Why did you join the forums?

[Zhukov]

I came to this site looking for Zero Punctuation. I clicked onto the forums because I been a member of two other gaming-related forums in the past and found doing so to be a net positive.

As for what actually made me sign up and post for the first time, well, I had recently played Bioshock and thought it was awesome. I saw someone asking about the game and leapt in to spread the gospel.

"Yes, of course you should play that game ************! It's the greatest thing ever born of human hands!"

[sub][sub]Dislaimer: I am 99.9999% certain I did not actually say anything like that.[/sub][/sub]

 

[mysecondlife]

I joined because it seemed like a fun group of people. A lot of them seemed to have vanish though. Although a lot of new pleasant people have joined, I wish they stayed.

I think I joined to complain about ME3's ending.

Those were dark times... why would you remind anyone of that?!

I was more annoyed with "OMG SKYRIM IS THE GREATEST GAME EVER!". I was relieved when the forum moved on to the subject of ME3's ending.

But man.. (along with GamerGate) that was the most exhausting stretch of 4+ months I've ever endured on this forum.

GG was like two ME3 endings combined XD

I have barely been posting in these forums this past year since 90% of the threads seem to be about gender issues these days. Really fucking monotonous after awhile :/

I tend to avoid the gender issue threads. Which is probably why I have less than 2000 posts since joining 2011. I kept myself uninformed about GamerGate so I can't even imagine what it must be like for ones who got caught in the middle of it.

 

[Bat Vader]

I originally joined because I liked interacting with other forum members and there were interesting discussions going on. The honeymoon has long worn off by now. A lot of the older members I used to speak with either quit posting or go on long breaks. Most of the stuff that is posted these days doesn't strike my fancy so I rarely post on the forums these days. I mainly only post in the usergroups now.

 

[Catfood220]

I can't remember why I joined. I, like it seems a few people did, liked Zero Punctuation and started lurking in the forums and decided to join one day. Not a lot has changed, I still come here for Zero Punctuation and spend a lot of time lurking in the forums.

 

[JoJo]

Like many others I found this site through Zero Punctuation, sometime in 2009 via a friend. It wasn't until the next year that I found the forums and started lurking for a while, eventually signing up to reply to a three wishes thread. I never expected to post this much then, it took another six months and me becoming active on the RP forum to really get going as a member.

 

[Colour Scientist]

Someone introduced me to ZP and I joined the forums after lurking for a while.

I've noticed a decline in how often I post now though, the ratio of fun to not-so-fun threads seems to have tilted in favour of the latter. I still spend a lot of time here but I seem to spend most of it rolling my eyes at posts rather than actually wanting to participate.

I think the GG debacle has left me with a rather bad taste in my mouth too.

 

[NoeL]

Well, I went back and looked at my very first post [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.283775-Pennsylvania-Man-Swipes-Nintendo-DS-From-Disabled-Child?page=2#11169126] to try and get some insight. It didn't really help.

 

[The Squid King]

I joined this site after years of lurking, Zero Punctuation brought me to the site while Jim F****** Sterling Son and Moviebob encouraged me to stay.

As other people have stated, read the COC. One rule in particular to be careful of is the low content rule (don't post single word responses, images etc), it trips many new members up. Also if you see a red button, do not click it.

Welcome to the Escapist

 

[Dr. Crawver]

Honestly no idea. I joined A long time ago and it's hard to remember. I do know I used to come for ZP however. Spent a while lurking.

Well, I'm glad I've joined, it's a fun place to discuss some thing most of the time. Even with the recent souring that happened, I'd say this is still a net positive place to be.

 

[LongAndShort]

Welcome to the Escapist forums mate. You already seem like a top bloke/bird/whatever-you-choose-to-identify-yourself-as.

Yeah, same as a lot of people, started on the Escapist with ZP, wanted to comment on a post and stayed 'cause I thought the moderators and forum rules were fair. Still think so. There seemed to be a lot more fun threads when I joined though. People seem to spend a lot more time whining and/or battling for/against the forces of social justice these days (I'm a rogue myself these days, so I try to avoid the pitched battles).

Read the CoC, don't threaten anyone or encourage/suggest committing a crime, try not to insult anyone, generally don't be an arsehole, and you'll do fine.

Also, find yourself a good avatar if you want people to remember you. People remember avatars better than they remember names.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

I joined after zero punctuation for an introduction in online interaction. Long story short; Had a friends and life. Bad friends. Bad moments of realisation. Almost no friends. Now very difficult to make new friends currently. Attempting to fill void of relatable human contact. Happy happy joy fun!!
On a lighter note...welcome, cyber outsider from distant lands! You will find the bar a lovely place to share stories.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Because it's filled with geeks like me, and unlike most other sites I've visited the geeks here are a bit more softer and cuddlier.

And seeing as I don't have no geek friends (or friends in general for that matter) in real life, I'm here to stay.

 

[Dandark]

Joined a few years ago after lurking for a bit. I think I first signed up to comment on something but I decided to stick around because I liked the forums, both the actual forums and the community that spends their time on them.

Tips? Watch out for the low content rule and if it ever bothers you, just remember what some other forums are like when everyone thinks a thread takes nothing more than a title and "Discuss" and a reply takes nothing more than "LoL".

 

[Thaluikhain]

Eh, joined cause of Yahtzee, way back when.

As for tips...the code of conduct has been mentioned, but that's not really the rules that get enforced around here. You can still be a jerk as much as you want.

 

[Elfgore]

I was drawn here by ZP just like everyone else was, I think 2009 was the year I started watching it. I accidentally clicked the forum button one day and ended up browsing them for the solid year or so. I then decided to join up so people could hear my "marvelous" opinions. By marvelous, I mean my immature and angst ones. I wish the escapist would just delete my first five hundred post.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I lurked for a while after discovering ZP by randomness at a previous job... watching the backlog between tech support calls at a DELL call center. Anyway decided one day to reply to something, not at all sure why, came back often to either make topics (some ignored, some were well received). Stuck around because I like some of the folks around here though I don't often agree with a lot of the sentiments. I enjoy discussions, loathe debates that turn into poo-flinging arguments and stay the hell away from anything involving hashtags and double-g words.
My advice? I second Marter's direction toward the Code of Conduct, it will help you avoid mod-wrath. Other than that, don't be a dick, enjoy yourself and whatnot. And stay out of the basement.
Welcome to the Escapist.

 

[laggyteabag]

I was on The Escapist for the best part of a year before I made my account, but I hardly ever ventured away from Zero Punctuation. Eventually it got to the point where I started to look around the rest of the website, and soon realised that I had been missing out on badges for a long time. And thus the tale of the account began.

 

[Hero of Lime]

Welcome to the forums! My only suggestion would be to stay in the fun gaming discussion threads, that's what I do. And of course, be respectful and kind, and others will treat you well too.

I first came here when my brother had been watching Zero Punctuation, and I eventually started watching it too. Then I saw that there were forums, and I was interested in reading some of them. This led to me lurking for a really long time until I decided I would either join and post my own opinions, or just stop reading the forums altogether. Funny enough, I don't watch ZP or anything on the site anymore, I just come here for the forums nowadays.

It's obvious what choice I made now of course. Though I don't post as much as I used to. Though I visit the site once a day, and if there is a thread about Zelda or Pokemon, I will never be far behind.