OO Anniversary check-in

Bakhtosh · Post by **Bakhtosh** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 4:52 pm

Yeah, it's definitely him. I sent him a FB message, but not a friend request. He seemed to want his privacy, so it was more of a "just wanted to let you know we're still here" type thing. I'll report back if he replies.

Madmarcus · Post by **Madmarcus** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 5:07 pm

Just a new recruit in this land of hope and glory.

I knew I was new compared to you guys but I'm still surprised to find that my oldest post is from 2007. I thought I had been around longer than that!

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 5:27 pm

I've only been here since 2005 and I'm not exactly one of the old-timers but OO has been my forum home for 11 years now. Happy Anniversary! It used to be a somewhat livelier place and has dropped off over the past few years which makes me a little sad. But it's still home.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 6:16 pm

Bakhtosh wrote:Yeah, it's definitely him. I sent him a FB message, but not a friend request. He seemed to want his privacy, so it was more of a "just wanted to let you know we're still here" type thing. I'll report back if he replies.

I met him back in the day, and that is certainly him. I've seen him online before (I don't recall where), but my impression, after GG, was that he wanted his privacy. With the crap that he went through, I never blamed him for that and just decided to let things go. Perhaps he'll find this thread and register. He'd be welcome as far as I'm concerned.

I'm just glad to see he's OK.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 6:26 pm

He registered here a long time ago. With a year of our founding I believe, and had his say.

Bakhtosh · Post by **Bakhtosh** » Mon Nov 07, 2016 6:28 pm

I got a reply from Rich:

Thank you for the kind thoughts. I'm glad there's some part of Gone Gold that is still around. I look back on that time in my life fondly, before I got so sick. It was a very tough journey afterwards and knowing I disappointed so many people didn't help.
At the moment, I am computerless believe it or not, but the Holidays are right around the corner. I'm playing my games on consoles and handhelds at the moment. Just got the remastered Skyrim that I plan on taking me through the winter. As a break from that, Dragon Quest Builders is a great game too.
Thanks again for thinking of me and please give my regards to anyone that still remembers me fondly as well, no matter how few there may be.
God Bless and Safe Tour, Rich LaPorte

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Mon Nov 07, 2016 6:40 pm

Trent Steel wrote:I miss the days of the Guitar Hero/Rock Band battles.

Seriously, those were so damn much fun.

And Fretmute made every one of us look silly.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Mon Nov 07, 2016 7:09 pm

Bakhtosh wrote:I got a reply from Rich:
Thank you for the kind thoughts. I'm glad there's some part of Gone Gold that is still around. I look back on that time in my life fondly, before I got so sick. It was a very tough journey afterwards and knowing I disappointed so many people didn't help.
At the moment, I am computerless believe it or not, but the Holidays are right around the corner. I'm playing my games on consoles and handhelds at the moment. Just got the remastered Skyrim that I plan on taking me through the winter. As a break from that, Dragon Quest Builders is a great game too.
Thanks again for thinking of me and please give my regards to anyone that still remembers me fondly as well, no matter how few there may be.
God Bless and Safe Tour, Rich LaPorte

Thanks, warms my heart to know he is well.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Nov 07, 2016 7:14 pm

Oh wow, that's great - thanks for posting the update. Glad to hear he's well...and still gaming.

Kelric · Post by **Kelric** » Mon Nov 07, 2016 11:42 pm

Good to see a few words from our former fearless leader. His little website grew to impact hundreds of us in some important ways.

Kraken wrote:
RunningMn9 wrote:
Kraken wrote:I am no longer the optimist that I was back then, so we wouldn't have that dynamic anymore.
Ironically I think I'm less of a pessimist these days, so we could try that dynamic. Give me a few days to see if anything looks particularly interesting.

I'm also a lot less argumentative these days, so maybe that will make it less intimidating for others.
Then on some level we might be arguing with our past selves as much as with one another. That could be interesting, if only to us!

I'm probably roughly the same. I guess I know more words now, communicate them more poorly thanks to less sleep, plus I am sure that I tend to think slightly differently since I have to take a kid into consideration, but I'm still on the side of humans fuck stuff up and we need to and maybe will but probably won't make them better. I guess it depends how much beer I had when responding to RM9's novels back then and how much beer I have now.

On the car discussion and LM saying he feels less like leading by example;

I'm hoping the next car is electric, or at least a hybrid. We get 95% of our meat from local farmers who use good practices and treat their animals well (but of course animals take up a lot more acreage than veggies) and most of our summer fruit and vegetables are local, but we're pretty bad about eating that nicely in the spring and winter. We compost about 2/3rds of our veg and fruit scraps, but have a small garden. My lawn mower is sadly powered by gasoline and we have a decent sized lawn, but are converting some of it to a wild-ish garden. We tend to buy used furniture and not a lot of clothes, but a lot of Legos (plastic everywhere!). My town recycles and owns the power plant so my energy costs are low. I'm hoping the next house can get some solar panels (the neighbor has a giant tree that blocks my roof just enough to make it a hassle and as we have our own power plant they won't buy energy back to the grid from me). We live a moderately consumptive lifestyle compared to the rest of the world but I like to think that we're in the bottom tier of American wastefulness (except for the minimalists, as I could never convince my wife to go that route).

Zenn7 · Post by **Zenn7** » Tue Nov 08, 2016 12:25 am

Smoove_B wrote:Oh wow, that's great - thanks for posting the update. Glad to hear he's well...and still gaming.

Ditto. I was not really involved much in GG forums much (I was there oddly enough for the release date information, odd, I know :p ). But he seemed like a good guy who provided a lot to the gaming world for a while. Good to know he's still gaming given what a huge part of his life that was during that time at least.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Tue Nov 08, 2016 2:01 am

Odd he would be without a computer these days. How does one survive without one? I'd just curl up into a ball until I could get another.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Tue Nov 08, 2016 2:51 am

Kelric wrote:Good to see a few words from our former fearless leader. His little website grew to impact hundreds of us in some important ways.

Kraken wrote:
RunningMn9 wrote:
Kraken wrote:I am no longer the optimist that I was back then, so we wouldn't have that dynamic anymore.
Ironically I think I'm less of a pessimist these days, so we could try that dynamic. Give me a few days to see if anything looks particularly interesting.

I'm also a lot less argumentative these days, so maybe that will make it less intimidating for others.
Then on some level we might be arguing with our past selves as much as with one another. That could be interesting, if only to us!
I'm still on the side of humans fuck stuff up and we need to and maybe will but probably won't make them better.

I am less inclined to believe (although I still hope) that the science got us into this mess is going to get us out. Global warming is a much bigger threat now than it seemed back in the day.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Tue Nov 08, 2016 1:19 pm

Bakhtosh wrote:I got a reply from Rich:
Thank you for the kind thoughts. I'm glad there's some part of Gone Gold that is still around. I look back on that time in my life fondly, before I got so sick. It was a very tough journey afterwards and knowing I disappointed so many people didn't help.
At the moment, I am computerless believe it or not, but the Holidays are right around the corner. I'm playing my games on consoles and handhelds at the moment. Just got the remastered Skyrim that I plan on taking me through the winter. As a break from that, Dragon Quest Builders is a great game too.
Thanks again for thinking of me and please give my regards to anyone that still remembers me fondly as well, no matter how few there may be.
God Bless and Safe Tour, Rich LaPorte

Thank you for sharing with us. Can't believe he doesn't have a PC, but I'm not surprised to hear that he's found a way to keep gaming.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Tue Nov 08, 2016 1:37 pm

I'm just glad Rich is better. If you've been away from the PC for awhile, I expect it would be hard to get back in. I'm rebuilding a server PC for my kids to refresh my knowledge.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Nov 08, 2016 1:54 pm

The Meal wrote:
Bakhtosh wrote:I got a reply from Rich:
Thank you for the kind thoughts. I'm glad there's some part of Gone Gold that is still around. I look back on that time in my life fondly, before I got so sick. It was a very tough journey afterwards and knowing I disappointed so many people didn't help.
At the moment, I am computerless believe it or not, but the Holidays are right around the corner. I'm playing my games on consoles and handhelds at the moment. Just got the remastered Skyrim that I plan on taking me through the winter. As a break from that, Dragon Quest Builders is a great game too.
Thanks again for thinking of me and please give my regards to anyone that still remembers me fondly as well, no matter how few there may be.
God Bless and Safe Tour, Rich LaPorte
Thank you for sharing with us.

+1. I'd have never imposed but it's nice to have a heartfelt response and know that he's keeping on and not a bitter human being.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Tue Nov 08, 2016 2:10 pm

Zarathud wrote:I'm just glad Rich is better. If you've been away from the PC for awhile, I expect it would be hard to get back in. I'm rebuilding a server PC for my kids to refresh my knowledge.

One could also just buy a laptop for about $250 (or less, if a used one off Fleabay would do).

wonderpug · Post by **wonderpug** » Tue Nov 08, 2016 2:19 pm

Thanks a lot for doing that, Bakhtosh. Really nice to hear an update.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Tue Nov 08, 2016 3:12 pm

Blackhawk wrote:
Bakhtosh wrote:Yeah, it's definitely him. I sent him a FB message, but not a friend request. He seemed to want his privacy, so it was more of a "just wanted to let you know we're still here" type thing. I'll report back if he replies.
I met him back in the day, and that is certainly him. I've seen him online before (I don't recall where), but my impression, after GG, was that he wanted his privacy. With the crap that he went through, I never blamed him for that and just decided to let things go. Perhaps he'll find this thread and register. He'd be welcome as far as I'm concerned.

I'm just glad to see he's OK.

Ditto.

Also, thanks, Bakhtosh.

KKBlue · Post by **KKBlue** » Tue Nov 08, 2016 9:00 pm

Bakhtosh wrote:Yeah, it's definitely him. I sent him a FB message, but not a friend request. He seemed to want his privacy, so it was more of a "just wanted to let you know we're still here" type thing. I'll report back if he replies.

Thanks for writing to him. Excellent he replied.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 2:23 am

Thanks so much for that update. It's good to hear from him again, even if by proxy.

Inverarity · Post by **Inverarity** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 3:20 am

Wow, Rich looks great in that facebook picture. I'm glad to hear he is doing okay. Thanks for posting that update.

While I'm at it, I'll just add that I was on GG around 98 or 99 (can't recall). I still lurk here occasionally, but not as much as I used to. Life, even life online, can take you on so many different journeys. I'm still happy when one of those journeys leads me back here, if only for a moment or two.

noxiousdog · Post by **noxiousdog** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 11:48 am

Who are you people again?

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 11:58 am

I have been around since the GG days, but more of a lurker there, and still more of a lurker here. I do play WW games, so that crew knows me, and I have gone to a few Octocons, so I have met some of the Chicago and Detroit crews.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 12:03 pm

Check this Gone Gold page I found. I got a chuckle at the Baldurs Gate 2 demo thats 640 megs and it was a worry to download. lol.

https://web.archive.org/web/20001109023 ... egold.com/

Reemul · Post by **Reemul** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 2:40 pm

I read GG but never registered, my 2 main hangouts were here and the Championship Manager (Soccer) forums.

I have never been a prolific poster anywhere but still read here daily.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 2:46 pm

Daehawk wrote:Check this Gone Gold page I found. I got a chuckle at the Baldurs Gate 2 demo thats 640 megs and it was a worry to download. lol.

https://web.archive.org/web/20001109023 ... egold.com/

The linked review for Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force uses the fact that it is a shooter and not too complex to suggest that the game's manual being only 57 pages long shouldn't be held against it.

Bakhtosh · Post by **Bakhtosh** » Thu Nov 17, 2016 2:39 am

As someone recruited by Rich to serve on the GG staff, I know he didn't owe me a response of any kind, but I did feel a little emboldened to try.

I was honestly happy to find him alive, standing, and seemingly well...at least better. Hearing back from him was a treat.

I'm actually without a PC right now too. My surge suppressor/UPS died. I bought a new one and some upgrade components, and need to rearrange my desk area, but life has intervened to kick my ass. I'm trying to manage a household by myself, stay heavily involved in my daughters' lives even though they don't stay here half the time, prepare for the real possibility of a divorce, work my way towards getting my Professional Engineer license, try to not lose my job because I'm too stressed out to sleep some nights, and still have time to indulge my favorite hobby...the iPad makes it easier to fit gaming into my life.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Nov 17, 2016 9:52 am

I'm sorry to hear that you're going through such difficult times. Try to keep your head up. And if the insomnia gets too bad, seek medical assistance.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Thu Nov 17, 2016 7:50 pm

Blackhawk wrote:When I finally got the internet, I went to check out his site. I have no idea what motivated me, but I decided to join the forum. I'd never participated in a forum before (although I'd spent plenty of time on newsgroups.) The Gonegolders Project says I joined on June 28, 2001.

Funny - I can't find myself on there, yet I know that I was posting on GG prior to the pulling of the plug and the exodus to GT/OO/BC/Popehat/Qt3.

I remember Andy always posting that his game of the month was Dominions, and since Dominions 4 came out, it's got 3-4 times as many hours as any other game in my Steam library.

I remember Eli before he was a 1.0 version. He's 15.x now - holy smokes! It's been fun to watch Bill Harris continue to post about him (as well as becoming a game developer - congrats Bill!).

I remember being afraid to venture into P&R, but finally being drawn in around the Bush v. Gore election. I still have one of GuidoTKP's posts about abortion saved, as it made (and still makes) so much sense to me. RM9 was a beast with his multiple quote stacks/replies back in the day.

I remember Mr Fed and Tareeq with their finely developed sense of snark.

I remember the plug getting pulled and feeling like I'd lost a friend. Then having to decide which forum to go to. I'm glad I ended up here, though I still post @ GT (then CG) every now and then

I'm glad for the opportunities I've had to meet up with other OO'ers, as well as game with them - we had some great Dominions games, Solium Infernum games, and I even got in on some Guild Wars and others. Also did most of my xBox gaming with OO'ers and GT'ers - had some fun games of Catan, and some good times with Philly PeteRock. I don't get as much MP gaming in as I'd like, but our gaming time availability has definitely changed over the years.

I remember The Meal and his poker games (and all the new emoticons for the cards), the aborted attempts at Arkham Horror by forum, and skipping over all of the werewolf games.

I remember being atop the list of ThreadKillers when it first came out. I guess I just had the knack for getting a last word in, or so discouraging other OO'er from posting

.

I'm looking forward to making an OO get-together one of these days, but they always seem to be in Chicago - how about a West Coast/Vegas one one of these days?

I still love our corner of the internet. Thanks OO'ers for almost 20 wonderful years! Looking forward to the next 20!

and PS - who can forget the greatest OO'er of all time

U2k...

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Thu Nov 17, 2016 8:29 pm

Pyperkub wrote:
Blackhawk wrote:When I finally got the internet, I went to check out his site. I have no idea what motivated me, but I decided to join the forum. I'd never participated in a forum before (although I'd spent plenty of time on newsgroups.) The Gonegolders Project says I joined on June 28, 2001.
Funny - I can't find myself on there, yet I know that I was posting on GG prior to the pulling of the plug and the exodus to GT/OO/BC/Popehat/Qt3.

Ditto. I started out slow because I was representing my company, but gradually busted out of the PC Games forum and became more prolific. In fact, I know that I joined on Halloween 1999.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Thu Nov 17, 2016 9:29 pm

Pyperkub wrote:I'm looking forward to making an OO get-together one of these days, but they always seem to be in Chicago - how about a West Coast/Vegas one one of these days?

I wish I had the time and energy to another OO Vegas style. Mentally, I'm ready to go back and even bring some money with me this time. Time and oomph are not friendly to me though.

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Thu Nov 17, 2016 9:41 pm

I just noticed the update. It's great to hear from the Chief Knucklehead!

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:32 pm

Thirteen years...

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:43 pm

The overlord is a teenager now! Expect lots of sulking.

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:51 pm

Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:43 pm The overlord is a teenager now! Expect lots of sulking.

and

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 4:30 pm

Moliere wrote: ↑Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:51 pm
Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:43 pm The overlord is a teenager now! Expect lots of sulking.
and

and

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:10 pm

Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:43 pm The overlord is a teenager now! Expect lots of sulking.

More than we already get?

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:46 pm

Rip wrote: ↑Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:53 pm
Bakhtosh wrote:Is there anyone on here who actually met Rich?
Found this Facebook profile. He has a couple of NYPD friends, along with some family members whose names look familiar.

https://www.facebook.com/itslaporte

Did you look at favorites:other?

Indianapolis Colts, Sookie Stackhouse, The Church of Bob Ross, Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale, Hofstra Law, Logic Artists, HealthyWage, Hamilton County FOP 103 Indiana, Viper Aquatics, Spot Bar, Sheriff David Clarke Jr. The People's Sheriff, NYPD, Donald J. Trump, Dana Carvey, Fantastic things in the worldand more
I could really use him back on my team as I am currently heavily outnumbered.

Well, Dana Carvey hasn't done anything of note recently, so if that goes in the order they were added, it could have been from his Apprentice days

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:46 pm

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:10 pm
Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:43 pm The overlord is a teenager now! Expect lots of sulking.
More than we already get?

Maybe we can learn to drive one of these days?