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I'm feeling a little sappy and nostalgic tonight so I've decided to pay tribute to the community that made me who I am today.
I can't remember how or even when (8? 10 years?) I came across the blue checkered floors of the MBoard. I was a kid. A legitimate child. I grew up with the MMX series and only really played X1 and X3 and the BN games. I remember lurking around under the guise of Guest before taking the plunge and finally registering under Chaud21xx. Seems appropriate now considering my history with MegaMan but back then it was just because I thought Chaud was the ##### and the original name was taken.
Even as a registered user I remember continuing my habits of never posting and never contributing. As a 10 something year old child I was deeply afraid of being judged by these adults who took pleasure in casting out those who "talk3d lyk this" and abbreviated you as "u". I remember pouring over user posts trying to understand and mimic the styles of the respected community members. Eventually something gave way and I started to post. I knew I had to type properly or else I would be crucified and so I did. While my friends at that age were typing like "idiots" there I was, capitalizing my letters and adding proper punctuation to my sentences. Eventually this became a habit of mine and I began to converse with people who I thought were way older and smarter than I was.
Soon enough I was engrossed in the community. A vast majority of my time was spent between these blue walls and I loved it. I've met some of the smartest (I'm looking at you Delta), most cynical (Insert all the old guard here), talented (Morgan... You brilliant artist you!), funniest (Someone linked me the fake essays MastaFuu wrote back in the day and was surprised when I told him I knew the creator from long ago) people here in the forums and all of you helped shape my childhood for the better. I wasn't exactly unpopular in school or a loner by any means, but I always found myself happier surrounded by the blue glow of my monitor.
Years passed and as the MegaMan series that brought us all together peaked and fell we stayed together (mostly) as a single community. People moved on as they do but there was always new blood fresh for the harvest. Eventually a select few of these newbies would be welcomed into the fold and we would converse about everything as though we were old friends.
In a perfect world I would still be on the blue checkered floors to this day conversing with everyone about the next MegaMan game or making an ass out of a newbie. Unfortunately all MegaMan empires must fall someday, and while MMM remained strong for many years, it too eventually succumbed to the ravages of time.
What we have now is a relic. A message board about a singular video game series with no links to any semblance of social media. It's old, dilapidated and relatively empty, but, when I look at it I still see the shiny blue checkered hallways that lit up my monitor and consumed much of my childhood. Friendships have been forged, broken and then wrought anew in this domain and I owe a large part of who I am today to it.
So thank you MegaMan Matrix. Thank you for being both a home and a teacher I didn't know I needed. Thank you to everyone who magically came together to form this razor sharp edged community of cynics and fanatics. When I'm going through rough times I always seem to find myself looking back at MMM and really cherishing the chance I had to experience this community and everything it had to offer.
If you're ever around my parts and want to have a drink or something feel free to find me on the Facebook group (Sorry Abe! The offer still stands for the curmudgeons who refuse to use Facebook though!).
Thanks for everything MMM.
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