I used to lurk IC and SB1 sometimes back in the day, but I was 2 scared 2 post. I’m naturally a lurker by inclination, so I’ve gotta give this community a LOT of credit for getting me to JUST POST. Only SB has been cool enough to make me act like an actual member of an internet community!
I’ve said this before, but the day I felt like I was really a member of this community was the day I went on the first episode of Super Nintendo Exploration Squad. I’d never gotten on a voice call with an internet stranger before that!! I love that we do community projects like that. My own documentary series wouldn’t be what it is at all without the brilliant advice, ideas, and participation of this community.
Maybe it’s corny but I still do think of this place as the Cahiers du Cinéma of video games. A collection of sardonic wits whose discourse and experiments in a new medium reverberate across that medium in subtle and unexpected ways. @u_u coined the term “icebergvania”, and @Father.Torque coined the term “lawnmower sim”, and @Tulpa coined the term “too much cake”.
More important than all that, we’re a group of ACTUAL friends on the ACTUAL public internet, friends who support each other with care and mutual aid and self-consciously work to build a vibrant counter-culture community.