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[http://smashboards.com '''Smash World Forums'''], also known as '''SmashBoards''' and '''SWF''', is a world famous video-game forum, generally used to discuss strategies, as well as find and host [[tournament]]s, for the video games [[Super Smash Bros.]], ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''. The website has over 120,000 members, making it the most popular ''SSB'', ''SSBM'', and ''SSBB'' forum on the Internet. In September 2008, Major League Gaming acquired SmashBoards.com. [http://www.calvin.edu/enterprise/newsandevents/May%202008.html]
{{ArticleIcons|allgames=y|pm=y|competitive=y}}
[[File:SmashBoardsHome.png|thumb|300px|Homepage]]
[[File:SmashBoardsLogo.png|300px|thumb|Current logo of Smashboards.]]
[http://smashboards.com '''Smashboards'''], also formerly known as '''Smash World Forums''' or '''SWF''', is a forum devoted to the {{uv|Super Smash Bros.}} series, allowing users to discuss strategies, as well as find and host [[tournament]]s. In addition to helping players organize tournaments for the games, Smashboards is notably where the most widely-accepted [[tier list]]s are published.  


==Group Memberships==
First opened in 2000, the website has over 250,000 members, making it the most popular ''Super Smash Bros.'' forum on the internet. Despite its age, Smashboards remains popular, though with the rise of other forms of media such as [[Reddit]], [[Twitter]], and [[Discord]], it has had a steady drop in usage, with most remaining users being from outside of the competitive scene.


On Smash World Forums, there are various group memberships that you can join once certain criteria has been met. Each membership has their own special traits and username colors. In total there are currently 12 groups but there may be new groups added in the future. To join a group, one must meet the criteria for that group and then join it by clicking on Group Memberships in their User Control Panel (User CP). The various groups are as follows:
==History==
Prior to the formation of Smashboards, {{Sm|Gideon}}, a thirteen year old smasher, created [https://web.archive.org/web/20071224064352/http://smashworld.org:80/main.shtml Smash World] in 1999, a website devoted to ''Smash 64''. One year later, he founded Smashboards.com as a companion site, hosted by {{s|wikipedia|UBB.threads}}. Initially referred to as the "Smash World Forums", Gideon founded the site as to help players of ''Smash 64'' talk to one another, as well as allow smashers to discuss the then-upcoming ''Melee'' and his upcoming site, Super Smash Bros. Melee World; Gideon also had one board dedicated to The Battle Arena, a side project of his involving Flash animations he created with his friends.


===Unsubscribed===
In addition to its standard boards, a Back Room was also created for certain users who had proved themselves; this Back Room would later go on to form the Back Rooms of later games, which would decide the tournament [[ruleset]]s of games, as well as the [[tier list]]s for the games.


There are ranks among unsubscribed Smash board members depending on how many posts you have. These ranks serve no real purpose except to indicate who has contributed more thoughts and such to the boards. These members have the most basic rights on the Smash boards. The ranks are as follows:
After the release of ''Melee'', the first tournaments were organized on the SWForums, owing to its large playerbase and its ability for any player to potentially view topics about tournaments. Initially starting off as small, local affairs, {{Sm|Matt Deezie}} is generally credited with starting the national scene by using the forum to communicate with players outside of his native California, inviting users from as far away as Illinois to attend his tournaments. The site also allowed users to communicate with overseas players, creating an international scene for the game as players in North America, Europe, and Japan began to invite each other to their respective countries for ''Melee'' tournaments.


*Smash n00b: 0-24 posts
With the continued expansion of ''Melee's'' tournament scene, the game was eventually picked up by [[Major League Gaming]] in 2004, who helped promote the site and further assisted in making Smashboards the world's largest forum and community devoted to ''Smash''. The site continued to rapidly expand following ''Melee's'' inclusion in several MLG events, including the opening of Super Smash Blog, a website devoted to ''Brawl's'' development after its showcase at [[E3 2006]], and opening [[SmashWiki]] in March 2007.
*Smash Child: 25-99 posts
*Smash Journeyman: 100-499 posts
*Smash Apprentice: 500-999 posts
*Smash Lord: 1000-2499 posts
*Smash Master: +2500 posts


===Debaters===
The MLG kept ''Melee'' in its circuits for many years, only dropping the game in 2007 due to declining interest in the [[Nintendo GameCube]] and the development of ''Brawl'' underway. In September 2008, with ''Brawl'' having been released worldwide and beginning to be analyzed as a tournament game, the MLG purchased the forums from Gideon in September 2008 for an undisclosed sum. While the move allowed Smashboards to gain servers that were less prone to crashing than before, a large number of threads and posts from before 2008 were also lost in the transfer. As a result, information about many tournaments held before 2008, and similar topics, have been lost. Furthermore, the forums's original namesake, Smash World, and all of its variants, were all shut down at this time.


The Debaters have posting rights in the Debate Hall, a forum where members can go to debate various subjects to their heart's content. Their username color is pink but it was cyan temporarily. To become a Smash Debater, view the Criteria Thread in the Debate Hall and follow the guidelines. Basically, you have to type a five paragraph debate on any subject and then send it to either Crimson King, Evil Eye, the two moderators of the room. They will decide whether or not you qualify.  
In 2011, the forum was officially renamed Smashboards, after its domain name, though the term "SWF" is still sometimes used as a shorthand for the board. On November 27, 2012, Major League Gaming officially ended its involvement with ''Smash'' by selling the website to {{Sm|AlphaZealot}}'s company Xyelot LLC.<ref>[http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=330262]</ref>


===Tournament Directors===
With the upcoming release of ''Smash 4'' in 2014, Smashboards expanded to act as a news network for ''Smash'' in general, covering the release of ''Smash 4'', tournaments for the various games, and promoting videos of players on [[YouTube]].


:''Main article: [[Tournament director]]''
A sister site to Smashboards, [http://squidboards.com Squidboards], was launched in 2015, serving as a Smashboards-style forum for the {{uv|Splatoon}} community.


Tournament Directors have posting rights on the Calender. There they can advertise any tournaments they may be holding. Their username color is dark blue. To become a Tournament Director, either PM McFox or Gideon and tell them what kind of tournaments you host.
On June 1st, 2023, AlphaZealot stepped down as the owner of SmashBoards. His company Xyelot, LLC sold SmashBoards to Equistellar Media, Inc, a company owned by {{Sm|Warchamp7}} which will serve as the business entity for SmashBoards and SquidBoards going forward.


===[[BRoom]]ers===
Into the 2020s, SmashBoards would see a significant decline in users, posts, and moderator activity, with a brief uptick coming from the popular but short-lived forum game format "SmashBoards Creates", in which users would submit content to a fake game based on a vague prompt and vote on it democratically, with some games such as ''Super Smash Bros. Infinite'' embracing a grounded approach and focusing on realism through direct threadrunner moderation, while the majority embraced chaos and allowed or even enforced unconventional submissions, such as having preschool cartoon characters playable in a fighting game, directly featuring internet memes, or featuring side characters without their protagonists. SmashBoards as it exists today has a somewhat quiet and segregated atmosphere, with a community that tends to be somewhat analytical and to an extent critical of the current state of ''Smash'', with some subsectors of the site sharing a strong sentiment in opposition to character reveal hype culture, or in some extreme cases characters even getting individual reveals as a whole, which could be said carried the website in its "golden years", with many users not even talking about ''Smash'' often, instead just using the website as a generic social media platform to share opinions, jokes, and internet content.


BRoomer is short for Back Roomer. This is one of the more famous groups. BRoomers have access to a secret forum called the Back Room and there is no way to gain access. You must receive an invite from either Scav, Hiemie, or Evil Eye to get in. Their username color is green and they have a grimer icon below their name. If you have a notable reputation then you may have a shot at getting in but if you request access or seek to get in, you will have an even lower chance of receiving access.
==Forums==
As of 2023, the following boards are available on Smashboards. All of them can be immediately posted in, with exception of the Back Rooms.


===Smash BRoomers===
*Smash World Network
**News
**Welcome Center / Meet & Greet


Like the BRoomers, they have their own secret forum but it is dedicated solely to the Super Smash Bros franchise and, in particular, Super Smash Bros Brawl. Every once in a while, M3D creates an admissions thread in the Melee Discussion Room. To get in, you should be a tournament host, an excellent smasher, and have made notable contributions to the community of Smash. If M3D approves of your resume, then you will be granted access. Their username color is purple.
*''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''
**General Discussion
**Character Discussion
**Competitive Discussion
**Online Discussion
**Videos, Livestreams and Other Media


===Temporary Debaters===
*Platform Fighter Hub
**''Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl''
**''Multiversus''
**Platform Fighter General


Refers to Debaters that have only temporary posting rights in the Debate Hall. These are members that didn't submit a five paragraph debate in order to gain posting rights but rather, they joined this group to participate in the Debate With Your Power Tournament. They don't have a username color.
*Community VIP
**Community Discussion


===Writers===
*{{forwiiu}} / ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS|3DS]]
**General Discussion
**Competitive Discussion
**Character Discussion
**[[Online play|Online]] Discussion
**Videos, Livestreams, and Other Media


These members don't receive any rights other than bragging rights. It recognizes said member as a writer. To obtain the title of Smash Writer, submit an entry to one of the Write With Your Power Contests and if you get anywhere from 1st to 3rd place, you'll receive it. Their username color is gold and they have a quill icon below their name. You may also obtain this title by contributing some sort of writing service to the Smash community, such as writing for Show Me Your News.
*''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''
**''Melee'' Discussion
**''Melee'' Character Discussion
**''Melee'' Videos, Livestreams, and Other Media


===Premium Members===
*''[[Project M]]''
**General Discussion
**Character Discussion
**Help and Support
**Customized Content
**''Project M'' Videos, Livestreams, and Other Media


If you pay premium ranging from 1 month to 1 year, you'll instantly gain certain powers and privileges not granted to regular members. They have the ability to create their own custom title or avatar, post polls, post attachments, gain access to the Premium VIP Lounge, etc. They don't have a title specific to their group but they do have a mushroom icon below their name. Premium Memberships are no longer available at SWF, and the remaining members with mushrooms next to their names are just waiting for the premium membership to expire.
*''[[Super Smash Bros. 64]]''
**''Smash 64'' Discussion
**Character Discussion
**Videos
**Online Events


===Moderators===
*''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''
**''Brawl'' General Discussion
**''Brawl'' Competitive Discussion
**''Brawl'' Character Discussion
**''Brawl'' Videos, Livestreams, and Other Media


This group is unavailable to join in Group Memberships. Instead, they are hand selected to join. They have powers in the rooms they are assigned to. Among these powers are the abilities to edit, close, and move threads. They also gain almost immediate access to the Staffer Shack. Their username color is red. And Many of them are prick
*''Smash'' [[Tournament]]s
**Tournament Discussion
**Tournament Listings
**Regional Zones
**Online Tournament Listings
**Rankings & Results


===Super Moderators===
*[[Mod|Smash Workshop]]
**Developer Studio
**''Melee'' Workshop
**''Brawl'' Workshop


They are the same as moderators in their powers but they are not assigned to a particular room. Instead, they have powers in all rooms. Their username color is the same as regular moderators.Again many of them are pricks
*Smasher's Hangout
**Light House
**Pool Room
**NintenZone
**Forum Games
**Decisive Games
**Smashboards Creates
**Arts and Entertainment
**Debate Hall
**Serious Discussion


===Senators===
*Archives
**Public Archive


Refers to a super moderator with access to the Smash Senate. In the Senate, administrators and senators discuss major issues about the forums.  
===Smash Back Rooms===
In addition to the above categories, a further category of forums are present on Smashboards, the '''Smash Back Rooms'''. The Back Rooms are only accessible to specific users who must apply to be able to view and post in these forums; a majority of users of the Back Rooms are generally highly-regarded [[tournament organiser]]s or high-level professional smashers. The Back Rooms can be considered somewhat of a central governing body for competitive ''Smash'' in North America and Europe, and the Back Rooms produce the most widely-accepted [[tier list]]s and publish the official tournament [[ruleset]]s for the games. The Back Rooms also made the official [[character matchup|matchup charts]] for the games, though the last matchup chart to be released was ''Brawl's'' in 2013.


===Administrators===
''Smash 64'', ''Melee'', ''Brawl'', and ''Smash 4'' all have their own dedicated Back Rooms, as does ''Project M''. The ''Brawl'' Back Room also formerly featured its own offshoot, the [[Unity Ruleset Committee]], which attempted to create a universal ruleset for ''Brawl'' tournaments. Initially accepted, the URC's [[Meta_Knight_(SSBB)#Ban_from_competitive_play|decision to ban Meta Knight from ''Brawl'' tournaments]] later led to fractures in the ''Brawl'' competitive community, and the URC later disbanded in April 2012, owing to its failure to create or foster a truly universal ruleset for ''Brawl''.


The highest level members on the boards. They have access to all rooms and they also have an Admin Control panel along with a Moderator Control panel. They decide all of the boards major projects or changes, moderate all rooms, and edit and change designs or codings. Their username color is red and in italics.
''Ultimate'' does not have a dedicated back room, only having the standard publicly available forums. No official statement has been given on its lack of creation, though the decision was likely influenced by a combination of a general decline in usership and those that would otherwise be in a backroom electing to do business elsewhere.


===Smash Researchers===
==April Fools' Day gags==
In 2015, Smashboards became Shaqboards, which made everyone's profile picture into images of {{s|wikipedia|Shaquille O'Neal}} while character mains became emoticons of Shaq. Tier Lists for the game {{s|wikipedia|Shaq Fu}} were posted as well as a guaranteed {{SSB4|Luigi}} [[Green Missile|misfire]] tech being discovered.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20150402002455/http://smashboards.com/</ref>


Smash reserchers are the people with cyan names. These members have access to the smash lab, a sub-forum in the General Brawl Discussion (GBD). Other members cannot see the smash lab. The smash researchers are responsible for finding and naming new advanced tecniques. The moderator in charge of the smash lab and all admissions is Samurai Panda.
In 2016, Smashboards would become Emblemboards as an inside joke to the huge amount of {{uv|Fire Emblem}} characters present in the [[Super Smash Bros. (series)|Super Smash Bros. series]]. It made everyone's picture into images of characters from the ''Fire Emblem'' franchise as well as turning character mains into emoticons of characters from said franchise. Users notably tiered ''waifus'' and ''husbandos'' during this day.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20160401233156/http://smashboards.com/</ref>


===Pokemon Researchers===
In 2017, Smashboards became Knucklesboards as an inside joke to [[Knuckles the Echidna]], who was intended for inclusion in ''[[Project M]]'' before development of the mod ceased in 2015. Each user had their picture changed into artwork of Knuckles from various {{uv|Sonic the Hedgehog}} games, while character mains became an emoticon of Knuckles. Tier lists were notably based on Knuckles' appearances in ''{{s|wikipedia|Sonic the Fighters}}'' and ''{{s|wikipedia|Sonic Battle}}''.<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20170401154240/https://smashboards.com/</ref>


The newest group, located in the Pokemon Center. They have posting rights in the Strategy Pokedex, a room focused on movesets of pokemon in the competitive scene. Other members are allowed to view the room to gain information on good movesets for different purpose pokemon. Each pokemon is given 3+ movesets for different purposes.
In 2018, Smashboards became Ridleyboards, as a reference to the continued popularity and inside jokes surrounding the Metroid character [[Ridley]]. On April Fools, each user had their avatars replaced with images of the beast, which were oversized to the point where only portions of the actual character could be seen, as a reference to the recurring "Ridley is too big" comments when discussing his potential as a playable character. On top of this, the forum's text became purple and was enlarged, once again to reference the inside joke.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20180401040512/https://smashboards.com/</ref> Ridley would be revealed as a playable character for ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' two months afterwards.


==Tournaments==
In 2019, Smashboards became Reggieboards, dedicated to the then-Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé. The site's banner, background, and users' avatars were replaced with images of Reggie.<ref>http://archive.is/VcoiS</ref> (Note: only the banner and title are archived.) A facetious article was also written, saying that he had signed onto [[Team Liquid]].<ref>https://smashboards.com/threads/reggie-joins-team-liquid.481280/</ref>


The depth of this game has led to the development of a large, devoted tournament community. Smash World Forums, or SmashBoards, slowly grew into the home for these competitive players. In 2002 and 2003, the first tournaments began appearing on Smashboards. Many of these tournaments were held in a member's basement, and open invitations were placed on the website. Early on, some people would drive 5-6 hours to get to a location where there might only be 10 players.
In 2020, Smashboards became Crashboards, in reference to a common criticism of the site's fragile servers. Playing on this, the site became themed around the ''Crash Bandicoot'' franchise, and all user icons were changed to various images of the series' titular protagonist.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20200401224528/https://smashboards.com/</ref>


The scene began to transform with the arrival of the [[Tournament Go]] (TG) series of tournaments, hosted by a moderator with the handle of "[[Matt Deezie]]." At the time, Matt Deezie had been placing very high in California tournaments, and also placed in the Top 3 at the IGVF Seattle Smash national tournament. He invited anyone who would attend to come out to California, and he both rented out the building for the tournament out of his own pocket and allowed everyone who came to stay at his personal residence. The series quickly grew, and soon, one of the top 2 smashers in the Midwest, [[Eddie]], traveled from Chicago to California for it, setting the precedent for the TG series as the unofficial national championships of Super Smash Bros. Melee.
In 2021, Smashboards became FighterZboards, themed after ''{{iw|wikipedia|Dragon Ball FighterZ}}''. Users' avatars were changed into various ''Dragon Ball'' characters.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20210401222041/https://smashboards.com/</ref> A facetious article was written saying that [[Mario]] had died on March 31st (referencing the discontinuation of various ''Mario'' products as the {{s|mariowiki|Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary}} celebration ended) and that [[Luigi]] had used the Dragon Balls to summon {{iw|wikipedia|Shenron}} to wish Mario back to life.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20210401222153/https://smashboards.com/threads/mario-has-been-revived-using-the-dragon-balls.512863/</ref>


The TG series had six incarnations, the last being in the summer of 2004. In addition to Midwest players such as Eddie, TG tournaments attracted players from the East Coast such as members of H2yl and DA. The TG series has contributed much to the development of the nationwide community. The community has grown from perhaps 100 traveling members to over 1500. The end of this tournament series was not the end of competitive Smash by far, though.
In 2022, Smashboards became Nickboards, with a theme from ''{{iw|wikipedia|Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl}}''. Users' avatars were changed into various Nicktoons characters featured in the game at that point.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20220401155610/https://smashboards.com/</ref> A joke article was written in the "Setting the Stage" series of hypothetical stage design articles theorizing the concept of a stage from ''{{iw|wikipedia|Dora the Explorer}}'', a cartoon that has a controversial status in ''All-Star Brawl'' speculation due to its non-violent nature and a debunked theory from the game's pre-launch relating to Dora potentially appearing on a silhouetted box art. <ref>[https://smashboards.com/threads/sliming-the-stage-1-troll-bridge.517418/]</ref>


In the same summer as TG6, the [[Ship of Fools]], a crew located in Mishawaka, Indiana, hosted [[MELEE-FC]] - Misunderstood Enthusiasts Living an Extraordinary Existence, For Cash. Though the name was humorous in nature, the tournament was promoted heavily due to the fact that TG5 was supposed to be the last of the series. Even the late announcement of TG6 did not prevent this tournament from being the largest to date. Its central location and hospitable environment attracted players from all over the country. Around the same time, [[Major League Gaming]] (MLG) added Smash to its tournament line-up, offering thousands of dollars in prize money.
In 2023, Smashboards became Prattboards, themed after {{iw|wikipedia|Chris Pratt}} for his controversial starring role as Mario in ''{{iw|wikipedia|The Super Mario Bros. Movie}}''. Users' avatars were replaced with photos of the actor. While a Chris Pratt-themed article was not written, an article in the "Smash Speculation Corner" series was written about {{iw|wikipedia|Shrek}}, the titular protagonist of the CGI film series, referencing both his longstanding meme status in ''Smash'' speculation, and a SmashBoards in-joke relating to series side character Puss in Boots' name being automatically censored as "**** in Boots". <ref>https://smashboards.com/threads/shrek-takes-ogre-smash-speculation-corner-shrek-edition.518608/</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20230401191308/https://smashboards.com/</ref>


The first and second MLG seasons have concluded successfully, with [[Ken Hoang]], generally acknowledged as the best player in the world, winning both titles, over notable players such as [[Isai]], [[Chu Dat]], [[PC Chris]], [[Azen]], [[ChillinDude829]] and even over [[Captain Jack]] from Japan. The second FC, hosted in July 2005, was the among the largest tournaments to date, with 186 entrants for singles. It also was the site for the first Regional Crew Battle, when the East Coast, West Coast, South, and Midwest brought some of their top players and competed. Even with Ken (winner of FC's singles tournament) on the West Coast team, the East Coast managed to squeak by their rivals in the crew battles, beating the West Coast by 5 stock and winning the first Regional Crew Battle. This tournament has recently been surpassed by its most recent incarnation FC6 which had 195 entrants for singles.
In 2024, Smashboards did not feature an April Fool's theme which, to many, was a signal that the long-running website was in decline. There were some who thought the April Fool's joke was there was no joke. Regardless, a lack of an April Fool's theme plus decline in membership, activity from staff, and amount of posts per day has, for many, been a signal that the site was in decline. Common posts during this time revolved around waiting for an April Fool's joke, people make their one jokes, and people celebrating the holiday elsewhere. [https://smashboards.com/threads/new-smash-bros-game-may-be-announced-alongside-switch-successor-reveal.522454/ One thread] was made by user [https://smashboards.com/members/sonicmetaphor.225447/ SonicMetaphor] though the thread did not record any comments the whole day during which it was open.


[[Zero Challenge]] 2, 0C2, is the second big tournament of 2006 that followed FC6.  It had almost two hundred entrants, and prominent Japanese players traveled in for the first time in numbers. [[MELEE-FC]] 6 was held in the same summer, and had 206 entrants for singles, the current record for any independent tournament.
==Trivia==
*Players first discovered and discussed [[wavedash]]ing on Smashboards, with it first being discussed in this [https://smashboards.com/threads/new-strategy-easter-egg-all-reader.12593/ thread].
*During December 2005, Grimer icons started to appear on people's avatars and signatures.
*To turn his website into a business, the owner of the forums, {{Sm|Gideon}}, started to sell "Premium Memberships", in which members would pay to get special avatars and custom titles. The highest price (Diamond Membership) even got members into the Back Room at one time.


MLG discontinued Smash from the pro tour, but corporately sponsored Smash tournaments continue to exist.  The independent scene also thrives, with many regions hosting monthly tournaments, and the next incarnation of [[MELEE-FC]] on the horizon.
==Gallery==
 
<center><gallery>
==Trivia==
Smashboards.jpg|Former logo
* Players first discovered and discussed [[wavedash]]ing on Smashboards. Its use as a technique was discovered by a SmashBoards former moderator [[Toadbanjoconker]] (before he became moderator), who posted a video of him performing it back in April 3, 2002.
SWF Mobile.png|The previous mobile version of Smashboards
* SmashBoards hosts a secret room known as the [[Back Room]], normally shortened to the BRoom. Very few members are admitted into this secret room, and it has grown into a sort of cult in the minds of those not admitted.
SWF.png|The 2011-2012 version of Smashboards
* During December 2005, [[Grimer]] started to appear on people's avatars and signatures. The Grimer plague spread, and soon a token resistance was started. But the Grimers overcame all who opposed them, before eventually leaving on their own terms. Since then, Grimer has been considered a minor deity.
SWF old.png|The 2005-2011 version of Smashboards
* To turn his website into a business, the owner of the forums, [[Gideon]], started to sell "Premium Memberships", in which members would pay to get special avatars and custom titles. The highest price (Diamond Membership) even got members into the Back Room at one time.
Smashboards2002-05.png|The 2002-2005 version of Smashboards
Smashboards2001-02.png|The 2001-2002 version of Smashboards
</gallery></center>
==References==
{{reflist}}


==Offshoots==
*In 2006, Smashboards launched [http://smashbrawl.com Smashbrawl.com], which serves as a blog for information on ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''.
[[Category:Websites]]
[[Category:Websites]]

Latest revision as of 14:25, November 26, 2024

Homepage
Current logo of Smashboards.

Smashboards, also formerly known as Smash World Forums or SWF, is a forum devoted to the Super Smash Bros. series, allowing users to discuss strategies, as well as find and host tournaments. In addition to helping players organize tournaments for the games, Smashboards is notably where the most widely-accepted tier lists are published.

First opened in 2000, the website has over 250,000 members, making it the most popular Super Smash Bros. forum on the internet. Despite its age, Smashboards remains popular, though with the rise of other forms of media such as Reddit, Twitter, and Discord, it has had a steady drop in usage, with most remaining users being from outside of the competitive scene.

History[edit]

Prior to the formation of Smashboards, Gideon, a thirteen year old smasher, created Smash World in 1999, a website devoted to Smash 64. One year later, he founded Smashboards.com as a companion site, hosted by UBB.threads. Initially referred to as the "Smash World Forums", Gideon founded the site as to help players of Smash 64 talk to one another, as well as allow smashers to discuss the then-upcoming Melee and his upcoming site, Super Smash Bros. Melee World; Gideon also had one board dedicated to The Battle Arena, a side project of his involving Flash animations he created with his friends.

In addition to its standard boards, a Back Room was also created for certain users who had proved themselves; this Back Room would later go on to form the Back Rooms of later games, which would decide the tournament rulesets of games, as well as the tier lists for the games.

After the release of Melee, the first tournaments were organized on the SWForums, owing to its large playerbase and its ability for any player to potentially view topics about tournaments. Initially starting off as small, local affairs, Matt Deezie is generally credited with starting the national scene by using the forum to communicate with players outside of his native California, inviting users from as far away as Illinois to attend his tournaments. The site also allowed users to communicate with overseas players, creating an international scene for the game as players in North America, Europe, and Japan began to invite each other to their respective countries for Melee tournaments.

With the continued expansion of Melee's tournament scene, the game was eventually picked up by Major League Gaming in 2004, who helped promote the site and further assisted in making Smashboards the world's largest forum and community devoted to Smash. The site continued to rapidly expand following Melee's inclusion in several MLG events, including the opening of Super Smash Blog, a website devoted to Brawl's development after its showcase at E3 2006, and opening SmashWiki in March 2007.

The MLG kept Melee in its circuits for many years, only dropping the game in 2007 due to declining interest in the Nintendo GameCube and the development of Brawl underway. In September 2008, with Brawl having been released worldwide and beginning to be analyzed as a tournament game, the MLG purchased the forums from Gideon in September 2008 for an undisclosed sum. While the move allowed Smashboards to gain servers that were less prone to crashing than before, a large number of threads and posts from before 2008 were also lost in the transfer. As a result, information about many tournaments held before 2008, and similar topics, have been lost. Furthermore, the forums's original namesake, Smash World, and all of its variants, were all shut down at this time.

In 2011, the forum was officially renamed Smashboards, after its domain name, though the term "SWF" is still sometimes used as a shorthand for the board. On November 27, 2012, Major League Gaming officially ended its involvement with Smash by selling the website to AlphaZealot's company Xyelot LLC.[1]

With the upcoming release of Smash 4 in 2014, Smashboards expanded to act as a news network for Smash in general, covering the release of Smash 4, tournaments for the various games, and promoting videos of players on YouTube.

A sister site to Smashboards, Squidboards, was launched in 2015, serving as a Smashboards-style forum for the Splatoon community.

On June 1st, 2023, AlphaZealot stepped down as the owner of SmashBoards. His company Xyelot, LLC sold SmashBoards to Equistellar Media, Inc, a company owned by Warchamp7 which will serve as the business entity for SmashBoards and SquidBoards going forward.

Into the 2020s, SmashBoards would see a significant decline in users, posts, and moderator activity, with a brief uptick coming from the popular but short-lived forum game format "SmashBoards Creates", in which users would submit content to a fake game based on a vague prompt and vote on it democratically, with some games such as Super Smash Bros. Infinite embracing a grounded approach and focusing on realism through direct threadrunner moderation, while the majority embraced chaos and allowed or even enforced unconventional submissions, such as having preschool cartoon characters playable in a fighting game, directly featuring internet memes, or featuring side characters without their protagonists. SmashBoards as it exists today has a somewhat quiet and segregated atmosphere, with a community that tends to be somewhat analytical and to an extent critical of the current state of Smash, with some subsectors of the site sharing a strong sentiment in opposition to character reveal hype culture, or in some extreme cases characters even getting individual reveals as a whole, which could be said carried the website in its "golden years", with many users not even talking about Smash often, instead just using the website as a generic social media platform to share opinions, jokes, and internet content.

Forums[edit]

As of 2023, the following boards are available on Smashboards. All of them can be immediately posted in, with exception of the Back Rooms.

  • Smash World Network
    • News
    • Welcome Center / Meet & Greet
  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
    • General Discussion
    • Character Discussion
    • Competitive Discussion
    • Online Discussion
    • Videos, Livestreams and Other Media
  • Platform Fighter Hub
    • Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
    • Multiversus
    • Platform Fighter General
  • Community VIP
    • Community Discussion
  • Project M
    • General Discussion
    • Character Discussion
    • Help and Support
    • Customized Content
    • Project M Videos, Livestreams, and Other Media
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl
    • Brawl General Discussion
    • Brawl Competitive Discussion
    • Brawl Character Discussion
    • Brawl Videos, Livestreams, and Other Media
  • Smash Tournaments
    • Tournament Discussion
    • Tournament Listings
    • Regional Zones
    • Online Tournament Listings
    • Rankings & Results
  • Smasher's Hangout
    • Light House
    • Pool Room
    • NintenZone
    • Forum Games
    • Decisive Games
    • Smashboards Creates
    • Arts and Entertainment
    • Debate Hall
    • Serious Discussion
  • Archives
    • Public Archive

Smash Back Rooms[edit]

In addition to the above categories, a further category of forums are present on Smashboards, the Smash Back Rooms. The Back Rooms are only accessible to specific users who must apply to be able to view and post in these forums; a majority of users of the Back Rooms are generally highly-regarded tournament organisers or high-level professional smashers. The Back Rooms can be considered somewhat of a central governing body for competitive Smash in North America and Europe, and the Back Rooms produce the most widely-accepted tier lists and publish the official tournament rulesets for the games. The Back Rooms also made the official matchup charts for the games, though the last matchup chart to be released was Brawl's in 2013.

Smash 64, Melee, Brawl, and Smash 4 all have their own dedicated Back Rooms, as does Project M. The Brawl Back Room also formerly featured its own offshoot, the Unity Ruleset Committee, which attempted to create a universal ruleset for Brawl tournaments. Initially accepted, the URC's decision to ban Meta Knight from Brawl tournaments later led to fractures in the Brawl competitive community, and the URC later disbanded in April 2012, owing to its failure to create or foster a truly universal ruleset for Brawl.

Ultimate does not have a dedicated back room, only having the standard publicly available forums. No official statement has been given on its lack of creation, though the decision was likely influenced by a combination of a general decline in usership and those that would otherwise be in a backroom electing to do business elsewhere.

April Fools' Day gags[edit]

In 2015, Smashboards became Shaqboards, which made everyone's profile picture into images of Shaquille O'Neal while character mains became emoticons of Shaq. Tier Lists for the game Shaq Fu were posted as well as a guaranteed Luigi misfire tech being discovered.[2]

In 2016, Smashboards would become Emblemboards as an inside joke to the huge amount of Fire Emblem characters present in the Super Smash Bros. series. It made everyone's picture into images of characters from the Fire Emblem franchise as well as turning character mains into emoticons of characters from said franchise. Users notably tiered waifus and husbandos during this day.[3]

In 2017, Smashboards became Knucklesboards as an inside joke to Knuckles the Echidna, who was intended for inclusion in Project M before development of the mod ceased in 2015. Each user had their picture changed into artwork of Knuckles from various Sonic the Hedgehog games, while character mains became an emoticon of Knuckles. Tier lists were notably based on Knuckles' appearances in Sonic the Fighters and Sonic Battle.[4]

In 2018, Smashboards became Ridleyboards, as a reference to the continued popularity and inside jokes surrounding the Metroid character Ridley. On April Fools, each user had their avatars replaced with images of the beast, which were oversized to the point where only portions of the actual character could be seen, as a reference to the recurring "Ridley is too big" comments when discussing his potential as a playable character. On top of this, the forum's text became purple and was enlarged, once again to reference the inside joke.[5] Ridley would be revealed as a playable character for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate two months afterwards.

In 2019, Smashboards became Reggieboards, dedicated to the then-Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé. The site's banner, background, and users' avatars were replaced with images of Reggie.[6] (Note: only the banner and title are archived.) A facetious article was also written, saying that he had signed onto Team Liquid.[7]

In 2020, Smashboards became Crashboards, in reference to a common criticism of the site's fragile servers. Playing on this, the site became themed around the Crash Bandicoot franchise, and all user icons were changed to various images of the series' titular protagonist.[8]

In 2021, Smashboards became FighterZboards, themed after Dragon Ball FighterZ. Users' avatars were changed into various Dragon Ball characters.[9] A facetious article was written saying that Mario had died on March 31st (referencing the discontinuation of various Mario products as the Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary celebration ended) and that Luigi had used the Dragon Balls to summon Shenron to wish Mario back to life.[10]

In 2022, Smashboards became Nickboards, with a theme from Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl. Users' avatars were changed into various Nicktoons characters featured in the game at that point.[11] A joke article was written in the "Setting the Stage" series of hypothetical stage design articles theorizing the concept of a stage from Dora the Explorer, a cartoon that has a controversial status in All-Star Brawl speculation due to its non-violent nature and a debunked theory from the game's pre-launch relating to Dora potentially appearing on a silhouetted box art. [12]

In 2023, Smashboards became Prattboards, themed after Chris Pratt for his controversial starring role as Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Users' avatars were replaced with photos of the actor. While a Chris Pratt-themed article was not written, an article in the "Smash Speculation Corner" series was written about Shrek, the titular protagonist of the CGI film series, referencing both his longstanding meme status in Smash speculation, and a SmashBoards in-joke relating to series side character Puss in Boots' name being automatically censored as "**** in Boots". [13][14]

In 2024, Smashboards did not feature an April Fool's theme which, to many, was a signal that the long-running website was in decline. There were some who thought the April Fool's joke was there was no joke. Regardless, a lack of an April Fool's theme plus decline in membership, activity from staff, and amount of posts per day has, for many, been a signal that the site was in decline. Common posts during this time revolved around waiting for an April Fool's joke, people make their one jokes, and people celebrating the holiday elsewhere. One thread was made by user SonicMetaphor though the thread did not record any comments the whole day during which it was open.

Trivia[edit]

  • Players first discovered and discussed wavedashing on Smashboards, with it first being discussed in this thread.
  • During December 2005, Grimer icons started to appear on people's avatars and signatures.
  • To turn his website into a business, the owner of the forums, Gideon, started to sell "Premium Memberships", in which members would pay to get special avatars and custom titles. The highest price (Diamond Membership) even got members into the Back Room at one time.

Gallery[edit]

  • Former logo

    Former logo

  • The previous mobile version of Smashboards

    The previous mobile version of Smashboards

  • The 2011-2012 version of Smashboards

    The 2011-2012 version of Smashboards

  • The 2005-2011 version of Smashboards

    The 2005-2011 version of Smashboards

  • The 2002-2005 version of Smashboards

    The 2002-2005 version of Smashboards

  • The 2001-2002 version of Smashboards

    The 2001-2002 version of Smashboards

References[edit]

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20150402002455/http://smashboards.com/
  3. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20160401233156/http://smashboards.com/
  4. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20170401154240/https://smashboards.com/
  5. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20180401040512/https://smashboards.com/
  6. ^ http://archive.is/VcoiS
  7. ^ https://smashboards.com/threads/reggie-joins-team-liquid.481280/
  8. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20200401224528/https://smashboards.com/
  9. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20210401222041/https://smashboards.com/
  10. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20210401222153/https://smashboards.com/threads/mario-has-been-revived-using-the-dragon-balls.512863/
  11. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20220401155610/https://smashboards.com/
  12. ^ [2]
  13. ^ https://smashboards.com/threads/shrek-takes-ogre-smash-speculation-corner-shrek-edition.518608/
  14. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20230401191308/https://smashboards.com/
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