The 'Shroom:Issue 230/Staff Notes

Staff Notes

Written by: Waluigi Time (talk), Sparks (talk), and Lakituthequick (talk)

Hello there, 'Shroom readers! Welcome to our slightly earlier than usual special issue, celebrating none other than our very own Lakituthequick for reaching the milestone of 100 issues as Website Manager this month!

LTQ is someone that we're extremely lucky to have in this community and as part of The 'Shroom. His work on the paper has been invaluable, from hosting the wiki we use to get everything prepared that I'm typing on right now, to revolutionizing releases with ShroomBot. (Can you believe the director used to have to put every page and image on the wiki by hand? I don't think I ever would've run in those conditions!) He's also made possible the cool boundary-pushing visuals we've been doing for special issues over the past several years, and tech-heavy events like our scavenger hunts! That's just the tip of the iceberg, and not even getting into everything he's done for this community outside of the paper, like being a consistent pillar of the Awards processes and putting his expertise into quality-of-life changes and all around neat things for forum games like Scribble. I could keep going on, but these notes do have to be somewhat concise and this is one beefy paragraph already. My point is, LTQ puts his all into everything he does and has left a massive positive impact on this community over these years. A lot of his work may be behind-the-scenes and therefore less visible, but it's no less important or appreciated! I'm thrilled to consider him a great friend, and to be able to celebrate him here today! Next time you see him around, be sure to thank him for everything he's done for the community!

Anyway, much like our cloud-riding friend, we've taken to the skies this month, as you can probably guess by all the clouds on this page. We've got a whole bunch of fun themed sections throughout our teams, and a whole bunch of fun non-themed sections too! Among those is our Cloudgazing special feature, showcasing cloud interpretations from several of our community members! There's some pretty cool stuff in there, so be sure to check that out as well!

And I have to thank our Design Manager Ninja Squid (talk) for his hard work making the main page graphics and all these backgrounds, and if you're a regular Palette Swap reader (which you should be), you'll probably recognize our main page banner as the work of the phenomenal Hint Toad (talk)! Here's a secret... try swapping between light and dark mode on the main page, and see what happens!

Enjoy the issue, and thanks LTQ!

—Waluigi Time, Director

Congratulations on reaching this incredible milestone LTQ, and thank you all for checking out Staff Notes before reading everything else! Or, you may be here after reading the other stuff, but that's totally OK too! It's a very special issue with lots of hard work and dedication put into it, so I don't blame ya.

I don't have much to say personal-wise other than I've become a moderator for the Mario & Luigi subreddit (woohoo!) and that it's been raining quite often like it is for Pipe Plaza. I thought the showers were supposed to be in April, but May showers aren't entirely unheard of.

Awards Season is coming up y'all! Polls begin opening on June 13, which is three weeks from now, so mark your calendars and set up notifications! You don't wanna miss a chance to express your excitement for your choices (or distaste, if it's the Fail Awards).

Speaking of showers, the forecast calls for plenty of showers today - instead of rain however, it's guest sections!

• As for Fake News...
  • Weather is a channel every TV should have! Goombuigi (talk) provides the forecast for the last eight days in May in Weather Forecast! What kind of interesting weather will there be?
  • In a News Flush, Shoey (talk) warns everybody about Jelly Boy, a mysterious humanoid putty that's capable of taking control of various objects. This thing is very dangerous, so please stay indoors as you read about him!
  • We've got a Sport Report by Lakilester himself! Prepare yourself for an edge-of-your-seat experience as you read the commentary on a soccer (AKA European Football) match between the Lakitu Loftineers and Parabones Paramilitaries! Just who will come out on top to claim victory?!
  • In an effort to help spread the love for Diddy Kong, Letter Kong has stumbled upon a Diddy Kong-themed store with fitting merchandise! Be sure to browse the Shop Scout to see what there is to be bought! It's not just a Peanut Popgun...
• Now for Palette Swap:
  • Ahoy mateys! ClawgripFan9001 and Boo1268 go on an epic pirate adventure in Captain Clawgrip's Quest! Just what thrills and danger await in this epic tale? You'll have to see for yourself, but I can tell you it references the "You are a Pirate" song from Lazy Town, which is awesome!
  • Pipe Projects is being brought back! That means Shoey can discuss a very old image (from 2006!) relating to the project, which hasn't aged well... but hey! It has nostalgia, and it also serves as a relic of the early days of the Mario Wiki. How has it been 20 years since?!
• Pipe Plaza has a unique section titled Bonus Bonus Stars! Waluigi Time looks back at the earliest possible Awards records and discusses Bonus Stars to honor Lakituthequick. It's great to see Pipe Plaza get another guest section.
• Our final guest section is in Strategy Wing. In a Rising from Obscurity, Waluigi Time educates on the history (and comeback!) of Tanooki Mario. It's a classic powerup that can never be replaced, and is also another with for the very underrated Super Mario 3D Land for helping it return!

That's all from me, but Staff Notes isn't over yet! Lakituthequick has a prepared a wonderful speech. Scroll down to see what it is!

—Sparks, Sub-Director

At some point in late 2017 I heard word that The 'Shroom's staff wiki stopped working properly. The staff wiki is what we use to prepare the paper ahead of its publication each month. I offered to host a new one. Sufficed to say, this ended up snowballing a bit.

It's pretty nuts to have been in this role for over eight years, and to have this be honoured with a themed issue, no less. I'm incredibly grateful for all the work put into this release, and all the kind words written for me. Without exaggeration, tears have been shed.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you all. Enjoy today's edition! I heard it's a great day to watch some clouds!

—Lakituthequick, Website Manager and Programming Manager

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