Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

What happened to The PokeGym?

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TheDancingPeanut

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I've been a member of this forum for many years, and at one time it was "the" go-to place to talk about the PTCG. But when I visit now, it feels like a ghost town; there are hardly ever any new topics and hardly any worth reading.
This isn't meant as a criticism of the 'Gym, or its staff, or its users. I'm just curious what has happened. Have people migrated away from forums in general to Facebook, twitter, etc? Are there other forums that have become more popular? Does the health of this forum reflect the health of the game and the community?
 
TheDancingPeanut said:
I've been a member of this forum for many years, and at one time it was "the" go-to place to talk about the PTCG. But when I visit now, it feels like a ghost town; there are hardly ever any new topics and hardly any worth reading.
This isn't meant as a criticism of the 'Gym, or its staff, or its users. I'm just curious what has happened. Have people migrated away from forums in general to Facebook, twitter, etc? Are there other forums that have become more popular? Does the health of this forum reflect the health of the game and the community?
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Facebook has alot to do with this IMO.
 
I think another issue is that there are now so many other websites that deal with the competitive side of Pokémon that it draws people away from 1 site. Back when Pokegym was in its heyday, there really weren't other sites that dealt competitively with the TCG that were very good, since PokeBeach is more based on releases and news (I suppose you could argue for Pojo, but it hasn't been good for a long time now).

Now, however, we have Sixprizes, Celadon City Gym, The Top Cut, and I'm sure there others I don't know about/don't read. When you have a lot of sites with great content, it causes the viewers to fragment a bit as they go to their favorite site primarily.
 
The one niche that this site does have is that the operators/mods have ties to the folks at TPCi, and the folks from TPCi seem to do most (if not all) of their community outreach here.
 
After years of hearing "if you don't like it here, you don't have to stay," players started taking the advice.

Seriously, it is true there are other websites that have information that players are looking for. However, PokeGym is unable to keep up with the information or doesn't even try. It isn't like PokeGym is one of many offering such content. It is like PokeGym dropped it from its purpose. There was a time when players were willing to contribute such information. I heard that the process was overly burdensome to the contributor so as to make it not worth contributing to PokeGym.

Also note the deteriorating and/or outdated resources as well as the downgrade in appearance.

The thing PokeGym is doing very well is the labs tournament locator and online pairings.
 
I don't remember anyone saying "if you don't like it here, you don't have to stay." I'm not sure where you are getting that from.

Why does the PokeGym have to be the information finders or the information reporters? Isn't the PokeGym first and foremost a place to discuss what is happening? Get you're information elsewhere, there are plenty of places to get it now, but come and chat about it on the PokeGym.

But don't believe everything you hear, because it's just that, rumors.

There are a lot of true points mentioned in this thread. There are a lot of quality Pokemon sites on the internet now. And Facebook has become an universal hub for discussion.

Downgrade in appearance? As one of people that has spent time in the past working on how the forum looks, I have to disagree. The original layout was just light blue and yellow on a white background. Now the PokeGym Blue and Gold theme is a very similar light blue and yellow on a white background. I don't feel the forum has gotten a downgrade in appearance, but you are welcome to your own opinion.
 
I appreciate all of the thoughtful discussion.
No offense meant Prime, but I also agree that the site has had a major visual downgrade. The current theme is smooth and sleeker, but it's more generic. I feel like I'm looking at a basic vBulletin theme slightly modified to match the old PokeGym colors. It's a lot colder and less user friendly.
 
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To be honest, Facebook has groups where we can speak freely without moderators. We can ask and say what we want and not be monitored like children. If you're a younger player, sure this place is great. But if you're above the age of 16 then Facebook is better.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
 
Although I love the upgraded pokegym, I miss the old one I grew accustomed to. The blue background was nicer.

I think it is really just the time of year. I'm sure that the site will be bustling once schools are out.
 
Thank you, TheDancingPeanut, for saying what I was unable to articulate.

I'm also having an unfavorable experience with the search tool. Did it change? It does not seem as effective.

Prime said:
Why does the PokeGym have to be the information finders or the information reporters? Isn't the PokeGym first and foremost a place to discuss what is happening? Get you're information elsewhere, there are plenty of places to get it now, but come and chat about it on the PokeGym.
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The PokeGym I grew up with featured deck and strategy articles, tournament reports, no later than second at having the latest news. PokeGym had at the very least the basics of what I wanted to know. It was not a discussion of news found elsewhere. News started here too. Specialized information I follow-up with elsewhere but when I needed an introductory understanding of what was going on, I could always come here but it was normally so informative I would not need to. It wasn't the only site I would want to visit but it was the only site I needed to visit. I don't think any website took that away from PokeGym. I think PokeGym just let itself go and the rational "discuss the news you get elsewhere here" is the website trying to find itself.

I just never got away from this website. No matter how many times I swore I would never come back here, because I grew up with it it is all so familiar. Maybe it is time I became familiar with those other websites that have taken over those aspects PokeGym no longer features but they are not the all-in-one that PokeGym was, even if you don't think it was ever that, Prime.
 
I started here back in 2010. I agree with ShadowCard, it was the first site I learned to use regarding pokemon information, trading etc. It used to be a bustling metropolis on every forum. Then slowly things were getting shut down like the WEREWOLF game in the RTC, and people were leaving across the board because moderators rub people the wrong way. I've noticed a great divide in the moderators. Some are really pleasant to talk with and others just scream at how stupid we are and don't offer assistance.
 
A blessing and a curse for the PokeGym is the number of folks running it who are also PTOs.

The blessing is they can give detailed explanations about new policies and changes in Organized Play, give official answers on card rulings, provide expert advice as judges and have to a degree inside access to the TCPi employees allowing them to provide player feedback and suggest improvements to Organized Play.

The curse is that they have signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement, so they can't be the ones to release breaking news or they risk their positions. They have to wait until that news has been posted on Pokemon.com or another website to release that information here.
 
ShadowCard said:
The PokeGym I grew up with featured deck and strategy articles, tournament reports, no later than second at having the latest news. PokeGym had at the very least the basics of what I wanted to know. It was not a discussion of news found elsewhere. News started here too. Specialized information I follow-up with elsewhere but when I needed an introductory understanding of what was going on, I could always come here but it was normally so informative I would not need to. It wasn't the only site I would want to visit but it was the only site I needed to visit. I don't think any website took that away from PokeGym. I think PokeGym just let itself go and the rational "discuss the news you get elsewhere here" is the website trying to find itself.

I just never got away from this website. No matter how many times I swore I would never come back here, because I grew up with it it is all so familiar. Maybe it is time I became familiar with those other websites that have taken over those aspects PokeGym no longer features but they are not the all-in-one that PokeGym was, even if you don't think it was ever that, Prime.
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I'm not particularly familiar with how gym used to be, but I think it's safe to assume that decks and articles have always started at with the players, and with so many noteworthy players packing up and making their own sites, something that I think has fragmented the community, like SixPrizes, TC, etc. there's just not many people around on gym to really produce those things. Personally it bugs me that so many chose to decentralize a hub of conversation, but that's how it seems to be right now. That and I've noticed a lack of general innovation with deck building in general since SPs were around. (I can't tell you the last time I've run into a rogue player other than myself and a couple others that I've come to expect it from)

The only times Gym seems to get any attention now is when something regarding the TPCi, or something closer to that level.

I also feel PokeMATHter is on to something, there seems to be a kind of resentment with a part of the playerbase at PTOs and the like since they aren't willing to break NDAs, and they see their explanations or perspectives as assaults on them (something that happens on the internet at large, but still kinda silly)
 
Regarding the look of the forum, the forum software had to be upgraded, and it forced the forum into the look it has now. I just tried to add the yellow and blue that the old look had. I'm not sure if we could ever go back to the old look.

TheRolesWePlay hit it on the head. Any articles the PokeGym ever supplied were written by players. Once players stop writing articles, it's hard for the PokeGym to keep supplying them. And let's be honest, did the PokeGym ever get applause for the articles? There were always arguments and complaints about them being too weak of deck ideas, having errors and issues, etc. In a rare case where a creator of the deck would write an article describing their new deck that just won a big event, it would get praise, but I feel in general people picked on the articles.

And again, I ask why the PokeGym has to supply articles when we have some great sites on the internet that do it now. Those talented players have found their nest and are writing good stuff.

News-wise, it takes a group of talented and hardworking staff to go out and collect news and report on it. For a while now, that staff has been missing. And even when the PokeGym was reporting news, we'd just be repeating what Pokemon sites focused on news (Serebii, PokeBeach) said. I find out all my news on those sites and facebook. I don't need for PokeGym to mention it again. And if I feel a need to discuss it, I'll come to the PokeGym to talk about it. Honestly, though, if someone wanted to step up and start reporting on all the news topics, I don't think many staff would stand in their way. It's just a long and hard job that doesn't pay anything. Good luck finding someone to do that for years.

I've never understood why some people get rubbed the wrong way by mods. Don't break the rules and you won't get in trouble. If you break the rules, accept the consequences, and be an adult about it. Maybe the issue was that a lot of people with complaints were teenagers or young adults that didn't want to accept the consequences and now have an open forum (Facebook) where they can do whatever they want and never have to pay the consequences for their actions.

I really like this thread and want to keep talking about it. I love the PokeGym so much, and anyone passionate about the PokeGym is a friend to me. The PokeGym needs people passionate about it, passionate about the good aspects and passionate about the bad aspects, to keep it going.
 
I believe part of the reason for the shift away from publishing on PokeGym is because there is only so much you can do with forum software. Whereas, one player (Adam) developed a brand new site (6P) that is able to showcase decks and articles in a much more glorious form than was possible here. Think about it...posts can't embed images!

http://www.sixprizes.com/2014/02/02/make-rain-2014-florida-regionals-6th-place-masters-report/

So other sites are getting to be very good for communicating information from player-to-masses.
Facebook is good for player-to-player, both privately (replacing PM's on PokeGym), and in a group setting (replacing threads on PokeGym).

Now, every day or two when I check "New Posts" I still see a fair amount of activity in threads...it's not as much of a ghost town as I honestly thought it was. That's good.

But I believe that PokeGym will always have a purpose as the first place new players ought to turn to. They may not stay for long, but at least it is a starting point. Personally I'm trying to help with that mission by having online pairings and now registration as part of PokeGym Labs. Ask the Rules Team is a popular reference too, as is the Compendium (which could be better). Where is the Ask the Head Judge forum we've been brainstorming about??
 
I've been absent from pokegym for a bit and just recently started logging on to get tournament info. The one thing this site has always excelled at is the trading forum. Kudos to the implementation of iTrader! MASSIVE problems abound on the 'poison stadium' group. Every single one of my friends that use it have had issues with ripoffs and such. While 'Gym has had its share of scammers, the iTrader system and trade/sales rules have minimized problematic situations.

FB group might be able to play 'Wildwildwest' as far as people being able to be crass toward one another and use whatever language they want. This free exchange may even be a richer environment for strategic innovation.I'm all for freedom of speech. But it is a detriment to commerce when no clear rules or records exist. Ref system and limiting who can sell are two indispensable features of Pokegym that have yet to be repeated in other trading venues.

In this regard, I believe the 'Gym to be far superior than any others.
 
losjackal said:
I believe part of the reason for the shift away from publishing on PokeGym is because there is only so much you can do with forum software. Whereas, one player (Adam) developed a brand new site (6P) that is able to showcase decks and articles in a much more glorious form than was possible here. Think about it...posts can't embed images!

http://www.sixprizes.com/2014/02/02/make-rain-2014-florida-regionals-6th-place-masters-report/

So other sites are getting to be very good for communicating information from player-to-masses.
Facebook is good for player-to-player, both privately (replacing PM's on PokeGym), and in a group setting (replacing threads on PokeGym).

Now, every day or two when I check "New Posts" I still see a fair amount of activity in threads...it's not as much of a ghost town as I honestly thought it was. That's good.

But I believe that PokeGym will always have a purpose as the first place new players ought to turn to. They may not stay for long, but at least it is a starting point. Personally I'm trying to help with that mission by having online pairings and now registration as part of PokeGym Labs. Ask the Rules Team is a popular reference too, as is the Compendium (which could be better). Where is the Ask the Head Judge forum we've been brainstorming about??
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losjackal please remove your link to another site before you get an infraction from a mod

On a completely different topic I think a lot of it has to do with the over moderation.
 
Prime said:
Regarding the look of the forum, the forum software had to be upgraded, and it forced the forum into the look it has now. I just tried to add the yellow and blue that the old look had. I'm not sure if we could ever go back to the old look.
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Any effort to work with the look would be appreciated :smile: . I'm also having problems with the emoticons. They are loading on my reply screen with their alt text and they show as broken when I click on them to add them to a post. This started with the upgrade. I'm using Firefox 26.0. They appear correctly when I submit the post.

Prime said:
TheRolesWePlay hit it on the head. Any articles the PokeGym ever supplied were written by players. Once players stop writing articles, it's hard for the PokeGym to keep supplying them. And let's be honest, did the PokeGym ever get applause for the articles? There were always arguments and complaints about them being too weak of deck ideas, having errors and issues, etc. In a rare case where a creator of the deck would write an article describing their new deck that just won a big event, it would get praise, but I feel in general people picked on the articles.
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Yes, but while both you and TheRolesWePlay touch on what happened, you are not addressing the why. Why did so many "chose to decentralize a hub of conversation," when the infrastructure was already here? Did they just feel it was time to spread their wings and fly, try something new and add their own innovative/creative design and perspective they could not do here? That could very well be part of it.
People who went through the article submission process said it was burdensome with the amount of revision and regulation. It made writing an article not worth it and a long, drawn-out effort.
Over-moderation has been discussed many times as a problem with PokeGym. I remember one overzealous moderator felt like he had to flex his moderating power against a PTO in the PTO's own thread :eek:. That did not end well. There is one moderator in particular who is always saying something negative and incorrectly challenging posters with his own incorrect information. If he was not a moderator, he would have been infracted (or so I would like to think). There was a short time when "please don't infract me" was a way of ending posts despite the invitation to speak honestly about issues or were presenting a genuine and helpful comment that took a negative perspective.

Prime said:
And again, I ask why the PokeGym has to supply articles when we have some great sites on the internet that do it now.
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Again I say "Specialized information I follow-up with elsewhere but when I needed an introductory understanding of what was going on, I could always come here but it was normally so informative I would not need to. It wasn't the only site I would want to visit but it was the only site I needed to visit." and reiterating that that was the strength of PokeGym, as TheRolesWePlay identified it, a centralized hub of conversation. Again, it appears you do not think it ever was that, Prime. That in combination as a centralized hub of resources, as losjackal points out, the Compendium (while admitting it is in need of a fresh coat of paint and renewed spirit), ATRT, and the Labs, and the positive review of its trading features, made PokeGym the only website I needed to visit.

Why should PokeGym be the centralized hub? Because that is what it was. If PokeGym has decided to let go of some of those features, then there is the answer to "What happened to The PokeGym?" PokeGym decided to discontinue those features.

Prime said:
I've never understood why some people get rubbed the wrong way by mods. Don't break the rules and you won't get in trouble. If you break the rules, accept the consequences, and be an adult about it.
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It is because the rules are arbitrary, archaic, and restrictive. Look at Jaeger's reply to losjackel,"please remove your link to another site before you get an infraction from a mod." How are we encouraged to get our news elsewhere and come here to discuss it but not be allowed to link to other websites? For a while, mentioning the name of a popular social media websites were censored but it looks like that has been lifted seeing as you, Prime, have said them without being lectured. From the user's perspective, the rules have not kept up with PokeGym's changing purpose and from there it is a roll of the dice to see if an overzealous moderator is on patrol that day. A rules refresh may help change that reputation without actually changing the practice of keeping PokeGym a respectable atmosphere.
 
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Prime said:
I've never understood why some people get rubbed the wrong way by mods. Don't break the rules and you won't get in trouble. If you break the rules, accept the consequences, and be an adult about it.

I really like this thread and want to keep talking about it. I love the PokeGym so much, and anyone passionate about the PokeGym is a friend to me. The PokeGym needs people passionate about it, passionate about the good aspects and passionate about the bad aspects, to keep it going.
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Example #1:

If you reply to your own topic excessively, you can find it being locked. Back to back posts are considered spam and should be avoided if possible. Also you may find your topic locked because you kept 'bumping' it within a short amount of time. (No more then three times in a row, unless a significant update of several cards is made.) If no one replies to your topic, chances are you currently do not have anything that people currently need. Don't despair, someone new might be interested later on.
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So this rule seems simple. No?
Well if you reply 4 times, you will get a yellow infraction.
HOWEVER, if you have quoted to reply to someone, THEN reply 3 more times, that is completely okay.

Does that make sense? Yes and no. It doesn't specifically state ANYWHERE in the rules that if you quote someone that it doesn't count as one of your "three" posts for bumping.


Example #2:

Jaeger above should be getting an infraction.
Why? Because he has quoted someone breaking the rules to let them know to fix it.
It's happened to me!
I've told someone in the collecting and price guide discussion that links were not allowed, but since I QUOTED someone breaking the rules, I also got an infraction. HOWEVER, if you reply to someone without quoting their broken rule, you don't get an infraction.



I love PokeGym to the moon and back. This thread will certainly help us all pinpoint issues that I'm sure we've all come across. That being said, I have voiced my opinion about The Rules because I believe there is a need for a revision. There is A LOT of grey area within the rules that some mods allow and other mods infract for. How do I know? Because I've asked certain mods about something to make sure it is okay, then get infracted by others because apparently it isn't.
There is a lot of grey area, and I feel that as a collective whole, we should be able to fix these minor issues.I know there are many people that think this way, and now have chosen to go elsewhere because they have gotten infractions for things that aren't explicitly stated in the rules.
 
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