Two new super mods

Darkboarder_77 and Koolkid have received a present that I don't have the power to wrap — hell, even Santa Claus couldn't wrap it. The two, amid some praise and some protest, have finally been put on the super moderator rank!

It's no surprise to me, though: The former has been of the material, but whether he would actually get the spot was rather faint. He was smart, he was an aspiring leader, he stayed out of teams, and he certainly can use that to his advantage. Koolkid, though, I can't say much about him, seeing as I never really associated with him.

Super mods were inaugurated, as you read before, in late June in response to the chaos in the staff room and the difficulty in assigning moderators. So three were set up: Nintendo_Dude, Aeshma, and me. There currently exists a rumour that two of us will be sent to another rank, and there has been talk of this well before, but whether it will happen rests in Rich's hands and I personally believe that it won't become effective for a long time. But now we have two more that will hopefully alleviate some of the burden on the current super moderators.

Hey, at least we're on par with PKMN.NET, Serebii.net, and the Pokémon Community now!

Update
Owing to infringement of moderation regulations, Shiny Zapdos and others have submitted a protest to reverse the promotion of Darkboarder_77. At last report Rich has denied this protest and has promoted Spideraman99 and Ilovemissyelliott to the positions as well. At this time Dennis is commencing some sort of recommendation system.

We found out whodunit!

As abruptly as they began, I am happy to say that the investigations as to the demise of TPL are officially closed. Today Articuno contacted me on the Sky Temple chatroom (the domain has been changed to 'lugia.co.uk'; this change has been made to the Deoxys Project and this blog) and, after some hesitation, confessed on Lugia's behalf as well as her own that she indeed was the person that had intruded on The Pokémon Laboratory.

Hey..
Is this negative?
....Does this have to do with PKMN.NET?!
No
But..
You're my friend..
True....
You're my very good friend
Aside from Lugia, true....
I can't lie to you anymore, I can't keep this from you.
Okay....
The reason I didn't tell you this was because of what happened afterwards..
But yes.. it was me and Lugia..
I'm sorry, if I had known it had upset you this much..
I wouldn't have done it, I just thought you were finished with TPL
And as for the porn, it wasn't us
Well, I know about the porn and that you couldn't have done that....
I kept it from you because I thought you'd think the porn was all of us
Never
This wasn't aimed at you
I didnt even know you were still into TPL
And I was finished with TPL at first, but then I had to come back to test SMF out and because PF was begging me....
Look if I hurt you.. I'm just so sorry
You're forgiven.
We did this to get back at TUH and to avenge PUK
Oh thankyou
Then a while ago..
I asked you what you'd do if you caught them
You said kill them and dig up dirt
Just that Mike, James, and Jeroen will have to know about this. You won't be banned, I'll make sure of it, but I believe they should know about this.
I was going to tell you but you had come to me saying 'Arti something terrible has happened'
Yes, do tell them.
Okay, I'll tell Mike when I next see thim.
Are you ok though? DID I hurt you at all?
No, no....
Ok, I panicked when you came to me, you sounded so upset
You actually did me a good shock by it, yet you did me a great favour.
A favour eh? What favour?
Welcome to the Deoxys Project admin rank!
For rlieving me of pressure from TPL, and facilitating my return to PKMN.NET.
Ehehh.. eh.. admin rank?
You've gotten control of the Deoxys Project.
I.. I have?
Yes, you're an administrator there.
* Articuno sheds a tear
Th..thankyou
I just don't know what to say
Except, you won't regret this
I'm going to do everything I can for you
I didn't know you had that much power.
i know you're a legendary bird, but being able to hack?!
Hardly anyone I know is capable of it!
Ok, I don't hack sites normally! It's not something I can just 'do'. But TPL had a few security holes, google had exploits. That is all
Lets please put this behind us
TPL is the past now
Lets work on the future of the Deoxys Project
Good. This'll be published.
Walrein, you and me will make a good team I think
And Lugia too?
indeed

Because of this act, I am proud to announce her promotion on the Deoxys Project to the position of administrator. I hope that the terminus of this investigation will finally lay this matter to rest after a year of hatred and distrust.

TPL investigation progress, 17 December

Although we haven't made much progress, here's how the first inquiry went. Witnesses include Lottie, Zelda Fan, Lugia and Articuno, and Tyranizrd of TPL.

Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
....Kenta?! He hated TUH, but yes, I don't think he could have done it by himself.
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
I'd asked him, but he's still banned from PUK.
Connor says:
i think he hated more then 1 tpl member
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Connor are you a former TPL member?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
He's Tyranizard.
Connor says:
moderator
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Mmm
Connor says:
dont plug me in with it
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Don't what?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
I don't think it was you.
Connor says:
i dont think i have anything to do with it
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
He thinks I'm accusing him?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
When you catch these hackers, gonna eat them alive?
Connor says:
kenta may have had a little grudge against he >.<>.>
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Well....We do too.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
You do what?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
*lost*
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
We'll expose them, but we'll give them something formal, reward them....
Connor says:
hey!
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
I side with them too. Because of them I've returned to PUK....
Connor says:
an i the only one who likes tpl?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Connor, I hate to say it but TPL... they were..
Connor says:
>.>
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
...finished.
Connor says:
>.>
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Ok, I see you feel strongly about them Connor
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
You have to open your eyes and look back
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
We only had funding for a year anyway.
Connor says:
i knew they were gonna go down but no one has the right to hack a site >.>
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
True
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
I'm asking Visimar and 16bit about it.
Connor says:
16bit?
Connor says:
he/she had nothing to do with it
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
He
Connor says:
i dunno
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
He's asking if he knows maybe
Connor says:
but he knows nothing, 16bit was busy polishing his nails while it happened probobly
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Lol
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Does Visy know what TPL was?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Hold on, someone else may know....
Connor says:
he was a gym leader
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Who?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
VISY?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Yankees Fan.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Visy was a gym leader at TPL?
Connor says:
yea

Canadian Boy has been added to the conversation.

Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Mike.
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
We need your help on this.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Who hacked TPL!?!?
Canadian Boy says:
who the [expletive] are these people
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
....
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
You know what?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
It was me!!!!
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
This is Articuno and Tyranizard.
Connor says:
lol
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
What? It was!
Connor says:
lol
Canadian Boy says:
who are theres people
Canadian Boy says:
crossy
Connor says:
LOL
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Tyranizard you know from TPL. Articuno is the owner of the Iceberg.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
The Sky Temple
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Well, that now.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Or TST for short ^^
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
You guys
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
You're so funny
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
I can say it out LOL I DONE IT
Connor says:
...
Canadian Boy says:
what do you need help with
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
And you won't believe it
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13674105&postID=113399248484099296
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
The TPL hacker left that.

Lugia has been added to the conversation.

Connor says:
i think kenta
Canadian Boy says:
and
Canadian Boy says:
TPL is dead who cares
Lugia says:
o.O
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Tell em Lugia, IT WAS ME
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
XD
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Well, we want to know who did it.
Connor says:
lol
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
MEEEEE
Connor says:
lol
Lugia says:
ohyeah, i saw her do it, she was on the grassy knoll too
Connor says:
lol
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Lugia, you don't even know what this is about, do you?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
The what?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Yes he does
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
HE DONE IT WITH ME LOLOLOl
Lugia says:
i've heard a little bit
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
The hacking?
Canadian Boy says:
brb
Connor says:
lol
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
YES;sd
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
g;sd
Connor says:
lol
Lugia says:
*is confused*
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
lol
Connor says:
u lie
Lugia says:
fist
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Okay, Lugia.
Lugia says:
*first
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13674105&postID=113399248484099296
Lugia says:
WHO is everyone?
Connor says:
act human ppls
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
You know Walrein
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
The others are former TPL members
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
And I showed him that Walrein
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
I'm CW, Connor is Tyranizard, and Canadian Boy is Zelda Fan.
Lugia says:
all i see is email addresses
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Ah you're on Gaim!
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
closed810 is Walrein
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
So....
Canadian Boy says:
what am I soppose to do
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
michaelsimon196 is Zelda fan.
Lugia says:
okay im adding folks to get the SN
Canadian Boy says:
i'm confuse
Canadian Boy says:
i'm outa here
Connor says:
same

Canadian Boy has left the conversation.

Connor says:
Did you know you can find out who blocked you on MSN? Check it out, it's free http://www.block-checker.com
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Walrein, lets say HYPOTHETICALLY, if it WAS me, what would you do? I mean it isnt me, I wouldnt ever do that, Im just curious, not because I am scared of what you'll do, I just wanna know, it wasnt me
Connor says:
>.>
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
We need to see if you know anything about this person. Who may have hacked TPL and....
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Damn it.
Lugia says:
gah, bright yellow font
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
XD
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Well/
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
*Well?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
It wasnt me by the way
Connor says:
lol?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Lolol
Connor says:
lol
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Hehe
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
What would ya do?
Lugia says:
*is blinded by yellow font*
Connor says:
*no suriuosness*
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Walrein?
Connor says:
CW?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
=(

Connor just sent you a Nudge!

Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
brb
Connor says:
kk
Connor says:
CW?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Oh! I'm grilling ZF.
Connor says:
...
Lugia says:
mmmmm Grill...
Lugia says:
foood
Connor says:
ol
Connor says:
lol
Connor says:
freak
Connor says:
y
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
But he refuses to say.
Connor says:
*freaky
Connor says:
lol
Connor says:
zf naughty boy
Lugia says:
well, you gotta put some meat on the grill if your gonna grill
Connor says:
mabey it was him?
Connor says:
or a freind
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Wait! ZF is opening up!
Connor says:
maybey...no...
Connor says:
...not...you....CW!
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
No, I can't hack.
Connor says:
j/k
Connor says:
so you woulda if you could?
Lugia says:
the only think i can hack is steak
Lugia says:
mmmmm
Lugia says:
steak..
Lugia says:
brb food
Connor says:
O.o
Lugia says:
FOOD RUN! anyone want anything?
Connor says:
pizza my way
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Just some mineral water, thanks.
Connor says:
lol
Connor says:
gimme pizza quick, gtg
Lugia says:
*comes back with miniral water and pizza*
Connor says:
thanx
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Thanks....
Connor says:
do u no who i am on puk?
Connor says:
CW, if you do say yes, dont spill
Connor says:
gtg
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Okay, we'll see you later.
Connor says:
cya

Connor has left the conversation.

Lottie - It's Okay To Get Angry, And Never Let Go has been added to the conversation.

Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Lottie....a word please?
Lottie - It's Okay To Get Angry, And Never Let Go says:
yes
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Back

Lugia has left the conversation.

Lugia has been added to the conversation.

Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
You cheeky bird
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Stay right here!
Lugia says:
eh?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
It's about TPL. We found a comment from the hacker.
Lottie - It's Okay To Get Angry, And Never Let Go says:
I saw that
Lottie - It's Okay To Get Angry, And Never Let Go says:
I was reading it earlier
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Walrein what if it's just someone mucking about?
Lugia says:
gah, gaim just flipped out
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
k

Canadian Boy has been added to the conversation.

Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Okay, he's back.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Why won't you believe it's me ;_____;
Canadian Boy says:
because its not you now shut up
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
ROFL
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Don't tell me to shutup!
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Because I don't see it possible. You can't hack and you don't talk with that sinister tone of voice.
Canadian Boy says:
or what waht are you going to do huh
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
LOLOL
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Not you, ZF.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Im gonna keep talking and NOT shut up
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
SO IN YOUR FACE LOLOL

Lugia has left the conversation.

Lottie - It's Okay To Get Angry, And Never Let Go says:
lol thats the spirit
Canadian Boy says:
w/e
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Thanks!
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
w/e?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
'Whatever'.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Lol
Canadian Boy says:
what you didn't know that what are you a noob
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Thats what my mum says when I prove her wrong
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Now, where were we? Ah, yes. Lottie, do you have any idea who could have written that?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
YES I AM
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
IM A LITTLE N00000000000B
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
lLOLOL
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
And what eh?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
(Oh, God....)
Lottie - It's Okay To Get Angry, And Never Let Go says:
no, I dont know anyone apart from you who were members of TPL
Canadian Boy says:
I know who written it
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Who?
Canadian Boy says:
hmmmm don't feel like saying IN YOUR FACE
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Because its me and you can't take it
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Lol
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Mike, this is serious.
Canadian Boy says:
I donno whot he [expletive] you are but I bet you can't to save your life
Canadian Boy says:
the*
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Save what?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
MIKE!
Canadian Boy says:
hack
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
AH!
Canadian Boy says:
to save your life
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Hehe
Canadian Boy says:
what CW
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
http://lugia.co.uk
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Stop it.
Canadian Boy says:
what the hell do you want
Lottie - It's Okay To Get Angry, And Never Let Go says:
those are actually my initials XD
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Person who owns this site cannot hack eh?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
We're here to conduct an inquiry, not bicker over who can't hack and who can.
Canadian Boy says:
stop what
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Stop berating her.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
This is why TPL went down
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Too many people flaming and being nasty
Lottie - It's Okay To Get Angry, And Never Let Go says:
no co-operation
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Mmmhmm
Canadian Boy says:
I don't give a [expletive] about TPL it sucks when i first got thete I got flamed
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
See?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Lol
Canadian Boy says:
there*

Lugia has been added to the conversation.

Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Right he's here to stay now
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Lugia, tell them who the real hackers were will you?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
And be truthful.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Or the real 'Crackers'
Lottie - It's Okay To Get Angry, And Never Let Go says:
lol
Lugia says:
bob and joe?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Very funny
Lugia says:
AH im a font retard hold on
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:

Canadian Boy says:
just spit it out for [expletive] sakes
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
*Sigh*
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Let him change his font you bloody flamer
Lugia says:
Okay
Canadian Boy says:
that was not flameing
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Okay, everyone, listen to me for a second.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
You flamed earlier, therefore you are a flamer
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Yes?
Lugia says:
yea?
Lottie - It's Okay To Get Angry, And Never Let Go says:
*listens*

Lugia has left the conversation.

Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
...
Canadian Boy says:
your point
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
There is no point..
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
We are here to conduct an inquiry. This is serious and we cannot afford any screwups. Now anyone that will give information about the hacking, please speak now!
Canadian Boy says:
CW why did you bring me here
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Because I wanted you to tell them what you know.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Just a sec
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Lugia got signed out
Lottie - It's Okay To Get Angry, And Never Let Go says:
I already said I dont know anything about it. Stayed away from TPL o.o
Canadian Boy says:
what do I know
Canadian Boy says:
fine I will tell
Canadian Boy says:
it was CW
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Check the handwriting again.
Canadian Boy says:
CW did it
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Everyone just hang on a sec
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Lugia is having probs
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
And Arti, Lugia, I don't want any of this stuff about Arti doing it, because I know it wasn't her.
Canadian Boy says:
it was you CW
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
....
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
CW listen for a sec
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Me?! I didn't even have access to the site for months!
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Go on.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Ok.. I'm sorry
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Lugia again is having problems
Canadian Boy says:
oh is that what you think
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
And he DOES have something to say
Canadian Boy says:
he is lieing to us
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Who is?
Canadian Boy says:
CW
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Haha
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
No
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Anyway
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Okay, okay....If he can't stay on permanently, then have him send an email with information.
Lottie - It's Okay To Get Angry, And Never Let Go says:
he wouldnt lie bout this
Canadian Boy says:
ok I told you don't belive me all well
Canadian Boy says:

Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Yes?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Go on!
Canadian Boy says:

Canadian Boy says:
go on where

Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! has left the conversation.

Canadian Boy says:
that went very well
Canadian Boy says:
ok CW i'm ready to listen now
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Look, I want you to tell us everything you can.
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Zoom over to other window.
Canadian Boy says:
what window

Lottie - It's Okay To Get Angry, And Never Let Go has left the conversation.

Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
You should have opened a new window.... Wait.
Canadian Boy says:
all I see out it is some guy walking on the street
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Now you got it?
Canadian Boy says:
what should I do jump him
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Nah, don't hurt yourself.
Canadian Boy says:
lol
Canadian Boy says:
o
Canadian Boy says:
on the computer
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Oh....That's a glitch. Let me save this and close.

The following conversation went a little like this:

Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Right
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Now add your friends
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Please
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Lugia are you ok there?
Lugia says:
hopfully my connection wont crap out
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
k..
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Alright just say it if not
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Walrein
Lugia says:
All systems Okay here
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Walrein?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
All right....
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Invite your mates..?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Kill other window?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Lugia?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
All right, zoomin' over!
Lugia says:
yes?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Good
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Just checking you're still alive
Lugia says:
lol

Canadian Boy has been added to the conversation.

Lottie - It's Okay To Get Angry, And Never Let Go has been added to the conversation.

Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Right
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Go
Lugia says:
me?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Yes
Lugia says:
Alright, it was me and Cuno that made it go boom
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
And someone else
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
k?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Right....
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Ok, Walrein I'll leave you on this note, you can spend years trying to figure out who it is, but you won't because you will not believe this ^v^
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
=D
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
^______^
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
LOLOLOL
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
So it was you.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
=)
Lugia says:
could someone tell me whats going on?
Canadian Boy says:
it was me
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
-_-
Lugia says:
i know i farted... i dident know ppl were gonna be THIS offended by it
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
LOL
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
We're being serious here
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
No, no, no, no....
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Stop messing about Lugia! XD
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
This is TPL business.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
We know
Canadian Boy says:
well CW there you go
Canadian Boy says:
it was me
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
ROFL
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
He;s just playing about now
Lugia says:
yeah i was there and saw em do it
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
This is driving me nuts....
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
No
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Walrein
Lugia says:
join the club
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
We just told you
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Okay, okay, so it was indeed you.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Did you ever know TUH's Password?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
No, I didn't.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
We did
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:

Canadian Boy says:
thats not hacking stupid
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Hence why I quoted 'Cracking' up there
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
STUPID
Canadian Boy says:
thats not cracking stupid
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Oh?
Canadian Boy says:
that guessing
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
LMFAO
Lugia says:
well it obviously got the job done dident it?
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
You think we GUESSED?
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Cracking is forcibly taking it. Since TUH was a TST member they probably had ready access.
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
I guessed that his password was SUPERCHEESE827384738
Canadian Boy says:
to crack you need to download a driver on to your computer and learn how to use it
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Yeh and?
Canadian Boy says:
did you do that
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Walrein we're mucking about
Canadian Boy says:
no I didn't think so
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
TUH was a member on the Sky Temple!
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Ok ok so we didn't crack his pass
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
We just hacked the site k?
Canadian Boy says:
ok tell mw what you did
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
LoL
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Okay....
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
You wanna know?
Canadian Boy says:
me*
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
It's a long proscss
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Gah
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
*Eats typoes*
Lugia says:
it starts with a lot of cheese
Canadian Boy says:
because you didn't hack thats why
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
=)
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
And that's why you'll keep searching forever
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Because you will not believe it
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Anyway
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
We got a site to run
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Seeya around guys, take care!
Lottie - It's Okay To Get Angry, And Never Let Go says:
you too
Canadian Boy says:
u can't hack
Canadian Boy says:
end of story
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Okay....
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
that's up to Walrein to decide
Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! says:
Bye!

Articuno - I love you Gaim!! NOW EVEN MORE! TOASTER PLUGIN!!!!!!! has left the conversation.

Canadian Boy says:
crossy
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Yes?
Canadian Boy says:
it was not that thing that just left
Canadian Boy says:
that hack
Canadian Boy says:
this is getting boring tell me why i'm here again
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Articuno, yes, that was probably it. I have a lot to tell Mike, Jeroen, and James tomorrow!
Canadian Boy says:
for [expletive] sakes it was not Articuno
Canadian Boy says:
are you even reading what i'm posting
Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Yes, but it now seems a bit reasonable. Either she or Lugia did it.
Canadian Boy says:
ok crossy belive what you want now i'm outa here because i'm borad of this

Canadian Boy has left the conversation.

Crystal Walrein — No more union initiation! says:
Okay....That was fun.

According to these accounts, we were left with a rather ambiguous conclusion that Articuno was the culprit. However, testimony from Lugia stated otherwise, so we still have to press on with the talks and eventually find who did it.

TPL investigations begin

Tyranizard, a former moderator at the PokéLab, claims to have received this from ousted administrator Drike:

"How did I do it? It's not hard really. I found out that in PKMN.NET it was not hard to lie. They would believe anything and I mean anything. I could tell them that RSF was my brother and if he agreed they would believe us. In that time they couldn't check IPs, so there was no way in the world that they knew it was me. Then you know what happened, the attacks, spam. I wanted to somehow gain some credit and respect. I kept thinking and finally came up with an answer. I could defeat myself. It would be prefect andwith two accounts, PKMN.NET would never get suspicious and check IPs. They both had different names. I double-posted a lot. If you were to go back to the old Firestorm topic you would see that everytime I would defeat myself. Nobody but me would win. No matter what anybody else did, I won. Then I stopped. I don't know why. I don't recall why I did. Then when TUH created TPL and moved there, I didn't want to go. Of course, I knew the URL but I didn't want to go. Then later on as members of the Mightyena Club moved, I got wanted to know what happened in the forums of TPL. I went there, I thought I was going to be able to gain a mod postion or maybe admin, since I did help them in the past. Ofcourse they didn't. I waited for the prefect chance tostrike and to get in the ranks. I stopped the attacks and didn't do anything. I felt bored so I made an account and used it claiming that it was my brother, that we shared the same computers. Then later on I wanted to get up in the ranks I could wait anymore. I became Mightyena Trainer one more time. PF was stupid enough to even think that I was going to make peace. I was outraged at his stupidity. I striked and lashed at TPL. When they claimed that the IPs matched, I blamed it on my brother. It worked and I laughed at their stupidity so hard that when I was Mightyena Trainer I was claimed to attack Firestorm. They begged me to not attack, they it was bounded to fall. I did attack, it later turned out that I was keeping up the topic by posting and encouraging members of the club to post and protect their club. Then acow camed and I was happy. I tried to help as much as possible in order toget ranked up. I did help. I did get ranked. There wasno attacks at the time. Then once I had rank I wanted to make sure that TPL suffered. More attacks came. You already know that. I’m just giving you the behind the scenes details. It started to get harder and harder. It was their turf now. PF mentioned that. Then I build a site and here was that whole nuts about PF trying makes peace and people trying to ‘look’ like they saw my point of view. It wasn’t hard to know they were lying. They are stupid, like I mentioned. First, Del he tried to be my friend and he knew how to make viruses. Then he stupidity posted that he was going to take over my trust, dumbass. Then, it was PF, a little pregnant dog trying to make peace. I could have deleted him but I wanted to play with him. One, he couldn’t closea deal even if I agreed to his terms. Two, he didn’t know I was playing with him. Then I pretended that it was okay. We were friends. I helped and him alittle. He wanted me to help him get IPs address. But did I nope. I could have done so but I didn’t. I also foundout how easy it was to become the name rater. Which I did. Then I stopped being active, because the stupid not a very nice persons where too stupid. I needed a break from their stupidity and smartass comments. I was worried when CW came from PKMN.NET. I didn’t trust him and then I thought that he was smart enough to figure out it was me, but did he nope. I was worried. I knew he was smart and a few clues might sent him off. When I cameback the settra attacks. I didn’t do anything. It was not me, but few people thought they could link me. I was puzzled. I kept asking about how he approached his problem, hoe he worked, and what he did. I asked actionshark. He gave me information, wrong information. He claimed that his account was hacked. That settra hacked admin cps and nuts like that. I was worried though, because I [expletive] up trying to be settra. People were desperate for an answer. I couldn’t pull it off. I kept wondering where I wentwrong. IPs, but they didn’t trust me. Then everything fell and I wanted an answer when they [expletive] with me.I got pissed off, I [expletive] with them not the other way around. I demanded for an answer but I knew actionshark was settra. My proof….how he acted like me. He did everything similar in one way or another."

Anyways, as I was saying…I kept thinking about AS and settra. The attacks were very similar. I didn’t care about TPL anymore. I became a battle for my own survival. People kept thinking that I was settra because I only pretended to be him. Well, some people did. I became furious when I found out that AS and PF were trying to gain my trust. I found that information when I sent him a message on AOL instant messager. I wasn’t active in TPL anymore. I felt that they had suffered way too much. (Yes, I do have a heart). I also knew that TPL was falling. I decided to go against my better judgment and make an account on PKMN.NET. I had no trouble getting pass their IP ban. I actually became a translator for them and translated news contents. It was an okay job, but I ended up quitting. My computer had a Trojan Virus and I had told AS that I had a job and I had a virus. When I told him about the virus he told me that he loved playing with Trojans viruses. That it was fun. He started saying some quotes, or sayings I used in the past. In the beginning he said one but I forgot it. Itold him that I didn’t know what he was talking about. He didn’t believe me. I was telling the truth. I had no idea, then he says something else. He said “Okay, Iposted now you can check the IPs.” That was exactly what I had said when I pretended to be settra. Thistime I lied…I started to change the subject and told him I couldn’t log in to my account in TPL. I thoughtI was banned, but it was just the virus. He told me ifI wanted his password, that he wasn’t active anymore.I told him that it was ok, that I didn’t want it. He was baiting me. Then somehow he began talking about PF telling him to gain my trust. I tried to be cool and ask questions. I wanted to get information out of him. Then I lost my temper. I told him off, then he told me. “You care too much about internet.” Then he blocked me or left. In a few days, I wanted him to log back in. I made an another AOL account and waited but it looked like if he left for good. I wanted answers so I tried logging back into TPL. I demanded answers.I never got all of the answers I really wanted. They never told me the real truth. I needed your help so you did help me. You gave me some information but not all. You told me how they moved settra’s topic. But that was all. I needed more. When I told TUH that settra hacked TPL, he told me I was wrong. All of the things AS told me was fake. He played with me just like I played with TPL, Mightyena Pack, and Firestorm Club. But why did he lie?? That was what I needed to know. AS never logged in, never posted on the topic and told the truth or even defended himself. PF threaten to cut his ties, I didn’t care anymore. Itold him to cut them. Why? Because I wanted to make TPL fall and him cutting his ties would help, a lot. Then TPL fell, thanks to me and a few problems the admins couldn’t deal with."

Tyranizard says that he will reply and ask why Drike would bring down TPL. The information herein may finally explain the process in which the Pokémon Laboratory finally fell, taking me with it, and it may explain away all the disarray and chaos that took place there.

Snow!

Yes, late in the autumn, we have received snow. Today Brigantine's schools have been closed, yet the radio has yet to tell me whether the ones I attend in Mays Landing are closed. I initially expected the year to go without snow, seeing as the hot climate has spawned twenty-six hurricanes (they ran the list of names and went into the Greek alphabet), and I still believe this latest fall will warm up soon.

New Jersey hasn't been popular with snow these past years. I remember the blizzards that prevented us from driving, and I remember the large continental blizzard — where have they gone?

The School Fades Away

Two days ago I was talking to Lottie about the decline of roleplays on the Internet. The discussion was initiated by the decline of the Crow's Nest, in which the regular clientele has finally been boiled down to just the people who started Silver Moon Boarding School: Leon, Lottie, Hershi, Dave, and me. The forum, as you will recall reading in my entry about forum teams, was created in response to the popularity of Silver Moon Boarding School, and as long as the roleplay was still active on PKMN.NET, the notation of our site was assured. However, the roleplay on PKMN.NET declined into frenzied violence and the administration was compelled to prohibit further activity on the subject. From that point, we were on our own, and the forum steadily declined. Today most, if not all, of the lower members of the forum have deserted, and some of the lesser roleplays we hosted fell into decline (we even had to decommission Silverwich Legends, the sequel to Silverwich University).

When I was first indroduced to forums, I saw that several forums were based on roleplaying. Eventually, some would go under and others would take their places. Silver Moon Boarding School was anomalous in that it had passed the life expectancy of most roleplaying sites of its calibre, and it seemed assured that it would go on forever when our registration peak hit. However, the roleplay's counterpart on PKMN.NET being closed and my departure from the site to work for TPL both delivered devastating blows, the latter probably being the fatal one (I was made an administrator in January, the same month of the initiation of TPL's campaign).

The fact that the Crow's Nest isn't the only one in the roleplaying world's cycle is a bit of comfort, but that comfort is obliterated when we find that some sites have turned the subject into an assembly line in Detroit. Three of the most prominent are Neopets, Runescape, and the increasingly popular Gaia Online. (Gaia Online also was listed as the most attended site ever.) I do not blame these sites for the decline of smaller roleplays — I blame the fact that there are too many of them out there now, a result of the popularity of roleplays way back when.

This trend swoop doesn't apply to roleplay venues embedded inside forums, however. There are many new roleplays created each week, although the extent of them tends to stay the same: thirty pages or so. The reason for the shorter life spans of roleplays on the forum are not due to popularity, but because of the length of the forum roster. On PKMN.NET, some teams that remain help compound the pressure on some of the roleplays.

Yet what all of these roleplays have in common is that they are based on forum threads. We have known for a long time that reading plays off book pages is rather unwieldy unless you can get some good actors in your school to take the roles that require their talent. Forum threads are just as unwieldy, since you have only printed word as a reference. What Neopets, Gaia Online, and Runescape have that forum threads don't have, and what they have in common with telecasts, is that you can actually see the character. In these roleplays you don't have to rely and constantly go back to written descriptions or abilities, and you don't have to broadcast updates on a separate post — they occur automatically and everyone that's on the forum can be made aware quickly. In effect, these new roleplays emulate games on your PlayStation, Game Boy, or Xbox (especially the latter and the Xbox 360 due to their online playing capabilities). The catch, however, is that these roleplays can't rely on simple HTML or even JavaScript; they require server interaction, which many people coordinating the roleplays on forums just aren't capable of. It's a case of survival of the fittest if ever I saw one.

I bear no animosity toward these sites, and I certainly don't want Silver Moon Boarding School to go away. I know that it's because there has been so much of this activity that it has inherently become redundant, and there has been need for a change. I completely respect that, and I see it as cause to go off to learn some Java.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Do not read this entry unless you have seen the movie. Just skip over to the next entry.

Today I went to the Tropicana casino to see this movie at their IMAX theatre. I had read the book over a year ago, but I distinctly remembered what was in the book and was ready to look for events in the movie that might correspond with the book. Unfortunately, the movie only barely followed through on the book.

How? Firstly, Barty Crouch junior was never in the Riddle House consorting with Voldemort; just Wormtail was there. Then Harry woke up from the dream in the Burrow, whereas the book says that he woke up at number four, Privet Drive, and immediately set to writing a letter to Sirius about the situation (which he did on the bus instead). The only coverage of the Quidditch World Cup was the introduction of the players (which, I must admit, is wizardry of computer graphics itself), and Crouch sent the Dark Mark in the forest according to the book but the movie put it among the ruin of the tents; also, there was no coverage of the Muggles being tortured. Malfoy was transferred into a ferret in the courtyard instead of the corridor as in the book, and in the book Malfoy was escorted by Moody afterward, but to Snape, and in the movie Harry is led directly to Moody's office and given hints about the first task — which in the book were to come after the dragons, yet the movie showed the dragons after Harry was given the tip! When Harry prepares for the first task, Hermione hugs him in the movie and gets caught by Skeeter — but the book alleges that Colin Creevey told Skeeter about Hermione and Skeeter furnished the rest of the story herself. And Harry was given the gillyweed by Dobby in the book, whereas in the movie Neville offhandedly (yes, it was that daft) gave it to him.

Then we go after the second task. In the book, Rita Skeeter was to write about Hermione 'dumping' Harry in Witch Weekly and Sirius was to speak to our trio afterward — but no sign of it in the movie! And in the movie Harry sees Crouch senior dead, but in the book he never does! And the second time Harry had the dream, it wasn't a repeat of the first one; it was when Wormtail was punished for his blunder. Then in the Pensieve, Harry witnesses three trials: one of Karkaroff, one of Bagman, and one of Crouch junior — but only in the book. In the movie, Karkaroff is hoisted up in a cage and not on a chair, and he gives away Crouch, effectively eliminating Bagman's inquiry and condensing the other two. Then the third task: Harry was supposed to send sparks for Krum after attacking him, not when Fleur was enveloped by the hedges. And even at that, the book said nothing about moving hedges — and the skrewt that blocked the way to the Cup was replaced by a large gust!

And after Voldemort rises again and Harry returns, the interrogation of Barty Crouch junior ends with Barty being sent to Azkaban in the movie — but a dementor sucks away his soul in the book, leaving Harry with no support for his story. And at the end Harry doesn't give any gold to the Weasleys, and they'll need it when they open their shop in book six.

And to top it off, Dobby, Winky, and Ludo Bagman, who have significant roles in the book, appear in the movie zero times apiece.

I'm sorry for ranting, but this was not what I expected of the movie. I realise that the book was 734 pages long and rather unwieldy to make into a movie, but the amount of material that the creators had to shave away is ridiculous. Had they put in at least ten of the discrepancies I've mentioned, the movie would be a lot better.

XVII

This is a rip-off of James' XVIII announcement, but it'll have to do with the magnitude of turning seventeen yesterday. As a seventeen-year-old, I now have access to R- and NC17-rated movies, can get my motor licence (if ever I start practising) and if I'm dismissed from my job as cashier I can apply for most other jobs on the island.

The day passed over outside my world rather quietly; only the Super Cheats populace, a Pokémon Community member, and a few friends at my school recognised the day. Even so, I did get some applause and miffins, but I couldn't eat the real cake owing to stuffing myself at work. But I was still itching to get back on the computer after unwrapping my new hard drive and camera, the latter of which will provide rudimentary pictures until my aunt gets the ones she took developed.

Problem is, though, at seventeen my gift choices are limited. I'm sure some of you remember asking for GI Joes, Transformers, and flamethrowers (if you're Calvin from the Calvin and Hobbes comics), but if you've stepped over into puberty you've realised that your choices, due to the fiscal reality of your family kicking in, have diminished greatly. Gone are the GI Joes and the Tonka trucks, and in come the hip clothes, the computer stuff, and some jewellery (or cosmetics in the case of girls). It's amazing how drastically your preferences change as you get older. Me, I'm just embracing the idea because it'll be financial hell on my family all the same, since I want fewer things yet the expenses stay level. Ohohohohoho!

Two Accounts = Trouble

Until two days ago, Dr Advice was a dodgy reference about the goings-on of the Super Cheats staff. And until then Mr King of Games was afresh from his technical victory over The Legend Killer RKO, who was caught faking up 'Mr Kennedy' and Soucercer of Wise (the latter I had banned for a month from the team area). But then some horrible exposé had to come up, and it was left to Dennis to declare that he had found them, on the basis of an IP check, to be the same person!

I have seen people create fake accounts before, but I have never seen it used for a purpose like this. Dr Advice was nothing very special — although Sanzano did toy with him in a session called 'Psycho Surgery' and ended up banning him temporarily for trying to interfere with the moderation process (two moderators at the time, LPD and The Ultimate Cheater, was also banned for this offence, but The Ultimate Cheater was cleared shortly afterward) — and Mr King of Games didn't seem to necessitate an about-face on his record, having initiated a popular character tournament. In contrast, I had always known the creation of a sub-account to get around restrictions on forums; on PKMN.NET I have seen several members try to get around signature restrictions (if the size of all images attached to a profile exceeds 40,960 bytes (40 kilobytes), signature display is suspended until the pictures are changed to fit the quota, but their rule code only states that the signature will be edited directly) by creating an account on which they suppose they can exploit a sig once more — but these are usually found out and either the restrictions are tacked onto that account as well or that account is removed from the database.

Many pre-built member databases — forums and submission and comment systems like the Super Cheats system and blog venues like Blogger and MySpace — try to discourage the creation of multiple accounts, but this is easily defeated by creating a new email account (which, due to the presence of public computers, can't possibly be monitored). The objective isn't to keep people from bypassing restrictions on their formal accounts, but rather to deflect 'phishing' (the use of a mask of a valid email account by a bogus user to trick people) and to thwart the installation of adware and spyware that could pass from the site to the user's computer. Since that measure hasn't worked well, of course, sites have resorted to forcing users to type a security code to log in or register (a bot used to install spyware won't be able to decipher the code, which is embedded in a graphic).

Then, in rare cases, there are people — Video Gamer Network is unfortunately full of them — that create accounts to feign another user. The Legend Killing tournament on Super Cheats, a question-and-answer game much like a cross between Hollywood Showdown and The $100,000 Pyramid, was the venue of the Dr Advice case: Mr King of Games was the emcee and Dr Advice, for reasons then unknown, was doing unusually well in the tournament and was able to beat out 'The Legend Killer RKO' at his own challenge and get him banned. (It was later revealed that The Legend Killer RKO was itself a sub-account to Jcdamasta330.) But after The Legend KillerRKO emailed Dennis for clemency and was turned down, Dennis decided to do a little study on Dr Advice and found him to have IPs identical to those of Mr King of Games himself. Oops.

At any rate, there is no way for this practice to be effectively stopped, but it is not, as you may think, a very common practice on most forums due to the presence of vigilant administrators like Dennis.

Well, I guess I'm officially back....

Following the forgiveness meeting, I have decided that (since the server has moved and their URL has officially changed to 'pkmn.net' as their name suggests, and there have been curious changes of the letter é to é) I will offically return to PKMN.NET tonight. This will mark the seventh month of my abscence from the forum.

The thing that I had about PKMN.NET was that it was the first forum that I ever joined, the place where I was able to build myself up from a forum noob into the same person as a mod on Super Cheats. Given the laxity of Serebii.net, where I fled in the wake of the expulsion, I began to miss it. As a moderator on Super Cheats, I was faced with issues similar to those that PKMN.NET was faced with sporadically, but this time I was dealing with harsh issues at least once a week on average. My experience as a moderator, and the ability to gradually sympathise with Jeroen, James, and Mike, helped me re-evaluate my stance with the PokéLab, for which I worked since early March, leading to the expulsion. When the PokéLab finally collapsed due to Epyon's retirement from the programme and TUH's arguments as well as Red Sox Fan's on-off affair, I was left without any support, and I was ready to turn my back on the programme for good once it hit me that the site had been built on spite and hatred, which had deluded me for seven months.

Because of this, the Deoxys Project affiliation and directory programme, as well as forum assistance, has been suspended indefinitely.

You'll find me on PKMN.NET as Swinub unless I change my name due to popular demand or am rejected still.

Forgiven!

Below is the transcript of the conversation that got me acquitted of atrocities to PKMN.NET!

Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Looks like I'll have to do this on my own.
Mike says:
I don't mean to be awkward, but I'm not doing it without James and Jeroen
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
All right, if they're active on the forums, you certainly can jolt them?
Mike says:
What time have you got until?
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
I have one hour.
Mike says:
So until 2?
Mike says:
*3
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Yes, your time. Here it's 9:15am.
Mike says:
If they're not back by half past...
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Then we'll have to set another time.
Mike says:
Yeah
Mike says:
I think Jeroen is back
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Oh well, one's better than nothing.

James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! has been added to the conversation.

Jeroen - has been added to the conversation.

Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
So they;re both on.
Mike says:
Hi
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
Hello
Jeroen - says:
Hi
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Good afternoon, you two.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
As promised, I'm going to stand for the TPL admins, since they refused to come.
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
Why did you want to talk to us?
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Because I want this TPL thing out of my head once and for all.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
I admit, after seven long months, that I've been a bit of an idiot.
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
how so?
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Having followed TUH and Epyon on something they weren't about to stick to.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
They left the site. We had a domain and all, an SMF forum and all, and Epyon paid for a year of hosting.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
They never told me that it was something ephemeral. Made no indication of it.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
So....There's nothing left to say except that I now consider myself responsible for my actions, not TPL. I requested this conference to say that I'm very sorry for having followed such people.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
The admins have left.
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
It seems to me that you're "apologising" for the mistake you made by even humouring TPL - I fail to see what this has to do with PUK
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
I am apologising for the abuse and defamation I've dealt you for seven months.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
I was wrong, I was led by a big baby to attack people that really knew how to moderate.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
I can't believe I would rely on my emothions to commit such atrocities.
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
why should we believe you're sincere, when last time you did something like this, you did the ever so clever thing of posting "It was all a big lie" on TPL
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
I was blinded. Simple as that. I had just beeen controlled by emotions of hatred. I only attacked you and defected to TPL because of a fight that I had with my parents. It took me this long to admit that I was taking needless anger on everyone I loved.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
I just let my emotions get the better of me, memories I should have just buried in the past.
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
were they not happy with you socialising with all of the promiscuous girls?
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Now where did you find that?
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Are you refering to my forum team thing on my blog? No, that has nothing to do with it.
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
It was a reference to your blog.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Okay, okay....I'm happy to know you've been reading it regularly....
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Look, TPL is dead. Epyon is left and he destroyed our IF forum and is about to let our subscription to our domain and site run out. The other admins have deserted as well. I'm the only one left and I'm incapable of carrying this on any longer, so why fight? It was all about Pokémon anyway....Foolish....
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
If TPL is dead then what are you trying to achieve by being here? It's not like we need to go after plagarism on a site that's essentially dead and empty
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
The site is done, I'm here to request a chance, crazy as I may be, to start anew.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
I'm done with them. Big babies, the big ones of them.
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
"In many discussions I compared James O’Malley,
PKMN.NET’s root admin, to Saddam Hussein because of
the uncanny similarity of egomanias harboured by the
two and scathingly attacked the administration,
gaining support as I went along."
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
That's in the past tense....
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
"I discussed the state
of the PKMN.NET forums under Te Strake’s control and
stated that he would be unfit for running a forum
directed to young generations if he was going to
communicate in the manner used in the reply."
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
And I had been fooled by your fake argument, remember....
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Jeroen found it first.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
That was all in the past, over a month ago!
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
so what you essentially want, is a webmaster, who in the past you likened to a man that murdered over 5000 Kurds at Hallabjah with poison gas, to unban you from his website, because you've suddenly "seen God", or something like that?
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
I don;t care what you do to me.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
I'm just letting you know that I vow never to attack you again. I've larned my lesson and have come for my penalty to be given.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Even at this rate, a ban is more than I deserve.
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
so, in a very round-about way, you are in fact, asking to be unbanned?
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
I'm not asking to be unbanned — but it would be nice — I just want your penalty read out.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
So what shall it be, then? What is my punishment for this?
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
What can we do beyond banning you, exactly?
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
I can still see the forums.
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
I can't have you executed by firing squad, like Saddam would do
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
But you can report me to Rich, to Super Cheats.
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
for what, exactly?
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
I mean, have a discussion, moderator review.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
I'm a super mod for him, so if you gave him any information that may incriminate me he may want to have me reviewed.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
But I've been able to see the forums for seven months, I haven't gotten any 403 or other prompts.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
So, is there anything you want me to do to remediate this?
Jeroen - says:
If you've got a few more moments, we are currently discussiong this.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Go on then.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
I have fifteen minutes.
Jeroen - says:
That you can see the forums is due to some problems with dynamic IPs. It's, at least, a good sign that you didn't really register after that. We may be willing to 'officially' remove that ban, under a few conditions: 1) You stay away from moderating and related site discussions for some time, for hopefully obvious reasons; 2) The doubts/insights you have mentioned today are mentioned in an apology, explanation, or whatever you want to call or make it on your blog or another outlet where you've mentioned these things and it is allowed; and 3) You are willing to contribute in a well informed, useful and well written way to PKMN.NET and its forums in the future.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Moderating discussins on PKMN.NET?
Jeroen - says:
Yes
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Suggestions and criticisms?
Jeroen - says:
Pretty much the kind of discussions that started this months ago.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Yes. I shall send this transcript to my blog, then?
Jeroen - says:
If you wish
James - Buy Propagandhi's new album from me! I have two copies! says:
Oh, one more thing: get it into your head that PUK is NOT a country and we do NOT have "laws" and "legislation" - we have rules. I am NOT the executive, I am the Webmaster. Jeroen does NOT have legislative power, he is an administrator- and so on.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
Fine. I'll put it on my blog and finalise it later. Thank you ver much, Jeroen.
Crystal Walrein — It'll be over! says:
And thank you for your humour, James.

This was after I requested a conference with them the day before.

The staff of the Deoxys Group, myself included, will forever abandon any actions against other sites, in accordance with the agreement above. All older posts will remain, however, but I warn now that they are older and are not representative of sentiments of today.

Happy Birthday Lottie!

We have another October birthday, folks! This time it's that of Charlotte Watts, the creator of the Crow's Nest.

The Crow's Nest started when Silver Moon Boarding School was dealt an injunction by Jeroen when PKMN.NET members hijacked the thread and transformed it into a round of bloodiness. Fortunately, that blood has been cleaned up from the floors, and it survived with its companion Silverwich University, which hosts the characters of Silver Moon Boarding School aged a few years more.

So, from the staff of the Deoxys Group, we'd like to wish Lottie a very happy birthday and best wishes for the following year — during which, of course, we'll be forced to endure Gareli's quasi-Gothic moaning and seething through the roleplay.

Happy Birthday Rich!

http://forums.supercheats.com/topic.php?topic=16711

Thirty-one years ago, the person that would form Video Gamer Network out of the dust of the Internet was born in the UK. (Don't ask me exactly where.) Yes, it's time we made a salute to Richard Gardner, founder of Web Media Network, the Team SuperCheats we love, and the Webby that Gaming Update (ahem) loves!

Thousands of web pages
Based on PHP
Encompasing through the electric ages
And making cheating reality

There are ten or so sites in the pack
(Don't ask the exact count)
With tips and talk the viewer can rack
With a score of high amount

Video Gamer Network!
The one network that does
What is to be, what right now is
And of course forever was
And with our ode to this great group
We can stand together and say
Without the constant vocal loop,
Rich, happy birthday!

Shippy Fan Fiction. Yeah, Shippy.

I happened to drop by Serebii.net (breaking a pledge I made with Articuno) and decided to visit the Shipping section I had once patronised. When I reviewed the roster for the Shipping fics board, the title 'A Day Inside May' appeared — with, as one would guess, an NC17 disclaimer. Below is some of the actual text of the fan fiction; I'll do this instead of linking to the topic since I'm aware that some little kids may see it if I do.

Joy replied, "Well, I have to be getting back to my work now, you have quite a lot of fanboys lined up for you May, you're winning hearts all over the place."

May felt her cheeks blush deep red. Ash then looked up towards May, he always knew she was cute, but to have a HUGE number of male fans watching her during the Grand Festival? He briefly thought about how long they've been traveling together, until Brock snapped him out of his gaze.

"Hey Ash!" Brock motioned as he moved toward him. "We might as well spend the night here, we could all use some nice beds to sleep in."

Ash replied "Sure thing, my feet were getting tired from all the walking anyway."

May started walking out of the main area of the center, she turned towards her friends as she was walking away and said, "I really need a nice hot shower, see you guys later!"

Scene: We then see an outside view of the Pokemon Center, the sun is setting.

Inside the Center, we see May in the bathroom looking into the mirror. She first untied her bandana and put it on a shelf in the room. Next she began unzipping her shirt. . . .

May thought to herself, with an endless sea of emotions raging through her mind. She was happy that she was being recognized for being a great coordinator, yet for some reason. . .she felt sad. She couldn't figure out why she felt somewhat depressed, until the thought snapped into her head. It was Ash. For all the time they've traveled together, Ash had never expressed any feelings beyond friendship to her. . . .

She had always admired Ash since they met, but now she wanted more than just friendship.

She said out loud, "If I can get Drew and all those other fans expressing attraction towards me, why doesn't Ash?"

She then thought in her head, does he like me? Does he think I'm attractive? Does he like my body? . . .

This story was approved by Kiori.

'A Day Inside May' is not the only story I've seen involve any sexual activity, and some I can't even mention because it's impossible to censor them — the one above was tricky enough to get to just before the trip. This is traced back to one of the more unusual departments of animé that Serebii.net has plenty of (and PKMN.NET retracted after it went boom on them) — 'shipping', a modified diminutive of 'relationship'.

The boys and girls in animé have cleverly been modified for titillation and power in some cases, and it seems that many people have taken the opportunity to pair them together like prom kings and queens. I've heard of matchmaking and forecasts among cliques, but I would never imagine, until I fully understood it whilst I was on PKMN.NET, that this would lead to an international phenomenon. Now we have cliques for all kinds of 'shippings' — Tachishippings, which include Ash, Misty, Brock, and Team Rocket, and Sistershipping (Serebii dubs this Advanceshipping), which involves Ash and May. (The names have been taken from Aurora Moon.) On PKMN.NET, the AAML (Ash And Misty Love) and AAMAYL (Ash and May Love) factions have appeared, warring against each other (in fact, Ragade, a devout AAML supporter, helped found the Misty Army, a team that disappeared shortly after Silver Moon Boarding School's injunction). And where the union comes in, the soppy stories move in and we have a hybrid of Fan Fiction and Shipping. This eventually trips over into some people describing the characters as if they're revamping Eyes Wide Shut.

I have no problem with Shipping, but when it gets to the point when people start expanding on the playground 'sitting-in-a-tree' rhyme, it starts to get annoying. Maybe these kids have been reading too much from Nora Roberts.

Forum Teams

Yesterday I was approached by the staff of Team Shiny Zapdos, a prestigious clique on the Super Cheats forums, with an inquiry on my reasons for closing it; I had done that in response to flaming brought on by SS5 Vageto, who appears to be a leader on the team. After I closed it the first time directly after he started his insults, Nintendo_Dude, another authority figure on the team, re-opened the thread on the grounds that I was 'harsh and unforgiving'. The real reason why they wanted to keep the thread open was to get to their goal of 200 pages (resulting in distortion of the index table), which I personally found absurd. After being bombarded with insults from the team staff, I decided to visit Shiny Zapdos over MSN and explain my motive; after enduring the ensuing round of rage and beration, I decided to broker a deal with her: The thread would be allowed to go to 200 pages, at which point I required that it be closed, and a new thread could be created; I also informed her that the team would come under the administration if she, Jamarie, and SS5 Vageto were inactive without excuse for more than 72 hours. These terms were agreed to, and now the team is a ward of the Super Cheats administration.

In most cases like this, I would not have brokered such a deal. The one detail that prevented me from doing default justice to the thread was, absurd as it may seem, a love affair gone awry. Shiny Zapdos (I will not give her real name) had been known for her promiscuity on the forums, and this resulted in three 'boyfriends'. We — that is to say, the boyfriends — were morbidly fearful of her, as she could hang on either end of the emotional continuum, either murderous or euphoric. It was my fear of her, resulting in the difficulties behind separating myself from her, that forced me to broker this deal, yet this has helped me understand the difficulty that I imagine many administrators have faced in keeping their forums. One is Jeroen (yes, him again): I cannot imagine the stress he must have endured trying to dissociate himself with the popular masses to deal damage to them, but I am different from him in that I feel obligated to admit all this.

When I was made a moderator on the Super Cheats forums, in coincidence with my separation from PKMN.NET to go work for the PokéLab, I took my observations of the PKMN.NET administration and pressed myself to do better than them, making the forums a better place free of corruption and bigotry. In time, however, power caught up with me, as it inevitably does with people in my position, and I had to use force occasionally to set things straight. When Team Shiny Zapdos started to break down as a result of arguments and rivalries in the same fashion as Team KA and Team Untouchable (the former was briefly rekindled), I was prepared to make my move and stop the madness, only to receive cackles and anger.

This property is the ultimate flaw with forum teams and clubs. When the opportunity arises, people that have confided in each other as a group will eventually designate themselves as a separate party. In order to facilitate such transitions and soften the blow to the forum, many forums, such as Serebii.net and the Pokémon Community, have created areas for such cliques to brood. When separate cliques are put next to each other, however, competition for members arises and views are exposed, and the fights begin. These rivalries have become so integral that PKMN.NET's policy against team flaming has virtually wiped out clubs and teams on their forums.

What makes this hard to write at the moment is the fact that I had lobbied Rich for this forum back in the early days, as the first cliques were starting to form. The idea actually came from my experiences on PKMN.NET, at a time when team regulations were enforced so leniently that Firestarter's exclusion from the practice equalled a complete referendum for the team environment, and as former members of Firestarter's old Team Inferno gathered again without him, fingers were pointed at Red Deoxys and Inferno Ryan (now Revolution) was also excluded from team practices. Just one more ban (excluding Inferno Ryan's alias Volcano Knight XL) was enacted against the teams before the fad largely waned, and now teams there are pretty much nonexistent, with the possible exception of Rex's Muuma Army (which I haven't heard of for a while), having given way to the RPG threads. (One of the RPGs resulting from the fall of teams was Silver Moon Boarding School, which, after a glitched thread and a November injunction by Jeroen after I reported it, finally moved onto a separate forum, the Crow's Nest. Since then, it has spawned Silverwich University and has survived several hacking attempts by Settra.)

Teams, in essence, are just cliques. Cliques, which you'll find throughout schools, are groups of people that gather because of things that they have in common and eventually become exclusive, prohibiting its members from communicating with people outside the clique. This damages a member's chances for meeting someone whom they may have the best chemistry with. PKMN.NET's anti-flame policy may have been just a factor leading to the demise of teams there, but the culprit seems to be maturity, when society will require people to work with others regardless of what they have in common, and when the need to be part of the group should diminish. Even at my high school, groups are loosely formed among the upper grades, while underclassmen are usually tightly knit. That's testamental to how much we mature during these years.

I had tried twice to create a team on PKMN.NET — Team Cold and the Walrein Army — but they never became popular due in part to waning interest. Today, I avoid them, although there have been people that have tried to convince me to join their team. Shiny Zapdos was one of them.

Articuno's point system

Due to the number of people registering and not doing anything productive (a plague passed through PKMN.NET to curse those that have officially left), the Sky Temple of Lugia and Articuno (Visimar Colwa Gerantul won a competition to rename the site) have decided to enact a point system. Blegh. As of now, many sections are now closed to people on the lower hierarchy of the viewer demographic, now called leechers.

I will tell you now that I am not happy at all with this decision. I realise that the administration thinks it a good way to encourage participation, but I beg to differ; in my honest opinion, the point system will be counterproductive. Viewers come onto the site to get fast content, and the amount of content afforded members that have just registered is laughable (I still have zero despite regular attendance) enough to have the site rejected. The amount of people that have attained the level at which they can access most of the content at this time, also, is very small and the site's not exactly in the inner circle of a famous Internet society (we've been shunned by PKMN.NET, which would have been a respectable benefactor had I not stood off with them), which means that it will be hard for the site to gain members — people will come, be turned away by content barriers, and discommend the site to others.

I will say this for the site, however: They're beginning quite an industry since they've decided to scrap the conventional 'walkthrough' format of most videogame websites, and ever since people have from before the point system have been spreading the Sky Temple's message about, a small number of wholly fanatic sites have sprung up. For example, Ashyboy.com, a site by Serebii.net member Toto, is dedicated to Toto's infatuation with the Pokémon animé's protagonist, and it's been getting rave reviews. (I doubt if the site was directly influenced by Articuno and Lugia, but the word has certainly gone about.) All tainted, though, by something Novell BorderManager would consider an idol.

Just my thoughts for today.

Back at school

It's that time again. People are pulling off the computer, cramming their required books to college or carrying an empty satchel to school, and people aren't staying up as late as they used to. It's school time — which, according to a refrain from one of my old toddler toys, 'is fun time!'

The beginning of school coincides with most of my county enacting sex offender restrictions — anyone convicted of child molestation or rape is not permitted to live within a 2,500-foot (800-metre) radius of schools, parks, and bus stops. Because of solely the bus route tending to be erratic, sex offenders are effectively banished from Brigantine, but it's not like there has been a rash of molestation cases here due to the demographic.

Anyway, I managed to get Spanish III después de convencerles a los administradores. After that, I'm in the computer course — animation and server scripting this year, as well as binding together with the undesirable half of the class — which has progressed so rapidly that we've started a full-scale marketing project, this time likely to be about a Michael Jackson doll (and if it is, I'm walking out). Then we have the English course, in which we've suspended Shakespeare and Charles Dickens in favour of American literature. Then it's the lunch period, which affords everyone flirting and playing Dance Dance Revolution on the library computers. After that, it's American history, which I've been reminded constantly is not Mike's best subject.

A ray of hope is that the girls that have just arrived don't seem to be as promiscuous as the previous two generations, so I'm starting to feel a tad safer in school. I miss the seniors that I sat with at the front table, but at least I'm free of the romps that occurred there regularly. But my social life has yet to open up completely — I expect to have a girlfriend (it's not exactly a good prospect) by the end of the year.

PUK to crack?

...Nah. But judging by what I've seen on a recent topic, things have fixed my mouth in an unusually vindictive smile. On a topic about unusual MSN conversations, Jeroen decided to post a log on his conversation with James, and the latter immediately responded and ordered the log destroyed. The conversation goes on thus (none of this has been edited, check the topic itself):

James: You CANNOT go posting CONFIDENTIAL logs on PUK FORUMS, Jeroen. I'm going to trust you enough to remove this log yourself. Any more of this and we'll have to seriously consider your position. I am NOT happy.

Jeroen: Oh come on! It's just a small log. It's not as if people wouldn't have found out anyway after we made this definite. We're just giving some advance warning!

Besides, it really wouldn't hurt to be a bit more open to people. We're hiding all the stuff we're working on in the end, and don't release half of it. Or have you forgotten that ix banner we had up for half a year?

And besides, it's not as if you do that much anymore these days. I moderate the forums with Mike, Mike posts content, I fix the code, and you just sit back and try to seem important. When was the last time you had an idea for yourself.

And if you're going to remove my admin for this.. Bah, petty. It's just petty. And don't forget who also has FTP and database access here. I can have this whole place in ruins whenever I want to...

James: I can have YOU in ruins! I know where you live! Believe me, I've got enough time on my hands to come over there and kick your ass. Everything is backed up and you know that. I can photoshop you on to Goatse, remember.

Jeroen: And what would you do? Throw your future army at me after you have conquered the world?

Besides, I'll be ready. I'm sure I can get some support for when you get even extremely close. With your fat, it shouldn't be too difficult anyway. And besides, my brother can always beat you up too!!

And if you can photoshop me.. Well, I can always report that. And I can always send fake email in your name to everyone saying what a stupid person you really are!

I'm afraid to say that Jeroen is right — as long as I was a member, James orchestrated moves but never actually performed them, leaving it to Matt and Steffan (who have not spoken at time of writing) to work out the coding, Jeroen to develop the currently defunct Pokégame programme and to lord over the forums, and Mike to gather news and walkthroughs. I realise that James can't do it himself, but if you're the webmaster you need to get in, at the very least, the majority of the action, and I don't mean financing the forum.

On the next page of the topic, Mike pops up and starts his rant on how he feels undermined by James, Jeroen, and even Steffan:

So rather than being treated like a fellow Admin, like you'd expect someone of equal power to be treated, I'm just here to rubberstamp your ideas and let you take credit am I? Telling you what "great" people you are?

I AM SICK TO DEATH of taking a back seat to you two idiots. It's always "James is an admin, he created the site" and "Jeroen is an admin because he runs the forums", even "Iceduck [Steffan] is an admin because we remember him". THIS IS WHY PEOPLE DON'T REMEMBER ME. THIS IS WHY I'M ALWAYS JUST THOUGHT OF AS A MOD AND SHUNTED TO THE BACK. BECAUSE YOU TWO MORONS ALWAYS COOK UP THE IDEAS WITHOUT CONSULTING ME PROPERLY.

We've spent the past year telling worthwhile people we don't need more Admins, and now you want to turn HIM of all people into one?!? It makes no sense! I hated the idea when you made him a Global Mod for April Fools Day, so WHY THE HELL have you already decided to make him an Admin without listening to my thoughts, especially when you already knew I was likely to hate the idea? How the hell is he supposed to remain secret identity if you're going to make him an Admin?!?

Next time you need someone to write a page at a few minutes notice, you can freaking well do it yourself. Neither of you should have a problem with that - more publicity to fill both of your fat egos, well I take a back seat and try to remind people I have the right to a little bit of authority round this smelly little site.

If Mike's morale really was this low, we would have detected a steady decrease in the number of times he's used his wry sense of humour long before this spasm. But I hardly believe that he's going to stand by this word — this topic is merely a disagreement that escalated out of control, just like the post count discussion that I had helped turn into a debate on the role of their Forum Politics forum (which was eventually merged with PKMN.NET). But there have been no strikes that I've heard of before now, so either Mike has done a good job of holding his anger in or James is just cracking a leather whip backstage.

Personally, I like Mike and respect him as an administrator. I testify that he's not merely taking a backseat to the rest of the group — he is the most sociogenic and efficient administrator on the forum and could probably endure the workload allotted to all the other working administrators (notice the venom). If he is able to maintain a post score of over 5000 (which is probably moot to him), write a majority of the videogame content on the site, and get a point across, he's an invaluable asset to PKMN.NET.

Even with his versatility, however, I still think James is pushing his executives too hard. Maybe that's the cause of stress among them. Maybe that explains away the attitude people hate jeroen for. Maybe James is leaning back in the recliner, sipping a martini and pointing that magisterial finger of his toward whomever he wants to do his dirty work. That's my honest opinion, and this is based on what I know from personal dealings with these people.

If you're reading this segment, you lot, and you find it offensive, feel free to click the Flag button on the Blogger bar; I'll be yelled at and forced to remove this article. If not, I'll probably remove it when everyone has calmed down.

EDIT: Turns out the whole thing was predetermined. There had been no fight; the morale was steady; there really was no conflict between them. And there was me thinking they had finally cracked. This is one of their worst jokes yet.