Thoughts of an Elite-

Over the years, I couldn't help but notice something about the webmasters of so-called "elite" DBZ sites. They tend to deal with a lot of the same criticisms, enjoy a lot of the same rewards, and have a lot of the same problems. I also feel that the whole category is kind of silly. I've just never been able to take being "elite," or even the idea of a "DBZ Web Community," very seriously. The way I see it, we're all just fans of a cartoon, and we're all on the same level. And while I may appear so passionate and emotional on my site, at the end of the day I don't really believe that any of this is all that important. It's fun, and that's about it.
Nonetheless, I find our little "community" truly entertaining, and the fact that we've gotten to the point where there are actually fans of fans is hysterical. Things just weren't like this when I first opened this site. There were no such thing as "elite" sites and "elite" webmasters, no hierarchy, no politics, no factions, and no real concept of a "DBZ Web Community." It was, I believe, Planet Namek who coined the phrase, and that was relatively recent. I feel like the whole thing has kind of grown up around me, and I have ended up (quite accidentally) being thrust into a position of esteem and status that I don't really deserve, or want.

You see, with power comes responsibility, and I am by nature an irresponsible jackass. I worry about the fact that people place value on the crap that I spout, and will actually do things because of my influence. This is a lesson I learned the hard way with the Cardcaptors Uncensored "incident" (look in the updates archive). One casual little suggestion that I wasn't really all that serious about, and suddenly untold numbers of my visitors were mailbombing the poor guy. I still feel bad about that to this day. Then there was the whole unmoderated forum thing, which was, in retrospect, a pretty bad idea, and led to some "incidents" of its own. Sometimes I forget that a lot of people come to this site, and I am obligated to conduct myself well and behave maturely. Oh, how I hate doing that.

So ends the serious bit, and I will now switch gears to FUN MODE.

As I was saying earlier, I see the "elite webmasters" as being united by common experience. Not only that, but I would take it further to say that these experiences are actually predictable and occur in a linear fashion. Hence... A TIMELINE! I'm a cynical little bastard. We all know that by now. And the following is an excercise in cynicism, something I suppose you could call a venting of pent-up sarcasm, a piece of observational humor, or simply yet another means of procrastinating from doing more episode comparisons.

I have selected nine "elites" to serve as examples, on the basis of those sites that I have actually followed for a while. In other words, I'm probably missing some of whom you might consider to be "major elites," but if I don't know them, I don't know them. Apparently, there's this "Pojo" fellow who's pretty damned popular these days. And of course there's Meri, whose site kicks mine's ass (and the asses so many others) in terms of popularity. But while I'm sure it's a fine site, I just don't visit it. That purple background and omnipresence of a certain bishounen cause my masculinity to feel threatened every time I approach. It's amazing how a fetish of this... nature... can cut across gender and age boundaries the way this site seems to do. Personally, I just don't want to get too close. But aside from concerns of that type, I'm basically a hermit when it comes to actually visiting DBZ sites outside of my little established circle.

Anyway, some of the webmasters in my timeline experience all of the steps. Some only a select few. It doesn't always necessarily happen in this order, and the amount of time from beginning to end differs from individual to individual. Skitz Zero of DBZ:3S, for example, went from newbie, to elite, to "I QUIT!" in less than a year, which is probably for the best because he was able to to skip a whole bunch of the bad stuff. Congratulations on avoiding some of those "trouble areas" there, Skitz!

Well, I suppose I should get on with the timeline. PLEASE.. this is intended as a joke. You may or may not find it funny, but for God's sake don't take it seriously. And to the webmasters featured here, please don't get the wrong idea. I would place all of the people I'm putting on the spot in categories ranging from "like" to "I would give up CEREAL for that man!" so if I offend you, just know that I am offending you with affection. It's also my gift to the next generation of "elites," whoever they may be. Here's your crystal ball.