The 'Shroom:Issue 149/Pipe Plaza

Director’s Notes
Written by:

Welcome to the penultimate TPG-branded month of Pipe Plaza. As academic work continues to increase in both quantity and absurdity like a Galaxy Brain meme, I think now is the right time to grab my hat and coat before I get swamped to the point where this team ends up being harmed. It's a hard choice but it feels like the most appropriate time to make it. I'll have much more to say next month when I break out the huge sappy paragraphs talking about my time here, but I would like to say how much I've enjoyed being part of the staff for nearly 2 years.

On the subject of loss, will be stepping down from NIWA Spotlight after this issue, after 18 months of spot-on hard work. Additionally, will be taking his leave from Monthly Report after Issue 150 releases. Thank you both so much for your contributions, and we wish you well in the future.

Next month will house a very special issue- number 150. There's a bunch of good content coming up then to celebrate that badass milestone, but if you want to throw your own hat in the ring, you are very welcome to contribute a special section!

After this issue is published, public applications for taking over from me will be put up. If anyone is interested in running this team, I wish you good luck! For now though, enjoy one more issue of Pipe Plaza.

Section of the Month

Monthly Report
Written by:

Hello, 'Shroom readers! Another Montly Report just for you.

I have an announcement to make: Next month with the release of Issue 150, it will also marked my last Monthly Report. The last few weeks were exhausting, and that will probably be the case for the coming weeks as well. Because of it, my free time has been reduced, so, I had to make the decision to stop writing this particular section. I wrote it for over a year, and I'm pretty happy I did it, but it's time for me to conclude this chapter.

So, without further ado, let's take a look at my penultimate Monthly Report.

*EDT Time.

Conclusion: is no longer an administrator, which explains why there's one less administrator and one more autopatrolled user. Other than that, there's been way less active users this month.

That's all for my penultimate Monthly Report. Thank you for reading this section, and pass again next month for the final one. Meanwhile, enjoy the remaining days of summer!

Anniversary Announcements
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Hello again, welcome to Anniversary Announcements! Bit of a small one this month, but cucumbers are also interesting!

The Inky Piranha Plant
The Awards ceremony is over! Thanks go out to all presenters and their wonderful presentations. If you haven't had the chance to check the awards out, do so now! There are comics, stories, a few videos and even a few games, so there is bound to be something you like!

While tournaments are slowly wrapping up, it would almost be time for the prize distribution. As written before, the token and prize system has been abolished, so this will not be the case anymore.

Tournaments
In the table below, you'll find some info about the tournaments which are open for sign-ups and those that are being planned.

And that was all there is this month. Due to business and vacations on my side, the last Committee Interviews with MsRetroGeek and Roserade will unfortunately have to wait until next month, where there will be a small edition with only tournament updates otherwise. Until then, have a good time! Bye!

All information above was correct as of 2019-08-17.

Interview
Written by:

Hello, 'Shroom readers! Excuse the very short introduction and lack of a conclusion this month. Awards left little time for anything else. I'm interviewing BBQ Turtle, please read, thanks!!

 The Interview:  maroon Hello, 'Shroom readers! Welcome to yet another of my many interviews! This month, I've brought in Wiki sysop BBQ Turtle! navy Hello! maroon So, for the basic start, how did you find the wiki? navy I think I first found it quite a while ago (I'd estimate about 2009/10) looking up how to unlock things in Mario Kart Wii and other odds and ends related to Mario. maroon Any particular reason that kept you around? navy I know I hung around for a bit after that, me and my brother ejoyed just looking at random pages, but I forgot about it after a while. I came back around 2016 or so to look up various things in Mario Kart 8 (I think it was actually trying to find out what the sponsors were that brought me back). navy After fnding some information, I started to figure out what some of them were, and after a while I found some information that was missing, so after some time I found the edit tab and put it in. navy I was still quite new to using the internet at the time, so when I found out I could edit it and that it would be saved on the website, I was really impressed. I remember checking the page in multiple browsers and different computers to see if it had actually saved. navy I thought that was brilliant at the time, so I started adding more and eventually made an account in March 2017, and I've stuck around ever since. maroon Oh, did you not use the internet for a while, then? In the middle there. navy I didn't use it an awful lot before that, I wasn't ever particularly good with computers and the times I accessed it before it was usually with my dad's help. maroon Ah, that makes sense. So it was the wiki that kept you online! navy Mainly, yes! maroon So, once you made an account, what was your biggest interest? navy Mostly the Mario Kart sponsors, and trying to find out and add more information about those, but I also started off with several smaller edits to other things related to Mario Kart. maroon It seems to all come back to Mario Kart, doesn't it? navy Yeah, although it wasn't my first Mario game, Mario Kart Wii is the game that I definitely played the most when I was younger, and I still play it fairly often now. It's always been one of my favourite games. maroon I'd say good taste but having never played it I cannot offer an opinion on your taste. navy I think it also helped that, at the time, it was really popular in my school as well so lots of peole were talking about it, which was all the more reason to play it. People liked finding various little details in the course so everyone was always trying to find new ones. navy It's probably the only time I've ever liked something that other people at school thought was particularly cool. maroon Well that's a refreshing change from all the people who rant about "oh the kids at my school only like stuff i don't like" maroon Glad you found common ground on that game! maroon So why do you like Mario Kart in general? navy I think mainly because it's been the series I've played the most, but I've always enjoyed the gameplay and characters, as well as just how crazy many of the concepts within it are. maroon Kinda like me with some of my favorites, really. Any particulaly standout Kart games? navy I'd say my favourite is definitely Mario Kart 8 (Wii U version specifically), mainly due to the amount of content, the roster is pretty good and the gameplay is fairly great, but I also really like Mario Kart Wii for similar reasons. maroon Why specify Wii U? Did you not like Deluxe? navy Not really, it annoyed me when it first came out because it wasn't a new Mario Kart game, and several of the changes in it also annoy me. maroon Oh, like what? navy The battle mode in the Wii U version wasn't great, but I don't think the new version adds very much. I'm not a fan of the new battle stages, particularly ones that are based on other courses and I think some of the music that goes with them is awful. navy I also didn't really like the addition of the Inklings, plus other small changes like the double item boxes and the stat changes seem to whack the gameplay out a bit. navy I did like that they brought back Dry Bones, King Boo and Bowser Jr. though. maroon I wish I'd unlocked King Boo in Double Dash. Alas. navy That's still on my to-do list as well, I don't really get on with Double Dash. I prefer having motion controls. maroon Huh, that's interesting! See, I prefer non-motion controls. Controller stuff is part of why I like Double Dash and love F-Zero GX. maroon Racing just feels too tight for motion for me maroon Anyhow, what about the wiki kept you editing enough to get attention? navy Well, at first I found it really exciting to be able to add things to a website that would stay there, and I thought things like uploading images and creating pages were even cooler, so that got me hooked into it. navy From there, I just kept finding information I could add and more and more things to do, so I kept at it. navy I also find it really satisfying to fill in red links, add missing images, clean up terrible writing and so on. maroon It sounds like a lot of the wiki staff, really. maroon Kept doing the thing and oops now you're promoted navy Yeah, I wasn't even thinking about promotions at any point, I just found it fun and kept at it. I was really surprised when I was invited to be a patroller! maroon Did it feel any different? navy I was super excited about it at first, but it isn't an awful lot different. I know after the promotion I was a bit more alert on recent changes, but I mainly just carried on with what I was doing. navy The main changes really are blocking vandals and contributing to the staff discussions. maroon So, pretty much same as with mods. maroon Anything you would have done differently on the wiki if you had the chance? navy I don't think there's really an awful lot I'd want to change, aside from maybe not having made some of the comments I made early on. I'm quite happy with most of the work I've done. maroon We all have those early mistakes. Read some of my 2006 talk page comments sometime! maroon Or, preferably, don't. maroon As long as we're still talking the wiki, any shoutouts you wanna give? navy It'd be hard for me to just pick a couple of peole out, just about everyone's been really helpful and friendly. I'd have to say anyone who's helped me out with anything along the line, from clearing up my stupid little mistakes to answering some of my awkward questions. maroon That's always good to hear. Especially on a community like this, one this big has plenty of good apples! navy Yeah, just about everyone I can think of I've had positive experiences at one time or another with. maroon So, in general, what do you think about the wiki vs. the forum vs. discord? Personal favorite? navy I use all three pretty regularly, but I'd have to say that the Wiki itself is my favourite, mainly based on how much time I've spent and stuff I've done there. navy I do prefer the other two for certain things though. The forums are definitely best for having larger conversations, sharing images and such, and Discord tends to be better for having quicker and more random chats. maroon pretty much! and then there's irc, which is kept alive by me interesting people navy That, and the awards meetings. Aside from that, I can't say I've used it much myself, mainly due to the fact I keep signing into wrong and breaking it. maroon It happens. Learning curves and all that. maroon So! Besides Mario Kart, what other games are you interested in, Mario-wise? navy After Mario Kart, I'd probably say my second favourite subseries is Mario & Sonic, I like most of the games in that series, with 2012 for the 3DS being my favourite. navy I also enjoy some of the more recent Mario Parties, and aside from that, it's mainly one-off favourites rather than whole series, like Yoshi's Woolly World. maroon That's a really unique choice - most people don't seem to care about M&S. navy I think it helped that the 2008 DS game was another game I played a lot when I was younger, I spent loads of time playing it then and I still come back to it a fair bit now. maroon Heeeh, I've been there. I've got a couple games where nostalgia overrides objective quality valuations. navy I don't quite get what it is people don't like about the series so much, but I don't really mind. It does give me a load more articles to write though! maroon Never played, so no clue either way! navy I say it's worth a go if you ever get the chance to play it, and I think the first three instalments (Both home console and handheld) are the best of the current five. It looks like the 2020 game'll be pretty good as well at the moment. maroon I might give it a try if I ever defeat my mighty backlog. It is a great monster capable of swallowing time itself!! maroon Anyhow, what about Mario games you've had lackluster experiences with? Any of those? navy I'd definitely say my least favourite is Mario Party 8. Every time I play it I always start with the mindset "Hey, this can't be nearly as bad as I remember!", and every time it always proves itself to be even worse. maroon How so? navy I'd say the mean reasons are dodgy minigames, painfully slow gameplay and MC Ballyhoo. maroon Everyone Hates Ballyhoo navy I don't know why anyone thought he was a good idea. He looks awful, his voice is super annoying, he has some really weird animations, he spends far too long talking and he randomly makes rude comments towards players for no reason. maroon I've only played one Mario Party, so I cannot offer informed opinions maroon It's a personal thing, but both Kart and Party are games where one is enough navy That makes sense, the main reason I like/play multiple is because I really enjoyed one so I wanted to try the others. Either way, if you ever get another Mario Party game, don't get Mario Party 8! maroon I won't! maroon Let's see. What about non-Mario? navy Outside of Mario, the main games I play are a fairly random mix. The main ones I play are Minecraft, Splatoon 2 and, if it counts, Super Smash Bros., but I also play a fairly random selection of puzzle and other games. maroon Huh, pretty neat. A lot of people seem to have defined favorite,s so it's an interesting mixup. navy Most of my more similar favourite games are within the Mario franchise, I think the only series I've played a lot of outside of that is Professor Layton. maroon It's been a long time since I heard that, honestly maroon Outside of the wiki and video games in general, do you have any major hobbies? navy My main hobby is doing various arty things, though a lot of the time that is somewhat related to video games. Stepping away from video games completely though, I also enjoy reading and archery. maroon Any particular genres? navy I mainly tend to go for fantasy books, but I do enjoy some more mystery-type ones from time to time. I tend to try a bit of everything though, depending on what grabs my interest at any particular point. maroon >mystery maroon You spoke the forbidden words, now I have to recommend some later navy That's fine, I'm always looking for new books to read. I get through them pretty quickly. maroon Will do, then! Are you the type to always carry one around? navy Yes, I do have a book on me most of the time. Either that, or some kind of notepad and drawing equipment maroon Pretty much me. I've had times where i left with a book and didn't have the chance to read it until I got back home, yet it was important to simply have the book to begin with. navy I tend to have stuff on me like that just in case I need it, a lot of the time I don't end up using it but it's reassuring to have it on me. maroon Exactly. maroon I sure wasn't expecting archery though, if I'm honest. navy What do you mean by not expecting it? maroon It just didn't jump out me as an interest you would have. The interviews often turn up neat things! navy I quite enjoy archery, I started it up a few years ago and I'm pretty good at it. I definitely prefer field archery over range archery though. maroon I admit to having no idea what the difference is. navy Range archery is where you just shoot regular targets over a straight field at set distances, whereas in field archery the distances change from target to target and as well as regular targets you can also shoot 3D and 2D animal-shaped targets. maroon I see. I learned something today! maroon Well, on top of that, I can only really think to ask one thing. maroon Is this the last question? navy As long as neither of us ask another question, then yes, I believe it is. maroon Then it is! maroon Thanks for being here. navy Thank you very much for interviewing me!

NIWA Spotlight
Written by:

Hello everyone! Welcome to NIWA Spotlight, a focused list that covers one article from each of our partnered wikis that need help. These can range from articles that need more information or created to images that need replacing or uploaded. For our Mario-related topics, check out the current The 'Shroom Spotlight!

The only thing that got done last month was our own Doomhiker adding a source for Diglett's creation, before it was removed for lacking a proper link, and then was added back by Serena Strawberry in a different fashion.

On that note, this will be my last issue. More important matters are taking up more time, you know how it is. I think this was a great project, but it hasn't been getting the kind of traction I was hoping for. Since this was the last section I was writing, this also means I'll be leaving 'Shroom matters altogether since I starting writing for it back in March of 2017. Still, thanks for all the help that has been given so far, and don't stop helping out where you can!

Poll Committee Discussion
Written by:

Here we go again!

Hello ‘Shroom readers, LudwigVon here, with the very first Poll Committee Discussion of the tenth term.

Poll Committee News
As you may already know, the Tenth Poll Committee is already in place, and we are currently working on many new polls that you will be able to see each week on the main page. In other words, be sure to vote. Before moving on to my analysis, I want to introduce you to the team that composes the Tenth Poll Committee. Along with me as chairperson, and as vice-chairperson, here are all our members this year:

I want to thank you once again for applying to be part of the committee this year. I am extremely happy to work with all of you!

Regarding one of our projects that we are currently working on is our annual Awards Analysis where we analyze the results from Mario Awards and Fail Awards. You will be able to see it next month, so, make sure to look forward to it! Among other things, our sweet Graphic Design Manager,, will continue the tradition this year by providing us with a brand new banner. You know, the one you can see here. Thanks TPG!

Analysis

 * How do you feel about Doug Bowser as President and COO of Nintendo of America?: A significant amount of our voters find that Doug Bowser is doing a good job in his new position. I must admit that they are not quite wrong, since myself, I liked his introduction in this year's E3 Nintendo Direct (although everyone's opinion may be different). Nevertheless, a good portion of our voters will be waiting a little longer to form a better opinion on Doug Bowser, and that's fine, you still have to give him a chance to see if he can be just as unique as our one and only Regginator, right?

And, on that, I concluded the very first Poll Committee Discussion of the tenth term! Thanks for reading and be sure to come again next month. The one and only will be here with more poll content just for you. In the meantime, be sure to keep voting!