EPT
When I realized I wouldn't have full, 24/7 internet access in China the first thing I thought about was that I wouldn't be able to browse the forums here or follow the Korean ProGaming scene or check out all the fresh new relevant content in the SC2 forum. Just kidding about that last one.
It made me reflect back on what made this place so unique that it motivates so many people to do such selfless things, whether about ProGaming or whatever. TL.net is more than just an internet forum and it's almost doing a disservice to it to label it that. Could I have predicted that when I first started lurking in 2001 or when I joined in 2003 that I'd fully expect to be posting here six years later, or that it's not hard to see myself still visiting in 2020?
The most underrated aspect here is the format, coloring, and simplistic but aesthetically pleasing design. "Clean and simple" seems to be what Naz founded this site on, and as we see new features being added constantly, the general theme hasn't changed. The content speaks for itself, and no amount of huge flashy banners or crazy user icons can change that.
I've said this before, but there's a great balance here between random stupid threads/replies and genuine, on topic discussion. This is all because of the mod team and the relatively loose moderation style that puts trust in people rather than hardline rules. It's rare when you can actually see your moderators' personalities. They're not just big ego robot police who roam around banning. You can reason with them, discuss with them, and argue as long as it's done maturely. The mods here actually listen, post, and accept opinions of others to a degree that I've never seen elsewhere. This is because the mods are on average older and more mature than the rest of the posters, but it's also because all the mods are simply nice, reasonable people. It's a testament to how good the admins here are at selecting people they can put their trust in. In the history of this site, the number of moderators that have been demoted or had their powers taken away is zero, and it wouldn't surprise me if that number never rose.
Add to that a little bit of drama. We all secretly like the drama. Admit it. Too much is bad, but too little is boring. But in reality you don't rush to click that "Girl Help" topic to actually read the content, you want to see how everyone reacted. You want to see flames and counterflames, but because you actually care about the opinions of some of those making posts in there. This is where TL.net becomes awesome, because you're a part of this community where people actually remember your "personality" whether it's real or not. I realize that not everyone wishes or comes here to be that involved, but that's why I feel TL is worth it to me. Without that, who cares what score you got in LiquiBet or what happened last week when Savior played Terran or who made that hilarious/stupid/embarrassing post or thread?
It's funny that my first account here was banned almost instantaneously. Flash forward to a few years later and I'm on a three way MSN chat with babo and wow and we're discussing why LiquiScoop shouldn't be too crude or circus-like because it represents us to our peers and represents TL to an extent. If you told me that I'd value peoples' opinions that I'd never met over the internet so much, I would not have believed you.
Then again, if you told me that sometime in my future I'd be sitting in my apartment in New York watching a video game tournament on Korean television at 5:00 am with four strangers I had never met until that day, I'd never believe you either.
But when I get back in July, I wouldn't hesitate one bit to do it again, but right after I check what's going on in the forums, because there are four weeks of threads for me to catch up on.
