115 replies to this topic

[the rose garden]

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^

Back when I first discovered this site in 2008, I actually only read the NewsFeed (including Mari's blog translations, I was a big fan of those, thank you for the translations back then!). But then I found out a lot of the information and news posted on the NewsFeed were also being posted in the forum, and this was often were the information would be posted first, so I switched to the forum. Slowly but surely I stopped reading the NewsFeed altogether, but then again the amount of contributions also decreased. Personally I don't see much of a difference between now and six years ago when it comes down to the content of the threads/posts (unless that had already started back then, of course). I don't mind the speculations, I think they're quite fun to read (the only thing that really grinds my gears is the complaining about the quality of MVs, but this is mostly exclusive to MM singles. Seriously, guys, that's H!P for you. We all know this). If there's a lot of arguing going on I just skip it, I can't be bothered by it, to be honest. And I personally feel there were a lot more arguments/fights a few years ago, which actually made me hesistant about creating an account. The only thing that really ticked me off was the amount of perverted posts (and those horrifying fanfictions) in Mizuki's thread and how that scared off a lot of her female fans, but that has fortunately died down (her fans did not come back, though...). Other than that I really enjoy the forum. I'm not really bothered by the arguments, you don't have to read them after all. And honestly, there are fan forums/fandoms out there that are a million times worse. I think the key is to not take things too seriously, this is a fan forum about Japanese idols after all, something we enjoy as a hobby and for relaxation

[Obsidian]

Balance certainly seems to be a problem, I'll admit I was guilty for some of the Angerme food discussion but I honestly think that having a lighthearted off topic discussion for a little bit is far preferable to the arguments. If people want the forum to be more friendly then I really think people need to take the time to know each other rather than the talking across each other that happens a lot now. That just won't happen if everything is a strictly structured discussion, the member threads and group threads seem like the better place for this to happen because they're by their nature more general anyway.

 

So for people who really only want information or a lot of structure then maybe the single and concert threads is probably the best place to tighten up. One thing that came to my mind recently is that for some single and event threads people keep the first place remarkably up to date. Anyone who wants to cut out all the noise can sometimes find everything they really want to know for that first post, but for the most part that unfortunately doesn't happen (It's completely down to whoever started to thread to do this or not). I wondered if it might be possible to always allow the first post to be edited by anyone (or just senpai status users) to add cruical information? the post could even be made sticky so it's always there no matter what terrible state the actual thread is in for users to immediately read. Then it can be updated with the latest news that everyone loses in the rubbish (or highly entertaining and stimulating) conversations that take up most of the thread. I'm just trying to think of ways that newer/younger users more used to the quick fire social media might want to enjoy their fandom and allowing for the needs of people who just want facts.

 

...and I completely argee with what others and @the rose garden has just said, there's a real lack of humour from some users and a lot of senseless fights (yes I admit I even managed to start some of them sometimes) come from people not understanding when people are being sarcastic, tongue in cheek or just trying to make another terrible joke (I apologise of them ). I'm here to enjoy myself and keep up to date with the Idols I love and it makes me sad to see people not enjoying things especially if I've inadvertantly contributed to that. 

[G☆LE]

In the *48 section isn't there a thread for speculation or something? It would be nice to have one in general H!P like a thread to speculate for the entire year (single/mv speculations for 2015), kind of like the hopes and dreams one.

[usagi_no_kami]

^ You can always create one.
If it's deemed inappropriate, it will be locked... but it doesn't hurt to try.

[mach1neshop]

I have been on other forums and have been a contributing seeder on torrent sites. Yeah, I know our tracker could use some work, but that would mean revamping the entire site GUI. If you feel strongly about it, approach the site manager.

 

I'm not averse to speculation on individual threads as that sometimes can lead to some good discussion on different things, but what I'm averse to is people not making it clear they're merely speculating when they communicate (though sometimes I wonder if I'm also peeved people don't pick up on it being speculation).

[EtherSword]

@the rose garden  I actually agree with tons of things you said.  The thing about speculations though, tbh I do find them fine for the most part, its just that I think people will set themselves up for disappoint, which happens a lot here (and the respective thread becomes a bit depressing).  Like with usage_no_kami mentioned, we could make a whole new thread but I think its one of the least things to worry about but still a good idea.  Something to keep in mind though I guess lol.

 

@Obsidian  Yeah, I was kind of surprise since I personally find your posts pretty interesting in general but except that time there.  But yeah, I think you have some good ideas though.  New users trying to find some new info could better used in another thread.  Just pretty much pure information, insight, recent tidbits about members or just simply stuff we can learn from each other to learn more about why we love our idols the way we do.  (Like with right now after the topic derail about food, the little talk there regarding Murotan's popularity is something I'm enjoying a lot and learning more about what makes her so special as of now.)

 

@mach1neshop  Technically, we already have Krusha respond to us regarding that. :\

[Tony Oguri]

I've been here since 2006 as well.  Sort of active.  But then in 2011, an H!O moderator stole over $100 from me (that moderator has since been banned so no worries for you guys).  No big deal, but after that incident, I don't feel like posting as often.  However, this site is still visited on a daily basis. H!P and AKB48G material are still well loved and listened to and watched every single day. 

[zam（仮）]

...What I miss most is the News Feed. While I enjoy reading the Pocket Mornings, I do miss news there. Morning Musume did a show in New York and there was never anything about it on the news feed. Seems the only news is about Up-Up Girls (and I don't really know who they are) Well I don't really have a summation, just that For the most part I still love the site.

UPUPGIRLS（仮）is a group created by Up-Front from 7 of the most popular H!P Egg members - Sengoku Minami, Furukawa Konatsu, Mori Saki, Sato Ayano, Saho Akari, Sekine Azusa and Arai Minami. They were originally named Up-Front Girls（仮）but was renamed UPUPGIRLS（仮）probably due to legal issues with using the company name. UUG's official blog still carries the original name in the URL ( http://ameblo.jp/upfront-girls).

A bit of back story here. In 2011, H!P started mass graduating H!P Eggs from 1st gen to 3rd gen. Those who followed the Eggs realise that H!P was trying to scrap the H!P Egg programme and revamp it to the current Kenshusei programme, to which I'm calling the members, K-Eggs Remaining H!P Egg members (4th gen upwards) were carried over to the new programme.

Out of the 7 UUG members, only Ayanon is not a 1st gen H!P Egg. Ayanon is a 6th gen Egg, joined H!P Eggs in 2009. Ayanon is the only UUG who is a junior to Fukuhime, who is a 4th gen Egg.

H!P Eggs history and current K-Eggs: http://helloproject...._Pro_Kenshuusei
H!P Eggs Generations: http://helloproject....shuusei_Members

This MV gives you a good idea where UUG comes from. From the past until where their current state in video
Song title: あの坂の上まで/Ano Saka no Ue Made (As far as the top of that mountain).

[Camui]

Krusha~~ Good response!!

Well I grew out of liking JPop for a long time because of..well it just got uninteresting. I watch the Tokyo Idol Festival each year, with the pathetic groups that can't sing or dance, and then suddenly something special happened called E-Girls! I was an instant superfan. Pro dancing and singing skills way above their competition. And the 9 minute PVs with something to watch for everyone...

Yurina best girl.

Santa-san ~~~~ My friend...I miss you!!!

-------------------------------------------------------

As for me, there was a multitude of issues.

I moved to a more rural area. Our only options for Internet were dial-up or satellite. Dial-up was unbearable, so we went with satellite. I missed my cable connection but I was still connected. I just couldn’t hog all of our very limited bandwidth, due to the satellite bandwidth limits. I hate data caps….

I was also attending a university full-time, which seriously put a limit on my extracurricular activates. School, in general, is very time-consuming. Add art schoolwork on top and you don’t have a lot of time/energy for much else.

After I graduated, I began working full-time and was working overtime constantly. I just didn’t & still do not have enough free time.

One of the largest problems, specifically related to H!P & Morning Musume, is one’s favorite member or members graduating. This was actually a topic I brought up when bunko.theppn.org (kudos to anyone who remembers or was there) was still around in the early 2000’s. At the time, I didn’t really understand why people could stop enjoying Morning Musume because the ‘golden era’ was still going strong. I began to understand, once the girls began graduating and were replaced by new members who didn’t inspire the same feelings. That's probably a big reason why a lot of us from the beginning of H!O drifted away.

I completely lost interest in Morning Musume on May 6, 2007, which was when my favorite member and the last of the 4^th generation graduated. Then Miki graduated almost a month later.
"Kanashimi Twilight" was the perfect song for their Morning Musume graduation & mine.
All I was left with was Reina and she just wasn’t enough, by herself, for me to stay interested in Morning Musume.

Plus, I’ve always been more into rock ’n’ roll. Thankfully, Rika & Hitomi formed hANGRY & ANGRY.
They made some great music together....I wish they’d make more…

Last but not least....I do enjoy Dream Morning Musume... or as I like to refer to them...Dream Musume. ^.~

[4ny0n3]

I was a lurker when the forum was most active, now I post every now and then but as we all know things are not as they were before. I think something that would improve the forum experience would be making It Tapatalk compatible. Browsing it from my cellphone with ease would be amazing.

[ZetaCron]

Well ... From memory, I started posting in late 2006, with a whole wave of new people who had discovered H!P thanks to the YouTube uploads of the subbed "Ayaka's Surprise English Lessons".

 

As for 'leaving', for me it was moving to Sydney to attend UNSW in 2009, which I hated and it really killed my passion for a lot of things (I should've just gone straight to Japan, enrolled in a language school and stayed there - that's what I'm doing next time I go).  I got suspended in 2010 (took 2011 off) for my grades being too low, and kicked out entirely in 2012, then moving back to my hometown and failing to attain a degree that would've only taken one year ... something over which I'm still kicking myself.

 

Like Addicted to Hitomi, I started losing interest after Yoshizawa Hitomi's graduation, and after Michishige Sayumi left ... that it was it for members of the group with which I was familiar.  All the 'classics', gone.

 

Anyway, since 2006, I've been to Japan twice, and been lucky enough to go to a handshake event (Michishige Sayumi) totally unplanned - it just worked out that way - made (exceptionally brief) eye contact with Yoshizawa Hitomi at the Sydney Blackmores Running Festival, and had Mika Todd as a guest on my YouTube podcast "Fanning Out" (unsurprisingly, my most popular episode to date).  I've acquired some English language (TEFL/TESOL) teaching qualifications and just this year taught English at a middle school in China for three months (Preceded by an orientation week in Beijing, which inadvertently brought me all that much closer to H!P).

 

I checked out AKB48 and various K-pop groups the same as everyone else, but they just didn't (and don't, and likely never will) mean as much to me as H!P.  My discovery of H!P changed my life - I've done what I've done with my life and met who I've met in my life - because of my discovery of H!P. 

 

Oh My Wish and Refresh My Heart have me a little excited, given that those songs harken back to the glory days of MM (imo), esp Refresh My Heart, which has forgone the 'dubstep'-ish synth sounds, which they used (and overused) and abused for so long.

 

Something like that, anyway ~

 

Because of H!P adopting things like YouTube, facebook, twitter and ameblo (and people just learning Japanese), I don't think these forums will ever get back to their 'glory days', but they were fun while they lasted. :-)

 

Let's just keep moving forwards and hope for the best in the future.  歩いてる　～

[Moondoggie]

Several vets are probably still around this thread alone shows that people who have been a site member for years are still at least reading the site. Some of the people I recall being regular posters when I first started posting aren't around now but a bunch still are. Not that I've been actively posting for that long it feels lurked around for a while and became a member in 2011. It seems a lot maybe remember the past with rose coloured glasses from all the stories I heard back then there was a lot more fighting going on certainly around the time Morning Musume were losing steam and more idol groups were appearing taking peoples interest. Some seemed not so happy about that. Fighting still happened since I joined I've been involved in plenty of stupid drama but it doesn't feel anything like some of the drama that happened a while back with the whole Morning Musume vs AKB nonsense that people started.

I used to post in a lot of threads now I mostly post in a couple of group threads that interest me most though I do read quite a lot of stuff. The interesting conversations are always happening. As far as site use never had any issues with using the picture board or tracker to find what I want. Sometimes you need to be oddly specific about it but you can find it. And as was bought up earlier in the thread your one stop tool for the tracker is VLC Media Player it's the swiss army knife of media players it will play anything including different region media which can be handy if your region is not the same as Japan. Not that it matters for a lot of stuff because it's region free anyway.

[°Cal.Mer.Sac]

Sorry I remember trying to beat sailormaris post count back in the day. I was young and bored. Sorry... I really liked the community that we had. When we werent on the forums we were playing Ragnarok online or group chatting in messenger. Im not as old school as some of you but I do remember when it seemed like everyone knew each other. I also remember the torrent being the main feature of the site. With everything being on youtube these days, most people are going to choose the easier option. Its also a lot easier to buy things these days.

[Nessy]

Funny to find this thread. I do miss the people I used to talk with on here, &I miss that community overall, but it's nice to see some of you are still lurking around (which is mostly all I have time to do these days, too. Plus I've met a handful of people off H!O in real life, now, which has been pleasant& made it less and less necessary to actually post here.)

 

Also personally, I'm just not as active on the internet in general, compared to those days.

[megapopstar]

Member since 2004, this is my 15th post. 

Seriously though, I only come here for the tracker and rarely look at the forums anymore. 

[(AZN)animedude]

holy moly i haven't been here in forever and I honestly wonder if anyone i even really know anymore is still here/active.

 

it's actually been a while since i've really been following JPOP/KPOP/asian music in general although i still listen to the old Momusu stuff pre-departure of Takahashi Ai.  Honestly i forgot about this place, and really as I graduated from College and started working, i've gradually been less involved in keeping up with music.

[★pandapple★]

I still find that H!O is the best "one-stop-shop" for me to come and find H!P information. I don't follow the girls' blogs religiously, so it's nice when people post about something interesting they wrote about. I don't read magazine articles or listen to radio shows, so when forum members post summaries or scans, it adds to my understanding of what's going on in H!P. True that subs are hard to come by these days, but my Japanese ability is better than when I started on here, so I don't mind as much. 

 

So, while there might be less activity in the H!O community in general (ahh... Himalia's Christmas Contest), the H!P-related content is still pretty good, I think.

[cjamm13]

It's 2017 and I have just found this thread.  I think this is a forum that allows a lot of freedom. 

 

Glad some issues were brought up but personally I only visit the morning musume thread when I started and the tracker, too.  

I signed here only in 2015 when I saw morning musume again and thought the new kids look fun! And I find them so fun of course!

 

I've known morning musume since 2009 but was only a new/casual fan.  I don't remember seeing this forum too as I was dependent on youtube at that time.  But, well, my fangirling was killed shortly after kusumi koharu graduated.  So I stopped looking for morning musume.  It was only in 2015 when I was planning to go to Japan that I checked them again and there got hooked on the current line-up.

 

When I was new I visit here often to check on news, specifically on morning musume thread.  I didn't know about the newsfeed and other forums that time, lol!  

But when I revived my twitter account and started tumblr, I go there first mainly because news there is like "real time baby", even live tweeting before, during, after concert.

I think it's the variety of platforms nowadays as I am new here and didn't experience that early era of this forum.  There are just a lot of platforms right now that I go to tumblr for blog translation of some members, some 2ch excerpts, some subbed short videos, etc.  Then to twitter for news and "real time" updates.

 

I agree there are less subbed contents nowadays because back in 2009, when I was discovering morning musume and didn't know H!P too with matsuura aya, coconuts musume and others, there were a lot of subbed contents I was able to watch.  Even the last music fighter koharu was before her graduation was subbed.  I don't think H!P has less contents these days because yes there are a lot of DVD magazines and even stage plays.  Only that the media form changed.  It's like the TV contents vs. recorded DVD contents.  For me, it was just the form of media that changed.  Not really "less".

 

And maybe there are a lot of people now that prefers to study the Japanese language itself just like me to understand things and connect to idols.  Nowadays, you can meet the idols and say something to them and even give them gifts/fan letters.  There is more in-person interaction so maybe it somehow contributed.

I personally want to contribute to subbed videos and/or interview/blog translations so I'm doing my best in studying the language.  Someday I'll be able to give back to the idols.  I understand that subbed contents help new fans a lot because I obviously went through that "new fan stage" (of course all of us).  That's what I can do much as a user. I also try to link the twitter or tumblr post related to the thread for news and/or subs and/or translations.

[洋hiromi水]

I only saw this thread because cjamm1 posted here again (thanks  ). Scrolled through the pages... and yeah, I agree with what you guys say. I actually had to check just now, but I've been a member for almost 7 years. Kinda sad I missed the whole 2000s H!O era because that sounds fun, but even in those 7 years I've been here H!O has changed. Or I have changed, I don't know.

 

About the threads that were last used like 5 years ago and are still pinned on top... I agree that this is annoying me too. I feel like for new visitors, it makes the forum look really chaotic and confusing. 

 

What I was more surprised about was the thing about less subbed content. I didn't even realize because I've been studying Japanese and now understand the content even without subs, so I don't look for subbed content anymore, but... it really breaks my heart to hear that things are not getting subbed anymore. I would definitely not be such a fan of H!P if I hadn't had translations for everything. 

 

Is there a thread for subbing on this forum? I don't know how to sub videos and I don't have much time, but I speak Japanese and I've noticed some other members on here that do as well. I think I'd participate in a subbing group if all I had to do was actually translate from Japanese to English. Even if it was just DVD magazines.

 

 

[toascertain]

^ Would recommend speaking with SacredCultivator. He's still active, and has more experience and passion for H!P fan subs than nearly anyone.

http://www.hello-onl...bs-recruitment/