For those of you who don't know me, my name is Killjoy. I have been a member here at RSBandB for 4 years now, sense I was a freshman in high school.
Video games have always been apart of my life. I discovered Runescape from a friend in fifth grade. Even when all my friends quit or stopped playing, I kept on. I loved it. Grinding was awesome for me and something I was quite good at without getting bored too easy.
When I was 13 - 14 I was looking for a good Runescape podcast and of course I found RSBandB Update! to be the best. After listening to 20 or so episodes I kept hearing of the forums and site. (Something I had never taken place from that point) I found it and signed up on the site. The community was amazing and took me in. I instantly formed some friendships.
This is where the first lesson that bnb' taught me comes in. How to look professional online. I quickly learned that typing like a complete retard was not the way to go. I followed the example of others and learned how to be mature, respectful, and a loving community member.
Throughout my browsing of the forums I noticed some people creating pieces of art called signatures. I was fascinated by talent that some of the people exhibited. I tried my hand at it and it turned out I was fairly good! I have now been working with Photoshop for 3 years. I love it. (Although I am still not as good as some of the members on here
) This also led to my interest in photography to combine with my editing skills. Over the 2011 summer I purchased my first DSLR camera. (Nikon D3100)There is one more thing that I feel RSBandB taught me, and I feel it is the most important. This community has a great emphasis on technology. Almost by osmosis I learned the parts of a computer, how to put one together, and how to maintain it. This community sparked an interest that has always been there for me. I remember Shane talking about a Graphics Card on the Update!. 14 year old me, having no idea what he was talking about decided to do some Googling and found a plethora of information, none of which I knew. I found what each statistic and specification meant. Without this community my interest in computer hardware might have never been obtained.
When Shane came out with the "How to Program" articles on the Informer! I tried my hand at it. I fell instantly in love. I am now in the AP Computer Science class at my school with a 96 average.
Next year I will be going to the University of Rhode Island and majoring in Computer Science because of RSBandB.
There is no doubt in my mind that bnb' has had an impact in my life. RSBandB has had a part of forming me into the intellectual, free thinking, mature young adult I am today. That is really cool. (For a computer gaming community)
Although I am not active on these forums or Runescape anymore, you guys are still in my heart and are not forgotten.
Thank you Mike and Shane for forming an amazing community that has affected so many. Even when this site dies on day and the servers are shut off, remember it wasn't all for nothing. You have brought people together, formed young people, and impacted thousands.
Thank you RSBandB.
Killjoy.