SmashBoards

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 tournaments, for the video games Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The website has over 120,000 members, making it the most popular SSBM and SSBB forum on the Internet. In September 2008, Major League Gaming acquired SmashBoards.com for US $500,000.

Group Memberships

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:

Unsubscribed

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:

Smash n00b: 0-24 posts
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 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. You must also show proof of your Super Smash Brothers License which can be obtained after playing 6 months of Super Smash Brawl with your Super Smash Brawl Permit.

Tournament Directors

Main article: Tournament director

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.

BRoomers

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.

Smash BRoomers

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.

Temporary Debaters

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.

Writers

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.

Premium Members

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.

Moderators

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 BRoom and the Staffer Shack. Their username color is red.

Super Moderators

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.

Senators

Refers to a super moderator with access to the Smash Senate. In the Senate, administrators and senators discuss major issues about the forums.

Administrators

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.

Smash Researchers

Smash reserchers are the people with cyan names and the newest group of SWF. These members have access to the smash lab, a sub-forum in the General Brawl Discution (GBD). Other members cannot see the smash lab. The smash researchers are responsibe for finding and naming new advanced tecniques. The moderator in charge of the smash lab and all admissions is Samurai Panda.

Tournaments

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Trivia

Players first discovered and discussed wavedashing 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.
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.
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.
To help with the bandwidth cost, 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.

Offshoots

In 2006, Smashboards launched Smashbrawl.com, which serves as a blog for information on Super Smash Bros. Brawl.