You're probably thinking to yourself this very minute that all this is over-exaggerated twaddle. Trust us, though, when we say this is really what happens in the Forum. It's this close knit community spirit that separates this from any other forum - it really is just like your local pub. People tend to visit on certain days; the landlords occasional pop in to consult with us; the new visitors are always treated with cautious but friendly hellos; the troublemakers are always removed; there's always one person who is there all the time, whatever day, whatever time (like Barney at Moe's bar in The Simpsons); and we even have the token loner - you know, the one who sits alone in the corner and never says anything. We're still trying to find who that is, though, seeing as he/she never says anything.

Future Gamer took time out to ask some of the regulars what they thought of the Forum and why it's so good and, occasionally, bad:

Mikfoz
We really have got quite a hardcore of gamers from all sorts of different ages and backgrounds, from all parts of the world, even Australia, regularly discussing games. By now I'm considered a bit of a pillar of the Forum community by most, although I'm sure there are some who think I'm a pain in the arse, which is nice because the ones who don't like me are largely considered to be arseholes. This is kind of nice, but unlike most Internet communities, a number of us have actually met face to face at ECTS, which was kind of spooky but also great fun. The best thing about the Forum is the fact that people can pretty much say what they like. True, if someone makes an outrageously annoying post they do tend to get flamed, probably by me, but at least there is free speech and not some overseer saying what can and cannot be said.

MrKevin (or MrSony, as he's affectionately know)
Everyone seems to be into the same things, we all seem to be on the same wavelength and we all seem like genuine people. However, when you say something which people don't agree with, you get flamed for it. When I first arrived and said how crap the DC was... man, I've never been called so many names in my life! I was called a muppet, a twat, a fool, a sad git... the list goes on...

Sorted
Overall, the Future Gamer Forum is a huge success with a real community spirit to it. There are loads of regulars who don't just talk about games endlessly, which helps keep things friendly, and it's a bonus that it can be accessed through a newsgroup program as it helps cut down on phone bills!