User:Styracosaurus Rider

July 2nd, 2016

Hi there. I'm Styro. If you're an old-timer around these parts, you may have heard of me. However: for the most part, you will no longer be hearing of me on Wikia.

Why is that? Well, long story short, I've moved on, really. I go into more details below, and I suggest you read on.

Should you need me for anything, I recommend you contact me on my reddit account (u/Diplotomodon) as you'll have the best chance of receiving a timely response. Just mention who you are and what you need me for. If you don't have an account/can't be bothered to make one, tumblr will do (diplotomodon.tumblr.com). I will answer those messages privately. But: I'll try to answer your probable questions right here, right now.

Of course, I've been on Wikia for a long time, and I had admin duties and/or a significant presence on a few of them. So I'll answer questions by wiki:

Wiki Prehistorica

''Is it still a thing? Will you continue it?''

At the current time, I will probably not be returning to the Wikia version of Wiki Prehistorica in a major way.

Yeah, I still really like it, and I want to see it continue. But I've come to the conclusion that Wikia is not the most conducive platform for it, and by moving to a different place, many more possibilities for the site are opened up. This will not happen for a long while yet.

Someone else can claim the Wikia site, if they want. But I have a strong suspicion it will remain dead, as so many of its website counterparts do. I'm fine with that now. I've made my peace with the fact.

Jurassic Park Wiki/Jurassic Park Fanon Wiki

Since the wiki has become pretty important again, will you be returning to admin duties?

As ever, the Jurassic Park Wiki is the wildcard in my otherwise-straightforward plans. I had no expectation to return in any active capacity - it certainly seemed to be doing well enough on its own, and there were a number of other Jurassic Park sites out there to consult if you felt the need.

Sadly that is no longer case. The Jurassic Park Legacy forums shut down for the last time on June 11, 2016 after some thirteen years of operation, and with it, its extensive and well-curated encyclopedia. The articles have been archived, but it's uncertain if they'll ever be publicly posted. Because of that, the Wikia site is probably the largest JP wiki currently in existence, and I expect a lot more web traffic for it. They might need help getting the site up to shape. We'll see what happens, I suppose.

I'm a member of the Jurassic Park Portal, a "spiritual successor" to JPLegacy created by a few of the mods, and am semi-active there if you need to contact me. My username there is Crimsonraptor.

The Pantheon

Still with us?

I fondly remember Multiverses. The userbase was small but dedicated, and constantly shifting, but as far as I'm concerned four people made up the heart and soul of the site. I was among those four, and I had the best of times with the other three.

Two of them are accounted for. I'm still waiting on you, Toothless. If you ever see this, shoot me a message. Let's get the band back together, eh?

As for the rest of the site: Due to various reasons, most of the old articles have been deleted. As of July 2016, most of mine are still up but they will likely be gone soon as well. Multiverses the wiki may continue in some form, but not with the four of us.

The Rest

As for any other wikis I have admin duties on: I will not be returning. Reptipedia and Whoniverse Fanon are the only two sites that come to mind right now, but I won't be coming back. Take me off the lists. It was a good time though, yeah?

To reiterate: Should you need me for anything, I recommend you contact me on my reddit account (u/Diplotomodon) as you'll have the best chance of receiving a timely response. Just mention who you are and what you need me for. If you don't have an account/can't be bothered to make one, tumblr will do (diplotomodon.tumblr.com).

Since some people are interested in history, let me tell you a story that I haven't told anywhere except for on this page. It's the story of How I Got Into This Whole Online Thing.

Cast your mind back to September 1st, 2010. I was but a feeble youth, with little understanding of Internet communities aside from the achievements list of Off-Road Velociraptor Safari. (One of the greatest games to ever be made - requiescat in pace.) On that day I was really fricking tired. There was a Rush concert in Allentown, Pennsylvania the previous evening and I'd practically pulled an all-nighter. As far as I can remember, I spent most of the first day of September waddling about in a metaphorically druken, dream-fueled haze. And for reasons lost to the mists of time, I said "why the hell not" and made a Wikipedia account.

2010 was initially a tough year for me, for reasons I won't go into. A few well-timed incidents and occurences kept me afloat. But I suppose the stars were aligned, and in the midst of the black seas of infinity, I happened upon the road that led me to where I am today.

Editing on Wikipedia went well, all things considered, though I won't deny that some of it, looking back, was pretty stupid. It was the first time I really contributed things to the online world, aside from two cheesy lolcat macros. (It was a dark time. I still get 'Nam flashbacks every now and then.) Wikis seemed to be a pretty neat concept. So after a Google search (or so my userpage tells me), I happened upon the Calvin and Hobbes Wiki.

Normally I would say this was my first encounter with Wikia.com, but now that I think about it, that's not true. I distinctly remember going on TARDIS Data Core (then simply called the Doctor Who Wiki or something like that) at the start of Series Five of Doctor Who. We Yanks got the show two weeks after they aired in the UK, but I temporarily forgot that and figured a quick peek at the wiki on premiere day wouldn't hurt. So I was very surprised when I was met with the sight of new, giant, technicolor Daleks. It was my own fault I suppose. But, I digress.

I found the Calvin and Hobbes Wiki and, after a few brief anonymous edits, decided to make an actual account there. I wanted a C&H-specific username, since I assumed I would only be using that account on the one wiki (oh, ye of little faith). So I decided on Styracosaurus Rider - taken from a Sunday strip when Calvin imagines his school desk turning into a Styracosaurus, and proceeds to ride it straight out the window. On October 21, 2010, it was so.

Just for you, here's an extract from my first ever Wikia edit, part of my newly created userpage:

"Just so you know, before we begin, I must say something about my computer. It told me last night John Lennon was in the vicinity. I can therefore only conclude my computer is very screwy and might not respond swiftly to questions or concerns. Hopefully I should get this thing fixed soon."

- 2010 me

...the fuck was I on about?

This was back in the day when Monaco was the glorious skin of the website, and we were all royally pissed off when Wikia decided to change it. (I remember it well. Those were the days.)

Of course, I swiftly found out that Wikia.com was actually a network of many different wikis. Learning this, I promptly found the Jurassic Park Wiki and joined it immediately. And it's around here where I started making friends with people. It's a very odd thing, to make friends with people in faraway places through a set of tubes and screens, yet here we are. It was around here that I was introduced by a very good friend to a now-defunct wiki where I spent exorbitant amounts of time. Site-wide upheavals, arguments, rogue IP addresses - I remember thee well.

But time marched on, people came and went, I moved to different things. In particular I turned to the fanon community, where I met more people, who in turn introduced me to a place that I've sunk more hours into than more or less anything online. And that lasted for a good year and a half. After that, I started to step away from Wikia, doing less and less, and finally in early 2014 I officially went on hiatus. And now here we are.

I tell you all this because participating in these communities has been a great boon to me. When I was more active, I loved staffing the wikis I had helped to build, being an admin or bureaucrat or occasionally both. It was a tremendous pleasure and responsibility that I'm a teeny bit sad to let go of. And it's been a creative exercise - all that brainstorming and collaborative worldbuilding with like-minded people has been great. And it was enough for me to actually keep it up - different projects, flying solo, working in my supposedly spare time, writing down stories and waiting for the future. I am the better for it.

None of that would have happened without the people in these communities.

So while I'm at it, and while I have your attention, I'm gonna stop worrying about what I've been doing and mention some people that I've haven't had a chance to mention for a long time. And to say thank you, in case I don't get a chance to do so later. If nothing else, I feel it's necessary - even if it's just for my own benefit.

How should I even do this? idk. Let's just roll with in. Thesaurus Rex and Montagna, I hope you're doing well out there in the real wide world - thanks for sticking it out through the tough times and shenanigans. Mollica and Starscream, good luck out there. I've seen your Youtube channels...keep at it. Hey Turtlecake: wish I could've written more. Hopefully you've found other writers to work together with. CyborgIguana: I liked what I saw. I see you on the Zoo Tycoon forums a lot. Maybe we'll chat sometime. PhotonCommander10: I think you might actually still have my (old) email. I check it occasionally. Should you ever drop me a line...I'll return the favor eventually. Zeokx and Yuy, I really appreciate the things you did to keep things running. Dyga and Eo: Quality over quantity, they say. I wish it was both. If you're still around out there, I may very well have opportunities for you two. JPT, you get singled out for special mentions too. I know it was rough at first but I think we're both the better for it now. Follow your dreams. (Also, I know your Reddit account. Don't worry - your secrets are safe with me. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) Thanks man. And of course I can never forget BastionMonk. I hope all's going well in Nederland. Maybe we can butt heads sometime and talk genetics. It'd be an honor and a pleasure. Hartelijk bedankt. And for those I haven't mentioned, don't think you're getting off easy. I've got your names. Take it easy out there.

Toothless, Ping, and Holben. You nerds get a whole paragraph to yourselves, whether you like it or not (and dammit, you're going to enjoy it). It's gonna be tough to believe this, but hear me out: I would be a completely different person today were it not for Multiverses. I mean that truly and sincerely. The influx of imagery and creativity that resulted from writing there has shaped my work since, my work to come, and even my way of thinking. And don't think that it's done - it ain't even started yet. As one Plan ends, another begins.

That's it, really. I have never figured out how to end a long message. It never feels right. Ah well.

V/\

Styro (Contact me)  The park is open. 00:18, July 3, 2016 (UTC)

"I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed: And on the pedestal these words appear: 'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.""