I know it's still very early, but...

[Ioshyriku]

   We all know this place isn't active anymore and I know that it'll get shut down after this year will end.
Time sure do flies, I remember the first day I accidentally arrived here while looking for Sonic games like all the newbies we see going by, a small awkward kid just going trough puberty. At first I only explored the main site, trying all the Sonic and Mario games, tested all the emulators and listened to many of the great songs from a series I was really passioned about, and then something big came before my eyes. The promise of much more, like a new world of endless possibilities, BIGGER GAMES. The mighty VIP downloads were shining upon my virgin eyes like the beauty of the starry night, and all I needed to do was post a 100 times. Soon the simple posts became conversations and the strangers from the other side of the world became friends.
   I was a pretty awkward kid, being bullied many times at school for liking cartoons, games and anime, discouraged by adults that said that I should stop drawing and playing as I was "too old" for such things (the latter being the cause I grew distant of my neighbor pals as they were like 3-4 younger than me), not to mention the fact that my parents fought pretty often when I was little, this making me pretty sad and hating of people that looked happy. But this place brought me joy almost every time I logged in.
I want to thank each and every one of you for being awesome and accepting me. I really feel like you helped me grow as a person and I'll be forever grateful.
   This doesn't mean I'll be any less active here, I just wanted to say this before the day I will try to come to a site that is gone.

- Sincerely Cîrnu "Ioshyriku" Aurelian

And if this place does disappear, you all know where to find me in case you wanna stay in contact.

[Gilly]

I appreciate you sharing your story with SZ. If for some miraculous reason the site becomes a bit more active over the next year, I won't take it down. Also, if you guys still want to keep it up, I will ask for donations toward paying for the site. It is quite expensive to keep running which is why I have considered shutting it down. When the time comes if you guys want to donate a bit, I will put in some money as well to keep this thing going. It means a lot for me to see posts like this, especially with all the negativity surrounding the site constantly nowadays, so thank you! I appreciate your loyalty and contribution to Sonic Zone!

[NiGHTSfan]

were u actually bullied cause u like cartoons videogames and anime who the fuck bullies people over that when i went to school as a kid i never got bullied because of that i did watch a few anime shows cause of toonami but thats it and i had a decent collection of videogames too but over all i never got bullied my entire life even for being a fat ass in high school

[Ioshyriku]

My school was just filled with idiots.

[NiGHTSfan]

My school was just filled with idiots.

you know ur life kinda reminds me of a friend i know and his school sucks at what they do and hes a 15 or 16 year old kid and the teachers there are all moronic liberals and alot of the kids are stupid shits cause they mostly play on xbox and are very stupid but he does meet some cool teachers on and off

[Taz]

yo wait this place is shutting down?

like for real this time?

[Ioshyriku]

Why didn't my post appear?
Anyway, yes, unless by a miracle more members come back or new (decent) members start coming, keeping the community active, John will have to shut it down.
No point in paying for a dead site.

[Taz]

well shit lol

aside from sticking my head in every now and again for nostalgia (or more accurately to torture myself looking at my old posts and remind myself why i was a lonely child and have grown up with such cripplingly low self esteem) i admit i don't really use the site anymore, either, but it sort of sucks since this place was one of the formative websites for me in my earlier years and i have a lot of good memories. this is one of those places that is sort of representative of my childhood to me and i thank you guys for that, even if most-if-not-all of you aren't around anymore.

peace

[NiGHTSfan]

what happened to elija did he delete him self or something cause im going to miss u dude

[Ioshyriku]

I remember some jerks making fun of him in the chat box, so either he got tired of them or they thought it'd be funny to erase his account.
Or maybe he got bored because the forum is pretty much dead.

[Maddiekinns]

I remember some jerks making fun of him in the chat box, so either he got tired of them or they thought it'd be funny to erase his account.

lmao ^

I do miss the good times of this place but just like most people, we move on. Nostalgia is what brings me back. It does cost John a lot of money and I understand his decision to shut it down and when it does happen--if it does-- it will be a sad day. What I believe spurred the whole thing was the fact that a lot of the "golden members" (if you want to call them that) started leaving (Tobi, Draco, Salas, Darkness Shadow, Cardi, NiGHTS, etc.) and I think it just slowly kinda went downhill a couple of years after that; whether or not it was the fault of anyone's, it was bound to happen.

It's very silly to say, but I've learned a lot of stuff from this place: how to not be cringy, how to actually talk to people (still working on it), humor, etc. Not only that, I have also made the longest lasting friends here. It was a really fucking big part of my life and I'm upset that I grew apart from it but like I said, people move on (for better or for worse). I appreciate what opportunities John has given us but like all things, it's bound to end soon (that's not to say it's a good or bad thing, it's just a thing that happens). So long that we all keep in contact, the memories will still be around and that's the most important thing.

I normally don't visit this site anymore and I don't post much but that doesn't mean I hate it or hate anyone here... just a disclaimer for some people lmao. Probs gonna go back to being dead after this.

[SmashFinale]

Im not gonna lie, i think (and this is just my opinion on it) when the site started to have a slowdown on members is when brony talk got banned here. I started to notice after the first three weeks of that rule that old members just stopped coming and then other members that would talk to them would begin to drift away from the site as well.

[Ioshyriku]

My Little Pony ruined SonicZone.

[Maddiekinns]

Im not gonna lie, i think (and this is just my opinion on it) when the site started to have a slowdown on members is when brony talk got banned here. I started to notice after the first three weeks of that rule that old members just stopped coming and then other members that would talk to them would begin to drift away from the site as well.

I forgot that was a thing

[TheGameNinja]

My Little Pony ruined SonicZone.

Make Sonic Zone great again with more ponies