There were still some write-ups to be done, but the last topic purged. Mr Lasastryke had fortunately saved the contents, which I subsequently put on the Board 8 Wiki:
http://board8.wikia.com/wiki/Vlado_ranks_50%2B_Board_8_user_gimmicks
There is still work to be done, there are still a few nominations which haven't yet got their rankings and write-ups, so I'll do that here.
Nominations are also still open, so feel free to suggest gimmicks to be ranked.
And, for those who have missed it, here is the current number 1, Ertyu:
Nominator: Metalslugg
Sadly, I have to give up my crown. As integral as my journalism has been for the board in the last several years, even it cannot compare to Ertyu. From the earliest days of Dante praise and dislike for Kirby to yesterday's brilliant "heh heh ya" in the "Do you like Beavis?" topic, Ertyu has been the glue that makes this board stick together, the user who has always managed to easily grab the attention of absolutely everyone here and keep it as long as he wants to.
I can't list everything he's done for the board in so little space, so I'll just mention the most important - originating the whole Dante vs. Kirby debacle which still continues to this day, constantly running countless fascinating contests (including a few user contests which generated quite a few conflicts, Sess being the winner of the very first one, and the most recent one nearly driving XIII is cool to insanity in a vote stuffing race), the whole feud with Sess (his once best friend who later viciously betrayed him), his incredible Tornadolayzers comic series, his excellent drawings of game characters, wrestlers, etc. (including special drawings for every contest match), the awesome Ertyu Youtube channel which hosts his EWWL matches, game playthroughs, and once featured the most popular Board 8 show ever by far - The Ertyu Show, etc., etc.
Ertyu has always been an honest and trusting person, the kind of user everyone wants to see on a message board. Sadly, quite a few people have taken advantage of his trusting nature - I already mentioned Sess, and there have been cases of Anri leading him to believe he was really a girl who wanted to kickbox him, etc. Ertyu has such a big heart, he has forgiven all these misdeeds and continues gracing us with his presence and adding to the board's quality despite everything.
Do you now see why Ertyu rightfully takes first place? You know it to be true - he is the man, he is Mr. Board 8. Thank you very much for giving so much to our board and making it what it is, Trey!
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If you like Blitzball, try Captain Tsubasa II (in English) for NES!
Game tops: http://unikgamer.com/users/vlado-309.html