NEW NEO GEO Online Forum Discussion

[Riko]

The plan is to for us to create a new Neo Geo discussion forum in the same spirit as the old NeoGeoForLife site ("...has been seriously wounded but it's soul still burns!")

Post and discuss here any ideas for the name of the new forum, the content, any things you want the new forum to specifically have (e.g. medals, post ratings etc)

Here are some ideas for names I have had so far :

Neo Geo Forever (Seems like a logical progression from NeoGeoForLife - and it goes a step further!) but also the name of a facebook group apparently

Neo Geo Unlimited

Neo Geo Eternal

The Future Is Now   (I do quite like this one)

Neo Geo Fanatic

Neo Geo Fan

Neo Geo Plus

Neo Geo Addict

Neo Geo Phoenix (because it's from the ashes of NG4L...)

Neo Geo Special

Gigashock! Neo Geo Discussion Forum

Anyone like any of these?

It seems sensible to include Neo Geo in the name (for online visibility reasons but I don't think it's essential)

As well as new names - feel free to use the names I have come up with and improve on them. Will be good to do some brainstorming on this!

[merlin]

You came up with some good ideas for names RiKo. I particularly like Neo Geo Forever and Neo Geo Fan. I'm struggling to think of any good names myself.

Were you thinking of creating a simpler kind of forum like ProBoards or a more complex site such as NGFL where you can have content in addition to the forum e.g. news, gallery, reviews section, downloads?

What forum sections should we have? Some forums I've seen definitely go a bit overboard with having too many sub forums. I think these would be the essentials (assuming people still want a high score section):

news and announcements / introductions / Neo Geo and SNK / Neo Geo Pocket / HSC / other games / handhelds? / unrelated discussion / TV and film / selling

I remember some people in the past asking for a Neo Geo Pocket sub forum. Maybe people would like to still have a separate anime section or you could have a combined TV/Film/Anime section.

I wasn't all that keen on the HSC medals but I know other people liked them.

Do we need a rules thread? Even though it will probably not be a very busy forum it might be worth having in case some new people join e.g. no rom links.

I like the idea of resurrecting Game of the Month and going through all of the Neo Geo library again.

If there any costs involved in the new site I'm very willing to help out with that.

[Murikov]

Thanks for the brainstorming, Rik!

I also like the ring of Neo Geo Forever or Neo Geo Fanatic, since it's also similarly abbreviated as before -> NGF.

But there seems to be a unrelated Facebook group called Neo Geo Forever:

www.facebook.com/groups/1269700643098946/

Also there seems to be a musician called Neo Geo Fanatic:

www.youtube.com/channel/UCE9YC3KKjzAMOD63uc2fL6A

We could go on with these in mind with some possibility of confusion, or take rather something not taken yet.

I also don't recommend Neo Geo Freak since it can be associated with the famous print magazine from back then or Dion Dakis' controversial group.

How about a compromise like Neo Geo Maniac?

Personally I think the most important feature should be a proper discussion board with the most important categories similar to the old forum, and everything else should be created out of demand (for example High Score Challenges, medals, et cetera).

The only thing apart from the forum that I remember people remnisicing about the old site were the reviews written by Kaz and some others. Sadly in that case, we would need Kaz's permission to post them, and as far as I know, he can't be reached concerned the subject of NGFL.

I also would be ready to pitch in for the costs and expenditures of the new place!

[merlin]

I've just realized 'Neo Geo Fan' is very similar to the French site 'Neo Geo Fans'. I also quite like Neo Geo Eternal. I thought of Neo Geo Rebirth which is similar to the Phoenix idea but I don't like it that much.

I think you're right Murikov. Having the main forum sections is the important thing and anything else can be added in the future if people want it.

That's a good point about the reviews. I've also been thinking about that. It would be easy to copy and paste them over using the Wayback Machine if we have the permission of the reviewers.

If we just have a simpler kind of forum like ProBoards or similar we could of course still have news, downloads, reviews etc. I could upload all my Neo Geo Freak magazine scans onto Mediafire.

Would be great if we can get a nice looking custom banner for the new forum.

[sukotsuto]

Neo Geo Life


I don't even know which one to go for on the list, I'm just going to add more to it with this suggestion to make deciding harder lol

[Riko]

Out of those original names I def like Neo Geo Forever the best too. I also think Neo Geo Maniac is definitely one for the shortlist.

Kaz might be contactable in future if not just at the moment. But we have the reviews written by the other members we can probably use. Good idea about the Wayback machine Merlin!

I agree too about the main forum and keeping it simple to start with. We could indeed start with a new Proboards forum and build from there. I do think when the medals and the ability to embed videos went from the old site, a lot of members started to disappear around then. So it is also good to have things like that and post ranks to keep people interested and posting long term.

I am also happy to help with any costs. Hopefully with a lot of us contributing it should be a fairly low amount. I think like a lot of us it's more a time limitation that I have.

I am also happy to run a Twitter/Instagram (or whatever there is now!) account to (hopefully) attract new members with news, and forum topics we are discussing. e.g. "What are the top 3 Neo Geo Fighting games? Have you say here *link". "Post photos of your Neo Geo Collection here", "Think you can beat the top score on Blazing Star....." That kind of thing to hopefully get people to join the site.

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I came up with some more names to throw out there and think about/play around with

Neo Geo Fever
Neo Geo Heaven
Neo Geo Passion
Neo Geo Together
Neo Geo Advanced Chat Forum
Neo Geo Central
Neo Geo World
Neo Geo Blast
Neo Geo Omedeto! (I like the idea of maybe using a Japanese word, not sure if this makes sense, but looking for a word like celebration or party)
Neo Geo Densetsu (sure this means 'legend' as used in Fatal Fury)
Maido Neo Geo OR Neo Geo Maido (Maido is a specific greeting word used in Osaka home of Neo Geo)

[merlin]

Some good ideas there RiKo. I like Neo Geo Fever and Neo Geo World.

The forum having it's own Twitter account would be a good idea.

I really like Neo Geo Forever and it seems to be the favourite so far. Perhaps it would be a bad idea having the same name as that Facebook group though. I thought of SNK Forever but it turns out that's the name of a very popular Facebook page.

Perhaps some of you were already thinking of this but after we choose the name we could register the domain name which wouldn't cost much. ProBoards and CreateaForum allow you to use your own domain name for a small yearly fee. It would look better than having proboards.com in the URL.

Another thing we could potentially do is pay to make the site ad-free. For ProBoards that would be a monthly cost of $6 which would give us up to 50000 ad-free page views each month. Some people may feel having a few ads is not a big deal and some visitors to the forum will be using an ad blocker anyway.

Once the site has been set up, if there's enough interest, we could have chat meets again. I would probably only take part once a month.

I also like the idea of running some kind of competition again in the future if the site has enough activity.

[Riko]

Good ideas about the forum registration Merlin. I was looking into it yesterday because I thought it might be a good idea for us to start a new forum on proboards and worry about the name later? It seems it is possible to do this - there is a one-off fee of $20 if you change the URL (to change the forum name is free but you have to pay to change the URL) But we would have to do this anyway - if we were going to get rid of Proboards from the URL and is no doubt covered under the monthly fee you mention.

I found a plug-in for "Awards" (little icons that appear under your avatar) which can be used for medals if we decide we want those support.proboards.com/thread/437466/awards-system

I think Neo Geo Forever is my favourite name at the moment. It just seems to fit best and is the most obvious choice so far. I like some of the other names a lot too but I don't think they have quite got it spot-on yet - or have they? Let us know. I know some of the old NG4L members are pretty creative so hopefully they can help us out here.

I liked your Neo Geo Gamer name btw. We can add all the names people like to a short-list and get everyone to choose/vote at the end

I also have some more name ideas.

Neo Geo Spirits
Legendary Neo Geo
Neo Geo Worldwide
Neo Geo International
Ultimate Neo Geo
Neo Geo o Shimasho! (Let's play Neo Geo!)

Neo Geo o Hanasho! (Let's talk Neo Geo!)

Neo Geo Otaku

Neo Geo Future

Neo Geo Now!

Neo Geo Gaiden

Neo Geo Takeover

Neo Geo Xtreme

Yes a competition is a great idea. I remember the art one we had before. Was good fun! I might still have my spare Mark of The Wolves mugs to give away as prizes. I'm definitely up for chats too

[merlin]

So far I like these the most:

Neo Geo Forever
The Future Is Now
Neo Geo Eternal
Neo Geo Fever
Neo Geo World
Neo Geo Xtreme
Neo Geo Central

Hope to see a few more people posting their thoughts about the new name and forum content.

That's not a bad idea RiKo. We could decide on a name after the forum has been set up.

My idea is that after we choose the name we could register the domain on GoDaddy or a similar site. The domain name cost on GoDaddy would be roughly $23 for the first two years. We could then pay ProBoards $13.99 each year so that our forum uses that domain name.

www.proboards.com/premium-forum-features

I really like the idea of having no adverts but I can understand if anyone feels $6 per month in addition to the domain name costs is a bit much. I'm willing to cover the full cost of us going ad-free for at least the first year.

I was thinking we could ask Shiny if we can use his avatars at the new forum assuming he still has them. (edit: I forgot NGFL avatars are smaller so wouldn't look as good at a ProBoards forum where the max size is 150 x 150) 

[shiny]

Hi guys.

Neo Geo Forever would tie in with Lee Gray's FB group, which is kind of related to the NGFL group. So that would be my pick.

[Riko]

Jan 10, 2021 12:56:57 GMT -5 shiny said:

Hi guys.

Neo Geo Forever would tie in with Lee Gray's FB group, which is kind of related to the NGFL group. So that would be my pick.

Good to see you here Shiny and thanks for your vote. I was actually going to try to find Lee Gray on NG4L Facebook group - But I didn't know he ran the NeoGeoForever Facebook group! This is good news and makes using "Neo Geo Forever" as a name, make a lot of sense. I'll get in contact with him over next few days. I assume he's message-able via FB

Jan 10, 2021 11:23:02 GMT -5 merlin said:

That's not a bad idea RiKo. We could decide on a name after the forum has been set up.

My idea is that after we choose the name we could register the domain on GoDaddy or a similar site. The domain name cost on GoDaddy would be roughly $23 for the first two years. We could then pay ProBoards $13.99 each year so that our forum uses that domain name.

www.proboards.com/premium-forum-features

I really like the idea of having no adverts but I can understand if anyone feels $6 per month in addition to the domain name costs is a bit much. I'm willing to cover the full cost of us going ad-free for at least the first year.

Thanks for your name preferences Merlin - duly noted

That seems like sensible way of doing it and a good price for the URL registration.

As for going ad-free: I guess we will have to see how many people are willing to contribute. I don't mind paying a small amount but if it's just a few people contributing then could add up to quite a lot over time. Thanks for your generous offer there!

EDIT: I spoke to Lee who runs the Neo Geo Forever group on Facebook . He was very cool about us using that name if we want to. He said he thinks Neo Geo Forever is a good name to use and wished us luck with the site *thumbs up*

[2d]

For those who didn't see my post on the other active thread ; it's your old forum member, Life_in_2D. Glad to see you all posting again.

I am happy that a few of you are taking up the torch and trying to revive our lost community. I have a few of thoughts;

- "Neo Geo Forever" sounds like the best choice -- hands down. It's cool that Lee Grey is ok with the new site using it.

- I think that it would be preferred to have no adds, but I don't think it would be that bad. Didn't Kaz's site have ads here and there? If funds are a problem, it would be best to have a few core people that are the site's benefactors. I am guessing it would be best to also reach out to other members periodically, maybe through like raffles ( games stuffs) and plain fundraisers / contests. I would be interested in being a money backer, if enough people can be recruited.

- I also think that we should resume regular chat meets, even if its once a month.

- If we are able to, it would be good to use the old reviews. I feel that the reviews and magazine scans were a major reason people visited the NGFL site. We can re-create these pages if necessary and just credit the old Neo-Geo For Life site.


Just thought I'd put my two cents in. Glad to see that NGFL is not completely dead.

- Cheers!

[merlin]

Good to see you posting too Shiny and I hope to see you at the new forum.

I hadn't realized there was a connection between that Facebook group and NGFL. I notice in the group's history that when it was created in 2017 it was called 'Neo Geo For Life | NGFL Sales And Trade Group'.

Good to hear Lee is happy for us to use that name RiKo. Neo Geo Forever is my favourite out of all the suggestions.

Thanks for adding your thoughts 2D.

Yes I think Kaz's site did have a few ads. Other ProBoards gaming forums I've looked at have ads too. I suppose to many people it's not much of an issue. I'm happy to cover the full cost for at least the first year.

I think having our own domain name, a nice looking custom banner, no adverts and possibly some kind of custom theme would make our site look really good.

I'm also very keen to take part in monthly chat meets again 2D. Hope we can have one when the new forum is launched.

[Sensi]

Neo Geo Forever would also be mine pick.

Some threads I would like to see return are:

- High Scores (archived ones) with hopefully new contributions
- What are you playing? (Neo Geo/retro/new)
- Magazine scans
- Selling forum
- Hardware


I don’t know if it make sense to start those threads at this place. How long are we staying here?

[Riko]

I think we are decided on the new name now then. "Neo Geo Forever". Minor question: should it be "Neo Geo Forever!" (with the exclamation mark) or not?

Speaking for myself, I have no artistic ability so would be good to get one (or more) of you guys with some - to work on the design of the site (over time, it just needs to be functional initially)

2D - yes I think the reviews were a big part of the site too. I really liked those. I know I still have all my magazine scans at least and I think Merlin has his too.

Sensi - Def agree with all of those threads/sections. And like Merlin said would also be good to have Game of the Month back too. I don't think it's worth making any threads here now - some of the sections here are locked anyway. I guess now we have the name we will be starting the new site very soon.

NEW FORUM IS NOW ONLINE HERE

neogeoforever.proboards.com/

This is just the default forum design and to begin with I created a basic structure based on the old forum. That's all I have time to do today, it's not refined or finished. I paid for the ad-free model thanks to Merlin's generous offer. It made sense to do it straight away because you get a month free that way. Please DON'T JOIN just yet. I want to try and register the URL (without the proboards part) and make it sure it works first. Just in case I have done anything wrong and have to start again - I don't want to lose anyone's posts

The forum belongs to everyone so any of the old members who wants to be admin can be. As admin you can make changes to the site - such as design and structure, move posts, threads etc. if you don't want to be admin you can still make suggestions via the suggestions thread on the new site, so no worries there.

I think after the name is registered, it makes sense just to start the forum and improve it gradually over time. Threads and posts can be moved around by admin as needed so we won't lose any of them. It's pretty hard to delete anything by mistake because there is a confirmation check that involves typing in a word and clicking a box.