GameFAQs
GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves, and screenshots, almost all of which is submitted by volunteer contributors. The systems covered include the 8-bit Atari platform through modern consoles, as well as computer games. Submissions made to the site are reviewed by the site's current editor, Allen "SBAllen" Tyner.
GameFAQs hosts an active message board community, which has a separate discussion board for each game in the site's database, along with a variety of other boards. Since 2004, most of the game-specific boards have been shared between GameFAQs and GameSpot, another CNET/CBS website. The site also runs a daily opinion poll and tournament contests.
GameFAQs has been positively reviewed by The Guardian and Entertainment Weekly. As of 2009, GameFAQs.com is one of the 300 highest-trafficked English-language websites according to Alexa.
History
GameFAQs was started as the Video Game FAQ Archive on November 5, 1995, by Jeff Veasey, who says he wanted to collect the numerous online guides and FAQs into one centralized location. Hosted on America Online, it originally served as a mirror of Andy Eddy's FTP FAQ archive. The initial version of the site had approximately 10 pages and 100 FAQs. In 1996, the site moved to its current domain at gamefaqs.com and changed its name to GameFAQs. At this time, GameFAQs listed fewer than 1000 FAQs and guides and was updated on an irregular basis.
During the following months, the site grew in content and in design; two different styles were introduced in early 1997 to accommodate the support of tables in web browsers (or the lack thereof). Two key features of the site—the game search engine and the contributor recognition pages—were planned at this time.
IGN affiliation
In 1997, GameFAQs became an independent affiliate of the Imagine Games Network (IGN), leading to the placement of affiliate links on the home page. User contests were introduced during this period; the first monthly contest, which was held in 1998, received 253 entries. GameFAQs went through several design changes, including a pink color scheme, before arriving at the blue-colored layout that was used until 2004.
In November 1999, several changes occurred in rapid succession. On November 5, a search box was added to every page, at which time the site was celebrating its fourth anniversary. On November 7, the message boards opened in a beta testing mode. The "Poll of the Day" was introduced at the end of the month. These changes marked Veasey's increased concentration on the site, and it was around this time that GameFAQs became his full-time job. Until this time, he had been working as a programmer. On August 9, 2000, the site received one million hits in a single day for the first time. By 2001, the "GameFAQs Chat" (an IRC chat server) had been launched; however, it was removed in May 2001 due to administrative issues.
2001–2003
On January 9, 2001, GameFAQs ended its association with IGN. To continue generating revenue, an advertising banner sold to non-profit organizations was placed on the top of each page. This lasted until CNET Networks became an official affiliate of GameFAQs; CNET ads ran on the top of the page and links to news articles from GameSpot were shown on the home page. In September 2002, the ad was moved from the horizontal header to the vertical sidebar. This led to changes to the links on the side, as well as the creation of navigational links at the top of the screen. Contributions to GameFAQs continued to increase, and Veasey, as sole operator and administrator of the site, dedicated significant portions of his time to ensure that GameFAQs remained updated and successful.
On April 1, 2002, Veasey changed GameFAQs to "GameFAX" as an April Fools' joke. The site's colors were changed to green and black to imitate those of the Xbox, with the intention of making users believe that GameFAQs was now dedicated solely to the Xbox, "the only system that matters." After clicking on any link on the main page, users were directed to the real GameFAQs home page. Nevertheless, Veasey reported receiving hate mail from users.
CNET acquisition
On May 6, 2003, CNET Networks (the site's long-standing affiliate and sponsor) acquired GameFAQs. The amount paid for GameFAQs and two other unrelated websites was US$2.2 million. On June 3, 2003, Veasey announced the merger to the users of the site. He clarified that the user-submitted content (i.e. FAQs, reviews) remained under the ownership of the authors and was not (nor could be) sold to CNET; however, CNET acquired GameFAQs' rights to host them on the site. He assured users that GameFAQs would undergo no major administrative change and said, "The GameFAQs you see today is the one you'll see tomorrow." This was true to a certain extent, as the only visible change over the next few months was the addition of a CNET footer to the bottom of every page. Additional changes included moving the site to servers in California.
From 2004 to 2006, GameFAQs witnessed further changes. On April 28, GameFAQs implemented a large visual redesign, and the boards merged with the GameSpot boards to allow both communities to share the same game-specific boards (to the dismay of many GameFAQs users). To facilitate this, GameFAQs converted its board code from ASP to PHP, and GameSpot dropped its Lithium code. On April 11, 2006, a new design was implemented and the GameSpot logo was added to the GameFAQs logo on the header of every page. This change was initially greeted with general disapproval by users on the message boards. To satisfy those who prefer the earlier layout, the old board pages have been preserved for certain users. Shortly after the redesign, the site began using the Smarty template engine.
Veasey's departure
On July 19, 2007, Veasey announced that he would eventually be leaving the site. According to his announcement, Allen Tyner, who has been employed with the site since 2004, would take over as editor of GameFAQs.
Message boards
The custom-made GameFAQs Message Boards, coded by Veasey, began operation on November 7, 1999. Although the original purpose of the board system was to facilitate game discussion, other board categories have been added since the boards opened. Every day, approximately 20,000 topics and 200,000 messages are posted on GameFAQs' 60,000+ individual boards, and as of November 7, 2006, there were more than 100,000 accounts actively in use. During October 2009, there was an average of 84,853 unique logins a day.
Every game listed on GameFAQs has its own message board where both novice and experienced gamers can discuss game strategies and other game-related topics. Since the redesign of May 2004, the game boards with enforced topicality have been shared with the GameSpot community. Certain popular games may have additional boards for social discussion. Game-specific boards for certain older consoles do not have topicality rules and are often claimed for social discussion—these are referred to as "secret" or "dead" boards. Every system also has a general board for discussing hardware and upcoming games.
GameFAQs has boards made purely for the purpose of socializing, some that cater to special interests (such as Harry Potter, anime, or professional wrestling), and some purely for users from a particular region (e.g. United Kingdom, Australia/New Zealand). GameFAQs also has boards for official announcements, contributor discussion, contest discussion, suggestions, and site help.
Features
Posts made on the message boards are mostly plain text. Some HTML mark-up is used on the boards, including bold and italics tags. Unlike many message boards, GameFAQs does not allow tags for images, hyperlinks, or underlining. Avatars are not used, signatures are limited to two lines of text (160 characters total), and posts cannot be edited. Additionally, the forums use a wordfilter to prevent the use of certain vulgar words. On some boards, topics are removed permanently after a having no new posts for a period of time. On other boards, they are locked and archived (a feature which was added in 2008). The length of time that a topic can remain inactive without being removed or archived depends on the number of posts on its board.
GameFAQs users gain one "karma" for every day they visit the boards while logged in. As karma increases, new features become available, such as the ability to post more messages per day, visit high-level social boards, and view a post history page. Registered users can choose between various stylesheets, search topics, and message display options. Users can add favorite boards to a personalized list on the main boards page and can track specific topics (a feature added in 2006).
On June 20, 2007, advertisements on message list pages were moved from the top of the page to the middle of the message lists. Shortly thereafter, the ads were moved to the bottom of the message lists. On October 8, 2007, an "ignore user" system was launched for users above a certain level.
Moderators
The message boards are man
Criticism of Family Guy
The animated series Family Guy has been the target of numerous complaints concerning taste and indecency, as well as criticism from animators concerning quality and originality. While most attention has been given to the moral criticisms (i.e. crude and blue humor), stylistic content and thin storytelling with a loose plot and overuse of "cutaway sequences" have drawn criticism. The animated sitcoms South Park and The Simpsons have both poked fun of the show's writing and organization. Parents Television Council has expressed moral opposition to the series, and filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission over allegedly indecent content.
Moral criticism and controversy
A few controversies have occurred over the series' jokes about a number of sensitive issues. The "You Have AIDS" sequence, in which Peter Griffin dances and sings in a barbershop quartet fashion around the bed of a man with end-stage AIDS about his diagnosis, drew protests from several AIDS service organizations. In his 2006 book The Decency Wars: The Campaign to Cleanse American Culture, author Frederick S. Lane described Family Guy as among several television sitcoms that premiered in the 1980s and 1990s he felt were "aimed at the darker side of family life".
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council, a watchdog group founded by L. Brent Bozell III of the Media Research Center, has a stated mission to "promote and restore responsibility and decency to the entertainment industry", has published outspoken critical views of Family Guy. Initially, the PTC had speculated that Family Guy would be "pushing the envelope" before the series' 1999 premiere. In May 2000, in its weekly "E-Alert" email newsletter, the PTC launched a letter-writing campaign to the Fox network to persuade the network to cancel Family Guy following a return from a long hiatus in the show's second season, due to what the PTC claimed were "strong advertiser resistance and low ratings".
Family Guy made the PTC's 2000, 2005 and 2006 lists of "worst prime-time shows for family viewing", having been chosen and several Family Guy episodes were chosen as "Worst TV Shows of the Week" for reasons of profanity, animated nudity and violence. The Council has frequently noted that the series was among the most popular shows among children aged 2 to 12, cautioning parents that children will be attracted by the show because of its animated format while asserting that the series is suitable only for adults. Family Guy was also named the worst show of the 2006-2007 season by the PTC. The PTC has also objected to Fox scheduling Family Guy during early primetime hours due to their concerns of children being likely to watch the series.
Additionally, the PTC, which has generated most of the indecency complaints received by the United States Federal Communications Commission, has twice filed formal FCC complaints about Family Guy. The first indecency complaint, following the January 2005 rebroadcast of "And the Wiener Is...", was denied by the FCC on the grounds "that because of the absence of explicit or graphic descriptions or depictions of any sexual organ, along with the absence of shocking, pandering, and/or titillating effect, the episode ... is not patently offensive." In November 2005, during "Sweeps" period for the 2005-2006 television season, the Parents Television Council launched a campaign for its members to file indecency complaints to the FCC for the episode "PTV", the Family Guy episode that satirized the FCC, for its sexually explicit humor. However, the PTC had expressed doubt over whether they would formally complain to the FCC over that episode; the PTC has not logged any complaints filed through their website. In fact, that episode was highlighted in the Fox special TV's Funniest Moments that was broadcast on June 1, 2007; a rerun of the program on August 20 that year was named "Worst of the Week" by the PTC, noting that the "PTV" episode was among the highlights in the special. On March 11, 2009, PTC filed complaints about the episode "Family Gay" over claims that the episode contained sexual content in violation of indecency law. Then on December 15, 2009, PTC filed an indecency complaint about the episode "Business Guy" two days after its airdate, citing the lapdance scene as a possible violation of federal law regarding broadcast decency.
The PTC have also accused Fox of failing to include "S" (sexual content) and "V" (violence) descriptors in content ratings for some Family Guy episodes, part of what they consider a pattern of broadcast networks of giving programs inaccurate ratings. Additionally, the Council has asked Family Guy sponsors Wrigley Company and Burger King to stop advertising for the show and has frequently accused the Fox network of what they perceive as the show being marketed to children. Several weeks following the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike, PTC TV Trends columnist Christopher Gildemeister recommended that fans of Family Guy watch other animated shows that he had claimed were less vulgar: The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, although he also wrote that The Flintstones and The Jetsons were "every bit as intelligent as Family Guy, even if they lack its lascivious and grotesque elements". On January 2, 2008, The Washington Times reported that the Cadbury Adams company told the PTC that it would discreetly sponsor Family Guy based on a preview of episode content.
Family Guy executive producer David Goodman responded to the PTC's criticisms by claiming that Family Guy is "absolutely for teenagers and adults" and he does not allow his two children to watch the show. However, it did not stop the PTC from trying to ban the show and they still accuse the FCC of misrating the episodes
Allegations of anti-religious bigotry
The group Answers in Genesis accused the show of anti-Christian bigotry for mocking creationism in the episode "Petarded". Also, Entertainment Weekly TV critic Ken Tucker criticized the show for perceived anti-Semitism. L. Brent Bozell III expressed in a column of his written in 1999 that he felt that the episode "Holy Crap" promoted anti-Catholicism.
In addition, the Parents Television Council has criticized Family Guy over its run, perceiving negative treatment of religion on the program, concluding in its 2006 report Faith in a Box: Entertainment Television and Religion 2005-2006 that "mockery of God is a constant" on the show.
On October 3, 2007, the Bourne Company publishing house, sole owner of the song "When You Wish Upon a Star", filed a lawsuit against the makers of Family Guy, claiming copyright infringement over the song "I Need a Jew". The suit claims harm to the value of the song due to the offensive nature of the lyrics. On March 16, 2009, U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts ruled that Family Guy did not infringe copyright when they transformed the song "When You Wish Upon a Star" for comical use in an episode.
Media critics
In addition, Family Guy has been panned by some media critics. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly has frequently panned the show, grading it with a "D", and naming it the worst show of the 1999-2000 television season. Tucker responded to a reader's question in 2005 that he continued to dislike the series. Mark Graham noted "MacFarlane's incredibly rocky relationship with both the magazine and its lead television critic, Ken Tucker" in a blog on the New York magazine website.
In the commentary for the Family Guy direct-to-video film, Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, Seth MacFarlane notes that Entertainment Weekly had been much nicer to them recently, giving them a cover story upon their return to the air. In that same film, Stewie breaks the neck of an Entertainment Weekly reporter.
In "There's Something About Paulie", Peter wipes himself with a page of Entertainment Weekly instead of toilet paper, declaring, "Well, that's one problem solved."
Criticism by other cartoonists
Other cartoonists have criticized the show as well. The show's animation has come under fire by Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi, who expresses concern that the current generation of aspiring animators will be negatively influenced by the simplistic quality of animation in cartoons like Family Guy.
The show's writing style has also come under criticism by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. In a 2006 interview, Parker and Stone stated that they dislike having their show compared to Family Guy. After the episode Cartoon Wars aired, Parker states received support and gratitude from the staffs of The Simpsons and King of the Hill for "ripping on Family Guy". Parker and Stone clarify their opinions of Family Guy in the DVD commentary for the episodes. They say that, although they respect it for its fans and making people laugh, and having some smart humor, they ultimately hate the show itself and have absolutely no respect for its writing, given its overuse of gag humor.
During his "class day" address at Harvard University on June 7, 2006, Seth MacFarlane addressed Stone and Parker's criticisms in character as Stewie, stating that the "...cutaways and flashbacks have nothing to do with the story. They're just there to be 'funny'. That is a shallow indulgence that South Park is quite above, and, for that, I salute them."
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