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It's been a long time.
I've been a moderator for longer than everyone else except possibly Void, and there's only a tiny handful of active members who joined before I did (namely Void, BuildistGuard, the dangerous bikop, and of course Jacob_).
I've seen members come and members go. I've seen the long-awaited advent and the quiet dismissal of currency and character parts. I've seen the game design change from a very basic Windows 98-esque white window with really only boxes, particles, circles, textures, welds, and tools to a sleek game design tool with water, ladders, multiple worlds, changeable terrain, ropes, and, of course, TRIANGLES! I've seen the website change designs over a half dozen times. I've seen the entire website be thrown on its head, tossed in the trash and wiped clean, and even be destroyed and resurrected (I've been more of a factor in most of those last few than is a good thing.)
During this time, a lot has happened in my life. I moved away from the town I'd lived all my life, lost touch with my best friend, regained it, lost it again with much heartbreak, and regained it with much rejoicing. I started making publishable music. I started writing a novel. I quit playing Roblox and started playing Minecraft. I got addicted to Portal 2. I discovered I have only 20/40 vision, and so I'm constantly wearing glasses now. Jimmie Johnson's NASCAR streak of championships ended, not that any of you cared about that a hundredth as much as I did.
You guys have been the place I've gone to when I found a hilarious video or witty quote I just needed to share with someone. You've been the first people to know when I've finished a song or a chapter or anything else I happen to cook up, even though you don't really care half the time. You were the people who helped me build a community I could spend my days when I had nothing at all to do. You were the people I came to for help when my world came crashing down on top of me. You were the people who helped me let loose the insanity that was building in me a little at a time so that it would not overcome me completely. You were the people I could throw my sharp wit at so I wouldn't throw other sharp things at anyone.
Wait, that last one was only Franco. Nevermind.
I've built up closer relationships with the people here in the past 2 years than almost anyone in real life. The awesome feeling of the first days of messing about with Void and Innerwebs and Sazaho and DariaTheBlablybla (we miss you guys) in the first multiplayer tests and the month-and-a-half-long random sound effect game on my profile has never been matched by anything else in any other community I've ever found.
Jacob_ is the closest thing to an idol/role model/hero/mentor that I've ever had. Despite having his own mental problems and having every right to be angry or frustrated with us at times, I have never seen him lose his temper. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt and second chances a lot, but even I am impressed by how lenient he's been at times, while still wielding firm control and not just letting people get away with (sorry, there's a little bit of a mean joke here) posting crap for crap's sake.
I'm not sure how he feels about me saying it like this, haha, but there's something that feels a little 'side-kicky' about DysLabs and me. (The Blowtorcher and Mr. Tipo: fighting morons [and mroons] in a theater near you!) Going by that comparison, Franco30557 has definitely got to be the supervillain who starts out nice but ends up desperately fleeing from the insane asylum. CoderRyne would have to be the egotistical conspiracy theorist who was right but started the revolution before it was ready. And Ashely would have to be that girl (princess, maybe? Prime minister?) who betrayed everyone.
Although there have been times I've literally been aggravated to the point of trembling in fury at Kieron, we've always made amends, more or less, and I must say I have never known anyone else who shares my love of blueprints and theoretical diagrams the way he does. And though my love of strategy is large, comparing his to mine is like Chuck Norris compared to a little kid playing Kick the Can.
I can say the same about Glome, at least as far as the "bitter enemies" bit goes. He wasn't always my favorite person on the site, to say the least. But I shall never, ever, ever, as long as I live, forget BlandFlakes or its many practical applications, partner products, or side effects. (At least as long as I don't use any of them.) And he's got some of the best graphical and web design talents of anyone I've ever known on the Net. When he's good, he's good. As in, Cave Johnson looks like a worn-out entrepreneur who read a joke book as a kid when put next to Glome. When he's bad, run for your life because he ain't playin' around, fools.
While I can't say I find his sense of humor to be the most funny or witty I've found here, nor always appropriate, LOL/Myem is always there to make you stop, think, and say, "Oh. I don't know whether I should be laughing, blushing, or raging." I can't say that I've seen anyone else anywhere quite able to accomplish the right balance of that and not look stupid. He's got skills.
Walrus/Oak and Fish/Pit have been... interesting people to hang out with. They've both got unfortunate problems with their minds that they have no control over, and when they can be the master of themselves, they are fun to be around. Fish's artistic talents are amazing, and, well... Walrus's opinions and self-comments are, at the very least, always worth a laugh or two.
I would write a paragraph about Eric/VenomSinister, but that would mean I'd have to mention The Incident Which We Have Left Behind Us. He's a nice helpful guy and there's no need at all to reopen old wounds.
The mod team, apart from the Ashely/CoderRyne dramatics and the eventual downfall of Tyler after his dismissal, has been one of the most stable, trustworthy teams (at least to other team members, if nothing else) I've ever been a part of. Void/Paradox, In[n/t]erwebs/Fat_Sacks, Sazaho, Scripter, Login, Ice, Fire, Land... I miss our vanished friends.
And there's, of course, everyone else I've had the opportunity to hang out with. From older members such InternetGuy and BuildistGuard, to the April Raiders like Hippo and Duck and broloxer and Ming-Yan and Excel, to those who joined in the winter lulls, like Mike9377/Leonartist and Invader, to some of the newer guys, like Omega and Link and Soru and al648. I could write little paragraphs about just about everyone but then I'd be here all day and I've already been writing too long.
All in all, if Buildism/2DWorlds had not become a part of my life on this date two years ago, if I had not come across that week-old post in Roblox's Scripters forum, if I had not left 5 minutes after finding it and thinking "I'll check it out more later", if I had not remembered that the next day and spent hours in the second-ever multiplayer test session, then my life would have been a much sadder, slower, and possibly shorter thing in the past 700-odd days than it has been.
Thanks for being here, guys. I hope we're all still here far into the future.
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