Pokeschool finally replaced by Pokemon TCGPlayer

[Linkachu]

Has everyone seen the main Pokeschool homepage lately? If not, go look. Pokeschool no longer exists it would seem :p

You can still reach the site by the www.pokeschool.com url but the homepage has been completely revamped. The old page was getting stale, but losing the name too? ... Am I the only one who finds that a bit ominous for the future of this community (or whatever little bit of the community is left)? The only thing we have now that keeps it true to its roots is that Pokeschool pic up top the forums... Me wonders how long that'll last.

Thoughts? I haven't been here as long as most of you so this shouldn't be as big a deal for me, but I don't see it as a positive change for holding this place together.

(Guys, try to keep the flaming down :P)

[Bullados]

I, for one, was kinda hoping that they'd keep the Pokeschool moniker, just cuz it was (once) the top place to talk Pokemon, especially the TCG, before TC took over...

Either way, I really don't know what's going on behind this decision. I mean, I can understand redoing the main page, but FOR GOD'S SAKE, KEEP THE MONIKER!!! It was one of the few things that the site really had going for it; the perceived relavence in today's Pokemon gaming community.

[redeyes15]

well, sometimes changes are for the better, and it could actually help the site out! All it really needs is a couple of people that are devoted enough to the game to help out other people!

[Linkachu]

I dunno. The last big change around this place - moving forums - has been said to be the leading cause of this current silence. While that's true or not people tend to hate change, and at a time like this I don't think even more of it is a good thing... unless people really just don't care anymore.

[RLRL]

=( I don't like it... I mean, ive only been a member of Pokéschool since last april, but at the same time, this place really doesn't feel like home to me, I still long for us to return to our old forums... thanks but no thanks IMO...

[Baboon]

I never did like the whole conversion into "part of TCGplayer". As time goes on, Pokeschool's becoming less and less like it used to be. I'm quite certain that once I'm done with updating the main site, there won't be much of any of the old Pokeschool still around. Magmar's not around to find news updates like he always used to, my articles won't be around forever, the forums were sent over here and died, the site lost its old layout...
Eh. I just don't really think things will be anything like they used to. I know I have my intentions of wrapping up on a given date. I'm not saying when, but once that day comes, unless someone else takes the role of Magmar (pre-2005) and me, it will be "lost" to TCGplayer forever.

*Note- I'm not saying TCGplayer is bad. I'm only saying Pokeschool, as its own name and own history, will cease to exist.
**Note 2- I don't like the layout. =\ I was emailed asking how I liked it. I responded saying "I prefer the old version, but I won't stop you from changing it." That simply meant "I don't like it, but I know you're going to change it anyway." =\

[Linkachu]

Am I the only one who sees this all as a big "I told you so" from Gary? He said Pokeschool was on its way to the grave, and in a twisted way that's come true. The site, Pokeschool, is dead - maybe not in spirit, but anyone new who visits the place from here on in will never experience it the way past members have. As for the forums? All I have to say is... just look at the place. Can anyone really still try to convince themselves that this is nothing more than a "phase"?

I was wondering what you'd have to say, Baboon... If this place is in for even more changes I'm afraid to see what'll be left of it once it's all said and done =/

[Baboon]

Yeah. I don't think anyone here except Chedy and his people have any high hopes for this site. Magmar leaving really was a big blow to the site. I did what I could to keep it up through 2005, but I and everyone else probably realizes that it's not nearly what it used to be. It's a sad thing to watch, but there's nothing I could do...

[redeyes15]

oh, come on! if you guys really tried hard, i think that you guys could make a good environment. Memories are memories, and you can't live in them. If new people come to this site, it can only benefit it!

[Baboon]

Wrong. New people coming to the site. January 2005. Our boards moved here. Did that help? No.
Can't live on memories? What else does the site have going for it? It's pretty sad when the content manager is telling you there's little hope left.

[PKS LeeTupper]

I, for one, think that they're going totally overboard on the TCGPlayer bit. If I was them, I'd just go and stick "An affiliate of the TCG Player gaming magazine and internet community" up there. This is totally intrusive and disrespectful. I think I'll need to go whine in Cheddar's ear about this.

[Lugiasian]

Am I the only one who sees this all as a big "I told you so" from Gary? He said Pokeschool was on its way to the grave, and in a twisted way that's come true.

Nope, you share my opinion.

Gary might have been a tad power-hungry, but he was a hell of a better mod than Sal was IMO. C'mon, guys, we can't give up yet. We may no longer be Pokeschool in appearance, but we're still Pokeschool in spirit. Did the Americans give up during the Revolutionary War? No...

It's not over until the Jigglypuff sings, mmmmkay?

[Bullados]

We want our Pokeschool back!!! We want our Pokeschool back!!!

Guyz, if we spam this topic enough with that, he might just change that banner to something resembling Pokeschool.

We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!We want our Pokeschool back!!!

[praetoritevong]

the *fat* jigglypuff sings :P

Yeah, look, to be completely honest it doesn't surprise me one bit. When the forums were moved here, to be under TCGPlayer it's clear it was just phase 1 of slowly assimilating Pokéschool under TCGPlayer as a whole. That of course doesn't mean I like it one bit. The title says we're pokemon under TCGPlayer. Does it feel that way to anyone from the old boards? Doubtful. They basically took away our forums and took away our individualism, and now they're trying the same with the site. An assimilation, de facto, if not in mind.

EDIT: Bullados, as much as I understand the spirit, that really doesn't amount to much more than a pointless eyesore -.-"

[Pikachu]

Gary might have been a tad power-hungry, but he was a hell of a better mod than Sal was IMO.

That had nothing to do with Katies comment or the topic we should be discussing. Stop bringing your vendetta against Sal into every damn topic you post in.

As for pokeschool, what is there left to say. They took the sites identity, we're now nothing more than another TCGplayer site. While the Yugioh, MTG and the other TCGplayer sites might not give a damn if it happened to there forums or websites. We do, pokeschool was it's own website, had it's own community. Now we've been reduced to the pokemon section of the TCGplayer forum. Hell, most of us don't even play the TCG! If I'm not mistaken the pokemon TCG forums are the least posted in. Chedy and co. need to start making some smart decisions or the site and the forum are really finished.

[RLRL]

Our forums were thriving on the old boards, we had people joining even on the day we moved, what happened when we moved, everyone basically said "whatever"... Gary was right, the place is being kept alive by less than 20 posters.. there are plenty of guestbooks for random sites that are being kept alive by more people than this... Its quite sad that this place is dying, I really miss coming online when i got home from school or something to find tonnes of active topics to post in...

[redeyes15]

Nope, you share my opinion.

Gary might have been a tad power-hungry, but he was a hell of a better mod than Sal was IMO. C'mon, guys, we can't give up yet. We may no longer be Pokeschool in appearance, but we're still Pokeschool in spirit. Did the Americans give up during the Revolutionary War? No...

It's not over until the Jigglypuff sings, mmmmkay?


thats the spirit.

[Lugiasian]

That had nothing to do with Katies comment or the topic we should be discussing. Stop bringing your vendetta against Sal into every damn topic you post in.

It's called a side note. Might wanna ask someone what it is.

As for your second comment, I'm gonna counter it with "Stop flaming me at every chance you get."

See, Redeyes knows what I'm talking about. ^_^ We can't just give up. Like Lee said, let's go whine about it to Chedy. It's not fair that we've lost our beloved moniker of Pokeschool. We have to stick together and fight this. The Boston Red Sox broke that darned curse, didn't they? We can do the same. We just have to keep trying.

[RLRL]

Okay this is just too far... GIVE US BACK OUR PSYDUCK!!!!

[Linkachu]

Well, looks like they just killed the last thing connecting this to Pokeschool... -.-

Disrespectful is too nice a term for this, Lee. Shows you what the community means to a site like TCGPlayer.

[RLRL]

Everyone follow suit... put psyduck in your avatar... show them EXACTLY who we are!

[Nemesis]

That's what I was going to say, and as soon as I post this Psyduck will be my avatar too.

i will be having words with Chedy very soon about this too, but first I have a few things to say.

Gary and Sal are nothing to do with this Steph, stop bringing up your whiney points at every chance you have, and sit down and shut up.

Unfortunatly, my RPing days have died of age, but that dosn't mean I'll leave this place to die.

[Linkachu]

I don't have as positive an outlook about my future at this place as you guys - IMO, Pokeschool is already dead - but hail the ducky!

Considering Chedy did all of this without even telling us first I don't think anything we do will change things back. If by some chance one of you guys can make a difference, though... I'll be here cheering you on (in some form at least).

[redeyes15]

well, pm chedy...........its as simple as that linkachu, and everyone one else that has complain about the site.

[Linkachu]

If it was "as simple as that" none of this would have happened in the first place =/

[Bullados]

I just sent my PM, asking him to bring back our Pokeschool. Everybody, please PM Chedy and ask him to bring it back. If he gets a lot of negative responses about the change to Pokemon @ TCGPlayer, then he'll eventually turn it back into the Pokeschool. If we want Pokeschool to live and to continue to be a part of the history of Pokemon, we have to do something about it. This thread is a start, but we have to bring our concerns to those in charge in order for them to be heard.

Link, nothing is ever simple. I'm going to PM Chedy every time that I log on until either the forums are dead or Chedy turns this place back into the Pokegym. CAn't get more straightforward than that, can you?

[Linkachu]

No... But you can waste your time. "Beating on a dead horse"... we've all heard that line before, and Pokeschool is turning into that. It might already be that. Sometimes people just have to accept that enough is enough and let it go.

I'll start sending PMs, too, but I'm not going to spend another year of my life on a lost cause. I've done it before and I learned my lesson. It won't be much longer until I can determine which this community is.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to be pessimistic here; I'm being realistic.

[redeyes15]

then pm him, and see what happens

[Linkachu]

I just did.

Anyways, I truely do wish I'd joined this community a year or so earlier when Gary had first mentioned it to me. Then I would've been able to experience it the way others did. The memories I hold are great, and the friends I've made even better, but it hasn't lasted long enough...

[RLRL]

Ive only been here 5ish months longer than you Linkachu, but at the same time, I much preferred the time i spent on the old boards... since we moved the main atmosphere has changed, its less of a friendly environment, and more like walking into Intensive care in the hospital, most topics won't come out alive... Okay bad representation, but still... All we've been concentrating was keeping this place alive since it moved, Hurt and Heal WAS doing that for a while, until everyone got political about it... Psh...

Oh and for the record... wow i didn't expect many people to change their avatars to psyduck.. this is so cool!

[redeyes15]

This is the best thing that has happened to this site i think, look at how many people have respnded here.....

[Prof. Cinders]

A year and a half I've been here, and look what happened... Good times until we moved. There are only a few things that can kill a forum in my opinion, and we seem to have all of them... At least the most of the active posters still care. And if Chedy hasn't noticed this topic yet, well, shows how much he cares. This forum is the first I joined, and it's changed and shaped my life all the time I've been here. I don't want to see it die now, or ever really. I'm going to cry in a far corner of the ORP boards until I come up with a good topic, and a few posters there... Keep us alive, people! ALIVE! Viva la Pokeschool!

[Baboon]

And, for the first time, I have changed my avatar.

[Bullados]

You are still more than welcome to refer to it as Pokeschool and the Pokeschool.com address will always work.


On behalf of the Pokemon community visiting TCGplayer, please bring back the Pokeschool. The reasoning behind our wants here is simple: we are a very nostalgic group. We like sameness. We treasure history. The Pokeschool is part of Pokemon's history, and we want it to continue being there for the players and for the community. Please bring back our Pokeschool.

Thank you,

Bullados
Not enough, Chedy. Not enough.

[Chedy]

Guys, I understand exactly what you are saying. Unfortunatly TCGplayer pays the bills and as such is what the "URL" needs to be. the Pokeschool.com address still works and you can always call this Pokeschool should you wish as tht was the first site I ever built and I have a lot of memories because of that name.

However, this now allows us to start running an article contest giving away $25.00 a week to promote community articles and a way to more easily funnel the pokemon magazine readers to the site. I apologize that this change had to happen, but the next step in the process is to now revive the communtiy feel.

[Salamence-trainer221]

I hope your not trying to say that giving away $25 each week is going to make us feel better, besides, barely any of us are interested in the Pokemon TCG. And how exactly are you planning on reviving the community?

[Prof. Cinders]

Exactly what I was thinking, Salamence... Although from what I'm seeing, Nem's trying his best in his own unique way to get us back up and running, RP wise. And I'm going to help where I can. I hope others are going to as well.

[Lugiasian]

Hey! It ate my post! :(

Yeah, Nem, I stopped the flame war in my post, and Katie knows it(I think.). But thanks for the criticism ^_^

(For any dimwit who doesn't know, that was sarcasm *rolls eyes*

Revive the community feel? Pfft. Don't make me laugh. Pokeschool was our community; all you want to do is make a buck out of it while we go ahead and suffer. $25 isn't gonna fix ****. You've screwed us over once, we're not gonna tolerate a deja vu. Taking away our Psyduck was the last straw. We're sick and tired of being crapped all over. I know Gary's smirking somewhere over on the other side of the world, and I don't blame the guy.

Right now I don't give a damn about Sal, or Nem, or Damien. I'm filled to the brim with violent rage to care. You were testing us to our limit, and now you've managed to push us over it.

Good job, Chedy. It must be nice to go to sleep knowing you've lost all of our respect.

[Linkachu]

Guys, I understand exactly what you are saying. Unfortunatly TCGplayer pays the bills and as such is what the "URL" needs to be. the Pokeschool.com address still works and you can always call this Pokeschool should you wish as tht was the first site I ever built and I have a lot of memories because of that name.

However, this now allows us to start running an article contest giving away $25.00 a week to promote community articles and a way to more easily funnel the pokemon magazine readers to the site. I apologize that this change had to happen, but the next step in the process is to now revive the communtiy feel.

Here's a question... Have you ever considered selling the www.pokeschool.com domain name? Even if you haven't, would you sell it? I'm not saying I myself would want to buy it - wouldn't have the cash - but I'm wondering if the offer is open whatsoever.

[Gibby]

Situations arise that brings out the true nature of all people. Sometimes those situations are just events that happen out of chance. Sometimes it is the words from others that spark that chain of events. Other times it is the result of another’s actions that leads to it; and yet sometimes it is just the way it happens.

I am not one to talk for I do not stick around in one place for long. As many of you may know, I come and go, come and go with no particular ordeal or any good reasoning behind it. I just tend to do that. I cannot call myself a regular. I am more like a seasonal visitor who comes around when the spare time is available.

But I was around for a short while on the old forums. I know what it was like to see new members come around and many new comments within topics to help move things along. It might not have been at the height of its popularity, but it was decent enough to keep it alive and kicking.

I have fond memories of PokéSchool. While it was not my first forum family, it was the first one that accepted me for who I was. I made many friends here, some of which I still contact from time to time (when I remember to turn on my Instant Massagers that is). I can also say that through the Role Playing posts, and the somewhat strict standards that are held here, I have grown in my writing. While I am still not perfect, compared to some of my earlier posts (back then), I have grown.

I learned first hand about Pokémon Role Playing from PokéSchool. I learned first hand about Role Playing in general from PokéSchool. I never heard of the concept till I became a member. And while I was not that great, you all encouraged me to continue and strengthen in my abilities.

The thing is, I remember many things, some of which were good, some which were bad. But once we had “the move,” things changed. I was away when the move happened, but I was around a few weeks after it, and I could already see the results of it. Many of the “regulars” were not happy, and anguish was present throughout the forums. But situations took place to try and make it home. While a mimicking deal was picked up, it was never the same. You can copy something on the outside, but the spirit is what really attracts the main focus, which was not present. I am not sure if it was due to the way things resulted or just the fact that the spirit left all the members, but I felt low during that time.

Then once again, I left for personal reasons, and came back again when I found the time. This time the forums were somewhat moving along, but only by a select few, those that stuck around, those that fought the fight, and were trying to finish the race. Once again I integrate myself into the main stream of things, learning about what I missed and what happened. I pick up where I left off, sort of, and try to become once again a member here.

Now, I am not sure what to think. This may contain the PokéSchool name, but it is not PokéSchool. PokéSchool was more then just a name and a place that we got together when we could, it was a family. A family is a group of people who stick together during tough situations (that is my personal definition of it). Many people here have done just that, and come to more hardships as their reward.

It is said that fire needs fuel to burn. That is true for a forum family. We need spirit to live. But current events and personal actions from some have split the family, and many have “moved on.”

I am not going to complain. I am not going to bash. There are already many here that are doing that for all of use. I am not happy, for PokéSchool was more to me durring my short times here then anyone can gues. We congregated under the Psyduck Swing banner for a long time, some for years on end. That Psyduck swing may just be a logo, but it was more then that to many of us; it was the spirit of PokéSchool. Everytime I saw it, I was told “welcome back.” It was welcoming. It might have been simple, it might not have been the best out there, but it IS PokéSchool.

I can deal with the flashy banners, and the color change that took place, but the striping ones identity is what makes me sad. I am not welcomed anymore. I am shoved into the age of technology and attention grabbing.

I cannot say that I see the end, but I know what others feel and think. I personally, if nothing more, would just like to see the logo back somewhere. That is not much to ask. I can deal with all the rest that happened, but the identity of PokéSchool is what I want back. I am no longer in PokéSchool, I am in a foreign place. I have lost my way, and now I cannot get back. My spirit is low, and my feelings are deep.

I may have rambled here, and some may not agree with what I said, but they are my feelings, and my thoughts on the current events. I am sad, I admit that, and while I may hold on to a small speck of hope, I am not sure how much longer that speck will last. A crumb does not last long in the hands of a starving person, and a star in the sky is not a cluster alone.

[ZAKtheGeek]

To be honest, it hasn't really been pokeschool for a long time now...

[pohatufan1returns]

Why, this is interesting. I come back from a month's absence (laid low by a broken network jack), hoping to perhaps stick in a good post or two to let the School know that Pohatu didn't really die, he was just comatose with severe head trauma, and I find that there's no more School to inform of anything.

I thought the community died when the forums moved. How wrong I was. That was the climactic blow, but here's where the opponent bends down and slits our hero's throat while he's on the floor. This little change -- just a new layout, and a new name, oh and no more Psyduck -- has slain Pokeschool forever. Yes, I once thought it couldn't get any deader. How wrong, how wrong indeed.

Well. It's time for one more Brown Barbaloot to flee this rapidly-dissolving forest of Truffula Trees. I'll not ramble on, as is my wont, but get to the point quickly: I'm off. Nothing left here. I wish the best of luck to Nemesis or whosomever may wish to assume the role of the Lorax, although I feel certain that even they will eventually lift themselves up by the seat of their pants and fly off into the clouds. Pessimism: a sentiment I have so often tried to avoid, yet which now cannot be helped.

Yes, another one bites the dust, although with me it will hardly make a difference. I've been far less active than I could have, not just recently but throughout my entire career at Pokeschool. I went through one extremely brief RP phase and that was all, and in fact I almost never posted outside of Misc. Topics (and Games, if that counts). The ratio of time I've spent here to things I've done is alarmingly high, but I can see now that that will never be rectified. I can do nothing in the future.

All I was ever good for, I suppose, was to evoke a few laughs. The occasional spark of wit. That's about all. I took no strong views on any matter here (except perhaps abortion), I had precious little to say on the subject of Pokemon, and I familiarized myself with too few people. These were my errors, but I would not grieve them if only they could be undone.

I'm sorry. I've rambled on after all, and about myself, too, isn't that ironic, one last burst of conceit from Pohatufan1? Please forgive me. At least it's the last. No more Norse mythology, no more camel knights, no more semicolons. All over.

You'll find me, I expect, nowhere, unless you happen to be Lugiasian, in which case another AIM conversation or two might be in order, although I would not count on it.

EDIT: Gibby speaks the truth.

[Lugiasian]

I'll make sure to sign on often on AIM, Pohatu. ^^

Is it really that time-consuming and difficult to just let us have the Snitz? -_- I think it's time that Pokeschool goes on a mass exodus. Give us the domain, let someone with skills handle it. I don't want to be a part of this anymore.

But we must stick together. Leave, but stick together. The Pokeschool spirit still burns within us, guys...

(Excuse my optimism. :()

[Andurin]

Well... this is.... interesting....

With the current atmosphere, I'm afraid I probably will take my coat off the rack and go on to somewhere..... Hopefully to a place with the rest of the community, but I dunno.... *shrug*

(prepare for random ramblings of me with no apparent order of senteces)

I've had such a great time here. I think this actualy was the first forum that I joined, and it may have started my internet-community wanting-ness. I had a lot of fun in the RP forum, and so far, this is the only place that I've actually actively RPed... I loved this place, all the way back in the days when it was still CCGcenter. I don't want this place to collapse. I wish for this place to come back to life, but the pessimist in me is saying it ain't gonna happen, and the optimist in me is about to give up. But really, all I want is to find a good ORP place, and hopefully someone else from this sight will come along.

To be honest, I really didn't care much for the change of the name, the banner change, or any of the other changes. Nor do I care about the complete disregard of parallelism in the last sentence, but that's not the point. What I care about is the fact that it's given every p-skooler a taste for blood. And with this, the skool gets a spike of activity to cry, after which there will be nothing.

So, if we do move, that'll be awsome, and I'd love to come along. If not, well, so long everyong, and thanks for all the memories. And fish. (Can't forget to add that joke in.)

[Baboon]

I would just like to point out the fact that in early 2005 sometime, when I was speaking with Chedy, I was told the giveaways would be coming. It's now the last part of 2005 and there still is nothing beyond a promise. Not that they'd even do anything. Yes, giveaways would generate more hits, but we aren't after more hits. We wanted the community, or what was left of it, to still be around. Giving away free stuff is not going to make this any more of a community.
It is fully understandable where Chedy is coming from. Everyone would like more hits. But the main concern here is that attaining more hits has hurt the existing community. So much for the "school of tech", where veterans can exchange ideas and teach new people...

[Chedy]

T he URL has changed and nothing else. If people want to post and have fun here they can, nothing has changed as it is still "your" boards. If you want roleplay or whatever else, all you need to do is create it. I will more than help out with a few prizes for some roleplay events etc just let me know. (actually that seems like a fun idea)

I know I personally will always call this area "pokeschool" no matter what the URL says and so should you. let's figure out how to make things fun outside of just the "URL" of the site as when you type out Pokeschool.com you are still here. If anybody has ideas based around the different forum games/roleplay etc let me know and i will get behind it.

[Chedy]

Also, for those interested in the TCG portion of the game I have a few new articles from various writers going up next week. So my only focus is how to make this amazing forum community happy and actual show you the support (in prizes etc) of our new sponsor TCGplayer.

[Bullados]

Chedy, I think that by post count it is fairly well proven that the Pokemon message boards are NOT a TCG message boards. They have many other aspects, many other topics where more people post, more people contribute. Right now, there are a grand total of 7 people, including myself, who frequent the TCG boards. There are probably about 20 who frequent the other boards but NOT the TCG part; at least 10 in PRP and ORP seperately. I am fine if you want to make the site more TCG-based, that's kool with me. My problem is that you completely tossed away the Pokeschool NAME. The LOGO. The site is no longer POKESCHOOL. It says so right at the top of the page. It doesn't matter what the domain name is; it matters what the sign at the top of the page says. I have spent 5 years on the Pokeschool message boards (being very conservative here) with various names. Through 2 different owner changes, the site was still Pokeschool, and it has a history of being Pokeschool, a place where people can come and talk about anything Pokemon; RP, anime, TCG, GB, you name it, they can come here. By removing the Pokeschool name and replacing it with the TCGPlayer name, you are effectively removing a good bulk of the player base that would like to frequent the site. Change the domain; that I don't really care about. A domain is something that can come and go on a whim. DO NOT CHANGE THE SITE'S NAME!!! This site represents the history of Pokemon, and to change the name of the site is to completely throw away that history which we players have worked to hard to create.

We will fight. We will not give up. If the change is permanent, we will most likely leave. It's your choice...

[praetoritevong]

After several posts you still have not come close to touching upon exactly what Bullados said. Chedy this is completely insulting. The last thing we were talking about was how the Pokeschool logo was the one and only memo left regarding Pokéschool. These boards will always be remembered as Pokéschool to us. Yet despite all your talk and aspirations of building a new community, the fact is, for them, they will not be joining the Pokéschool community, but a subsection of TCGPlayer Forums.

Now, I don't know about you, but TCGPlayer Forums does not equal Pokéschool.

And yet, almost immediately after the point about the logo was brought up, it was removed. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. Pretty shifty timing in any case. But then to completely ignore our problem with it in your following posts is insulting and a disgusting act.

TCGPlayer may be our sponsor. But if it's only support is a few giveaways amounting to $25, and completely stripping any physical evidence of our identity, it falls far short.

Here, Chedy, here. These are five pages of posts against what's been happening. The image was the last straw. You say you want to please this community. You know what we want. Stop avoiding it and deal with it directly.

[Baboon]

Nobody is denying that the Pokeschool.com domain redirects here. Nobody is denying that we can call this "Pokeschool". The general complaint here is that ever since Magmar left, the site has turned more and more into "make money for TCGplayer". Although this name change means very little, it was a pretty big crushing blow to many people. Not everyone may have realized some of the subtle changes recently, but when the name that the whole world sees is "Pokemon Trading Card Game @ TCGPlayer", they don't think "Pokeschool". They see it as something else. That is the issue here.
I know things are not intentionally being done to spite us. Nobody would purposely do that. But the series of events in 2005 really has weakened our community, our identity, and everything else, except possibly your hits.

[Prof. Cinders]

I don't think I can add anything to what the dedicated members have said above me... And I admit to bursting into tears when someone told me yesterday that the banner that I thought symbolised the community was gone. Just like that. Poof. Yes, people started complaining when we moved. I think my main disappointment was the discontinuation of Lee's ORP contest thing - two of my characters were created during that, and earned my 5 points each. Petty stuff, y'know. But we enjoyed it, and all the RPers there were participating... Then we moved, and it stopped. We asked where that contest went, it just disappeared. Yes, it was just one member who ran it, not even a mod, so I'm not blaming the staff here. It just felt like the feel changed for everyone RPing here - the thing that kept me here.

I don't think bringing the symbol back will help for me now, either. I just want the RP dedication back. That's all. I hated being part of the TCG thing. I've never, ever posted in that section of Pokeschool, then and now. I'll never be a part of the Pokemon TCG, so how could you replace our Pokeschool with a name that doesn't fit? Ok, you can keep us under TCGPlayer. I'm not saying you can't. But please, please don't take Pokeschool away from us. It's my home on the web. Because of this, I have 31 people on my contact list that I wouldn't have otherwise - in fact, I wouldn't have a contact list. Pokeschool did so much for me. Don't take our identity away.

EDIT: Oh, and guys, Gary can't say "I told you so" yet - he's on holiday. Boy, I do not want to see the look on his face when he gets back.

[Chedy]

Aside from the URL I can be quite flexible in trying to help out. Would a large Pokeschool dedicated image with Psyduck and other graphics along the top help in the least? This wasn't a "spiteful" move, but it is something that has to happen and I am willing to work to help as much as possible. Let me know about the image ideas

(I was thinking something that took up the entire top section aka: HUGE)

Baboon has been pretty good for graphics also so between him and my main graphics employee they could create something quite special.

[redeyes15]

hopefully you can all just make up, and get everything worked out. I really think that as long as its in your heart, you guys shouldnt have a problem....

[Salamence-trainer221]

Aside from the URL I can be quite flexible in trying to help out. Would a large Pokeschool dedicated image with Psyduck and other graphics along the top help in the least? This wasn't a "spiteful" move, but it is something that has to happen and I am willing to work to help as much as possible. Let me know about the image ideas

(I was thinking something that took up the entire top section aka: HUGE)

Baboon has been pretty good for graphics also so between him and my main graphics employee they could create something quite special.

I think that most members would be fine with a Pokeschool banner at the topic...and I mean they would happy having the word's "Pokeschool". Not a image dedicated to Pokeschool. Also...I think that image must have the psyduck on the swing to make us happy. There's other problems too...but I think there are other people here who could say it better than I.

[Bullados]

Really, the only thing that we want is for the site to remain "Pokeschool". We do not want it to be Pokemon@Tcgplayer b/c that's not what the site is. Speaking simply for myself, I would be MORE than happy if the banner on the top were exactly the same, but "Pokeschool" replaced the Pokemon@Tcgplayer logo. I think that everybody here can agree that a new site layout was necessary, as the site was getting kinda stale like that. We only want the site to still be Pokeschool, in name, if not in spirit.

What does the rest of the community think about this?

[redeyes15]

i really dont see a big deal about a url.... as long as the spirit is there, nothing else matters...

[Salamence-trainer221]

redeyes, you are getting on my nerves. We are not upset about the URL, we are upset about Pokeschool name and our psyduck banner being stripped from us. I do not think you know what you are talking about, since your just someone who migrated over here from Yu-gi-oh and posts over here sometimes. If you were a member of the old Pokeschool, you would know. Sorry if it seems I am coming of as rude to you, because I am not trying to....and the we are being drained of our spirit..that is another problem..

[Linkachu]

i really dont see a big deal about a url.... as long as the spirit is there, nothing else matters...

You're basically just telling us to ignore the problem and we can't do that. Or at least we shouldn't. We did that once and look where it got us... a deserted forum where the most active topic is about this place dying.

Stop saying nothing else matters. It might not to you, but it sure does to most everyone else. For me personally this isn't about a material thing taken from the community like a url or picture; it's about the meaning behind all of it, and the message that was sent to us when those things were taken.

[redeyes15]

redeyes, you are getting on my nerves. We are not upset about the URL, we are upset about Pokeschool name and our psyduck banner being stripped from us. I do not think you know what you are talking about, since your just someone who migrated over here from Yu-gi-oh and posts over here sometimes. If you were a member of the old Pokeschool, you would know. Sorry if it seems I am coming of as rude to you, because I am not trying to....and the we are being drained of our spirit..that is another problem..

yea, read baboons post, then comeback and talk, ok? Yea, it doesnt matter where i came from or when i came, as long as the intentions are there, and the good will and spirit, then nothing can make anything just go away. It is that people give up! Most of the members just gave up, and left, when they could have continued what they had here! How are you being drained of you spirit! yes, you are being VERY rude, and i dont appreciate it, at all. No, im not telling you to ignore the problem.

linkachu: No, im not telling you to ignore the problem. I would never tell anyone something like that, i for one am not a quitter, so i wouldn't tell another to quit. Ok, then tell me what matters more then the spirit of the forum? exactly, nothing!

I would appreciate it if all of you would stop attacking me! Ecspecially you sal, your a mod, you should be an example of how the people should act around here! You represent the pokemon forums!

[Salamence-trainer221]

Umm....I am not attacting you....though you may think I am. I was just telling you that you do not fully understand Pokeschool since you were not a part of the old Pokeschool until we merged. I even told you I had no intention of sounding rude, yet you completely blew it out of preportion. And please stop trying to shove your opinions of what matters to a forum down our throats, we have other things that are important to the forum, though we still regard our spirit important.

Once again I'm not attacking you, I'm just telling you to please stop saying that only the spirit matters. Other things are also important to us. And this will be the last post about you...since I don't feel like being the instigator to a flame war..

[redeyes15]

suit yourself, but there is something i go by

were there is a will, there is a way.............ring a bell?

[Lugiasian]

-_- Maybe redeyes took a page from my book about the spirit thing...

I'm telling everyone that we must be strong in spirit, and that we must remember that we are Pokeschool in spirit. But now we are no longer Pokeschool to the rest of the world, and this bothers us. Chedy, this is another thing about you that really irks me. You do something minor to change things just to shut us up. No, a big image memorial won't make things better. We want our Psyduck. We want our name back. Hell, we want a frickin' boards change, but we'll most likely settle for being called "Pokeschool" again.

It's either "Pokemon TCG @ TCGPlayer" becomes Pokeschool again, or we all get up and leave. Simple as that. We're not gonna tolerate another drastic change with you tweaking something minor just to keep us quiet. This isn't gonna happen again. Pokeschool has been my home for more than 2 years now. That means a lot to me, and if that's not enough, it's brought me to the person I care the most about: Lee. Brought together by Pokeschool's own ORP, and two years later, we're chatting on the phone regularly and have even seen each other once.

Pokeschool is like our little local coffee shop. You're the big rich businessman who wants to tear it down and replace it with a Starbucks. Do they both sell the same thing? Yes. Is the atmosphere the same? Hell no. So if you really cared passionately about Pokeschool, you'd truly understand what we're saying here...

[PKS LeeTupper]

If you can restore our name as Pokeschool, and give us back the duck, it is tolerable. Heck, if you threw in IMG tags, we might stop burning you in effigy. ;)

It gets old getting kicked around. I'm not going to take this lieing down. Us Pokeschoolers have a lot of power. More than $25 a week does. Unless you restore to as we were before, things will grow ugly. If you do show compassion towards us, I shall try to be a greater help to these forums.

Edit: Steph, you stole my comparison! :p

[Bullados]

One of the problems that we have with the name change is that Pokeschool has a massive history with Pokemon in all forms. Pokemon @ TCGPlayer does not have any history. We want the history to continue to write itself; we do not want the Pokeschool to die.

To a certain point, the spirit is good enough. However, the spirit needs a physical object to focus itself around; otherwise, it will die very quickly. You noticed how quickly this topic went red. It's not because of the URL; it's not because of the layout change. It's because we feel that we are being stripped of the one thing that really made us unique amongst all of the Pokemon sites out there: the fact that we are Pokeschool. We have a history longer than pretty much every other Pokemon site out there (including Pokegym), and we will NOT give that history away just because some company tell us that it's what's gonna happen.

Also, here's a quote from your small post above...


i really dont see a big deal about a url.... as long as the spirit is there, nothing else matters...
To me, that reads as, "Give up, you can't win." We can't do that. We will not allow the history of this site, dating back 7 years, to just disappear and to be replaced by some corporate rehashed name and logo (no offense to TCGPlayer). We want the Pokeschool back. We don't care what it LOOKS like. It must have the Pokeschool name in the banner on the top, and MAYBE a link to the other TCGPlayer sites. That part, I personally don't care about. The Pokeschool name has to live on in the site AS THE NAME OF THE SITE, and we are here to make sure that it does. URL means nothing; martinlutherking.org is a white supremecist website. www.pokeschool.com MUST BE POKESCHOOL. No matter what.

EDIT: you guys post too fast for me...

[Lugiasian]

Exactly. I think out of all of us, Bullados reflects the Pokeschool heart the strongest. Pokeschool has a very long history, one that unfortunately I was only part of for a little while. We are NOT a part of TCGPlayer. You've made one mistake, and that was definitely only the beginning. You tried to weaken us, and in some ways, it worked. But you've only made us angrier. You saw this coming, so why did you go ahead and continue?

Pokeschool... It's my home, my third life.... It's where many people started off as mere newbies and became legends. Look about 2 years back into the Snitz, ORP section. See that? That's the newbie I once was. Now, look at the ORP today. That's what I've evolved into. Many others can probably say the same.

The choice is yours, Chedy, and your time is running out. We will NOT stand for this, and we WILL do something about it. Somehow, someway... We will.

[praetoritevong]

redeyes, sal only meant that it's really not hard to see that the URL isn't the problem. Surely you can understand that; so pelase stop insinuating that it is. This is not a problem about will either; surely that too is self-evident here.

As for the offer, Chedy, it's a good start, it is. We will always think of this place as Pokéschool, but we want others to visit the site, and see this place as Pokéschool too.

EDIT: Wow. Almost sad, ain't it, for the 4000th to be this one, here.