Hello everyone!

Johto Times here. I have been a Pokémon fan since it was first released here in the UK back in 1999. I have a fondness for the earliest era of the franchise, and express that with a weekly newsletter.

I am extremely happy to see a returning forum from the past! @pokejungle has been extremely supportive towards my project since it's infancy, and I am proud to call our two projects friends.

When the conversation moved from close-knit forum communities, to social media, we lost a lot of the uniqueness and charm that passion projects brought with them. Likes, retweets, being seen, going viral, it was all about being popular and being better than others. Suddenly, our messages were reaching far beyond their intended circle, and now the world was our stage. In return, we were exposed to many unsavoury types, and gave the billionaire social media companies our time and data. The conversation was dictated by the people making the initial post, and the ability to create our own topics in a shared space disappeared.

While forum software didn't move as quickly to accomodate the tech, they were genuine and heartfelt. They were a source of creativity, a place where we could share fanfiction, artwork, and our excitement and passion. I miss them, and I hope this can be the start of a resurgence within the community to create our own space, express ourselves, and enjoy each other's company.

Forums absolutely deserve to return, and I am pleased to see an older community return. I look forward to making new friends here, whether that be returning users from the past, or brand-new contributors who are using the forum for the first time. Best of luck to the team, and I hope this will be a huge success!

With Mt. Moon, we have an opportunity to shape it in an image that we can be proud of.

Edited March 14Mar 14 by JohtoTimes
Original post was cut off, and a lot of what I was saying was lost. I attempted to write it up again as best as I could

Hi!!! welcome! As I tell you all the time I LOVE your newsletter!!!

5 hours ago, Zachery said:

Hi!!! welcome! As I tell you all the time I LOVE your newsletter!!!

Thank you very much, that's very kind! I look forward to spending some time here on Mt. Moon, and getting involved in different conversations as and when I have some time!

Welcome, glad you are here! Thanks for joining :) Hope that you share your newsletters in the fan creation forum when they come out!

Your work has been really important preserving the memories of website and community owners and fan experiences. Always a fun read.

18 hours ago, JohtoTimes said:

When the conversation moved from close-knit forum communities, to social media, we lost a lot of the uniqueness and charm that passion projects brought with them. Likes, retweets, being seen, going viral, it was all about being popular and being better than others. Suddenly, our messages were reaching far beyond their intended circle, and now the world was our stage. In return, we were exposed to many unsavoury types, and gave the billionaire social media companies our time and data. The conversation was dictated by the people making the initial post, and the ability to create our own topics in a shared space disappeared.

Agree so heavily with this!

Hi I'm glad to see you again here in Mt. Moon!

22 hours ago, JohtoTimes said:

When the conversation moved from close-knit forum communities, to social media, we lost a lot of the uniqueness and charm that passion projects brought with them. Likes, retweets, being seen, going viral, it was all about being popular and being better than others. Suddenly, our messages were reaching far beyond their intended circle, and now the world was our stage. In return, we were exposed to many unsavoury types, and gave the billionaire social media companies our time and data. The conversation was dictated by the people making the initial post, and the ability to create our own topics in a shared space disappeared.

I agree with your statement, social media is truly getting worse. The algorithm tracks us, treats us like puppets and alter our minds by predicting our interests, even alot of ai bots are taking over feeds and feeding us misinformation thus why the dead internet theory is getting relevant

Anyways I hope you'd continue your newsletter project!!

10 hours ago, pokejungle said:

Welcome, glad you are here! Thanks for joining :) Hope that you share your newsletters in the fan creation forum when they come out!

Your work has been really important preserving the memories of website and community owners and fan experiences. Always a fun read.

Agree so heavily with this!

Thanks very much for the warm welcome, and your kind words about the newsletter. While it's a very kind offer, I would feel like I was exploiting your community to promote my words, and right now the focus is to help to grow this forum and its audience! In the future, if I share something relevant, then I may consider it :)

Keep up the great work!

6 hours ago, Tatsuscarda said:

Hi I'm glad to see you again here in Mt. Moon!

I agree with your statement, social media is truly getting worse. The algorithm tracks us, treats us like puppets and alter our minds by predicting our interests, even alot of ai bots are taking over feeds and feeding us misinformation thus why the dead internet theory is getting relevant

Anyways I hope you'd continue your newsletter project!!

Thanks for your kind words also, and the warm welcome! I don't think we can expect forums to replace social media, and we should try to make those platforms work for us to help grow our small forums. Show people that there is an alternative out there to the norm, and how it can be beneficial! Even then, a small, close-knit community is far better than a large and overwhelming one.