How did you end up in CFC OT?

[AdamCrock]

Long story short : I wanted to DL mods for Civ IV , so I created an account, posted few posts in Civ 4 forums, then checked out OT of curiosity ... and I got lost here forever since ...

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I'd picked up Civ III in a bargain bin at Big Lots (best $5 I've ever spent).

Civ3 Complete? Mine came from Target, but otherwise this is me.

 

[GoodEnoughForMe]

Pretty sure I found my way here looking for CIV IV mods, after receiving the game as a Christmas gift in 2005. Found OT one day when I just backed out and looked at the entire forum selection and liked it enough and the fact that it was both active and relatively mature compared to most of the more politically inclined internet spaces. I spent a lot of time here for awhile (that would have been near the end of my high school career) but eventually kind of disappeared after several years, then returned further into my 20s, twice as stupid and twice as online. A lot has happened in the now 13 years since. Most importantly, I post slightly less embarrassing things. Only slightly.

 

[AdamCrock]

I know how I turned up here, after spending my early months confined to the Civ IV forum - I got bored and started looking for something to read, so I strayed into the OT forum and found a particularly spicy hot take that I couldn't let go unanswered...

I remember You and Tim from Civ 4 forums

 

[Gori the Grey]

Civ3 Complete? Mine came from Target, but otherwise this is me.

I think just the basic game.

I'd only ever played fantasy RPGs before. I'd looked at Civ boxes in the computer game store and it sounded like something I'd have fun with. I don't know what held me back. But at $5, you can give it a whirl. And I did. And nothing has ever been the same since. Now you'll excuse me because my Compound Bowmen have logistics and range and Augustus is about to learn that a Great Wall extending only two hexes from his capital ain't gonna do diddly to protect him from that. (You'll see I've moved on to V)

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

My best guess of how I ended up here:

I think I got the first Civilization on an abandonware site, and then got Civilization II from a local discount store. So I probably ended up on CFC looking for some mods or whatever and then just accidentally landed in OT.

 

[AdamCrock]

I think that Lexicus and TMIT were actively posting on Civ 4 forums as well Curse that foggy memory !

 

[Arakhor]

I remember You and Tim from Civ 4 forums

Do you? That was a long time ago, now.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Sometimes it's funny to realize that I've been on CFC longer than some of the posters I consider long-time ones. (But I was absent for a few years.)

 

[Arakhor]

I've only been at CFC for 10.5 years. I was still in my 20s, man!

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I was 14 when I joined. And very stupid.

 

[Synobun]

I was 12. If it were possible, I'd scrub every post I ever made between the ages of 12 to 20 here.

 

[Kyriakos]

I had just escaped from the third orphanage. CFC's neon sign was right in front of me in the slums.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I was looking for tips and strategies for CIV and posted in those forums for a while. I got bored and stumbled into OT where I found I could talk about spaceships to my heart's content.

 

[Catharsis]

Pretty sure I was in OT from my join date... I joined CFC to play in the mafia games and posted in OT while I waited for them to start.

It's mad that this place can still hold my interest after 12 and a half years. Even though I'm not what you'd call a regular poster anymore. I fully expected to be gone before a year was up (and posted as much).

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

It's mad that this place can still hold my interest after 12 and a half years. Even though I'm not what you'd call a regular poster anymore. I fully expected to be gone before a year was up (and posted as much).

CFC OT is a trap!

 

[AdamCrock]

Do you? That was a long time ago, now.

Oh definitely ! How time fly , it is amazing . I have never been active (well I had many major breaks but still) on any other site for so long.

edit: I am pretty sure Lemon was there too, as well as modders forums, making "BAT"

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I wonder if anyone with an ID of before #1000 is still active.

EDIT: Look at this!

The poll shows that 93 percent of Civers are male, while only 7 percent are female.

I suspect that percentage probably hasn't changed much, at least going by the populace of OT and the impression I got when I joined (can't think of any other Civ II people I know who are female, though of course it's not something that normally comes up in conversations there).

It would be interesting to take another poll (assuming people aren't wary of answering it honestly, as there is still a fair bit of misogyny that crops up on this forum).

I did get in a fight on the Civ IV forum and it is distinctly possible that a moderator suggested I head off to explore the OT wilderness.

I also got in a fight in the Civ IV forum, the thread got shut down, but the moderator assured me it wasn't my fault (I still remember the argument; it was about whether or not Canada should be included, as there were a number of people who don't think we have a civilization - and this is NOT an invitation to revive this argument here ).

I originally came here to find information about Civ II. I was on an RPG forum at the time and happened to mention I played Civ II; somebody gave me the link for CFC, and I spent my early time here mostly in the Civ II forum, but checked out III and IV out of curiosity. I still post the occasional comment in Civ II, particularly when someone has a question about Test of Time (my favorite; I developed a few unusual strategies I don't mind sharing).

I finally got curious about the odd reference to some place on the forum called "Off-Topic" and decided to check it out. Despite the hostility from a couple of people ("You can't be a girl. Girls don't play Civ"), I stayed.

In 2010, the Arts & Entertainment forum was created (I was recruited to moderate it, along with Plotinus, who is still there). We've got an active writing community there, along with the DYOS folks, and people who are into Star Trek, Doctor Who, Star Wars, and lots of other arts/media-related interests.

There have been ups and downs, people have come and gone (and sometimes they came back), and there have been some things I've accomplished here that I couldn't have accomplished anywhere else.

It's nice to have a safe little niche here to talk about writing, and if at least two people want to try another Iron Pen competition, just let me know; that's an activity imported here from the RPG forum I belonged to.

Another nice thing about CFCOT is that people genuinely care if someone is having a problem of some kind and will offer to help, whether it's about computers, cats, personal life situations, forum issues, and so on. It's also nice when attention is paid to people's interests; some people here (ie. @Catharsis) have sent me pictures of cats (sadly they were zapped when the forum moved to XenForo and we lost the Visitors' Messages). Thank goodness I saved the picture of the birthday potato someone sent me years ago, back when my avatar was a spud on a motorbike.

@aimeeandbeatles, @Synsensa: Yes, you were both young when you joined, but please don't denigrate your past selves. From my perspective, I found both of you to be interesting, friendly people then, and you still are now.


Oh, and something else about that page from waaay back:

FIRAXIS Games today announced that Pocket Books will publish a series of three novels based on the world of the best-selling computer game, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. The first in the series, Centauri Dawn, hits the shelves of major online and retail book stores today.

Written by Michael Ely, Centauri Dawn takes us into the world of Alpha Centauri as the Unity survivors struggle to rebuild human civilization on this strange and mysterious alien world. The story details the efforts of one man to hold the forces of violence at bay, while building his dream of lasting peace, a dream threatened by old tensions carried over from a long-dead Earth.

"I'm thrilled that the world of Alpha Centauri lives on in these novels," said Sid Meier, Chairman and Director of Creative Development at FIRAXIS Games. "The series is sure to appeal to fans of science fiction and computer games alike, with the action, strategy and future history themes of the game brought to life in story."

Centauri Dawn can be purchased through major online and retail bookstores worldwide at a suggested retail price of $6.50. More details and a sample chapter are available on the FIRAXIS website at www.firaxis.com.

I have these books. It's a trilogy of novels based on SMAC, and they're excellent on their own, even if you don't know anything about the game (as I didn't; I bought the first one just because I noticed Sid Meier's name on it). Unfortunately, they're hard to find now, and considerably more than the above-mentioned retail price. But if you're into SMAC and have a chance to read them, I definitely recommend them.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I remember You and Tim from Civ 4 forums

Do you? That was a long time ago, now.

I am less surprised. I made a pretty large splash there. Upon reflection, it is very likely that I was "invited" to OT by a moderator from the Civ IV battlefie...ahhh...forum.

 

[Zardnaar]

Civ III was the thing and I joined in 2003.

Found OT via the world history forums.