How did you get here? Why did you stay?

[LocoColt04]

I know we periodically have one of these crop up, and in the spirit of the holidays, it's time to drudge up our nasty past once more.

So, if any of you old farts can actually remember why you're here...
And for all of you new farts, these questions apply to you too!


How did you stumble over TheFinalFantasy? What were you searching for?

What enticed you to join the forum?

[Taco-Calamitous]

I think I joined because the Five Iron Frenzy forum was down, and I apparently was too impatient to wait for them to get it back up. I also was interested in talking about Final Fantasy after playing Final Fantasy 6 for the first time earlier in the year. So I just typed in "Final Fantasy Forums" or something, probably in Altavista, and TFF popped up.

I stayed because drama. Probably also because the frenzyboard didn't have all the cool bells and whistles that this message board did, like avys and post counts and such. Also, during that time, I was still young and my imagination was still running away with me, so I imagined that everyone was their avatars and epic, fantastical things could happen.

(To be honest, I don't really "stay" most of the time. I come back because nostalgia. Also I need to meet my forum posting fix somehow, and I'm an old fart here instead of a newbie, which sucks to deal with.)

[Nehi]

I remember I joined here because I was looking for information on Square Enix or any upcoming games. I happened to stumble upon thefinalfanasy, and my curiosity took the better of me. So yeah, I was here and now I'm also here again.

[Dawezy]

2001 .. oh man, I can barely remember any of that shit.

Suppose I got hooked with Final Fantasy VII when my friend Dale introduced me to it (before 2001, ish), went through all sorts of sites to find info of any kind and TFF was one of them. Guess I felt the need to interact with other humans (in a sense) as opposed to my mountains of adult materials.

This is all a bit fuzzy as my memory has seen better days lol.

[NikkiLinkle]

I found this place because I was searching for information on how to defeat Barthandelus in FFXIII.

I joined because I was incredibly lonelyand in a bad relationship at the time and this place became my safe, happy place I came to. This place and certain people I met on here helped me become the better version of myself I am today

[ZRO]

I got here from following fellows from former forums! Back in 2004...yeesh. But yeah, Dawezy, Loco, and a few others were my mates at my old forums hang-out, and I ended up switching over here, where they already were.

I stay because, I have no reason to leave. And I do occasionally quit lurking and post like I am now!

[Sheechiibii]

I'm in a few other Final Fantasy forums and none of them were very active at the time so I tried to find another one and here I am

[Sang Hee]

Merry Christmas to you, too. I found this on Google, searching for FF forums. I just had no idea how popular FF games were in the world. I never knew anyone who played them. From what I can tell now the fandom is on decline and there are not as many new posts as they used to. For me it's still going because I keep playing all the games, haven't played them all so far. So for me it's still fresh but I can see how others who have already been through the series would start losing interest.

[Xanatos]

I was looking for some Final Fantasy themed wallpapers when I stumbled upon this place. I joined mostly to improve my English, and to discuss Final Fantasy of course, prior to this forum I did not have many opportunities to do either. As with several other forums I've been part of I didn't plan on staying for too long, but due to it's charm and great community TFF has won me over and I've been part of it for more or less four years now.

[loaf]

I found Square-Ultima forums for something I don't remember. Over time being a member over there the forums died. I joined TFF in 2005 because some members from SU were on TFF (Dawezy, Jin, ZRO, Tiffany) but I never posted. Then I came back in 2008 and stayed for good.

EDIT: Forgot to add why I stayed. Mainly for the 4 people I mentioned above. Jin is my ex wife/husband and Dawezy is just the boss. ZRO was always a cool guy and everybody loves Elewen (Tiffany) so I came back and stayed because it felt like the home I just lost.

[LocoColt04]

Oh man, I forgot you were on SU too, loaf.

I stumbled over TFF the very day we had the internet transferred over when we moved from our old house to our new one. My sister and I still had a week to kill before the fall semester started and we hooked up the PS2 to continue playing through FFX together. Since it was technically her game and her system, we had agreed that she would need to be the first one done with the game. We turned it back on to pick up where she left off, but I hadn't seen what she was up to previously and we ended up getting seriously stuck on the Mt. Gagazet Seymour fight. She was underleveled and had missed something and we didn't know what it could be, so the very first thing I did when we got the internet hooked up was search Google for a Final Fantasy fansite for help.

TFF was the third result behind Squaresoft's official forums and a sale listing for the game.

Yeah, that's right: the Old Skool Warrior joined TFF because he was looking for FFX advice. Who knew? Anyway, I lurked for a couple days, found what we needed, and then came back and created an account when I realized all of the awesome conversations surrounding FFVI and the other older games.

I originally stayed because of the level of engagement I received almost immediately from Dawezy and ZRO, with Jin, Pete, Tif, Omega, Sarah, Cain, and Fuzz all becoming my first little set of buddies.

I continue to stay because someone thought it was a good idea to put me in charge.

Also, this is totally my second home. Even though it's a very different group of regulars these days, some of my old staples are still around, and FFXIV gives us something fresh to discuss game-wise again. I think we'll see another resurgence of activity when FFXV drops, because I don't feel the internet as a whole will do backflips for Lightning Returns (even if I'm personally interested).


~ sent from my Galaxy Note 3 via Tapatalk Pro

[Andromeda]

This has become a bit of an annual thing huh, Loco?

One you guys thought it was good idea to make me an Admin too. It mostly was started because of forum permissions made it easier for me to just be an Admin. >.>; I did decline it for a while though. We've lost so many Admins because it burn their enjoyment. I didn't want that to happen to me. Though honestly, between you Loco and myself, we've stuck it out for the long haul it seems.

Like with a lot of other people, I was doing a search when I found this place. I had finished playing FFVII-FFX and I wanted some news about when I could expect the next game. I stumbled upon this place because at the time it actually was more of the active places I could get FF news. Which did not end up lasting for too long after I arrived. Around May of 2002, I for some reason saw there was a forum, didn't know what it was and started browsing. I spent the next month making a decision on if I wanted to join or not reading how the members were. Made the jump and now I've been here for 11 years.

Is it irony that I came here for the news and I now maintain said news?

A fun note for the new members, half of my total post count you see I have was created in the first year I was here. It's a bit of a sign on the difference of activity as well as my own active posting. I know in that first year several of the staff members believed I was a spammer, despite the fact that I usually had longer posts than them.

I forget who it was, but I remember one person sort of summing up my old habits quite well, at least in terms of length. They said something along the lines of "You're the only person I know that can write two paragraphs when answering what their favorite drink is."

[Incognitus]

Prelude
From the beginning of the cosmos, I came into existence in early 2001 due to my infant curiosity of the Ultimate Fantasy---incorrectly numbered the third fantasy to this part of the cosmos but universally understood as the sixth in traditional sequence. It was a fascinating game worthy of my attention.

Searching for Friends
Like most beings, I sought information about the inner workings of a franchise that always promised to be final but never seemed to end, and information exchanged among peers seemed to be the working currency of this digital world, so I joined the forums in search of camaraderie on this hallowed, common ground of Final Fantasy. However, I was still a newb. A noob. A boob.

Metamorphosis
My persona began morphing over the course of my time here, like a changeling struggling to find its identity. Was I good? Was I bad? Was I smart? Was I sad? Few knew. Many more did not care. I was ever-evolving. Such is the nature of man.

Under Martial Law
After many years of long-winded rants I was, perhaps erroneously, deemed worthy by a jury of peers to judge the opinions of others and was granted the celestial stars of moderation. Little did they know, a power-hungry tyrant was born. I ruled with a fist of iron SO HEAVY that I don't think I endeavored to pick it up once. I didn't judge the unworthy. Spam ran rampant; many forum flames were left unextinguished. The crushing gravity of the position pinned me to the ground; the weight of responsibility turned me away. For a while, I went dormant.

New Continent
I thought I could rekindle the magic I felt when I first joined this place and briefly joined some other Final Fantasy-centric forums like Square Ultima and RealFF, but I discovered the magic was forever lost. It didn't stop me from rising to the rank of moderator at some of these places. Hard to believe, but I was. However, I cared even less for moderating at that point. What's power without desire?

The Unforgiven
I stayed and stayed---and stayed some more. After acquiring many friends and many foes at TFF (and elsewhere), it was determined I could not remain. My instant messaging lists grew in number and I no longer felt I had the time to evolve as a man while posting at a place as grand as this. So I relinquished my celestial stars and vanished into oblivion.

The Day After
Days were fleeting. Time flew. Soon college ended and fiscal responsibilities grew. There was no way I could come back to what I once knew. At long last, I was ready to bid it adieu. But was there time? Was it true?

Returners
My friend SOLDIER #819 and The-Artist-Formerly-Known-As-Telegraph formed a tag-team, the nostalgic champions of the world. They challenged me to a no-holds-barred return to the TFF ring. Not a man to back down from a challenge, I accepted. Lariat after lariat they threw! They roped me in and beckoned my return. It started with a quick hello or two, but I found that my life isn't as hectic as it used to be. Technological advancements since 2001 have also made my return possible. Perhaps not entirely desirable, but feasible.

!!
..................!!!!

Dancing Mad
If there's one thing I regret, it's that I couldn't force a bitchin' Dancing Mad rock organ solo to play as you read this testament of truth veiled by the strangest of lies.

[C:/Dille.Run]

I found this place through tapatalk I believe. I don't really remember much about my origins of coming here.

I stayed because I enjoyed the company.

[Josh_R]

Honestly I really don't remember why I came here in the first place. I would assume I was googling something Final Fantasy related, and it brought me here.

As far as why I stayed, its all about the community. When I first came here one of the first people I talked to on here that was friendly towards me was H.U.N.K. great f*cking guy. I formed a good bit of friendships over the years cause of this website. I don't get to talk to people on here as much anymore like Rocky and Che but still friends regardless.

[Pete]

Cesar, your welcome for your ascent to power.

I came here on a fine April day in 2001. The world was a simple time and things were good. I believe I was looking up some sort of information about some sort of Final Fantasy game. I mean, why else would I sign up for such a website. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. Give me five bees for a quarter, you'd say.Now where were we? Oh yeah: the important thing was I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...

I quickly made a bunch of friends and participated in some of the absolutely most retarded internet forum drama that could possibly exist. I mean there was serious shit going on, like one girl (the infamous Starsoldier) actually faked her death to leave this place. THAT's how much of a hold it had on people back then.

At some point I became an admin (lets call it 2003), and it was a glorious time. I did my job, and then one day the drama got to be too much, so I gave myself and others a bunch of gil, which you could use to change the colors and style your username was written in. It was a pure baller move. Then I called it a day and resigned. In my wake, I recommended Cesar be recommended for the position, and the loveable scamp is now where he is today.

I guess I'm still here because, why not?

[Tiffany]

Ahhh its getting harder to think that far back.

I came across TFF while doing a google search (Google was still new to me at the time, egads!) about Final Fantasy games. It was the first gaming forum I joined, I was here for a week then it went down for 3 weeks and after I ended up finding SU through Scorpian. Although he was ScorpianJED at the time LOL.

Out of everyone that I've met on here, I really only keep up with Kyle, Cesar, Jason and Allisyn. There's people that I've lost contact with over the years, which sucks. But life happens. I'm not that active on here anymore, but I do love coming back and seeing what everyone has been up to gaming wise (that they don't always post about on Facebook).

I almost met up with Kyle in Vegas when I was there in 2011, but we were only there for 3 days for a wedding and between jet lag and wedding stuff it wasn't able to happen. Which sucks. I would LOVE to meet up with my old buds on here at some point. Seems strange to have been so invested in people's lives for so long yet never met them in person. Any of you guys want to trek up here to Canada feel free ha ha ha. Once we can travel again, believe you me get ready for a visit.

[OceanEyes28]

I missed my 10 year mark. At least, I don't remember mentioning anything about it. Now it's been over 11 years.

My brother and a friend got me to join. I hadn't really played any of the FFs when I joined, but I did through the years. And I don't think I actually said much during my first year as a member. I remember starting a journal in 2003, and then getting invited into the AIM chatroom as a result of that, and participating in an RP with a few members who were active back then: Anarchy (who I later dated in high school and college - we went to the same art school - for almost 3 years) and El Uno Nut (Walter these days). Also Piroblaze (Victoria now) was very welcoming. I talked to Cesar, Spike, and che a LOT back then. I remember Pete in the chatrooms, but he wasn't on as much by then, if I remember correctly. I am still fond of all o' dem. Cesar and I had a thang and made out in a book store once.......... TFF is pretty much my online dating site, so..

In 2006, I was in AIM chats with Anarchy (later LoverBoy), Archis, Bunny, Strong Bad, and Melanie most of the time. Also SoldierNUMBERs (or S) when he was online. I made us MS Paint banners like these:




^Valentine potato is because Dan (Anarchy) carved a potato valentine for me?

And I started talking to Pete more. Also Jin Kazama (Djinn now). His name is Andy, and we sent each other Christmas gifts across the globe. I sent him ginger snaps and peppermint bark. I still use the neck pillow he sent me all the time. And I can't forget my other favorite Englishman, Joe (Neo Necron). But I called him JOOOEEEEEEEE. I also talked to .ecKs. (or however his name was damn capitalized) quite a bit, and he even got phone cards to call me from Canada every so often. He was a really nice guy even if he did **** around on the forum a lot.

Later on, I got to know rJflow too. We are redheads together, and he's jelly of everything awesome about the south because he lives in Canada land.

Speaking of reheads, Danica (Ryu)and I sported redhead banners that she made for a while. Spicy.

Around 2008 or 2009, I started talking to Rocky and later Gypsy. And che came back around, and I started talking to him again too. Sometime around then, I was either GC mod or I had already been made an Smod, and a bunch of the dudes started talking some crazy shit on the forum. I told them to stop, and they invited me into a chatroom to insult me and tell me to get the sand out of my vagina. I don't think I spoke to any of them again until they apologized, and they eventually did.

I consider che one of my dearest friends, but I've banned him before lol.

There are many others that I could mention. The point of all this: I came here because of the members and I stayed because of the members. The community waxes and wanes, but it will always be dear to me.


EDIT: LMAO I also made this hahahahaa
Everyone wanted to be sailor scouts, so we all picked our person and I made that awful thing. Still with MS Paint.

[SuperSabin]

Lets see... how did Sabin get here? I remember roaming around this site before I actually went and made an account. I was mainly looking for a Final Fantasy community website to talk about, you know, final fantasy.

Now let us jump to 2007. I started to take a broader step into the world and join the TFF chat room on AIM (back when it was there) and met people like Noah, Joe, and Rocky. From there I've started making friends with more and more people like Ruin, Mel, Josh, Meier, Loco, Dodie, etc.

2010 I got banned for my stupidity, that is all I'm going to say on that matter.

2011ish, I was brought back in and did my usual posting and stuff, and I feel I have come back as a completely different person compared to back when I first joined.

[B3atingu]

I came because I was looking for peoples opinions on the new FF4 for Android.

I stayed because everyone is so damned opinionated here I just couldn't get enough. Almost to the point where if the people talking were in the same room someone would get knocked out.

Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using Tapatalk 2

[LocoColt04]

Heh, that definitely sounds like us. Opinionated to a fault! But at the end of the day, most of us still love and respect each other. It's certainly entertaining, if nothing else.


~ sent from my Galaxy Note 3 via Tapatalk Pro

[Michael Swayne]

Like several others, I came to TFF to find out information on a game I was having trouble with (Final Fantasy XII). And to this day, I still haven't finished that game. I don't think I even played Final Fantasy XII this year, so maybe I should start that back up. Maybe next year. Oh wait...

I was also going through some things homeside that TFF helped me survive. I was living on my own through a majority of my time here. And not because I moved out or anything. For more information, check my old journal. Anyway, the people here became my family. My family that sits in my computer and I can turn to whenever; be it happy, sad, angry, etc. I don't think I would be this crazy without them. Maybe I would. I don't know.

After things homeside became better, I stuck around to tell those supported me about everything. And when it started crashing down again, TFF was there to help pick up the pieces with me.

Anyway, I stayed because the people.

[Yoko]

To be completely honest, it's been over two years, and I really can't remember how I fell upon this awesome forum. I know like most other forums, it was through google. But I was already using Square Forums for the longest time prior to joining TFF. Maybe it was because Square had become bugged and I was looking for another place to fill the gap, but since Square forums is back up, I now use both. I like both forums equally. The people here and the people there are both equally awesome. And I have found ways to fit in here as well.

The forum rules took a little getting used to, but I eventually found friends, new and old. I am able to call this place a home. It's my go to place. People are always willing to lend an ear. It's nice. Also, since this place is a lot more active, coming here for the one off advice seeking session is super rewarding. The staff here are also super nice and helpful when something goes wrong. They are also quite fair. ^_^.

I stay because you people are very cool headed, easy to talk to, and very friendly. It's hard to find now a days. I also stay for the blog. Your comments and such have always been helpful.

Here's to many more years of awesomeness!

[Angantyr]

Because I was currently into the FF games, why else? Obviously not the reason I stayed though.

[Cyanist]

Got here: I remember it perfectly. I had been kicked out of a movie forum FOR PREFERRING JACK BAUER OVER JOHN MCCLANE!!!! (though I do really respect John McClane, I mean the guy triumphed over impossible odds, but as a character, I do think Jack Bauer is more believable, I mean, the guy CRIED in season 1, right?)
Anyway, after the moderator evicted me with a balonious-sounding reason: "SOCK" what the french is a sock anyway? I felt angry and betrayed. It was then that I remembered how fun Final Fantasy was and I found there were forums for fans. And TFF! I experienced the 'TFF light version first' which looked so playful and made me feel welcome.

Staying: Anyway, I did give another FF forums a try after the restructuring of TFF, it had more activity and cooler stuff, but I found most of the people there to be rude and downright disgusting at times. I guess I'd rather be trying to make things interesting here with nicer friends as opposed to being constantly excited and insulted over there. So I'm here to stay.

[loaf]

TFF Light 4 lyfe

[Sean]

a friend of mine from high school (currently Loki on the boards) pointed me here after we were on a Xenogears dedicated forum. Back in those days this was a ridiculously popular forum, the busiest I'd posted on (I was also 14) so I hung around. I come back through the years mostly out of nostalgia.

[Pete]

Nostalgia? You mean you miss my cheeky antics!

[Unknown Entity]

I joined Valentines Day 2008 after an argument that ended the "relationship" I'd had at the time. I stayed home and played FFVII that night. FFVII kind of became my go-to game when I felt upset or lonely. That time, however, I decided I wanted to do something I'd not done before I the game I don't remember what though... Maybe breed a gold chocobo?). My school had give. Me a laptop for studies, so I had Internet access for pretty much anything I wanted that wasn't blocked.

TFF was one of the few gaming related forums that weren't blocked.

I stayed, I guess, because I made friends. I wasn't the easiet of people to get along with, and at one stage had four warnings to my name. I ranted and raved over those things like a little bitch lol. Oceaneyes got a lot of hate. Then I found out she's a red head, so [I think] we're cool now, heh.

My favourite section was Humour and Word Games, and had easily over three thousand posts I there before I'd made a few hundred in the rest of the forum. It was there that I got into making banners and signatures, and I'd like to think I was pretty good. I've won an award or two. This was back when Tiger Lily, Craven, Halie and Violet were very active, and there was worthy competition, bwahaha. It was fun, but I think voting became nasty and childish at one stage, and if TFF is known for something, it's drama. xD

Anyway. I made friends, and lost a few friends. I guess my best friends at one stage were Rikkuffx and Martin, but I fell out with both of them about the same time. Me and Martin started takking again a year or so later, and still talk now and then via Facebook and Twitter, but I've not spoken to Becca in over four years. There was loner-kid too, who I thought was awesome, but I slowly lost interest in the forum, and stopped catching up. I don't think he comes here any more.

Then I got talking to Joe and Victoria, and life changed a lot. Me and Joe talked every day, got close and became TFF cousins. Me and Vicky were in a long distance relationship for two years. At one stage, I was saving pl my money up for a trip over to meet them both, and to eventually move and live over in America one day. I guess that changed when I got a job, met someone closer to home who I liked, and took one of the biggest risks I think I've ever taken... I'm still with the person I met over here three years on, I barely talk to Joe now (we're still cool though), and last I spoke to Victoria was in a group conversation about one and a half years ago.

Since the demise of MSN, I've neglected many of my friends on here. I guess having a job, a boyfriend, being a gamer and bit having a lot of time is my reason, but it sounds more like an excuse. I miss those conversations me, Victoria, Joey and Bleachfangirl used to have (I still remember almost dying by choking on a Dorito at one, and there's a quote ir two in my sig from that girl - she's a LEGEND) and many others. Might have to bite the bullet and Skype it up one night. Anyone up for a classic CPC8 and PRK9 Toga Party?

I don't really know why I keep coming back, tbh. Sometimes it's nice to visit home, I suppose - I consider this place my home in the web. It's where I've had some really awesome memories, made some of the biggest plans of my life, met the coolest people and experienced the most drama. Oh, and I'm a mod, and once I think I've just about forgotten this place, someone ****s up and gets reported, and I get an email to remind me of my place. xD

I'll be celebrating my sixth year here next month. Wow.

Here's to a few more years!

EDIT: It might not be evident in this post, but I also developed my writing skills on here. Typing on an iTouch is a pain in the ass!

[LocoColt04]

"So like, you know, I saw she was a redhead and then we were bestest friends forever."

Redheads fix everything.


~ sent from my Galaxy Note 3 via Tapatalk Pro