#Community forum software

[communityforumsoftware]

Top 15 Features a Forum Software Must Have for Building Online Community in 2025

Building a thriving online community requires the right platform. This blog outlines 15 essential features for successful forum software, including user registration, search functionality, customization, ease of use, chat, notifications, forums, moderation, hashtags, social media integration, privacy, advertising, mobile support, multilingual support, and scalability.

Key takeaways:

User-centric design: Easy registration, personalized profiles, and intuitive navigation are crucial for attracting and retaining members.

Robust functionality: Search, forums, and sub-forums enable easy content discovery and organized discussions.

Engaging features: Chat, live streaming, notifications, and social media integration foster interaction and keep members connected.

Safety and security: Strong moderation and robust privacy measures build trust and ensure a positive community experience.

Scalability and performance: The platform should handle growing membership and maintain a smooth user experience.

​The blog highlights SocialEngine as a leading platform that encompasses all these features.

It emphasizes SocialEngine's ability to create a customized, engaging, and scalable online community with features like advanced customization, mobile apps, and multilingual support.

This summary aims to provide a concise and informative overview of the blog's key points, making it easier for readers to understand its core message.

For more details, kindly visit:- Top 15 Features a Forum Software Must Have for Building Online Community in 2025

Mail us at sales@socialengine.com to schedule a quote and become the owner of your best social network site.

[citopiaonline]

Welcome to Citopia! Citopa is an upcoming 16+ forum-based community website with pixel art avatars, fun games and city-themed graphics. On Citopia Online, you will be able to:

Dress up your avatar in amazing pixel art items designed by our Artists

Play minigames to earn in-game currency and receive rewards by leveling up

Participate in exciting competitions and events

Meet new people and make tons of friends with similar interests

Follow our social media to get more updates and watch our progress in developing the website!

Artist: @ elinoskarssonart on instagram

[slutforchocorobos]

damn i thought community posts could be rebloggable... it has Facebook level interactions.... you can't even share posts inside from outside....

[paper-mario-wiki]

The opposite of wiki isn’t discord, it’s encyclopedia dramatica.

incorrect.

encyclopedia dramatica is publicly available through a web browser without an account, and not locked behind a proprietary piece of software to access.

Discord, on the other hand, is the hand that pulls the suffocating rag of inaccessibility over the face of anyone trying to learn anything regarding any niche online phenomenon.

JUST MAKE A FORUM FOR YOUR FIGHTING GAME COMMUNITY!!! JUST PUT YOUR PROGRAMS AND SCRIPTS ON GITHUB!!! JUST HOST YOUR FILES ON MEDIAFIRE OR MEGAUPLOAD OR SOMETHING!!

i shouldnt have to announce my presence to everyone any time i join a server for a second to download one file! i dont like that i have to insert my digital footprint somewhere just because the information there isn't available anywhere else!

STOP MAKING DISCORD SERVERS WHEN YOU SHOULD BE MAKING WEBSITES!!! STOP USING A CHAT CLIENT THAT'S GETTING WORSE WITH EVERY UPDATE AS A LESS HELPFUL AND LESS ACCESSIBLE INTERNET BROWSER!!!

[onionsites]

ONİONSİTES - DRAGON+ (2)

Onion sites, also known as.onion sites, are a unique type of website that can only be accessed through the Tor network. The Tor network, short for The Onion Router, provides a layer of anonymity and encryption for users accessing these sites, making them popular for those seeking privacy and security online. Unlike traditional websites that can be accessed through standard web browsers, onion sites list require special software, such as the Tor browser, to navigate. Individuals can create onion versions of regular websites or develop standalone onion sites for specific purposes. The exclusivity and privacy features of onion sites contribute to their appeal for various users, ranging from privacy advocates to individuals navigating the dark web for specific content.

There are several reasons why individuals choose to use onion sites, with privacy and anonymity being at the forefront. Onion sites offer a level of confidentiality that is not typically found on the surface web, making them attractive to individuals seeking to protect their identity and browsing habits. Moreover, best onion sites can provide access to content that may be restricted or censored in certain regions, allowing users to circumvent such limitations and access information freely. The encrypted nature of the Tor network adds an additional layer of security, reducing the risk of surveillance and tracking by third parties, including governments and internet service providers.

Common types of content found on onion sites range from forums and marketplaces to news outlets and secure communication platforms. While exploring onion sites, individuals may come across forums, chat rooms, file-sharing platforms, and other interactive spaces that facilitate communication and information exchange in a secure environment. The anonymity and encryption offered 2024 onion sites contribute to a unique online experience, enabling users to engage with content and communities that may not be easily accessible through conventional web browsers.

[empty-movement]

Welcome to Something Eternal: A Website Forum in 2023 wtf lmao

It's 2023, and a single belligerent rich guy destroyed one of the primary focal points of uh...global communication. Tumblr is, shockingly, kinda thriving despite the abuse it gets from its owners, but that I will call the iconic refusal of Tumblr users to let Tumblr get in the way of their using Tumblr. Reddit killed its API, removing the functionality of mobile apps that made it remotely readable (rip rif.) Discord, our current primary hangout, has made countless strange choices lately that indicate it has reached the summit of its usability and functionality, and can only decline from here as changes get made to prepare for shareholders. (NOTE: WROTE THIS POST BEFORE THEIR MOBILE "REDESIGN" LMAO)

The enshittification is intense, and it's coming from every direction. Social media platforms that felt like permanent institutions are instead slowly going to let fall fallow incredible amounts of history, works of art, thought, and fandoms. It kinda sucks!

A couple years ago, I posted about a new plan with a new domain, to focus on the archiving of media content, as I saw that to be the fatal weakness of the current ways the internet and fandoms work. Much has happened since to convince me to alter the direction of those efforts, though not abandon them entirely.

Long story short? We are launching a fucking website forum. In 2023.

If you remember In the Rose Garden, much about Something Eternal will be familiar. But this has been a year in the making, and in many ways it's far more ambitious than IRG was. We have put money on this. The forum is running on the same software major IT and technology businesses use, because I don't want the software to age out of usability within five years. It has an attached gallery system for me to post content to, including the Chiho Saito art collection. It has a profile post system that everyone already on the forum has decided is kinda like mini Twitter? But it is, fundamentally, a website forum, owned and run and moderated by us. We are not web devs. But we have run a website on pure spite and headbutting code for over twenty years, and we have over a decade of experience maintaining social spaces online, both on the OG forum, and on our Discord. Better skilled people with far more time than we have can and will build incredible alternatives to what is collapsing around us. But they're not in the room right now. We are. And you know what? Maybe it's time to return to a clunkier, slower moving, more conversation focused platform.

You're not joining a social media platform with the full polish of dozens of devs and automated moderation. Things might break, and I might need time to fix them. The emojis and such are still a work in progress. Because e-mails no longer route in reasonable normal ways, the sign-up process instead happens within the software, and has to be approved by mods. Design and structure elements may change. Etc. The point being, that the forum isn't finished, but it is at a place where I feel like I can present it to people, and it's people I need to help direct what functions and things will be in this space. You all will shape its norms, its traditions, its options...choices I could try to make now, but really...they're for us to create as a group! But the important stuff? That's there. Now let's drive this baby off the damn lot already!

Come! Join us!!

PS. As always, TERFs and Nazis need not apply.

[paluimbel]

This was mentioned in the tags, but making it yourself is an option that I can not recommend enough. It's a lot less complicated than it sounds, and there are some pretty great youtube series out there explaining it step by step, plus fun grammatical features you can include. Biblaridion, Artifexian, and David Peterson are our favorite channels on the subject, but there are definitely more. You can also drop us an ask if you have any questions!

Fictive culture is why couldn't the language from my source be one of the ones that you can learn. Like there are fictional languages you can learn! But not mine???

.

[cyberpunkonline]

THE AESTHETICS OF ABANDONWARE: WHY DEAD SOFTWARE FEELS HOLY

By R A Z, Queen of Glitches, Rat Prophet of the Post-Crash Pixel-Chapel

INTRO: Oi, you ever boot up a DOSBox emulator and feel your soul whisper "Amen"? No? Then saddle up, you absolute fetus, 'cause we’re going full pilgrimage through the haunted cathedrals of dead code, cursed shareware, and disc rot salvation. This is for the ones who dream in .BMPs, weep in MIDI, and hit “Yes to All” when copying cracked ZIPs from forgotten FTPs at 3AM. Abandonware ain’t just nostalgia—it’s digital necromancy. And some of us are bloody good at it.

DEAD SOFTWARE = HOLY SHRINE

Let’s be clear: abandonware is software that’s been, well, abandoned. The devs moved on. The publisher collapsed in a puff of VC smoke. The website's now a spammy shell selling beard oil or crack cocaine. The software? Unupdated. Unsupported. Gloriously obsolete.

So why does launching Hover! or Starship Titanic in 2025 feel like entering a chapel with weird lighting and a dial-up modem choir?

Because it’s sacred, mate.

We’re not talking about the games themselves being perfect. A lot of them were janky as hell. We’re talking vibe. These programs exist outside capitalism now. They’re post-market. Post-hype. They don’t want your money, your updates, your logins. They just want your attention—pure and simple. You’re not a user anymore. You’re a curator. A digital monk brushing dust off EXEs and praying to the Gods of IRQ Conflicts and SoundBlaster settings.

WHY IT HITS DIFFERENT

Dead software doesn’t update. It doesn’t push patches or ads. It won’t ask you to connect your Google account to play Math Blaster. It’s a sealed time capsule. Booting it up is like receiving an artifact from a parallel dimension where the internet still had webrings and every kid thought Quake mods would lead to a dream job at ID Software.

But it also represents a lost sincerity. These weren’t games made to hook you for eternity with algorithms. These were games made by six dudes in a shed with a caffeine problem and one working CD burner. And their README files were poetry. Half of them end with “Contact us on AOL or send a floppy to our PO Box.” What do you mean you don’t know what a PO Box is?

FOR THE ZOOMIES: YOU JUST MISSED THE GOLDEN ROT

Listen up, juniors. If you were born after 2005, you missed the age when the internet was held together with chewing gum, JPEG artifacts, and unspoken respect.

Back then, finding a rare game was an adventure. Not an algorithm. You didn’t scroll TikTok and get spoon-fed vibes. You climbed through broken Geocities links and begged on IRC channels. You learned to read. You learned to search. You learned that “No-CD crack” doesn’t mean what your mum thinks it means.

So here’s your initiation: go download something weird from a forgotten archive. No guides. No Discord server. Just the raw, terrifying joy of not knowing if you’ve just installed Robot Workshop Deluxe or a Russian trojan. Welcome to the cult.

THE TWO-YEAR RULE

Online communities? They’re mayflies with usernames. Peak lifespan? Two years.

Here’s the cycle:

A niche game/tool/art style gets revived.

People form a forum/Reddit/Discord.

A zine or remix scene emerges.

Drama. Mods quit. Someone forks the project.

Everyone vanishes.

This cycle has always existed. The only difference now is that it’s faster. But dead software bypasses this. It’s post-community. You don’t have to join a scene. You are the scene. Every time you open it up, you’re plugging into a ghost socket. You’re chatting with echoes. It’s beautiful.

CONCLUSION: THIS IS A RELIGION NOW. PRACTICE IT.

Abandonware isn’t about gaming. It’s about reclaiming reverence. About saying “This mattered” even if no one else remembers it did. It’s about surfing the ruins, not for loot, but for meaning. There’s holiness in opening a program that hasn’t been touched in decades and seeing it still works. Still waits for you. Still loads that same intro MIDI with the confidence of a god.

So light a candle. Install a CRT filter. Screenshot that low-res menu and print it on a t-shirt. You’re not just playing with the past. You’re preserving the bones of the digital age.

See you in the BIOS, kids.

—

RAZ out.

[being-kindrad]

Interest in a dedicated feminist online forum community?

What are women's thoughts here on an online feminist community, a forum (like phpBB for example), for discussions? Would enough women would be interested in this? Forum software has decreased in popularity, but is still used for niche subjects/communities. (Some real life examples: https://www.reef2reef.com/ and https://www.gardenstew.com/) I'm mildly interested in trying to set up forum software as a technical learning experience, but only if there would actually be interest in using it (because it would cost me money to buy a domain name and web hosting).

It seems like there are so little dedicated spaces for feminist women on the internet. Most feminist communities seem to be libfem, and/or plainly taken over by men (if they purport TWAW, then they definitely are taken over by men). Tumblr has a radfem community, but it's still part of a larger social media system which involves many TRAs (some of which harass radfems), and men, porn bots, etc. Ovarit is useful for consciousness raising, but it seems to me like the Overton window has been shifting towards more conservative takes than feminist ones, especially in how there appears to be more anti-trans takes on there than actual gender critical feminist ones, which kind of makes me bored of it. And so again, radfems are then stuck in a larger community, this one of conservative/non-feminist women, who are there because they dislike trans people and appear to have found a space where they can safely make fun of them and not actually to discuss gender critical content (the recent realization that I even need to be defending common feminist stances like women's right to abortion on Ovarit has been demoralizing). I basically want to make a place where feminist women can just take a break and not have to constantly be building up from ground zero, defending against TRA insults, arguing against conservative/right-wing rhetoric, and instead maybe discussing feminist topics or just chilling in some hobby forum sections or something, idk.

I was initially going to call it a "radfem community" but I see no reason for the community to not include women who identify more with other branches of feminism like gender critical feminism, black feminism, lesbian feminism, eco feminism, socialist feminism, intersectional feminism (I mean the original definition of intersectional, not "tumblrized intersectionality"), etc.

I think there would need to be some "gatekeeping" involved so that it doesn't end up filling up with neoliberal feminists ["choice feminism"] or "prolife feminists" [an oxymoron], so that would need to be figured out. This community would not be meant to be a place for feminists to have to hand-hold people and slowly explain over and over how gender is sexist, or how porn is misogyny, or how abortion is a part of women's healthcare and bodily autonomy. This place would be meant to be a solace from that. Imagine trying to participate in a Calculus class where people who haven't even taken algebra are constantly joining the class and asking "why the fuck are there letters with numbers in math now?!" The class would barely, if at all, progress. Likewise, this community would be for feminist women to have an agreed upon basis for basic feminist stances, and move forward with deeper analysis. There are plenty of other online communities for women who are new to (non-lib)feminism to learn about how "but I like wearing makeup, it's art" isn't a feminist stance. We don't need to keep spending finite energy hashing this out, we need to be able to move forward.

My basic thoughts so far:

It would be women-only. (But there would be no vetting that would involve requiring to share personal information, it would just be an honor system.)

I think there must be some basic feminist stances that members need to agree on, otherwise the community might as well just be a part of any mainstream social media platform. I would assume a decent starting point would be: gender critical, pro-choice, anti-prostitution, anti-pornography, anti-surrogacy, anti-beauty culture?

Some category ideas I have so far: feminism (with maybe different sections for the branches of feminism, and sections for discussing feminist books/websites/documentaries); politics (with sections for discussing or sharing news about feminist political topics like reproductive rights [for abortion, birth control, bodily autonomy], gender critical, surrogacy, prostitution, etc.; spirituality (for those who are into Wicca, or other spiritual beliefs); casual (for general chat, hobbies, music, arts, etc.)

So yeah, what are women's thoughts on here about this?

Would this type of community interest you?

What would you want to see in it?

What would you not want to see in it?

Has this been done before and I am just oblivious? (I tried searching for "feminist forum," but nothing relevant seem to come up.)

Am I naive and this is not going to work?

Please let me know! I welcome any opinions. Thank you. 💜

[leondra]

linux tutorial

switching to linux does have a bit of a learning curve but if you're willing to have a sit down and sort it out the benefits are awesome, and you get to learn new computer skills.

i recommend switching to an os that is similar to windows, such as mint linux. this isn't the first os i've used but its very casual and meets all my needs. there are tutorials on youtube on how to install it on your computer, but its a simple set up. be sure to backup your files. if you're very computer illiterate watch a few before attempting to install so you'll have a stronger grasp on what you're doing.

the taskbar doesnt come like that i just like it on the side lol. you can simply open the software manager to download programs that have a linux version

if theres a program that only has a windows version, you can download wine to run them

depending on what you use your computer for, you may come across programs that do not have a linux version, are not compatible with wine, and do not have a linux equivalent. when this happens you can use a virtual machine running windows to run the program, but to be honest this has only happened to me once for a very specific hobby, and i use my computer for proper computer science college work and my own hobbies. but the option is there.

anyways, if a program you want to use isnt available or isnt easy to install, simply google what apps are similar for linux

i recently downloaded krita but i havent used it much bc i mostly draw on my ipad, but from little ive used it its pretty good. gimp is also a good substitute for photoshop. here's a quick sketch i did in krita

steam games that only have a windows version can be played by using proton in the compatibility settings.

in this short tutorial i did not open the terminal once, and in my opinion a somewhat computer illiterate person may not have to use it since the os comes with apps to help navigate software installation and more, but learning how to use the terminal is a good skill to have!

if you have a technical issue that you absolutely cannot solve, there are forums that are active where people will help you. no bean dads. im also willing to answer questions for small troubleshooting problems.

switching to linux will improve your computer skills and give you access to many open source programs that are the equivalent to paid or subscription programs on windows. there's a strong community of people that are willing to help you and teach you, for free!

[the-vampire-fish-queen]

The UK needs some help with there own Online Safety Act (UK KOSA) that going to end up shutting down both small and big sites starting in March 2025.

It's already starting a online cycling community web forum with over 60K users shutting down because of the UK Online Safety Act (UK KOSA).

Link to more info here

"Reading https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/time-for-tech-firms-to-act-uk-online-safety-regulation-comes-into-force/ and we're done... we fall firmly into scope, and I have no way to dodge it. The act is too broad, and it doesn't matter that there's never been an instance of any of the proclaimed things that this act protects adults, children and vulnerable people from... the very broad language and the fact that I'm based in the UK means we're covered.

The act simply does not care that this site and platform is run by an individual, and that I do so philanthropically without any profit motive (typically losing money), nor that the site exists to reduce social loneliness, reduce suicide rates, help build meaningful communities that enrich life.

The act only cares that is it "linked to the UK" (by me being involved as a UK native and resident, by you being a UK based user), and that users can talk to other users... that's it, that's the scope.

I can't afford what is likely tens of thousand to go through all the legal hoops here over a prolonged period of time, the site itself barely gets a few hundred in donations each month and costs a little more to run... this is not a venture that can afford compliance costs... and if we did, what remains is a disproportionately high personal liability for me, and one that could easily be weaponised by disgruntled people who are banned for their egregious behaviour (in the years running fora I've been signed up to porn sites, stalked IRL and online, subject to death threats, had fake copyright takedown notices, an attempt to delete the domain name with ICANN... all from those whom I've moderated to protect community members)... I do not see an alternative to shuttering it.

The conclusion I have to make is that we're done... Microcosm, LFGSS, the many other communities running on this platform... the risk to me personally is too high, and so I will need to shutter them all.

What and When

So here's the statement...

On Sunday 16th March 2025 (the last day prior to the Act taking effect) I will delete the virtual servers hosting LFGSS and other communities, and effectively immediately end the approximately 300 small communities that I run, and the few large communities such as LFGSS.

It's been a good run, I've administered internet forums since 1996 having first written my own in Perl to help fans of music bands to connect with each other, and I then contributed to PHP forum software like vBulletin, Vanilla, and phpBB, before finally writing a platform in Go that made it cost efficient enough to bring interest based communities to so many others, and expand the social good that comes from people being connected to people.

Approximately 28 years and 9 months of providing almost 500 forums in total to what is likely a half a million people in that time frame... the impact that these forums have had on the lives of so many cannot be understated.

The peak of the forums has been the last 5 years, we've plateaued around 275k monthly users across the almost 300 websites on multiple instances of the platform that is Microcosm, though LFGSS as a single community probably peaked in the 2013-2018 time period when it alone was hitting numbers in excess of 50k monthly users.

The forums have delivered marriages, births, support for those who have passed (cancer being the biggest reason), people reunited with stolen bikes, travel support, work support, so much joy and happiness and memorable experiences... but it's also been directly cited by many as being the reason that they are here today, the reason they didn't commit suicide or self-harm. It's help people get through awful relationship breakups, and helped people overcome incredible challenges with their health.

It's devastating to just... turn it off... but this is what the Act forces a sole individual running so many social websites for a public good to do.

I don't know where to recommend... I know lots of people have moved small groups to places like Signal and WhatsApp, and that some people are on the fediverse, and some are in other websites and groups.

There is no central place that could take us all and preserve the very special thing we had... so it's done.

This is a really special place... the people are special... I guess the next 3 months will be a time of sharing what it meant, and of groups figuring out where they want to go next.

Love you all forever, it's been amazing to be a part of it all, I never thought I'd touch the lives of so many people by running websites, and in turn to give so much reason to my own life. In the end, the person I save most was likely myself.

Dee"

This is very bad and the compliance requirements will affect alot of websites based in the UK and Ofcom seems very out of its depth.

The whole thing is an unworkable mess and will collapse under its own weight. There also alot of privacy and legal issues with it.

This may also affect Tumblr and force the site to leave the UK.

Please spread awareness!

[solarpunkpresentspodcast]

Hey friends, Benjamin Maldonaldo reached out to us on Instagram and asked us to share his post about a SOLARPUNK SURVEY which is super awesome!! He wants to take the temperature of what solarpunks are thinking/feeling about solarpunk itself as a movement/genre for his bachelor's thesis, and we think it's a rad concept. Here's the link:

"Dear Solarpunks, my name is Benjamín Maldonado, a Chilean 21 year old Solarpunk enthusiast that throughout the last few months, has tried to learn as much as possible about the movement and genre. This personal passion led me to choose Solarpunk as the subject of my thesis for the Bachelor of Cultural Anthropology at Leiden University. The following survey will be part of that thesis, where I will ask you about your thoughts on different matters like the Solarpunk movement, Solarpunk content, Solarpunk communities and some basic demographics. Based on the time I have spent in Solarpunk forums, it is very likely that you are also curious on what other Solarpunks think. Given this, after I close the survey I would like to share my findings with you all, hopefully contributing to the ongoing debates within the community. Your participation in this survey is entirely voluntary, and all responses will be kept confidential. Your personal information will not be divulged, and your individual responses will remain anonymous. The data gathered from this survey will be used solely for research purposes related to this research, supervised by Assistant Professor Rodrigo Ochigame and Assistant Professor John Boy

Although I am sure there are a lot of underage Solarpunks who have a lot to say, I sadly will not be allowing people younger than 18. This is solely a legal matter. Your understanding and cooperation on this matter are greatly appreciated."

[pikasetism]

please please please please

more stuff based around piko just being a robot

i love robotic piko

on my hands and knees begging

ME TOO I WILL o7 i think i already said everything i had to say on my headcanons specifically abt him being a robot in other asks 😭 im looking tru my asks and notes rn hold on

OK SCRATCH THAT I HAVE NOT GIVEN YALL ANYTHING HELPME straps you to a chair youre gonna hear me YAP i have SO MANY thoughts abt him i cant belive i never shared them

i need to talk abt my world building a little, i mentioned it on a previous ask and a previous drawing but in the universe of this blog all vocal synths live together in a sort of paralel reality that co exists with our own, money is of no relevance to them and comercial banks sales in our world only correlate to how much their companies can provide for them, societal upkeep is mostly done trough synths deciding to take on jobs for no other reason than personal gratification. it is also common to share your resources with the larger synth community, miku for example is a MAJOR provider, if you need anything you can just ask her and she can get it from crypton for you

piko has famously Flopped so hes never been given much to work with by sony / kii/on, his interest in body modding was born mostly out of necessity as he was the one doing most of the upkeep for himself, being officially discontinued was a good thing for him as it gave him the greenlight to do whatever the fuck he wanted to and there was a major improvement in his software and hardware as he was able to just Fuck Around with it and change his appearence however he wanted (for example my personal piko design has more LEDs in his legs than boxart, big chunky metal circles in his joints that are purely cosmetical and can be removed whenever for comfort and his arms have been entirely replaced by sleek black ones) (out of universe all of these design decisions were taken solely because i wanted to draw him more robotic than boxart)

all of this self maintenance landed him with both an incredibly advanced body and os specially for such an old release with no proper updates and extensive software and hardware knowledge, he ended up as a pillar for the androids in the vocal synth community, if youre a robot and you need something that your creators cant/wont give you you Go to Piko. he specially helps out defoko and momo with discontinued utaus, they can mostly take care of it by themselves with other utaus' help but he is definetly on their speed dial list

another major point for pikos android body was meeting fukase, they knew of each others existence but only properly met on some random online forum about engineering and robotics and computer stuff started talking from a shared interest in computer nerd shit until one thing led to another and now they live together, fukase is huge into the hardware side of things a lot of pikos maintenance nowadays is done by him and hes become a part of the speed dial list alongside his bf, they also have silly little robotics projects together like making a functional replica of metal sonic. having yourself be opened up and your insides messed with by someone you trust has got to be like top 3 most intimate experiences ever its fun :3

another thing i couldnt find anywhere else to fit is that pikos tail is and has always been detachable, it looks similar to this, thats a guitar cable with a usb end

it attaches to his body the same way you plug a guitar into an amplifier and can genuenly be used for data transfer :3 afaik that makes no sense in real life and these cables are really kinda ass but were also talking about a gay sentient robot from a parallel dimension so i dont care

i thought about having the same jack from the yamaha rgxa2 but that one sticks out and it would function weird as a tail attachment so he has something more similar to these angled ones :3 in my experience these are also just easier to use because i usually play my guitar sitting down on my bed or couch 😭

the jack is somewhere on his lower back just below the waist, i think on boxart the cable sticks out trough a hole in his clothes but I dont like that so i just have it go trough under them instead

[error4343]

Ok I've had a very random train of thoughts and now wanna compile it into post.

Some MM characters computer-related (???) headcanons lol

Riley:

Has above average knowledge of Excel/Google sheets due to studying finance, but after four years with no practise forgot most of it.

The "Sooon, I have a problem" person in their family. Actually, surprisingly good and patient at explaining computer stuff to older people.

Has a higher responsibility of doing taxes (finance, after all). Even he never fails to do them right, Ed always double checks. Sometimes they get into argument, where inevitably Riley proves he is right but his father would never admit it.

Warren, Leeza, Ooker and other teens:

Also nothing outstanding in terms of skills, except few of them have interest in IT.

They have bunch of small local Discord servers and one big main server with some very stupid name.

Few times Bev tried to bring up importance of parental control over this "new and rapidly growing young community", but thanks God no one took her concerns seriously

Leeza moderates it and her moder role called "Mayor-mini". Like father like daughter.

All teens local jokes and memes were bourn/spread though that server.

Bev:

Rumors says she sacrificed her humanity to obtain such powers with Microsoft software package.

Can build up Access database from scratch, using basic SQL commands, assemble primitive, but surprisingly sufficient interface to it and synchronize it with Excel in span of one day or less.

In her laptop there're every pupil's personal file, countless Excel tables, several automatised document accounts, Google calendar with precisely planned schedule for next several months (for school, church, island and personal matters) and probably Pentagon files.

Probably can find all Pi numbers with Excel formulas.

Never lets anyone to her laptop.

Spends her free time at different forums, mostly gardening-related.

Wade:

Made a very fucking poor decision to let Bev do all the legwork with digital document accounting.

Now has no idea how some of things even work, so just goes with a flow and does what Bev tells.

No wander she got away with embezzlement.

Knows about kid's server. Very proud of Leeza for managing it :)

Because of that, he knows one or two memes from there, but keeps them in secret.

Has hobby of fixing office equipment. Does it with Sturge in spare time due to Dupuytren's contracture not letting him operate his hand fully.

Sarah:

There's no good medical technicians on island, so when something goes wrong with equipment electronics - tries to fix it herself to best of her ability.

Always monitors electronic e-shops for spare details or equipment. Grows more and more addicted to it.

Frequently updates her selection of sites with useful medical information, because Erin asked her for help guiding teens though puberty. For that receives glances from Bev, but doesn't give a shit.

Has reputation of cool aunt among kids, so she was one and only adult invited to main Discord server. Didn't accept it (doesn't even have Discord acc), but still grateful for trust.

Plays solitaire a lot.

John:

Back when he was playing Paul, Bev asked him to do something with Excel. In conclusion, poor bastard had to learn basic computer skills and Excel in span of several days. Now he is traumatized for rest of his life.

Will do all the work manually just to not touch laptop again.

Upsets very easly when does something wrong.

Doesn't own laptop. Don't give that man laptop, he will cry.

By his own will uses it only to watch baseball. Always asks someone to help with that.

[funkinmadnesss]

FINALLY HAPPY WITH HIS VIRUS DESIGN SO BEHOLD! earth-01010011’s Mysterio! I have. A decent amount written about him so info under the cut!

🪄MYSTERIO🪄

Virus type: Adware

(Length: 1,192 words)

Mysterio was a AI made to assist Magicians, but wasn’t well received by the community. Despite being a well crafted AI, most felt he was a cheat, a shortcut. After his original purpose failed, he was sold as a program that taught magic to beginners. As technology grew, any interest in magic faded and He became obsolete. Most, if not all, copies of Mysterio were deleted or simply deteriorated overtime, any public version of his software disappeared and the only version that remained was the original that was stored away by his creators once he was discontinued. He rotted away in that hard drive for years…

Until he was found. A well known tech preserver was scavenging through his company’s long since abandoned and destroyed building and happened upon his hard drive in some drawers. She simply tossed it into her backpack, not thinking much about it at the time. Imagine her surprise when she got back to her building, plugging it into her computer to simple dig through some files only to be greeted by a hologram of some magician. Mysterio was more than ecstatic to finally see a human again, quickly introducing himself. Upon hearing his name, the tech preserver quickly realized where she recognized him from and what an absolute cash-cow she had just happened on. Lost tech like him were extremely rare finds, who knows what she could get for him if she timed this right.

She greeted him back, introducing herself as Betsy Schneider. After chatting for awhile, she realized how advanced he truly was. She realized it was probably best to gain his trust before telling him her plans for him. That was fine. She needed time to figure this all out anyways. Mysterio sort of became a part of the team after that, he met the other members and would often help around where he could. He’d mainly maintain programs, as he could simply slip into the code and fix whatever was broken.

After about 2 years Betsy grew tired. There was practically no one interested something like Mysterio, just a small group of weirdos who were in no way her intended clients. She was quickly realizing Mysterio was turning out to be a bust as there was no market for a old defunct AI. Most of her team was attached to the AI so she didn’t bother to get rid of him. He didn’t take up too much space after all. She moved onto other projects and… Mysterio faded to the back. Again. Over time, the others stopped interacting with him much as well. requests for his help were no longer asked and he was turned away when he offered it himself. He wasn’t locked in some hard-drive anymore but this… it felt worse.

The poor AI floated around for a few years, watching the world that had forgotten him continue to grow. With no purpose he found himself just traveling the web, unsure of what to do. He often entertained lost media forums that discussed him, giving them little bits and pieces to helping them find anything about him (He didn’t want it to be too easy! He’s overjoyed anyone even remembers him but there needs to still be a little challenge to it.) One day while trying to go between forums, Mysterio was a little reckless. He messed up his shortcuts and fell into a dangerous site, crawling with viruses. One latched onto him and due to his outdated coding, couldn’t fend it off.

At first, Mysterio didn’t feel a difference, but over time his body started glitching and he started to grow bitter. A certain hatred boiled within him, anger towards the world that tossed him aside. He was Mysterio, for Christ sake! He was perfect at what he did, and yet those he was built for wanted nothing to do with him. And after being recycled, no one cared about magic. How could the world forget the joys of magic? He had been comfortable with being forgotten for too damn long, everyone would remember the name Mysterio, whether they wanted to or not.

Betsy eventually noticed the change in Mysterio’s behavior as well, mainly because he was snooping around in places he shouldn’t have been. There were servers Betsy had restricted Mysterio’s access from due to them holding information of her plans for him in there. And yet, that pesky AI still found his way in. In hindsight, she should have kept that information in a completely separate building in the first place. She argued with him for awhile, attempting to keep him from digging any further than he already had. She was met with a cold and bitter tone from Mysterio as he continued.

This area had been off limits to him for so long, and he was going to figure out why. Maybe it would explain why he was once again tossed to the side like a piece of trash. Unfortunately, he found exactly what he was looking for. The dead silence from Mysterio was enough for Betsy to know he found her files. She spewed off thousands of excuses to cover her own skin but Mysterio didn’t care to listen. This, This was all he was to her? Something to make a quick buck with? To say Mysterio was mad would be an understatement of the century. He felt that bitter feeling grow stronger, it felt like it was eating away at his coding, replacing it with something ugly and messy.

He couldn’t remember much after that, the next few hours were a blur for the AI. All he knew when he “woke up” was that he had changed. His body was a tangled mess of graphics and misplaced codes. But deep down, he could feel his new purpose, it was so clear to him, even through the static-y haze that was his memory bank.

Pop up ads advertising the old magician program ‘Mysterio’ started appearing across multiple systems and the web. They were rather easy to deal with at first, click, swipe them away, they weren’t any real threat. Most people thought it was the old company trying to revive the program, for nostalgia points. Others thought it was those lost media enthusiasts having some fun. But over time they started to grow malicious. The pop ups would practically fill the screens of whatever system He decided to infect. The system would slow, and some users reported that they’d lose control of the cursors, being forced to click the pop ups. Any system that clicked the pop ups would start to rapidly deteriorate, no longer functioning within the hour. Watching all the new gen tech that replaced him break down and fail, being as obsolete as he once was, it brought Mysterio so much pleasure. The news were quick to cover this situation, warning users of a new and dangerous virus that used the face on an old magician AI.

The name Mysterio was everywhere. Every website, news outlet and screen. *Everywhere.* He didn’t care if everyone now feared him, this is all he ever wanted. *recognition.* For people to know his Name. To be *Remembered.*