Lady Vulpix has been promoted.

[Charles Legend]

Congratulations again Gabi.

Darkest if it makes you fell any better I only noticed Yesterday that she had been promoted.

~Charles Legend

[Lady Vulpix]

I got it from your "yes to everything except her having nearly every mod under her spell", but I may have misinterpreted that. In that case, sorry about the misunderstanding and thanks to you too.

And thanks to everyone else as well.

That card was funny, shazza. I'm saving it to my computer. I wish I really did have the power to turn sloppy posts into award-winning theses. Then I'd only have to make a sloppy post, transform it and submit it to the doctorate commission at university. I'd get my PhD by the end of the year! (I'm almost done with the subjects, my thesis is the only thing that's giving me trouble and I think it'll take at least 2 more years).

[Little_Pikachu]

Congrats again Gabi, I know with your new found power you can work towards making the forums better And thanks again for getting my stuff sorted out too!

[Lady Vulpix]

Congrats again Gabi, I know with your new found power you can work towards making the forums better And thanks again for getting my stuff sorted out too!

You're welcome. I'm glad that's finally fixed.

[Clark]

OMG liek congrats Gabi!!!!!111oneoneoenneneene.

[DarkestLight]

Yeah seriously, that's pretty damn fast shazza lol.

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Congrats Gabi!! I know that you will go a great job!! ^_~

[Zak]

I got it from your "yes to everything except her having nearly every mod under her spell", but I may have misinterpreted that. In that case, sorry about the misunderstanding and thanks to you too.

I was trying to say that's not true. >.>

[Gavin Luper]

shazza, that card was hilarious. Well done.

[Lady Vulpix]

Ah, OK, Zak. Sorry. And thanks, Clark and Christen.

[SystematicRevolution]

OMG liek congrats Gabi!!!!!111oneoneoenneneene.

Clark, I miss your orange 12pt Tahoma font on black background.

[Katie]

I can't help but be curious about the adminning process... Something needed to be done that only an admin can do, but rather than contact the other 2 admins you go to the webmaster who literally hasn't posted in like 7 years (who didn't respond to you for several months anyway) ... ?? What about LP and Chris? Where the hell is Chris anyway, I just looked and he had a grand total of 7 posts in 2008, and none in 2009. I dunno, I like Chris and all but it seems like based on what has happened a replacement would have made more sense. But it was more likely a "bah, eff it. here." response from Kevin which seems pretty in character for him.

I dunno what I'm rambling about, this is what happens when neopets goes down.

PS there is way too much pink font in this thread I'm getting confused.

[Indecent Exposure]

I like that I still recognize peoples names here. Well done to the one of them who has achieved this which has been done.

[SystematicRevolution]

Hi, Todd

[Magmar]

Congratulations, Gabi... a little late but.... better late than never!

But uhh... why are people acting like their very lives depend on this pokemon message board promotion...

[Indecent Exposure]

Hi, Todd

Hallo thar! Not sure who you are though

[Zak]

I can't help but be curious about the adminning process... Something needed to be done that only an admin can do, but rather than contact the other 2 admins you go to the webmaster who literally hasn't posted in like 7 years (who didn't respond to you for several months anyway) ... ?? What about LP and Chris? Where the hell is Chris anyway, I just looked and he had a grand total of 7 posts in 2008, and none in 2009. I dunno, I like Chris and all but it seems like based on what has happened a replacement would have made more sense. But it was more likely a "bah, eff it. here." response from Kevin which seems pretty in character for him.

I dunno what I'm rambling about, this is what happens when neopets goes down.

PS there is way too much pink font in this thread I'm getting confused.

It's not something an admin can do. The "something" that needed to be done was the admin control panel was messed up and broken, and Suzie was unable to do a lot of things. I mean, still able to ban people, but not able to change big things like modding/demodding people, as well as other things. That's why we've had so many inactive mods for a while lately, like who you were asking about the other day. I'd reckon Chris probably couldn't have done anything either even if he was around and/or active (he probably could have figured out the root of the problem), unless the problem was exclusive to Suzie's account.

So from what I understand, one day Gabi decided to contact Kevin on AIM (I think he was online for the first time in ages, I saw him online recently too and I remember it was weird seeing him on), so she explained the problem to him and he was able to fix it, and adminned her. I don't think she even asked or anything.

[abunaidesu]

Chris is actually quite active on a torrent site we both frequent although I really doubt he would have bothered had he been enlightened on the issue anyway

[Master Rudy]

PS there is way too much pink font in this thread I'm getting confused.

Then allow me to add to the problem ^_^
lol j/k


In any case grats to LV. Having an active, long time member become a new admin could be very helpful as far as getting things done. Chris hasn't been around for a long time and I myself have lost count on the number of inactive mods that really need to be shuffled around to make room for some folks that are more active.

In regard to the critics I fail to see the big problem here. I admit I myself have had little to no interaction with LV over the years but let's put it this way. On the extreme oppose side of things if Kev had every intent to give TPM a big fuck you as some of you are claiming he did then he could have looked at a list of banned members who enjoy chaos, reinstated them and then sent them a message saying "Go wild and have fun!" Not saying you guys can't have an opinion on the matter but I personally feel anyone making a fuss this big about it in public should just leave the site. Don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out ^_~

On another note in regards to Shazza......
That avatar is creepy and is making me feel like I'm having a bad trip. Thanks for fueling my nightmare tonight. WTF IS THAT?!

In any case grats again!

[SystematicRevolution]

Congratulations, Gabi... a little late but.... better late than never!

But uhh... why are people acting like their very lives depend on this pokemon message board promotion...

Signed.

You know... I thought it but didn't say it. But I certainly agree. Besides, there is a lot of confusion, I think, regarding her opinions on certain things. I don't have the greatest memory on Earth (I think that title belongs to Zak) but I don't really recall a lot of the things that people have been saying about her. I remember her enforcing the "no one word posts" or whatever, but that's about it.

Aside from that, she was probably just enforcing rules that she had to enforce as a Moderator. I.e, doing her job.

[Zak]

Signed.

You know... I thought it but didn't say it. But I certainly agree. Besides, there is a lot of confusion, I think, regarding her opinions on certain things. I don't have the greatest memory on Earth (I think that title belongs to Zak) but I don't really recall a lot of the things that people have been saying about her. I remember her enforcing the "no one word posts" or whatever, but that's about it.

Aside from that, she was probably just enforcing rules that she had to enforce as a Moderator. I.e, doing her job.

The best I can offer is a possible explanation of some of the things being said that you don't recall, if you say specifically which things you mean.

Though I think that discussion is better for us to talk about off the board. If you're interested or whatever, you know where to find me.

[SystematicRevolution]

I'm not really concerned enough to bother, lol. It was just speculation on my part, anyway.

[The_Missing_Link]

To be honest, it's insanely pathetic to to be seeing anyone complaining about this whole thing. I was aware for a while that things weren't getting done around here because of activity/forum problems so her promotion doesn't surprise me at all but c'mon, aside from personal vendettas against Gabi, there is no basis to any of the complaints. She was the one who took the initiative to contact Kevin and he just happened to promote her. Go find him if you still have a problem. Maybe you'll get to him in a year

Grats Gabi. You've done your duties well over the years and you've been sufficiently rewarded

[SystematicRevolution]

...
Maybe you'll get to him in a year

...

That soon, eh? You must have a lot of faith in his online status!

[Angel Blossom]

She was the one who took the initiative to contact Kevin and he just happened to promote her. Go find him if you still have a problem. Maybe you'll get to him in a year

Gabi and I have already sorted this out in PM, so there's no need for anybody else to drag it on.

But apparently you missed the point of my last post here. It's all well and good that we have a new forum admin now, but how will Lady Vulpix's promotion attract more activity here? We desperately needed that website update to reflect Jeff's changes - the forum problems should've been secondary. Now we've missed our last opportunity to attract new people here. Well done.

Not like any of you care because you don't give a shit about Pokemon or this place anymore, and the people who want to make this place better are silenced. :/ That sounds like something Serebii would do.

[SystematicRevolution]

I can't really guarantee this statement but going by my best discernment: I don't think the world is ending any time soon. There's plenty of time to attract new people. It just may not be as easy.

Also, with the influx of older members, it may make things easier.

[Angel Blossom]

Nate, the old members here have been wanting an influx of new faces to sign up for a looooong time, even before I left in 2004. We have the new website up and running and all the tools necessary to start attracting new members. All Kevin needed to do was update http://www.pokemasters.net/ to show that TPM is alive and kicking (which wouldn't have taken much time at all), yet harassing him about pety forum problems was deemed a bigger priority? How do you figure that out?

On a final note, I like how not even Jeff cares enough to post his thoughts on this; perhaps he's too scared of upsetting Gabi. If I were him, I'd be pretty annoyed. What was the point in this project if not even Kevin was interested in bringing TPM back to prominence? Serious waste of time. :/

[SystematicRevolution]

Yeah, but one step at a time. Personally, I think fixing the problems with the mod/admin's control panel would be top priority. As a web developer, I would do that before anything else. A message board can't function without those tools, plain and simple. The forum problems aren't "petty" in the least. Glitching code is a huge issue that needs dealt with quickly.

I think your pessimism on this is ridiculous. And also the fact that you think everybody is afraid of Gabi, yet the TPM confessions thread has several people speaking their mind about her. Nobody is "afraid" of her, nobody is up her ass, and nobody is "trying to get a mod position" by congratulating her. Because nobody here is stupid enough to think that congratulating an admin is enough to get a mod position.

[Zak]

Gabi and I have already sorted this out in PM, so there's no need for anybody else to drag it on.

But apparently you missed the point of my last post here. It's all well and good that we have a new forum admin now, but how will Lady Vulpix's promotion attract more activity here? We desperately needed that website update to reflect Jeff's changes - the forum problems should've been secondary. Now we've missed our last opportunity to attract new people here. Well done.

Not like any of you care because you don't give a shit about Pokemon or this place anymore, and the people who want to make this place better are silenced. :/ That sounds like something Serebii would do.

Serebii's way past that stage now. By the way, hi Joe! If you still search your name here, that is. XD

Also, Gabi's promotion has nothing to do with activity, not sure where that's coming from. How would adding one admin increase activity on a forum, whoever it may be? Even if we adminned Chuck Norris that's not gonna have any impact on the activity of a forum.

One way we can benefit from it... well, I'm sure she's a lot more faster now, but I remember back when Suzie was the only active admin, it was a little bit hard to rely on her alone to get stuff done. I don't blame her, making decisions is hard, though I'm sure she's faster at it now, though it's hard to say really after being in this broken-CP stage for so long. I'm sure if Gabi was alone there'd be some problems as well. I don't care who, but it's good having at least two active admins. I remember her and HG got stuff done really fast together.

[Angel Blossom]

"Also, Gabi's promotion has nothing to do with activity, not sure where that's coming from. How would adding one admin increase activity on a forum, whoever it may be? Even if we adminned Chuck Norris that's not gonna have any impact on the activity of a forum."

You're right, her promotion has nothing to do with activity. That's my point. Shouldn't our focus be on increasing activity here? That's why I would've preferred it if Kevin fixed the website first, then the random forum problems and adminning Gabi.

As for Serebii, he hasn't changed, at least from what I've been told from some of his staff members recently. ^^;

[SystematicRevolution]

From a programmer's standpoint, it makes more sense to have everything working properly before beginning to attract new members. It wouldn't make much sense to open up a rollercoaster to the public without fixing the problem that was preventing the rollercoaster from stopping when it's supposed to. If the mods and admins can't do their job, there's no sense in bringing in new members. There are always people who thrive on spamming message boards (and spambots) and if they can't be properly dealt with, what makes you think that they couldn't just choke the life out of this place? I've seen it happen before. Careless mods/admins just let whomever post whatever he or she wants and eventually the whole board is spam because nobody with authority cares. Then the board dies and the serious members leave because there's nothing but spam. It could very easily happen if the mods/admins were unable to do their job.

I still don't really understand why you're treating this like it's the only opportunity TPM will ever have to be completely revived.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

I think at least SystematicRevolution is contributing rather well in reviving TPM right now. He has every second post in Misc! If only some other members could do the same, it's quite one-sided in the current situation.

[SystematicRevolution]

I am, indeed, attempting to do my part by being active. I do care about the life of this forum, as I've been here for nearly half of my life, so far. That's a significant portion. And I'm certainly not having any trouble staying up until the wee hours of the morning posting like I used to back then, haha. It's 4:42AM here. Thankfully I don't have work or any such thing in the morning. I would be in loads of trouble, otherwise.

I want to see this place thrive again. Even if it's only thriving with 50 members instead of nearly 6,000 members. Some is better than none. Sometimes you have to take what what you get.

[Jeff]

Angel Blossom, I share your sentiments about getting the .net domain back, but I still feel like fixing the forum issues was a priority here. Yeah, the site still uses that cheesy .tk domain, but at least it's better than nothing, unlike the situation we had at the forums. We had one active admin, but with no admin powers. The forums just couldn't function without an admin. People needed to be modded, links needed to be added to the site and IRC chat, not to mention various other things needed to be done that couldn't be done without one.

Had I realized Gabi was trying to contact Kevin, I would have told her to mention the .net domain to him. But, what's done is done. I'm not going to cry over it, and neither should anyone else.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

And I'm certainly not having any trouble staying up until the wee hours of the morning posting like I used to back then, haha. It's 4:42AM here.

Just a funny note, I woke up from a nightmare about the same time Finland time this morning. I went to Mielikkitalo (the place with my access to internet) right after taking a shower. But one warning, about the activity thingy, though. Pokemon Anime's active season ended after Hanada Tattsu had the every-second-post phase. The forum had grown so dependable on that kid and there was nobody to replace him. Of course, this is an entirely different situation. Misc is, in fact, the complete opposite of Pokemon Anime forum in TPM standards.

[firepokemon]

I'm not worried the main site doesn't have .net yet. Don't get me wrong a main site with .tk at the end and a site where the pages don't have proper links (in that they use the IP of the server etc) isn't ideal. But the main site isn't in a position to have a main link. Nor would it be likely to add people to this site. There are several issues. The main one is content or the lack of. Don't get me wrong Jeff and everyone else that have contributed have been amazing.But the site still lacks content and will do for a while.

Secondly we still don't have anything special to get people to follow the site anyway. The key is to have content and then offer something that makes people want to return to the site. Meaning we can't be a carbon copy of Serebii.net or Bulbagarden.net or Psypokes or anything like that. We can't be the main hacking site (Project Pokemon) or the competitive battling site (Smogon). We can't specialise in TCG (Pokebeach) or be a wiki (Bulbagarden). Eventually we'll have to find something that differentiates ourselves from everyone else.

I'm not giving up but we have to be realistic. We first need the content. We then need to find the something special and then we need to be patient and we'll get some people. We're unlikely to get hordes of people but I do think we'll get some. Personally I think we need everything done and that special something before the release of 5th gen in the United States.

[Heald]

I agree with you fp. We don't have nearly enough manpower, money or resources to be able to compete with any of the main sites at what they do. I say we concentrate on what the community actually does still have: Fanfiction, ASB and Fanart. I remember one thing that seemed to differentiate TPM from most of the other sites was the amount of content that was user-generated. Arguably our rivals are the green site and WPM's cackfest, and both of those are singularly run by two idiots with perhaps some others working with them, but the two webmasters behind those two sites are clearly the main drivers of content.

However, most of the newcomers we've had have been joining purely because of ASB. I say we make the user-generated content the focus of the site. We could have a section dedicated to ASB and have an attack-dex with pictures and Youtube videos of attacks and stuff.

Worth a thought.

[firepokemon]

Well I'm not sure we do agree about the same things. I've always believed mere content that other sites has is enough but neither do I believe user-generated content is enough either. ASB is great and can play a real role in attracting people. I don't disagree with that. Indeed I believe we need to start working towards having ASB attackdex, pokedex, contestdex and whatever ASB involves into the main site. I also believe we need to start incorporating Fanfics, Fanart, RPG and even PCG into the main site.

Where we differ is that I can't see that being the sole things to appear on the main site. I can't see that drawing that many people. Fanart isn't that strong. Other sites including Serebii and BMG etc do far better on that front. Even Fanfics and RPG which are great. There's still other pokemon sites with message boards that do such things as well if not better and certainly with more people.

Perhaps I am being selfish and being way too nostalgic about what the main site use to be. But it is my opinion that the Main Site needs to be several things. So yes user-content can be important and should be important. But that alone isn't enough. Hence we need content that all other sites have. Its a tedious task to start with but is necessary. Whilst also doing thinks sites don't really do anymore. Pokemon reports that this site use to do very well and other such things.

In regards to user generated content and its role on the site. I do have some real ideas to do it. Hopefully I can post that in a week or two.

[Zak]

If it makes you feel any better, Kris, whenever I'm browsing the forums, I and probably a lot of people (I guess not you though) click the big "The PokeMasters" banner/logo at the top of the page to go back to the main index rather than use the browser's back button or putting in the url all over again.
I guess you don't use that banner link, though, because while it's always taken me back to the main index before, you would have noticed that it now links to the site. AND that changed on the same day Gabi was adminned, so I can only assume it's the work of Kevin. Well, besides that, I don't think anyone besides the webmaster is capable of changing where the logo-banner at the top links to, so I'm pretty sure that it is him. I don't know about you but I'd say that's pretty important for a start, if a handful of people previously used that as a link back to the main index. I did and now I find myself "accidentally" going to the site a lot. XD (not that I wouldn't want to, I mean instead of the forums).

I'm sure changing the link definitely had to have tweaked the ratio of hits between the site and the forums.

[Angel Blossom]

Whenever I want to return to the forum index, I just click a link near the top of the page (where it says The PokeMasters Forums > The PokeMasters > Miscellaneous Stuff). Just a habit. I also adblock everything that I don't want on my screen, which includes forum banners as well usually. <3 Adblock!

We need to be discoverable through Google, Yahoo! and whatnot if we want to increase activity, and we can only really do that if the main website reflects these changes. I didn't know the banner redirected to the main website, and if I didn't know, how would new members know?