Personal Note: I had no idea this thing was going to be so long, but for those who actually read it all, you're the best and I love you! Thanks. For the rest, tl;dr it's my five year anniversary being on PC today!
I'm kind of at a loss for words right now. Partly because I've got a slight cold and also because I'm bewildered by the fact of it all.
Five years ago today, September 8th 2008, a sixteen year old boy joined PokéCommunity. He was a very eager, very energetic young kid who didn't really have a lot of world experience, or forum experience for that matter. I'm not really sure what he expected when he initially came here, but he didn't care. It was simply a spur of the moment type thing, a spontaneous decision to join the forum and see what it was all about and where it would take him.
He didn't know very much about the community and only interacted with a few new members like himself. Needless to say, he was only experiencing a quarter of what PokéCommunity had to offer. Worst of all, he certainly never read the rules. He didn't even know much about what it meant to be a Moderator of PokéCommunity. In fact, he didn't pay much attention to the community staff at all. They were nearly nonexistent when he first joined. So you can only imagine the number of rules he must have broken back then. Sigh.
A month later, he rejoined PokéCommunity again with a new account, because apparently he needed a fresh start after feeling embarrassed about his n00b behavior. Funny enough, while he did learn quite a bit during his first month, he still had a lot more to learn. His n00by days weren't over, they were just beginning. At least this time, however, he lasted much longer on his new account and even begun to take initiative and use PC for all of its benefits; exploring its sections and subsections while meeting more friends.
The year 2009 was definitely a fun year for this kid, a year of lessons learned and growth. He even bought himself supporter-ship in February of that year and successfully managed his own Pokémon Club, The Toddler's Playground. And yes, by this time he knew much more about the community and how it worked. He even acknowledged the staff team and eventually got this ridiculous idea that one day, he'd be a staff member too. Unfortunately, he let this drive of becoming a moderator consume him that it was all he thought about when he came online. If there was one thing he learned from this was that it certainly doesn't hurt to have a goal and strive for it, but never let it be what you are all about. Point being, don't try so hard for something to the point where you looked desperate. In many ways, desperation can be a sign of weakness and defeat. Eventually, through trial and error, he learned this.
By the year of 2010, come February 18th, he received a private message from the at-the-time Staff Admin and friend, Arcanine (Andy) asking if he was interested in becoming a moderator for the HeartGold and SoulSilver forum! Playing along to Andy's little game, he accepted the offer. He certainly did come a long way, didn't he? From a total and clueless n00b to an actual PC Staff Moderator to what was at the time one of the busiest forums on the site. Of course, he didn't look after it alone. He guarded the HG/SS forum alongside a new friend and partner, bobandbill. It was certainly some of his best times being on PC, especially that one time where he stole another staff member's name. Tehehe. It was also around this time he met two people who he would later consider his best friends (they know who they are).
Fast forward to exactly six months later, and this once upon a time forum virgin was promoted to Super Moderator. HOLY ARCEUS! Never in his time on PokéCommunity did he think this opportunity would come to fruition and so soon after being modded. Wanting to prove that he earned such a position, he put in a lot of work and effort into his new role as a Super Moderator. He become more involved with the forum than he'd ever been before. He learned things about what it meant to be a PC Member and Staff Member that he never knew before. During this year, he also learned things about himself that he never knew. He was becoming a young man. A gentleman.
Unfortunately, his run as a super moderator didn't last anymore than a year and a couple months. After working so hard, he became fatigued and he began to drift from the forum he'd come to love. This also had a bad impact on his friends as he began to talk to them less and less. Come October 22nd 2011, for his own good and the good of the forum, he stepped down from his position as super moderator and left PokéCommunity in what he thought was indefinitely.
He certainly kept to his word too. From that day on, he became but a distant memory and only ever showed his face from time to time during the year of 2012.
All this changed, however, when the end of the year drew to a close. A sudden spark and realization dawned upon him and he decided to make a return to a place he thought he had left permanently. The year of 2013 was going to be a different year, a better year and he was going to see to it that it was. It didn't take but a couple of months upon his return to get back into the old swing of things. On February 23rd, he was even asked to return to the community staff, although this time as a forum moderator to Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. It was a glorious return and the feeling of putting the cape back on made him feel happy.
Everything was good for awhile, until that all too familiar feeling of fatigue and distance crept upon him once again. It crept so close that he began to question his return and if he'd made a mistake coming back. No, he needed time away. He needed to make sure his return wasn't some decision made on the whim. So he took a break and went on vacation. Sadly, while the vacation was great, he still felt that same unsettling feeling towards being on PokéCommunity. This time it made him question his position on the staff team and extended his break with a three week Demotion Leave of Absence (DLoA) to figure some things out. Skip to three weeks later, and he was back and better than ever. He was posting again, he was fulfilling his duty as a forum moderator again, and most importantly he was just having fun.
Five years. Five years.
From joining as just a sixteen year old boy to transforming into a young man of twenty-one years. Never did he think he would stick around such a place for even a month, much less five years. Never did he imagine what an adventure and what an impact such a place as an online forum would have on him. From the people he met to the new things he learned and. It was almost like living through a second coming.
Just who is he? Well, if you haven't figured it out by now, his name is Artemis or as my friends call me, Shivi.
Hi.
I'm kind of at a loss for words right now. Partly because I've got a slight cold and also because I'm bewildered by the fact of it all.
Five years ago today, September 8th 2008, a sixteen year old boy joined PokéCommunity. He was a very eager, very energetic young kid who didn't really have a lot of world experience, or forum experience for that matter. I'm not really sure what he expected when he initially came here, but he didn't care. It was simply a spur of the moment type thing, a spontaneous decision to join the forum and see what it was all about and where it would take him.
He didn't know very much about the community and only interacted with a few new members like himself. Needless to say, he was only experiencing a quarter of what PokéCommunity had to offer. Worst of all, he certainly never read the rules. He didn't even know much about what it meant to be a Moderator of PokéCommunity. In fact, he didn't pay much attention to the community staff at all. They were nearly nonexistent when he first joined. So you can only imagine the number of rules he must have broken back then. Sigh.
A month later, he rejoined PokéCommunity again with a new account, because apparently he needed a fresh start after feeling embarrassed about his n00b behavior. Funny enough, while he did learn quite a bit during his first month, he still had a lot more to learn. His n00by days weren't over, they were just beginning. At least this time, however, he lasted much longer on his new account and even begun to take initiative and use PC for all of its benefits; exploring its sections and subsections while meeting more friends.
The year 2009 was definitely a fun year for this kid, a year of lessons learned and growth. He even bought himself supporter-ship in February of that year and successfully managed his own Pokémon Club, The Toddler's Playground. And yes, by this time he knew much more about the community and how it worked. He even acknowledged the staff team and eventually got this ridiculous idea that one day, he'd be a staff member too. Unfortunately, he let this drive of becoming a moderator consume him that it was all he thought about when he came online. If there was one thing he learned from this was that it certainly doesn't hurt to have a goal and strive for it, but never let it be what you are all about. Point being, don't try so hard for something to the point where you looked desperate. In many ways, desperation can be a sign of weakness and defeat. Eventually, through trial and error, he learned this.
By the year of 2010, come February 18th, he received a private message from the at-the-time Staff Admin and friend, Arcanine (Andy) asking if he was interested in becoming a moderator for the HeartGold and SoulSilver forum! Playing along to Andy's little game, he accepted the offer. He certainly did come a long way, didn't he? From a total and clueless n00b to an actual PC Staff Moderator to what was at the time one of the busiest forums on the site. Of course, he didn't look after it alone. He guarded the HG/SS forum alongside a new friend and partner, bobandbill. It was certainly some of his best times being on PC, especially that one time where he stole another staff member's name. Tehehe. It was also around this time he met two people who he would later consider his best friends (they know who they are).
Fast forward to exactly six months later, and this once upon a time forum virgin was promoted to Super Moderator. HOLY ARCEUS! Never in his time on PokéCommunity did he think this opportunity would come to fruition and so soon after being modded. Wanting to prove that he earned such a position, he put in a lot of work and effort into his new role as a Super Moderator. He become more involved with the forum than he'd ever been before. He learned things about what it meant to be a PC Member and Staff Member that he never knew before. During this year, he also learned things about himself that he never knew. He was becoming a young man. A gentleman.
Unfortunately, his run as a super moderator didn't last anymore than a year and a couple months. After working so hard, he became fatigued and he began to drift from the forum he'd come to love. This also had a bad impact on his friends as he began to talk to them less and less. Come October 22nd 2011, for his own good and the good of the forum, he stepped down from his position as super moderator and left PokéCommunity in what he thought was indefinitely.
He certainly kept to his word too. From that day on, he became but a distant memory and only ever showed his face from time to time during the year of 2012.
All this changed, however, when the end of the year drew to a close. A sudden spark and realization dawned upon him and he decided to make a return to a place he thought he had left permanently. The year of 2013 was going to be a different year, a better year and he was going to see to it that it was. It didn't take but a couple of months upon his return to get back into the old swing of things. On February 23rd, he was even asked to return to the community staff, although this time as a forum moderator to Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. It was a glorious return and the feeling of putting the cape back on made him feel happy.
Everything was good for awhile, until that all too familiar feeling of fatigue and distance crept upon him once again. It crept so close that he began to question his return and if he'd made a mistake coming back. No, he needed time away. He needed to make sure his return wasn't some decision made on the whim. So he took a break and went on vacation. Sadly, while the vacation was great, he still felt that same unsettling feeling towards being on PokéCommunity. This time it made him question his position on the staff team and extended his break with a three week Demotion Leave of Absence (DLoA) to figure some things out. Skip to three weeks later, and he was back and better than ever. He was posting again, he was fulfilling his duty as a forum moderator again, and most importantly he was just having fun.
Five years. Five years.
From joining as just a sixteen year old boy to transforming into a young man of twenty-one years. Never did he think he would stick around such a place for even a month, much less five years. Never did he imagine what an adventure and what an impact such a place as an online forum would have on him. From the people he met to the new things he learned and. It was almost like living through a second coming.
Just who is he? Well, if you haven't figured it out by now, his name is Artemis or as my friends call me, Shivi.
Hi.
