Hey Dtoid, Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?

I've been walking the planet Earth for twenty five years now. And over the course of those twenty five years, I've learned some very important lessons, like what to eat and what not to eat, what not to stick in the electrical socket, etc. But of all the lessons that I've learned, there's one that I feel everybody should take to heart: always let the people you care about in your life know that you apperiate them and what they do for you. I've been a member of Destructoid for about four to five years, but I feel I haven't really expressed how much I apperciate being here as a part of the community. That changes today.

I suppose I should start from the beginning. I first discovered Destructoid around late 2009/early 2010 (it's still a little hazy on when I first discovered this site, but I know I was still in college at the time), after someone on 4chan linked to a blog post by someone in the community about the final battle with Giygas in Earthbound. It was an interesting read, and it peaked my curiosity about the rest of the site, so I began lurking around a bit. After getting over the intial shock of having random people talk about each other's dicks without someone getting offended, it became clear to me that Destructoid would be a place that I would fit in perfectly. And so after lurking for a bit, I did something that I very rarely do, even with sites I visit frequently; I started an account, made my user name, picked my avatar, and started commenting.

 I'll be the first to admit that I was kind of an asshole when I first joined. I'd get mad at people who disagreed with me, got into a couple of fights with people, and overall wasn't very pleasent. It would have been easy for me to blame the fact that I was on 4chan, but the truth of the matter was that I was never good with interacting with people, both online and in real life. Despite this, the community still somewhat embarced me, and even taught me a few things of how not to act like a terrible human being. Soon, I was commenting with some of the regulars, making random dick jokes, and overall having a good time; it was the first time I could remember since college that I felt a strange closeness to random strangers.

And honestly, that's the thing I love the most Destructoid, and it's why I've stayed here for as long as I have. You guys do an excellent job of making new people who want to be a part of this place feel welcome, as if they were always part of the community from day one. You guys have a wide range of views, opinions, and personal tastes, and while we don't always agree with each other (just reading the comments on any Holmes post is evidence of that), it's clear that everyone's opinions matter in the discussion, something that you don't see very often nowadays. And even though I haven't met most of you in person, the fact that I consider many of you to be my friends says a lot. The fact that I can get my gaming news and can read reviews here as well is just icing on the cake.

Now, as much as I love all you guys and intend to stay for as long as possible, I'm also not blind. I know that over the years many people have felt somewhat dissatisfied by what's been going on with this site, saying that things aren't as good as it use to be, that things have changed, or that Dtoid just sucks now. And right now, there are people who I care and respect who have left, are currently leaving, or are going to leave soon, and to those people I say: I'm sorry to see you go. I'm not going to stop you, nor would it feel right that I did; you guys do what you have to do, and I wish you all the best in whatever you do going forward. I understand where you're coming from, and in some cases I agree with your reasons.

But you know what? I'm not going anywhere. While I don't agree with a lot of the stuff that's been going on lately, it's not enough to make pack up my bags and move on. In fact if anything, a lot of this stuff has made me realize what's the most important to me, and one of those things is making this place as cool and awesome as it was when I first found it. Which is why I'm here to make a promise to you right now.

Starting today, I intend to be a bit more active here; which is saying a lot, considering I've been pretty active on the FP. I already have a couple of ideas of things that I want to write about (as well as a couple of things that have been in limbo for awhile), and while I can't give a solid date of when stuff will be coming around (real life can be weird like that), I can promise that you'll be see much more of me around here; the only thing I ask from the rest of you is to do the same thing. If you're a new person who just got here, tell us about yourself and how you came here. If you're an old timer who came back after a bit, tell us how you've been; regardless of who you are, let's do what we can to make this place feel awesome. Staff may come and go, people change, but the community and the memories and experinces we share last a lifetime.

And you know what, if things do ultimately end up going south, if the good ship Destructoid ultimately hits an iceberg and we go down, then it happens. But at least I can say that I tried; because I love you guys, and I always will. And so, to the staff and the community, I say thank you for welcoming me to your neck of the woods, and here's to another four to five years of me being an awkward, unfunny nerd among my fellow awkward, unfunny nerds. Also cocks.

- Dynamite with a laser beam!

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