The Golden Light Arrow is often the hardest write up for me to do. Ever since it was introduced, I realized the enormous difficulty in choosing a winner out of the myriad of Zelda forums in existence. The bottom line however is choosing a site I want other people to join, because of its atmosphere, community demeanour and as the title of the award would indicate, liveliness.
Normally this rules out a good number of larger sites, simply because of the sheer number of members. It’s daunting, confusing at times and can lack a sense of close community that make smaller forums attractive.
However, that is not the case with Legend of Zelda.com.
Legend of Zelda.com was founded by Link of Hyrule in 1999. The site primarily focused on game content and articles, with the odd copyright infringement claim from Nintendo to liven things up. While the site has had its share of changes, the one thing that has remained constant is its forum.
The Legend of Zelda.com forums are a strange creature. While the forums themselves are quite large, the vibe that is given off is that of a very close community. Members are polite and friendly, readily welcoming newbie’s into the fold. Moderators keep everyone in line, but in a way that ensures everyone can have an enjoyable time.
Large forums, while potentially daunting, do have several strengths going for them as well. The odds of finding someone to share common interests are fairly high when you’re interacting with thousands of members. The vast amount of activity ensures that the forums are never “dead”, an aliment that can plague smaller forums.
Finally, what makes LoZ.com stand out is the numerous forum “events” conducted by the staff. From events such as “Post Count Impossible” to random games like “Guess the Phrase” the administrators are always trying to keep things fun and dare I say it, lively.
To quote a few nominations I received:
“The administrators at LoZ.com have worked tirelessly to keep the forums, not only alive, but thriving for over a decade.”
“It may not have done the most, but over its 10 year history, LoZ.com and its staff have definitely done a hell of a lot.”
Thus, it is my pleasure to award this year’s Golden Light Arrow for Most Lively Forums to Legend of Zelda.com. Congratulations to Alex, Chance, Xizor, the moderators and members of the LoZ.com community and best of luck in the years to come.
