What Zelda Universe means to us all..

Now, some of you may see this thread, and be reminded of times long past. Some may remember me two years ago as a faptastic n00b who was full of himself and only wanted stuff for himself, and wonder how i could make such a thread. others may even think of recent activities concerning the ZU Chatroom where EA just happened to be the hottest girl on the planet. Others will simply not care.

Personally, in light of ZU's recent changes, the major ones such as the Ownership shift and the server problems which Zak has been faithfully trying to address, and also that noone can access the main site because of the guys working on it, i believe we all need an opportunity to express ourselves toward what Zelda Universe means to us all as the largest fan-based Zelda Community on the internet. This is that opportunity.

as i mentioned, EA happened to be the hottest chick on this Earth, and as most of you know EA is short for my forum name. If you want to see the [read: FAKE] pic i posted on the Chat, look Here. Some members were amused, others were fooled, some knew of the plan all along and the rest were just newbs who didnt get it. When the time came, it had to be said that i am not Female, but Male, and i am anything BUT hot. And the main recipient of the joke, whom i refuse to name and i hope will not reveal themselves, got rather annoyed that they were in on the joke. the atmosphere immediately changed, and i was forced to write something in reply to a comment made about me:

<EA> <NAMEGONE> oh yeah like your very trustworthy <--- look. i ****ing thought you were joking when you were getting orgasmic. before i even posted the pic i said i did stuff to it in photoshop, which was hint that it wasnt really me. and DT said it doesnt look real, right when you were here. we couldnt believe you still thought it was me, so we [most of us] concluded that you were just messing. ****, the joke wasnt even meant for you, it was originally SS and my idea to pwn some idiot n00b, but he left before i was fully prepared, so i posted it anyway with the freaking hints to make sure everyone got it i was kidding. jeez, i am sorry you fell for it, but whatever.

as you can all see, i was a little distressed that they got the wrong picture, and wanted to apologise and say all that was really going on. i have to thank Fianna though. if it wasnt for her, the joke would probably still be being played and i would not be writing this thread. I have a flaw, as you can see. I care for ZU. especially its members. Any other time for any other site, i would not have apologised.

The topic also was brought up earlier over IM, about ZU. I was talking to Fianna, and i was specifically looking for the exact posts where we met. just for the hell of it. reading through some of my original posts, i was blown away by how rude, arrogant, selfish and idiotic i was as a n00b. there was no "newb" stage for me. i was a n00b, and i was proud of it. somehow i just suddenly shifted into the member i am today. But during this search i found out two things. despite all the changes i have gone through, despite everything i did, the people i met, two things about me never changed. for one, i was always called EA. dont ask why, i dont even remember when i first started being called that, but it happened. that is the irrelevant point. the relevant one is that i Loved ZU. i loved it, and this is what i told Fianna. forgive me for the legth:

Master EverAlert says:
lol, i am laughing and crying at the same time here
Parandeh Ashegh says:
don't be an emo
Master EverAlert says:
im not, this is different
Master EverAlert says:
happy tears
Parandeh Ashegh says:
lol
Parandeh Ashegh says:
Why?
Master EverAlert says:
just everything that has happened
Master EverAlert says:
how much ZU has changed since i was saying it has changed
Master EverAlert says:
how much WE have changed
Parandeh Ashegh says:
indeed
Master EverAlert says:
all the happy moments, all the n00b emo moments
Master EverAlert says:
****
Master EverAlert says:
i just realised there is another thing about me that hasnt changed
Master EverAlert says:
i love ZU
Master EverAlert says:
its my home, it represents where i was born into the online world
Master EverAlert says:
its where i met all my best friends.. all my worst enemies
Master EverAlert says:
its where i flamed when i was pissed, where i posted when i was happy... what i feared most to lose when dad threatened to take the internet away
Master EverAlert says:
just wow

All of what i said was true. I was crying, laughing at the same time, remembering memories of an age gone by. and i really do feel these things about ZU. The best things have happened to me at this place. its where ive grown the most, where ive had the most heated arguments, where ive felt the deepest feelings of love in my lifetime.... everything. i cannot imagine life without ZU, plain and simple. Sure, the days have gone long past when but a mere 12 or so members sat in limited threads, arguing mercilessly on untouched topics. sure, the days have passed when a majority of members were not n00bs, but awesome, dedicated people. the time has passed for a majority of threads to be original and well thought out. now that section falls under the minority. but still ZU thrives. I know for a fact that no matter how much im hated here, or how crappy this place goes. no matter how much my reputation may drop because ZU will eventually be considered bad and outdated, i will always be here with dedication until the end. the Very end.

now i turn time to you all, to share a few experiences perhaps, or to express some feelings, whatever you will. As Fianna said to me, this will be a good thread for us oldbies, but i also feel that it may be an insight to the newer members how some of us older people feel about this place. maybe some of the newer members could be inspired to rebuild ZU, back to its original glory, or at least become the old members in the future as we oldbies are now. i look forward to seeing the results

Wow I must say that was quite the speech. I myself have only been here a short time of 5 months, and in my time here ZU has changed quite a bit. Actually since I joined over 7,500 new members signed on to ZU. I've seen many new people become mods and mods become Smods and I've seen some of the oldies leave as well. I must say I've met some great people here on ZU and wish to meet them someday, people who share similar interests and passions. People who appreciate the same things as me, who feel the same way I do about things. I've not only had the chance to meet people but grow up and share experiences I've never had before. I've been able to open a sig shop and I've been given a great number of requests that have helped me perfect my Photoshop skills.

On another note I must say the new invasion of n00bs and the two new admins, one replacing Lars as owner of ZU has kind of made me uneasy. This of course has no bearing on how I feel about ZU. I hope to stay here as long as I can and hope to gain knowledge and experience great things here. My 5 months have only been the beggining here, I hope like you, to have the ability one day to look back on myself. My first posts here at ZU, to see what kind of person I was and what kind I have become. That is simply how I feel about ZU.

Well, looks like you did post it.

Yes, I dare to say when we joined this place in the begining, we were a bunch of n00bs, spamming the place just to get that 1000 posts and to get a Custom Rank. I joined this place because I was curious to know what "forums" were. I was new to the Internet, and I never knew anything about forums and such. I thought the Internet was only a place to check e-mails or buy stuff, not to find friends or have discussions on a forum. I joined here in November, did one post and left for a month. I actually came back around December because I was at my father's house and being bored.

Around that time, I got attached to this place. I met many friends and foes, and had the greatest time with each of you single members here. My very first friend on ZU was Mirren who helped me a lot in the begining and he still is. ^^ And soon after I met EA through a stupid game in the Nayru Clan who has been supportive caring to this day. And soon after I joined the chatroom where I known all of you better.

ZU has taught me a lot. I learned how to type correctly with good grammar. How to be helpful to others, and most imporantly, having fun.

I have stayed at this place despite of many terrible things have happend especially at the chat. Yes I did leave this place for short time on September, but I couldn't stand it because I was too addicted here. I will continue staying here until the day it truely shuts down or disappears, which I know that day will not come soon.

I don't think I have the same view of Zelda Universe as many of the other members here, which may be because I havn't been here as long, I don't know.

For me, the internet is something I use as another form of entertainment, kind of like TV I suppose, and ZU just happens to be one of my favourite websites. I suppose you could compare it to a favourite TC show if we're going to keep the television theme running through this post.

I have had some fun times on here, though I don't think I could honestly say that it's changed me in any way.

Hee hee, I remember when I first joined I thought Lioness, or Shetani as she's now known, owned this site. I think it's because when I first joined she was the person who I always saw helping out around here and posting the most.

Right now the place I spend most of my time on ZU is the art and writing board, especially the poetry section, where I post my work and comment on others. I lik it in there. It's like a seperate little community over there, and I've gotten to know a small group of the writers.

What does ZU mean to me? A great deal, I suppose. It's a wonderful, fantastic place full of great people. It always brings a smile to my face when I stop off on this electronic traffic island on the information super highway. I've been posting some of my stuff in the Art and Writing forum and I'm glad to have a place to share my stories. I've read some fantastic stuff that I would never have had the opportunity to read had I not joined these forums. I mean, I used to hate poetry, but after reading stuff from Southern Belle, Selah and many others, I have a newfound appreciation for it. I don't know if I've changed because of Zelda Universe. But, if I have, it's definitely for the better.

It really is a great place.

I shouldn't really post in this becuase i am a n00b !!!11111oneoneoneeleventwo.


ZU was my first forums and i found this while a was playing runescape(OH NO NOT TEH RUNESCAPE ZOMG) so i was scared of pretty much everything and everyone. After a few months of being afraid of people and being worried about my low postcount i managed to get the chat to work and became less afraid of the people and started to have more fun.

Everything about ZU is nicer than real life (to me) the people are nicer, the conversations are nicer and I act nicer (that will worry some people....).

I hope that i will never have to leave ZU but you never know......

I joined ZU back in 2004 just to post some art work on the main site. But when I saw the interactive community, I immdiatly started posting and in a n00bsih manner too. I was quite the n00b back in my days making crap threads and getting picked on for my incredibly belittling and stupid name 'big_al,' which was a stupid nickname I made up myself in middle school, and my overall n00bishness. When the Serious Discussion board was created, I was one of the top posters of that board and was also a huge moron in there as well. It was in October-ish that I started to drop my n00b behavior.

I was begining to become more accepted into ZU and by December, I was gaining even more resepct. In late January, I had left ZU as I felt it had got too spammy and came back to find a lot had changed. I then started to act more 'internet cool' (like using pharases way to often like 'you fail') and made a bad habit out of it, until in May in the chatroom, I was having a long talk with GC about my behavior and I dropped it. Now I'm just regular, cool onebie, Nox.

Oh and ZU does mean a lot as its more than a Zelda board once you stick around; it's a community with cool members. We may have a n00b invasion going on right now, but ZU will get through it. ZU has gotten through many things as I've learned from the oldbies.

That was truly touching, e_alert. Really. I feel the same way, although I would never be able to describe it through words, in just one post. I love ZeldaUniverse. If you look at my join date, that is mere crumbs. Its when I joined the forums, which is where I started my evolution into becoming truly dedicated and addicted to this entire site. I've been on the forums for a year, I've been on the site for four. And ZeldaUniverse is my sanctuary. I joined when I was eleven. I had no idea what I was about aside from the fact that I love Zelda, and thought that if I came here I could meet new people.

What I found was an entirely new world, full of wonderful people, where I posted many stories and discovered my writing talents. If not for this site, I would never have gotten better. I fell in love with someone at this site, I'm sure you can guess who. I met so many great friends. The site was amazing when I didn't know about the forums. When I joined the forums, thats when I fell in love, when I asked out that person (figuratively, you see), where I met great friends, and became involved in so many different things that it finally gave my life a meaning. It was like a fresh start.

So thats what ZeldaUniverse means to me. Everything. And I will never leave it.

--bls

Well I originally came to the forums just to learn how to start a website, which I figured out, but I realised that many people here were really interactive and wellliked and so I tried to...oh bah, I have no idea what ZU means to me. It means a lot, I just don't really know why.

I can't say I feel this way about ZU, (probally because I'm new) but I do feel this way about another forums. (Namely, ZeldaVault) That is where I was changed from a n00b to a well respected member. Where I first experienced the joy of n00b bashing, (who cares if it's wrong?) and where I met my first smacktard.

When I joined ZU two years ago, I seem to remember it just being a whim of mine. Back in those days the forums were very heavily stressed upon in almost all the newsposts on the main site. There was always a "Go discuss this latest development in our community forums!" to go along with whatever news Lars (then AnakiN) and a little later on, Zephka, had posted. So eventually I did. Looking back at my old posts, I realize I didn't post until a month after joining. For the most part it was only in the Zelda sections, sometimes in Entertainment, and generally in the "What is your favouritest thing in <insert game here>" type threads. So I guess I wasn't into the whole community aspect. I didn't especially care what other people were saying in threads, I was pretty much just getting my thoughts out there. Then I went inactive for a little under a year...according to my past posts from October of 2003 until July of 2004. When I started back up (I believe due to wanting to comment on Behind the Rupee's articles) I also saw there was the new Serious Discussion board, which is really how I ended up getting more involved in terms of not just saying what I wanted to say, but listening to what other people were saying as well. That's probably why my post count is as low as it is, I generally just read what other people say, and only respond if I feel I can truly add something to the discussion, which seems to be fairly infrequent.

I can't say that ZU has changed me as a person, but it has opened me up to hearing opinions of all sorts of interesting people from all over the world on so many different subjects. I genuinly like a few of the people on these forums (as well as you can like some one who is identified by a username over the internet I suppose) and god knows there's enough people here who infuriatre me beyond belief, but I like it here. It's slightly odd to look at the group of "Oldbies" and see how close they seem to be with eachother, knowing first names and stuff; but since I joined around the same time as a lot of them, I can still vaguely remember back when they were newbs. Then it's also odd to look at the newbies of today, and see the potential in some of them and then see the ones who I know will be gone in a matter of months. It's odd to have had something so...unique be in my life, "seeing" people I don't actually know every day, seeing them come and go, yet still watching from the sidelines. ZU is such an interesting enviroment for me not just to participate in, but to observe. So even if I go inactive again, I'll probably stop by from time to time to see how these familiar usernames are doing. See how many are still here and how many have moved on. See how many new "faces" there are in compared to the old.

Hopefully that little ramble made enough sense to everyone, and not just me.

I joined ZU becuse my mom didn't want me on Zelda Romance (I still get on sometimes anyways). Before it was gone most of my posts were in the SD. I used to think Nox and Mirror Image were jerks but,I now realized tat they were trying to help me or something like that and I also realized that I was being the real jerk.Anyways,ZU also showed me on how seriously I take things.I'm pretty sure that I'll be here on ZU for a very longtime probably a few years.

I first started to come to ZU in the beginning of 2005. I decided a little later on that I needed to register and start posting because it seemed like alot of fun. So that's precisely what I did! It was tough getting started just because I didn't want anyone to think of me as a n00b so I labored over all my posts.

My experience here thus far has been a good one. I really enjoy reading the interesting posts and sharing my opinions on different matters. I've also made a few really good friends on here that I would rather talk to than what friends I have offline!

I've been having a great time here and I really like getting to know the members here. I very rarely ever go into the chat, but it's just because I'm a bit quiet like that. ^^

To me, ZU means being able to be myself and being able to be open with my thoughts and feelings in a supportive and fun community. I don't plan on leaving anytime soon. I really hope that I can find the time to stay and strengthen the online friendships I have even more. It's pretty safe for me to say that ZU has become a part of me that I will not soon forget. ^^

ZU has been all kind of things to me.

I miss the days when everyone thought GC and I were complete idiots, and we posted whenever we got the chance. I remember constantly being called an idiot and being kicked from the EFNet #zelda. Those were the days..but now it doesn't seem as fun anymore. I guess I'm supposed to be mature since I'm a veteran member now. I've gotten one warning, for flaming Mirren, which I apologized for. I even talk to Mirren on an almost regular basis. It's just nice to come here and see some people that you've known for the past year and a half, and I'm sure it will be better as the times keep passing by, people leaving, coming back, being morons..etc.

Anyways, ZU, as Star Boy said, has been the place to really state your opinions, stick up for them, etc., and no one can bring you down (Except Sea, of course).

When I joined ZU, I would never expect that I would stay here for this long, be one of the top posters..it all just happened, and I have to thank the great community at ZU for making me feel like part of them, even if I am a fat little (or should I say huge) white boy from Kentucky.

I hate to say it, but I've never had a pleasant experience here. During all my time here, I've had a lot of people be rude to me in the chat and in the forum. I like coming here to discuss, but I just don't see it as personal as you do. I see people saying all the time "As you all know, I've been gone for a while". I don't notice if a person is gone or not (ok, I do, but very rarely) and you can't really say I have friends in this place.

I am a part of this forum and I do post here, but at the same time almost no one knows who I am, and I'm not really in the "main group" of people here. I am not complaining about it, just telling you.

Wow...

I really can't say at all that ZU has had this effect on me in any way whatsoever, so I guess I'm one of those people who just don't care. But then again I have only been here for about a month.

I must question the sanity of everyone who feels this way about anything on the internet, but if it had to be any forum this would be it. It's active enough and it's loaded with personalities.

Im not good at emotional writing, so i am just gonna list this out as basic as possible. (although all of everybodies were quite nice...that were thought out)

When I came across this thread it really made me think..."What if i had never joined ZU?"

Well, I can answer that. I wouldnt have near as many opportunities to:

1.) Stay up till sunrise reading all of the latest Zelda information.
2.) To welcome and scare the living dalights at newbies
3.) Meet so many amazing Zelda fans, who actually know what they are talking about.
4.) Discover another source of "socializing" and getting away from life.
5.) take out my anger and flam at people.
6.) To become a better artist
7.) Read amazing stories people here thought up. (yes that means you bloodsword)
8.) to talk about what i like, and not get ridiculed for it at home.
9.) To meet people on the otherside of the world.
10.) And also meet those special ones . . . that you just fall in love with. (three guesses who)

Um, that pretty much covers it. I remember the first time my mom cut off the internet, i immeditately thought about ZU. I would never want to leave a place like this. Some things just go down in history, and as i become an older member, i do hope some things i have done will reflect sorta. UPA seemed odd 6 months ago, but people have joined, and i meet so many along with it.

I have always respected the older people here...i was new to forums when i joined, and ZU opened up another 'universe' (excuse the pun) for me to delve into and stuff. I dont know how the mods put up with all they deal with, and i respect that. I remember when i first joined, i too just wanted to be respected here...because sometimes people in real life dont do that for us. Not that this should take over your life, but it can add onto it somthing that only some people have ever felt.

And that feel is unnameable. All i know is that it came from Zelda Universe. Some things dont have to be explained.

ZU is my internet home, I always have a tab open for ZU on my browser, even if I'm not active for that day.

Since I joined last year, I've become alot more mature and hesitant about my posting taking great heed to the saying "If you have nothing good to say, don't say anything at all". And by following that rule, I've had as much fun as I could possibly imagin.

"living" at ZU, I can be that dream self, because I'm just typing, I can take my time, and then, log off, and be that person in the real world because I've had that "internet practice run".

I can tell people things over the communitry thread and through AIM that I wouldn't want to tell anyone in person, and the fact that I don't know you guys physically helps alot too. To some extent, ZU, the people here, are like diety's, you ask, and they reply.

I must question the sanity of everyone who feels this way about anything on the internet.

In time here, you will come to see. I sound like a prophecy lol.

When I first came to ZU I didin't go on the fourms I just came here to here the news about TP.But then one day I decided that since I come here every day I should join the fourms so I did.On my first week or 2 like most people I didin't know anything about posting on fourms so my posts where quite spammy they still arent perfect.But after a while I started to post things that made a good part of the disscussin.Even though I havent been here for long I feel that I have matured and if people dont like me because I havent been here long then thats just to bad because Im a good person everywhere I go. I have had nothing but fun since I joined here and yes I am staying on ZU even when it starts to get less popular.