Let me preface this by saying that it's impossible to put my feelings for all of you and CB into words, but I'll try anyway. It's reached that point where I don't extract the enjoyment out of CB that I used to, due in part to good old friends leaving, as sad as that is, and the lack of new players who don't act like idiots. I never did make it to my lifelong goal of hitting 500k MPR, but then again CB was never really about fighting, at least for me. I'd like to thank you all for what you've given me over the past 3 years. If I forgot to name you below, don't take it personally, although I think I've covered most bases. If you don't like who you're paired with in your description, fight it to the death.
To all those who inspired me, in no particular order:
To edyit, for being a great dad and always someone to talk to (I still need to head up there this ski season). I do still think edyit jr. is one of the cutest kids ever, and I can't believe I was here when you got married, it seems like forever ago. Enjoy the golf as well, maybe I'll get that in there if I ever make my way upstate. There is a reason you're first. <3
To OB. Your booty inspires us all. It's been great chatting with you over the past few years. I hope one day I can travel down to Alabama to meet with you and see if you really are as crazy and awesome in person. P.S. Don't think this means I'll stop annoying you on Facebook chat.
To Slayer. Every person needs their nemesis. The sound is our battlefield. I was never a tourney guy but thanks for running it for the rest of CB that enjoys it. And you said my name, finally! Once in the 3 years I've been here is good enough for me, thank you.
To Hakai, for always being fun and lively, and for being the best (hah!) iSketch drawer. Best of luck to you, and I hope all goes well. Good luck to you, and you have my best wishes for your future baby! If I'm ever in the Illinois area I'll be sure to stop by and visit you, I'm sure you're just as great (and hot) in person.
To Godwolf, ahh the conversations/arguments we've enjoyed. Sometimes you annoy me, but more than not, you just take the other side from me, which makes it more fun. Sorry about Sal, hopefully what I sent you starts to help heal that wound. Enjoy Atlanta (not Georgia) and hopefully you can escape your idiot brother to a place that fits you better.
To BarzooMonkey! What a great man, author, friend, and most importantly, contest creator! Your contests were always the most fun, and the ones I measured mine up to (the never came close). Thanks for being the best monkey a th00p could know!
To G_Beee, what can I say, you're an awesome grandpa. Your drunk posts set the standard, and your admin-funded contests were great, especially the getting on the bus ones. Send Mrs_Beee my regards!
To Shade, I know you haven't been around as much but it was great chatting you up and bugging you when you were. Thank you so much for your contributions to CB like your website. Oh, and I'll never forget that chicken suit!
To NightStrike, recently part of the administration here on CB, always seemed to call me out via his endless chat logs, especially when I said it was a bad idea to have 2 people running CB. It's just not the same being a Jon-NS-ocracy. =(
To novice, eternal arguer with Ranger who now must feel a little misplaced with no one to argue with. A great hockey fan, despite the fact that he likes a terrible team. Great to see you around.
To Nerevas and OpVines, for always being there for me to hate. Nerevas was such a greedy economist, something I always felt destroyed the spirit of CB, that I could never forgive him. OpVines, my true opposite, especially when he called himself Kryptonite, always seemed to be arguing from the other side. But it made things interesting, at least, so thank you two.
To Nkki! Ahh, the good old days, when you were in chat. Those hugs did wonders, and it just doesn't feel the same chatting without you.
To Soxjr, the greatest mentee one could ask for.
To Meso, for always coming up with some new way of being crazy, whether it just be the names, or the randomly acting like a cat in chat, you always made things interesting.
To Tal, for being one of the prettiest girls to ever chat with me on CB. Sexy momma, stay forever, and keep those riddles coming!
To kefeck (not Plagues), who always confused me with that newfangled name of his. A proud co-member of the Dotson family, and while not always around (seemed to be in and out so conveniently that we timed leaving on alternating breaks, will always be a memorable part of CB.
To SirBubbleWrap, who still probably has his mind set on camping, and can never seem to stay for more than a couple weeks whenever he brings his butt back here, but when he is here, he's a blast.
To Destitute Turnip, oh boy oh boy. First hottie I remember here on CB ;-) Definitely a fan favorite among everyone here, as evidenced by bartjan's Valentine's Day contest, in which she got a ridiculous amount of votes. Come back soon.
To bartjan, do you ever leave? You're that crazy guy from Holland if I remember correctly, who said something about being addicted to coffee. Thatﾒs really all I remember about your personal life since youﾒre such a tight-lipped, but still great, person. All I know is, you've been a great admin, helpful most of the time if not fun all of it. Thanks.
To IndependenZ and ColonelCustard! Nothing better than having some fellow crazies around who are still willing to run UC when the rest of the world runs from it like it's the plague. Which I suppose it should be since it thoroughly sucks now. Maybe if I come back it'll be OP! Haha, yeah right.
To RedWolf, for letting me annoy you on AIM and for running Trivia back when it was awesome, even if it died a sad death over a year and a half ago.
To BlueWolf, surely anything but the opposite of RedWolf. Great dude although his time here was seemingly too short. A great bouncer for Trivia and always an enjoyable chatter.
To Lukey, my favorite CB Canadian! You had that youthfulness that was awesome, even though you weren't and younger... hopefully you'll come back one day, and I think we'll all remember your CB story! If only I didn't fall victim to that razor-toothed monster!
To Lady Damiana, for always being in chat to brighten things up, and hate on the idiots almost as much as I did. Oh, and for being a girl. Possibly the cutest baby ever from the pictures I've seen. Enjoy yourself!
To Gun. You're an oddball, always have been, always will be, but I love you for it. I never did understand that point system of yours, certainly didn't agree with it, but it was always there. Just like your old C&Ps for the new players, which I'm sure you could still resurrect.
To JohnnyWas, Zoglog and GentlemanLoser! Truly some of the best from across the pond. It was difficult knowing you guys with your lack of chat, but we had some great times. Thanks Zog for occasionally chatting unlike the other two ;-) and I hope you're doing well for yourself. All 3 always knew how to put a smile on my face, especially GL with Emma! Never seen/heard anyone happier than him on that subject.
To Wasp. Intermittently a chatter, yet still my favorite insect on CB.
To Linguala, who was always there as the LingLing monster, and even gave me some chicken noodle soup when I was feeling down! Great guy.
To Pit Spawn, one of the first people to inspire me to actually play the game, rather than chat. His one character The Night Spirit was always something I tried to live up to and beat, but alas, I could never make it close to his level. And of course to Sundari, who still comes every once in a while, and who unfortunately hasn't brought Pit back to us.
To Lamuness, for multiple contributions including the ever famous economic reports which showed great things and bad, especially the reaction of active users to the BA every 20 minutes change, as well as other things, like where were all the rare weapons going?
To YNM, whose departure was FAR from reflective of how he spent his time here. I remember him as a great forger, a good friend, and someone who I competed with seeing how much money more than the 2k entry fee we could dump into the pot for Trivia games.
To IA. You spew knowledge like you're an encyclopedia. Your nocturnal ways always were helpful when I was up way too late and needed someone to talk to. Also, your political views were always intriguing to listen to. Thank you kind sir, and go Giants! =)
To Borderliner, who probably came off as overly serious to most. I remember playing you back in the chess tournament that was set up here, and beating you somehow, despite the fact that you were 10x better at it than everyone else combined. Something about representing your town in a tournament? You were always the best rubber duck, although, no offense, I wouldn't bring you in my bathtub with me.
To Madame Bast, grammar queen of CB. I do try to be precise with my language, but there are still a dozen errors you could find with any post of mine (please don't). Thanks for responding to my CMs with flair, even if you don't bring that to chat like you used to back when NP was the lively chat room.
To Ranger, DAWG, Mikel, for keeping gameplay at its finest, and Ranger deserves a special thank you for TAB. TAB is the one character that will never be doubted, as I'm sure that if he hadn't sold him he'd still be unbeatable (that win percentage of 96% was ridiculous). Also, thank you to DAWG for financing our new servers.
To jayuu and Fr$$d, for being extremely accessible despite their incredible power and wealth, jayuu will be missed, although quietly, he had a very nice helpful side to him, although chatless, and Freed m8 I don't think there's enough to be said about your money. I mean great personality. =P
To BMW and Blarg, you two were always great fun and great competition in Trivia, despite both of you disappearing for a while and not chatting quite enough. I must say though, - points to Blarg for letting WoW pull him away. I still love you though.
To Verifex, for all your contributions to CB, like the ever-popular Greasemonkey script, which has probably saved millions of clicks to the day. I'd still make those donations in order for you to put it up, but I don't know it you would take those anymore! Kudos for being the only QBadmin, even if QBs are no longer being given. I personally loved the epic Ve***x battle. I don't remember who emerged victorious, but it was a sight to behold, and wherever did Vestax end up?
To Pixel Sage. I know you worked many tedious hours on the server and the theme engine, and even if you were paid, it wasn't enough in my eyes. I remember your awesome loan program, one which you were unfairly ripped off on, so I of course tried to pay back many of the debts left by your clients. I also remember that amazing image you created of a kid drawing a rocket ship, evolving into a true astronaut blasting off in that incredible 3-D spaceship you created on Blender. Outstanding work and I'm sure you'll keep it up!
To SNK3R. I know our times here might not have been the best together, especially when you /ignored me for not adding you as a friend on Facebook. You had a great sense of humor, even if it was hard to read for the most part, and I loved your weird stories. Thank you so much for your supportership and naming contests, which were a spectacular way to give back to a community I know you loved. I know that one of these years you'll get a job at Brookhaven National Lab, so I can drop by and visit/annoy you all the time. Hopefully you come back one day, despite what an idiot or two did, and see that there's still a place here for you.
To the way things used to be. I loved the simplicity of the game when I joined, and although many may disagree, I think that adding armor and skills left and right just wasn't the way to implement change. Maybe I'm just stubborn though. I remember forging during my NUB to make money, and only ending up with ~130k MPR, when I could've gotten near a million (yep, way back). I remember when NP was the best place to chat, and when carnage was for the boring strategists who never talked about fun things. I remember when you could actually post on people's FS/WTB threads! Oh the good old days... I missed being a mentor, trying to help out the newbies despite the fact that only one in a hundred seemed to stick. I remember when the X on weapons was exponential, instead of linear. I remember when we actually used ammo (okay okay, that wasn't that long ago). I remember when you could snipe auctions at the last minute! And hating the people who set their auctions to end at 3 in the morning >:O I remember when BA was every 10 minutes... the way it was supposed to be. I remember when the word nolti was the ultimate put down. I remember choosing/creating your own CB theme... I'm sure that will come again sometime, and that it'll be even better with the new theme engine. I remember being a single archer when it was strat of the month, and how extremely overpowered it was before getting nerfed. I remember Jon being a mysterious figure, with only that picture of him as Darth Vader to identify him.
I'm glad some things have changed, and certainly disappointed that others have. All in all it's been a great run, a great way for me to waste some of my 3 years, and I'd do it all over again if it turned out the same way. A big thank you goes out there to everyone, and I hope you all got or will get as much out of CB as I did.
Lastly, of course, thank you Jon. You truly have created one of the best game communities out there. It was always a relief to log on and see civil conversations rather than a bleeping bleepedly bleep fest that you would with most online games. Thank you for keeping this game PG and well run for all these years, for all the changes that kept it lively, and for taking time out of your busy schedule with family and work to deal with us.
It was a great pleasure to be here for the 3 years I was, and please remember, never take yourself too seriously! We all die eventually, so you might as well lighten up and enjoy what you have.
