You may often catch a glimpse of what goes on in the Forum from the Nibbles section of the magazine. This week, however, Future Gamer take a closer look at what really goes on in the virtual pub.
Rob Wilson

As Future Gamer have grown, so have their subsidiaries. The Future Gamer Clan continue to break new records, the number of affiliates grows by the week and Michael Foster's appearance in the Feedback section surpasses the 1,000 mark. The Forum is no exception to this rule either. This may sound like a cliché but I remember the time when there were about five people on the Forum: Kaneda, HOOKED, Attica, Joda and myself. But since then, as the news has spread and the space devoted to the weekly round-up within the magazine has increased, the popularity of the Forum has exploded exponentially. On an average week these days you'll probably see over 1,000 posts from 30 or more different people.

Here's the sort of stuff you're likely to see in an average week on the Forum, starting from the Friday (the day after Future Gamer's weekly publication is sent).

Friday
The day usually starts with the inevitable post from one person moaning about why Future Gamer isn't in their mailbox. Later, the problem is solved when the email address of the sender begins with Z, meaning that's the last in the lot to be sent. One wise guy (usually Kev) now suggests changing their email to Abon, and then the entire Forum alter their email, only to find they're back to square one. MrKevin brings in his usual "Letter of week" Thread. This week it's S. S for Sony, S for Super Sony games, S for Some other Sony thing. With the pressure of the Thursday deadline out of the way, Andy Smith pops in to suggest what to do; Sparkie (rumoured to be Andy Ashwin) suggests Firkins, again.

Saturday
The Forum changes overnight - with all the weekday workers gone for a couple of days, the BT Internet free weekenders take over, reposting threads that have all already been done. FGC members usually get into gear, posting messages about their latest match. Uni students, with nothing better to do, commandeer computer rooms across the country and talk about anything, even if it's to do with food or TV programs, irrespective that it's a games Forum.