The legend of xShadowLordx

xShadowLordx:
« Reply #16 on Feb 15, 2010, 1:38am »

I think it's time I said something here...

WARNING: THIS POST IS EXTREMELY EMOTIONAL. READ WITH CAUTION. YOU RISK BEING DEEPLY MOVED.

Don't you dare insult the site like that, Artik. Size and popularity are meaningless. You have NO IDEA how wrong you are. You have no idea how much that hurts me.

I don't know about you, but I personally am a very sentimental and emotional person. As a matter of fact, I think joining this site and rising to the position I'm in now has been one of the biggest accomplishments of my life.

To me, this is more than just a website. This place is like home to me. I can't possibly tell you how much this forum has changed my life. It has made me more mature, more responsible, more friendly, and made me a better person. Sure, there aren't many people here, but I have made friends here on the forum who are just as good, if not better, than my friends in real life. This forum is where I come whenever I'm down. I come here when my real life friends fail me. Because I know that here, I am respected. I am valued. I am loved. It makes me feel good about myself.

It's not about how big or popular the site is. It's about the life-changing events we have here. It's about the connections and friendships you make. It's about the memories we share. It's about--and I know this sounds terribly cliched--character building.

Believe it or not, I have actually realized that as our discussions have strayed farther and farther away from Dan-Ball, the site has been feeling less like home to me. It just doesn't feel the same anymore. I don't want to lose this, both as an Admin of this site, and as a person.


Broadening our site's topic may allow us to restore interest, increase activity, and make us more successful as a website. But it will make us a failure as an Official Dan-Ball Forum site. In broadening our topic, we will fail to accomplish what we set out to do.

I've been here almost since the site began, and a few of the people here have been with me all along the way. When this site was founded (and then died and was subsequently reborn), we set out with a clear mission in mind. We set out to support, promote, and advocate Dan-Ball and its games.

In my 2+ years here, I've experienced many things, some good and some bad. But when the going got tough, we never gave up. Just because we're losing activity and people are straying Dan-Ball, doesn't mean we should give in to the evil temptations of topic-broadening. That would make us weak. We are not weak. We are strong. We may be losing activity now, but our faith and determination will never die. I don't know what the future holds for this site, but no matter how inactive this site becomes, no matter how bad things get, there will always be a dedicated few of us who will fight for the ideas the site was founded on.

Instead of bashing the site, you could be one of those dedicated few, Artik. This site may be small and unpopular, but you could do great things for this site if you really tried, instead of being such a backseat-driver. We may be a small community, but no matter how small we are, our hearts are strong, and you could earn the respect of this community and its staff if you would simply be more mature, helpful, and agreeable, and less hypocritical. You have a lot of potential, Artik. [arrogant]Heck, you could be the next me.[/arrogant]

The point is, we cannot let ourselves stray away from Dan-Ball. Dan-Ball is what brought us all together. Dan-Ball is the flame that burns within our souls. Without Dan-Ball, we are lost. Like I said before, I have noticed the site getting worse and worse over the past few weeks as we have strayed from Dan-Ball, and I, for one, am not going to let this happen. I am NOT going to let us lose our values. I am NOT going to let us give up. I am NOT going to let us fail at our mission.