the Gertsmann firing as a regrettable choice.

Another major piece in Gamespot's downfall was when mods collectively pulled an April Fool's prank on the community that ended up going too far and ended up upsetting users in masses and most of the old community disappeared after that.

So, you draw the conclusion that "most Japanese female gamers have no issues with the way they're depicted in Japanese games" based of a poll taken in 1997? That is 23 years ago. You don't find that a bit of stretch in logic?

Yep, that April Fools prank was the biggest exodus. I think there was at least 25% of the biggest active users that just up and left after that, even though the staff/mods would deny it to this day.

I remember the thing when it happened. I remember the outcry more than I remember the prank itself that got people so furious. If I recall correctly, the mod team at the time fabricated I big episode of drama that got the most popular mod at the time banned, and the mods 'leaked' conversion logs of said drama that led to banning. Many members got emotional over it and called injustice then the mods including the one members were passionately in defense for were like "April Fool's" and everything was okay - but it wasn't. Some members were so hurt and betrayed over it, members were vocal about it. The most vocal members convinced basically the majority of this site to leave. It was the end of an era of Gamespot, that's for sure.

Looking back I can't help to laugh because honestly, it was very overreacted, yet its sad because it's what caused Gamepot's death.

Is my memory correct on all this? Am I getting anything wrong, am I missing anything?

Except that's not my entire argument. I presented you an example. Don't you think pulling a strawman argument is a bit of a stretch in logic?

Other examples include statements from Japanese game companies themselves. Quite a few have said that most of the sexism complaints they've received have come from abroad, not from within Japan itself. Whenever Japanese devs are confronted with accusations of sexism from the West, their response to the West is usually something along the lines of, "Oh, we didn't know that was offensive to Western women."

The reason why Japanese games keep getting away with sexualizing females is because there simply aren't enough Japanese women actually complaining about it. In contrast, sexualization in Western games has become increasingly uncommon, in response to complaints from Western women. If enough Japanese women were complaining about it, then we'd see the same response from Japanese devs. But because there's not enough Japanese women complaining, many Japanese games continue to be sexualized.

Looking at the Last Post column, you could tell just how significantly more active the forum was. Every thread in that first page had a post in the previous five minutes.

Compare that to now, the last post on the bottom thread in the first page was made 2 days ago.

Been around since forever, and never heard about this april fools prank

Same.

Era's politics constantly infringe upon any and all discussion they have, gaming or otherwise, and you don't need to be a regular there to see this (I'm not). You can't avoid their politics, if you don't discuss it, it will be brought up. Case in point (post #22). No discussion is better on Era, because in principle they operate under the assumption there's a "correct" opinion, enforceable by moderation. And in a day and age where politics and gaming are often viewed as one and the same, GAF is far superior in this respect, even if they lack the demographics in their user-base that would afford more in-depth and informed discourse.

Which really is not my issue though, it's again, that Era believes they have the right to impose their worldview upon the outside world based on their own moral compass that they don't do anything to defend past their own pathetic echo-chamber. Any forum that does that is a shit forum that has NO good discussion, period.

Strawman? Asking someone to provide information about their claim is strawman? Referencing that the reference data you are using is 23 years old is strawman? Stating that your generalized statement based on the information you provided was stretch is strawman? Please clarify on the strawman argument that you are claiming I am making.

You are also continuing to add more to the bucket of unsubstantiated claims. I refer you to the initial statement in question

"The irony is that most Japanese female gamers have no issues with the way they're depicted in Japanese games,"

You will have to provide information that directly deals with the above claim.

Not gonna defend Era's echo-chamber tendencies, as they are very much an echo-chamber, but any discussion about games can eventually lead to politics, because games are made by people and tell stories about people. If a forum never gets to the politics of a game, then it probably isn't discussing it very deeply at all. That's one of the best parts of Era, discussion can get deeply into a game beyond the surface level "I hate the loading screens" or "the graphics are amazing".

@ConanTheStoner: This sites best days are behind it.

What good is that "discussion" if it only allows a one-sided view point? Talking politics on era is like talking about fanboys on system wars: only one train of though is allowed.

The problems with online forums are two fold: either the mods abuse their power, like neo or era; or the users abuse their freedom like those 'chan' sites. Either case it ends up being a big ole shit show that's not fit to read or be a part of.

I don't have trouble discussing politics in anything, I have trouble with only one side being able to be expressed or defended. You can't discuss politics there, you either agree with positions they've pre-determined as morally sound and work within that context, or you are gone. No nuance, no debate, no defense allowed.

Era is easily one of the (if not the) most intolerant sites on the web, and they are by default at the bottom of the barrel of forums because of it. I don't care how knowledgeable their users are. Forums are about discussion and divergence of opinions, and if you don't allow for that, you are a shit forum.

The strawman is your assumption that my entire argument is solely based on a single old poll. Despite stating that it's an example.

I've already provided plenty of evidence, along with a logical argument. And have plenty more evidence. But there's no point continuing this debate any further, since you're clearly not interested in providing any kind of counter-argument or counter-evidence. This is going nowhere. And it's off-topic.

Care to explain what that case in point is about? I don't follow FPS games much. Apparently, John Linneman got some backlash over Ion Fury, or something?

Politics gets dragged into almost everything these days, whether it's the news, entertainment, movies, games, music, etc. So of course it's unavoidable. But there's no need to focus solely on the politics and ignore everything else. The vast majority of gaming discussions have nothing to do with politics. There may be some controversies here or there, and there may be some games with a political message. But that's about as far as it goes. You're focusing way too much on politically-driven discussions and ignoring everything else.

Basically what happened was that John (a member of Digital Foundry) began a thread discussing how the game Ion Fury performed on varying platforms. A game that's been previously mired in controversy due to some Discord statements by its developers and in-game content Era deemed homophobic (an "OGay" play off of "OLay"). John's video content was 100% objective, yet some nitwit enters and accuses him of "signal boosting" the developer's bigotry, implying that John agrees with their views or doesn't care about them simply because he didn't preface his video with a disclaimer informing people of this unfathomable injustice. Which John is under no obligation to do, because these twats at Era don't seem to understand that what they view as moral imperatives in their pathetic lives, no one else has to give a single **** about. In the end, it drove John and the rest of DF away.

Which is my point. You keep saying to stay away from politics there and stick to gaming, but you can't, as even if you make a topic that is as objective as possible, you will have people coming in and picking fights, looking to accuse others of being (or supporting) bigots without foundation because they committed the unforgivable sin of not proactively addressing the fact that the developers' great, great, great, great, great grandfather harmed a hair on a black person's head hundreds of years ago.

This occurs far too often. They are so absorbed in their outrage culture that it permeates and seeps into nearly every thread or discussion. And if you object to it, for derailment? Ban. Era isn't strict, they are a bunch of racist, fascist, pathetic losers masquerading under a guise of progressivism. I focus on it because it negatively affects peoples' lives in tangible ways. If it didn't I could laugh it off.

Duuuuuude, this really took me back XD. I can't believe I forgot all about levels and level names!

EDIT: OMG I just found myself on someone's sig lol.

Oh the juicy Lair and Haze threads. Those were quality.

Would have loved to have you here in 2006ish. Those were the glory days.

This is really the only place I post for gaming. It was kind of fun getting into console slobber knockers here, especially once things got better when oversensitive fanboys weren't allowed to abuse the flag system anymore. It's really the only healthy board on this forum though, and why it's more of a general gaming topic board.

This place at the very least gives you more elbow room to talk crap about games without an instant ban. It's also more enjoyable than places like Resetera, which is just old NeoGAF with none of the fun and way more Microsoft astroturf.

It's very inactive, topics move at a snail's pace. All in all this forum has mostly bled out and engagement is pretty limited.

hot take

I don't remember the year but it was bad. From what I can remember, it was this big "fight" between mods, that ended in a bunch of them getting "banned".

I can't remember if it was resolved the same day, or a day or two later, but people were pissed. People porn-suicided their accounts, people left and never came back and the mod/admin team was just like "April Fools! Oops!"

They forgave the suicides IIRC, but people still weren't too happy about the whole thing at all and many still ended up staying gone.

Personally, I hate pranks of any capacity, and I honestly don't remember why I stayed, but that kind of deception to the entire forum community killed off a lot of interest people had in this place.

I know who John Linneman is (watched many of his DF Retro videos), but wasn't entirely familiar with the whole situation, so thanks for the explanation.

Clearly, this is a big issue for you. It's not really much of an issue for me, since I'm already fairly left-leaning (though maybe not quite left enough, as I still got a few warnings there). But for users who are more right-leaning, or even centrist, it's certainly not a very welcoming place.

Either way, my point still stands. Most gaming discussions have nothing to do with politics. They don't here on SW and neither do most gaming discussions over at Era. While there are some politically-driven controversies here and there, you might not even notice them unless you're actively looking for it. I'm a fan of Linneman's videos (mainly his DF Retro stuff), yet I wasn't aware of his Era controversy until this thread. And it's not like he got banned, but he still has his account at Era. I still think you're exaggerating this issue way out of proportion.