What is wrong with these MUGEN sites?

[Status-Lock]

I just registered to Newagemugen. After a day they banned & deleted my account. Why?

There is a questionnaire when you are registering an account. One of the questions is, how can you stop lurking, "suggestions only, no personal opinion." Everything is wrong with that question. OF COURSE, I COULDN'T ANSWER THAT QUESTION IN THEIR WAY!!! So, to the 50-100 ppl who did provide a solution, how is that solution working out for ya'll?

They turned out similar to that archive site.

 

Why is having an active forum such a big deal for these MUGEN site creators? I get it if you're a creator, I am a musician, I used to be active in music forums, but they DEMAND you to obligate yourself to post something every day like you're doing something so righteous, and if you don't, YOUR SO DISHONORABLE HOW DARE YOU NOT POST WHAT ARE YOU TRYNA TAKE ADVANTAGE OR SOMETHING (Careful, when you point one finger at someone , your other four are pointing back at you) I have a job, on top of that, have to do important things outside of working as well. I'VE BEEN TO SO MANY FORUM SITES, AND NO ONE GIVES A DAMN IF YOU DON'T POST, BUT MUGEN?!?!?!? SHEEESSSSH LMAO.

 

*The underline be my question.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Status-Lock

[Genka]

Hi Status-Lock

I can shed some light on this.
As a 20+ year veteran Mugen community member i've been on pretty much every forum (incl Newagemugen)

Your experience is due to a common misconception.
There is an assumption among all types of new/long-time users alike that all mugen sites operate the same.
Most mainstream sites operate as follows:

1. You register & download stuff
2. you post feedback (optional)
3. you join a discord
4. you post work/findings/videos/screenshots (optional)
4. you go about your merry way.

This is how 90% of all mugen forums have operated over 24 years of mugen.
(to name some, MFG, MFFA, MGBR, MMV, IMT, Mugenation, Mugen Infantry and many more.)

Then there are the other 10% of "underground" forums.
These are close-knit communities that operate more like organisations/fraternities rather than generic "warez" sites.

These sites have strict rules/guidelines and obligations that need to be met in exchange for membership.
The trade off of course is usually access to exclusive/private content unavailable anywhere else.
The registration processes are litmus tests to weed out members unlikely to add value to the community.

In the case of Newagemugen,
as I recall that site was founded by actual professional digital creators that work/worked in the industry.
Originally only advanced creators with design skills could join.
(Noz the Legacy screenpack guy & ExShadow the stage maker came from that group).
I remember the feedback among members there was brutal and they really pushed each other to improve and elevate.
The registration process & rules are intrusive on purpose to weed out people unlikely to add value to their community I guess.
I see there are lots of Youtubers with large followings that are part of that group nowadays so i see the logic behind this.

So in summary, I hope that explains the dynamic of mugen sub-communities.
If you are a casual user only after downloads & a few lulz on your days off work, this site and the other main stops are perfect.
But if you are looking for more high end content or to push yourself and really go deep on creation and high level/advanced mugen content among like-minded people,
then there is always those underground groups to explore at your discretion.

 

 

 

[Status-Lock]

Wow, that was incredibly insightful! Did not know that about Newagemugen >.> Thats kinda cool

That one site with the word archive in it, do they fall under the same category? Because it does not give that vibe lol especially since you can pay (ouch) for free downloads lol.

 

Seriously, once again, I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question.

[Genka]

Hi Status-Lock,

No problem at all :)
I've been around this community for a very long time, so always more than happy
to share some of my knowledge accumulated over the years :)

In regards to the "archive",
That situation is completely different, and a little lengthy to explain but I can try summarize.
Before I do, full disclaimer: I have no personal issues with any of the sites mentioned from here on wards,
 I am merely offering my personal observations from during the time of these events:

In summary, rewind to around 2008-2011.
Mugen forums were super active. Forums were were the lifeline of mugen . no discord or twitter then.

One particular site, we can refer to as "the Guild" was the main hub.
They had the highest activity compared to other sites.
It was always the first stop when you wanted new downloads.

There was a cabal of gatekeepers on that site at the time with specific views on "the rules of mugen".
Things like, always give credit, ask permission to use/edit. don't re-upload/share other peoples work and so on.
Mugen was a less friendly place for casuals just wanting to download stuff. It was definitely an ingroup/outgroup gatekeeper culture then.

Fast forward a few years, the japan mugen scene was on life support, many forums began dying off, so did links to older content.
What resulted was a resurgence of the long time mugen debate over warehousing & how resources should be curated.
The archive was born from this (they had another name before this). and so, war began between "the guild" and "the archive".

At the peak of this drama, it became a "this site" vs "that site".
After lots of toxicity, drama, personal beefs, name slurs, and an entire encyclopedia dramatica that ensued,
the end result was "the archive" became the most popular, and main mugen forum of today (atleast definitely among the younger mugen generation of today).

I heard someone on another forum once put it this way:
"The retro boomer bro coin-op gatekeepers of old, were usurped by the gen-z Anime generation"  (which i found quite humorous as a retro gamer of old myself XD)

Now to answer your question specifically,
"The Archive" as I understand does have a reputation for strictly and also questionably curating its members,
but that was born from necessity to manage their community during the drama phase;  and has just remained a constant.

I think that at it's fundamental core, the idealogy that members must post/interact/contribute, is an attempt to preserve the essence of what mugen was built upon, which is traditional public discourse on an open web forum - as opposed to snowballing group chats that fade into obscurity after 20 or more new posts, as we see on social media applications like discord which have widely replaced traditional forums like this one.

There were definitely pro factions of both sides fueling the fire, but ultimately, the reality is that a site similar to "the archive" was always going to happen,                                   regardless of by who and when.
The alternative would be that mugen knowledge, resources and the community aspect would have held by the gatekeepers
and less accessible/user-friendly than it is today.

So yes, there are always 2 sides to a story and nobody in glass houses should throw stones, and in this case, it's just another story from the legacy
of the wild, fascinating world that is mugen XD

 

 

[Dissidia]

That place used to be better managed when me and GLB were running the forum. Now it's become such a mess after the change.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience there. It's best that you simply don't go there.