Speaking as probably one of the only people here who would consider themselves a fan of Pokemon:
There is nothing is expect from the Gym, or would want to see from the Gym that we are not getting already. The same goes for bulbapedia, 6P, HT, Serebii, Marrilan etc. The sites aren't setting out to hold every single piece of information ever relating to Pokemon, there are out for a specific goal, and they achieve that.
The Gym for example is one of the best places to go for help playing the TCG, identifying cards etc. Seeing how well the Gym was doing was one of the things that lead me to creating the UPCCC, to give a more specialised look at the Collecting aspect of the TCG. And I think it's achieved that, at least I hope it has. Also, we don't care too much about member count, almost all of our site can be viewed without registering. The only place which can't, is the place where people discuss live eBay auctions, and make larger deals for buying and selling.
You mention that the members of this post more than the mods and ex WotC employees, well of course they do. There are less than 20 mods (I think) on this whole site, and around 20,000 members total. Mods wouldn't have the time to post more than everyone else. And as for ex WotC employees, you do realise that anytime they do visit this site, is completely out of the goodness of their hearts right? Any help they give people, or any questions they answers about the old days, is just voluntary? While it is awesome that they do this, in PokeGym terms, they are nothing more than members who just happen to have a lot more information than everyone else. They aren't hired, and unlike Dave, Pete and Dan, they aren't still involved with Pokemon so can gain nothing from it. Stop being bitter because you didn't find out every piece of information about that double sided decoration.
And while I'm on that subject, you can't knock a forum where the heads of P!P actually come here and respond to questions and criticism the best way that they can. That's something that takes years of having a dedicated site to achieve.
And, finally, again regarding the UPCCC, when I wanted to set my own site up, here's what I did:
- Asked a few collector friends if they would be interested in visiting the site, whether or not it sounded like a good idea.
- Established a few people who would help me moderate the site initially.
- Asked some other friends who had already created sites about using ProBoards.
- Established the rules of the site, and who it was aimed at.
- Set up the site, and added a link in my Gym signature letting people know about it.
Here's what I didn't do:
- Make a Gym thread asking people to do all the work
- Ignore criticism
- Make outrageous claims about being the best site in the world
- Use the Gym thread to try and get publicity about the idea (although I'm not complaining about all the UPCCC name dropping in this thread xD)
You see, we have seen threads from you like this before. For example:
Ok guys thanks to my influence there is now a new section on pokegym called "Pokemon japanese collectible cards"
I am expecting to upload at least 1,000 if not more pics.
I will be uploading them myself and then do a news article about the cards.
This is my first positive and constructive project with pokegym and i hope its a big success.
If all goes planned i should be done by the end of the week but then again im new to this kind of thing so im not for certain.
Those are just the highlights of a thread you made just over a year ago. So, I mean, you've had a year to follow through with that, so we should have a full dedicated gallery of all of those cards, with over 1,000 images right?
-checks gallery-
48 images, all uploaded within 3 days of that thread being posted.
Another thread which I can't quote because it was locked:
"Less than a week!!!!
Ok finally i will be able to make the public youtube video for my uncut card sheet collection.
Ok so heres whats going on now,any day now i will be getting 20 Toploaders for my uncut sheets.
Just got a scanner so i can get quality pics of my sheets to go with the video."
That was posted in October, and it says less than a week, so you should have a video up by now right.
-check YouTube-
Okay, so no uncut sheet video.
And while we're on YouTube, you made a contest video. Contest videos are perfect ways to bring in subscribers, because people can get something free in a raffle just by subscribing to you. So you got lots of new subscribers, people entered the contest, which was 3 months ago, and:
"Sorry guys, the ast month or so have been hectic. I been dealing with 2 funerals and had finals and make up work and extra credit and alot of other stuff i had to concern myself with. So sorry for the raffle being delayed. i will choose a winner soon." Posted a month ago.
And finally:
Earlier i listed my resolutions on what i wanted to do for the 2011 year.
Well i am going to make sure that this year is the best year yet.
I plan on making a huge impact on pokegym this year by making a huge turnaround and become a better member on gym.
Resolutions-
1 Buy and trade pokemon and maybe sell some pokemon stuff i dont want anymore.
2.Build up my collection for quality wise.
3.Fix past post and make them better presentable for the community.
4.Upload lots of pics on pokegym gallery/upload lots of vids on youtube.
5.Get to know and make friends with the champions of the card game and videogame.
6.Possibly write an article or two for pokefans on this site.
Added-
7.Bring in as many new members as possible.
8.Have a contest for particpants to win prizes ie free booster packs.
9.Make Pokegym more popular.
From January. 6 months ago.
Seeing a pattern here? You have no dedication or commitment.
My betting is once this thread dies, you'll move onto some other equally wacky and far-fetched idea.
