A Tribute To 1999... (By: ssj4gokuh)

I have to admit, I have not been a member of the Dragonball community for long. It has been about a year. Ever since I have wanted to create a web page and now it is finally possible. There are all those sites out there that are so good that I can't believe it. So, even though I don't know about a lot of the sites of the past I still want to talk about a few. Without further ado let us look at the year of 1999 and remember about how great it was.

I want to start this off by talking about a site that just recently shut down. DB: The Third Season. One of the best ideas I have ever seen. When I first got into DB this site was just getting started. Skitz's site was one of those sites that I wasn't sure about. I never knew if I loved it, liked it, or hated it. Actually I never hated it, but you get what I mean. What is the one thing I will remember about Skitz's site? His final update, I don't want to sound goofy, but it almost brought a tear to my eye. Now I know he does not regret it, but he put a whole year into this site and now it is shutting down. Of course, I am taking this too serious. Skitz's site was the site that influenced me to buy my first FUNimation released video of Season 3. Skitz was around for only a year, but made an amazing impact. Let's not end on a sad note though. He has a new site coming out soon and I know I cannot wait.

There was one other site that shut down during the year that I was just really getting to know. Now I know a lot of people want to throw something at me, but Deathball Z was one of those sites that I didn't get a lot out of after I visited. For some reason though, it sticks in my mind. What is the one thing that I do remember? Gokuh getting beat on is a certain spot over and over and over again :). No, but I am sitting here trying to think of what I learned from this site. Well, I guess that one thing is that the bad guys of DB deserve credit and are truly awesome when focused on. I was actually a little shocked when I read his site was gone. It is always the worst when your site is erased and you feel that all you have done has been in vain. This was truly another landmark site that had an awesome design. Along with Skitz's site these were two sites not focused on topics that were expected. Once again the maintainer of Deathball Z now works on a site dedicated to the DC Comics.

Let's look at the big controversy of the year. In my opinion it was Brian Real? Vs. Greg Werner/Fan-subs. This was quite an interesting feud that kept the attention of us all. When Brian Real? Went to FUNimation and gave them a list of the top fan-subbing organizations and then talked about how him and his staff could work for FUNimation. He sold out his fellow DB community to get on the good side of FUNimation. Truly a shocking move. Then the "Anti-Duck" got involved. Well, there is no reason to go into detail because I do not want to say something wrong and spark controversy. This was truly one of the most interesting events of the year.

Now, I want to talk about myself for a while. Well, ever since I got into DB I wanted to start a site. I actually did start one, but even though I don't like to admit it I was a page pirate when I had that site open (O come on that is how most of you started off too, put away your tomatoes) and I shut it down because I truly began to see what was wrong. This is when I moved into my Page Pirate Crusade Saga. I was on an all out hunt to stop them. They are truly the scum of the Earth and don't deserve to be on the net. I wrote editorials and e-mailed the pirate sites. Then I met Tapion and all this was changed. Separate we would not be able to compose a site, but together we had the right components for success. Now, to talk about something else. I am one of the people who love to know the big guns. That is why my interview page is my favorite. I get to talk to all the top web masters that I look up to and get to feel that I am on the same level as them. I am going to talk about some of those people a little later in the editorial.

There are those certain sites out there that influenced me so greatly and made me appreciate things. The first person is VegettoEX. This guy gave me one of my favorite Interviews ever, but that is not what he taught me. He taught me to appreciate what I write. Ever since I first visited his sight I have been writing like mad. His well thought out and intelligent editorials gave me knowledge and showed me how strong my opinion is. I appreciate him for this the most. He also always answered all of my e-mails, which is a big plus?

Now for the second of three people I want to thank. Meri of Temple O' Trunks. She moved me into my second stage when it came to editorials. She was the first person to put my editorials on the net, which was a big confidence booster. That isn't even close to all she has done though. A while back I wrote an e-mail to all the big web masters (Big success, I got it published on Vegeta Insane, VegettoEX's page, and got replies from Meri of ToT and from Akire of Akire's DBD) and she was the first person to respond in a very nice and positive manner. Whenever I ever have a question though she responds quickly and completely and that is the reason that she is a huge help to me.

Now for the third and final person I would like to thank, (trust me there are more, but these are the big three) is Steve Harmon of the Vault. He is the one who said it was all right to do interviews. Without him, my favorite section on this site would not be possible. On his site I would spend hours reading all the interviews and I have read them all at least twice. Steve truly did something amazing. The interview I did with him was truly my favorite interview and I was more than excited when he said he would do it. I remember thinking what to ask him because he never actually voiced his opinion, but that made the interview twice as good. So Steve if you read this, thank you.

So let's look at some other happenings of this year. What pages actually blew up when it comes to popularity in 1999?

Well, of course I have to mention the one and the only Planet Namek. If there is one site that every DB fan knows of, then it is certainly Planet Namek. If you related the DB community to the U.S. government, then Planet Namek would be the president. I don't really understand, it doesn't have the best info, the best multimedia, or the best variety. When it comes to all the things that I just listed then Planet Namek is right near the top, but it is at the top when it comes to DB sites. Why? Planet Namek is the most professional site out there on the net. It updates multiple times a day, I think it averages somewhere around 3 averages a day. That is amazing. Planet Namek also is growing every day. It is adding new sections and new maintainers every day. Just awhile back Planet Namek combined with Karin Tower and then absorbed The Daily DB chapters. Besides that Planet Namek hosts some of the top sites on the net. Planet Namek is truly an amazing site that has grown immensely in the past 2 years and I have a feeling that this site will be around for a very long time. Mr.E whatever you are doing, keep it up.

Now for Mr. Information himself, Greg Werner. For a site that doesn't offer Multimedia, you would be amazed by his popularity. This is why, when he writes up his information, he does not do some half ass job. Greg does the best he can possibly do. He goes into such detail that it is amazing. Do you want to hear something amazing, Greg's server notified him and told him that he was second when it comes to hits out of all the sites that they host. Wow, a site that is about DB and it is number two... amazing. From how it looks, Greg puts his heart into every single section he writes. Also, one other thing that impresses me is that he may not update a massive amount, but when he does it is quite an update. I mean that he tells it all in his updates, it is not some lame little sentence, but is a few paragraphs. Definitely one of the top sites of '99.

So much to talk about, let's talk about a subject that upsets me more than anything. Page piracy, piracy was huge this year. For instance, there was one site that stole Planet Namek's whole layout and a lot of their sections. Anyway, this year has been full of "Hey, too bad It isn't like you own the rights to the show...", "But, I need some good images for my site.", and "Hey I am going to steal all your stuff, but then tell everyone that you took it from me!" AHHHHHHH, such idiots out there! I am surprised that they can even sign onto the Internet. Now, what do I call these people? "Dragonball Newbie know-it-alls". They bug me and everyone else. For instance, because of how my AOL is set up IRC never seems to work and I am to lazy to fix it so I am stuck attempting to talk in the AOL chat rooms. Well, that is my mistake, it is full of DB newbies who are sparring with their Spirit Bombs and Destructo Discs. Come on, these people watch DB's 90 or so episodes and they know it all, I have to stop because all this is doing is making me mad.

All right, now there are two things that I want to talk about. The first is going to be the top five events of 1999. Since I talked about most of them, I will only talked about the things I have not mentioned yet.

5. Music Videos- One of the coolest things to hit the web sites this year. They are creative and are better than an audio and better than a video. Off the top of my head, some of the best DB Music Video Makers out there are Meri, Firey, and Castor Troy.

4. Planet Namek, the monopoly?- To further explain. Like I said Planet Namek has absorbed two sites and hosts some of the top sites out there.

3. Brian Real? Vs. Greg Werner

2. Brian Real? On fansubs

1. '99 in general- The openings and closings of sites, New friendships, and just how great the year of '99 had been to all of us in the DB community. Good luck in the new year and everyone who maintains a site good luck and keep up the good work.

Now for the final thing that I want to do in this editorial. The 1999 DB Daizenshyu awards. These awards will cover a lot of the main sections that go into a site. Remember this is just my opinion, but I feel that a lot of you may agree.

Award #1- The most updated site award - No contest here, of course it goes to Planet Namek.

Award#2- Provides the most Information award- The Ultimate DB site takes this award.

Award#3- Breakthrough site of the year award- There are a lot of sites that I thought about for this one and I have come up with a tie between Vegeta Insane and DB: The Third Season

Award#4- Mailbag of the year award- Wow, of course the two top guns in this category are Vegeta Insane and VegettoEX's DB site, but after much debate this award goes to Vegeta Insane's Mailbag.

Award#5- Most creative idea for a site- Well the debate is between three sites. Deathball Z, DB: The Third Season, and The Vault, but after much debate the award goes to The Vault.

Award#6- The best music videos award- Hands down in my opinion it goes to Temple O' Trunks. One of the main reasons is because of her awesome timing and great Variety of Music Videos

Award#7- The best all around site- Well, I would love to reward every site out there, but this award has to go to Planet Namek.

Now, for the closing statements. Yes, I did forget the best multimedia site award, but there are too many of you out there and it would have been impossible to just pick one. One thing is that you may have noticed that besides Brian Real?, I have not mentioned anything about Toriyama.Org, well sorry. I realize that it is an awesome site, but it just isn't on my mind when I check out other sites. Like I said, it has been a great year. I hope you all enjoyed reading this. Some of my opinions may have angered some of you, but hey sue me. Everyone have a great year and good luck to all the new and old DB sites out there and good luck to everyone in the DB community.

- ssj4gokuh