The 'Shroom:Issue LXX/Interview
Greetings, Shroom readers! I'm Superchao, your new interview guy. Since Mr. Rooben has stepped down from his post due to lack of time, I'm trying to fill his giant shoes.
This month, I'm interviewing Bop1996, the newest Wiki Sysop on the block. Bop is a likeable guy, well known for his skill in rewriting certain infamous articles (such as several Luigi's Mansion ones). He's also been writing for the 'Shroom for several months, doing the Wiki Update section of Pipe Plaza. Besides that, he's rather known for being a huge Metroid and Retsupuare fan, and a popular user on both the forum and the chatroom.
But you didn't come here to read my summaries, you came here to read the interview:
The Interview
Me: Hello, 'Shroom readers! I'm your new interviewer host guy, Superchao!
Me: Here with me today is Bop1996. Say hi to the readers, will you?
Bop: hi
Me: So, let's start things off with our traditional opener.
Me: Bop, how did you find the wiki and decide to join it?
Bop: I believe I found it while googling for Mario information, and started using it regularly.
Bop: At one point, I found that I had information the wiki didn't, so I created an account and added it.
Me: If I may ask, what /was/ the information you signed up to add?
Bop: Something about Cosmic Clones and how they move exactly how Mario did even if he's completely changed the level, I believe
Me: Oh, yeah. That got me too.
Me: How do you wall jump off thin air seriously
Bop: I thought it was worth adding, s'yeah.
Me: Simple enough. So, who was your first friend here, anyway?
Bop: Probably Mario4Ever, if I recall correctly.
Me: You two are quite a pair. Did you become pals through common interests, or something else?
Bop: That, and a combination of both of us wanting someone to bounce ideas off of for creating an article we worked on.
Me: Makes sense to me. You guys have collaborated on multiple articles, after all.
Me: You're one of the newer users here, right?
Bop: Ehh, I've been around on the wiki since May 2010, so I guess compared to an ancient veteran of all events past, present, and future, I'm relatively new.
Me: None can escape my sheer oldness. *shakes cane*
Me: The point of this is: Are there ever any old retired users who you see stuff by and think "Man, it's too bad I was never around when they were. I'd have liked to meet them"?
Bop: Ehhh, most of the interesting ones are still active in the community if not the wiki.
Bop: Although given how much Shoey likes Time Q, I'd kinda like to see whether he's really as awesome as Shoey claims.
Me: I never really met Time Q, we didn't have reason to talk much. Sorry I can't help.
Me: ...wasn't his main interaction with shoey a six-month banning
Bop: Yes.
Bop: Shoey claims Time Q banned him in such an amazing manner it left an indelible impression on him.
Me: That's our Shoey, I guess.
Bop: Yes, that's our Shoey.
Me: You seem to get along really well with Shoey. Is wiki editing a contribution to that?
Bop: Part of it, and part of it is that we both understand each other's quirks quite well, and it generally leads to more pleasant conversations and good times.
Me: I'm glad to hear it.
Me: So on the note of Mario games, do you have a favorite?
Bop: Ehhh, probably 64, but I haven't actually really played through most of the old classics, so I don't have a great sample size or anything.
Me: How about for non-Mario?
Bop: Chrono Trigger or Metroid Prime.
Me: Actually, let's talk Metroid for a bit.
Me: You and MST3K are probably our community's biggest - or at least most obvious - Metroid fans.
Me: What draws you to the series?
Bop: Well, I personally really love the way most games in the series place you in complete control of your own fate, in a hostile alien world, full of interesting things that you can actually /do/.
Me: And I assume that is one of the reasons you're Not A Fan of Other M, considering it pretty much... does the exact opposite.
Bop: Well, as much as I hate Other M's story, I can't really claim to have much knowledge of Other M from a gameplay perspective, other than the fact that it has about as much cutscene as the entire rest of the series combined.
Bop: But yeah, I don't like it when a Metroid game takes you out of control.
Bop: And so the whole Federation orders thing usually feels like a letdown.
Me: Was that a problem when playing either Prime 2 or Prime 3?
Bop: Prime 2 wasn't nearly as bad, but Prime 3 suffered pretty heavily from it, except in Skytown, which was tellingly the best area of the game.
Bop: The same goes for Fusion, in which the endgame content is significantly better than the beginning.
Me: So to move back to the topic of the wiki. You've been promoted twice over, to patroller and to sysop.
Me: What was it like each time?
Bop: Well, the first promotion was a pretty big step up, what with suddenly having actual responsibility for the first time since joining. It definitely caused me to evaluate what I'd done here as a whole and see things from a larger perspective.
Bop: My second promotion, at least from my standpoint, was a bit more like having a few more buttons to push, and going back to being Shoey's favorite person to ask when he can't do something.
Me: It seems one of your biggest contributions is article overhauls. For example, fixing up the Daisy article.
Me: Is there a particular motivation that drives you to overhaul articles? Not that I'm complaining, of course.
Bop: Part of it's the fact that mass-scale removal of giant piles of idiocy is something I discovered I was good at, and part of it is that I actually have a lot of fun making fun of the things that I find.
Me: Heheh, yeah. There was a lot to talk about with the Daisy article, wasn't there.
Me: Is there anything you feel is your biggest and most important contribution?
Bop: Probably what I did to the Daisy article, tbh, because that's a very prominent page and all that.
Me: ...Was there opposition to your actions?
Bop: No, not really, I had a pretty large group of people in IRC who were laughing at what I removed/providing other voices so it wasn't just me, so it went pretty smoothly.
Me: Yeah, I remember that. It was enjoyable.
Me: So on the note of writing things. You seem to have a talent for creative writing, judging by all the "Monobop executions" you've done. How did you discover it, if I may ask?
Bop: You kept asking me how I would execute people, so I started getting the methodology down to a science, and then I figured out how to encapsulate that in a write-up through practice.
Me: Well, uh. I'm glad I could help you find your skill, then? I'm not really sure how to reply to that, sorry.
Me: Maybe we should just move on to the next question?
Bop: That works.
Me: Right, so. You're definitely a common cohost in the mafia section. What makes you interested in doing so?
Bop: Well, I've found that cohosting with someone that knows what they're doing is generally a good experience, and I usually seem to be in the right place at the right time for some reason.
Me: Do you like playing mafia or hosting mafia more?
Bop: Probably playing, since I get to actually utilize logic and such.
Me: So we've discussed wiki and video games. Any other hobbies you happen to have?
Bop: Well, I really enjoy reading good books, advanced math, and robotics.
Me: Books are definitely a good point.
Me: Math... I'd probably enjoy more if it wasn't frying my brain right now. <_>
Me: What kind of books, if I may ask?
Bop: Good books mostly, but I enjoy epic poetry, mystery novels, and philosophic dialogues the most.
Me: >Mystery novels
Me: Bop confirmed for good taste.
Me: Well, I'm running out of things to talk about. So now for the most important and essential question of all:
Me: Is this the last question?
Bop: That depends on whether you plan on asking another question during the course of the ensuing close of this article, during which you will inevitably attempt to outwit me with words into having whatever answer I give be wrong.
Me: ...
Me: It's no good if you already know my plan ahead of time.
Me: Seriously, though. Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed, and taking the time to get this done!
Bop: You're welcome, it was fun.
In Closing
While he hasn't been here as long as some other members, Bop has certainly established himself as an integral part of the community. He's been a major help to the wiki, and he's been a friendly fellow in all three branches. If you get the chance, you should certainly try to talk to Bop - especially if you like Metroid, Zelda, Retsupurae, or any of his other interests.
