unruly behaviour.

[Nick]

do you not have any value or respect for originality?

 

[Nihilego]

do you not have any value or respect for originality?

I am literally Joe Irvine.

 

[Hybrid Trainer]

Have you ever used a dating app like tinder?
If you have did anything hilarious ever happen and if not what's your opinion on them?

 

[Chikara]

What name do you prefer to go by online more than any?

 

[JJ Styles]

This may be a little hypothetical but what's would you recommend to a tourist regarding some places to visit, things to do, cultures and customs to be aware off, mannerisms, and other important things for a tourist to remember.

 

[Golurks Were Meant to Fly]

Are you or were you ever afraid of the dark?

One thing you could change about the world?

Most important book you think you've ever read?

 

[KorpiklaaniVodka]

What's it like being an admin?
Least favourite Nintendo game?
Opinion on wrestling?

 

[Nihilego]

Have you ever used a dating app like tinder?

Nah.

If you have did anything hilarious ever happen and if not what's your opinion on them?

I've got no massive issue with them but honestly I find them a little sleazy sometimes - but that's mainly because it just feels like people looking for a quick shag as opposed to actually meeting people or anything like that. Buuuut then again I've been not much better on occasion so I can't really judge.

What name do you prefer to go by online more than any?

I've like, accumulated so many now that I honestly don't really care haha. Alex is fine really but I feel like most people just use whatever they first knew me as.

This may be a little hypothetical but what's would you recommend to a tourist regarding some places to visit, things to do, cultures and customs to be aware off, mannerisms, and other important things for a tourist to remember.

Oh, interesting question. Do you mean someone coming to Manchester or to England in general? Anywho if England the best advice I could give is, if you want to actually experience what it's like being in England as opposed to just looking at buildings and reinforcing stereotypes, stay away from central London. It's probably the worst possible representation of England and just not really somewhere you actually get a feel for the country at. Plus it'll bankrupt you, haha. Go somewhere further north instead. I'd say something good to do is go to a lower-league football match if dates are convenient - it's a big thing over here. Pub culture is great too (it's exactly what it sounds like, haha. Combine with the football suggestion for bonus points). Spend a few hours in a decent one chatting with people and getting moderately tipsy. Drinking in general is massive and is probably the main social bonding tool we use. Try the food too - we've got a surprising range of stuff for a small country with a limited cuisine. Again, pubs are a good place for this.

Curiosity about politics, general views, sports, dynamics, etc. in the country is usually appreciated - but something big to not do, especially if you're American, is to try to just outright copy us. No regional dialect, no rubbish football chat, no rants about Tories. We can tell if you have no idea what you're on about, and it doesn't look good.

tl;dr just get involved, really. Be interested and open about stuff - people here are generally really cold at first but quickly warm if you strike a decent conversation (usually; some people just genuinely don't really want to talk to you). We're a quiet, private bunch until we get pissed, and we'd probably appreciate the same from you. Ask questions, be respectful, don't talk about yourself or your family too much at first and you'll probably get along fine.

Are you or were you ever afraid of the dark?

Not really, nah. I was actually a huge night owl until I was maybe... seventeen or so. I'd barely sleep and be most active in more or less every way at night, haha.

One thing you could change about the world?

I really don't know, haha. I don't know enough about the world at large to answer this. I could answer it with respect to where I live or probably the country on the whole but beyond that I honestly don't know. I could say a number of things that would impact me and my life but in some places nothing would really change. I guess people could be a bit less judgemental and a bit more chill in general but even that's not exactly a thing to change about the world so... ya. Tbh most of the things I'd want to change are attitudes or beliefs as opposed to actual things. Sorry for the rubbish answer but I really don't know what to say.

Most important book you think you've ever read?

Nausea by Jean Paul Satre. It's a weird book. For the most part nothing happens and it's just a load of descriptions and observations. A lot of the time when something does happen it's very hard to interpret and doesn't make that much sense, and yet there's something about it that just... clicks. Maybe it was that I read it at a certain time in my life when it made so much sense to me and described a lot of how I was interpreting the world (or at least, mirrored it) very well, idk. Maybe if I went back and read it now being in a somewhat different place it'd not make sense any more. It's an odd one for sure but important is absolutely the word I'd use to describe it. It'd be the perfect word for it, actually.

What's it like being an admin?

Hah, big question. Being an admin is... interesting. It's a busy job and a big responsibility for sure (well, as big as a responsibility on a Pokémon forum can get) but it's definitely enjoyable. It's pretty nice that I can actually make things happen on the forum and I've enjoyed having a say in the running of it since I was smodded, which was extended again upon being adminned. Somehow PC has become an enormous part of a lot of its users lives (like, damn) and knowing that I'm in a position that can actually be used to make a difference to those people is... weird. I don't even know haha. It's certainly much more than just having buttons to press and people to ban though - while it's certainly no "job" in the literal sense you've got a big responsibility to a lot of people and to the community on the whole.

...that answer sounds like a load of PR jargon, haha. Sorry.

Least favourite Nintendo game?
Opinion on wrestling?

I don't really have much of an opinion on either of these, sorry.

 

[Nick]

What has being on such a long break from the staff given you, in terms of your outlook on both the community, and the staff?

On a typical day, what do you tend to do? Are you still fairly social in the party scene, or has that since died down?

How is your love life currently? Anyone you're with? Anyone you're interested in?

 

[Nihilego]

What has being on such a long break from the staff given you, in terms of your outlook on both the community, and the staff?

When I went on leave a lot of stuff was happening and I got loads of opportunity to see stuff from a member perspective and while it was great that things so much was getting done, I personally feel that the response to feedback was poor. Certainly, I don't think member feedback is considered nearly enough (confirmed upon my return to HQ), and that's absolutely something I'm looking to change. Don't get me wrong, a lot of it is - to be truthful - rubbish. People sometimes say things that can't happen or aren't helpful and ask for things that they don't need or can't be done and generally just give bad ideas. But because of that I think that the stuff that is actually helpful gets brushed under the rug in favour of "people are just moaning about change" and met with a load of PR. This probably isn't intentional at all but from my view it was glaringly obvious. Then again I was certainly a member who cared a lot more than the average person and who was much more used to engaging in such discussions than the average person, so I'm a little biased here.

However on a more positive note I don't think I was viewed any differently by the community in general for not being staff. I think that the concept of "staff-centricism" exists solely with those who subscribe to it and in reality no-one cares all that much. There was a fair amount of discussion and uncertainty concerning it in the VIP forum and the Mod Lounge when I went away so it's great that I can actually say that it isn't a thing.

The community at large is a fun place to post if the right threads are there, and I found that I enjoyed myself just as much - if not more - without being on staff. People, including me as it turns out, really underestimate the commitment and time required to be on staff (or at least, as an admin anyway). Being a member is so much easier and for the most part stress-free, and I think that people who see their membership here as nothing more than a potential route into staff have really got it wrong and should stop right now.

On a typical day, what do you tend to do? Are you still fairly social in the party scene, or has that since died down?

Right now, revise all day erry day. But now is an exceptional case because it's an exam period. During term time I'll usually be going into uni in the mornings and staying around for a couple of hours after lectures have finished to get whatever needs doing done. I have a job as a barman and work three or four days a week for a few hours (it's really flexible work). When I'm not doing that I'm either at home on PC or something else online / playing some game or something / whatever you can do with a computer or with my housemates. We're a sort of cute little family, and we do a lot of stuff together. I've got a girlfriend so obviously I spend some time with her too (more on that in a minute).

As for your second part of the question, still very much involved in it although in a different way. My nights out have moved away from the normal get drunk, go out to a club or something, get more drunk, stagger home, pass out in a box of chips or whatever formula. Now I tend to go to fewer nights out that are much larger and last longer, and the gaps in between are usually filled with house parties or very little nights out just to a bar or something. Outside of exam times I'm still doing something a lot of the time.

How is your love life currently? Anyone you're with? Anyone you're interested in?

So my ex and I got back together last week, although that's not 100% how it happened - we were seeing each other for a while before we got together in the first place, were together for maybe a year, broke up for long and complicated reasons, were still very much obviously together but just not saying it, made one half-arsed effort to not see each other any more, didn't work out, said fuck it and now here we are again. So it's been quite on/off for... probably approaching two years now and we've flipped between being implicitly and explicitly together a couple of times. We've gone over the stuff that made us have to break up before (note that I said "have to" - it wasn't exactly just because we wanted to) and we know how we'll deal with it should it become an issue again now, so we're looking pretty good. We were both pretty hopeless on the love life front when we weren't together anyway so it makes sense and all.

I hope it hasn't been asked before, but where do you see yourself in 20 years? :O

Answered a very similar question here. My thoughts there apply even more so here; 20 years is such a long time (I mean, it's my entire life so far) and I don't think it'd be possible to project that far ahead.

 

[Sirfetch’d]

Opinion on Simple Geocress??

What do you think about reality singing competitions?

Would you rather see ORAS sequals, XY sequels, or Z for the next Pokemon game?

 

[Livewire]

I recall you being into biological sciences I think, but what would your dream career be?

 

[Nihilego]

Opinion on Simple Geocress??

What do you think about reality singing competitions?

I'd be okay with them if they were just straightforward singing competitions and stuff like age and background didn't play into it but unfortunately that's... not the case. You can always pretty accurately predict who is going to get time on TV and who is going to go through and it's barely based on singing. Sure, if you're alright you'll get somewhere, but ~inspirational sob story~? In. Single mother with sixty kids and a dog? In. Under the age of twenty one? In. They obviously pick candidates who will solicit and emotional response from the public over those who are actually good at singing and that frustrates me because it stops it being a, well, singing competition.

...that and they're always pretty much exactly the same person who goes through exactly the same reshaping process to win in exactly the same way and have exactly the same career afterwards. There's nothing differentiating the series other than judges being more lenient, less talented (or even relevant), and there being more soppy emotional bullshit involved in deciding the winner.

...so I don't much like them. 8D

Would you rather see ORAS sequals, XY sequels, or Z for the next Pokemon game?

Neither. I'd like to see FR/LG sequels up next but if that doesn't happen, Pokémon Z would make the most sense. There's a lot of unfinished stuff from X/Y, although I feel like they've not really left themselves that much to improve on given what was in ORAS other than maybe... idk. An actual Battle Frontier and Mega Zygarde or something. I'm kind of seeing B2/W2v2 coming up here, haha. The disappointment is ready to go.

I recall you being into biological sciences I think, but what would your dream career be?

You remember correctly. Weird (and slightly self-satisfied, I'm sure...) as it sounds to say this my "dream career" right now is actually the one I'm working towards. Research science. I've got a lot of interests and have had a lot more over the years but somehow I've ended up here (despite it never really being a consideration while I was growing up or anything) and I'm pretty much on-route to be doing what I love. I've always had an interest in science but it wasn't until I was maybe 16 or 17 when that started getting serious and now it's less of an interest and more of a passion (urgh, I hate that word). I absolutely love what I study and the work I do now and if someone told me that I was going to be where I am for the rest of my life I'd be absolutely okay with that. I'm going to be taking up my first proper lab post in a couple of months and I'm really excited about that. The fact that I have a long way to progress before I get really into the thick of it is just a massive bonus for me.

Ultimately I'd like to be doing research alongside a lectureship somewhere, which is fairly common in universities over here; lecturers who are doing their own research are generally favoured in this sort of area. That's a long way away since you need to have done serious amounts of work of your own but it'd be a cool end-goal, and even if I don't get there I'm absolutely content with what I'm hopefully going to end up doing. It's an absurdly difficult field to work in and the pay really doesn't match that but if you enjoy it like I do then it's more than made up for.

 

[Spiff]

two questions

apocalypseArisen has unduly used your name in his Member Encyclopedia title!! response? comment? drama?

do you trust anybody with your life?

 

[Nihilego]

sorry for delay

two questions

apocalypseArisen has unduly used your name in his Member Encyclopedia title!! response? comment? drama?

Unfortunately, the thread I made regarding it was overruled. Apparently my calling for his firing, profile deletion and irl assassination was "not only reckless but more importantly, expensive".

do you trust anybody with your life?

Definitely. Answer's standard as they come, my best friend offline is someone I'd trust with my life at the drop of a hat. I know that because I've done so before a couple of times when I really, really needed help - or at least, that's how it felt to me and there's no saying what could have happened had I not done that. Times've been dark yo. Sorry for the somewhat cryptic answer, haha.

 

[Etherion]

Do you celebrate St. Patrick's?

 

[Nihilego]

If you're not already, would you consider getting married and having children?

Absolutely! I love kids and one of the things I look forward to most in life is raising one of my own. Had I said this a few years ago I'd have laughed at myself, but I actually think I'd be quite a good dad. I've got loads of enthusiasm around kids, I've worked with / around them before, and in general we get on quite well. Raising a child of my own sounds like it'd be an amazing adventure and I'd love to do it.

What is the ideal partner like to you?

Heh, tough question. In some ways my girlfriend right now and I are pretty ideal in that we're into a lot of the same things, have generally similar outlooks on life and in general are really compatible but we're a long, long way off being anything like a perfect couple. Still, we've been doing well for a while now and I think it's because we've got a lot of stuff that works for us worked out.

I think some of the most important things though are a level of compatibility like I said above, a dynamic that allows us to be friends and a couple at the same time, but most importantly no pressure. I can't imagine a situation where I was with someone who wanted to like, spend all day every day with me and be joined at the hip fo lyf. I'd want out of that. So I guess for me the biggest thing in an ideal partner would be a degree of relaxation and flexibility; not a lack of commitment, for sure, but also not a constant obligation to being around each other. We'd both feel really suffocated if that happened, I guess. SO... ya. Flexibility. 8D

Do you celebrate St. Patrick's?

Yep. It's a really big deal in my city since there's an enormous Irish community, self included I suppose, and it's just kind of expected. It gets a bit annoying at times when people go too far (think huge green hats, fake Irish accents and people pretending to like Guinness while singing "Fairytale of New York" even though it's nowhere near Christmas) but in general it's really good fun. Very messy, but good fun.

 

[Nihilego]

badump

 

[Circuit]

OHAIDER

Ok so you recently moved to Italy. Why in detail did you head out there?

As part of the admin team, without breaking any rules of course, what do you think are some of the directions PC is headed, and what directions could/should it take?

If I ask you to be a mod now, will you give me the emblem anyway? ;3

And what's your favourite flavour of ice-cream and why?

 

[Nihilego]

Ok so you recently moved to Italy. Why in detail did you head out there?

As part of my degree in the UK, I can opt to complete a "placement year". This adds a year to my degree, during which I work in a relevant field instead of studying. I'm in Italy because I was accepted into a lab that I applied to out here that works on bone diseases - my work specifically is on bone cancer. So I'm out here for a year doing this research as part of my degree.

If you're asking why I picked Italy of all places, it was mostly because of the lab. It's well-known in the field and has a good international standing. However I couldn't really be picky - places for everywhere were very competitive. Not that I didn't want to be here, though - I mean, it's Italy!

As part of the admin team, without breaking any rules of course, what do you think are some of the directions PC is headed, and what directions could/should it take?

Obviously we all know about the upcoming "PC 2.0" (or v5, as I believe it's now called) release which is a massive overhaul of PC's design and internal workings, so there's that for starters. As with all vB-based forums (and forums as a medium in general), PC needs to work towards modernising, being more relevant and being more in-line with modern web usage. With the direction that the web is heading, forums are becoming a less and less-used medium and PC is heading in a good direction to address that.

In non-development terms, PC is becoming a much more productive and present community in recent months-to-years. We now have three independent, autonomous staff teams; the newest of which is for giving us a presence in social media. This autonomy, particularly on the social media side of things, is instrumental in making PC more known and approachable to the wider Pokémon community. Additionally, such autonomy would never have been seen maybe a year or two ago. We're much more efficient now than we've ever been and yet we've got more fully-functional "peripheral" (i.e., social media, battle server) aspects than ever before. Simply put, PC is expanding into something more and there are little-to-no limits to how far we can take that.

As for the second part of your question, PC should focus more on ROM Hacking. While I'm aware as anyone of the massive proportion of our users that join only to download ROMs, I genuinely don't believe that we as a community focus enough on it. When the Pokémon franchise stops releasing games, an inevitable and indeed gradually approaching outcome, all of the Pokémon forums (minus Smogon) will face a crisis that requires them to fall back on what they do best. One of the interesting things about PC with this regard is that it can continue to release Pokémon gaming content independently of the Pokémon franchise itself; when there is no more Pokémon for us to talk about, we have the capacity to make more of it. This is an amazing ability, yet the community at large is generally oblivious to it. I want to capitalise more on our incredible ROM Hacking base by not only engaging more of our community in ROM Hacking, but by making PC itself (as far as is feasible without hosting directly any ROMs) into a ROM Hacking platform. Hiroshi Sotomura's Movie tool is a great example of this. I'd love to see more of these things facilitating hack creation right here on the forum. We could have ROMs "made with PokéCommunity", people saving parts of their hack right here on the same place that they showcase and distribute it, things like that.

When the franchise itself is no longer a consideration, PC's centre will be Challenges (which is pretty self-sustaining) and ROM Hacking. We need to be ready to be the post-franchise Pokémon content creation base for the community.

If I ask you to be a mod now, will you give me the emblem anyway? ;3

urgh no I'd have to go into the emblem system and it's horrible in there ):

And what's your favourite flavour of ice-cream and why?

I don't really eat ice cream - I much prefer sorbet. Orange, particularly. However for ice cream I'd definitely say coffee. I drink unholy amounts of coffee and definitely have a well-developed caffeine issue. If I can feed that through ice cream then... great, I guess!