Super ONM is joining with GRcade

[OrangeRakoon]

The End of Super ONM

On Sunday the 11th of February the Super ONM forums will shut down. This follows a sustained period of declining activity across the boards. After careful deliberation of all options, the mod team have unanimously decided that closing SONM as an independent website is the right call. This is not the end however, as Super ONM is merging with our close friends at GRcade, offering a new, larger and more active home for our community.

You can find out more about GRcade, the merge, and why this is happening below, but for a quick summary check out the FAQ.

What does "joining with GRcade" mean?

The Super ONM forums are closing, but will live on as part of grcade.co.uk, another UK based gaming community. GRcade is adopting features of SONM in their branding so that the legacy of Super ONM will continue. We encourage members to transition over to GRcade as a new home for our community.

Why is Super ONM closing?

For some time, and notably throughout 2017, Super ONM has been declining in activity, with less threads, posts, and visitors. This downwards trend can be seen in these graphs. This substantial decrease in activity is a natural consequence of the times in which we live, and despite much thought being put into the matter, little can be done to reverse it. Rather than continuing onwards and watching the community entirely disappear, we have decided that it is in the best interests of the community to offer it a new, more active home as a part of GRcade.

When is Super ONM closing?

The forums will become read-only on Sunday the 11th of February, in nine days following this announcement.

Who made this decision?

This has been a joint decision made primarily by myself (as admin) and the moderation team. I went to the staff at GRcade with the suggestion of a merge, to which they agreed, and they have been more than helpful in planning for a smooth transition, and in suggesting ways in which the legacy of Super ONM can be preserved.

Why wasn't the community consulted?

While ideally we would have wanted agreement from the entire community on this decision, the uncertainty of the merge necessitated discussion prior to any public announcement. The unanimity of the mod team in agreeing this is the right step for Super ONM went some way to alleviating fears of this decision being divisive. As admin I ultimately take responsibility for the future of the website, and I sincerely believe we are acting in the best interests of the SONM community.

What will happen to the Super ONM website?

For the foreseeable future Super ONM will remain accessible at www.sonm.uk. The forum will be closed to new sign-ups and will become read-only (so it will no longer be possible to post). A front page will be added, similar to our old home page, that will state we are closed (with a link to this topic) and with a prominent link through to GRcade. You will still be able to access the forum to read past posts.

Will the forum be archived?

As above, the forum will remain accessible in a read-only state. As admin I also keep archived backups of the forum, in case the website itself is ever lost.

What will happen to X thread?

Below we have compiled a list of popular threads and sub-forums, linking to their equivalent on GRcade, to help with the smoothest transition to our new home. If you have specific threads that you want to copy over for whatever reason, for example an ongoing sports prediction thread or a GAAW gallery, get in contact and we'll make sure to sort something out. If in doubt, ask over on GRcade - you'll find the staff there more than helpful.

---

New Game Plus

grcade.co.uk

GRcade is a community for "Games & Stuff". After starting as Future Gamer in 1998, it was eventually re-branded as Daily Radar and then as GamesRadar, and finally became independent from Future in 2008.

In February 2015 we officially became friends with GRcade as we launched our affiliation program. Here is what we had to say about GRcade at the time:

Why we like GRcade: GRcade shares a lot with Super ONM. Originally a Future-owned business, like ONM, the community then became independent when GamesRadar closed down - a very similar origin story to us here on Super ONM. Their proven success, having gone through this change several years ago, and the fact that they are still going strong today, is an inspiration for us. With both sites sharing similar interests, being based around videogames, GRcade is a perfect fit for affiliation, and we hope it to be of great mutual benefit for both of us. The GRcade forum itself has a large and active community, with plenty going on to interest gaming fans, so check it out!

Since then we've shared a close relationship with GRcade, with members posting across both forums and with cross-forum activities such as Mario Kart tournaments, Mafia games, projects like What Did We Play? and a vote for our Top WiiU Games.

GRcade is well suited not just as an alternative to these forums, but to offer a whole new lease of life and to be a new home for the Super ONM community. On a personal note I have been an active member of GRcade since they became an SONM affiliate, and I can attest to the passion and hard work that the volunteer staff put into running the community. I truly believe this merge is the best option for keeping our own community alive, and while I will be sad to see Super ONM go as an independent site, I'm excited to see what the future holds as part of the GRcade family.

To help kick things off, and to welcome us SONMers into their community, there is a voting thread for Super GRcade's Top 10 Nintendo Games. What better way to get to know a new forum than arguing out which is better between Mario or Zelda, or whether the Prime series beats out classic Metroid?

While Nintendo and videogames might be the starring focus of Super ONM, it is of course not the only subject we discuss. Unlike here GRcade doesn't split all its discussion up into separate sub-forums (although it does have a tagging system for threads), instead simply dividing up discussion between "Games" and "Stuff". To help with the transition we've put together a handy reference, linking popular SONM threads and sub-forums to their GRcade equivalents. If you're not sure otherwise if a thread exists on GRcade, feel free to ask over there and someone will be happy to help you out!

Nintendo Switch, SONM Switch Friend Codes -> Nintendo Switch Chat thread
Currently playing -> Currently Playing in 2018
Retro sub-forum -> GRcade Retro Gaming Chat
Pokémon sub-forum -> Pokemon Go, Pokémon Sun & Moon
PlayStation General -> PlayStation 4 Chat II, PS Store Chat II
Xbox General -> Xbox One Chat
Steam Thread -> PCGT V

How Do You Feel Right Now -> HDYFRN, TCRT 6
The Latest Purchases Thread -> GRcade Pick Up Post
Photo Thread -> Take some amazing photos and post them here
Videos General V.2 -> Video Thread |OT2|
Politics General -> The Politics Thread 4

Sport sub-forum -> Sport tag
Graphics, Arts and Writing sub-forum -> Creative tag
Forum Games & Quizzes sub-forum -> Forum Game Test group

If you'd like to show your SONM heritage over on GRcade, we've also put together a couple of userbars you can add to your signature, if you like.

Code: Select all

[img]https://i.imgur.com/BKwsqSl.png[/img]

Code: Select all

[img]https://i.imgur.com/OndrjQr.png[/img]

If you haven't signed up to GRcade already, we strongly encourage you to make the jump and join us in this new chapter. We hope to see you there!

---

A Final Message From Your Admin

It hasn't been an easy decision for me to bring Super ONM to a close. Back when we got the news the Official Nintendo Magazine forums were being shut down I was just over half a year into my first job, and setting up and running a website was something I had no experience in or knowledge of. As a mod team we were passionate about keeping the ONM community alive, and I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting into when I volunteered to try setting up a successor forum myself. Thanks to the support of the team here, as well as the advice of some colleagues (and of course stumbled upon online tutorials) I was able to create this place, and I'd like to thank everyone involved in assisting with its running over these last three and a bit years.

Of course a forum is nothing without its userbase, and it was wonderful seeing so many members of the community make the move over from ONM. We had over 14,000 posts in our first full month, and for a good while our activity exceeded what the ONM forums themselves had been hitting towards the end of their life. I feel genuinely honoured to have been the administrator for such a community.

Of course activity has dwindled, especially over the last year, which is why we have now reached this point where it feels right to call time and move on to pastures new. There are many reasons for this decline, and many are the same that led to the ONM forums decline before us, but we always knew that this would be an inevitability. I wish that this wasn't the case, but such is the fate of internet forums based around defunct gaming magazines in 2018. I can't complain, looking back at everything we have achieved - I'm sure many doubted we would survive a single year, let alone three!

So once again I'd like to thank everyone here for making Super ONM everything that it was, from all of you members through to our excellent mod team, both current and past. Through administrating SONM I have learnt plenty, and through posting on SONM I have not only lost countless hours to discussions on Nintendo, videogames and beyond, but made some genuine friends. It has been an honour and a pleasure, and I hope to see many familiar faces over on GRcade.

Scott / OrangeRakoon

[jawafour]

I'd like to echo Orange's words by confirming that GRcade extends a warm welcome to Super ONM folk and that we would love you to join in with the chat over at GRcade.

Of course, it is a sad moment when any forum closes, more so with SONM as it was built upon the memory of the terrific Official Nintendo Magazine. Whilst GRcade covers all gaming formats (and Stuff!) we do have a solid number of people who love Nintendo gaming and it'd be great to see you join us.

Let's raise a glass (or Master Sword) to SONM and welcome new beginnings .

[TJ Hipkiss]

I'll admit I never really used SONM. After ONM shut down it felt like a good time to move on. Still, the community I found on those original forums, many of which migrated over here, was an important part of my life for a spell, and shall always remain so.

Kudos to the team keeping these forums alive for the past 3 years, and though a merger isn't the same as a death, it will be sad to see the last remnant of the ONM name die out.

[euan707]

It's been fun. Thanks for all the good times.

Like... uh...?

[GuitarHero]

Weird sense of Déjà vu from the last time! Can't say I'm too surprised, just pretty much impossible for SONM to bring in new members without a magazine or something like that. I'm just grateful to OR for running this site for as long as you have. I think I've spent nearly 10 years between ONM and SONM, even if my posting has drifted off too. But both have legitimately helped and shaped me as a person in some way or another.

I'll try to pop into GRCade every now and then, and I hope to see some of the same people too. But otherwise, goodbye SONM, thanks for the memories

Also guess I should make a 1000th post...

[BonafideGeengster]

I've been dead on this place for a while, consumed and preoccupied by the likes of reddit for my discussions, but this was a real shock to come across in my emails. It's like the last part of ONM as we know it is gone.

I was actually 10 when I first signed up for ONM back in 2010, there I said it. I'd always see them talk about the forum in the magazines so I felt compelled to join even though you had to be sixteen. I wanted to get in the magazine because this was how one got famous, obviously. I mainly just remember being a nuisance and merely bemoaning the delay of the Pokemon Black and White Flash game portal (remember that?) rather than the Japan friggin' tsunami that caused it. Even so, while I was active I really enjoyed the community, devoting more time to the forums than actual videogames.

Thank you all for your efforts in preserving the small, special community that Official Nintendo Magazine created. Even though I didn't interact with it much, the ONM community is such a formative part of my childhood.There's something kinda literary to seeing SONM fade out and merge with GRCade as I myself approach 18 and am legally able to buy the 18-rated games that CEX was already selling to me anyway.

[DarkRula]

As the old adage goes - one journey ends, another begins.
It's been super great to have been a part of SONM since its beginning, and I'll be making the transition to GRcade in a bit. The community has stayed strong, I feel, even if the activity within this forum has been lower than ever. However, I feel with the two sites merging, that community can become even stronger. A big thank you to Orange Rakoon for running this place and trying to keep it active as much as possible.
I hope to see many regulars from here over on GRcade, and hope many more years of fun can be had.

[TJ Hipkiss]

Weird sense of Déjà vu from the last time! Can't say I'm too surprised, just pretty much impossible for SONM to bring in new members without a magazine or something like that. I'm just grateful to OR for running this site for as long as you have. I think I've spent nearly 10 years between ONM and SONM, even if my posting has drifted off too. But both have legitimately helped and shaped me as a person in some way or another.

I'll try to pop into GRCade every now and then, and I hope to see some of the same people too. But otherwise, goodbye SONM, thanks for the memories

Also guess I should make a 1000th post...

Crazy that you're still using the same avatar and signature I made for you all those years ago! Everything on the internet feels so disposable I don't expect to see something last this long.

[Nintendonator3000]

Huh - a cliché i know, but it really seems like only yesterday SONM started. I was on ONM for the final 4 years or so (a few of you might possibly remember me as Lego Master) and transferring to SONM I found myself getting more involved in the community which was great fun.

Started the Zelda Thread which went strong for a long time with some great discussions and 'Zelda NX' hype, and I thoroughly enjoyed making content for the SONM Network with the NSMBU series and 'Ocarina of Time Orchestrates Life' which is one of my favourite things I've created.

Really I just want to say thanks to the SONM team for the opportunity to share content like this with the community, and creating a site I could always escape to for videogame chats and arguing with strangers. I'll definitely make the move to GRcade - hope to see many of you there. Might even change my name - Nintendonator3000 is a relic from 14 year old me making awful videos.

Thanks in particular to OR - never has there been a greater Racoon.

[GuitarHero]

Weird sense of Déjà vu from the last time! Can't say I'm too surprised, just pretty much impossible for SONM to bring in new members without a magazine or something like that. I'm just grateful to OR for running this site for as long as you have. I think I've spent nearly 10 years between ONM and SONM, even if my posting has drifted off too. But both have legitimately helped and shaped me as a person in some way or another.

I'll try to pop into GRCade every now and then, and I hope to see some of the same people too. But otherwise, goodbye SONM, thanks for the memories

Also guess I should make a 1000th post...

Crazy that you're still using the same avatar and signature I made for you all those years ago! Everything on the internet feels so disposable I don't expect to see something last this long.

Ha ha I got attached to it and feel like I'm probably recognised by it that I never wanted to change it after a while. I've gone and saved them now on my computer, so they may live on for a bit longer yet!

[Quarg Ranger]

I think that I'm unlikely to make the transition. It's come to a point in my life that I've not got the time to stay active on these forums, and time to let go.

I've made so many friends here over the years, and really, you've all helped me develop into the person I am today. So, thank you ONM, and SONM, and to all the great and fun times.

Super props to OR, who has almost single-handedly kept this place going for the last long while. We all owe him that this has hung around for so long.

If anyone wants to keep in touch, drop me a message, and I'll work out the best way to do that, whether it be through Steam or Facebook or whatever.

Really, all the best to everyone. See you around.

[row101]

I've been gone for a while, but I had a lot of good times on this site through the discussions I had and the forum games I played. Seeing this email in my inbox brought back a lot of memories of how this site got me through some of my hardest times, and how the advice and conversations I had with some members helped me to grow and become a better person. I subscribed to ONM way back in 2009 and I've been on these forums in some capacity since 2013, not as long as some folks obviously but long enough that it played a role in shaping me as a person. It's sad to see small communities like this die to places like Twitter and Reddit.

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you to all of the members, moderators, and especially Scott for making this place what it is.

[breezyskells]

which I Just done made the jump to GRcade

[Garf]

just as I was about to finish UDC too

[Cruizer]

To what extent are we merging with the new site?

I can see we are already affiliated with the other site, but is this just some of SONM threads will be migrated across or is it full post counts and do the moderators etc here become moderators on the other site. I can see they are going to archive SONM in read only, but are full threads going to be carried across to the other site, so folk can pick up where they left off?

[bouncer0304]

Since becoming involved with my local Nintendo group in South Wales sadly i've not been on here. Understandably you're doing the right thing and will be the best from hereon in. Thank you for continuing the ONM spirit. Feels odd the ONM name will finally disappear but thanks for all your hard work and long may it continue

[OrangeRakoon]

It's great to see so many names popping back already for our final days, I've missed you all <3

To what extent are we merging with the new site?

I can see we are already affiliated with the other site, but is this just some of SONM threads will be migrated across or is it full post counts and do the moderators etc here become moderators on the other site. I can see they are going to archive SONM in read only, but are full threads going to be carried across to the other site, so folk can pick up where they left off?

There will be no migration of any data, be that users or threads. GRcade is not archiving this forum - I will be maintaining SONM in a read-only state following the closure on the 11th, still accessible at sonm.uk and separate to GRcade.

If there are specific threads you would like to carry over to GRcade it will have to be done manually (just as HDYFRN has been recreated), just let me know either here or (preferably) post on GRcade to check what will work best - there are already existing threads on GRcade that match threads here and we don't want to duplicate them :)

[Cruizer]

Makes sense.

I see the announcement has gone out to everyone's emails which is a good idea. Would be nice, if some of the faces we haven't seen here for a little while since we got quieter drop by before the site closes. I already see some of the old user-names are online right now

Hi all x

[Genericenemy]

Hello again, shame to see the last fragment of ONM disappearing. Suppose the writing was on the wall though. I left shortly after this place started

[jlzrd]

I joined ONM forums a couple of months after ONM started as mrlizard, and you guys legitimately became my second family. I made friends, and in the end only ever met one of you in real life, who would became my absolute rock in helping me through a few very rough years of my life. I will forever be truly grateful for that. I spent a lot of time on those forums, I believe becoming the third person to reach 10,000 posts? But when the time came to move to SONM, my activity had dwindled and it felt like the right time to stop. I posted maybe twice to SONM, but the news that it will be closing still hits me, as I know it will fragment whatever remnant of the original community that still exists into even smaller pieces.

I will forever love you guys, and even though I may never post again, I wish you all the best.

[emperor ing]

Got that little email. Didn't actually go on here much after ONM died and gradually migrated to other places as the people I interacted with changed. It is nice to see that it lasted for this long though and an achievement carrying on the ONM legacy.

[Ape]

Can't say I'm too surprised by this. Nothing much seems to be going on here anymore and I don't really have much time to talk on here.

Not sure if I will make the transition to GRcade or not yet. I've gone back to being a multi forum browser recently and resumed browsing on another Nintendo forum (N-Europe for anyone interested). I don't have a lot of free time anymore either so not much browsing actually gets done.

It is nearly 10 years since I joined the original ONM. That's a lot of time to be part of a community and even then I was still a teenager that was nearly an adult when I joined, now I'm a working adult which doesn't lend itself well to forum contributions.

It'll be a shame really, this and it's predecessor have really helped me become a more sociable person, to something of an extent. I'll still be on Twitter obviously, otherwise the two forums I'm now mainly browsing are N-Europe and Toku Nation (as if the sig didn't give it away that the latter was something I'm big into now).

Nothing lasts forever though, but kudos to OR for keeping the community going after the magazine died out. But it's 2018 now, gaming magazines are pretty much dead these days and as adults we don't really have a lot of time to talk as we might have done as teenagers.

In case this is my last ever post on SONM, it's been a fun ride with this community in it's various forms over the last 10 years.

[Genericenemy]

You know thinking about it, as much as this forum has become inactive, I wouldn't say no to a Discord server where we can all talk and keep in contact.

[DarkRula]

I'd already made one ages back for the Mario Kart matches that used to be played. Then turned it into a general server after a while which I don't think got any use.

[Oathkeeper]

I know I haven't been active on here for quite a while now but it really can't be understated how much ONM and its community has shaped my identity. It's been such a huge part of my life throughout my formative years and I honestly can't imagine where I would have ended up without it. I hope all goes well with the merge but this time it really does feel like the end.