The 'Shroom:Issue LXXVIII/Interview

Interview by

Greetings, Shroom readers! It's your continuously regular interviewer and successful but stressed Awards Subdirector, Superchao!

This month is the special Awards Issue. Therefore, who better to interview than the AC director, Turboo? She's been around the community for five years or so, and has been pretty active on the forum and chat all that time. She also recently started becoming active on the wiki, but most significantly, has been the Awards Director for both 2012 and 2013.

And that's enough of an introduction. Time for the important part!

The Interview
Superchao: Hello, 'Shroom readers! Since this is the special Awards Issue, I've decided to go ahead and interview the Awards Director, Turboo! Turboo: Hello everyone! Superchao: Now, since this is the Awards Issue, naturally I'm going to completely put off the awards stuff until halfway through and start with the basic questions. Superchao: How and when did you find the MarioWiki? Turboo: I think it was in... probably 2007 that I came across it. Turboo: I don't remember what I was searching for, but I did end up lurking around the forums more than the wiki. Superchao: From what I remember, I don't think you joined until around 2008? Is there a particular reason or was it just because :effort: Turboo: I didn't have an e-mail at the time and thought that signing up on the wiki required one (who knows if it did or not back then), so I held off on it until the summer of 2008. Superchao: Honestly, I don't remember if it did or not. But better late than never. Turboo: I had also found Userpedia (back when it was on Scribblewiki; this was right before the crash, actually), so sometime in mid-August I ended up connecting to #userpedia. Turboo: The first thing I did was introduce myself and mention the first username I would end up taking (The_Chozo_Yoshi), though I didn't get an account on the MarioWiki until a few days later. Superchao: Out of curiosity, what inspired that username? Turboo: I think it was just something basic like "I like Metroid and Yoshi, so let's combine the two". Superchao: Well that's pretty much how half the users came up with their names, so as long as it works! Superchao: While we're on the subject of names, you seemed to change your name a lot in the old days. I assume that was because changing interests, so the question is why did you decide to stick with Turboo? Turboo: I got used to it, I suppose. I also got the nickname Turb out of it, which is pretty much what everyone calls me nowadays. Superchao: Yeah, I don't know if I've ever seen you called anything like TCY, myself. Superchao: Stepping back for a moment, you're definitely one of the most regular users on IRC, including #mwchat. What made you interested in sticking around once you were introduced to chat via #userpedia? Turboo: Probably joining #mariowiki back when it was still an official channel, and having a nice first day there. It made me want to keep coming back, and so here I am five years later. Turboo: Looking back on it, pretty much the entirety of 2009 was a clusterfuck. I'm glad I didn't end up running off and never heard of again, though! Superchao: Well, I for one am also glad you didn't. But what was so clusterfucky about it? Superchao: Besides, I assume, the hack thing. Turboo: Well, besides that, there was Stooben's account being compromised and #mariowiki getting bombarded with people from Yahoo Answers. Superchao: Sounds like I might have picked the right year to perform Blocky's Marvelous Disappearing Act. Superchao: On the note of the hack thing, though, why did you guys do it anyway? IIRC you guessed Tabuu's password and Jorge did the nukeDPL part, so... Superchao: but what was your reasoning? Turboo: I think it was frustration with Userpedia and Tabuu's attitude. It originally started out as a joke that we didn't plan on going through with, but I happened to guess his password due to him accidentally revealing it on IRC (it was the password to one of his channels, I think?). Turboo: I remember we struggled with whether or not to do it for a few hours, though you see how that ended up. Turboo: They mostly held it against Jorge, probably because he was the one who ended up pressing the button and logging in to his wiki account. Turboo: To elaborate a bit more on an earlier point, we were frustrated that UP was dying and that Tabuu had such a cocky attitude about his stories and everything else he did. Superchao: That's some understandable frustration, I'd say. Anyhow, thanks for explaining that. Turboo: No problem. Superchao: Now, to move on to another matter: considering how well you took the chat reception/stuck around at wiki and forum, I'd guess you'd definitely made some friends early on. Why not tell us about who and why? Turboo: I think my main friends during 2008 were Jorge and DP (now Dippy). Superchao: Honestly, I've always found it a funny coincidence that we were both best buds with Jorge but at different times. Turboo: "During 2008" is pretty inaccurate for Jorge, though; we continued being friends for years after that (I'd like to think we sort of still are now, even if we hardly talk). Aside from the aforementioned hack, we ended up collaborating on a website (B-KWiki), among other things. Turboo: (and yeah, we both ended up nagging him a lot) Superchao: (That we did. Ah, memories.) Superchao: It's always nice when you remain friends with someone, although I'm curious how you two became friends. Did you just hit it off over Userpedia stuff? Turboo: It was IRC stuff rather than Userpedia stuff, really. We did do some stuff on there, but most of our interactions were on IRC. Turboo: As for Dippy, we talked a fair bit in IRC back in 2008 and made the IRC channel #metroidprime (which has been unused for a long time, but I think it was fairly active back when it was used). He also planned on including me in Master Wikians before it was cancelled. Superchao: Did you two bond over Touhou, or had you not yet discovered it? Superchao: Also, I remember he was going to include me in Master Wikians too. Oh well, what could have been wasn't. Turboo: Neither of us had discovered it in 2008, I'm pretty sure. Even if he had, I hadn't played the games at that point, so I wasn't interested in it beyond some of the music. Turboo: Also, I don't think we really talked in 2009 or later, but nowadays we're friends again (even if we still don't talk that often). Superchao: Again, it's always nice to stay on good terms. Superchao: Of course, these can't be the only people you consider friends. What about some of the people who you didn't get to know until 2009 or later? Turboo: I'd say the most notable ones would be 2257, Uniju, and you. Superchao: Well, I remember that in my case, we bonded over Awards work and Dangan Ronpa last year. How'd you get to know the other two? Turboo: I think I remember seeing 2257 in... late 2008 or early 2009 on IRC. His name was all-caps (i.e. TWENTYTWOFIFTYSEVEN), and at first I thought he was some kind of bot. Turboo: We ended up RPing in #paperchat (things like sneaking into the deserted FNL studio and using the notebook from Scribblenauts to acquire Varia Suits) sometime in late 2009. After that, we just kind of... kept talking, and eventually became really good friends. Superchao: Is that where Infiltrating the Core came from, out of curiosity? Turboo: No, that was something separate from late-night #mariowiki. Superchao: Ah, I see. Turboo: Nothing in particular happened with Uniju; I think we became friends just as a result of me being in #mariowiki a lot, as well as sticking around after the split. Superchao: Well, you're certainly still buddies. Even if he has a... unique way of treating his friends. Turboo: Yeah, overall, we're still on pretty good terms, regardless of the way he is sometimes. Superchao: Now, on the note of the chat. Quite clearly, you're trusted, considering that you're an operator. How'd you get the job to begin with? Turboo: I think it was about a year after I first joined and around (right after? I think I might have talked about it with Stooben the night before, during the ceremony) the 2009 awards that I was promoted to #mariowiki op. Turboo: This was carried over to #mwchat once the channel split happened, and I'm still an op to this day. Superchao: And since that answers when, why'd they promote you? Superchao: In the first place, that is, back at #mariowiki Turboo: I think it was just something basic, like "this person seems like a fairly active and rule-abiding user and they'd be good at keeping the peace, so let's promote them". Superchao: Well, you can't say that's a bad reason. Superchao: As for the wiki. You were promoted to patroller a few months ago, which I believe was just for the general work you were doing? I can't remember the details offhand, sorry. Turboo: It was image work (quality requested and image requested), creating pages for WarioWare stuff (and updating existing pages), and just in general projects, I believe. Superchao: Ah, well that is useful work. Superchao: But the question is, why'd you start all this in 2013? You had been around for five years or so by now, so it was certainly kind of a turnaround. Turboo: I think it really started when I worked on some of this old Affiliation-removing project back in January/February of this year. After that, it just snowballed from there and I ended up editing more and more. Superchao: What's it like, being a patroller? Turboo: It's not a completely different experience from being a regular user, but there are a few new administrative responsibilities. I'm happy with the position, because I feel like I can help out more when it comes to vandalism and certain important decisions. Superchao: Meanwhile, you haven't ditched Userpedia entirely, considering that from what I remember you're an op in the chatroom. Superchao: How would you say your impressions of Userpedia back in 2008 compare to nowdays? Turboo: I don't really think that being an operator on the chatroom is the same as being involved with the wiki itself (this holds true for #mwchat and MarioWiki). Turboo: Anyway, I never really got the chance to read or look at anything on Scribblewiki Userpedia due to it crashing a while after I joined, so I'm not sure if I actually have an opinion on anything from back then. I think I was somewhat enthusiastic about it, but that could have just been my general attitude at the time. Turboo: Nowadays, I guess Userpedia is... sort of mediocre? It seems to have a lot of difficulty with bringing new users in; comics are dying out, and the writers are usually the same people (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but this ties into my comment about a lack of new interest in it). The Fan Creations board on the MW forum seems like it's used for UP fiction discussion instead of the UP forums themselves. Turboo: I don't know if I really have any place to talk, though, since I don't have any ideas for drawing people to it, nor do I contribute to it myself... Superchao: Well, I have to agree with you there. It's certainly never achieved the same level of interest. Superchao: But one thing you do contribute to, and the reason I interviewed you for this issue, are the Awards! Superchao: (Sorry about the rather nonorganic topic change, readers) Superchao: From what I remember, your first awards involvement was as a "major contributor" in the everyone-on-committee 2009 ceremony, and then as a committee member in the 2011 committee under Ralphfan. Why don't you tell us about your times there? Turboo: Actually, I wondered why I was listed as a major contributor in 2009! Turboo: All I remember doing that year was a (bad) presentation, since there was no committee and I can't recall if we had #mwikiawards meetings or not. Turboo: I think I might've told Wayoshi that he got me mixed up with someone else, but I don't remember if he replied or cared. Superchao: Unfortunately, that does sound like Wayoshi. Superchao: Still, that's better than me, I missed 2009 entirely :V Turboo: In 2011, I'm pretty sure all I did was participate in committee meetings. I don't think I contributed to any major changes or anything. Superchao: Considering a track record like that, it's a bit surprising Ralph chose you to be subdirector. Superchao: Of course, that did work out for the best, but why did he pick you? Turboo: As far as I know, it was when he opened the signups and I said I wanted to join that he just asked if I wanted to be the sub-director. I agreed, and... that's basically all that happened. Superchao: Well, that's simple. Heck, did you even get the chance to do anything during your short sub-director tenure? Turboo: Aside from posting in the Awards Staff board a bit, I didn't actually get to do anything sub-director-y. Turboo: Of course, that's at least partially because I was only sub-director for a month or so, due to Ralph's removal from director. Superchao: It's generally well-known at this point, but since some people may be newer than that, why don't you reiterate why Ralph got removed? Turboo: Some of it is covered in this thread, but basically, he refused to listen to his committee about multiple things, threatened to exercise the "power of veto" to get what he wanted, and brought up personal matters to try to sway people into supporting his opinions. Turboo: Most notably, while most of the committee supported having 60 awards, he absolutely refused to budge on having more than 50 awards, to the point where he implied that no one besides him and the previous directors knew what could be good for the Awards. He also denied any suggestions to have less than 30 Mario awards. Superchao: The funny thing was, one of the previous directors was opposing his plans. Superchao: That's the problem with taking a more dictatorial attitude. Turboo: He was also on board with an official proposal to remove Ralph from director, which had a lot of... questionable quotes from him. Ultimately, though, it ended up not being posted. Due to the personal matters I mentioned earlier, SMB just decided to remove his access without taking a wiki vote on it. Superchao: A decision that many feel was made for the best. Ralph was allowed back on as a regular member, but you were promoted to Director. Superchao: So what was it like, becoming Director? Especially considering how the job was sort of thrust upon you by circumstance, considering you probably weren't expecting this at the beginning of the year. Turboo: It wasn't ridiculously shocking or anything; I certainly wasn't expecting it, but it also wasn't something to completely panic over. I was pretty nervous when meetings started up, though, since I basically had no idea what to do and just tried rolling with it. Fortunately, I got pretty used to it after the first few were over. Superchao: It probably helped that you actually went along with the majority decisions and listened to your committee, so there wasn't much need for ruckus. Turboo: I also had help from other people, though; Gamefreak helped with summarizing meetings, recording votes, and doing some of the attendance sheet, Ralph (before he lost docs access) and you did general upkeep (like making changes to the full list, tallying votes in chat, and doing the other part of the attendance sheet), Dippy updated the Twitter account with meeting occurrences, and SMB (whom I appointed as sub-director) helped with general work and management. Superchao: All in all, it felt like 2012 was much more of a team effort than in the past. Turboo: The hosts of each ceremony (Gamefreak for Fail, SMB for Userpedia, and Tucayo for 'Shroom) also helped speed up tallying a lot, thanks to the work being split up. Superchao: Of course, then came the biggest acid test for any Director: Ceremony Day! Superchao: What was that like? Besides, probably, nerve-wracking. Turboo: I think that it was sort of similar to the meetings? Like, nerve-wracking at first, but you get used to it later on. It's a lot of things to balance at once, but certainly possible once you understand what's going on. In general, though, last year's leadup and the ceremony itself went very well. Superchao: I'd have to agree with you, I think 2012's ceremony was quite good. Superchao: The director election also went very well! It probably helped that no one ran against us, after all. Turboo: Yeah, we definitely ended up having a clean sweep because of that. It seems like the start of 2013 was a lot less messy, what with being elected instead of being chosen by circumstances. Superchao: The meetings felt like they went by faster too. It helped that we didn't need to debate over how to structure the awards, or how many to have. Turboo: We finished in 8 meetings instead of 11, actually. I think it gave us more time to focus on other aspects of the awards, like tournament planning and such. Superchao: Which certainly helped out, I feel this year had a great lineup of activities. Superchao: Unfortunately, that didn't help us with our biggest issue this year, which was how late some of the presentations ended up being. Turboo: Some of them needed last minute replacements, while others were only submitted late at night before the ceremony. At least we managed to have pretty great presentations overall (and all 60 of them). Superchao: Yeah, it all worked out in the end. Even if the day before was quite stressful. Superchao: So, are you planning on running again this year? Turboo: I don't really see why not; it can be frustrating sometimes, but I think managing the awards is pretty rewarding overall. Maybe someone else will actually decide to run this year so it's not a total landslide, though. Superchao: Well, if they do, then more power to them. I think I'll just stick on as your subdirector. Superchao: So, I think we've successfully covered what you've been doing around the wiki more than enough. Why not tell us what your favorite Mario game is, in another traditional question? Superchao: I know you've mentioned you really like Paper Mario 1, at least. Turboo: I'd have to say Paper Mario 1, honestly. It was the game I started with, actually. Superchao: Do you mean just Mario game, or first video game ever? Turboo: It was my first Mario game. I actually didn't have any interest in Mario until I read about it and thought it was interesting enough to pick up. Superchao: What drew you to it then? The style, the gameplay, a combination? Turboo: I don't remember very well at this point, but I think I was pretty interested in the style and the characters, since I only read about it and couldn't really accurately judge the gameplay (even if it was mentioned to be an RPG) from still shots, if that makes sense? Superchao: Yeah, it does. The days before youtube and other video hosting sites were mysterious days indeed. Superchao: So, what's helped PM1 stick with you over the years? If it's still your favorite, then it's certainly got something going for it. Turboo: I think it might be a mix of first-Mario-game nostalgia and a genuine fondness for the game? As in I'm really fond of the characters/gameplay/scenario altogether (and still am to this day; it's still fun to replay after 12 years of it being out). I liked TTYD a lot too, but it didn't manage to trump the overall feeling the original had, at least for me. Superchao: I suppose I've got similar feelings towards Yoshi's Island, in terms of first game. But yeah, PM1 is pretty great; everyone loves the Koopa Bros Turboo: Yoshi's Island is pretty great, even if I don't have that first game feeling towards it; it's probably in my top 5 Mario games (which I just thought of on the spot). Superchao: Well, I'm glad to hear you like it! Since we're already discussing your favorites, why don't you tell me about the other three of these top five? Turboo: My second favorite (with my first being PM1) would probably be TTYD. I liked how it improved the battle system and added new side content (PM1 had no optional partners or bosses, which this added). I never actually got through the Pit of 100 Trials in this, but the thought still counts, I think! Superchao: Maybe if you applied yourself mo-*shot* Turboo: Moving on, my third favorite is SMS. Even if some of it was a pain (blue coins, durians, possibly the "Secret of" levels), I thought it was pretty fun overall. I liked the FLUDD mechanics and wouldn't mind seeing them return in a later game, though I'm not sure how they could reintroduce them. Superchao: Perhaps a Super Mario Sunshine 2? Hell, I'd love to see Super Mario Sunshine 3DS. Superchao: It's interesting that we seem to share similar opinions on Mario games though, considering SMS and TTYD are among my favorite Mario games overall. Turboo: Great minds think alike? Turboo: Also, to be honest, I can't really decide whether I like Yoshi's Island or Super Mario 64 more. I'd say they're about equal for me; Yoshi's Island was unique and more fun for me than the other 2D platformers (not to say I dislike them, but titles like YI and SMB2 stood out more to me). SM64 was just plain fun, due to the variedness of the levels and the collectathon setup (even if I still haven't done a 120-star run). Superchao: Honestly, I'd like to see another 64/Sunshine style collectathon. Galaxy was nice and all, but I'd prefer a return to the old format. Turboo: Yeah, so would I. I'd also like to see another Paper Mario game in the style of the first two. SPM was okay, but SS was pretty mediocre; I'd really like to see them go back to the old partner/battle mechanics setup. It's sort of a shame, since the early screenshots for SS looked like just that. Superchao: Oh well, we'll just have to wait and see. Superchao: Well, now that we've covered the various Mario games you're a fan of, are there any standout non-Mario games you really like? Turboo: Mostly Touhou games nowadays, in terms of what I usually play. Dangan Ronpa is also pretty good, though I've only played through about half of the first game so far. Turboo: Aside from that, I'm fond of a lot of other Nintendo series, as well as assorted PC games (which includes Touhou too, I suppose). Superchao: I'd also like to know then, what other Nintendo series are you interested in? And if possible, what draws you to them? Turboo: I'd say I'm a fan of most of them, really. Although I don't like any of the newer Zelda games much, I still really like earlier titles (OoT, MM, WW, Link's Awakening, the Oracle titles, Minish Cap, etc.). They're still fun to play, and are pretty engaging. Turboo: Pikmin's also a great series; I never finished 1, but I repaid the debt in 2 and thought it was enjoyable. Unfortunately, I don't own a Wii U, so I can't play Pikmin 3. Turboo: Animal Crossing can be pretty addicting; New Leaf has the most to do out of all the titles and has the most customization options, which is really nice. Turboo: Aside from the three I mentioned, I also like Fire Emblem, Pokemon, Metroid, EarthBound, etc. Superchao: Well, it sounds like you certainly enjoy a wide variety of Nintendo titles, at least. To step back to earlier for a minute Superchao: You mentioned Touhou and Dangan Ronpa, and I know you're a pretty big fan of both. What interests you in each of those series? Turboo: For Touhou, it's probably a combination of the characters and the gameplay. It's usually challenging, which makes it fun (at least for me). As for Dangan Ronpa, I think the characters and plot are the most interesting (the gameplay isn't necessarily bad, but it's not the point of playing it). I'm familiar with both games, but I'm more interested in the first (at least for the time being, since I'm playing through it). Superchao: Well, those are both understandable reasons. I should get around to playing DR myself sometime. Superchao: Stepping away from games for a while, I remember you used to be one of the bigger fans of Homestuck here, but no longer like it. Out of curiosity, what turned you against it? Turboo: I think it was probably around the really long hiatus before Act 6 that I gradually lost interest. When it resumed, I basically had no desire to continue at all (to be honest, I don't think I regret not continuing since it seems to have gotten stupidly complex at this point). Superchao: Well, now that we've covered your online and electronic hobbies, what sort of things do you like to do offline? If any, that is. Turboo: If this counts as a hobby, I'm planning on doing more library volunteer work. I haven't been there recently what with summer distractions and all, but starting in the fall, I'm hoping to get more involved and visit more often. Turboo: Aside from that, I also engage in eating and sleeping. Truly timeless classics. Superchao: What a coincidence, I eat and sleep too! How shocking. Superchao: Library volunteer is a good choice though. I take it you like reading at least some, then? Turboo: I don't read all that often (at least I haven't been doing it that often this summer). My favorite types of books, though, would probably be... collections of interesting short stories or mysteries? Mysteries especially; it's been ages since I've read one, so I should really pick one up again... Superchao: I've always held mysteries to be my favorite genre, so I can understand why you like them. Superchao: I'd definitely recommend you pick some up soon. Turboo: Thanks, I'll try to. Superchao: Well, moving on then. Superchao: Is this the last question? Turboo: Maybe that's something you should ask yourself........................................... Superchao: Well, in that case, I'd say it is! Superchao: Thanks for being here. Turboo: Thanks for inviting me!

Conclusion
While she's not the oldest user around, Turboo's been here for a few years. She may not be the loudest user, either, but she's definitely made a mark on the community. Mario Awards VI and VII both went very well under her leadership, and who knows? Maybe she'll be around for VIII.