Memories of the Social Cafe Union

Hey, it's been a while. I just wanted to say I'm still around, and I've been nostalgic for this place lately. Back in the early 2010's, my time on the internet was dominated by GameSpot, and more specifically, The Social Cafe union. Unions were what made GS stand out from other gaming sites, and SCU was the biggest union of them all. This ended in late 2013 was the new GS, which killed off the unions, with most of the boards from them being deleted altogether, with the remaining few being turned into regular boards, just hidden (like this one). How times have changed

It's coming back to me now. We had posting milestone parties here, hot seat threads, (where we asked members of the community random questions) and just threads that went on for so many pages.

I know @horgen, @ArmoredCore55, @kitty (formerly 2ndWonder) and @PiscesChick93 are still lingering around on this site, or at least have within the last year. I still talk to @mitu123, but not on this site. I used to talk to @Noteldnep outside this site a bit too, but I haven't in a while.

However, fastesttruck, jediknight and The_Last_Ride are banned. I also haven't heard from @Kelayr, (formerly SilentExistence) @Toph_Girl250, @leon2365, @papermariofan57, @julian_jr, @Racer_XLR, @megamannt123, @Princess-peach, @cousin_eddy, or @harry_james_pot in years.

So if any of you that I tagged see this after not being on the site in years, yeah, it's still around. Though, pretty much every board here, except OT, System Wars and Political Gamers (a relatively new board) are dead. So, how is everyone doing?

Oh yeah, you guys may have gotten two notifications from this. I had to delete the last thread, because I messed something up.

@TAMKFan: Two notifications? I got 4. :P

I am afraid that I do mix up this union and those who used to post on @double_decker UCB which was also quite active when this union was active. Apologies if something I post when it comes to memories from here isn't actually from here. Some of the same users as well.

@nikkycat used to go by a different username, right?

SilentExistence had a red avatar, right?

Fun times withthis board. It started in 2006 or so? I think I joined this board somewhat in 2008 or 2009. Top posters list is bonkers wrong though.

It has indeed been years since I was last on this site. Once union's went away, the site lost its charm as a place to chat for me really.

Nowadays I occasionally read a review here but I honestly don't visit this site anymore.

I'd say about 95% of my memories on this site have been forgotten tbh.

So much has changed since I've been here. But I am indeed still alive.

And got 4 notifications as well haha

I edited my post a few times. Maybe that has something to do with it?

I recall being on the UCB for a while, but then he deleted it or something.

Oh yeah, I probably should have mentioned @nikkycat, but yeah, she was CuteKitten or something. I haven't heard from her in years either.

SilentExistence had an Alucard avatar and a few others. You could be thinking of the Alucard one.

I think it started in 2007. And yeah, the top posters only describes those who have posted here since the site redesign.

I assume you gotten those notifications through your email?

But yeah, like I said, unions were what made this place unique. Now, it's just another gaming site. The only reason I come on this site at all anymore is the nostalgic memories. I'm glad to here you're still around though.

That could be it.

Ah CuteKitten. I think I have seen her a few times over the years, though I could be mixing her with someone else.

It's a damn shame some users went overboard with the posting here. Fastesttruck could still be around I think if he kept his head a little cooler.

@TAMKFan:

Yep, I got email notifications. So what goes on now? Should we keep this place alive in our own terms? Do we advertise it in the OT section to see if peeps want to come around?

Do we move to discord or telegram?

And also how have you been?

I still check this site. I mostly just check the OT board these days here.

I still miss the unions sometimes, too, and some of the people that used to post here.

@horgen: Yeah, I remember fastesttruck spammed thousands of posts on his UCB to stay on top of the top posters list. I believe this is what lead to his ban.

@leon2365: Perhaps we can start posting here more again. Just don't expect a lot of activity. I think anyone is OT would rather just stay there. And I've been fine.

@ArmoredCore55: Yeah, I seen you're still around some. I wish GS would have never done that whole redesign, but I know it kind of had to be done.

I'm still here. Sometimes I do wish all the old friends/people I met would stop by.
It was fun chatting and getting to know you all. You guys really helped cheer me up and give me something to look forward to all those years. I won't lie, life was rough. But well that could be said for a lot of people.

I do wonder how everyone has been and it's nice to see that you're still around and remember us all.
Speaking of Fastest, had he just done what he did normally, he would have been fine and could have eventually taken the lead.
He got obsessed, along with another person.
That said I pinged your message a bunch of times xD I hope the others see it and eventually stop by here.
It would be nice to come back together after all these years. Even if it's just to say Hi.

@kitty: Have you spoken with Double_Decker since his UCB closed down?

@TAMKFan:I think that was it. As well as what led to the counter for a staff user being set to 999 999 or so.

@TAMKFan: I agree. I've felt like this site was trying to be too much like GiantBomb.

I just check here to see how friends are doing and stuff.

Well, a huge chunk was taken out of his post count as well. Probably because his whole UCB was deleted, even before the site redesign.

What do you mean you pinged my message? I'm not familiar with this.

@TAMKFan: I never posted in his UCB, however that could explain why I lost 10-15K posts when DD UCB was deleted.

He had a private board, which was what you could make as a paid member back then.

You could change the settings and make it available to friends or simply not tell anyone at all.

He made one and had another user come in there with him. I'm guessing fastest really wanted to be at the top of everything. So they decided to spam in there, literally posting thousands of messages that made no sense and warranted no discussion at all. This was most likely the plan to reach a number no one could beat.

So when you do the @usernamehere

It will send a message in the email for that person and show here

Hi!=O

Yeah I have moved on to other things and sites so my appearance here is once in a blue moon, or heck once a year it seems, lol. Youtube for example takes up all my time since I'm a Youtuber for years now.

@kitty said:

@TAMKFan said:

Well, a huge chunk was taken out of his post count as well. Probably because his whole UCB was deleted, even before the site redesign.

What do you mean you pinged my message? I'm not familiar with this.

He had a private board, which was what you could make as a paid member back then.

You could change the settings and make it available to friends or simply not tell anyone at all.

He made one and had another user come in there with him. I'm guessing fastest really wanted to be at the top of everything. So they decided to spam in there, literally posting thousands of messages that made no sense and warranted no discussion at all. This was most likely the plan to reach a number no one could beat.

So when you do the @usernamehere

It will send a message in the email for that person and show here

Yeah, I remember that. I was briefly a paid member too, so I had my own UCB, but it was hardly used.

I know about the notification thing too. I was confused when you said you pinged my message.

Well, I think this is the first time I visit this site for a year, I believe! I'm not too much into gaming anymore, but GS helped me grow up a lot as a person! So I appreciate it, and yes, those years were great times! Addicted, but great! I hope everybody is doing well!

According to your post history, it's your first post in 4 years. I assume you got the ping from email here?

So, what are you doing on the internet these days?

In the last several years, I had moments where I actually forgot about this place because I’d moved on, but I couldn’t fully forget my time of being in this community (in 2012 and 2013) if I tried. Hard to believe that is now almost 10 years ago.

The unions were definitely a huge staple that kept so many members on the site. Lots of them were very active every day and they gave a feel that’s better described by my memory of them. I guess the best way I could put it is, they felt like a virtual home.

I'll always remember this board and site in general, but I very rarely post anymore. It's telling that I only just discovered your post here two months later. And now that it's 2022, it is now ten years later. 2012 was also probably the year this particular board was at its most active.

It seems like the vast majority of the union users have left the site altogether.

Where do you hang around at these days?

@TAMKFan: At least they kept some of the union boards on the site, but it’d be nice if they got activity.

As for forums I’ve been on lately, I don’t really have a main forum I visit daily (still searching for one though). I still post some on PRIMETIMER (formerly PreviouslyTV), but I’m not currently on any other video game forums besides here. I stopped going to Gamer’s Planet a while ago.

I still visit Primetimer sometimes too. It's the closest there is to TV.com these days, which itself unfortunately closed down altogether a couple years back. The Gamer's Planet doesn't even seem to work for me anymore, but the last time I checked it, the site was dead.

Forums in general just aren't what they used to be anymore.