How has Smogon affected you?

sandshrewz

POTATO
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Top Artist Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
It's been ~2 years+ since I've been active on Smogon and this question has kind of been bugging me for a while now. From these 2 years I've also learnt plenty of stuff from being here too. I came to IRC not really knowing what to expect and Smogon was the first actual forum that I ever used. I also made friends whom I can trust from Smogon / IRC quite surprisingly to myself?? I never considered the possibility of making friends via the internet before lol. GPing was also a learning experience for me and helped improved my grammar. I never really cared about grammar previously and just wrote whatever sounded right for essays etc. (still don't know what is subject verb agreement etc though 6.6)

Smogon also helped me learn more about myself in that I tend to procrastinate very easily. And the source of procrastination can be from anywhere and not just Smogon lol, which is very bad during exams .-. I hoped that by switching off from Smogon would make me more productive for awhile but guess I was wrong and turned to elsewhere like youtube to procrastinate xd I also picked up interest in javascript and being a noob programmer to kill some time. It's kinda fun and probably most people where I live wouldn't even touch this kind of stuff unless it's for their studies. Also Smogon just made me more interesting in drawing and kept me doodling on notes more than ever lol. There probably isn't a day I don't draw stuff in school, and I usually just draw mons cos they're the easiest to haha. Anyway, interests in Pokemon and programming made common interests between my friend and I too so that's a plus. From a combination of both irl and Smogon views, I realized that most arguments are futile. Most of the time, parties will never come into an agreement and just continue arguing and throw in whatever points that support their stance to protect their ego, even when they sort of realize they might be wrong as well. Arguments are generally pointless both irl and on the internet I guess so I just tend to avoid them. Somewhat related but similarly I learnt to just keep opinions to myself mostly and know that most of the time you or other people aren't getting the full picture about whatever happens (not just arguments but just generally stuff that happens ?_?) and just wait for a fuller picture to understand. It's kind of conservative I guess ? :o!

Anyway, most importantly I think, Smogon has widened my views quite considerably. Before Smogon, I only had my tiny Asian perspective lol. And Smogon is mainly made up of Westerners etc etc. If not for Smogon, I probably wouldn't have paid much notice to Hurricane Sandy and realized how much devastation it actually caused and how it directly affected people. I also never really thought I'd actually meet people who are gay and even more so, openly gay. It just didn't come across to me that there are more gays than I thought there were that the chance of meeting one here isn't very close to zero lol. Hence, I actually never knew Oglemi was gay until his well thread with Jellicent xD and that was despite all the references he has dropped and many people / threads saying he was the gay UU guy in gen 4 lol. Even his Smog article about the fabulous mons didn't make me think he was actually gay haha. I thought it was him just being as funny as he usually was xD so reading his well thread was some realization for me too lol! There was also the Boston marathon bombings and some other incidents that I was informed more via Smogon too. If not for Smogon I wouldn't know that much or paid as much attention to such wordly events. Smogon has also consistently reminded me that I'm a pretty fortunate guy with no major illness or issues in life and I'm pretty contend with my life right now.

There's probably some other stuff I missed out but enough about me haha. Also this post has very little smileys ?_! I've also heard of how Smogon has impacted people that much to change their lives to some extent. Some of them has shared their own stories. More recently there's the LGBT thread which I think has benefitted some people as well which I'm really happy of. Like who has ever though such positive impact can be made by a site, and a Pokemon site at that lol! So how has Smogon affected your life and how big of a impact has it made? Personally for me it's not the life changing-size kind of impact but I'm glad I've been on Smogon and don't regret having made the decision to be here. Do share your experiences here and I'm (and probably many others?) interested in hearing how it has shaped you one way or another, be it to a small or large extent. Thank you, Smogon~ :)
 
smogon is responsible for how much i've improved at arguing, writing (grammar when i need it), negotiating, typing (im at like 95 wpm now wtf i know thats slow compared to some of the freaks here like locopoke but still its a huge improvement for me)...it has also given me thicker skin and definitely an internet persona where i come off as a dick i guess. i dont really talk to anyone here on a personal level except my dotannian friends so most people wouldnt know but im very quiet, timid and reserved irl so smogon kind of helped me improved in how i get my point across irl when something needs to be said.

not to make it sappy but i owe a lot to the site so i try to contribute all i can back.
 
I would just like to start by saying that this is a pretty cool thought provoking thread.

This site has had a pretty significant inpact on me in many ways. I initially came to this sight to learn about competitive pokemon battling, which I'm sure the majority of members on here also did, and its definitely helped me improve my strategic thought process. I now feel more confident in my gameplay and I'm still learning. furthermore, I find myself applying this train of thought in not just pokemon, or games itself, but in real life scenarios.
another thing that comes to mind is that my vocabulary has definitely expanded. I find myself using a whole range of different words through speech and text which I first discover on here.
Those are a few gems that I feel Smogon has definitely given me, and I try to return the rewards with as much contribution as I can give but it's tough with the limited time I have with such a busy lifestyle.
 

RODAN

Banned deucer.
smogon has become a pretty major part of my life, I initially joined when I was 11 years old to sprite and do other horrible ungodly things. I was promptly COPPPA banned - but when i came back, i felt the need to fit in. So i hopped on IRC for the first time back in 2008 when I was 12, mostly dicking around in fluodome (rip). when I was invited to join #moo - this channel contained my first real friends from smogon, and really helped me get adjusted. As time went by I fell into other groups of people and slowly gaining some sort of reputation (i dont think it was negative) i finally built up the confidence to meet some of them IRL.

i have a great group of friends, and this site has basically raised me - it helped me through time of near suicidal depression and bedridden sickness. I try to be as well liked by the community as possible and i dont think anyone really dislikes me all that much. but yea, i try to give back as much as i can because this site rules. =]
 
Smogon is elitist, and it should leverage that image. That's why it is called "Smogon University".

I would generally say this that it is likely in retrospect that this website has a negative impact on my life, but it is nevertheless a good community. Fortunately, Smogon is not my life, although thinking of new battle tactics and strategies sometimes consumes me. But I am a still a woman who enjoys hearing "A Meeting and a Parting" during the end of the Kanto Pokemon episodes and seeing the anime episodes that highlights Ash's friendship and camaraderie with his Pokemon and companions, Misty and Brock, more than competitive battling. I actually feel quite indebted to the anime, and I believe that it is a form of media saved me from descending completely into a morass of despondency, disillusionment, and despair as a socially isolated, young woman in college. I empathize and identified the most with Misty, who I felt exhibited the same pre-adolescent tomboyish femininity, both in her personality and in her physical features, I had as a young adult, but I am not as cheerful as her. From my perceived resemblances to her came admiration.

I also remember as noob, I ran a "rain team" with a Dual Screens Latios, defensive Politoed, offensive Starmie, and a Life Orb Dragonite, and it sucked.

I have anxiety, a need for some control, and some insecurity: due to this, I can get quite ornery when I lose, and I do not feel much gratification when I win. I also feel like (the Japanese) Aki Izayoi before she accepted herself as "Signer".

But thankfully, I do have some social life outside of here (as I am an autistic). I do feel I am much more inclined to read an article from The Smog published by the Smogon University Press about the history of Alakazam in competitive Pokemon than reading the devotionals in The Magnificat as most of my Catholic friends do.
 

toshimelonhead

Honey Badger don't care.
is a Tiering Contributor
Smogon also helped me learn more about myself in that I tend to procrastinate very easily. And the source of procrastination can be from anywhere and not just Smogon lol, which is very bad during exams .-. I hoped that by switching off from Smogon would make me more productive for awhile but guess I was wrong and turned to elsewhere like youtube to procrastinate xd I also picked up interest in javascript and being a noob programmer to kill some time.

Story of my life.
 

Firestorm

I did my best, I have no regrets!
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
My life has changed quite significantly as a result of Smogon.

I discovered the community in 2007 as it was really the only competitive site around after the older sites like Azure Heights faded out. I found Congregation and especially Internet Renaissance fun to post in and its the only reason I stuck around after I lost interest in playing Pokemon in late 2007. I have to thank (or punch) Tangerine for introducing me to IRC as that's what created the largest amount of impact. Also makiri, skarm, Huy, Duy, Fish, and Arti for inviting me to Seattle in 2010 for the Regional Championship there. I accepted their offer on a whim and I don't even know what made me do it but it changed a lot for me. I never would have traveled to as many cities if it weren't for that. I wouldn't have met so many people -- many of which are incredibly close friends. I wouldn't have developed so many of the skills I currently posses. I likely wouldn't still be playing Pokemon if it weren't for that.

Most recently, I got a job due to the work I did on Smogon and Nugget Bridge. I think it's important for people to understand that just because what they do here is unpaid/uncredited doesn't mean it can't go on your resume. If you do something like Grammar editing or writing or whatnot and it's related somewhat to what you want to do, show it off. Maybe keep track of the number of articles you were involved with so you can quantify it. Ask one of the C&C leads you worked with most to be your reference. What you do is actual work and you have years of experience doing it. This doesn't go only for Smogon, but for any community you're heavily involved with. This is how you get those "2-3 years of experience" they want for a "Junior" position.

From a combination of both irl and Smogon views, I realized that most arguments are futile. Most of the time, parties will never come into an agreement and just continue arguing and throw in whatever points that support their stance to protect their ego, even when they sort of realize they might be wrong as well. Arguments are generally pointless both irl and on the internet I guess so I just tend to avoid them. Somewhat related but similarly I learnt to just keep opinions to myself mostly and know that most of the time you or other people aren't getting the full picture about whatever happens (not just arguments but just generally stuff that happens ?_?) and just wait for a fuller picture to understand. It's kind of conservative I guess ? :o!
To give you a bit of hope, if you can find a project where everyone is genuinely interested in making it into the best it can be, you'll find that arguments tend to be short, reasoned, and pointed towards finding the best solution. This is something that's much more possible on smaller teams than larger ones. Arguments are important to find the best solution as it can bring more information that one person might have overlooked. It's not always Inside Scoop or Congregation level "argument" where each side has an end goal that they want to reach and just search up facts that line up (kinda like the way most of us write/wrote college and high school papers).
 
Smogon has taught me the vital life lesson that in order to actually be good at something, unless you have natural talent, you have to actually get out there and do it like every day.

This might seem like something trivial that anyone can say, but competitive battling is the first place where this really hit me, and that's good to, because its an essential lesson for adult life. Sometimes, you are going to really suck at something, and you need to practice to get better.
 

Cresselia~~

Junichi Masuda likes this!!
I find Smogon a very elitist place also.

This is where I meet people who are very challenging, who caused me to doubt myself, and also caused me to feel the need to get off the high horse I was sitting on.
(And caused me to feel that my English is dreadful.)

I can rarely find another place with such a huge crowd of elites that are capable in arguing against me to the point I shiver.
It is a great place for training argumentation and negotiation skills. (And a good place for learning good English!)
This is why I stay here despite being intimidated and feeling like a complete looser.
 
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v

protected by a silver spoon
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
jynx did you misspell "loser" on purpose or was it a joke? you made fun of your own english one line prior so I feel the question is begging to be asked
 

Cresselia~~

Junichi Masuda likes this!!
jynx did you misspell "loser" on purpose or was it a joke? you made fun of your own english one line prior so I feel the question is begging to be asked
Yikes!!
I don't normally have problems with spelling, but that was one exception :P
 
I joined Smogon back on '05 (good grief I was still in high school!). Looking at me back then, it reminds me just how immature I was when I was younger. That's not to say that now I'm some snobbish mature adult :P

But Smogon taught me that when you fail, you just dust yourself off and keep going. I can't tell you how many times I thought I finally had the perfect team. I'd then join a tourney and then get swept in the first battle. I think around Diamond/Pearl I really started focusing. I'm only an average battler right now, but back in GSC...good grief it was embarrassing!
 
I met most of my best e-friends prior to joining smogon so unfortunately I can't say smogon has been some emotional roller-coaster for me, but I guess part of the reason I still talk to people like locopoke, atticus, etc is BECAUSE of smogon, so I am grateful for that. but if you want my complete honestly: smogon has taught me that kissing ass and doing petty tasks will benefit you in some way at some point in your life. obviously i'm not going to single anyone out, but over the years I've been on this site I have witnessed people go from rock bottom to some of the most respected users on this site. you could probably argue that i'm jealous or envious of these people for noticing this and whatnot, but the truth is that's what this site has taught me (and yes I know the title says affected but w/e).

other than that, like kd mentioned, smogon has granted me an internet persona that allows me to come off as a complete douche most of the time (which is understandable, but mostly for users that have had the opportunity of infracting me), but truthfully behind "faint" i consider myself a nice guy with a low tolerance for stupidity and shit posts.
 

a fairy

is a Tournament Directoris a Site Content Manageris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Social Media Contributor Alumnus
Community Leader
Smogon definitely snapped me to attention, so to speak. Before I came here, I was an absolutely horrible person, personality wise. (Some may argue I still am!) I extend an apology to the people who I interacted with negatively before I became active on Smogon if they still hold grudges - I may not remember who I caused trouble to (I remember a couple) but I certainly realize how much of a fucking retard I was until recently, and I'm sure in a couple months I will shake my head at the way I act now.

When I came to Smogon, I guess I decided enough was enough. I fucked up plenty of times at previous forums, and decided that this forum would be where I wouldn't fuck up at. Of course, for anyone who remembers when I was a new Smogon user, I fucked up immediately. But I like to think I matured at least somewhat due to Smogon, if only to get that "elusive" access to the oh-so-special Inside Scoop (lol) and trying to become a "respected user" so to speak. Whether I've accomplished that or not, I don't know.

Also, Smogon has given me the ability to completely recreate my personality, at least online. While I don't have any IRL friends who are on Smogon/anywhere else I frequent, I can safely say my personality in real life is completely different than my personality online.

I'm so gonna regret this when I wake up, ugh.
 
Smogon represents mixed feelings for me. I like the rmt, and some of the congregation of masses threads, but sometimes I feel like there is a very negative attitude sometimes. its the agree with me or leave attitude of smogon that makes me sometimes view smogon in a poor way. I feel like sometimes we forget that there is somebody sitting on the computer reading the nasty comments that we write. if anything I love to debate, but hate conflict. sometimes when I do something wrong or just something the disagree with I feel like all the users make me feel really stupid. lets just say that after the political correctness thread I felt very discouraged (I kind of regret making that thread). That being said smogon does show its positive side often and I am slowly becoming attached to the comunity.
 
Smogon honed some of my editing skills and has given me the opportunity to meet a lot of amazing people with all kinds of perspectives, even though I'm not really around much anymore except in LoL channels (I've been incredibly busy recently).

I have become a lot more confident in my thoughts and opinions (in no small part because of the perpetual drama here...). This is also a result of a lot of my other life circumstances, but when I joined I was an exceptionally apologetic and wishy-washy fourteen-year-old, mostly because of things that had happened to me. I'm a lot braver at twenty. People here encouraged me to stand up for myself and express myself. I'm still working on some of those skills.

When I was hospitalised, everyone here rallied around me and helped me appreciate that people cared about me. I changed a lot for the better during that time and the unconditional support I received from people on here was a factor in that. I'm still immensely grateful for everyone who showed their interest in my situation and was sympathetic to my problems over the years. Now I'm in control of my illnesses (mostly) and next year I'll be studying more courses per trimester and physically attending some of my lectures.

I think I also learned a lot about people from the politics of this site, despite the subject matter. Being involved in projects like The Smog made me more mentally organised (I used to be terribly scatterbrained) and better at collaborating.

I guess Smogon frustrates me a lot in many ways, which is another reason I'm not around as much anymore, but I don't want to be negative. Even if I see problems with it, the amount of genuine and talented people I've met here over the last five years is a blessing.

Also, it got me obsessed with LoL.
 
This is a really cool thread. Thanks sandz. :)

Smogon has been pretty huge for me over the past year and a half. I joined up not even knowing that competitive Pokemon was actually a thing, and over time, I learned not only that it is a thing but also that it's pretty huge lol. It started as a thing for me to do in my spare time because I really liked Pokemon and eventually developed into something that I not only enjoy but also care about a lot.

The best part about Smogon for me has been all of the great people I've gotten to know. I've had an incredibly difficult time these past few months, but my friends on this site have really kept me going despite all of the shit I've been dealing with irl. I can sympathize with pluff a bit in that regard. It's definitely not the same, and her situation was undoubtedly worse than mine is. But it's the same in that the people on this site have helped me through some really tough times when I'd otherwise be alone, and I really don't know how to express my gratitude for that, especially because most of the people who did this did so without even knowing it. Smogon might have some assholes, but it's also got a lot of really, really cool people that keep me coming back, even when we're going through another huge ordeal. ~o~
 

Oglemi

Borf
is a Top Contributoris a Tournament Director Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Researcher Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnusis a Top Dedicated Tournament Host Alumnus
Smogon really helped me hone my bullshit sensor, which I think is huge for me. This mostly came from being around Great Sage on a daily basis, but also the senior staff at large. While I've been active I've grown more confident in what I have to say and am far more skeptical of other people's arguments than I ever was before. On top of that, I've found making my arguments concise and cohesive much easier from my time on Smogon. Writing hypotheses and theses has never been easier.

Being a tier leader and now a TD hosting SPL I've grown a pretty thick skin. I still care a lot about what people have to say and try to take things to heart, which still ends up biting me in the ass on occasion, but overall I've grown more confident in myself and the decisions I make. Being in a position that affects hundreds if not thousands of people on this site is great leadership experience, and I can't say that I've really had an experience like it irl. IRL I'm more of a follower, but after being in a leadership position on this site and being in the teaching program at UW I'm way more confident when I do have to lead, and it's not a big deal.

My writing and thoughts come through much more coherent thanks to all the talking and writing I do while on Smogon. I also would never be able to say that I know HTML or really anything that I do know about computers if it weren't because of Smogon (I still know hardly anything but I'm much better than what I used to coughNexuscoughsandshrewzcough).

I've also made some very endearing friends while on this site, and I never would have thought that Internet friends were actually a thing. I was never one for texting or AIM or anything like that in high school, so I didn't build any strong relationships with my friends from there and have basically lost touch with everyone from high school. Now in college though, I have lots and lots of irl friends as well as friends on Smogon, and I'm now more confident in my abilities to use the technological medium to stay in touch and build stronger relationships. If someone were to ask me who my closest friends are irl, I would probably include tennisace, Nexus, Birkal, sandshrewz, Treecko, and Jellicent in my list

I now probably spend too much time on my laptop, but I don't feel very bad for doing so to be completely honest. I am still able to cut my time off when I need to and place my irl stuff before anything on Smogon, so it hasn't shifted my priorities in too big of a way lol.

edit: also Smogon introduced me to 9.9 and I am forever grateful for giving me the best emoticon anyone could ever wish for
 

Sephirona

t-t-t-tubearrific. (✿≖ᴗ≖) ・゚✧*:・゚✧
is a Top Artist Alumnus
Online friendships can be fleeting and short-lived, but they can also be incredibly, profoundly life-changing. In the absence of physicalities online the first thing we have to show for ourself is our mind, and to this day some of my most meaningful relationships have been with people I have never met - people I visualize only by their usernames and their personalities. Or maybe I just haven't made enough of an effort to actually go to an official tournament in person... :P

I first joined Smogon a little over four years ago and found myself entranced by the concept of RNGing. Too timid to venture elsewhere, I stuck to the Wi-Fi forums and spent most of my time RNGing and befriending other traders there. I drew a little bit and had an art thread, but that was it. A few other people in this thread have referred to Smogon's elitism, and I can attest to having experienced this myself back then. Yet the friends I made were kind and trading and RNGing was fun, so I enjoyed myself. I was going through some rough times in real life, and Smogon seemed the perfect escape. But eventually, I drifted away.

Black and White came out around 2011, and it was then I found myself back on Smogon. I discovered Smogon's IRC channels, and I felt closer than ever to the people I met here. It now occurred to me that there were cultures on Smogon outside of the forums, bolstered by the existence of these IRC channels, and that perhaps there were other niches I'd not yet had the chance to explore while holed up in my Wifi trade thread two years ago. I was bolder now, and more willing to explore what else Smogon had to offer. But my attempts to venture outward were fruitless, my desire to submit art to the site was largely ignored, and problems in real life still haunted me everywhere I turned, so despite my affection for those I'd met in #smogonwifi I drifted away once again.

And so I find myself back at Smogon with the release of Pokemon X and Y.

In the two years since I left I've come to an understanding about myself and about my parents. They finally understand how I was feeling back then as well, and why I seemed to have no motivation or drive to succeed. I'm back now, prepared to challenge myself academically, armed with a new sense of purpose, freed for the first time from what had been burdening me for most of my life. It's not been easy, and I see my friends doing well left and right - but for the first time, and with the support of my parents (who've seriously been way more patient with me than most parents would be, that's for sure), I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I guess what I want to say is that I've realized Smogon has become a curious constant in my life. Even though I feel like I've changed as a person each time I return to this site, and even though each person here has certainly grown as well over the time that has passed, as a whole this community still represents the same thing it did to me the first time I registered to the site; it is something I feel deeply connected to, a gathering of people from all walks of life, who change a little bit every time I return but remain fundamentally the same; who are often completely different in character from me but all gravitate towards this forum for the same reason - Pokemon. And even as we move on and the faces we see here change, both by age and by the introduction and reintroduction of people new and old, I'm happy that Smogon will still likely be here the next time I return. And I wonder how I'll have changed again next time. Though to be honest, I'd really like to make my stay more permanent this time. ╮(╯▽╰)╭

So here's to Smogon, the somewhat elitest, but still rather cozy, place I've come to call home.

 
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Online friendships can be fleeting and short-lived, but they can also be incredibly, profoundly life-changing. In the absence of physicalities online the first thing we have to show for ourself is our mind, and to this day some of my most meaningful relationships have been with people I have never met - people I visualize only by their usernames and their personalities. Or maybe I just haven't made enough of an effort to actually go to an official tournament in person... :P

I first joined Smogon a little over four years ago and found myself entranced by the concept of RNGing. Too timid to venture elsewhere, I stuck to the Wi-Fi forums and spent most of my time RNGing and befriending other traders there. I drew a little bit and had an art thread, but that was it. A few other people in this thread have referred to Smogon's elitism, and I can attest to having experienced this myself back then. Yet the friends I made were kind and trading and RNGing was fun, so I enjoyed myself. I was going through some rough times in real life, and Smogon seemed the perfect escape. But eventually, I drifted away.

Black and White came out around 2011, and it was then I found myself back on Smogon. I discovered Smogon's IRC channels, and I felt closer than ever to the people I met here. It now occurred to me that there were cultures on Smogon outside of the forums, bolstered by the existence of these IRC channels, and that perhaps there were other niches I'd not yet had the chance to explore while holed up in my Wifi trade thread two years ago. I was bolder now, and more willing to explore what else Smogon had to offer. But my attempts to venture outward were fruitless, my desire to submit art to the site was largely ignored, and problems in real life still haunted me everywhere I turned, so despite my affection for those I'd met in #smogonwifi I drifted away once again.

And so I find myself back at Smogon with the release of Pokemon X and Y.

In the two years since I left I've come to an understanding about myself and about my parents. They finally understand how I was feeling back then as well, and why I seemed to have no motivation or drive to succeed. I'm back now, prepared to challenge myself academically, armed with a new sense of purpose, freed for the first time from what had been burdening me for most of my life. It's not been easy, and I see my friends doing well left and right - but for the first time, and with the support of my parents (who've seriously been way more patient with me than most parents would be, that's for sure), I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I guess what I want to say is that I've realized Smogon has become a curious constant in my life. Even though I feel like I've changed as a person each time I return to this site, and even though each person here has certainly grown as well over the time that has passed, as a whole this community still represents the same thing it did to me the first time I registered to the site; it is something I feel deeply connected to, a gathering of people from all walks of life, who change a little bit every time I return but remain fundamentally the same; who are often completely different in character from me but all gravitate towards this forum for the same reason - Pokemon. And even as we move on and the faces we see here change, both by age and by the introduction and reintroduction of faces new and old, I'm happy that Smogon will still likely be here the next time I return. And I wonder how I'll have changed again next time. Though to be honest, I'd really like to make my stay more permanent this time. ╮(╯▽╰)╭

So here's to Smogon, the somewhat elitest, but still rather cozy, place I've come to call home.

its people like you that make me and and probably other people smile. Thanks for making smogon and the world a better place :)
 

Age of Kings

of the Ash Legion
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Smogon has taught me to argue with people. I spent most of my time in Stark Mountain back in the day and even now you can't talk out of your ass or your posts will get nitpicked apart. I learned to carefully formulate my arguments, consider possible rebuttals and counterarguments, and most of all provide logical proof for what I'm saying. I feel like because I've had a ton of practice in this regard, I have an edge not only among my peers but in real life in general. I'm kind of over e-friends and I only regularly converse with people I go to VGC events with, so I never really got into the social aspects of this site. But it's undeniable that Smogon has done a lot of good for me in life because I feel like I can better deal with people. Thanks a lot, guys!
 
Smogon has taught me to argue with people. I spent most of my time in Stark Mountain back in the day and even now you can't talk out of your ass or your posts will get nitpicked apart. I learned to carefully formulate my arguments, consider possible rebuttals and counterarguments, and most of all provide logical proof for what I'm saying. I feel like because I've had a ton of practice in this regard, I have an edge not only among my peers but in real life in general. I'm kind of over e-friends and I only regularly converse with people I go to VGC events with, so I never really got into the social aspects of this site. But it's undeniable that Smogon has done a lot of good for me in life because I feel like I can better deal with people. Thanks a lot, guys!
I really do not know if there is any "logical proof" in team construction or battling. Having many Ground, Bug, or Dark weakness on a given team in this meta is just asking for trouble. Of course, perhaps a credible argument adducing this would be the prevalence of these attacks on the metagame Pokemon, as having many of these Pokemon would not give you any room to maneuver and survive and hit back. Being forced to switch out on the presence of a Genesect or Scizor due to a Bug weakness is not that pleasant as your opponent would just switch in to their check of your switch in. For move slots, much of it determines on personal preference and one's objectives. Of course, if you are using a move to 2HKO or OHKO a target, then one would need damage calculations under common field conditions (such as whether a move would 2HKO with Stealth Rocks and Leftovers) to show that move on a given Pokemon would KO something. The 4MSS requires on to think about opportunity costs and moveslot synergy.

I am glad that I didn't learn how "to argue with people" or honing "my bullshit censor" on Smogon because there are more productive ways of accomplish this, but as I mentioned earlier I do not share the same sympathies because I really do not enjoy the process of competitive battling that much. I learned to be skeptical as a high school student on the Internet while researching various apologetic arguments and becoming a "scientific" skeptic, and also in college when I became a more firm "philosophical" skeptic as I embraced the staunch empiricism of David Hume. I have a sense of confidence as a child due to my fairly high intelligence and memory that led to intellectual independence where I could critically analyze intellectual claims based on their external consistency with my prior body of knowledge (or credible primary or secondary sources) or internal logical validity. For instance, if I wanted to know something concerning biology, I could just consult my textbooks or journal attacks to see if there is a satisfactory answer (or relevant information if the issue is unresolved) to my inquiry; I did not have to ask my parents about scientific matters when I was an adolescent since I was fairly intellectual independent then. These dispositions naturally makes me quite receptive to empirical skepticism, a philosophy that I still adhere to, even though I am a Catholic now. I believe the capacity for abstract, critical thinking skills is limited by one's innate intelligence, but if an online community focusing on competitive battling can nurture these skills in a way formal education cannot, perhaps by offering a more interactive milieu than school and by transcending the ennui of the classroom, then Smogon is quite invaluable.

I do like competitive battling as a means of testing out the viability of preconceived tactics and strategies in a practical setting, rather than just being in the realm of theoretical ideas. Competitive Pokemon should not be belittled; it is an intellectual activity requiring expertise, such as knowing the potential movesets of relevant metagame Pokemon and determining the EVs and items your opponent's Pokemon possesses by your opponent's behavior or home much damage they take from an attack.

As for me, I am a mediocre battler, only having two alts in the mid 1700s; I was mostly languishing in the 1400s during August, created some alts and battled occasionally during the release of X/Y, took a hiatus, and came back starting in the beginning of December. I believe what is holding me back is my anxiety and sense of frustration when I am losing though. I rarely use a Choice items, except when testing a Choice Scarf Genesect and a Choice Specs Latios; I liked the former, but not the latter.
 

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