First single.

This actually made me really sad to do today. For over four years, the old newgrounds.com IRC channel had been my home online. Granted, I hadn’t been there in a couple years and the site had severed ties with said chat back in 2009, but I was completely not prepared to log in and see the channel didn’t even exist anymore.

#newgrounds.com was the first place online or IRL where I learned to just be me, and enjoy being me, because if people don’t like you for who you are, they can go to hell. I was a regular there, I became an Op there, it was my daily escape and link to sanity from the time I left high school, up until I moved to Las Vegas in 2008. Hell, if not for that channel, I’d have never moved there to begin with, because that’s where Grace and I met.

I feel a little bit of a pit in my stomach knowing that the first place that really felt like home to me, even if it was digital, is gone forever.

Goodnight, sweet chat. </3

I know, I haven't been by in awhile. I don't call, and I don't write. I'm sorry about that. I am. I still want to be friends, it's just really awkward ever since I saw you naked that one time.

By the way, when did you get that tattoo?

SRSLY THO.

If anyone stumbles by here and happens to wonder what I'm up to these days, I'm still quite active on the interwebs, over on Twitter, and on my new youtube channel. The youtube is currently just a weekly World of Warcraft show, but I'll be adding a second channel soon for music and comedy sketches. Keep an eye out.

Here's an awkward picture of me and my friend Kori with Felicia Day & Wil Wheaton from Emerald City Comic-Con. Whee.

I haven't been around much in the last few years but I caught a tweet from Tom this morning that made me decide to let loose a little rant here, and I'm going to post it on both my accounts.

Tom did a good job of explaining the dilemma that is SOPA and providing additional source material. This bill is a horrible thing.. A scorched earth attack on the entire internet over some extremely minor copyright violations as a reaction to more major violations such as torrenting networks and illicit streaming sites. The grand irony here is the pirates will find a way to work around this; the people that are going to get hurt are going to be all of us; the amateur animators working on our craft, the vloggers, the musicians that decide to put a cover they did of their favorite band's song online.

This is going to end the internet as we know it if it passes, all because the RIAA, MPAA, and big corporations like Viacom and Nike don't like not being able to control you, because you can use the internet to circumvent their products, programs, and advertisements.
They that don't like that people make their own music videos for free instead, and small artists can promote and sell music online to people that don't want to listen to the shitty Lady Gaga crap they throw at us on the radio and TV.

They don't like that indie game makers can promote and make free games on social media that people will eat up instead of Call Of Duty. They don't like that Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog made more money than a piece of shit studio bomb like MacGruber, and people would rather watch Epic Meal Time than Rachel Ray.

So since they can't stomp on the people, since we will always be here no matter what they do, they're going to stomp on our outlets to promote and present. If this bill passes.. Even legitimate, non-copyright infringing internet programs like The Guild, Z! True Long Island Story, and Epic Meal Time will be doomed, because they will have nowhere to upload their product: Newgrounds, Youtube, Megavideo, Dailymotion, even Myspace.. Will all be forced down. Facebook will probably go down or be subject to SEVERE content policing, by actual police.

This can't happen. It will be the end of everything good on the internet.

Additional material:
WTF is SOPA? - A fantastic explanation of this bill by game reviewer and UK Law Grad TotalBiscuit

In case anyone missed them, or doesn't feel like going back to Tom's post:
Stop American Censorship
Stop Censorship
Save The Internet!

Please, if you haven't already.. Sign at least one of these. This bill has to be stopped.

-Michael Sparks, aka Miikro, aka MushroomLock.

And apparently I remember my password, too.

Oh well.

This was deleted? THIS?
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This message is to inform you that the following review, which you left for Stamp on the Ground on 10/16/09 at 8:44:57 PM, has been deleted:

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Score: 3 / 10
Summary: this is like a horrible car wreck..
Review: of japanophilia, gamer fanboyism, bad club music, and possibly furries? however the animation was alright and the art itself wasn't bad.
===============

Please review the review guidelines in the FAQ to ensure that you're following the rules and to prevent any further action being taken against other reviews you make.

-------------------------------

There was nothing abusive or offensive in that review. Shit like THIS is exactly why I never come to newgrounds anymore and why this site is a complete fucking JOKE in the eyes of the internet community. Ever since the new vote system, and subsequent efforts to make this site even more friendly to children were implemented, the quality of not only this site's content, and demographics, but the quality of site experience has gone down tremendously.

Nothing truly funny is allowed on the BBS anymore because a mod will delete it. Many, many good, but low quality movies get blammed by point-mongers who turn around and protect something purposely bad just because of the name of the author. No one is allowed to comment negatively (but not abusively) on a fanboy-heavy flash, because their comments will be gang-flagged and removed.

This makes me really sad. I logged in to scope out the boards and see if I could score a nice whiff of nostalgia but before I could even get that far, I'm already so annoyed I never want to see this place again.

Hmm, I wonder what it would take to get my account deleted like Crimson Edge did..?

Anyone remember when this place was cool? I'm having difficulty.

This place has the worst cancer i've ever seen.

Yeah, for some reason I actually came by the site.

That gigantic dramatic episode and unwarranted hostility so you could replace us with a gif. Fail.

Go to hell, dude.

After a a few days to get used to everything, I'm growing to dislike the redesign less. The user pages have definately taken a nice leap and bound, the forums are prettymuch the same, and I like the new layered flash viewer better than the old pop-ups. My cam situation was MUCH improved, as many inactive users were removed and I was finally put on a page people might actually click, and that doesn't feature YoinK; though I'll miss the camjokes at his expense.

That being said, I miss animated gifs. We're an animation site and yes I have heard "they're working on it" but I think it's ridiculous that we can't use animations in our sigs and profiles anymore.

I'm also very unhappy with the whole chat situation. When I first came here, Chat was my home onsite. Granted, everyone was kind of surly and prone to victimizing the new users, but it was honestly no worse than the BBS.. Especially since back then, the BBS was a kingdom of goatse and other shock pics. I actually avoided the BBS because of it, so despite a few flamers, chat was a safe haven of sorts.

Over the years it became a better environment, mostly due to Dan and Josey's efforts to remove the people that victimized the new users and slung hate buzzwords around in pathetic efforts to look e-badass. Granted, it was still full of sarcastic assholes, but so is this entire site. The majority of the crew that called, and still calls that IRC channel home aren't bitter, elitist users like certain other channels/user cliques, but infact a good portion of the userbase that keeps the forums and all other non-portal elements of NG such a fun place to kill time online. Yes, many of us are jaded and some of us are infact bitter, but with politics the way they are on this site, that's bound to happen.

What was done when the chat was excommunicated, was not done in a manner that reflects well on this site. It also wasn't fair. I wasn't even there, and I actually did my part to keep the channel hospitable, and now I feel like I've been shunned and blacklisted when I did nothing wrong. There are several other ops that have also unfairly come into this position of limbo.

All I did was the job Josey asked me to do, and op the channel. I was trusted with a position of responsibility and that's not something I took I took too lightly. NG has been my home for the past 5 years and I was happy to have a role that let me contribute in some fashion, even if it wasn't as "glamorous" as a BBS modship. I had my @ and I wore it with pride. Still do, in a way, though it doesn't mean much now.

Tom, though I doubt you'll read this.. You're not the only one who feels unappreciated and often ignored. How ironic that in the very week you post about feeling these ways, you let your brother amplify that feeling in others tenfold.

I feel like I belong, or am welcome on NG less by the day.

This post has been sealed.

sup knickers.