Blogger Archive: TraderJake 
You know what? We have a chat. Normally it's fun, and it's absurd. Recently, however, things have gone by the wayside. I've not quite whored out our chat as much as I used to. Did you know that the last time I did one of these posts was in April of 2009? Back then, Jay Leno was still the Tonight Show host! And today, he's on the verge of becoming it again! How weird that these things come out to be. Anyways, I'm not the only one that's noticed that the chat has fallen to the wayside:
[23:45] Roehm21: dammit hang on
[23:48] Roehm21: Ok I think I got it now
[23:52] Roehm21: Where the hell did everyone go?
[23:58] TraderJake: the land of makebelieve
[23:58] Malygris: It's pretty awesome in here, lemme tell ya
[23:59] TraderJake: it sure is
[23:59] Roehm21: lol
That's right.... Where the hell did everyone go? Won't you join us in the chat? We have imaginary candy.... JOIN US, WON'T YOU???
Click Here for our Chat Page
Sorry about the downtime this morning. We had a log overflow and it has since been cleared. We're smooth sailing again now. For those of you who we greatly inconvenienced, we'll try not to do that again.
Keep it tuned to channel 3!
As many of you know, RF Generation was founded on April 28, 2004, by a wonderful group of people. At its insight, we were a tight community of gamers, collectors, and average Joes that loved the community we had. We still love the community to this day.
Many of you probably don't know this, but I was not the original Site Director. In fact, I wasn't even an original staff member. Site Director... was a position developed by me in late 2006 as a way to ensure that we had a group of people that would work together to keep the site moving forward. Prior to that we had a webmaster, and the original webmaster was none other than Michael Collins. We miss him dearly, but since his passing a lot of us stepped up to keep the site growing, and grow it did.
We're not the little community we were in 2004. These days, we've got many, many members who use us as not only a game and hardware reference but also as one hell of a collection tool, coded by my good friend Eddie Herrmann. We've added a lot of things to the site since that fateful day in 2004, and in doing so we've grown dramatically.
We used to be on a shared host. We've since crushed that shared host and then in the course of 3 weeks crushed the VPS we were on. These days, we're on a dedicated server with an 85 dollar a month bill.
We used to not have a submission system for regular members. Back in the day there were the wonderful "Submit Missing Games Here" and "Submit Missing Images Here" threads. Oh, they were lovely things, and that's how you guys were able to submit content.
We used to not have a hardware database or variants. Since then, we do. The system to submit such things has seen more revisions than Michael Jackson's nose.
We used to have one programmer that programmed everything in Perl. After our proprietary file based database began being corrupted under heavy load, I stepped up to assist in transitioning the site to MySQL driven, learning PHP in the process. These days, We're entirely mySQL based with some file based caching for our more intensive scripts.
We used to have a different site design. Check it out on the web archive. These days we have the current template, and maybe someday in the future we'll change it again.
Oh memories. We've grown so much, but in the process those of us who run the site have grown older and busier. You may notice that two of the four directors, Tynstar and Tan, are no longer directors. Life has required them to move on. Similarly, countless staff members have moved on to the site to bigger and better things. We thank them for their grand service.
Now, it is with a tinge of sadness, and also happiness that I must announce that it's time for Eddie and myself to pass the torch onto someone else. It's been a fun 3 or so years, but our age and schedules are finally catching up with us.
It is my pleasure to announce that Mike Fox (NES_Rules) will be assuming the role of Site Director. He's been one hell of an asset to RF Generation, and I know that he'll be one hell of a Site Director. I for one am happy that he took this role, and I thank him for taking the torch and running with it.
What does that mean for the site? Well, that means that Mike runs everything now instead of me. It also means that Eddie and I will be taking a lesser role in the operation of the site. While we will be sticking around as the technical crew that keeps the site up and running and also quashing programming bugs, Mike will be the guy who ensures that the site continues to grow. I know he'll do a great job.
So, on behalf of Eddie and me, I welcome Mike to his new role. Thank you Mike, you're a great asset to RF Generation, and I know you'll be fantastic.
Some things defy explanation. This video is one of those things. Did you ever think you'd see a pixelated Mario urinating behind a pipe? No? Well, it gets stranger, much stranger. I could explain all the wonderful / weird things that occur in the video, but perhaps it's just better for you to take a gander yourself. You'll find it in its relatively NSFW glory, after the jump.
Continue reading RFG Aside: One of the Weirder Things of the Internet
It's been a while since I last thanked you guys for your submissions, and trust me, we are greatly thankful. Without your submissions, our site wouldn't grow, and that would just lead to a greater obscurity than we already have. We don't want that. Did you know that in May we had 7800 submissions? Damn. That's a lot. Even wilder is the fact that we had over 5300 images added in that month. Pretty wild, if you ask me. As a comparison, in April we had 3106 submissions, which, while respectable, is greatly trumped by May's submissions.
What does that mean? Well, it means that some of you play to win a contest. And one of you did. Who is that winner? Well, we've tabulated the scores, and even with a halved score, Ga5ket is the winner! He kicked ass and took names with submissions over the duration of the contest. In May alone he had 3212 submissions, of which almost all were image submissions. Truly, he played to win. Ga5ket, do yourself a favor and PM St0rmTK421 with your shirt size, what you want (not to exceed $60) and details about getting your spoils to you.
Of course, some of you also played hard, and I'd like to give kudos to those who gave a valiant effort. y2ritchie, VACRMH, and Lios (even with the murderous -74 karma), you all did well. Of course, the last person in that list would have done a lot better had his karma not been so low, but yeah, don't worry, maybe next year.
There were countless other individuals that made submissions, and we are greatly appreciative for the contest. From all of us at RF Generation, thanks!
Wow, it seems like only yesterday, really. Interestingly enough, it's not. In fact, it's been 5 years since we launched. How time flies. Sure, a lot has changed since June 8, 2004, but we're still the same site at heart, and we'll continue to be the site that exists for you, our community.
Of course, some contest ended today. It seems as though in recent history contests start on April 28 and end on June 8. Some sort of symbolism, I guess. I hope you were taking part in that. The winner will be announced soon, basically as soon as I finish recoding the contest tallying script for submissions. Do you think I simply keep manual tabs on such things? Nah.
Hooray! Five years! What's not five more! To the future!
Music is a lovely thing. It really, truly is. Even after four long years of marching band, I still hold a love of music. Music is embodied human emotions, and can be quite moving.
There are some fantastic themes and songs within the Super Mario Universe, and a lot of them are pretty damn good. You're free to disagree, but if you do, pfft I say to you. Nah, I kid, I love all of you. Platonic, of course, but yes, MUSIC!
Here's something to enjoy tonight, Mario songs played by the James Madison University String Quartet. Enjoy!
 You know what? Five years on April 28 we came into being. Five years ago seems like such a long time ago, but it's true. We're really five years old. Are we getting up in age? You tell me.
A lot has changed in those five years, lots for the good, and some for the not so good. Whatever the ups and downs though, the truth is that we're still here and we're still going strong, thanks to people like you. Without you guys we'd be nothing, and for that we're truly grateful.
You know, with our birthday we like to do contests. This year is no different. As for what the contest is... why, it's the PAIN YOURSELF WITH SUBMISSIONS AGAIN CONTEST. We're evil, we really are, and we like to see you work for your spoils. Want to play? Here are the rules:
Submissions, they make the site go round. We just don’t grow if we do not have anyone submit stuff. Funny how that works, and well, we do have one heck of a community that loves to do submissions. Perhaps, with this contest, you’ll be interested in doing submissions as well. Submissions will garner you points, and these how are they are ranked:
Title Addition: 4 Points
Variation Addition: 4 Points
Page Edit*: 2 Points
Review*: 30 Points
Overview*: 10 Points
Image Upload: 15 Points
Submission Review**: 1 Point
Blog Post*: 30 Points
Blog Comment: 1 Point
Forum Post: 1 Point
Forum Karma: See Explanation
*Regarding the asterisk: For page edits, it is noticed that you are consistently only adding one field per edit multiple times for a single ID just to up your points, you will be disqualified. Any review or overview completed will count as a page edit as well the points for an overview or review. To get the points for an overview or review you MUST contact me via Personal Message so that I can keep a tally. In addition, the review or overview must be on the actual game / hardware page. A review or overview of poor quality could result in less points than stated being granted. The same statement holds true for blog posts.
Because we want the forum to be a lively place of fun and interesting posts, we're enabling Karma during this contest. Karma rewards members that make good posts and smites those who do not. Your Karma will play a wildcard role in posts. Positive Karma at the end of the contest will increase your point total by a factor, while negative karma will decrease it. The equation used to decide how karma affects your points will be announced at a later date before the end of the contest.
As with any contest, there is fine print. Any submission that you make must adhere to the RF Generation guidelines / policies. We wrote these policies and guidelines for a reason, and well, we’d like everyone to adhere to them. Failure to adhere to the guidelines could result in a disqualification.
Any point reduction or disqualification can be contested. In the event that you wish to contest, you must explain why the reduction or disqualification is unfair. If you win the contest, we’ll restore your greatness, but if you lose, you shall be pelted with figurative rocks and garbage.
**KICKER! Everyone, except for the directors of this site, is in this contest. There is a catch though for staff members… their final score will be halved. So, that should lead to a lively competition. I think halving their scores is fair, and I hope you do as well. Oh yeah, there is that 1 point for a submission review, that unfortunately only applies to staff members because they are the poor souls who must review your submissions.
What do you win? Well, we’re a poor bunch here at RF Generation, especially since we're on a dedicated box, but we've got a lovely prize for the top winner:
Gaming swag not to exceed $60 and an RF Generation Ringer T.
Also, anyone in the top 5% of points gainers shall get some sort of recognition, to be determined later.
So, won't you get started? The contest starts as of 20 hours ago (midnight last night). When does it end? It ends at MIDNIGHT, JUNE 8th, 2009. (Sunday 12:00AM) So, what are you waiting for? Have your cake and eat it too! Good luck!
 Oh, hello OH NOOOO! Otter. I've missed you so much. Has your need gone away, or have I been lazy? You decide. I'll report.
You know, GTA is a series that tends to be heavy on the mature themes, and in addition to cold blooded murder and sex, there's also the drugs. Generally, all those things exist in the virtual world only, and you get your virtual kicks. But, wouldn't it be interesting if Rockstar gave you a trinket for buying the game? Nah, it wouldn't be good, sex, murder, and drugs are bad, and best should be virtual. Here's for keeping those things virtual.
Well, turns out that when you buy used copies of GTA you increase your chances of having GTA become slightly more real for you. See, if you live in Britain, you have a chance apparently of buying a used pair of GTA games with Ecstasy tables stuffed in one of the game's manual. I bet that could be lucrative on the market, but, drugs are bad, and you should definitely turn them into the authorities.
So, the better question is will some evil British Politician use this story to tie games and drugs? Do playing games like GTA make you do drugs? Well, if you find the right politician, I bet you'll find out adept enough to contort the facts to reflect that. Will it happen with this case? Who knows, but we'll keep tracking this story for developments, because, you never know if games might make you do drugs. Just remember, drugs are bad, even if you do find Ecstasy in your case.
Report: Dad Finds Ecstasy Tablets in Used Copy of Grand Theft Auto [Game Politics]
*NOTE: Drugs really are bad. Don't do them.
You know what? We have a chat. It's absurd, and it's fun. Want to see a sample of our absurdity? Sure you do:
[23:32] *** TraderFake is now known as Alfaxxor. [23:33] Alfabor: doesn't rhyme. [23:33] Alfacor: ONLY ONE LETTER CHANGE [23:33] Alfabor: nice try. [23:33] Alfaxxor: I DO NOT CARE [23:33] Alfabor: better luck next time. [23:33] Alfaxxor:  [23:33] Alfacor: You don`t add more, you`re messing it up! [23:33] Alfacor: Now he`s not gonna give you +o [23:33] Alfaxxor: YES! [23:33] Alfacor: YOU`RE MISSING OUT [23:33] *** Alfaxxor has been kicked from #rfgeneration by Alfabor: you damn well better make your name right [23:33] Alfabor: oops. [23:33] Alfabor: he doesn't know how we roll, does he. [23:34] Alfacor: Nope. [23:34] Alfabor: whoops. [23:34] Alfabor: oh well. [23:34] Alfabor: well, he was a nice guy. [23:34] Alfabor: way to lose that member. [23:34] Alfabor: he apparently does not have autorejoin [23:34] Alfacor: Yep, he`s gotta do it right. [23:34] Alfabor: so... will he ever come back.
And that is the $64,000 question. Did Lios come back? The only way you will know is if you join #rfgeneration. So yeah, won't you join us? JOIN US, WON'T YOU?
Click Here for our Chat Page
March. It's the month after February, and see, it's another one of these months of the year. And with each passing year comes new submissions for the site. Last month saw 2894 new submissions for the site, of which the games database saw 2818 new submissions. You know, I think you can hear the hardware database crying in the distance because it's being neglected. Won't you do something about that? Ah, I kid, I kid. Sure, submit more stuff for the hardware database, but over 2800 submissions is no small feat, and I am ever appreciative for that. Also, we added 466 new images to our databases last month. That's nice, isn't it?
So, who kicked ass, took names, and reigned as the top submitter last month? Why, it was our prodigal son, Izret101! I guess being away from staff duties for a long time made him really want to make 836 submissions last month. Although, he could just be driven. Who knows. Of course, ApolloBoy, Madir and Pop Culture Portal weren't really slacking either. They were the next highest submitters, and kudos goes to them. Of course, we want to recognize everyone who made submissions last month, and give kudos to those of you that made more than 50 submissions last month:
Izret101, ApolloBoy, Madir, Pop Culture Portal, ga5ket, Tan, audioman83, Funk_Buddy, Zenki.
Thanks goes to them and everyone else who made submissions last month!
In addition, many of these submissions need to be approved by staff members. Last month, NES_Rules was our top approver, with a whopping 390 approvals. Of course, many other staff members approved your submissions, and thanks goes to all of them, especially those who made more than 50 submissions:
NES_Rules, ga5ket, ApolloBoy, Tan
I really appreciate all of you who have reviewed the submissions and made the submissions. It is YOU guys that make our site grow. I just provide the scripts that allow you to do it. From all of us at RF Generation, Thanks!
You know, the Church of RF Generation was fantastic. It might have been a little late, but late to the party is better than no party at all. I'd like to give Den props for the idea, images, and color palette. It truly was fun.
As many of you know, we started our server move Sunday Night. It didn't exactly go to plan. Something bad happened which kept us from coming back in time. In that emptiness, I hope you found something to keep yourself occupied. If you didn't, rest assured that we are back and on a new, faster, better server. It's nice. Also, we have a better control panel and we we're saving six dollars a month. Hooray to that.
I hope you enjoyed our April Fools joke. It was fun. If you're new here, April Fools is a High Holy Day for RF Generation, and we go all out. Additionally, we do not take suggestions for April Fools, so don't even try. I'll ignore any message regarding it. Might even block you. We take pleasure in knowing that only a certain few people know the gag, and it's generally a surprise. From Composite Generation, to Pretty Generation to Toddler Generation to Geriatric Generation to the most recent Church of RF Generation... we love April Fools. Until next year!
My children rejoice, the time of ascension is at hand. 2008 was a horrible year for us, and we were penalized badly with massive downtime in the months of April and May. This downtime lead us to search for the reason why we were down for almost two months. We searched far and wide through our logs and files, but we simply couldn't find any reason as to why we were down. It was frustrating, until we decided to reflect on our own actions. It was there, that we saw the error of our ways.
We thought long and hard about this change, and we thought hard for a reason. See, we people at RF Generation were heavens, our lax nature and our lackadaisical manner had struck the ire of the Gods. We had initially decided against doing something drastic, but this decision struck the ire of the Gods, as just noticed. It was so obvious, looking back, that we were horrible, horrible people. We were so busy trying to please our members that we simply forgot about the Gods, and they simply didn't appreciate that. In their vengeful wrath, they sent our site into limbo for two painful months. The wrath was swift, it was painful, and looking back, we understand their ire. In that respect, we repent.
Today is the culmination of ten months of reflection and identity seeking. We all truly were sinners to our Gods, and we are truly sorry to have displeased them. We wish, and will make amends to our deities. The RF Generation you know has been cleansed. Today, we begin the process of rolling out the product of our cleansing. Today, we launch our Church. We have for far too long ignored our deities. Today is the day we make things right.
The Church of RF Generation has been founded on the principles that our deities never be ignored. Who are our deities? They are the pillars that allow and foster our being as gamers and collectors. Our pantheon consists of many deities, but no deity reigns supreme. They are all equal, although everyone of us might hold one closer to our hearts. I know I personally pay special homage to Yevon. Perhaps you worship one of the holy grails of game collecting, Nintendo World Championships. Some our members find this deity to be most benevolent and at the same time most elusive.
The truth is that we all pay special homage to our deities that make video games what it is for all of us. We will never forget these deities. Our church will be a constant reminder and source of piety for our gaming deities. We love them, and always will follow them.
Join us in the Church of RF Generation. Find the deity that best suits you. Enjoy your games and collecting, but never forget of those deities that afforded you the amazing hobbies you have today.
-David Murnan
Supreme Chancellor, The Church of RF Generation
This is just a notice to let you know that we begin the process of moving to a new server tonight at 10PM Eastern. I haven't disabled anything yet, but chances are somethings might get disabled during the move. Things might be pushed into read only mode, I am not sure yet, but I just want to give you kids the heads up before some kids start freaking out.
Our host has offered to upgrade our server for free. Better yet, the new server will be 10 dollars cheaper a month. Needless to say, we're moving servers. Image Submissions are disabled until we finish the move, which hopefully will be wrapped up by the end of Tuesday. Other things should remain online since the mySQL tables are pretty portable. We'll keep you posted to the changes, and if anything should go awry, our emergency blog will have the information you're probably going to be looking for. We don't anticipate any significant downtime, but it's always good to be prepared.
Thanks for supporting us, and we hope to see you on the flip side of the server move.
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