Notes of the Pokemon Fandom

So as you may have noticed, SPP now has a webcomic to amuse visitors. Why? Because it gives the site personality. Soul is probably the wrong term. Joe was right to say that his site is viewed more as an encyclopedia than a picture book. (Credit to me for the great similie)

But does it work? No. It doesn't. I'm not going to mince words with this, and I'm not being biased towards SPP. One webcomic that took me 5 secs to read did not affect my opinion of the site at all really. IF the comics were daily, every other day...then it would add something. Because it'd be a very continuous thing even if they were individually short. A webcomic just doesn't magically create 'soul' for a site. Just like adding a picture to a dictionary doesn't make it any easier for illiterates.

Was it a good comic? Yeah, it was decent. I wish it had a bit more depth though. Obviously this caters to SPP's core group, and I'm sure the 10-13 age group got a laugh out of it. But for the 16+ visitors, we've already pondered how Pokemon carry people. And we just realized we need to pass that off as unexplained. So the comic is almost a 'Capt. Obvious' situation. I won't knock the art though, I like it a lot. I just wish that the joke wasn't so obvious and the comic could add in a bit of goodies for the older crowd.

What would add soul to Serebii? More fan based content. Joe acting more like a person with opinions than a bipartisen news reporter slash content machine.  That would add personality.  A new layout, that would add personality.  Not always shoving the fact that you're the biggest site down other people's throats...ok, maybe that's just what I want.

But...is soul right for Serebii? Eh...not really.  Joe's has been an encyclopedia for years.  We realize that.  That's why we like it.  It gives us the information we want.  And even the information we don't want.  It's such a vast collection of stuff that many of us couldn't play the games through without checking one thing or another at least once on the site.  Plus his PokeDex far surpasses any other one available.  That is why it is SPP.  That is why it's the top.  So why change?  I don't see a reason to.

I do want to say though, that every time I look at Serebii I see Web 1.  Web.0 is where it's at, and SPP is stuck in about '99.

So, to inspire me, the first two fansites to list their URLs in comments get site reviews.

And please, don't make me resort to eDrama to whore attention. Please.

[Before I start in, I want to say sorry for my last post. As Dragonfree pointed out, it was mentioned that it was from a different site and I was clearly in the wrong. It shut me up for awhile, didn't it? Well, I'm back. And I'm man enough to say I was wrong. I apologize, and will now triple-check information.]

Well, I'm rather delighted. I got to be the first BETA tester of Spinarak.net, before the public. So right now, it's not out...but I do know the URL.

http://spinarak.net/beta.php3

Ok, so I did have permission to share that. PokeJungle wanted me to release it so that commenters on this post could also use it and share opinions before it goes live. I don't actually know when he wants to release it...I'd assume this week sometime, as that looks like the final build of the site, and the Updates page say it's basically final.

So now let's get into reviewing this. And although I am honoured, I'm still going to be fair.

Layout
This is one of the best parts of the site. For the purpose (supposedly a 'homepage' for Pokemon fans) it works. Not a real graphic layout, but very clean and nice. I believe it's made by the webmaster of PokeEX...his layouts are always good. Although at the moment his site is out of order. So, layout is definitely a plus. Colors are mostly coordinated, although that link green is a bit bright I think.

Site Design
Luckily, the search box is first, right there in reach. It's supposed to be the 'Revolutionary' feature of the site, and it's good that it's up there. I'll review that in a second. Then, below, that, it lists the services. I'm on the fence between having the Image + description as being too much, or ok for it's job. It does put all the 'services' they have in easy reach as well, like a homepage should. They should have linked the images though! Hopefully that will be changed for launch. Left sidebar is really bare...more pages should be added, I don't know on what though. Just looks really empty.

On the right, you have the other sidebar. Pokemon of the Week was good, it's an interesting read. Then the Network sites, which are logical links. And finally a list of Top Donators, of which there are none. (Then a donate button) Although PJN never has ads, that donate button is almost one. But, in the end, I guess it's no more distracting than a Topsites button. The fact that Spinarak.net has NO topsites or stats is a big plus in my opinion, as it'd feel to commercial with those. Top Donator list is a bit much, but again, I can see why it's there. Purely incentive. People want recognition.

Search
So, the feature we had to wait almost a full half year to get! And ... it works. It really does. You're going to get Pokemon results, and just that. From Serebii, PPN, PJN, Bulbapedia, TotalPokemon, PE2K, and their forums. There may be more sites it draws from, but those are the most common URLs I've run into. No iFrame on the links you follow either (like Ask or About.com) which is good. The results are also worked into the layout, but it is altered a bit. Result text is a bit large, but the colors match and it doesn't stand out too bad. I did some search testing:

+ Stantler: I was just looking for some general information on it. First result was Serebii's Pokemon of the Day which gave me a good rundown. Second result was PPN's Dex result. Third was Bulbapedia entry, and fourth was PokeJungle's PotW. Very to the point, and got me the information I needed.

+ Ash: Ok, so I needed a character bio now. The first two results were forum threads, not what I was looking for. But the third was from the Bulbapedia and fit the bill!

+ Chansey breeding: I want to breed it, and I need some help. First two results gave me what I needed. PPN Dex gave me moves, and the second result from Serebii showed me the item I needed in Diamond to get the baby form.

I won't really go further, because I don't need to. The thing works, and doesn't give out results that Pokemon fans don't need or want.

Conclusion
I'm impressed with the search capabilities. Is it that revolutionary though? Maybe, but probably not. It's simply a very useful tool. I may use it the next time I'm looking for something purely pokemon...but Google still may due. I have yet to make up my mind. I like my homepage at the moment, so Spinarak won't make me change, but I would consider it if I did more concerning Pokemon on a daily basis. It was overhyped and took too long, but it's a nice tool and finally something new in the fandom.

I'm also happy PokeJungle decided to use sites besides just his own, as it outlines in the last FAQ question. It was a good decision, and actually made this thing useful.

I'd like readers to also test and comment on this. I'm interested in opinions, and I know PokeJungle wants feedback, as he made that clear.

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Total Pokemon released a Top 8 topsite which I like. The layout looks nice and everything, but it's not too big. I'd suggest joining it by clicking here, it's pretty nice. Why they chose 8 though, I'll never know. It's a rather odd number for a topsites.

Oh, and the English names Dialga and Palkia SUCK. Pokemon USA is MORONIC for choosing those AWFUL HORRID names.

I was just poking around different things today. Happened to be reading all the 'new' (old) D/P discoveries in Serebii and Coronis's thread at SPPf. From the last page:

"1) Tangela & Tropius: If you remember, these were like the final pokemons whose locations we 'discovered' in D/P. Actually, we did not discover them, but rather found their locations on a Japanese site. Unfortunately, this bit of info is mistaken afterall, and according to the official Dex book, these two are the only species apart from the starters and legendaries that are NOT found in Sinnoh. So, Pal Park is the only way to get them."

...what? So, when Diamond and Pearl were released, you were feeding us information you were slaving away to get on your own through your game. Oh, sorry, how could I have assumed YOU TWO did the work? Sorry, absolutely my mistake for trusting you. I should've known you stole it from another site, albiet in Japanese, and passed it off as your discovery. Not to mention your absent source of said site. At the moment, I don't know where the hell in cyberspace that site is...because you still don't name or link it. Even though you got information from it. (That turned out to be false, because you didn't backcheck it yourself.)

I'm incredibly disappointed with this. Honestly, I couldn't believe Coronis openly admitted that he and Serebii were not getting information from their games, but from another site, and not telling us.

You wonder where all their news comes from everday...with absolutely no sources. Just check the Japanese web I guess. You could get the information before they translate it and pawn it off as their own.

So yeah, I'm angry. The biggest Pokemon site out there doesn't have the decency to tell us the truth about where exactly the information's coming from, and who's REALLY doing the work behind scenes.

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In other news, TP and Shinou have disappeared. I'm honestly curious as to what happened there. Wanna explain?

Poorly designed, poorly implemented, and out right horrible. Admittably, PokeCommunity got a good forum review. That does not mean however, that I will go easy on them when they screw up.

If you go to PokeCommunity Draw (which is here), you can see the disaster for yourself. Sure, at first I was also impressed with the layout, which originally made me think that this had gone right. That fantasy lasted until I actually tried to navigate the thing. The drop down menu, while once you figure it out is easy enough to use, is not apparently obvious as the way you NEED to use. In fact, I was expecting the drawings on the first page like a normal Oekaki, and was briefly confused as to where everything was. Not to mention their Google ad covers up links on the left side, hiding them and making them unusable.

The problems do not stop there though. Those "featured drawings" aren`t even pieces drawn at PC`s oekaki! Instead they grabbed two random pieces of fanart off the internet, and decided to just list them as unnamed until the artist will eventually stumble onto that Oekaki and claim the piece. And, in fact, the Goldeen picture is FreeNatureArt`s. I`m sure she`ll be pleased with her art just being taken. Ironically, that`s a piece from the, now rival, Smeargle`s Oekaki.

Because I`m on the topic of PC, I will also have to ask "Why the hell is there a new IRC channel?". Honestly. Not only is it going to be more hard to remember, but they should stick with the old just for name recognition. Still just as dead as the old chan too.

Hmmm, saying "chan" reminded me of another rant I had about...

...PokeChan. PJN`s worst best idea. Of course, in theory PokeChan (officially now PCN, says me) completely works and brings something new to the community. It`s these kinds of things that I enjoy. Sure, there are Pokemon ImageGalleries...but never really an Imageboard. PCN was set to give something great to the fandom, it even got a domain! And for awhile, it did work. Then things went south- really fast. Poor moderation, a wave of noobs, and no updates later we have an image garbage dump. It regularly gets spammed with hentai or links to othersites or offensive language. It`ll disappear, but only about a week after it`s been posted, a terrible moderation record.

If PokeJungle wants that to succeed, it needs something badly, mainly much stricter rules. We want a mature image sharing site, not an immature one. Oh, and it`s not supposed to be a DAMN DISCUSSION BOARD! IMAGES people, not THREADS. Dammit. An idea possibly ahead of it`s time.

Although, if someone comes along and wants to make a new imageboard, I will gladly write up a scathing blog at them. With help, PCN can go somewhere. However, this idea was unique enough in my opinion to deserve a niche, and any copycat bastards are quite unnappreciated. I`ll support orignal ideas. Like the Bulbapedia. If anyone tried to copy them, they would also be copycat bastards.

Sorry for not blogging in awhile, school kind of sucks.

I'd like to apologize for assuming that vBulletin had a built in feature to change the postbit. Thank you Soanevalcke for pointing out that it's a mod, and must be manually installed. Sorry for the lack of backwork done to check the features. Yesterday was also meant solely to discuss what forums are built on, not that I'd pass up a good community because of what script they used. Honestly, I'm not that shallow.

For today, I thought it'd be interesting to bring up the activity on Pokemon Forums in their non-Pokemon areas vs the actual Pokemon areas. I won't do any cross comparisons, but in general address this little issue.

Other over Pokemon - Failing Forum? So, if a forum has more activity in its other chat sections than Pokemon discussions- which it was intended to facilitate- has it failed its goal, or on the road to being dead? In my opinion, no. Some people see it as a bad sign when a forum starts straying from what it was built to talk about. Obviously it's not good to have an absolute dead section where the fandom should be congregating, but as long as there's activity, I think the forum is serving it's general purpose. Webmasters should be more concerned about the welfare and community aspect than where all the posts are going. If members enjoy themselves, that's really decides how the community is doing.

Pokemon over Other - Succeeding? Now the inevitable flip side question. I'd have to say it probably is succeeding, assuming the Pokemon part is actually getting a substantial amount of posts and not just 10, as compared to the other miscellaneous discussion's, say, 5. In the end though, the forum is doing what it was meant to do. And in reality, this forum is doing much more to progress and facilitate the growth of the fandom over the previous type of forum. I'd personally prefer this type of forum, although like I said, baseline is how the community does in being an actual community.

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I'd like to also mention something that's often not, Oekakis and their contribution to the fandom. I don't really feel that they get credit where it's deserved, as many of them happen to be small, but close-knit, communities.

Drawing, like writing, can be an integral way of expressing yourself, and an Oekaki can be the perfect way to show off your work while working in what's literally a community of artists or art-minded people like yourself. If you like to draw, I'd highly suggest you join one to see what I'm talking about. With Java Paint applications, it's especially nice for Tablet PC users.

Although, I would also like to put in that the Oekaki format works well with a forum partnered with it, like many do, so users have a place to discuss other things. They help promote each other in the end too.

One oekaki that really hasn't lived up to my expectation has been Suta-Raito's. Not only does it have an extremely annoying member base, but it also works on a tryout system. I've never been a fan of this, PERIOD. Drawing is for everyone. Sure, an Oekaki can have tons of members and some pictures are in a different class, but that's why you have separate places where people choose what level they can work at. Right now, Smeargle's Canvas has to be my top choice for doing that. Plus the fact that the other semi-large Pokemon Oekaki I used to go to disappeared. BulbaGarden has one now of course, but it's a bit underdeveloped still, and I'm waiting to be really impressed by it. Very slow in my opinion, which is surprising considering the size of their community.

Anyways, had to bring up something that I see under discussed at this point. Art isn't just for artsy folk. You can always just enjoy and comment on it.

Today, I'd like to discuss forums in the fan community, but more specifically what scripts they're built on. I'm going to go over them in order of what scripts I like the best to what I don't really like at all. Added Note: In response to the first comment on this piece, I do not judge forums by their software alone. This is just my commentary on the different mediums we use to build and communicate in forums.

vBulletin: (SPPf, PC, PE2K, Shinou) It's top dog in my opinion. It has the most user options and user friendliness. Specifically, I like the option to change the postbit to display on the side OR top. I prefer the latter, and I don't see any other forum software that lets me switch to it. The quick changing theme is another nice feature. Generally, it offers the best feel for using a forum in my opinion.

MyBulletin Board: (PokeBeach, MMC) Simply put, it's the vB of free. It offers the best features for webmasters who don't want to pay for an overpriced forum script. I don't mind using myBB forums at all, especially now that they have the updates that add some AJAX functionality that vB has had. It's also a nice change from so many vB forums and phpBB/Invisionfree crap.

Invision PowerBoard: (PokeFusion) Surprisingly, I don't mind IPB so much as others seem to. It's a sexy forum in my opinion, and works very well. MyBB is better in my opinion, and beats the price hands down, but at least with IPB it has a lot better default and a much better graphics set. Though, I haven't used IPB much because not many forums use it.

phpBB/InvisionFree/Hosted: (noob) They both suck. Both outdated, both have ads usually, and I usually don't join forums based on those, or any other sort of pre-hosted forums. It bugs me that webmasters couldn't go the length to learn how to actually host their own boards and create a nice atmosphere.

Short little notes about forum scripts. I haven't seen an SMF since Ty's forum died, and some other scripts that are out their, even if they're good, aren't really used in the fandom.



-------------- Below, I respond to some comments. Personally, I struggle on if I should actually take time to do that. Is it worth it? Or should I just continue? It's an issue no matter what sort of blogging you do.


Because there is nothing that particular to comment on in the actual fandom today, besides the fact that I got a mention on PJN for being correct, I'll respond to some of my comments.

Blaze definitely impressed me the most. His comments were most thought out and it was surprisingly passive in my view. Out of the comments that refuted me, he managed to sound the most rational and had the most reasonable response. However, public and personal are on and the same really. It's private that has any sort of handle on whether I would care. If it's for your friends, type whatever the hell you want. If it's meant for anyone, and essentially everyone, to read...then power swinging and slander comes in. Still, I do give props for a nice response. However:

"Get a life and comment on things that matter to the Pokemon Fandom like site reviews or something. You basically are wasting the readers' time by bitching about how you don't like my Blog. I just hope this gives you a wakeup call, and has you posting things that are actually helpful and not worrying about what "Blaze thinks". Since I honestly don't care whether people read my blog or not, I just like posting. You on the otherhand just like posting about me, and I humbled by that because like you said "any publicity is good publicity""

Was of course not in the least appreciated. I'll remind you that the Pokemon Fandom is mine to interpret here, as are the players of the game. You happened to spark the biggest response from me, and something that interests me is guaranteed to interest at least one other reader. And that's who I wrote it for. I like posting on whatever piques my interest for the day, week, or month- and specifically something that ties into the Pokemon Fandom. In this case I pointedly did give your blog publicity because I was angered by what you were obviously using it for. Besides that paragraph, I did like your comment.

BGT, I have to point out that fansites are by and for fans. If you're out to make a professional site based on hardcore facts and press releases, please do so. That's a whole new ballpark entirely though. I can't think of a fansite at the moment that looks that professional with the smiling face of a Pokemon in the banner. Serious and Pokemon just don't mix well together. Look at Serebii. It doesn't look professional, at least not in the sense of IGN, 1UP, GameSpy, etc. Yet, Joe has done an excellent of putting his fansite to the top through the quality of information and speed of which he adds it. It's the most helpful Pokemon site out there, hands down. Do you really want to go to a professional site for Pokemon news and information? Yeah...I definitely stuck with IGN through the whole Diamond and Pearl launch in Japan. </sarcasm>

And unfortunately, I can't even take RAZZY seriously. His or her (probably the latter) comment was so moronic that I'd swear they have a negative IQ. And I believe their layouts are also some of the most slow loading work in the whole fandom- it's so Web 1.0.

JKaizer and waka were appreciated to lighten the mood. Although I fail to see why that needed an announcement and thought it was a bit immature.

I sincerely hope you do, as I have a joke. What happens when you give a webmaster Blogspot? This my friend. Not only did he manage to blow up his own head, but successfully proved his head is bigger than Serebii. I'm sorry, but I need to address some very concerning inaccuracies. Then we can finally get to my surprisingly happy take on TotalPokemon.

Blaze's Blog: (This paragraph represents BGT's Guest Blog) "This is something BGT wrote yesterday (Directed to PJN, following Private Messages Paul sent to him via Shinou). I know some will call it biased since we both run TotalPokemon, but honestly it is very true. Anyone who knows BGT can tell you that he straight up tells it how he sees it, even if it means alienating or going against his own friends (or Co Webmasters). He tends to not get involved in fights or drama in general with other people, but even BGT could not put up with PJN."

My Response: I'm not going to comment on PJN's Spinarak project at all, they teased us and it could be worth it, but I'll save my judgment until it's out. What I would like to say is that what followed that paragraph didn't seem like the BGT that I had seen before. In fact, my opinion of him took a dip. He usually isn't malicious and insulting. Opinions of the webmasters were completely rude- period. Only a second rate webmaster would actually attack the character of another solely because someone said they were good. I don't think BGT was jealous, but, I'm left wondering why he would do that...it surprised me in a sad kind of way. Comparing stats with PC was just stupid. I mean, if they actually had confidence in their own forum...they wouldn't give a damn. I don't see any other forum, besides POL's, playing the tit-for-tat statistics game.

Blaze's Blog: "All I can is "wow", this is a blog nothing short of amazing. These are rock solid facts, which no one can dispute. Bravo to BGT for being brave for writing this feature, and even allowing myself to republish it on The Blaze Life."

My Response: (That concluded BGT's blog) All I can say is "sad", this blog is nothing short of low. These are rock solid opinions, which almost anyone could dispute. Bravo to BGT for lowering his morals enough to write this, and even allowing myself to comment on it without permission on FandomObserver.

Blaze's Blog: "Anyways enough about that, I want to focus on his newest scheme to get hits. That is as you probably all know his big new "revolutionary idea"..... Spinarak.net"

My Response: Why do you care? Blaze went on to discuss PJN's Spinarak project and how angsty he was that he didn't know what it was and PokeJungle & Co wouldn't tell him. Who gives a damn? I'm sitting here patiently, not complaining. Yes, ok, it goes a bit far with the hype, but it's no reason to ape out. If it's a scheme to get hits, I'll be mad. Although so far PokeJungle's projects really haven't been disappointing. Smeargle's Canvas and Mt. Moon both panned out well. PokeChan...well...that needs some fixing, but it is the first 4Chan like Pokemon imageboard. I'm not too worried that the project will be stupid so much as it just may be mediocre and nothing to really be excited about. Spinarak.net is at the moment a very humourous teaser site. I'd have to say that this was a completely pointless blog. You did give it free publicity and just COMPLETELY ADDED TO THE HYPE! So congrats on falling into what was PokeJungle's plan probably from the beginning. Absolutely no publicity is bad. He's certainly gotten a bit of it now.

Blaze's Blog: "As anyone from the Old PC knows, the Staff have become more powerful and downright power crazy. They decided that they rather pay for the Server, then have us have anything to do with it."

My Response: I think the staff has just gotten overall smarter. Yes, definitely more smart.

Blaze's Blog: "I am just genuinly nervous that I cannot replicate my Pokemon success into the Gaming Market. I mean I go from competitors such as Serebii, to the likes of IGN, Kotaku, and Joystiq. I just don't know if it is going to work out, which frightens me since I am usually overly confident about every project I get involved in."

My Response: As a level headed person, I'd have to advise you to actually catch up to who you name as your competition before trying to start a new simultaneous project. In fact, I'd say just get in the same league.

Blaze's Blog: "For those of you who know or do not know, I am the one who got Seafoam Island (SIVPH) into power at PokeCommunity in the first place. He recently publically considered switching to Shinou Community Forums in what appears to have been a publicity stunt to make gains at PokeCommunity."

My Response: Really? I didn't know. Of course you've also made claims that you directly compete with Serebii, BGT has said that Shinou has better statistics than PC at its start (statistically wrong)...so...I'm not ready to be fed bullshit by you. Pray go on though. I'm sure it wasn't a publicity stunt either. Most likely you shot your mouth off and gave it publicity, similar to what you just did to Spinarak.net. But hey, mistakes are bound to be made twice. Mewthree had absolutely every right to be mad at your dismal review. If he respected you as a webmaster, he'd respect your review and opinion. Because he contested it, it leads me to believe he doesn't.

Blaze's Blog: "P ST (Shinou) Network which stands for (Pussiance Pokemon - Pokemon Safari - Total Pokemon) will become a premier partnership between different languages. This will allow us to freely exchange news, media, projects, and even staff."

My Response: No problems with this, sounds fine. Sounds like a great way to share information. I love Pokemon Safari, especially when it was bilingual. Pussiance Pokemon, however, was already mentioned in my blog for being a non-sourcing joke of a site. I don't respect it at all. I'm interested in more news in this topic however.

Blaze's Blog: "Blaze Ranks Seafoam Islands - 63 /100"

My Response: I'll defend your right to give the site a shitty rating, but for all that's good, please explain it. Yeah...great...he spends too much time socializing and doesn't update his site. He gets a 'F' for that? Oh please. Explain in more depth or don't bother giving a rating. I started off this blog handing out reviews and quite purposefully left out any sort of rating. Giving your opinion is so much more helpful than handing out a meaningless number without explanation.

Blaze's Blog: "I have been portrayed as an "asshole" or even at times I have been descripted at the "devil", which is actually quite amusing but totally inaccurate."

My Response: Misguided Webmaster with a big ego is certainly more accurate. I don't think you're an asshole, and certainly not the devil. Just for the record.

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So why did I do that? Why did I give a quite obviously slanted response? Coming from my blog, I try to keep as balanced as i can.

I will explain in very simple terms though. Blaze is a webmaster of a popular site and a popular forum. This gives him some influence in the fandom, which translates to power. Therefore his opinion is carried with his power behind it. And from the beginning, we've learned that those in power most respect it and use it wisely. This blog was so infuriating from so many levels. Not only did it simply serve to be an outlet so he could tell us all how great his site is compared with others, but it's purposely used to slam and slander his competition. He has completely and totally abused his power.

So where does this leave me? I use my blog to comment on sites. I use my blog to refute and sometimes give unfavorable information. There are two very key differences. One, I have no site in which to flaunt. Two, I have no power to go with my opinions. I'm offering you my thoughts, and I leave it up to you to interpret them and agree/disagree with me. Not to mention I don't use this to purposely and publicly humiliate anyone besides the above example, and in my opinion, I don't give a damn. He decided to write it and very much deserves any negative response he gets.

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Total Pokemon v3: (Regardless of personal feelings, I do offer unbiased comments on sites)
So what's new with this site? Well, it now has an image gallery / new layout / site & forum login / index. Site and forum login is nice, but since the login has nothing to do with the actual site, I find no benefit with that. Gallery is definitely good, lots of Anime pictures up for use in it. It's better than Serebii's way of giving readers images...definite kudos for that. Layout is definitely looking sexy. Index is now too confusing, really. News is too small and I'm just too overwhelmed to feel compelled to actually use half of the stuff on it.

Overall it's a nice change, mostly a facelift with an utlrasnazzy image section, but it's apperciated. It did serve to revolutionize the site. Search function is now also much easier to use, nice.

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Spinarak ... can it be stopped?
One of the key phrases in the hype is "Spinarak can't be stopped". So can it be? Is it just a flop or will it really change the way we look at fansites? Personally, I do think we need more information. I find myself looking forward to when it's revealed simply to see what it *is*. Other than that it's disappointing that we only have a spoiler site and a lot of riddles. For fun, I'll go over it as Blaze did.

Bug + Web + Change. Let's put those key phrases together. Obviously Spinarak is probably the intended bug, and it can build webs, and the site should change the way we look at something. Referring to a specific hype thread on Mt. Moon, "Sites link to other sites who link back... sites partner up with others to make better end-user experiences..." (Koroku), coupled with the mention of 'net' in that post... wow. It's obviously about PokeJungle's Network. Because Blaze doesn't do such extensive research on the topics he blogs on, I don't blame him for not knowing.

It's really not a secret for those with any sort of brain power.

Considering that PokeJungle has several services, including MMC, SCO, and PokeChan (how do you abbreviate that?)...there is at least some promise in any sort of Network. However, the fact that he publicly mentioned other sites and webmasters were involved, specifically the ones from Mt. Moon, means that it's on a bit bigger scope. How far he's going is the big question now.

So I will amend "Personally, I do think we need more information. I find myself looking forward to when it's revealed simply to see what it *is*." with my research officially done. I'm now excited to see what the new Network will bring.

Because I tire of people firing hypothetical accuasations at me, I decided to just quit and leave the fandom to itself. Obviously mature opinion-handling instead a strong suit. I'm not dead though, and I've decided to pick up where I left off. Albeit, the small forum reviews have been put on the backburner, sorry.

So what I have I missed since October 6th? I honestly can't say much. Quick review of some things I've picked up on:

TotalPokemon: For awhile, the site went down. Hopefully they'll find a good server soon, as their news was missed. Version 3 of their site is apparently coming soon, which I'm actually looking forward to. It's supposed to be killer, so I'm rather clueless as to what they're really working on. I'd assume at the least, a new layout. At the most...a new service? PokeFeeds returning? I suppose time will tell, as it's supposed to be out very soon. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on that. I'm still abit confused as to why Shinou always stays up while TP and PS go down. Obviously a different server, but...why?

Serebii: Lots of Diamond and Pearl information, as to be expected, and I'd have to say it's top notch. Japanese games aren't for me though, I prefer waiting for the English edition. It's nice to see what I can look forward to though, looks great. Definitely the best site out there for any sort of D/P question.

PokeJungle: New layout, apparently based on the Wii layout. I'm torn. Insanely bright, but it does have some redeeming qualities. After a slight slump on their news and lack of site updates (disappointing), it seems that their Oekaki has a new domain and a sketch board. Their forum just got a new layout (Vista Style). And, I'll admit, I have no idea what "And all bugs aren't bad..." means. It coincides with a spammy announcement on the forums though. Ironically.

PokemonOL: Their server is gone! The isn't really fun at this point, but I still feel pretty bad for them. I mean...ouch. Plus it'll be expensive for them to replace.

And now, I'd like to point out the top 3 Pokemon fansite adwhores.

WE DON'T WANT ADS!
* http://pokemonpalace.net/ - PPN puts waaaaaay too many ads...everywhere. It consequently adds to its very slow loading times, even for broadband.

* http://www.centropokemon.com.ar/ - A spanish site that's like a clone of PPN. Except spanish. It does load faster and is easier to navigate though.

* http://www.pokextreme.net/ - An Italian or French site that does not get hits enough to warrant adwhoring, which is rather annoying.

What we'll accept:
* Donate buttons. I'd rather have a small, inconspicious button that allows me to give money if webmasters need it.

* Text ads from Google. If it's implicated like Serebii, PC, or PE2K, I don't care. It's unobtrusive.

* No ads at all! It's obviously best, but I understand that sites cost money, so I will deal with ads if I am forced to. However, small sites that get under 250 unique/day have no excuse for ads with how cheap it would be host a site like that...not to mention you could probably find free hosting.

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Thanks for reading, hopefully I haven't lost all my readers into oblivion.

Ok, so, I'll come clean. Yes...I've been quite aware of this thread for some time now, but have not participated in it. I just wanted to read what people thought about what I was saying, but what they weren't posting on the comments. Unfortunately, I'm disappointed in it. Some honest discussion would've pleased me, something thought provoking. What I see are webmasters that are going about the usual eDrama mess that tends to happen. I'm rather amused that I'm apparently PokeJungle [Paul on PC], and someone also posted saying that I was Koroku too. Of course, the thread will be locked soon because of a spat between two webmasters, and it's just another disappointment in a long line. Get along, and deflate your heads. No, I'm not inferring anyone in particular, I'm addressing most of you. Your sites are all good at different things, stop trying to compete with each other. Your immaturity does nothing to progress your image.

And, now that you know I'm watching the thread...I'll look at what seems to have caused some ire to certain people, an apparent bias against Blaze, TotalPokemon, and Shinou. While I think I gave a realistic impression of the group due to my observations, I may have been a bit harsh. Particularly, one comment asked why I gave negatives to Shinou, but seemed to focus on positives on the other forums I rated. I do have a good excuse which is because I was frankly annoyed to have to bring it up. Like I said, I gave unfair attention to a forum that was nowhere near the size of communities I was discussing, which is not bad, but I wasn't focusing on that size, but I felt obligated to include it because I had serious issues with some of the ways it was being run. I'd like to offer a quick response to tony88, Blaze, on his comment.

1. We all know who you are, your writing style is obvious.
+ Ok, your thoughts became a lot more clear when supplemented with the above mentioned thread. Please do not drag me into an eDrama with you and a fellow webmaster. I can honestly say I'm not into that sort of thing.
2. Puissance Pokemon is a FRENCH Pokemon site.
+ Thank you for pointing that out.
3. PokeJungle has also stole loads of Images from Serebii and TotalPokemon, and yet credited "ImageBoards". So please, don't be biased and that everyone is just stealing from "Serebii and your site".
+ I'll look into the issue, just for you. Maybe in a few blog posts I'll address it. Although I will also be looking into the D@N matter that was mentioned in the thread to be fair, I had no previous knowledge that those images were not taken by that user.
4. PC Merging is a lame idea, plus there is no actual forum that *would* merge with it.
+ ...all I ask is that you read before you comment.

Ok, and that's enough addressing questions, comments, and criticisms for today. I apologize profusely for being taken off track. I expect tomorrow's rendition to focus on smaller forums with reviews, so please look forward to that. I'm thinking PIF, PokeBeach, PsyPokes, Mt Moon, and PokePalace right now. Comment if you have any more suggestions please.

After much more thought on the topic, no, PC merging would be an absolutely horrible idea. A Halloween event sounds nice, and I'd like to see PC advertised more. The comments didn't really do anything to change my mind, I knew they would be against it, it's just the fact I really don't want a major member-shift, and I think many would agree with me. A few a day is much preferred than destroying friendship rings and such with the addition of a whole new social enviroment. So yes, as someone pointed out, it would do a lot to deter members. For the record however, I was just rambling. You can ignore those.

Right now though, I'd like to take attention to a real problem in our fandom, sourcing. Many of the larger sites complain about it, and many of the smaller sites do it. So how often are the big ones exagerrating, and how often are the smaller ones getting falsely accused?

Personally, I discovered Pussiance Pokemon, an Italian Pokemon site, had ripped off many of Serebii's images, and also a video from PokeJungle Net. No links, no sources, nothing. And what's more unfortunate, this was a larger site, and should have known better. Just because you get news and media from International sites doesn't mean sourcing doesn't translate. People work hard to create things for their sites, and it's not fair- nor under any circumstances, ok to take things without credit. This also goes for fanart and fanfiction too. It is a damn shame people go the shortcut and ripoff the work others do, and we as a fandom should be above that. I can't even go into this subject long without repeating myself, so I'll say point blank that it's wrong.

Someone asked me who I was, which deserves a little attention. Obviously it's a bit odd that I choose to give opinions through a completely faceless form of writing. I'm part of many forms, I'm familar with the sites, so why don't I just let you know who I am...so you can be at peace about whose words you are in fact reading.

The first reason could be cowardice. I'm too afraid to back up my thoughts and opinions with a wholly responsible name. This could give me an opportunity to get away with malicious comments and utterly offensive content and not have to take the blame for it. It's plausible, but that's not my reason. I have no problem personally justifying my comments and I wouldn't choose to hide behind a blog if I had someone to talk to. So, we shall explore a second reason.

I can't think of a second reason really. Just the real reason, which I'll outline below, and my very thought out reasons for being "fandomobserver":

First and foremost is personal bias. No, I'm sure I'd have people that agreed with me and disagreed with me regardless if you know who I am or not, but that's not the point of this. When I say "Personal bias", I mean any preconcieved thoughts or opinions you may or may not have from knowing me or hearing about me.

I want readers to read with a completely open mind, and make objective opinions about my blogs based on what I write, not about who I am, and not about friendships or relational ties. As I try to present the facts in an unbiased way, I'd like the visitor to in turn read in an unbiased manner and complete a circle that progresses what I write, instead of hindering it.

So I will not be giving out usernames for any of my regular forums, but I'd like you to know exactly why I'm choosing not to, to be fair.

[And to answer their second question, I will do PIForums soon. Any other requests will be accepted in the form of messages or comments. I'd like people to be able to have access to stark thoughts and opinions on their communities and sites.]

As of now, I have little time to write a decent chunk of blog, as I strive to do under normal circumstances. If you don't have a topic worth talking about in depth, it's usually not all that important to address. I'd rather expand my topics and challenge points of view from the Pokemon Fandom and completely back up my thoughts and opinions.

Right now I'd like to do a short piece though, more tomorrow, I promise. I'd also like to take time for all who commented on the first post, I was surprised to actually get people reading this. It was meant for me to talk to myself mainly.

I think, specifically, a comment asking for comments and or advice on PokeCommunity got me thinking the most. And so I shall share my thoughts.

First off, it's gaining some momentum back, but there's not a good chance it will fully recover this year...[2006], or ever, if things aren't addressed. It's a good forum in my book, I like it, but the server move dealt it a crippling blow after a series of weakening shots beforehand. Good members are coming back, sure. I don't think it's enough though. And now that PPN has begun the invietable fall that should've started ages ago, so PC no longer has a giant site-backbone anymore. And that, speficially, means less visitors will filter into its forum. SIVPH, and the rest of the Community Sites don't generate enough hits to properly restore the traffic unfortunately.

So what to do? That would seem the million dollar question at the moment. Is it time for a "Get Together"? Revive the 'ol Elections? Restore the Oekaki? What exactly does it take...?

-------- Me rambling

The way I look at the situation, PC can't do it by itself. I see an opportunity for merging, personally. I know intial reactions to the idea will be instant rejection, but let me follow through with it. Yes, you've got a great forum and a staff team that wants to stick together, but it could possibly be time to share. Not only would you get the benefit of new members coming in, but also a new perspective from an Administration partnership that you never had before.

It also plays into the goal of creating a forum for everyone. By merging forums, you get a larger memberbase, thus a bigger community. If you mesh well, then you create a better user experience by strategically combining two places into one. Then focus on the user experience, making sure the positives of both forums stay that way, while adding new things.

On the other hand, a merger with the wrong forum could kill PC entirely. I'm not sure if I even support my above outlined plans, but it's one of the very few options to provide support to the crippled userbase in its current state. Just food for thought though. I'm honestly just rambling about a half baked idea.

------- End said Ramble

Ok, from PC unto Shinou Community, which has again garnished attention from me.

So, it seems as though the login/registration requirement is gone, and yes, it makes me happy. The listed reason of it being their in the first place was for server stability...or something, but I purpose another excuse: Diamond and Pearl Information. It's no secret that TotalPokemon advertised Shinou as *the* forum for D/P discussion, images, and information. So, what can you do to capitalize that? Make sure everyone has to register just to see it!

Now that the hype's gone, it's gone. Yes, good job on making SC better. I can't help but feel I was blatantly taken advantage of though. Timing was a bit too coincidental.

Hope this heralds more good changes for SC though, I'm hopeful.

Thanks for anyone who commented or friended me, it was appreciated. I will try to investigate into PKMN.Net in the future, I don't know much about it. Heard some dramatic tales about it though, so I'm interested.

So, I'm obviously not going to write up a long list of reviews again, since I got that done with yesterday. Perhaps another time I'll scout out some quality "up and coming" fansites, it'd make an interesting feature. However, I'd like to focus on the future of the fandom today.

So, what's next? (Specifically with English Diamond and Pearl)

It's an extremely valid question at this point. Besides the fact that Diamond and Pearl will restore some credibility to the games (unfortunately, the "hardcore" gamers miss out on what is one of the best RPGs out there). WiFi attracts people, and especially when our fanbase is already so large, well...it's about to get bigger. Good, right? In some ways yes...and in a lot of ways no.

Right now, we aren't equipped for growth, not really. I'm sure some webmasters would love absolutely explosive growth on their site's hits, or forums, but that's just not healthy. You'll notice that in American history, we had a stock market crash. Why? Because we had explosive stock market growth, so high in fact, that it couldn't sustain itself, and ended up crushing our economy. With the new members, will it drive off the old? And on that note, will the new stay interested in the fandom for long, or is it just hype from the new games hitting worldwide and a temporary limelight on Pokemon. While the old members have been driven off by what will be inevitably called the "n00b generation" of new forumers, of all ages, will they come back? Will they support the forum they used to go to? I'm not sure they will. True fans, sure, but those that stay at Pokemon forums for the "Daily Chit Chat" and "General Forums" won't have a reason to stay if their fellow veterans also leave and find new forums.

It could be overly pessimistic, or it could be spot on. Only time will tell when everything's said and done. Everything has a downside, and that just had to be said. Diamond and Pearl WILL spark the interest of the world's gamers, to be sure. Reviews have been stellar so far, including Famitsu's (notoriously tough) and others. There's no way someone with a DS and $40 could really refuse. Voice chat, GTS, new pokemon...it's a winning combination for sure. So yes. This will make our fandom grow, but possibly at a high price, and it also could be shortlived in the general timeline of 10 years.

Is there a blatant solution to all of this? No. Good luck.

My thoughts on our communities, ie: forums...

I purpose a new forum. One that's willing to strive to unite all fans, WITHOUT a site backing it. Webmasters get too involved in making forums exclusive if they've got sites to worry about to. Such as making forums unviewable without registration, which is a huge annoyance factor as I said before.

The problem though, is traffic. If, at the core, sites really desired peace and harmony in our fandom, they'd selflessly use a forum as their home, even if they only got a link back, no fancy position. Of course, everyone reading is human. We *must* have power. Why sacrifice a shiny Administrative position if it's as easy as simply going to InvisionFree or ProBoards?

At the heart of things, the forums of today aren't after a fruitful community, they're about competition with others. Making sure that a site is equipped with the best and the most innovative community with the most threads, most posts, most members. It's almost sickening if you REALLY think about it. Sure, they're providing you a place to talk with friends and paying for it, but it's like wearing Nike shoes. You are simply a statistic for them to brag about. You, the member, are not their main concern, the forum's level of activity is.

That's why a new forum needs to be built. One that focuses on the community. Not the statistics, the members. Not the site, but the feeling of comradory. Not the strategy to attract members, but how to make existing ones happy.

I'd do it myself, but I honestly don't have faith that there's sites out there that would support it. And baseline, you need visitors to become members, and members to become a forum, and a forum to progress my ideals into a tangible reality.

On second thought, a pure user-advertised community, one run through word of mouth, might be a good experience. Can a forum survive by making so sure that the experience is one worth joining for?

I don't know.

I like Pokemon. Yes. The games are fun, the 500 creatures are cute, and the fandom...well, it used to rock. I'd like to take a moment and slow down to really evaluate the situation it's in. Seems rather low to me, even with the release of Diamond and Pearl in Japan lately. Lots of fans, sure, but are they worth having?

Let's take a look at the communities first, forums as most internet goers say:

PokeCommunity: I'll discuss this one first, because it just had major downtime and people are still speculating as to whether it will live. Will it? Of course. There will always be some activity there until it's deleted, mainly due to the close knit group of people that frequent there. The atmosphere is pretty nice, and the shutdown did serve to drive out many of the more immature members with no patience to wait for it to come back up. All in all, it's a decent forum to visit and maintain activity at. Certainly with its new found slowness, it's much more preferable to the next forum I'm about to dive into.

Serebii Forums: This would be the big one. This is also the worst one. What staggers me, is the thought of the biggest Pokemon site on the internet NOT having the best forum. Sure, it would take a ton of staff to properly man the forum so that it's moderated in a much better way. But as it is, it's unbearable for those with intelligence, unless you are HIGHLY picky about what threads you even look at it. Disappointing lack of control completely ruined this one. Sure, it's busy, but that's because there's a high volume of 10 year old kids who can't type on it. This is a place I rarely go. Most of the staff also seems assine, along with some members.

BulbaGarden Forums: Ok, this is supposed to be the "mature users" forum as far as the Pokemon fandom goes. Thankfully, this pulls it off. The rules are a little bit tight, but in this case it only serves to enhance the community's appearance and fun factor as a whole. One of the biggest gripes I have though, is the members. Most of them have very little tolerance to those new to forums or those who don't want to adhere to some of the littler rules that exist. They come down hard on them, maybe a bit too hard. I think with a little softer memberbase, this is one of the better forums out there.

PE2K Forums: This would have to be my favorite forum. It's not too fast, has a mostly nice and very funny member base, and definitely has an atmosphere of 'relax and have a great time'. The staff is a bit under-staffed, which is probably a minor problem but the biggest PE2f has. Spammers are dealt with in hours, not immediately, and sometimes problems can arise which aren't fixed in a very timely manner. All said though, it still tops my list as far as forums go in the Pokemon fandom.

Shinou Community: Now, I wasn't even going to mention this one...because, well, it really isn't fair. It's a small forum. Sure, tons of members (many having 0 posts), but that's because you have to register just to SEE the forums, which is an auto-annoyance for me. So no, I haven't posted, but I am registered for reading purposes. Simply put, this forum has little future...and if it does have one, it's certainly a bad one. Only one of the administrators is really up to snuff, BGT, and their little "International" bit was ALREADY DONE. That's what I find the most issues with. PIForums [Pokemon International Forums] has been around for a long time, and has a much better forum all and all. No, SC isn't something new, and no, it's not worth joining to read.

(Because of constraints, I'm not going to mention other forums, such as PsyPoke's, PokeBeach's, PokeJungle's, or Dragonfree's. Sorry, maybe I'll do one that focuses on non-limelight forums later.)

But, communities aren't all this forum has! It also has an eDrama filled Webmaster community who are responsible for the giant sites that we all rely on for news. Well, I can at least say we get news fast. I'll tackle some of the bigger sites:

Serebii: Although SPPf is horrible, SPP really isn't. It has good, very reliable, news and tons of useful content. It's definitely the best site if you're stuck on something or even if you want to read about the latest Anime episode that aired, English or Japanese. The layout is the stand-out problem here, it's horrible. Honestly, if you're going to run the biggest site, I myself would make an effort to make it look nice. As far as other things go, I think the site would benefit from not being so serious. Pokemon should be fun, but it's almost like the site is an office with everything laid out and ONLY things that are 100%. Sometimes I have to go to other sites for the rumours that are floating around the fandom. The webmaster, 'Serebii Joe', can also be annoying/arrogant, but in the news posts that's pretty much contained. SPPf shows more of his personality.

Pokemon Palace Network: Recently, this giant fell. I never liked this site, nor did I use it. This was due to several reasons, the first being loading time. I'm on a dial up connection, and I don't have 5 minutes to wait, just to see the news or information other sites have! Plus PPN is just an ad-whore, which makes it have a horrible layout. Not sure why anyone visited this in the first place, as its news sucks and is only posted when someone feels like it, and furthermore the navigation system to access information sucks. Big thumbs down, and now the webmaster's disappeared. PPN has pretty much died, recently being passed up in topsites by competitors. I'm surprised that it took this long to fall, but not all that sad. It's time that some of the older sites that were built years ago and haven't caught up to fall to 'Survival of the Fittest'.

PokeBeach: As far as TCG goes, this is a good resource. News is also fairly fast, although it's iffy sometimes. Something irksome to me is the unreliablity of some information, such as the webmaster claiming direct links and information from Nintendo. At least it is fairly fast loading. I can't comment on the webmaster, as I don't know him. This site isn't one of my daily-views, so I'm not all that familiar with it, otherwise I'd give it a much more thorough run through.

TotalPokemon: Well, this is a newer site, but is apparently quite popular. I say "apparently" because of claims made by the site stating that it's popular. I don't see the name referenced much in forums, so honestly I can't say its popularity goes beyond the hits, but I degress. As far as content goes, it's newness shows a bit. It still needs to play catch-up to older sites of similar size. So, why is it worth visiting? News. It's one of the fastest sources, besides if you're on late at night, and usually has some decent info. Recently it teamed up to provide fansubs of the new D/P season, I'll see how that turns out. The administration team is a bit iffy, like I said, I respect BGT, but his counterpart is arrogant, and his head needs a bit deflating. No, this site is not the next Serebii.

SIVPH: To me, this would seem like an "Old Favorite" to some people. While it was never wildly skyrocketed into the mainstream, it still managed to become a nice large site. News is updated rarely, and so is content, so it's better for older game help and some fun stuff there to poke around. If it wants to compete with the sites out there, it needs to get more content and better news in a hurry.

PokeJungle Net: So, this is a bit interesting. I read the Wikipedia article on it before it was taken down, and it's been open about 3 years, which I was very surprised to hear. In the end, I guess it finally got the popularity the time deserved. I run into the URL fairly often for a site that isn't Serebii at various game forums. Now, I need to address what's not so hot about it. Even though the layout is, dare I sa it, cute...it's still not the greatest batch of content. Yes, it does have more than most, and even more updated, but there's still stuff missing that could be handy to a Pokemon fan. Recently its news has also come under attack because of bad translations by the webmaster, but with that said, I've found this site to often offer the fastest news. I guess I'll think of it as a trade off. I just have to comment on this, but the webmaster seems human. There's just a little better atmosphere here than on some other sites.

Cave of Dragonflies: Do I go to this site for game help? No. Do I go to it for the best news? No. I visit because it's really fun. This is the site that isn't based around the same old formula, it really stretches out and expanded into a site that wasn't afriad to forgo the traditional information, and instead offered a multitude of fun stuff just to keep you busy. The webmaster is also top rate, and has her own fanfiction going which is very high quality, and I'd suggest a read if you have nothing to do one day. Definitely a site that stands out in my mind, not just because it's fun, because it breaks the mold. Nice to see something different in the fandom for once.

So, first LJ post. And yes, that's what I'll be doing, critiquing and giving the latest news about the Fandom, specifically sites and communities. Please note this are my opinions, and are not meant to offend in any way. I'd love some comments and friends on LJ.

~FandomObserver