Lack of forum upgrades, lack of focus on building a great forum, and truth be told, plain ole mean-spirited people who drove off those who don't solely game on PS. The shift on most major social media sites became focused on the tech and offerings of the consoles, and less about being 100% XBOX or PS. The downhill progression was inevitable. Other social media outlets popped up, more real-time communication or sites who had the resources to have giveaways/prizes at times. Unfortunately for PSU, it was a time of ownership change combined with the advances of nearly every site but ours. I tried to get changes made and was greeted with a ton of "we just don't have the money." At one point, a member PAID for a plugin for us to run, and that was embarrassing. It just all combined to see a lot of members leave. The commentary in posts became so increasingly hostile and toxic towards anything NOT PS, it just became all around shitty to be here. NO real discussions took place, so gradually our level-headed long time posters all sought greener pastures.
And then there is the simplest answer that time moved on. The same people who posted might have gotten better, more demanding roles at work. I know for me, after I was CM here, I got a pretty demanding job that essentially killed all my forum going. I can see that happening to others as well.
I don't think this forum, or any other not part of the parent companies of Sony or MS, will ever have the membership this place did when I joined in 2007.
And then there is the simplest answer that time moved on. The same people who posted might have gotten better, more demanding roles at work. I know for me, after I was CM here, I got a pretty demanding job that essentially killed all my forum going. I can see that happening to others as well.
I don't think this forum, or any other not part of the parent companies of Sony or MS, will ever have the membership this place did when I joined in 2007.
I think it was really two major factors. The first was the performance and bugginess of the old site which people had to endure for years and which got worse and worse. Several attempts were started to update the site but most just petered off into nothing, often with the stated reason being there wasn't enough money. It just took too long to get it to where it is now and we lost people during that time.
The second, and probably the most significant, reason was the emergence of social media. There was no twitter, youtube, Reddit, Medium and even Facebook back when this site started. Forums were king (an emergence from the old dial up BBS). As time moved on and social media trends changed people moved on too and started using those new channels.
The leadership team have always, in my book, been pretty good. We've all had our favourites over the years, but none of them in my book have ever been bad.
The second, and probably the most significant, reason was the emergence of social media. There was no twitter, youtube, Reddit, Medium and even Facebook back when this site started. Forums were king (an emergence from the old dial up BBS). As time moved on and social media trends changed people moved on too and started using those new channels.
The leadership team have always, in my book, been pretty good. We've all had our favourites over the years, but none of them in my book have ever been bad.
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MjW
That wasn't my intention at all... I just clumisly stated in broad strokes what lead to forum decline. I would love to see the old forum folks return, bring some of the great posters back. Admittedly, there are some good ones still here, but we simply had more abundance back then and they were driven away by the popularity of trashy posts that focused soley on console war bullshit rather than good discussion. I think for a long time, people here didn't realize someone can have an opinion, or some didn't state opinions as such, they stated their opinion as fact and attacked whomever didn't agree. It just got out of hand quickly and some threw their hands up and left because nothing could be done about it.
For years when I was active as staff here, I tried to make it a welcoming place for people to discuss. Did i do it right? Prob not. I tried to make this site welcoming for multi console owners, like myself, who just want a place to come and discuss gaming. I got blamed for being an xbot (love the childish names) and worse while here. Especially when I got to be CM. However, I just wanted those who wanted to discuss the xbox to be able to without getting nailed to the cross. I was attracted to the site when it was open to all, I could discuss the PS and Xbox and didn't need to hop from forum to forum site. It was all here. For the better part of 7 yrs, our Xbox section here was the most active. Shamefully tho it was because 60-70% of the posts we people getting all shitty with each other bringing console wars into it. I got it, this is a PS site, but no respect at all was shown to fellow gamers who chose not to be console specific here. That drove away some as well.
I don't mean anything to say that people who are still here are NOT good posters, but rather that some of the older ones who were, left. Simple as that.
For years when I was active as staff here, I tried to make it a welcoming place for people to discuss. Did i do it right? Prob not. I tried to make this site welcoming for multi console owners, like myself, who just want a place to come and discuss gaming. I got blamed for being an xbot (love the childish names) and worse while here. Especially when I got to be CM. However, I just wanted those who wanted to discuss the xbox to be able to without getting nailed to the cross. I was attracted to the site when it was open to all, I could discuss the PS and Xbox and didn't need to hop from forum to forum site. It was all here. For the better part of 7 yrs, our Xbox section here was the most active. Shamefully tho it was because 60-70% of the posts we people getting all shitty with each other bringing console wars into it. I got it, this is a PS site, but no respect at all was shown to fellow gamers who chose not to be console specific here. That drove away some as well.
I don't mean anything to say that people who are still here are NOT good posters, but rather that some of the older ones who were, left. Simple as that.
After all those years you still couldn't understand or fail to accept where it goes all wrong. People who are posts on forums are not just casual gamers they were fans of games and brands they own. I love PS brand and its exclusive characters. I am a "loser" in the eyes of society, I even hide at work that how many hours I spend playing video games. I need to hide myself, I love forums because as much as I state the love of mine for Joel or Ellie, people here don't look like they see an alien, they see a person like themselfs. It is not people here hated xbox or its fans, people here wanted to share their love and time with their fellow ps fans and you didn't let this to happen. When someone rise their voice against xbox brand a little you said it is against the rules and blocked away those people. I remember daily blocks in the forums, daily!! Every day a new ban....Every fucking day!!!!
You are not the only one to blame ofcourse, facebook and other shits are totally right, but we watched the most dedicated and biggest ps forum, with most amazing userbase, turn into wasteland on your watch.
You are not the only one to blame ofcourse, facebook and other shits are totally right, but we watched the most dedicated and biggest ps forum, with most amazing userbase, turn into wasteland on your watch.
Believe it or not, every ban that happened was discussed prior to with all the staff. We decided as a group, nearly all the time, what was going to happen to a person. We presented evidence in staff forums proving the point, justifying the ban. LIke it or not, that's what happened. I am not going to say I was right, or wrong 100%. I made mistakes, but no one will be able to tell you that I didn't have my heart and soul into trying what I could to make the place succeed. It's fun to bash and rebel against those in power at the time, even more fun when they get removed from power.
I just couldn't abide by the insipid stupid fanboy shit. Still can't. If a person chose to play xbox and wanted to use our forums here to discuss it, in the proper forum, they should have been able to. Sadly, that section got trolled into oblivion. Hence a lot of bans. Rarely did I, or any other staff at the time ban someone who was in a PS forum and talked smack.
It is OK to be a PS fan, but if you choose to revel in the failures of others to do so, then that makes a person a fanboy and that is childish behaviour. Extoll the virtues of a console to the heavens. Proclaim graphical superiority because some pixel nut showed a 2000% blowup of how jagged a bush is. Fine. But you come into a xbox or PS forum and start bashing the shit out of the rival console, then you are compensating and trying to justify your purchase. A lot of people get subconsciously jealous when even the slightest nod is given to the rival console. I remember a famous falling out on who had the best grass in RDR. Fucking seriously, like 15 pages of forum posts on why the PS3 version had better grass. Not if it was a better playing game, better resolution, etc... but grass.
You blame me? LOL that's pretty good. I spent countless hours trying to ensure that the entire site, regardless of the console was a safe place to have fun and discuss games. I discussed options with Mr. Bishop all the time on how to proceed. Even at one point agreeing with him when money was available that we were going to separate all other console discussions to another site and leave PSU as a sole PS site. It never came to be though.
What killed discussions here was literally the mean ass spirit of people who couldn't stand that I didn't tow the PS line as my sole console. I just couldn't when i played and enhojed both (and still do). Just to prove a point? Even going hardcore PS fan site when Ghost took over didn't draw the people back in. Discussions went toxic even faster because XBox discussion was absolutely mocked and trolled. PS threads gained a little steam, but the decline that started with the CM before me, just keep going.
Yes, if it makes you sleep better at night, I am an xbox gamer. As well as a PS, Nintendo, Retropie, and whatever else I want to play. I play games, I buy the consoles so I get all the exlcusives. I have admitted hundreds of times in the past that the only reason I game on xbox more than PS is the controller is more comfortable. So i guess by tranistive property you can run off and proclaim because CUGUY games on xbox because of his hands, that MS killed the forums and label me an xbot
Enjoy
I just couldn't abide by the insipid stupid fanboy shit. Still can't. If a person chose to play xbox and wanted to use our forums here to discuss it, in the proper forum, they should have been able to. Sadly, that section got trolled into oblivion. Hence a lot of bans. Rarely did I, or any other staff at the time ban someone who was in a PS forum and talked smack.
It is OK to be a PS fan, but if you choose to revel in the failures of others to do so, then that makes a person a fanboy and that is childish behaviour. Extoll the virtues of a console to the heavens. Proclaim graphical superiority because some pixel nut showed a 2000% blowup of how jagged a bush is. Fine. But you come into a xbox or PS forum and start bashing the shit out of the rival console, then you are compensating and trying to justify your purchase. A lot of people get subconsciously jealous when even the slightest nod is given to the rival console. I remember a famous falling out on who had the best grass in RDR. Fucking seriously, like 15 pages of forum posts on why the PS3 version had better grass. Not if it was a better playing game, better resolution, etc... but grass.
You blame me? LOL that's pretty good. I spent countless hours trying to ensure that the entire site, regardless of the console was a safe place to have fun and discuss games. I discussed options with Mr. Bishop all the time on how to proceed. Even at one point agreeing with him when money was available that we were going to separate all other console discussions to another site and leave PSU as a sole PS site. It never came to be though.
What killed discussions here was literally the mean ass spirit of people who couldn't stand that I didn't tow the PS line as my sole console. I just couldn't when i played and enhojed both (and still do). Just to prove a point? Even going hardcore PS fan site when Ghost took over didn't draw the people back in. Discussions went toxic even faster because XBox discussion was absolutely mocked and trolled. PS threads gained a little steam, but the decline that started with the CM before me, just keep going.
Yes, if it makes you sleep better at night, I am an xbox gamer. As well as a PS, Nintendo, Retropie, and whatever else I want to play. I play games, I buy the consoles so I get all the exlcusives. I have admitted hundreds of times in the past that the only reason I game on xbox more than PS is the controller is more comfortable. So i guess by tranistive property you can run off and proclaim because CUGUY games on xbox because of his hands, that MS killed the forums and label me an xbot
Enjoy
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Sub-stance1
You guys don't get to understand the diffrence between the 'fan' and 'fanboy'. This is your problem. Still describing Fanboys but blaming people being a fan of a brand. So it is ok to be a fan of lakers or manchaster but being a fan of a brand sounds stupid and childish to you. Gaming is a daily activity I do, most people around me sees me as a hardcore gamer. Probably that works almost every old member you banned back then. Most of the user base here is a fan of a brand. and like me most of them have 2 or 3 consoles everygen, we play all, we want all yet we still favor PS over all, this was the sole reason most of them are here, PSU.COM. and not some xbox forum.
I don't blame you solely of bans or fall of PSU, I just stated a solid fact. It happened on your watch. When you were the manager site was still active as hell, and people say it was the half of the activity, I remember, even being half of the previous it was massive, like it was impossible to catch all the discussion. And it fell rapidly when you were on duty. The fall of activity is why you taken down wasn't it?
I don't blame you solely of bans or fall of PSU, I just stated a solid fact. It happened on your watch. When you were the manager site was still active as hell, and people say it was the half of the activity, I remember, even being half of the previous it was massive, like it was impossible to catch all the discussion. And it fell rapidly when you were on duty. The fall of activity is why you taken down wasn't it?
You couldn't believe even if I tell you how much activity was in here mate. There were around 10 staff solely for forum and they were banning and banning and banning. If Administration can activate that thread again to everyone to see, you can check that. I don't see they do tho. Even they don't care anymore..
Welp, you proved the point I guess. Exactly this is what kept folks gone. I already said that I likely didn't do everything right, no, I didn't. However, I am not, and will not accept, the reason the site died in the forums. They were in steady decline and none of us could right it.
Sorry you viewed those years as a hardship Shingo. It was hard to see the numbers keep dropping. No matter what upper management and staff did, they kept leaving.
As for the banning thread, it was out and available when I was here... I believe they locked it up at some point after I was gone because all it did was create a social justice warrior mentality here that if someone got banned for being an ass, their buddies would jump to their aid and spam the inbox of staff to get them back on. It was a joke. I did ban a lot. Like I said tho, it was my name on the ban because most people here didn't respect the mods or SMC when they existed. So they would have the CM do the deed. I was the axe, but not the decisive factor on a lot of them. I don't care if you believe me, I have zero reasons really to go any further on this.
You have the site you all wanted now. XBox people get their threads trashed by the same members who did it back then. The PS forums are full of unicorn farts and rainbows.
Enjoy
Sorry you viewed those years as a hardship Shingo. It was hard to see the numbers keep dropping. No matter what upper management and staff did, they kept leaving.
As for the banning thread, it was out and available when I was here... I believe they locked it up at some point after I was gone because all it did was create a social justice warrior mentality here that if someone got banned for being an ass, their buddies would jump to their aid and spam the inbox of staff to get them back on. It was a joke. I did ban a lot. Like I said tho, it was my name on the ban because most people here didn't respect the mods or SMC when they existed. So they would have the CM do the deed. I was the axe, but not the decisive factor on a lot of them. I don't care if you believe me, I have zero reasons really to go any further on this.
You have the site you all wanted now. XBox people get their threads trashed by the same members who did it back then. The PS forums are full of unicorn farts and rainbows.
Enjoy
To be fair, the forum was on a decline before Cuguy was community manager. There was a lot of mean-spiritedness when AJe/Dave were in charge, and it didn't help that a former PSU writer tried driving people away to his own newer PlayStation forum.
I don't recall anything specific but I do remember one or two occasions where I didn't agree with some moderating decisions... but I also recall a time when Cuguy didn't allow a pro-Xbox member to get any special favors (and that person doesn't post anymore). I'm speaking as someone who was SMC and moderator during Cuguy/Christopher. We were more or less cleaning up the "mess" of a much more active, turbulent age of PSU, nevermind that we had to patiently wait for any forum updates like everyone else.
In a way though, PSU is very much pro-PlayStation, for the simple fact that almost all negative posts are for Xbox nowadays. There's a good chance that if there were more members posting, you would see more negative posts for PlayStation or Nintendo. But that is the "golden age" people are talking about. You still had informative, in-depth, geeky posts but also childish fanboy crap. It just wasn't handled perfectly all of the time because moderating isn't as black and white as some would think.
I don't recall anything specific but I do remember one or two occasions where I didn't agree with some moderating decisions... but I also recall a time when Cuguy didn't allow a pro-Xbox member to get any special favors (and that person doesn't post anymore). I'm speaking as someone who was SMC and moderator during Cuguy/Christopher. We were more or less cleaning up the "mess" of a much more active, turbulent age of PSU, nevermind that we had to patiently wait for any forum updates like everyone else.
In a way though, PSU is very much pro-PlayStation, for the simple fact that almost all negative posts are for Xbox nowadays. There's a good chance that if there were more members posting, you would see more negative posts for PlayStation or Nintendo. But that is the "golden age" people are talking about. You still had informative, in-depth, geeky posts but also childish fanboy crap. It just wasn't handled perfectly all of the time because moderating isn't as black and white as some would think.
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Exactly Vyse... there was a lot, and I mean A LOT of stuff happening here. We tried, sometimes well, sometimes not so well to get the site cleared up and back on track. It was incredibly difficult because we had to be so fluid in our decisions. And it was a decision making process. I don't recall but maybe a handful of bans that I did without consulting, but ya know my name was on the ban so it was bad.
I have respect for Christopher and the current staff to keep the place going. I came back, not to stir waves, but to see if there was any hook to get me to stay again. I have seen familiar faces, some from waaaaaaay back. I lurk here now, but honestly don't have a ton of time for forum chat.
I hope that the posters that are still here continue to have discussions and get some information flowing again rather than "you suck" "no we don't" threads.
I have respect for Christopher and the current staff to keep the place going. I came back, not to stir waves, but to see if there was any hook to get me to stay again. I have seen familiar faces, some from waaaaaaay back. I lurk here now, but honestly don't have a ton of time for forum chat.
I hope that the posters that are still here continue to have discussions and get some information flowing again rather than "you suck" "no we don't" threads.
OMG i remember -Dj-, he was soooo funny. 100% agree with you -DJ- was the life and soul of this place.
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FinalxxSin
i'm currently playing Kingdom Hearts 3 and soon DMC5. Unfortunately, I got work, school and gym too. Imagine when I get married lol.
I got to be frank, there were times that I had nothing. This place is a like a home for me. Great members here. I just got a lot of in my hands now which sucks because I wish I had very little to do again.
I got to be frank, there were times that I had nothing. This place is a like a home for me. Great members here. I just got a lot of in my hands now which sucks because I wish I had very little to do again.
I think that's the story for a lot of folks here. I had twin boys come into my life, wife and I moved and changed jobs, etc... it all adds up to no dad gaming time or forums
I was jobless back in the day. This place was my haven for a long time. As the time goes by and you get a lot older, there's more appreciation to life than what it was before.
Yeah, i worked a job that afforded me a LOT of downtime during the day on a very nice PC set up It was amazing to be part of this community from 2007 on... It was great. However, by the time I had the CM role, afraid the other social media outlets and sudden burst of alternative communication options killed a lot of forums. We def took a hit. Combine that with some poor choices by myself and others, a lot of members sought greener pastures. Just too hard these days to keep forums as active as we were in 2007. People are too scared of this bullshit console war now to be a fan of a console, or worse, two consoles. Somehow the myth that somehow one "wins" and one "loses" just keeps going. As s result, most discussion in forums devolved into "hey there is a neat game coming to PS4 next week, anyone gonna play?" answer in forum "fuck that game, it isn't on xbox and will prob run like shit on PS4 since it isn't as good as XBOX." then more responses..."well the PS4 has way more power, its tFlops are far higher than... blah blah blah...." No one would simply say, yeah that game looks cool I might get it on the PS4 if I get a chance, or that game look meh, but it might be fun. Nope. Has to be all hate and vitriol now.
It was amazing to be part of this community from 2007 on... It was great. However, by the time I had the CM role, afraid the other social media outlets and sudden burst of alternative communication options killed a lot of forums. We def took a hit. Combine that with some poor choices by myself and others, a lot of members sought greener pastures. Just too hard these days to keep forums as active as we were in 2007. People are too scared of this bullshit console war now to be a fan of a console, or worse, two consoles. Somehow the myth that somehow one "wins" and one "loses" just keeps going. As s result, most discussion in forums devolved into "hey there is a neat game coming to PS4 next week, anyone gonna play?" answer in forum "fuck that game, it isn't on xbox and will prob run like shit on PS4 since it isn't as good as XBOX." then more responses..."well the PS4 has way more power, its tFlops are far higher than... blah blah blah...." No one would simply say, yeah that game looks cool I might get it on the PS4 if I get a chance, or that game look meh, but it might be fun. Nope. Has to be all hate and vitriol now.