SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic

Joined: Jan 23 2015 Posts: 1

I used to check this site once a year, well I guess it's been like 4 years because there's only one new article posted.

What happened to Syd? Did he turn into a 'socialist utopia' Liberal? Or is he a based nihilist? Yes I see those as the most likely outcomes.

I have many questions, mostly nostalgic ones. I used to read this site back when randomly browsing a rolodex of sites was a thing. Remember Maddox and Tucker Max? Strongbad?

What a time.

Posted: Oct 29 2021 08:20 pm

If you want to know what he's been up to lately, check out his Twitter.

Title: Miss Madness 99 Joined: Sep 09 2012 Posts: 222

2024 update

He cares low key as I saw him on other php forums trying to keep the forum up asking for code to keep the site up when it was down for a while but he is in his own kinda world now. The site was his baby at one time but serves no further purpose to him except as really an archive.

Twitter is just easier for him now since the Internet landscape changed. All his core irl friends are on there and they can just interact there now. Rest of the people here he didnt know personally and because this forum became toxic for a while and a member died from weird circumstances he ended up washing his hands clean. Not because he was a dick but he just didn't know after that tragedy how the forums would ever be a fun and safe place again. The forum had started to stagnate around 2011 and 2012 as peak daily activity was no longer present and posts would sometimes go weeks without replies.

I believe he did meet up with a few people off this forum at one point near the end of the sites peak who were close enough to the area he lives at. He gave his unofficial sendoff with the hacker article and after that I feel he said his peace nostalgia wise after Crystalis which seems to be his fav nes game. If he had made money off this site alas AVGN he probably would have been more inclined to do articles.

Syd originally did this site idea because of his own admiration of the seanbaby style and it was popular for 3 or 4 years and hit that peak nes nostalgia generation.Drewlinky wrote a good markup of the site history on his site.

I believe the elephant in the room issue of the forum was that it was made as a safe haven for nerds and dorks to talk about nostalgia and ended up being a place were some nerds who got eventually got forum power decided to become bullies to members and pick on them. Most likely because they needed an outlet for irl self esteem issues and didn't agree with their nerd viewpoints on people exposed to different concepts in childhood. Basically some forums members were allowing this weird social nerd hierarchy and Syd let it happen because of the lulz gold mines that hit at times. In a day of mental health being more talked about this was an issue handled immaturely that many members hold in quiet shame and isn't talked about. We all see it on Reddit now but this forum showed what was to come on the Internet.

I am pretty sure he still works at a local comic book/magic store and his sister has visited the discord recently where usually 5 to 7 members still interact with a few outliers. I don't see Syd there though interact much. He always seems more of a cards based gamer than a true hardcore video gamer and has a clan that is more into that aspect as that seems like his true passion .Although he is a self admitted Nintendo fanboy who buys their latest handhelds; it appears he is more of a retro and ip gamer. I believe he plays certain games on PS4 though.

Tldr it was a great nostalgia site for people before they got older and interests changed from the core group that ran it. It was the eqiv of having a garage band when you were younger.

Posted: Jan 28 2024 01:29 pm

He actually works at a supermarket.

And it really bugs me that he never filled those two placeholders from 20-goddamn-10 or finished his Crystalis review.

Posted: Jan 29 2024 07:40 pm

GeorgeTaylor wrote:

2024 update

He cares low key as I saw him on other php forums trying to keep the forum up asking for code to keep the site up when it was down for a while but he is in his own kinda world now. The site was his baby at one time but serves no further purpose to him except as really an archive.

Twitter is just easier for him now since the Internet landscape changed. All his core irl friends are on there and they can just interact there now. Rest of the people here he didnt know personally and because this forum became toxic for a while and a member died from weird circumstances he ended up washing his hands clean. Not because he was a dick but he just didn't know after that tragedy how the forums would ever be a fun and safe place again. The forum had started to stagnate around 2011 and 2012 as peak daily activity was no longer present and posts would sometimes go weeks without replies.

I believe he did meet up with a few people off this forum at one point near the end of the sites peak who were close enough to the area he lives at. He gave his unofficial sendoff with the hacker article and after that I feel he said his peace nostalgia wise after Crystalis which seems to be his fav nes game. If he had made money off this site alas AVGN he probably would have been more inclined to do articles.

Syd originally did this site idea because of his own admiration of the seanbaby style and it was popular for 3 or 4 years and hit that peak nes nostalgia generation.Drewlinky wrote a good markup of the site history on his site.

I believe the elephant in the room issue of the forum was that it was made as a safe haven for nerds and dorks to talk about nostalgia and ended up being a place were some nerds who got eventually got forum power decided to become bullies to members and pick on them. Most likely because they needed an outlet for irl self esteem issues and didn't agree with their nerd viewpoints on people exposed to different concepts in childhood. Basically some forums members were allowing this weird social nerd hierarchy and Syd let it happen because of the lulz gold mines that hit at times. In a day of mental health being more talked about this was an issue handled immaturely that many members hold in quiet shame and isn't talked about. We all see it on Reddit now but this forum showed what was to come on the Internet.

I am pretty sure he still works at a local comic book/magic store and his sister has visited the discord recently where usually 5 to 7 members still interact with a few outliers. I don't see Syd there though interact much. He always seems more of a cards based gamer than a true hardcore video gamer and has a clan that is more into that aspect as that seems like his true passion .Although he is a self admitted Nintendo fanboy who buys their latest handhelds; it appears he is more of a retro and ip gamer. I believe he plays certain games on PS4 though.

Tldr it was a great nostalgia site for people before they got older and interests changed from the core group that ran it. It was the eqiv of having a garage band when you were younger.

This is pretty much the best response that could have been given.

Basically, Syd moved on with his life. Even as early as the early '10s, it became clear that Syd was losing his passion for writing articles, and Hacker's unfortunate passing also likely had an effect on his decision to leave the site behind. It probably didn't help that a bunch of us were constantly whining and begging him for new articles, likely adding more pressure and ultimately contributing to his feeling burnt out. And I'm by no means innocent in all this, as I was one of those whiny douchebags pestering him about writing new articles, which I feel bad for nowadays.

At the end of the day though, the legacy he left behind is absolutely worth celebrating! To this day, this is still my favorite website of all time, and I still haven't found anything that quite fills the same void. Syd is also my single biggest influence as a writer, bar none. And these forums still make up one of the very best online communities I've ever been a part of.

I'm once again reading through all his old articles. My love for this website will never die!

I'll also echo your sentiment to check out the Drew Linky retrospective, it's fantastic! Link(y): https://www.drewlinky.com/Drew/sydlexiaarticle.html

And anyone curious to know what he's up to, follow the man on Twitter! Here he is: https://x.com/Syd_Lexia?s=20

Posted: Jan 29 2024 09:18 pm

GeorgeTaylor wrote:

2024 update

He cares low key as I saw him on other php forums trying to keep the forum up asking for code to keep the site up when it was down for a while but he is in his own kinda world now. The site was his baby at one time but serves no further purpose to him except as really an archive.

Twitter is just easier for him now since the Internet landscape changed. All his core irl friends are on there and they can just interact there now. Rest of the people here he didnt know personally and because this forum became toxic for a while and a member died from weird circumstances he ended up washing his hands clean. Not because he was a dick but he just didn't know after that tragedy how the forums would ever be a fun and safe place again. The forum had started to stagnate around 2011 and 2012 as peak daily activity was no longer present and posts would sometimes go weeks without replies.

I believe he did meet up with a few people off this forum at one point near the end of the sites peak who were close enough to the area he lives at. He gave his unofficial sendoff with the hacker article and after that I feel he said his peace nostalgia wise after Crystalis which seems to be his fav nes game. If he had made money off this site alas AVGN he probably would have been more inclined to do articles.

Syd originally did this site idea because of his own admiration of the seanbaby style and it was popular for 3 or 4 years and hit that peak nes nostalgia generation.Drewlinky wrote a good markup of the site history on his site.

I believe the elephant in the room issue of the forum was that it was made as a safe haven for nerds and dorks to talk about nostalgia and ended up being a place were some nerds who got eventually got forum power decided to become bullies to members and pick on them. Most likely because they needed an outlet for irl self esteem issues and didn't agree with their nerd viewpoints on people exposed to different concepts in childhood. Basically some forums members were allowing this weird social nerd hierarchy and Syd let it happen because of the lulz gold mines that hit at times. In a day of mental health being more talked about this was an issue handled immaturely that many members hold in quiet shame and isn't talked about. We all see it on Reddit now but this forum showed what was to come on the Internet.

I am pretty sure he still works at a local comic book/magic store and his sister has visited the discord recently where usually 5 to 7 members still interact with a few outliers. I don't see Syd there though interact much. He always seems more of a cards based gamer than a true hardcore video gamer and has a clan that is more into that aspect as that seems like his true passion .Although he is a self admitted Nintendo fanboy who buys their latest handhelds; it appears he is more of a retro and ip gamer. I believe he plays certain games on PS4 though.

Tldr it was a great nostalgia site for people before they got older and interests changed from the core group that ran it. It was the eqiv of having a garage band when you were younger.

Honestly, that's great to hear. I keep up with Syd on Twitter, but (like a smart person) he doesn't put much if anything about his personal life there. I'm glad to hear things are going ok for him.

Also happy he's keeping the site up as a museum if nothing else. I love those articles and a lot of the people here. Definitely don't miss the drama and assholes though.

And yeah...Hacker was rough. I think that made this place a little less home for all of us that knew him. Can't escape the place being just a little haunted, under the circumstances.

As it is, I'm happy to just keep an eye on the place and keep it spam and bot free as much as I can. Feels like the least I can do after the years of happiness the place has given me, even if it's the equivalent of keeping a gravesite nice and tidy with fresh flowers at this point. Still glad I can do it, and glad all the old articles and posts are still here.