BOM, WOKJ and the Posters
What follows now has mostly been written a long time ago when we all were (more or less) peacefully posting at BOM and BOM seemed like the greatest place on the web to most of us. Before the "dark times". I have written this posting designed as the tribute to BOM and especially to my favorite posters from it who I spent a lot of great time posting with and talking to. It was dedicated to the friends that I have made there and the posters that I think very highly of. I have worked on it for a while and waited for the right moment to post it.
Well, Sean's dictatorship thought otherwise. The bannings have begun and I felt as if I was back in January/December, during BOM's First Dark Age. Back then, I had to watch BOM's best posters being banned for no good reason and leaving because of the dictatorship. That has happened when BOM has reached its highest point so far and the users have been more active than ever. I remember organizing the
4th Semi-Annual BOM Poster Awards at that time. Never has the hype for the awards been as high as it was back then. We received over 80 ballots in the first round. BOM was so much fun...but it didn't last. The powers to be knew how to prevent it.
Many tried to leave BOM back then, but in the end their attempts have failed. The refugees site, DailySmile has never been able to substitute BOM. Posters came back and slowly, but gradually the site has recovered. I took a semi-hiatus from BOM and posted very rarely until April/May 2004. When I came back, BOM was hard to recognize. Many new posters. Some I liked, some I didn't, but most I just had no clue about. I was used to the old clique including Maverikk, Libs, Baumer, Loki, Samweis Gamdschie, Levy, Darth Pimp, Timmie, Positive Jon etc. but who I met there were bABA, Rusty, box_2004, lovemerox, Dolcevita, Zingaling, Mr. X eldiabloadentro and others. You understand that the re-integration wasn't very easy. I knew BOM very well and the whole new bunch was hard to accept right away. It took time. At the beginning, I did not want to start posting with most of my favorite posers that I knew and liked gone and a new bunch that I didn't know anything about. But I was convinced by some people, including Darth Pimp and Maverikk.
It took time, indeed. But eventually the new posters grew on me and I made friends with quite a couple of them and got used to all of them. I surely did not forget the "oldies", bur I found out that many of the new generation posters were just as great. I think that many of them belong to the finest bunch of posters the boards have ever witnessed.
I registered at BOM in January 2003. I have been visiting the site for a long time before registering. When I noticed the boards I was surprised by the number of people who actually cared about box-office grosses. I thought I was just a weirdo and no one would care about that. Thankfully, I was wrong. When I joined, I didn't know anyone and managed to get in a clinch with posters like Nighty, Loki and Baumer right away, all of which became my friends eventually
.
BOM was so much fun in 2003, really. I was at my posting-highs, the GCT was blooming and was in a constant competition with the CCT. We all lived in a more or less peaceful community with some occasional flame wars with trolls like Joe Calahan, T3John and Gold Master. Also, back in 2003, BOM gave something special to me, something that changed my life for good and I will always owe that to BOM. I met Kelley (a.k.a. MyNameHere) there and we became a couple months later. We are very happy with each other and I can't wait until we can live close to each other in a couple of years. Many memories connect me with BOM and its posters. Some happy ones, some not so, but for the most part I don't regret any of it and I surely do not regret joining BOM.
Times have changed. The first Major Bannings made me doubt BOM a lot, but I gave it a second chance. After the second ones, I left. I realized that despite all, what BOM was to me really about were its poster. They are the ones that made me come back over and over. I was sad when most of my favorite posters were banned or left during the first bannings, but I made friends with the new generation posters. When many of these were benned or left, I realized that I am not willing to just stay there and wait for other posters to fill their spots. I did not want to stay on BOM after unjustified bannings against many of my friends. This led me to WOKJ. I'll be honest. I didn't believe that WOKJ would work out. Ask Torrino, I had an extensive conversation with him about it. But even though I didn't believe it, heck, I promise, I did all I could to make it work. And it is working so far and that makes me happy.
When I have written this post first, I have written my thoughts on my favorite posters of BOM and most of them are posting here and WOKJ. I have written it as a tribute to them because they are what makes the boards what they are. It was like that at BOM and it is like that here at WOKJ. After the whole bannings, I did not want to post this post, but some posters persuaded me to do so. I modified some parts of it, according to the new circumstances, but most of it remained the same.
My Tribute to my Favorite Posters
First of all, a special thanks to
Karl (a.k.a.) Eagle. I do not know him well as a poster/person, but I do thank him for his efforts on this site and giving the BOM refugees an opportunity to come here. I think I can speak in the name of the whole community when I say:
THANK YOU
Second of all: Bear in mind that it was mostly written over a month ago. Pretty much all of it still goes, but I probably would have made more additions if I wrote it all now.
The Posters I'll list could just as well be posted under my "Favorite Posters", but I just thought, after all the great times, they'd deserve a separate tribute.
The Tribute:
MyNameHere
I don't think I need to say much here. She is the girl that I love and the one I want to always be together with. I know that she is not posting here and probably won't ever get to read it, but there is no way I wouldn't mention her as this poster has changed my life as no otherand I couldn't be happier about that. No person on earth knows as much abozt me as she does and I am happy that it is this way. If you read it, Kelley...I love you.
Samweis Gamdschie
He is a true friend. He has always been and he will always be. He has been there for me when I needed someone to be there for me and when I couldn't even talk to friends of mine in real life about some stuff, I still could talk about that to him. With the exception of Kelley, Ripper and maybe Loki, he is the one from this site who knows the most about me and I probably know more about him than all other posters from here and BOM. He is very nice, very helpful all the time. I couldn't thank him enough for his help when I was going through some tough times. He is always fun to talk to and unfortunately he is a bit too busy with his studies lately, so we don't get to talk much. Since I have joined BOM, he has always been one of my favorite posters and this impression has never changed. He and I have mostly similar tastes in movies, a very similar sense of humor, we both like many same things and have many similar views on a plenty of things. He and I even often think alike. He can comment on that here as well, hehe. He is definitely one of the posters that I trust uttelry and completely and I'd tell him stuff that I wouldn't even tell to some of my very close friends. I certainly do hope that I will get to meet him sooner or later. Hopefully sooner than later. He is a truly great poster and an even better friend. Anyone who has him as a friend, should considering himself/herself lucky.
Ripper
Cynthia is another truly great friend of mine. She was there for me when I needed someone to help. Some things connect her and me. She sure knows what I am talking about. She has helped me and Kelley on several occasions, one of these being the infamous RT ordeal. I won't ever be able to express how grateful I am to her about all this. I remember chatting with her for hours and hours about something. She sure is one of the friendliest people I have encounteres on the boards and also one of the most helpful ones. She will know what it is. Though these times haven't necessarily been very happy for both of us, there is one thing that resulted from it and that I can't call anything, but great. A friendship between Cynthia and myself. Anytime I needed her, she was there for me and the same I will do too. Whenever, you feel the need to talk or wants to get anything off your chest, just let me know, Cyn. She is a great friend and I surely am looking forward to meeting her one day. You can count on being at our wedding and I did not forget that Bailey's on the Rocks
I miss the old times of talking to you and both of us ranting about things to each other and make up crazy movie ideas and other stuff
I wish you all the best in your life, Cyn and especially a lot of happiness!
Maverikk
Maverikk (a.k.a. Larry) is another one of the few BOM posters who I can call a true friend. He is the first BOM poster who I talked to voice-to-voice. That was back in July 2003. Since then he has proven to be a really good friend to me. He is also, without a doubt, an essential part of the posters community. BOM wouldn't have been the same if it wasn't for him. He has contributed a lot to the boards and I wish him good luck with his newest boards, MovieFever. Here, I want to once again thank him for giving me his trust and recommending me for the position of a moderator over there. Today is his birthday, so I'll say it here once again: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Larry! Larry is one of the posters who I have some of the most fun time talking too. Obviously he has had more life experience than I and it is always interesting to read his view on things. I have often asked him for an advice and he has always given it to me and helped me. He was also one of those posters who have been there for me when my life wasn't exactly at its highest point of happiness. Moreover, Larry is always fun to talk to and to discuss things with, even though he may be fanboy-ish and biased at times, I still enjoy it as well as I always enjoy reading posts by him. The fact that he is a Marvel fan, has a good sense of humor and can sing Beatles songs better than anyone elese besides the actualy Beatles cannot hurt either.
Loki
Loki (a.k.a. Norbert) is the one poster I talk the most to from the boards. I talk to him pretty much everyday with the exception of the times when I block him or he blocks me.
Loki is a real fun person and he and I have a very similar sense of humor. We both laugh about the same things and that more than anyone else would laugh at them. He is also helpful and reminds me of friends of mine in many aspects very much. I am pretty sure that if we lived closer to each other, we'd sure do things together from time to time. He is really very much fun to talk too, even though he despises my taste for movies.
He is one of the posters, I'd have the most fun going out to places with. He has also been one of the most essential parts of BOM all the time and I was shocked and upset to see him permanently banned. I hope I can get him to post a bit more here soon as he is one of the posters here that I miss the most. He's really a cool guy and I am very much looking forward to meeting him.
Darth Pimp
I remember when Darth Pimp (a.k.a. Rudy) first joined BOM. The our first encounter resulted in a fight in which course I called him a "moron". Well, since most of the people who I got in fights with became my friends later on, Darth Pimp wasn't an exception. He became a good friend not too long after that. What I appreciate about him the most is mostly the same that goes for Loki as well. He is very much like most friends of mine in real life and I wish he lived a bit closer to me, hehe. I sure would have some fun when going out with him somewhere. Darth Pimp has an exceptional sense of humor and does indeed deserve the Funniest Poster award. I always enjoy reading his posts as they usually make me laugh (unless he tries TOO hard
). His skits were probably the funniest reads I have ever had at BOM. Also he is a smart guy. I just wish he posted more often here at WOKJ, he is sorely missed. He has always been a GREAT addition to the community. Furthermore, the fact that he hates the trolls like Gold Master, Swimfan and GATSU as much as I do and helped fighting them can only add bonus points.
Mr. X
Mr. X (a.k.a. Joey) is probably my favorite poster of the "new generation". This is partially because I can relate to him more than to all other posters on the boards as his story with his girlfriend is very similar to mine. He has often been helpful to me on many occasions and I will happily repay that to him whenever he needs it. I do not hold any grudges against him because of the stuff that happened at BOM and he is still one of my favorite posters on the boards.
Miruvor
Miruvor (a.k.a. Cian) is the pin up horse lord of the boards!
Definitely my favorite out of the most recent posters and one of my favorites overall. Very nice and helpful with a GREAT avatar
helpful and always fun to talk to. Also he is a fellow traveller and those who know me well know how much I love travelling. Moreover, he is a great box-office predictor in the making. I am looking forward to many upcoming interesting conversations with you.
Insomniacdude
Here is another great contributor and friend. He was one of the first posters I started talking to, outside of BOM and he has helped me and especially Kelley during the whole RT ordeal. I am very thankful to him for that. Also he and I have had some really funny talks. Well, funny to me, not so to him
And if I think about this imitation talk between him, Smaweis Gamdschie and myself...
Oh, he is also obsessed with genitals....right, Sommie?
I enjoy talking to him a lot and he is also the kind of a plain guy who I can talk to about a lot of stuff that I like. Good poster and a good friend. I sure do hope to meet him one day as well. Furthermore, kudos for all the fights against the Internet trolls that we have both been through together!
Jon Lyrik
He is one of the posters I got in contact with rather more recently, yet he is developing to one of my favorite posters. Even though we differ in many views, he is still by far the most intelligent 13 year old I have ever encountered and surely more intelligent than some people I know that are twice as old. His sense of humor is...wel...weird, but I often like it. He is fun to talk to and he is one of the posters I talk the most to outside of the boards. He is very good to vonverse with about all kinds of different topics, ranging from moral issues over movies to political problems. A truly smart guy and very much ahead of his age.
Joseba B_Loki
He is one of three posters that I have actually met in real life. That was over a year ago, last summer, when I was visiting Vienna. He is a really cool and easy-going guy that is very much fun to talk to about serious and not so serious topics. He is not too fond of my movie taste, but he is still a really nice guy who resembles me of many friends of mine as well. My only complaint about him would be that he used to be a chain smoker, but I beolieve he has finally quitted. The team of him, Loki and Guybrush is the unbeatable team of Gestrians that also added a lot to the community. Also he and I went through the same torture together...we watched Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle in a theatre together
Zingaling
His taste in movies is probably the most similar one to mine and he is one of the easiest-going posters we have here. We need more of this kind. He is what the boards are essentially. Also he is a good and a very friendly moderator and a cool poster overall. I like reading his opinions on movies as they often match mine, hehe. He is, just like Insomniacdude, a real fun poster to have at the boards.
Timmie & Rod
These two just shouldn't be separated! Both are a whole lot of fun to talk too. Timmie is also one of the few posters that I have talked on the phone with. That would funny, hehe
Their unique flamboyancy added a whole lot to the community and I miss them posting as much as they used to. Timmie is also a good friend of mine and he has been there to help me when I needed someone to be there for me. I am sure, I will meet him one day, especially since he owes me this dinner in Paris!
Zach
Another poster that I appreciate. He is usually fun to talk to and he is one of the few people who have supported me during a time when I was in a clinch with quite a couple of posters
DP07
This is my long-time predictions adversary.
DP07 (a.k.a. David) is a great predictor and the method he and xiayun have developed in order to project a movie's Friday with the help of Yahoo Reviews is amazingly unique and deserves a lot of respect! David is a smart guy and one of the three people who actually visit the Lateral Thinking Problems Thread
Out of all people here, he is one of those who I like discussing and arguiung about box-office of movies the most and I whenever he makes an analysis for a movie, I read it with pleasure.
Xiayun
Xiayun has developed to one of my favorite posters in the last couple of months. Along with DP07, he is one of the posters I like discussing about box-office the most. Furthermore, I do love discussing with him about movies and award contenders and he seems to like visiting my threads which I appreciate very much. Both of them are very civil when they argue about something with me or with others and I admire that. Their Yahoo Reviews Method is legendary and you guys, are both experts on that field!
Dkmuto
He is the one from the boards whose views on movies, reviews and opinions on oscar candidates I like reading the most. He is an eloquent speaker and I like the way how he reasons his opinions even though I often disagree. Definitely among best posters on the boards.
G.C.
Gregg is a cool poster who I throughly enjoy talking to. He has a great sense of humor and shows to me once again why I do like British people, hehe. He and I have similar tastes in movies as well and that goes for the sense of humor too. Furthermore, just like me he is a Michael Crichton fan. He and I always have a lot to talk about, I just wish, he'd show up online a bit more often!
Algren
Another cool British poster with an enormous obsession over Sylvester Stallone. I do not necessarily agree with his taste for movies (especially Sly's), but he is the variation that the boards need and he is also always fun to talk to. People like him are needed on the boards because his choices for movies are very unusual and contrast is always very good.
Krem
If he doesn't win Best Debator and Smartest Poster, then I'll be shocked. He'd deserve it. He is definitely one of the posters here that are not all that interested in box-office and movie discussion, yet he is an essential part of the boards. He is very helpful and tried to help me with some problems in math when he could. Thank you for that. Also his intelligence is undeniable. Out of all posters, I definitely enjoy debating about economy with him the most, by far. He has a good sense of humor and his arguments are almost often the best ones. It is basically impossible to beat him in a debate. I am glad he has been posting a lot lately.
DolceVita
The poster with the most likely most eloquent speech here on the boards and the one with the biggest affinity to foreign movies and indies. Consdiering the rather small number of people interested in them, it is always good to have someone who is into them so much. She is also a great debator and without a doubt one of the biggest contributors to the boards. She is one of those who we should thank for WOKJ still being alive and growing. I am looking forward to our Donnie Darko discussion soon as I am very interested in your views. Good to have you here!
bABA
I'll admit it. For some reason I did not like Arsi from the beginning on. I can't really put my finger at why. I just didn't. Well, my opinion has radically changed recently. He is probably the most hard-working guy I have ever encountered on the message boards considering how he gets the things going here and his work at MovieFever. I have to admire that. But what is even more important is that I discovered that he is a heck of a nice guy and very fun to talk too even though we disagree on some things (by the way, Marvel still rules over DC!). He is one of the greatest contributor to the boards, so KUDOS for that.
Makeshift_Wings
We did have our differences, but it is in the past and over now. How could I finish my list without mentioning one of the greatest horror movies fans on the site whose opinions on movies I always enjoy to read and who I do like to discuss with on all kinds of topics. I appreciate you as a poster and I am glad to have you here.
matatonio
Mark (a.k.a. matatonio) is another fun poster that the site needs and I am glad to have him here. He doesn't usually touch too serious topics, but brings nothing, but fun to the boards.
Gone, but not forgotten:
Here I will list the posters that I appreciate a whole lot, but that do not post much or at all anymore:
Ilya
MovieDude
Hito
Black Magic
Riggs
Levy
Nighty
Michael J
Special Mentioning:
Box_2005 & Archangel
I hope you can bury your feud one day. You both are good posters and the lists you make and the efforts you put into your threads are exceptional. Keep up the good work and finally, make peace between both of you!
BKB
I really hope you won't indeed end up leaving the boards. You sure are not an usual poster and most of us disagree with your opinions. Yet, I do think that you is one of those unique posters that a community like this needs.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you dont see your name on the list, it doesn't mean that I hate you. Just think that I did have to limit myself somewhere and that this whole post contains over
4000 words. I like most members of this community because it were its mebers who actually made me leave BOM and come over here because I realized that the boards were more about posters to me than about discussion.
In the end, I just want to say
THANK YOU to all of you for making my stay at the boards, these boards as well as MovieFever and BOM great most of the time. You all are great to talk to and I would miss any of the ones that I have mentioned (and some that I didn't) if they left.
I am also pretty sure that no one will read this whole posting, but oh well.
I also didn't chek it for spelling mistakes, so I am sure there will be plenty. I hope you can bear with me.
This was my
2000th Post.
Sincerely,
Arthur
