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  1. To say that the last 24 hours have been hectic would be nothing short of an understatement. Now that the dust is starting to settle, I'd like to take a moment to explain why Ninfora came to existence, and what we have planned for the future of the site. NSider2 was a great home for nearly a decade. Deciding to leave NSider2 was a decision that was not made lightly. The NSider2 staff has realised that the site has been stagnating and dying for a very long time. We have desperately wanted to turn that ship around. Even if we didn't wind up attracting new members, we wanted to at least make the site a welcoming place for members that have been around for so long. Unfortunately, working with CrowdGather - the site's current owners - meant that it was nigh-on impossible to accomplish even our most basic of goals. We have a lot of admiration for this ever-resilient community and hope to see several ambitious ideas come to fruition in the coming days/weeks/months. Transitioning to a brand new site was our very last option, but it's unfortunately the one that we needed to go with. I personally tried to reach out to CrowdGather on June 1st and expressed interest in purchasing the site. After waiting for so long without a reply, I was assured that the email was forwarded to the sales team. I waited. And waited. And asked some more. Nada. My request to CrowdGather falling on deaf ears was not the first. CrowdGather's apathy and inactivity was what spurred me to submit a buyout request in the first place. I assumed that they may be interested in earning some money for having kept NSider2 running for so long. I can't imagine that the site is generating too much revenue at this point, and the cost of operating it is certainly non-negligible, especially when you consider their staff hours that have been (ineffectively) poured into the site. Difficulties with CrowdGather have been ongoing for years, which has also become immediately clear to the community as a whole as CG tries to perform damage control. In the name of transparency, I'm going to openly share some of the issues that have proved to be a headache for us: Years ago, NSider2 began serving malware when reached through Google and other search engines. Users that clicked on a link to NSider2 would be redirected to unsavoury sites if they did not already have a cookie from NSider2 on their system. This issue would not often affect users that frequented the site, but people unfamiliar with the site would be immediately turned away from the malicious activity. CrowdGather has not maintained NSider2. Basic security needs were entirely neglected, as indicated above. We were running with painfully outdated versions of IPS and various other software packages on the back-end. Administrators visiting the website or logging into the admin control panel would also be nagged with messages prompting us to update to newer versions of IPS 4 to patch critical security issues. Sadly, we were powerless to do so, and requests to fix this were ignored. The entire upgrade process was not handled well. The database took weeks to rebuild, and after realising that one queue of work was constantly getting "stuck", I had found that a simple plugin was conflicting with the automated tasks. This plugin was a very old version, and the problem we were experiencing was a bug that had been fixed long ago. As usual, we were unable to do anything beyond disabling features and making the site less enjoyable to use. Things get broken. A lot. View counts not updating is one of the more notable recent problems. Performance is awful, but could be trivially improved with a few hours of maintenance. I was able to optimise the database substantially with the limited SQL Toolbox that the IPS admin control panel provides alone, but I could only do so much. Simple details such as copyright footers would not even be updated. @Pelord's story is particularly telling: He had requested that CrowdGather update the home page's copyright footer from 2014 to 2016, but this still has not been done. The front page in general clashes heavily with the rest of the site. With all of these problems and no buyout option on the table, we were left with one final choice: Start fresh, and try to keep the community involved every step of the way. Admittedly we could have had a bit more to show at the time of @Chrom's original announcement, but our first priority was to gauge interest and to force CrowdGather to show their hand. We believed that CrowdGather may have been open to the idea of a buyout if they saw how unhappy the community (and particularly the staff) had been with their non-involvement with the site. CrowdGather showed their hand. Their iron fist, even. CrowdGather "quickly" (relatively speaking :P) removed the announcement thread; banned Chrom's account; and placed a wildcard IP ban on Chrom, likely banning access to several others around him that may be using a similar IP range. I was not immediately banned, but I did respond to a single post mentioning Ninfora. I showed my enthusiasm for the new site and hyped up how awesome it was to have it running as it is. Shortly thereafter, I found that my ability to submit posts and use the private messaging system had been disabled. Curiously enough, Pelord has since also received similar treatment, despite not having any activity on NSider2 since the incident. The most likely speculation for this is the simple fact that he was an admin. So this is why Ninfora is necessary. It gives us the chance to start fresh. I have a personal affection for you wonderful people, and I wanted to be able to provide a forum that's given the love that NSider2 so desperately needed and deserved. I'd like everyone to know where Ninfora will be headed in the future. So here's an "FAQ" to explain things! Who owns Ninfora? While I am in control of Ninfora's domain name, cloud instance, and software licenses, I will primarily be focusing on back-end issues and bug fixes. I love technology and putting together things that "just work", so being able to personally determine the infrastructure and software to use was a fantastic opportunity for me. However, I am not a designer. I am not a community manager. I am not a mediator. I do tech, and maybe some other things when necessary. @Chrom will continue performing administrative duties. @Pelord will continue handling social media and I'm going to get some software in place so that he can make an awesome home page. @CCH will continue creating graphics and making the site more pleasing on the eyes (he'll do better with the dark skin than I ever could ). Likewise, it would be awesome to see other people getting involved with various aspects of the site. I want to be able to make this site engaging. Some recent members here enjoy posting weekly reviews and creating fantastic fan art. I would love to see your guys' awesome work highlighted on the main page and beyond. How will Ninfora grow? Crazy as this may sound for a website, none of us are focused on "growth" right now. We're focused on attracting the tight-knit community that has existed for so long. Only when the community is happy and settled will we think about how to bring in fresh faces. If you're coming from NSider2, then right now this site exists for you. Monetisation? Generating revenue from Ninfora isn't a goal at all. I've had a few people asking about how I will sustain the site, and right now, I'm paying out of pocket. If I wind up spending a few hundred dollars per year to keep this site going, then that is fine by me. I love this community and I would happily stomach the additional expense. However, server bills and license fees are still very much a realistic concern. Some members have expressed interest in chipping in a few bucks here and there. I may set up a donation system or some sort of crowdfunding campaign at some point, but I am not worrying about that until much more work on the site has been finished. You will also notice that there are no advertisements on the site at present. I'm a stern opponent of what online advertising has become. If there ever are ads, they will not be Flash-based; animated; or have any sound. Even image ads would be unlikely. If advertisements are implemented, I would stick strictly with text-based ads. And even then I wouldn't care if you guys used ad blockers, since I still would be too. What will come of NSider2? No one knows. Currently, NSider2 has an entirely brand new team of staff. Ultimately, CrowdGather will determine NSider2's fate. It is up to CG to decide whether they will keep it running, or decide to sell it yet again, or even flip it off permanently. Personally, I want to at least see NSider2's rich history preserved forever. One big reason that I wanted to purchase NSider2 instead of start from scratch is because the site holds so much personal nostalgic value and memories. I have never been a part of a more vibrant community in all my life. Alas, NSider2 has sadly degraded into a site that I can no longer enjoy. NSider2 is also potentially the first and only website that I have ever been banned from. It hurts. It really does. That's me for now. If you got through all of that, thanks for reading! I'm still organising my thoughts and coming to terms with everything that has happened. But after talking with so many of you here and on Discord, I am highly optimistic for the future. It's going to be a bumpy road, but this community has always persevered through even the most difficult of times. Here's to another decade of the NSider legacy!
    39 points
  2. On September 20, 2016, a new site was born and later came to be known as Ninfora, breaking out from the previous site after long standing disagreements with internal management. Since then, Ninfora has managed to accrue over 150 members and 16,000 posts, while the old site remains almost completely abandoned with a future uncertain. CrowdGather, the old site's owner, has effectively gone AWOL. In commemoration of this successful move after one month, our staff would like to offer a big thanks to everyone who's shown support for Ninfora thus far. Settling on going through with this was not without its weight and grievances, and for me personally, it was very stressful for a long period of time. It's been a tremendous relief to see this play out much better than I was expecting. CG may rightfully own the old site, but they do not own this community, which for so long they've neglected to cater to in favor of their own interests. Thanks to you, the tolls of corporate acquisition are no more. To the next month, and many more!
    28 points
  3. I'm a little late with this thread, but here goes: I just got back from playing Nintendo Switch in New York City. My verdict?:IT WAS SO FUN OMG The Nintendo Switch Before I even entered the venue, I noticed a small group forming just outside. That's when I glimpsed none other than: Hey, look. It's the guy who's responsible for the majority of my most amazing experiences in life. NO BIG DEAL!!! Before I had a chance to even react, an angry security man started herding everyone away like a game of Beaver Bother (DK64 reference. HAHAHA), yelling for us to clear the sidewalk. I managed to take one picture before getting trampled by the cop. In the six seconds I spent standing in Aonuma's glorious presence, I saw him sign somebody's thing and pose for a picture whilst looking really happy and joyful and perfect and precious and amazing and... Also, is that a Switch in his hand? I didn't even notice until now! Stupid ugly loser nerd posing with Mario's new hat. Onto the actual event! The line was thankfully not so long. Once the stated time came, I was in the venue within minutes. Nice! My first goal was to make it over to the Breath of the Wild demo, but unfortunately, the line was closed off because of too many people beating me to it. DAMN. I sulked away from the line and I caught the attention of a representative who beckoned for me to play Arms, which ended up being my first ever Switch game. It was a pretty interesting game to start with too, what with the unique controls. In short, you have to hold a Joy-Con in each hand, with your thumbs on the L and R buttons, sort of like one of those old flight sticks. You move your character by tilting the controllers simultaneously in your desired direction. Other than that, the game was exactly what it looks like: a Wii Sports boxing spin-off with special moves. I have to say, the Joy-Cons are pretty comfortable to hold. I like them already! Anyways, after finishing three rounds of Arms on multiplayer (I won 2 out of 3), I took a few pictures and decided the crowd surrounding Splatoon 2 was too big, so I looked around and... OMG THE BOTW LINE IS OPEN!!! Same decorations as E3. They even brought the giant Link statue! I honestly waited no more than 20 minutes before I got my chance to play, which is awesome. My first thought upon playing the game was "Kill me right now. I have no regrets." The controls are certainly a bit different from the rest of the series. For one, there's a jump button now. You have to jump first, then attack to do the jump strike, instead of targeting and pressing A. Also, the jump strike feels far heavier and more powerful than previous games. Feels natural; Feels better separated. Aside from that, the demo was actually a tiny bit disappointing as it was loaded with the same cutscenes we've all seen before. The opening cutscene, the one with the old man, the Korok, and the one with the tower rising and Calamity Ganon showing up at Hyrule Castle. Admittedly, I could have avoided triggering most of these, but oh well. The 12 minutes or so I got to actually play were pure bliss and I loved every second. I killed some Bokoblins with their own clubs, I pushed a boulder (which doesn't require a button press like in the rest of the series) down a hill to hit a barrel and blow up a camp, which was incredibly satisfying, and I even prayed to the Goddess Statue inside the Temple of Time! Speaking of which, the game cut off just before I could climb to the top of the Temple of Time's tower. The controller felt... like a controller. To me, it wasn't any more or less comfortable than any other modern controller, so that's good enough for me. It felt natural. Game looks and runs great while undocked, from my experience. In the middle of playing, the representative asked me to slide the Joy-Cons onto the sides of the Switch (which I did, with a satisfying click!) and remove the system from the dock. The game appeared on the screen immediately with no delay whatsoever. Absolutely seamless transition. Playing the Switch undocked feels pretty much the same as playing on the Wii U's GamePad, with a couple of exceptions. For one, the system feels weighty, which is expected. I actually like it. Feels less cheap than the GamePad, in my opinion. Another thing is that, thanks to the Joy-Cons, there's no grip on the controller which makes it slightly less comfortable, but obviously not so much to make it a deal-breaker or anything. Finally, I put the controller in the dock and held the Joy-Cons in my hands... separately. I honestly had no idea that you could do that. It is so comfortable. I played the rest of the demo with my hands at my sides and it was an absolute joy (see what I did there?!). Definitely the definitive way to play Breath of the Wild! Life-sized squid! After that dream come true, I went back to the Splatoon 2 stations where the representative was delighted to see us, as there were two unmanned Switches and 6 other attendees were just seconds away from beginning their next local multiplayer Turf War. The game feels like Splatoon. It has new special attacks, such as the jetpack (which is awesome, by the way. More Super Mario Sunshine vibes from this franchise!), but it still feels like the same game, so I won't go into too much detail. Instead, allow me to brag: I won the first match with 8 kills, 0 losses with a roller. I won the second match with 12 kills, 0 losses with the new Dualies weapon. Finally, I won the third match with... 3 kills, 4 losses. Either way, my team won all three times! I was actually jokingly rewarded with a Nintendo Switch branded bottle of water. Nice! I did take a picture of the game running on the Switch screen, but it appears to have not uploaded properly. However, it looked great. Infinitely better than the GamePad screen! MissingPicture.jpg Woooow! I sat on the couch for a bit of Ultra Street Fighter II and I got my ass handed to me repeatedly. Still fun though! After that, I really didn't have much I wanted to play, so I decided to try out Super Bomberman R. WOW WHAT A FUN GAME OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, I DUNNO. Real talk, things were getting loud and my representative was completely distracted. That's when I noticed him and basically told my rep to fuck off, which he did gladly. Who can think about Bomberman when... Producer of the Street Fighter franchise, Blanka, posing with his life-sized Ono figurine. ...Yoshinori Ono is on stage a couple feet away, hosting a Street Fighter competition?! That was completely unexpected! He picked people out the crowd, specifically small children, and let them compete to win a signed Nintendo Switch cap. How awesome! Kill me now. No regrets. I took a picture with him and even shook his hand. What an experience! Colorful and surprising comfy. I thought I had more pictures, but they went the way of the Splatoon 2 pics. By that I mean, I have no idea. Must have not sent from my phone. OH WELL, onto the rest of the story: I played Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. I didn't get to check out the battle mode, but I did get to sit in an airplane simulation (complete with clouds outside the window!) and play the game on the small screen with the Joy-Cons separated. Whatever I said about the controller before is still true here, even with traditional controls. Mario Kart 8 felt super natural on the Joy-Con. One thing about the game: the new Steer-Assist was turned on and it was either the worst thing ever or the controller was broken because during both races, my kart was always turning slightly left the entire time. I took one last look around and decided that since Snipperclips (which looks seriously fun) was still occupied, 1, 2, Switch wasn't something I was interested in (although, I would have got to wear a big hat), and I didn't feel like Disgaea 5 was the best fit for such an exciting environment, it was time for me to leave. On my way out, I was given a Switch pin and a Switch cookie! I thought it was soap... Overall, I had an amazing time and I'm so glad I decided not to throw away my tickets. The Nintendo Switch is going to be great and I absolutely cannot wait to play more! Thanks to @Inkling Bandy for taking pictures at the event!
    25 points
  4. Chrom

    #Pray4Sarah

    1 like = 1 prayer
    24 points
  5. @a/0 @ace @Aero @AGES @Aisha @alienboyva @Alpine @AndroidOS @Arelanex @ArmoredFrog @Art_de_Cat @AshleyTheWitch @avalonknight @AxelBlaze @Banana Bloodplanet @Bark of the Wild Eevee @BEASTMASTERTOAD @Blackout @blcdude1 @Blue.Frog @BlueJackG @Booton @Bowser81889 @Brute Justice @Bwar @Carl321 @Caysekong @CCH @CHAINMAILLEKID @Cheesy34 @chickadee @Chrom @Chromo#triggered @ConstentTeen @Cryptic @Dancing Mog @DarkClaymore @DashAhead @DeepDarkFantasy @Deku @Destiny Hero @DivineTrinity @DLurkster @DNLINK @Doc Brown @Drab-Ehoh @Draxal @Drifloony @EH_STEVE @Eier @Electrosmog @Eliwood8 @Erdrick @Eternal Lurker @Ethlyn @Eureka @EZLO21 @Ferry @Finn @Fire @Fire @Forte @Fullmetalwwant @fuzz @Fuzzer1 @gary the goldfish @gbwyoshi @GENERALBEATRIX @Generalq @geozeldadude @Gibi @Gold @Gravitas @HectorB @Ice_Turtle @Igneous42 @Igoto @Ikit Klaw @Illus @InfinityDragon @Ink.bleb @InXplotch @Iridium @Irondog666 @Isotope @IU @JanusDS @JBDCool @Jeffrizzel @Jenette @Jghstar101 @Jirachi @jnmario959 @Jon Mess @Juanblue85 @Jun @Juni @K @Kamui @keatsta @Kezay @KirbyKiller @Kirbymeister2 @Kloanoa @Koari @Kodiack @koopa_under_fire @kuu @Laclipsey @Lavender @Legacy Yoshi @Lena @LIL_POSTKINS @Lilina @lilty @Lina Inverse @Link @Llama @Lt. Surge @luigitornado @Malkon @Mao @Marty @Marxforever @ME86 @Meow_Meow_Farm @MewtwoWarrior @mikecamper @MizuMikomi @Mrhappy @Namevah @NebuLesbian @Neonocyte @nipple @nornir @Oblivion @Octoling Bandy @One Man Freak Show @ONE-OF-THREE @Oshawott777 @overworldgalaxy @Pajamas720 @Palutena @PaperMarioGuy @pat @Pelord @Phi @PIKMIN2HOTDOGSANDMUSTARD @Pinky-chan @pradip patel @Prince @Princess Mia @Psygon @Punchy @purple_beard @PyroJing @Raichu @Rallex @Ready To Die @Redbomber64 @Reilly @Ret @revked @Rhadamanthus @Rizz @Rodriguezjr @Samus2008 @Santa @Saomaster1450 @Satomi Famicom @sb. @Schmengland @Shadow118 @Sharkz @Shulk @Shyguy75 @Sir Grim Locksmith VIII @Sir_Fluff @Sirliamtron @Slayer67 @SleuthMechanism @SloppyJimbo @SNESFANATIC @Snootles @Soft @Sol Badguy @Sowaritiis @Stopdoor @strawberrykeiki @Subies&Vape @subrosian @Sun @SuperNintendoPower @SuperShadowX2 @SuperWooper @Swigg @Swiggity @TehBrawlGuy @Tenebrae @The Albraskan @The Krazy One @The Professor @The_Fool @TheOthin @Thirdkoopa @Thoughtstars @Toad160 @Trace @Triforcemaster3 @Tyranogre @Umlaut Mannerjee @Uni @Vector @Vortex @WatcherJoshua @Weaver @WEEDGODSANJAY420 @WILLO567 @Winston_Snakehole (R-NY) @wmxp @XCWarrior @Xenocity @XENON @XLW @xo @xxxbmoney61xxx @Yehu Bihdi @Youmu @Young P @Youngster Joey @Yuki @Zeldaru @Zero @zimms
    22 points
  6. 18 points
  7. Stephen 776

    Olaf 2.0

    Now, the post was obviously meant to poke out a plot hole in the movie. After all, conventional wisdom says if two “objects” are released, subject only to gravity, they fall down at the same rate independent of mass. The implication being that Frozen had fridge logic—which, honestly, is probably true. This led to much joy and laughter about this post, and someone asked “where's the science behind that?” And now me, being bored in the middle of a long summer, long since seperated from classes, decided for shits and giggles to scientifically answer how Olaf might have fell first but landed second. The post, which some say might have been legendary, was since deleted, lost to the annals of time. But today, let us revisit the issue anew and answer the question: “How did Olaf fall first but land second?” Consider this post something of a housewarming gift. To be clear, I consider the event in the movie nothing but an editorial oversight (“fridge logic”), but I figured this post might be fun all of the same. *ahem* So first of all, some basic physics is in order. The statement two “objects” released from rest from down at the same rate, regardless of mass, has a subtlety—namely, what is an object. In physics, we do not find the motion of every atom and attempt to work out the solution of 10^23 interaction molecules; but we can often get away with treating a mole of molecules as if it were one molecule (or “point particle”). However, in some circumstances, you cannot model an “object” as a point particle: objects interact with their environment. That's the critical factor. While Olaf, if he were in a vacuum, would indeed fall the same rate as the humans, if there was something else part of the “Olaf system,” then the answer isn't so clearcut anymore. Specifically, the physical picture is as Olaf falls, his body every so slightly grows as he collides with snowflakes that become one with his snowy body. Because the snowflakes are usually at terminal velocity and are not accelerating at all, the Olaf-snowflake system is not in freefall. This leads to a far more interesting problem, and one where the solution, under certain conditions, can explain why Olaf fell first but landed second. Everything else is details, but let's take them one by one. Olaf's Geometry is Complicated: Have you ever heard an old physics joke? It goes something like this: Geometry serves a very weird place in physics. A lot of details change depending on geometry; given the same amount of input energy a soda can and a ball will spin at different rates just because one is a cylinder and one is a ball. Nevertheless, they both spin, and a lot of the fundamental ideas of spinning are true regardless of geometry. In short, geometry changes a lot of details, but seldom changes the fundamental physics. Now this is Olaf: He is a snowman; his lower body is small, his legs are stubby, he has freaking twigs for arms, and his head is more cylindrical than spherical. This is a nightmare to deal with. So instead, I need to approximate Olaf's geometry: as two spheres joined at a point. But doesn't this possibly invalidate everything? Actually no. You see, a sphere is special in one regard: it's the most “compact” shape available (formally, minimizes volume for fixed surface area). That compactness is what primarily shows up in the problem and is what matters; so in fact, a sphere represents the worst case scenario in addition to being the simplest to work with. There's some more details I can add. Also, yes, that means I could have made it one sphere instead of two and almost gotten the same result; but more on that later. Snowflakes Move At Constant Speed: The model is olaf is adding snowflakes to snowy body as he falls. But what about the motion of the snowflakes? Snowflakes generally come from on high, say clouds or something. I'm not a meteorologist. But because they are relatively light and have been in gravity for far longer, they will reach terminal velocity; so saying snowflakes move at constant speed (straight down) is a very physical assumption. I mention this because this is a departure from the original post. Snowflake Depends on Olaf's Size: The last big point, and the last departure is this. Imagine you're a snowflake. You're falling down all happy and snuggly cruising at your terminal velocity. You look up, and what do you see? Nothing but Olaf (something like the image above)!! But, to you, Olaf doesn't look like two spheres, he looks like two circles. And then, these circles come crashing down on you, and before you know it, you're part of olaf's biology forever and ever. In the original problem, I “used” a model which suggested the amount of snow added to olaf depended on his volume; here I use a more physical assumption that it relies on his area. Air Resistance: Lastly, air resistance. This is important. Air resistance is usually ignored either because for sufficiently small velocities it's not worth the effort, or usually, being a so-called nonlinear phenomonon it's a pain to deal with. Such a pain, in fact, this post got delayed 3 hours because MATLAB though air resistance could only cause things to go faster or defy gravity. Air resistance also is associated with a constant called “Reynolds number”; the important fact you need to know is that spheres experience about half as much drag as humans due to this constant, so the drag force affects humans more than Olaf. Snowflake Flux Parameter: Lastly, there's one parameter that deserves some mention and that's the snowflake flux parameter; basically a measure of how much snowflakes Olaf should add to his skin per minute. I wasn't able to find much data or theoretical models to suggest what this parameter must be; however, it can be related to how much Olaf grows. We'll see how it goes. Now, there's a lot more than can be said about the specifics, which you can find here: but I figure you'd guys would like to be spared the details. At this point, I'd like to extend the analysis. You see, working out the “force equals mass times acceleration” equation is only half the battle; the other half is initial conditions. And for there, we need to look at the movie: So what happens? Well, a giant monster thing is chasing Olaf passes the human at 2:20, which we will regard to be =0 point. He passes by both human characters relatively quickly, so we can treat his initial velocity as being about 2 meter/second. At 2:43, the humans finally cut themselves loose, after hanging from a rope about 5 meters point above rest. The other parameter we need to set is snowflake flux parameter, which is arbitrarily set to 0.01. We also suppose Olaf is about 30 cm thick when this starts. And now we let them go, with a 23 second lag: And even with more physical assumptions, the humans (also subject to drag). One immediate consequence is how fast terminal velocity is reached—within seconds of being launched! The primary factor here is air drag, and he only increases by about 4cm in radius—plausible. And to show that this isn't just a sleight of hand, here's a simulation with air drag and snowflake absorption at zero; we recover the “common sense” prediction that they fall at same rate. Lastly, if we pretended for a moment that humans and olaf have no air resistance What we see is that Olaf can in fact pass the human given enough time, but he also gains nearly 14cm in radius! That means he basically doubled in size. He also travels nearly 1400 km to the bottom—that's comparable to how high planes are. In short, without air resistance, nothing is plausible. Conclusion: Olaf landed second because fucking air resistance. Oh right, the math, in case you care: page 1 page 2 page 3
    18 points
  8. Cinny

    Why I love Nintendo

    I don't mean to get emotional up in here - but I feel the need to talk about one of the biggest reasons I love Nintendo. Yeah; their games are of extraordinary quality. Their teams, composers, the nostalgia, it's all amazing. But, being a 24 year old man, I feel the need to be real for a moment. It's because I feel safe with Nintendo games. During any and everything from my parents divorce growing up, to struggling with depression in Middle School...Ninteno was there for me. Now, don't get me wrong; I played other games, too - but it was a whole other story with Nintendo. I still remember the day I was told that "Dad and Mom were gonna live in different houses" - but what remedied my emotions? (Or rather, ugly-crying face)....my Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64. During that hardship of my childhood, I remember my Dad purchasing me a GameCube out of nowhere near launch. Luigi's Mansion and Smash Bros Melee were my life for years. Then when I was in Middle School and going through emotional puberty parts...I'll never forget running track even though I'd be ridiculed of my weight, and think "Melee and Viewtiful Joe...it'll be alright...my GameCube is waiting for me." And when I played marching band - that was the night of the Wii launch. I waited at Walmart for over 12 hours, had my Sister take my spot while I has to drumline in the Christmas parade, and then came back and waited another four hours for the Wii. Such an awesomely fun experience and helped me carry through the whole band thing. Mario Kart DS - I'll never forget it. Absolutely one of my favorite online gaming memories. I can't count how many hours I poured into that and the friends I made at the time with that game...just brought so many people together. And then all the way up to High School, I remember I'd have a kick of anxiety here and there and my Wii was the best way to cool off. Mario Galaxy, Brawl, Country Returns etc...such an awesome time. What caused me to type this all out? Well, because it still holds true to this day. I've recently started Paper Mario Color Splash and have been having literally the time of my life with it. I love it. And I don't think a game has ever made me laugh out loud this much. And here I am now hyping the Switch. Basically what I'm saying is; Nintendo has always been there for me through thick and thin! And I think that's why I'm such a fan and stay a fan - they've done nothing but positive for me. Nintendo was also how my wife and I met each other and next year marks 10 years of being together, 3 years married. Couldn't be happier. Sorry for being all mushy and all over the place - just wanted to throw it all out there, haha. Thanks again for being a close knit Nintendo community I can talk to!
    16 points
  9. Here's my deviantART account. http://dnlink.deviantart.com/ Update for 9/19/2018:
    15 points
  10. This thread has by far been the most controversial topic in Ninfora (and perhaps even NSider) history. Political views are perhaps more polarised than ever before, and this election has been like no other. I feel that it's time to add my two cents, and to determine where we will be going with moderation on Ninfora going forward. It's my time to contribute to this thread, so I figure I'll open up about my political views first and foremost. I consider myself to be a bleeding-heart liberal. I lean extremely left on most modern issues. I voted for Obama in 2012. I voted for Bernie in the primaries. I moved to New Zealand for many reasons, several of them being the political climate. New Zealand is a country that aligns well with what I want in life. I have lived in a "socialist" nation for almost three years now, and I cannot imagine going back to America in its current state. I have seen what sort of policies can work, and I have discussed my experiences with a great level of detail to my friends and family. I grew up in a single-parent household where my mom was the one who raised me, though we have always had a good relationship with my dad. My parents are now married and living together, but this was not always the case. Growing up, my mother was quite religious, but she has always been a sweet, fantastic, kind-hearted person. She always puts others before herself, and I want to do the same. Despite her kindness, she used to still lean right on many political issues to my knowledge, but during this election season she's started to quickly move left. When I would Skype call with my parents, we would discuss the election. We were ultimately all disgusted with what this election had on offer. Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton are what the majority of America wants. But Donald Trump had a message that resonated with working-class Americans. I disagree with Trump on practically every issue on the table, and I could never vote for him. However, I found it difficult to vote for Hillary Clinton in good conscience as well. The Democratic primary was an absolute disaster. I won't even go into details on that, since the dead horse has been thoroughly beaten as it is. America needs change - but it needs good change. America is lagging behind other developed nations, and at this rate I fear that it will only fall further behind. There are many things that I believe America needs, including... Healthcare reform. Americans pay far too much money for mediocre coverage. I'm not a New Zealand citizen, or even a permanent resident yet for that matter. For immigration purposes, I'm currently nothing more than someone taking an extended visit. However, I do need to keep health insurance to retain my visa. But get this: I pay less for one year of health insurance (~$400 USD) than many Americans pay for one month. This is despite me not having any right to New Zealand's socialised healthcare. On top of this, there is no copay for medication, and doctor visits are quick, easy, and free. Cheaper tertiary education. I've just now finished my third year of studies in New Zealand, and despite the ridiculous international fees, it is still cheaper for me study here than in an out-of-state college in the United States. Quality education in America is often expensive and unattainable for many citizens. Student loans account for more than $1,200,000,000,000 USD of debt in America. Debt cannot generally be discharged in bankruptcy, and private loans often have high interest rates with unforgiving payment plans. Student debt has crippled America's economy, with young citizens fresh out of college unable to find work and pay off their debt. Community colleges and in-state institutions are generally reasonable, but the private colleges that feed upon the poor and the uninformed are greedy leeches that feed on America's next generation of voters. First-world working conditions. Employers often whine and moan about how their business would be unsustainable if they needed to pay their employees more or give them guaranteed annual leave and maternity leave. The United States is one of the few countries that don't guarantee annual leave. In New Zealand, we get four weeks (twenty days) of annual leave that you take when you want. This is on top of eleven paid public holidays and maternity leave. New Zealand workers in a permanent role almost always get at least 31 days of time off per year. When employers in America complain that they cannot support this, then I question why they are even in business. If treating employees well means the difference between operating a company or not, then perhaps they aren't fit to be running in the first place. Every other developed nation gets this right already. When employers tell Americans that they cannot compete with other nations in this regard, then they are effectively saying that America is not sustainable. Justice system reform. When someone is being imprisoned for extended periods of time for smoking a joint, but bankers that destroyed the economy spend a few months in the clink at worst, there's a problem. Private systems need to be abolished. Nobody should be making money because of another individual's misfortune. Several states on Tuesday voted to further legalise the use of marijuana for medical and recreational uses. It's past time for cannabis to be legalised at the federal level. Climate regulation. EPA regulations should be dialed up, not rolled back. The world is at a scary point with regards to warming. Sea levels will continue to rise, and the climate will continue to change in terrifying and unpredictable ways. America needs to join other developed nations and combat this issue that threatens our very existence as a species. America accounts for 5% of the world population, buts its lack of foresight can impact the lives of each and every individual on the planet. In effect, America as a nation is puffing away on cigarettes while every other country sits there inhaling the secondhand smoke. LGBTQ+ protections. We have seen some amazing progress here in these past few years alone. Gay marriage is legal, and this is no longer a taboo issue in most communities. If we want to survive as a species, we need to love one another. Election reform. Both the primary voting process and the electoral college system are painfully flawed. We did not wind up with candidates that properly reflect what Americans want. Additionally, many Americans do not have the opportunity to vote on election day. This is concerning. Election day must either become a public holiday, or happen on the weekends. Employers should not be able to disallow their staff from voting. That is the exact opposite of a fair and representative political system. Trump obviously is not a candidate that aligns with me in any way, shape, or form. I like that he wants to rebuild infrastructure, and I'm relieved to hear that he's not likely to outright abolish Obamacare. I'm willing to give Trump a true, fighting chance. Hillary Clinton conceded in a graceful manner, and her speech left me in tears. If she could have touched voters like that throughout the election, then maybe we wouldn't be where we are now. But Trump won, fair and square. I admit that, though it pains me. As always, I'm with Bernie on this one. Compromise is always going to be a fact of life. It's going to hold us back, but like seeing a young child first learning to walk, I'd rather see baby steps taken over simply crying about the challenges ahead. We're more divided than ever before, but I have hope that we will recover and that America will become a nation truly worth being proud of. Long-term, I believe in America. The good that has been set in motion cannot be silenced. The Internet gives us the ability to communicate and share ideas in an effective way that was otherwise never possible before. The media will not be able to forever shape voters' minds. Especially true for younger voters, I hope individuals will begin to vote based on issues instead of controversies and superfluous political personalities. Likewise, I do want to discuss this change.org poll that has been making its rounds. I see the sentiment here, but I must respectfully disagree with it. Trump won fair and square with the system that is in place. Voting reform absolutely needs to happen, but we need to make this a goal for our next election. Trump ran on a platform that convinced his supporters that it was a system that was rigged against them, and switching the winner at the last moment would only validate that view. Everyone is split already, and such an unexpected change would only widen the gap. Now is not the time to further increase tensions. It is time to unify and work towards a greater goal. "24 states bind electors. If electors vote against their party, they usually pay a fine. And people get mad. But they can vote however they want and there is no legal means to stop them in most states." That - to me - is an even scarier prospect than a Trump presidency. If such a thing were to happen, it would basically tell millions of Americans that their votes do not matter. I do not want Trump to be president, but I also do not want Clinton to unjustly snag the position. She has already exited with a beautiful last few words. Backtracking from here will not be for the benefit of anyone. Now for the part I've truly been struggling with on Ninfora: Moderation. This topic has weighed heavily on me. I cannot agree with some of the views expressed here in the slightest, but I do want to give you the opportunity to freely express those views. I have seen many people educated on our political climate thanks to the discussions that have happened in these threads, and I do not believe that this would have been possible had some harsh words not been thrown around on both sides. Anger and distaste is entirely natural when discussing politics, and we as a staff body need to tread very carefully when handling this situation. In many ways, Ninfora exists to make up for the weaknesses of communities such as those on reddit. While I suppose I would be happy if everyone agreed with me, I do not want this to become an echo chamber either. That's why downvotes/dislikes do not exist. People should be free to share ideas, even if they're ideas that the majority of users would find to be abhorrent. My proposed policy is that - on top of removing posts that attack and belittle users - we will also remove posts that exist solely to incite spiteful reactions from other members. If you're going to be posting your ideas, you're going to be doing so because you want to contribute to the discussion. If you're posting for the sole purpose of getting a rise from other members, you may have your post removed. I am not going to be retroactively applying this "policy", but I do want people to feel more comfortable when participating in the future. It is hard to gauge how to handle the commentary that occasionally slips in here. Drawing the line is no simple task, and there's obviously been displeasure to an extent on both sides. Some people grow upset when anything is removed, while others say that we are not doing enough. There's no pleasing everyone, but there is room for a middle ground that at least allows the broader community to feel welcome on the site. When you see a post that you believe doesn't belong on the site, report it. We read and discuss each and every report. Unfortunately, each post that has been reported has been reported by only one user. Without receiving multiple reports, we cannot gauge whether the community as a whole believes certain remarks are acceptable on Ninfora. The report feature is your strongest tool when civility is inadequate. The ignore feature is there, but I don't want anyone to feel that it's their only recourse when dealing with troublesome users. Finally, we have continued extensively discussing adding another moderator or two to the team. Several candidates have been active in this thread, and this has been helpful in determining how they would behave as a moderator. We desperately need a fresh face on the team to provide some new insights. Stagnation is never good. I want to believe that I truly do "give a shit", even when I may appear to be idle. Ninfora's vibrant community has accepted me for what is nearing half of my life. I want to do good by all of you.
    15 points
  11. Up until now, I actively avoided anyone and anything that had any kind of focus around yesterday's results. But at this point, I need to say this somewhere, to someone or anyone. I've spent the better part of the day trying to parse through all the hate. Hate towards Trump, hate towards Clinton, hate towards the system, hate towards each other. Today was the first time in a very, very long time where I've been rendered truly speechless. In public, you can already feel a slightly different tone in the atmosphere. In this thread, you can see it as well. A lot of uncertainty for people who voted pragmatically and lost, as well as those who voted against the system and won. Regardless of whether you were celebrating or mourning (that doesn't feel like the right word, but it's the only one I can think of to get the general message across), a lot of people still had this on their mind. "Now what?" No matter who won the election, this atmosphere was set in stone months ago. Undermining the political establishment vs. undermining the social status quo. Clinton won the popular vote by a small enough margin to be largely inconsequential regardless of which way you felt or voted. And amidst all the uncertainty, fingers are being pointed. Pointed at friends, pointed at family, but above all else, pointed at people. "Who did you vote for?" "Did you vote?" "What happened?" For some reason though, no one wanted to ask these questions until today, and today it's too late. As a modern society, we failed to acknowledge the gravity of what was being represented by either side. We had months, years even, to inform ourselves of what this election would be about. Instead, we spent it politically demonizing anything that didn't fall in line with our own views. Mocking people whose ideals differed from whichever ones we held. As a collective nation, tt would be fair to say that this election was one of the least-informed, ill-intentioned elections in U.S. history, and would even make an honorable mention somewhere in the modern history category. At the end of the day, we're still begging the question though: "Now what?" I've seen a lot of posts on social media that have been pretty humbling. Quotes here and there about how we need love now more than ever. And I agree, love is important, and will always be important regardless of the political climate. But where was this ideology before the election? Where was it in the primaries? Where was it in the interim? As for what we do now - in the long-term, I plan on letting anyone who may be worried, scared, anxious or otherwise out of place know that they matter to me, and that they matter to every other person in this country. For the ones who are satisfied, content, overjoyed or otherwise confident with their vote for Trump, I also plan on letting them know they matter to me, and they matter to every other person in this country. We got into this mess by stifling others to further personal agendas, spurning various people in the process. We got into this mess by fighting too much over our own self-interests. We got here by telling those we disagreed with they didn't matter to us. We got here by hate, blame and shame. We won't get out of it with more of the same. Regardless of who you voted for, let people around you know they matter. Whether you're white, black, hispanic, asian, tell people they matter. Whether they're natively-born or here on a travel visa, let them know they matter. Old, young, tell them you care. Whether they're gay, straight, bi, trans, let them know they matter. Whether you agree or disagree with them, tell them you care about them. We never had anything to lose by doing so, and we sure as hell have nothing to lose now.
    15 points
  12. You know, I was really tempted to go off on you. Then I remembered: You don't give a single fuck. About anyone but yourself. That goes for the rest of the peanut gallery, too. You would, and will, dismiss what I had to say. After all, it's not your problem, and the other side are just being sore losers, right? I haven't seen Joey come out of his persona very often. That he did here speaks to what he had to say being important. America has elected a man who ran on hatred. His campaign was xenophobic, racist, and sexist. Build the wall, lazy black guy, grab her by the pussy. I'm not overly worried about Trump himself, though. I'm more worried what will happen now that his ilk, and many people worse than him, control one of the most powerful governments in the world. Climate change? Just a Chinese myth to screw over America. That pesky first amendment? Stops me from stopping those meanies telling the truth about us. Nukes? Well, why shouldn't we use them if we have them? Moreover, his win normalizes the hatred he ran on. His supporters will be emboldened. After all, they won. There are already reports of it. It happened after Brexit, too. I don't expect you to understand. I don't expect you to even consider trying. You're posting on a Nintendo forum, decrying someone else for having feelings. Feelings for others and their safety. You're too far gone, darling, I hate to say. For the rest of you who maybe aren't, this is a very important thread. Read all of it. Most of all, I'm tired.
    15 points
  13. My gift arrived in the mail today! it it has some dumb anime figurine, some lame-o keychain, and a stupid poster or something I dunno What was most important was this absolute masterpiece. A true work of art. Kidding aside this was an awesome present and finding that picture had me laughing harder than I have in a really long time. I do need to glue the tray back onto her hand, but that's no big and I would have showed the poster but I can't get it to stay open for now. Thanks dude! ps haribo happy cola is pretty much my favorite gummy candy so A+ on that one.
    14 points
  14. Tyranogre

    i <3 n4a

    Don't let the events of last night keep you down. Remember to keep smiling.
    14 points
  15. I don't agree with much of what Yellow says as much as anyone else here, but I want chime in and say that I think posts like these, which aren't even about the topic anymore and veer into the territory of just attacking other members and purposefully trying to make them feel bad just because they said something ridiculous and/or disagreeable, should not be made or welcome here. To you and anyone else who thinks this is okay, consider making better use of your time if you wish to continue posting here. Go ahead and lambaste someone for something silly they said, but please remember that we did not create this site so you could say things like this to others. Let's get back to having a discussion here about the Trump scandal and the other relevant topics.
    14 points
  16. I just got back the All Stages record for the first time in four years! I currently hold three now including this (the others I have are 101% and any%), but while I've gone back and forth with others for those records several times in the last couple of years, I haven't held the All Stages record since mid-2013, and it's kinda the most "prestigious" category, as it has historically had the most runners and is really hard to beat. It still has some mistakes, but due to the nature of the game, it's the best run I'll probably be able to manage for a while. DKC requires a certain amount of frame-perfect tricks (1/60th of a second input window) in order to challenge top times, which makes it extremely difficult to finish a good run. The amount of time they save varies, but several save 15+ seconds alone, with one stage being 55 seconds faster if you hit the trick (I got a 43-second alternative in this run). So often, your best runs can instantly be useless in moments in the last world, and sometimes shaky runs get really close to beating them. This run wasn't the worst, but I definitely made some weird mistakes, and overall lost about ~15 seconds to the frame-perfect tricks I didn't hit, and 15 more to movement errors or silly mistakes. I'm really proud of finally getting this back, though, so I thought I'd post about it. Here's the video
    13 points
  17. 13 points
  18. We got a cat. Her name is Eveyln (we call her Eevee for short), and she's two years old. She's a real sweetheart! She still likes sleeping in the carrier, even after (slowly) being introduced to her new home.
    12 points
  19. I just wanted to say a special merry Christmas to everyone who participated in Secret Santa this year and thank you - you guys generosity despite everything is really great and I'm really happy that we've made a tradition of this. Enjoy your holiday everyone!
    12 points
  20. Spring

    good things only

    hello, please use this thread to spread good news, good ideas, and good pictures only. things are very hard right now. i think we could use some nice things too, even though some things suck. tell me about the good things in your day, or just nice things that you've seen. here are some good news articles from me. dogs dream about how much they love us! wow! new york is giving 500 million dollars to help boost women in film and media! awesome! here are some nice things to think about too. that pristine look of a first snow! so cool! having a nice long drink of water on a hot day! refreshing! hugging animals! wow! chatting with someone you love on a bad day! what a good feeling! seeing your favorite color! cool! playing your favorite video games! what a fun time! unrelated nice things that happened in my day today: i got to have one of those frappuccino starbucks drinks, and they're one of my favorites. very tasty! would recommend! i laughed so hard i cried at a game grumps video i watched one episode of a bad anime and it was hilarious it got cold enough here that i had to put socks on today! that seems very small. but my socks are very cozy. and lastly, here's a cute picture of one of my favorite animals. they always cheer me up. i hope this thread can help you think about some good things. and remember that bad times...are just times that are bad.
    12 points
  21. Hm, what's this on my doorstep? An Amazon package for me? This is awesome @Chrom thanks so much! Merry Christmas!
    12 points
  22. I got a mysterious package today that I'm not sure who sent it, but I opened it and it was a Litten plush!
    12 points
  23. 12 points
  24. "I've found you, faker!" "Faker? I think you're the fake Rattata around here. You're comparing yourself to me? Ha! You're not even good eno--" ""I'll make you eat those words!"
    12 points
  25. I was originally going to do a nice long write up with a big ol' argument laying everything out and all that. Kept putting it off, and putting it off. Its never going to get written if I try that, so instead its going to be brief and blunt. Nobody goes to a forum because they want a news feed. They go to a forum for community, and high quality discussion. One of the flaws I often see with forums is users who just spend their time dumping news stories onto boards without any commentary of their own. They'll just copy the video/story title into the thread title, and either link or embed it. Done and done. Its the sort of low effort posting that doesn't contribute much, doesn't bring value or appeal to the community, and I think shouldn't be allowed. Instead, I propose a rule that Anybody ( except mods/admins ) linking to a video or story for a thread must substantiate it with their own content or commentary. And then significant news or announcements ( like the Nintendo Switch video ) can be left for the mods to post and sticky.
    12 points
  26. It continues to amaze me how smoothly the transition happened given the circumstances. But perhaps I shouldn't have expected any less from the only community I've seen lately that's worth a damn.
    12 points
  27. Not surprising in the least. I'm a long time Hillary supporter, jumping from the Bernie train long before it crashed just so you're all aware of my many biases. I'm also gay, and subscribe pretty hard to the progressive movement. So, my reaction to Trump having 40% support in this country is complete disgust. And that disgust extends to most people voting him. You're free to vote him for whatever reasons you want, but I could never sink my morality so low to support a candidate or party that has so nonchalantly shrugged off sexual assault claims. These are claims that put people in prison. And this ugly defense of Trump I'm seeing is exactly why most women never come forward to report the assault. The pure amount of selfishness one has to possess to put aside the good of pretty much every minority group in this country to protect yours is sickening. The GOP has at this point, become a political party that no longer serves American interests. They serve the interests of privileged white people who are so full of themselves they refuse to see their country is no longer willing to remain in their control. And the fact I'm seeing a huge number of people continue to defend Trump as if he retains any amount of decency in his body to hold the most sacred elected office this country has, the office which is supposed to reflect the country's longest held roots of government ideals, is numbing. This is a man who's VP has publicly stated numerous times that he sees homosexuality as a sickness. Would take money away from HIV treatment centers and give it to conversion therapy camps. Places that have driven many teenagers to suicide. A man who has pushed religious liberty acts that would have taken away gay couples rights. With Trump already seeming to not really want to do anything if in office with his VP offer to Kasich, Pence being able to push for bills that would limit marriage equality is a huge threat to my lifestyle. I would not be able to see my boyfriend, possibly future husband in the next couple of years, if he were to be in the hospital if Pence had his way. I would not be able to adopt a child and raise a kid like I've dreamed to if Pence had his way. I still am unable to donate blood. If one of my family members were to be involved in an accident and needed blood of my type, I could not donate it right now because of current discriminatory laws. I'm scared. This election has stressed me to my limits and I've been terrified of the future. Because if multiple women being tremendously courageous in coming forward to state that Donald Trump physically assaulted them does not sway people that this is a man who absolutely cannot become president, then I will continue to live in fear that because of my sexuality, someday something tragic will happen to me because people continue to be biased, bigoted, and looking out only for themselves.
    12 points
  28. Congratulation to Ninfora for hitting a milestone, and welcome @Kirbymiester2 to the community!
    12 points
  29. Kezay here. Been chillin' on Nintendo forums since the original Nsider which I think I joined back in December of 2002 or 2003 and of course I've sort of followed that all through to where we are today. So yeah I've known some of you fools for well over a decade now which is pretty wild when you think about it. My bro is TheKrazyOne, my favorite game of all time is Super Mario Bros. 3, Luigi is my favorite of the Mario brothers and I firmly believe that while so many like to hate on Daisy I know they secretly love her. She's the party girl princess after all, who doesn't like that? But no, seriously, glad to be here, glad to see everyone... just glad. ^_^
    12 points
  30. CCH

    Ninfora is censored on NS2

    I feel like I need to make a bit of a statement here, since I was also involved in the decision to start this new site. First, as Kodiack has mentioned, we've been trying to get CG's help with the site since before I was on staff. Even after, there were plenty of cases where we asked for help to fix something, install needed security updates, or just get the mods and addons we needed to keep the site running. I was often in direct contact with our CG rep, Chris, to try to get updates on the status of the many requests and tickets we'd submitted to CG for support. Even she expressed frustration with how little CG was doing to support the site, as it often left her unable to do her job either. You might have noticed how I stopped releasing new skins, and how we stopped adding new medals. This wasn't because I was suddenly refusing to do my job, or because I was too busy (sometimes that was the case though), but because the updates we wanted to do couldn't be done until CG got us an update we needed. Almost all the bugs and other problems you guys reported in the "remaining issues" thread were due to CG refusing to install basic security updates to the main IPS software. (NS2 is actually about 9 versions behind in our software updates, 4 of which are 'critical security updates' to fix potential hacking vulnerabilities) I couldn't fix the skins or make new ones because we were honestly already using pirated skins that were designed for an older version of the software, all because CG kept being "too busy" to approve the real skin and install the updated version. Same deal with many of the site addons, like the medals. That was also an outdated pirated copy of the mod because CG refused to install the real one for us. We were forced to decide to either try our best with what we had, or just sit there and wait until CG gave us the updates we needed. Why would I want to draw up a new skin based on already bugged code, that might just become even more broken when CG finally got around to updating the IPS core software? Because of these issues, it was proposed shortly after the IPS4 upgrade that we approach CG with the intention of buying out and taking control of NS2, so that we could handle the maintenance ourselves and try to keep NS2 alive as long as we could. Things had stagnated with the staff's attempts to get the site back on track, and the updates, then subsequent negligence of CG's tech guys left the site in even worse shape than before the update. Now, months later, we've gotten fed up with waiting. We even told CG directly that we were planning on moving on, with or without the NS2 systems. They more or less didn't respond, and what we did hear back was more or less a "do what you want, we don't care" attitude...so we did. We continued to try to propose buyout offers, nagged CG Chris for updates on our requests, and eventually got to just sitting around waiting for something to happen...something we knew would lead to the death of the site. It was considered that we try to force CG's hand by making up some alternative site and promoting it to the NS2 members as an option where we could start fresh, but we didn't act on it initially because we were afraid of the events that are happening now. However, after more and more silence from CG, it seems Chrom has gotten completely fed up with being unable to do anything and decided to make our intentions public...which of course led to CG coming out of nowhere and banning him. We all voluntarily removed our staff ranks as a statement to CG that if they weren't going to support us, then we won't support them. We fully intended on picking up the title again if CG decided to step up and do their job, but instead they decided to ban Chrom and remove posting access from the rest of the staff, even going as far as to try to steal the NS2 Twitter from us, which they technically have no right to do. This response prompted us to move forward with our plans, much more quickly than we were prepared for, so Kodiack went ahead and paid out of his own pocket to create a new site. Paid a few hundred USD to get this place going, just to make sure we could continue to provide a site for you guys if CG decided to shut down the site or try to run it themselves. Now, the future of NS2 is out of our hands, and personally I don't really care what happens to it. If Mao can resurrect that dying forum, then go for it. If not, you guys will always be welcome here. While we are all former NS2 members, Ninfora aims to be a fresh start, so we're not going to tie ourselves to NS2 in any way. Former NS2 members will not get special treatment over any new people that want to join down the line. NS2 isn't closing just yet, so don't expect us to carry over your post counts, medals, or any other accomplishments you made at the other site. You come here, you're starting from zero, clean slate. This also means that people who had been banned from NS2 will have a chance to show that they've changed here. (Keep in mind that while we are going to look into a revised set of rules, this is not an "anything goes" forum, and bans will be handed out to those that try to harm the site) Now that we have the chance to have full control over our own site for the first time ever, we intend to make full use of that opportunity. All the things we wished we could do on NS2, and many other goals, will finally come to pass here. We only ask for your support. We did this for you, not for us, so anything we create is only if you want it.
    12 points
  31. since you didn't post it, I will
    12 points
  32. We had one of these on NS2 and didn't see one here. Plus I felt like showing off my (somewhat pathetic) progress on beard growing for my upcoming Negan cosplay
    11 points
  33. So, I've been playing Fitness Boxing on the Nintendo Switch almost daily since May 2019. In that time, I've lost 102.8 pounds. There's still work to be done, of course, but dropping 100 had been one of my goals. Making it past that benchmark really feels like an accomplishment.
    11 points
  34. Huge thanks to @Uni for all these awesome goodies! Love that poster! Wonder who signed it 🤔
    11 points
  35. I arrived home from Auckland last night and was greeted by a card from my "N4A Santa", so I knew it was going to be good! The card itself was adorned with some nice Santa-themed artwork, and inside I instantly saw three early-gen Pokémon cards that gave me a rush of nostalgia: Pikachu, Eevee, and Mew! The words inside the card were just as endearing. And then there was a game code for Pokémon: Let's Go Eevee! One of my friends got a copy of his own a while ago and showed it to me. I was almost immediately enamored with the game and knew that I wanted it, even if I was a bit skeptical after the original gameplay review! The opening sequences alone were almost too much adorableness to contain. So thank you, @Eliwood8, for the kind words and amazing gift! I'm excited to explore Kanto again with a new twist, and I'm looking forward to occasionally having a buddy tag along for some absurd 2v1 battles.
    11 points
  36. By popular demand, a compilation of photos dedicated to my beloved waifu, Tiki, that I've taken over the past several years, usually on her birthday (February 28th). Please note that this is merely a compilation album. Any future Tiki birthdays will get their own threads (though this one will also be updated to include future photos). In roughly chronological order: Tiki is love, Tiki is life.
    11 points
  37. I’ve seen some people asking about some places to post some artwork, so I thought this might be a good thread to revive. Basically this thread's purpose is that you can show off any art that you create and get some comments, critique, or advice. Any art is welcome: signatures, avatars, drawings, computer drawings, scribbles, etc. Anyways I will get the thread started. I don’t really have anything I made recently so here are a bunch of old sigs that I made. A lot of these were made for sig contests on ns1 and ns2. Some of these are actually super old. I probably have some more really old sigs on my other computer, but I can try to find them later. ___________________________________________________ USER ART GALLERY DIRECTORY These are links to the art galleries of some of the users here. If you have a gallery, but don't see a link to it here, send me a PM and I will add it to the list. || DNLINK || KIRBYMEISTER2 || LACKILEPSY || || LANCE'S DRAGONITE || REILLY || SHULK ||
    11 points
  38. holy fuck thanks so much to my secret santa - not mentioning their name here in case they wish to remain anonymous (i know who you are! - btw i'm not actually dutch, only moved to the netherlands a few months ago ) I opened the package today which came in a few days ago and it contained a: -ixalan magic the gathering starter box -fire emblem warriors, and a -nintendo switch i even had to open all of it immediately because i didn't quite believe it at first >.> edit: now with pics!
    11 points
  39. Listen, man. I get where you're coming from. I understand your desires for this forum. But I think there's some things to consider here. When you're calling those reprehensible posts out, if the staff aren't taking any actual action against them, all it does is encourage more of those posts being made because the ones making them know they can do it with zero punishment. And all that does is make the people calling those posts out feel all the more alienated. That's not gonna grow this community at all. That's not gonna make it seems any more friendlier or encouraging. It's going to push people away until it's just a cesspool of those terrible people. This whole thread, and several before it, many of us here have been pushing against those posts that you yourself have called reprehensible. We're tired of it. We're tired of calling that shit pout only to be met with "lol just a joek bro" or "you're just sensitive :/" when, in fact, many people's lives are threatened. I think we're well past the point where name calling is justified, honestly. Advocating or encouraging violence or death on someone else is a little too far for me, but I think the frustration behind it is more than valid at this point. Kodiak, I don't want to make, or make a post that sounds like, a "you're either with us or against us" post, but after a certain point, you kind of have to take a look around and wonder what else we're supposed to think when you're giving people a platform to be terrible without consequence. I'm not asking you to ban anyone, or even delete any posts just yet. But perhaps issuing warnings or sending PMs to some people might at least give the illusion you give a shit.
    11 points
  40. There can be no tolerance for ideals that actively preach bringing harm to groups of people. People who believe in such ideologies should be forcibly shunned by their peers and their societies at large. That does not say strip them of their freedom of speech or thought, but they should be absolutely ostracized and kicked out the door of the conversation of where this country is going.
    11 points
  41. As a woman who knows many people who have been demonized by his campaign, let alone the people that follow him, I do not feel comfortable making that bet. After all, we spent the entire damn election waiting for a mystical pivot that would, of course, never come. Again, I do not expect you to understand that, darling. Why are you focusing on this man being demonized? Was his campaign not just as hateful, if not worse, to Clinton, to women, to PoC, to LGBT+? And why do you view it with suspicion, hm? If anything, the mainstream media was being kind to the man. He has no real policies. No real plan. He has said many hateful things. He has displayed an incredible level of ignorance for, frankly, how anything works, as a presidential candidate. There was absolutely no reason to portray this as a horse race other than that being what people were used to, and of course, ratings. The hell of it is? He's been constantly threatening journalist's job security the entire damn time. Darling, this is how I treat people who vote a bigot into office. They will get respect back once they earn it. They can begin by realizing they have made a monumental mistake and begin striving to improve themselves and others. This is such bullshit that I'm disgusted you actually thought I would buy this. If you're actually sincere, which I highly doubt, then type what you actually mean instead of vague nonsense. Well, that's a nice platitude. Sometimes, darling, fear is justified. Once again, I do not expect you to understand why so many are scared for the future. Maybe try growing some empathy instead of relying on cold logic. Try arguing in good faith next time, darling. Well, darling, if you won't take what he has literally said and campaigned on, then you cannot be pleased. See above. I do love me some good irony.
    11 points
  42. I've tried to avoid posting in these topics, but I feel inclined to share something. Even if it's just my own petty thoughts. As someone who may be considered "white cis male hetero scum", this is a sorry state of affairs. Even I'm struggling to take the truth in that my nieces will finally be going to school in the coming years, that I'll soon be graduating and entering the workforce, my parents will still be working obscene hours, all while some asshole's in office and effectively taking away the opportunities of millions. I don't want my nieces growing up in an America where racist bigotry is welcomed with open arms. I'm also scared for my parents. My dad retired a few years back after 25 years of service, and I worry this will destroy their livelihood, the livelihood of parents who barely spent time with their children because of work, and only wish to spend time with their grandchildren now. My concerns extends to others that I love, many of which are POC and/or LGBT. Their lives are now completely tarnished, and I wish that wasn't the case. It's very disheartening to see the years of progress crumble right before us, and it's a very sad day for America.
    11 points
  43. Fuck you. I'm facing a future where I can't marry my s/o, where I can't live with him, where I can't see him if he ends up in a hospital, where we can't share tax benefits. I'm facing a future where every homophobic maniac with a gun out there has just been enabled by the country to hate me, that's it's okay to take a stand for America and shoot me or him. There's going to be a vice president that's supported forced conversion therapy for gay people. That's supporting human torrture, and I'll have to face a future where I might have to end up at one of those places. I'm going to be terrified for the next four years. Truly and with my most sincere feeling on the matter, fuck you.
    11 points
  44. Hello! Let's fuck with this. Darling, what you have here is an uninformed opinion that I take issue with that I feel needs to be addressed. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm a rape victim. Rape isn't very fun. You can even say it's really bad. I thought it was very bad when it happened to me. In fact I've been kept up the past few days due to night terrors because despite the fact that's been exactly 12 years since it happened, it's something that's probably never going to go away. I bring this up because I think that being a person who's been raped, and as somebody who's been proactive raising awareness of something VERY personal to me, I feel a need to address this at length. I normally don't do this anymore; long-winded posts are for the inarticulate who can't wordsmith a point into conciseness to save their lives, much like most of the walls of text in here that read like a college student's essay padding. Let's start with the obvious: rape is bad. Let's start with the second obvious part: I had to say that because I'm under the reasonable assertion that you're not a very smart person and I actually have to point that out. Here's obvious fact number three: rape is barely ever reported in this country. Experts place that only a small handful out of THOUSANDS of cases of rape are actually ever reported. "But why?" Stop interrupting me you belligerent child, ADULTS are talking. It's a very personal way to destroy somebody, truly, truly awful. Most people ignore it. It starts with the victim ignoring it. "But Deo, why would somebody not IMMEDIATELY REPORT BEING RAPED?" Well darling--I can call you darling right, that's not too patronizing is it--a focal point of rape is based around the idea of power. It's when somebody asserts their dominance over you that they can physically violate you in some manner or another, there's a tremendous feeling of powerlessness there. Part of this is that you have this monster, the rapist, who was capable of taking advantage of you in one of the most intimate ways possible. You have a very powerful threat looming over your head constantly. So things like fear become a really, really powerful motivational factor in never talking about it. Repercussions can and will exist if you talk about it. In a perfect world, yes, rape wouldn't happen, darling. But in a perfect world, very, very stupid people like you wouldn't create an environment where victims are already being discredited or blamed before they even have a chance to speak up about it. "What do you mean by that?" You ask too many damn questions, strawman internet darling. Can I call you Cirrhosis? Your name's Yellow, and you're going to make my skin that color with all this drinking you're making me do. Cirrhosis is a good name. Doesn't roll off the tongue, but we'll see what happens. Self-blame is a big factor in why people never report being raped. Alas, who would've guessed that there would be a lot of self-hatred and shame after being sexually violated by a stranger? Wait, that's a misnomer, family members or close friends are often the most common instigators of rape. That whole "you're going to get raped in an alley" thing? It's a myth, there isn't a nomadic pack of fratboy rapists ambushing women in the night, scenarios like that are such a small percentage of reported cases that it's almost insignificant. I can understand why you don't know this, darling Cirrhosis. An internet shut-in and socially-inhibited simpleton probably doesn't have a close social circle to even articulate the thought that most rapists are close friends or family. And when you accuse a close friend or family member of such a disgusting act, two things occur: you're disrupting an entire social network of people who don't suspect Mr. (Or Missus, we don't discriminate) Rapist could've possibly have done something as heinous as rape. Much like being raped can destroy your life, sure, being accused of rape can destroy somebody else's, so why a social network of friend judge somebody they think they know well, that they'd have the capacity to commit such a thing. And two: YOU KNOW THIS PERSON. YOU SEE THIS PERSON A LOT. YOU SEE YOUR RAPIST PROBABLY EVERY OTHER DAY, AT HOME, AT SCHOOL, AT WORK. THEY ARE A PART OF YOUR LIFE. YOU MIGHT EVEN LIVE WITH THIS PERSON, THIS PERSON WHO HAS THE POWER TO VIOLATE YOU. OH MY GOD HOW FUCKING STUPID DO YOU HAVE TO B--ahem but right. What would be easier: admitting that somebody would lie for a plethora of reasons? Or acknowledging that somebody you personally know has the capacity to violate somebody in one of the most horrific manners possible? Because you're right, rape is seen as a despicable, inhumane crime. So much so that regular people don't want to think about somebody they know being a rapist. Like, have you thought about what kind of person it takes to rationalize raping somebody as okay? Ask Metaxas or somebody, because I sure as Hell don't. A normal person can't cope with that, it's easier to write something off as a lie, or to think that the victim somehow set themselves up for it. And it's often easier for a victim to believe that too, because people like you have constructed a mechanism that makes THEM look for any reason other than confronting or reporting the rapist themselves. "It's always going to happen, regardless." "You let your guard down." "I totally had it coming because my skirt was an inch above the knee, FUCK." So simple fact: you're wrong about rapists not always being perceived as innocent. They very frequently are because to a lot of people, that is a human being, not a rapist. They don't want to see somebody that they allegedly know as something as heinous as a rapist. Self-blame again, is a very big factor. And when you start talking about how rape victims should hold themselves accountable, that's like saying you should hold somebody accountable for getting struck by lightning. Or getting clipped in an intersection by somebody running a red light. You are holding people accountable for something that is virtually impossible to anticipate. The idea that you shouldn't dress like a slut or go home in a dark alley alone is a falsehood because that's not how most instances of rape occur. Those aren't actual preventative measures to stop rape. If a rapist wants to rape, darling, they're going to be determined regardless. Because with how society has tilted the playing field, it's easier for them to get away with it than getting caught. And even if they get caught, you said it yourself; the means of actually finding out if they did it is farfetched at best. Police labs are notorious for sitting on rape kits for YEARS, or not even using them properly. Without that, innocent until proven guilty, there's nothing a victim can do. "BUT WHAT ABOUT THE LIVES RUINED BY FALSE ACCUSATIONS?" Hon, darling Cirrhosis, they are drop in the bucket compared to how many lives are ruined by actual rapists, or victims who have their lives ruined because it's virtually impossible to convict their perpetrators in most circumstances. Afterwards, on top of the whole, you know, being violated and traumatized bit, they're gaslit by entire networks of people convincing the victim that they're a liar, it didn't happen, it's their fault. Oh, gaslighting. That's a form of psychological abuse where a victim's ability to remember events is distorted because everybody around them twists the events or outright denies them. I forgot who I'm trying to educate here. I must cover all bases. So as a victim who's undergone immense trauma, the amount of Hell that I've gone through to have even my own family deny that it's happened is not a case-by-case basis. This is commonplace. Rape is bad, darling. Nobody wants to look at it. People don't care about rape in this country until it happens to somebody they know, or until it happens to them. And it happens a lot. A tremendous amount. I mean you probably don't have to worry about it, God no. At least not without alcohol in the perpetrator involved to question his standards. But it happens a lot. I could bombard you with stats of how often it happens, or horrible stats like if you're going to college there's a pretty decent chance you'll end up raped. Or how people write it off even when the rapist is convicted because prestige exists for rapists. I could literally go on for hours and bombard you with articles and statistics that show you how stigmatized the concept of rape is in our country because nobody cares or that it isn't that big of a deal. Rape culture isn't about there being some epidemic of rape. Because yes, you're right. It will always happen, and it will always be there. That is the only vague semblance of a correct-ish thought that shriveled, cirrhosis-damaged brain of yours has come up with from this discussion. Rape culture is about how people treat it, how they handle it with kids gloves, how they undermine what the victim goes through, how that victim should be accountable for being attacked by a predator, or--even dumber--thinking about how the rapist might have their lives ruined despite the hindsight that they completely destroyed somebody else's and the false positives for accusing people of being rapists is drastically lower and significantly less of a problem than, you know, people being raped. Because very stupid people like you have already constructed a narrative that there's nothing they could've done about it other than playing around misinformed stereotypes that wearing a skirt's going to be bait, or they took a wrong turn down McRapington Blvd and found a herd of sexual predators. So please go trivialize something else less significant and more within your mental capacity. Like pokemon. Or imagining how different intimate sexual contact with a human being is from masturbating with a toothbrush.
    11 points
  45. My name is Cynthia, I've also been known as Katsie and Lucina. I was linked to this site by the honorable CCH. I'm sorry you guys had to make a new site. NS2 should have been free to leave/get bought out from under CrowdGather. But CG doesn't have their shit together. They're more interested in running virtual slot machines than paying attention to NSider. Ninfora's a good name too, original, pleasant on the ears. I like it! NSider2 has been my 'main' forum for many years. But what made NSider2 was the community. As long as the strong spirit and sense of community remains here, I won't feel like I've really left.
    11 points
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