Do you miss SBAllen?

Do you miss SBAllen?

SBAllen woulda never merged with CE

Just his career

So yes I do miss him as leader of gamefaqs

I miss CJayC.

Daddy abandoned us.

Has SBAllen ever posted on PotD even once

Blightzkrieg posted...

Has SBAllen ever posted on PotD even once

in may of 2014

he called us fat.

He was right to do it

yeah he had some pretty good points tbh

Not specifically, but I miss not having the Sword of Damocles hanging over GameFAQs quite so aggressively. It's been dying a slow death for many years and it was kind of always a given that it wouldn't be around forever, but pre-Fandom it was at least somewhat stable in that slow death. Under Fandom, though, their conduct to date has shown that they believe social traffic on the site is impeding their ability to make use of it, so any day now there's a chance they'll just kill it with little warning.

Who?

Arguro posted...

Who?

SBAllen. Its in the topic title. Try to keep up.

Nade_Duck posted...

in may of 2014

he called us fat.

Fucking legend

@sballen explain thyself

adjl posted...

Under Fandom, though, their conduct to date has shown that they believe social traffic on the site is impeding their ability to make use of it, so any day now there's a chance they'll just kill it with little warning.

It's probably not so much that as it is believing that the site being made up almost entirely of antisocial and hostile users in their late 30s and up is impeding their ability to attract new and younger users to the site.

The thing is, they're right.

Relevant poll: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/9576-how-long-have-you-been-coming-to-gamefaqs

The problem is that trying to chase the younger demo almost certainly won't work (just like it isn't going to work for Facebook). They're trying to amputate now to make sure the patient survives - the fact that they're probably going to kill the patient in the process is more accident than deliberate intent.

But if they did kill all the social boards here and just turned the site into a central search hub pointing at their own external wikis.and relevant YouTube videos (with limited game boards to ask on-topic questions), it probably would start drawing in new eyes. The main reason why younger people don't use the site is because GameFAQs has been obsolete - as both a game support site and as social media - for more than a decade.

Basically, no matter who owns the site, they're left with a catch-22 where every possible choice is bad. The status quo is a site slowly and inevitably dying (while eating bandwidth and server costs with minimal return because most people use AdBlock). Trying to fix the site most likely kills the site. Even successfully fixing the site ( somehow ) likely results in a much smaller, streamlined site where usage is just a slow and steady (but sustainable) trickle rather than a major asset.

Invest in a time machine, go back and add videos to gamefaqs back in 2003

ParanoidObsessive posted...

I miss CJayC.

Daddy abandoned us

That's who was here when I started if I remember right. Eventually his name was used site wide as a euphemism for fondling one's self.

Cant really recall anything from that era that stands out. Some minor updates here and there. But this fandom thing is the most interesting these boards have been in probably in 15.9 years.

I miss the Spiky Bulge Assassins, wherever they have roamed.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

It's probably not so much that as it is believing that the site being made up almost entirely of antisocial and hostile users in their late 30s and up is impeding their ability to attract new and younger users to the site.

The thing is, they're right.

Yes and no. Yes, we're all a bunch of old people sticking around more out of habit than anything else, but I also don't know how much that's actually doing to deter new users. The worst of the hostile old people are largely confined to social boards, which virtually nobody is going to stumble across as their first impression of GameFAQs. The demographics do potentially mean that younger users are going to feel out of place even on the game boards, but the nature of game-specific boards means you get a new community every time a new game comes out, so I don't know that that's as insurmountable as you might think.

By far, the biggest reason GameFAQs isn't getting used is how far short it falls of other gaming resources, namely wikis, youtube, and more active discussion forums (namely Reddit/Discord, these days). They're not going to fix that by chasing veteran users off of isolated social boards.

adjl posted...

Yes and no. Yes, we're all a bunch of old people sticking around more out of habit than anything else, but I also don't know how much that's actually doing to deter new users. The worst of the hostile old people are largely confined to social boards, which virtually nobody is going to stumble across as their first impression of GameFAQs. The demographics do potentially mean that younger users are going to feel out of place even on the game boards, but the nature of game-specific boards means you get a new community every time a new game comes out, so I don't know that that's as insurmountable as you might think.

By far, the biggest reason GameFAQs isn't getting used is how far short it falls of other gaming resources, namely wikis, youtube, and more active discussion forums (namely Reddit/Discord, these days). They're not going to fix that by chasing veteran users off of isolated social boards.

Not only that... if I'm playing a game and have a question, and today's SEO somehow still brings me to gamefaqs (and not youtube/reddit/etc), I'm going to see it, get the answer, and leave. That's not going to keep me here as a new user, let alone one who also somehow manages to stumble upon these social boards that fandom thinks are the reason this place is dying.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

It's probably not so much that as it is believing that the site being made up almost entirely of antisocial and hostile users in their late 30s and up is impeding their ability to attract new and younger users to the site.

The thing is, they're right.

No, that's really not the reason GF is dying.

Reason #1 why GF is dying is that the core of the site - text-based video game guides - have largely been rendered obsolete. There are still a handful of games where GF's guide style is useful, but those are dwarfed by the number of games better served by a Youtube video or a Wiki.

Reason #2 is that GF's secondary purpose - the forums and the socialization aspect - ultimately grew out of that core of video game guides. And in the 90s and early 2000s, that model worked fine. But nowadays, few people seek out socialization in the same places they seek out information, hence why no one new is going to come to GF (almost certainly seeking information on a video game), get their information, then be tempted to stick around.

And therein lies the crux of the issue - GF is a relic from a pre-Youtube, pre-social media world. The model that GF originally set up worked great in an era where Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and even MySpace didn't exist yet. But now, there's simply nothing to draw people to the site that isn't provided elsewhere, nor will there ever be unless the site is completely redesigned from the ground up (which is basically just a polite way of saying "destroying it and using its brand for something else" - and even that is of questionable value, given that GF has a reputation online, and it's mostly as "that old site from the 90s that is somehow still kicking"). The fact that the median age of members on the site is probably around 35, give or take 5 years, really doesn't have much, if anything, to do with it.

And I'm OK with that. I like this place, and I like it being a window into the internet of the past. It will die eventually, as all things do, but I'm content to stick around here until it does (and I'm far from enthused about the idea of killing it off prematurely, rather than letting it die an organic death).

ParanoidObsessive posted...

I miss CJayC.

Daddy abandoned us.

</topic>

Yeah.

things i miss

cjac
clinton
261 during the obama years
surge
freddy mercury
the colbert report
trader joes brand poblano corn chowder
phillip seymour hoffman

i miss hopes and dreams

I miss duckbear

darkknight109 posted...

The fact that the median age of members on the site is probably around 35, give or take 5 years, really doesn't have much, if anything, to do with it.

You don't think the fact that much of the site's aging population shits on the popular games/streamers that the younglings actually care about has anything to do with no (true) new users? Why would I want to stay in a place that trashes not just what I like, but also me for liking it?

The open hostility that GameFAQs has always allowed *as long as you don't use intelligence-based insults* is another issue you didn't address in terms of fostering a lasting community.

Anyone miss good old Tarrun the moderator that was well liked on this board?

BlazeAndBlade posted...

Anyone miss good old Tarrun the moderator that was well liked on this board?

He was a bad poster but got a lot of love because apparently this whole board is attention starved and wants daddy-mod to tell them they're a good boy.

I miss the former Gamefaqs staff.