Star-struck

On November 17 2011 18:26 itkovian wrote:
So there I was, stumbling through TL late at night, reluctant to get off as always. Late may be a relative term, it was only twelve but I had a midterm the next day so I guess we can say I was up “late.”

I had wandered off on some tangentential path through the annals of TL, and somehow I came to a thread asking why there was no easy feature that allowed you to see posts which you had been quoted in. I had always wondered about this as well, as sometimes I’d find myself tabbing through thread pages “command-f” + Show Spoiler + searching my name to find if people had responded to anything I had said.

Turns out, there was an easy way. By searching your own name under the TL search feature as “content only” you could find posts in which people quoted you. Shocking, I know.

“Yippee!” was I excited. And lo and behold, when I searched my name I found plenty of posters that had quoted me in threads. I was delighted by the prospects, and at the same time a little sad to see all the potential conversation and banter I had missed out on. Sometimes, I felt like I was in a room full of shouting people with little chance of having my own voice heard or noticed, so seeing people actually recognize my posts was kind of a neat feeling.

Anyways, so I looked down the lists of threads in which I had been quoted in and I saw I had been quoted a few times in the thread “1.4.2 Patch Live”. Great, I thought, probably some protoss trying to engage in a balance discussion with me about ghosts. Enthralling. I clicked anyway.

I saw someone poking fun at my comment and my name. I smiled to myself, as his accusations made sense. I had complained about how my weak TvP was going to be even weaker with the patch. Yet my namesake, the character “Itkovian” in the Malazan Book of the Fallen Series, was known for being determined and relentless. Someone that never complained and did the impossible. So the guy had a point.




And then my head exploded.

That’s right. The great, benevolent StarStruck had quoted one of my posts. This was a guy I worshipped and respected. A guy I rooted for in all tournaments situations. And here he was, acknowledging little ol’ me: some forum scrub. And even better, he knew the character my name was in reference too!

I was so surprised by all of this that once my head had rematerialized all I was able to do was stand up and look around my room aimlessly. I went out to tell my roommates, but I realized none of them were big enough starcraft nerds to realize the gravity of the situation, so I returned back to my chair and thought. I thought about how cool Team Liquid is. How awesome this site is, in the fact that it can unite the lowliest scrub with the most bad ass professional starcraft players on the scene. A place where anybody can talk about starcraft without limitations and borders. Pro-players don’t get special posting rights, or special “elite” forums where they can talk away from all the noobs. No, everything is there for anyone to post on.

I can think of nothing else that can compare. I try to think of a scenario where professional basketball players are discussing basketball in an open room with regular people, each regular player getting their own say in turn with the professionals, and such a thing doesn’t exist. You don’t see any panels or round tables where my grandma could be potentially sitting next to StarStruck. And on TL you don’t see any bodyguards or strong-arms pushing around casual posters so that the professional players can have their say uninterrupted.

Ultimately, what I’m trying to do here is thank TL for providing this open medium for discussion, where everyone has an equal voice and everyone has a fair shot to say whatever they want, no matter who they are. It’s just an awesome feeling to know that I am reading and participating in the same discussions that thousands of other players, and dozens of professional caliber competitors are participating in at the same time. I think TL is one of the main reasons starcraft community is thriving so vibrantly right now. Players feel like they can achieve anything when they are talking along side the same people they watch play on their screens.

So once again, thanks TL for this wonderful opportunity <3

P.S. StarStruck if you read this, I’ll try and live up to my name a little better. No more weak attitude from here on out : )

On November 17 2011 19:52 SigmaoctanusIV wrote:
Jealous T__T One day I will get quoted by someone as awesome as NonY!!!!

To: Day[9] [ Profile | Buddy | User Info ]
Subject: Re: SHOUTCAST
Date: 6/26/09 09:20
lol me too i need you at your peak

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Original Message:
FUCK YES!!!

my mom is actually purchasing a high quality microphone for my b-day! (saturday). I sure hope it'll arrive by the 1st WOOWOO ^_^_^_^

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Original Message:
Day[9]. I know you have been training for this day all your life.

I would not trust the cast to anyone. But I will trust it to you.

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Original Message:
can i shoutcast you vs combat ex PLEASE PLEASE LOL OMG!

On November 18 2011 02:23 Chill wrote:
Haha it's fun to remember how doing something so little can mean so much to somebody.

Conversely, I remember that I sent a PM to Day[9] in 2006 that he never replied to that made me bitter towards him for a little bit - it makes me wonder how many people I've unknowingly made bitter towards me.