
wHOA.
[rebelmouse-image 18349981 is_animated_gif=Home owners' associations (HOAs) are organizations created by real estate developers "for the purpose of developing and managing a community of homes, town homes and/or condominium units," meaning that your home is subject to a neighborhood's vote at any time. It makes the community easier to manage for the developer, but sometimes it really leeches on its members.
weeping_pegasus asked Reddit:
Here are some of the horror stories.
Bullying
[rebelmouse-image 18349982 is_animated_gif=My Dad owned a house in an HOA about 15 years ago. Overall it was nothing noteworthy, until the vice president moved and sold her home. HOA required all front yards to have one tree, hers didn't the entire time she lived there. Sold the house and the new owner was fined for not having the required tree. She was a single mom who had just gotten divorced so it's not like she had money for a full grown tree. When my dad moved he said that killed HOAs for him.
Precluded
[rebelmouse-image 18349983 is_animated_gif=A friend of mine lived in an HOA neighborhood, but because this house had been in the family for generations, before the neighborhood was even there really, they weren't part of the HOA, they never had to join. The HOA only formed a few years ago, but apparently didn't realize that my friend, let's call him bob, hadn't even been told about the HOA. Bob is single and travels a lot, but he comes home one day to find a total of $13,000 in fines for his house being the wrong color, his deck being unapproved, and a bunch of other bs. So Bob outright refuses to even acknowledge the fines, just has the post office return to sender. A few months later he comes home to see that his deck has been demolished and his house repainted. Apparently the HOA had granted itself the right to correct any violations of exterior appearance upon failure to pay the relevant fines. Unlucky for the HOA, Bob happens to be a former lawyer, he quit the practice a few years prior to help the family business, but Bob still knows how to lawyer. Bob sues the HOA, and the HOA smugly thinks it's a clear cut case in their favor. Bob only had to say a few words in his statement, most of which was "I'm not f*cking part of the HOA!" The HOA ended up admiring liability and had to pay a bunch of fees, and ended up disbanding.
Warning
[rebelmouse-image 18346556 is_animated_gif=My house flooded 2 months after I bought it. HOA got involved and blamed my kids putting toys down the toilet (they are too old for that). I spoke to neighbors, found out 5 houses in a row had flooded.
We all got together and demanded an investigation by an independent plumber. Long story short, our HOA owns the sewage and water lines under all the houses that connect to city water. They had not been repaired for years or flushed out, and were made of a material that eroded underground, it backflowed raw sewage into the 5 houses affected and flooded the grassy areas with sewage also.
All my neighbors are senior citizens. The HOA admitted responsibility and held an emergency meeting to repair damage. My house was done last and I agreed with that because the other ladies are 70+ and wheelchair bound or disabled, I'm under 40.
By time my house was done, the sewage had been wiped up from tile floor and treated with fungal chemicals, but mold was growing in master shower and carpet was destroyed. They had to replace brand new carpet in bedrooms, drywall, paint new drywall a color I chose, and re-tile my whole shower. When old shower tile was torn out, plumbing wasn't to code, so that was done too. They spent about $15k on my house alone. I also told the HOA never to accuse my kids again.
Garbage
[rebelmouse-image 18349984 is_animated_gif=Day we moved in we got a 40 dollar fine for leaving trash cans in plain sight.
Bothering The Cops
[rebelmouse-image 18349985 is_animated_gif=My grandfather lived in a small community of one-story townhouses. There was a lady that we called the 'traffic Nazi'. There was literally one street that ran a block down the community and she was outside every time that we came to visit grandpa. She would run you down, yell at you and threaten to call the cops if you went one mile over the speed limit. Walked around everyday trying to find little infractions to fine everyone with. Never saw her have visitors, probably just a coincidence.
For real though, she was SUPER impressive at judging your speed. 21mph? You're getting yelled at. 20mph? You're getting a sneer, but no yelling. 15mph or less? Wouldn't call it a smile, but the nicest expression I ever saw her make. 25mph? Calling the cops which would have to come out, but couldn't give a ticket because there's no proof.
Tree Control
[rebelmouse-image 18349986 is_animated_gif=I had a tiny tree in my yard that was showing signs of dying (hard to get stuff growing here in the Vegas heat..especially if you don't water it lol). HOA told me to pull up the dead tree or I would be fined. It was so flimsy I was able to cut it down with a handsaw. Got rid of the tree and the HOA sends me a letter to replace it or I would be fined??!! It was my decision to plant a tree there in the first place. How are they going to force me to keep a tree there now??
Continuous Damage
[rebelmouse-image 18349988 is_animated_gif=Not a homeowner but work for a company that manages them.
Apparently, in southern states that is not mine, trees are valuable. Okay, sure, I get it. However, one homeowner claims that two trees and their roots in her front yard (each lot has two trees) are growing into her plumbing pipes and breaking them. She has spent like thousands of dollars fixing her foundation alone.
I acquired the Association during the process. Both of us came to an agreement that she could remove the trees and just plant them somewhere else. They would still be in the front yard but just not on some water lines.
I let the Association know. It was reasonable and I had been through this with dozens of Associations before. Your property is more important than some aesthetics.
The Association straight up told me no. She can remove one tree but she has to pay to replant (that's actually really typical) but she will not remove the other one. I tried to explain this woman cannot keep fixing her pipes but they straight told me that moving into the place meant she accepted the plumbing issues.
That is not disclosed anywhere in any resale certificate or documents. I never heard of such a demand.
I had to call her back and tell her what the Association said. She's definitely gonna sue and it baffles me that there's no reason for it.
There's bad HOAs and then there's some with no common sense.
Sole Proprietor
[rebelmouse-image 18349989 is_animated_gif=My long time neighbors were the first to move into the neighborhood where we live some 30-40 years ago. Their home was the first finished and sold. They had 8 kids at the time. The husband was out putting up an old school cable antenna on the chimney. While on his roof a man (the developer) came up and said, "Hey! you can't put that up there, it's against the homeowners rules!" He looked down at him confused and said "Are there any other members of the homeowners association?" "Well no.." " Then I hereby disband the association. The vote passes unanimously. Now get off my lawn." Saved us all a lot of trouble.
Swindled
[rebelmouse-image 18349990 is_animated_gif=I'm in one that the was never turned over to the home owners. The declarant has elected his family as board members. Since he has a large number of lots that are not occupied, he maintains voting control.
We have never received a copy of the books (which is illegal). Our HOA fees are considerably higher than other HOAs in the area. We have no reasonable explanation where the money is going. My guess is that it's being embezzled.
My state has no oversight of HOAs - so this cluster continues with little recourse for the homeowners.
Pati-NO
[rebelmouse-image 18349991 is_animated_gif=My parents bought a house in a now HOA neighborhood but they were one of the first residents in the neighborhood. When they first moved in there were no other houses around them. Now it is a full neighborhood. My dad built a really nice patio out back with a pergola a few summers ago and a week later one of the neighbors came over, whom my dad had never met, and told him that it violated the HOA. My dad basically told him to go pound sand. My dad is a carpenter and the patio/pergola looks great, not trashy or makeshift in any way. The neighbor was just being a nosy HOA d--che bag with nothing better to do. Nothing more came of it either. No fines, no letters, nothing.
No Real Reason
[rebelmouse-image 18349992 is_animated_gif=HOA president/vice president ( husband and wife) knowingly violated the rule of voting approval and and allowed someone to build a huge house on a tiny lot. The guy building the house show them a picture of a cute cape - get's approval without a vote - then put up something completely different. When called out on it their excuse was - "we're sick and no longer want to do it and nobody cares about voting"
The Queen
[rebelmouse-image 18349993 is_animated_gif=We don't have HOAs in the small towns here, but we do have one woman who made a Facebook page of "people of the town" and has apparently appointed herself as Queen. She'll walk around town and then make passive aggressive posts towards anything she doesn't like.
She has started a battle with her neighbor across the street. The neighbor owns my grandma's old house so I'm on fairly friendly terms with her. So N (for neighbor) owns a house with two extra lots next to it and she also has two dogs. Now sometimes some poo will get missed in the pickup process, it's a very large area, and Queen decides to tell N, multiple times, that she needs to keep it perfectly clean AT ALL TIMES because Queens kids like to play in that yard. Out of pure principal N is now purposely leaving a few (not enough to look bad or smell) poo piles around the empty part of her yard.
I have many many stories about the crazy queen lady so I am for sure on Neighbors side.
Sneaky Replacement
[rebelmouse-image 18348612 is_animated_gif=Not an HOA but a National Registry Historic District which is like HOA on steroids.
Our house was built in 1880's and had original windows on the second floor. We wanted to replace them so that our house could be more energy efficient ($700 heating bills in winter). We learned that you cannot replace with modern windows but with ones that are period specific. In our case that meant single pane, wood only. The windows were not standard size and each one was slight different in measurements so that would be even more expense. And in order to do all of that you had to get approval through a design review which involved meetings and architect plans. Nope.
A year later a door to our shed was busted open and instead of just buying a door at Home Depot the design review panel wanted to go through the whole process (6+ weeks). Nope. We hired a friend to replace it at night with a store bought door and paint it so it matched the last one.
Selfish Dog Owner
[rebelmouse-image 18349994 is_animated_gif=This is my uncle:
There's a broken board in the fence in his backyard. On the other side is a vicious dog that presents a major threat to my uncle's 2 yo kid.
The problem is that the fence technically belongs to the neighbor, not him, so he can't fix it in order to keep the dog from coming through. The neighbor refuses to fix it. He's not allowed to build a second layer of fencing or anything like that because of the HOA.
I recommended: * a log pile to put in front of it * a fake log pile * a gun. Just in case. It's his child over a dumb dog.
I don't know if the situation is solved yet.
Micro-Managing
[rebelmouse-image 18349995 is_animated_gif=I moved into a condo with an HOA about six months ago, and just had my first real encounter with the HOA. They mailed me a letter warning me that I needed to remove my lawn chair from my balcony because it was partially folded up. Apparently this meant I was using the balcony as a storage space which is not allowed. I guess it's correct, I was storing the chair I planned to use on the balcony when the weather got better... on the balcony. It was folded to keep the seat from getting dirty in the meantime.
Bloodthirsty
[rebelmouse-image 18348500 is_animated_gif=I own a condominium, apartment style individually owned units for those that aren't familiar. I could regale you with so much craziness. The HOA itself is terrible, but even worse seems to be the management companies they hire. I'll recount my first interaction with them.
I first became engaged when they slapped us with a $10,000 special assessment fee soon after I moved in. Went to the meeting and it seriously felt like I was on Jerry Springer. To this day I'm still unclear on what are facts vs speculations, but at least some of it was very much real. The night before this meeting, some angry neighbor types had brought in the cops and a news organization to publicly arrest and shame the building manager and assistant (staff members for the management company hired by the board) over a large chunk of missing money. Now the manager seemed like she was maybe into some ***, but this poor assistant was a woman in her 60s that had always been very kind and helpful to me and didn't directly even do the budgets. She teared up afterwards telling me how it was the worst experience of her life, being strip searched and treated like a degenerate in jail. She quickly quit and moved to a new city.
Back to that night, there is a faction of homeowners out for even more blood. Reveling in the arrests and convinced that not just both the staff, but the board members themselves must be prosecuted as well. The claims made were mainly that the management company had been making unsavory deals with contractors, leading to overcharging for work that was often inadequate. The building was out of money and out of code. The books weren't kept well. Money was certainly mishandled, but the extent of the malice was unclear. In addition, some strange events happened such as a homeowner having new appliances swapped with old appliances immediately after purchase. Aka his property was stolen and something of lesser value put in its place. But this whole meeting was a crazy, off the walls screaming match full of many other accusations and personal attacks. The board, clearly overwhelmed about the whole situation, didn't have the adequate evidence to prove their innocence and they had to play the unfortunate role of being the bridge between the management company and the homeowners. I don't personally think they were in on it, but some did. They were accused of getting kick backs and personal favors, with one member having claims made against her that she wasn't having to pay for her parking spot. She spoke up, at this point very distressed, about how not only yes is she paying for her spot and has multiple times shown the accusers evidence of that, but that these nosy "do-gooder" aholes were verbally harassing her every chance they got. She shared stories of the awful things people said to her and broke down in front of everyone about not feeling safe or welcome in her own home, all while actively trying to fix it through her role on the board. In the end, the building manager's whole family was tied to sketchy themes and the charges stuck. Unfortunately, we were left footing the bill of getting our building into shape.
Ignored
[rebelmouse-image 18349996 is_animated_gif=At our old neighborhood, there was a section of the road that made a 90 degree turn, went straight for 3 houses, then made another 90 degree turn. As you can imagine, it was quite dangerous if you were going above the speed limit.
One day, a stupid 16 year old went 40 when she should have been going at a 20, and ended up flipping her car at that spot. Her keys were promptly taken away from her.
A couple years after my family moved out, we heard through the grapevine that a woman had started advocating for speed bumps, as our neighborhood had a lot of kids. She used the above event as evidence. As it turned out, the head of the HOA was this girl's mom. Speed Bump Woman was told "Oh, we don't talk about that here," when she brought it up.
Don't know what happened after that. At least the HOA in our current neighborhood consists of a bunch of old people who could care less what goes on.
Boat Business
[rebelmouse-image 18348797 is_animated_gif=When I was still living with my mom, I bought a boat. I always kept it at my dad's unless I was going to take it out the next day. Well one day I left it in the over flow parking and came out to a note saying I could not park it there. So my mom did some digging and found out that I could. It just couldn't stay for more then 72hrs. Which it never did. So we printed the part of the HOA rules that states that on pink paper and put it on my boat. As we are putting said paper on the boat one of the HOA people walked by and mentioned that it could not be parked there. Well needless to say we proved her wrong right then and there. Was so glad when we moved out of there.
Raw Sewage
[rebelmouse-image 18349997 is_animated_gif=My old townhouse I rented was in historical Old Town Alexandria, so any repairs to places like that was tricky b/c many of the homes there are historical or some sh-t. HOAs are b-tchier than usual.
Raw sewage backed up in the bottom floor bathroom and flooded the hallway and one bedroom. It didn't come out of the toilet, it came out of a drain in the floor of the laundry room. He thought it was just dirty water until we saw actual s***.
HOA tried to blame me and my roommates. Turned out tree roots had grown into the ancient sewer line and when a very heavy rain storm soaked the ground that weekend...well sh-t piled up, literally. HOA was irate when they found out this was something they had to pay for.
When it came time for us renew our rental agreement with the townhouse owner, who lived out of state, the HOA has kicked up such a fuss, mis-representing how it happened and basically causing such a stink trying to act like the damage was our fault, the owner wouldn't renew our lease even though we'd been renting from her for years. We were the one who had to coordinate with the plumbers and contracts fixing the townhouse, we did all the work to get the townhouse back in shape and sterilized b/c the owner couldn't.
B-tches on the HOA's say-so with 3 weeks notice and it's hard as f-ck to find housing in that area, especially on short notice. So I just moved away entirely b/c by that point I loathed the DC area and everything in it.
No Work
[rebelmouse-image 18349998 is_animated_gif=I live in a huuuge association (1 mile by half a mile, thousands of houses and apartments) and generally things are great, but after Hurricane Irma f-cked up all our sh-t the association turned a field near my house into a holding area for storm debris. It soon became a dump. Local contractors/handymen found out and we had mattresses, barbecues, bicycles, toilets, and everything else you'd normally take to the faraway dump if you didn't have one suddenly 20 miles closer and free - you just had to do it at night when the security guards were patrolling elsewhere.
99% of the garbage is now gone and security is posted there 24/7, but the field is still bare and full of things too small to clean easily - broken glass, nails from all the fences that were there, etc.
I'm still pissed and the association still has its' head up its' -ss about what it's going to do.
People Explain What The Average American Can Do In Response To Roe V. Wade Being Overturned
The news that the Supreme Court had published a ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that once protected a person's right to choose reproductive health care without excessive government restriction, was not a surprise.
That doesn't mean the development hasn't shocked and angered citizens nationwide. Activists have already taken to the streets in protest. But what can the average American do in response, especially at a time when confidence in the Supreme Court and our democratic institutions are so low?
We heard some recommendations after Redditor johnnybeefcakes asked the online community,
"What can the average American do in response to Roe v. Wade being overturned?"
"Consider: The day Iceland's women went on strike http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34602822"
seolchan29
Yup. A general strike is best led by the existing unions. If you're in one, talk to your leadership. If you're not, spread the word and follow their lead.
"A general strike..."
"Voting is pissing into the wind the way our government is structured. It's not completely ineffective, but how many women will we allow to suffer and die between now and however many voting cycles this takes?"
"A general strike that grinds this country to a halt will have abortion rights enshrined in the Constitution within two weeks, and I'll tell you why.
"Paralyze the economy, shut this country down, fill the streets and REFUSE TO BACK DOWN and this will be resolved in no time."
whattothewhonow
This is exactly it. Corporations are the gods our politicians look up to. We need to hit them where it actually hurts.
"Adding this..."
"Adding this as a top level comment as well. CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES. All these posts saying "vote"? Yes, you need to vote- but your representatives need to hear from you *now and often* about what is important to you. Tell them what you want, and why you are voting. That is what "remain engaged" looks like."
me2x
This is how the gun legislation just got passed. There was a huge coordinated push of people contacting their representatives. Even Republicans were getting consituent calls at a ratio of 10:1 in favor of reasonable measures- so they felt confident in voting for a bill with the support of their voters.
"The 18-24 adult voting group votes way less than any other age group. It would make a solid difference if that wasn’t the case."
akap21
This is the first year many young people will be able to vote. It pays to keep them motivated, now and into 2024 and beyond.
"Help young women and young men obtain birth control. Pass out condoms. Be willing to buy Plan B. Educate. Educate. Educate. Don’t shame. Meet people where they are."
dualsplit
We need more secular public squares that don’t just exist on the internet.
"If you’re in Michigan (or other states where pro-choice folks are fighting to get it on the ballot), figure out where they’re collecting signatures for the petition to get it on the ballot in November, sign, and volunteer to help find more people to sign the petition." - User Deleted
And here’s a link!
"The state Democratic Party..."
"This is a little bit of a long one, but the story is important."
"In 2011 in Virginia, Republicans swept statewide elections. They had the governor, lieutenant governor, both houses of the legislature, and they had appointed the majority of justices on the state Supreme Court."
"They immediately began trying to ban abortion. House Bill 1 was a fetal personhood bill and there were about a dozen more ugly ones too. These bills were expected to sail through with no real hurdles."
"A grassroots movement sprung up, a core group of people who had met and networked during the Occupy protests began planning protest actions. They were able to attract support from people who were not your typical protest crowds, and throughout the actions a lot of suburban, older women drove into Richmond to participate."
"Over several protests about 2 dozen people were arrested (and later acquitted), protests were confronted by riot police as well as 'little green men' hiding in the bushes with assault rifles. However the protests largely remained peaceful."
"The state Democratic party and organizations like Planned Parenthood and NARAL were literally calling the organizers and begging them to stop antagonizing the Republicans, but the organizers remained steadfast."
"In the end, we won. Most of the bad bills were defeated, and Republicans proceeded to lose every statewide election for the next ten years. They ultimately lost both houses of the legislature as well, for the first time since the 90s. Bob Marshall, who authored HB1, was defeated by Virginia's first openly transgender legislator, Danica Roem."
"So ultimately, here is what I would say to remember. The protests are important. What's more important is the networks that form at them. When you attend, try to meet people. Have potlucks. Get to know each other. You will come to rely on each other more than you think."
"Voting is important too, but only showing up to vote every 2 or 4 years and posting angry memes in between is not going to save us. Our institutions have repeatedly failed us despite more people voting in every election. We will be the ones to save ourselves."
Diet_Coke
Yes, 1000000 percent this. Labor, abortion, everything needs to be well organized and unrelenting. None of this will be handed to you, it needs to be fought for.
"Stock up on pregnancy tests, plan B, and birth control. I've already noticed a shortage of pregnancy tests in the last week. Be an advocate and an educator for any woman you know that may need help."
whattheplfuke
Being an advocate for others is so crucial! They need our help and our kindness.
"Vote in your local elections and force abortion rights to be election issues. R v W says that abortion rights is now up to the state government, so vote accordingly and let them know how they can get your votes."
ClownfishSoup
To add to this, vote even if you live in a state that will not ban abortion. It should be clear to everyone now that we take our rights for granted because it could be taken away one day. So vote, no matter what.
Much to do in the coming days, months, and years.
The 2022 midterm elections are coming up in a few months and only time will tell whether the Supreme Court's ruling will negatively impact certain politicians at the polls.
Have some suggestions of your own? Feel free to share them with us in the comments below!
Not long ago, I rented a vacation rental for my dad's birthday.
It was a really cool apartment downtown near restaurants, and the building even had a rooftop pool! Unfortunately for him, this is summer in Florida, which means we got slammed with a tropical storm and that rooftop pool was closed.
The arcade was open, though... and that's where the entire family proceeded to get our butts handed to us because, evidently, my father is the Galaga master.
Reddit user _Mr_Cheeks asked:
"What is an old video game that still holds up so well today?"
Honestly, had it not been pouring we may have skipped the arcade entirely. And had we not been with my father we would have picked something newer than Galaga.
But the game still slaps!
Here are the games Reddit still swears by.
Worms!
"Worms Armageddon. It looks nice enough and the fun is still there."
- the_amateon
"Our whole floor played this in the dorms 20+ years ago. We had our own network, but the lag times were so bad you could obliterate someone on your machine and then run to stand behind them in their room to get their real time reaction. One was always concerned when a crowd showed up behind you...."
- DocLof
"Many moons have passed since the worms went to war"
- thprk
"Yeah, this should be the top answer. This game is far superior to any of it's sequels, even the celebrated W.M.D"
- lurker12346
"When we got our second computer (which I still think of as the new computer) in 2000 it came with worms and my dad and I would spend hours playing it."
- cherry_armoir
A.O.E.2
"Age of empires 2"
- kr4kenz
"The devs are still working on the game and have recently released new DLC with new campaigns and civilizations."
- NativeMasshole
"Honestly, I think AOE 2 is in the top 5 games of all time."
- superfast_jellyfish_
"That's because it is."
- PadishahEmperor
"One of those timeless classics that will just never die. 20year and counting, how many games are out there with a similar track record? Maybe a few MMOs, CS and crew."
- Executioneer
Chrono Trigger
"Chrono Trigger"
- WoodcockJohnson_
"One of the greatest games ever made"
- _Mr_Cheeks
"Was literally my gateway drug into RPGs. I still judge pretty much every game’s story against the standard Chrono Trigger set. It’s also the reason I’m always expecting karmic effects down the line for early game decisions (looking at you 'old man’s lunch' at the Millenial Fair)."
- Dr_Beardface_MD
"One of the best soundtracks in gaming, fantastic spritework, pioneered multiple endings in video games, ABSOLUTELY holds up."
- MeniteTom
Best Of The Tycoons
"Rollercoaster Tycoon"
- 123Fake_St
"For anyone who has an itch to play: open rct2 has resurrected this game and added some qol improvements"
- IAlwaysL0se
"I used to hire new park workers at the first of every month, then on the last day I'd drown them because then you didn't have to pay them..."
"I'm actually a union member today, not Jeff Bezos. Turns out violent video games aren't a precursor to our society's problems after all!"
- markmargles
"Made by a single person (Chris Sawyer) over the span of two years. Absolutely insane feat."
- Goodk4t_
Street Fighter II
"I swear Street fighter 2 still has relatively nice graphics. It came out in 1991"
- FantasticSweet5902
"It changed everything. Play any fighting game prior to Street Fighter II and it feels almost unplayable. Yie Ar Kung Fu, Karate Champ, hell Street Fighter 1 is so awful compared to it that no one remembers it."
"Street Fighter II is so well thought out and fully realized. It's hard to emphasize how amazing that game is given how ubiquitous it is now."
- Boon3hams
"Sprites tend to age much better than polygons!"
- ChunLi808
"I think most 16 and 32-bit games still hold up really well graphically. Just something about that spritework, particularly when done well, is timeless"
- Stuff2511
"I remember playing minigolf and seeing streetfighter II on an arcade across the way, it looked so cool compared to anything else at the time i had to play it."
- jeffryu
"haduken"
- SupremoZanne
Tetris
"Tetris"
- Amberskin
"True. They say playing Tetris after experiencing trauma decreases the likelihood of developing PTSD."
- overthinkingagainlol
"Tetris is my one example of a literally perfect video game."
- JoakimSpinglefarb
"This was my very first thought."
- NoodleDoodleGirl
"Ah, Tetris, the game that teaches us that success doesn’t last and mistakes pile up quickly"
- Micaiah9
"And now I have Tetris music in my head all night."
- nigelofthornton
"I still keep an OG GameBoy in my bathroom so i can play Tetris when I sh*t."
- Serenity650
"The game so addictive it has its own psychosomatic effect named after it."
"The Tetris effect: researchers had participants in a study play tetras for extended periods of time. Afterward the participants experienced weird psychosomatic effects where they could see the blocks spinning outside of the game in their thoughts and even their dreams for up to days."
- Whybotherr
Final Fantasy Tactics
"Final Fantasy Tactics. Amazing story, great music, fun battle mechanics. The only issue is the difficulty (once you understand the game or grind levels) becomes trivial... but with mods - boom bam."
- NateProject
"Yes, everytime I try to play a Japanese SRPG, I keep getting disappointed because its NOT FINAL FANTASY TACTICS, which is of course the pinnacle of the genre. Or maybe I'm just old and don't have as much fun as an old person."
- DryEyes4096
"No, FFT is absolutely the pinnacle of the genre and it's not even close. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together gets honorable mention though."
- TragicHero84
"God this game is such a masterpiece. I played War of the Lions as a kid and I loved this game. Recently I picked it back up, and this game is still great. Even better than I remembered as I really got sucked into the story and just love how vile the villains are in this game."
- Jalina2224
"My favorite game ever. The difficulty is no joke though if you don't use guides or have much patience to grind. I knew two people back in the day that gave up on the game because they got stuck on a battle but also couldn't back up and grind. Honestly the only reason I avoided this is because it almost happened to me at the Gafgarion fight, so I always maintained a save file where I could grind if necessary."
- Qurdlo
Mario 3
"Mario 3"
- Keksis_theBetrayed
"A kid brought Mario 3 into school the day it came out to show off, yes I’m that old. We were all in awe. Everybody had already seen gameplay footage from that movie the wizard, which was pretty rare at the time. I got it a short time later and it 100% lived up to all the hype. Still love playing it today on emulators."
- littlegreenb18
"I still play Mario 3. My original NES still works perfectly and is set-up in my living room. I remember the 'secrets' published in Nintendo Power magazine on how to get hidden 1-ups, an extra whistle, the coin ships, etc."
- SubAtomicSpaceCadet
"Came to say it. Now I'm gonna go play it."
- staggere
"The angry sun is one obstacle to deal with!"
- SupremoZanne
"My teen saw me playing Mario 3 and said, "What, did somebody take a modern game and make it look like the 90s?" This is why Nintendo is Japan's most profitable company - their creators have always focused on creative, engaging gameplay, and they've done it so well that 30-year-old games still feel contemporary."
- schlockabsorber
"When I was younger and still got emotional over stuff, I would always play Mario 3 when depressed or upset. It was just a soothing way to just turn off my brain for awhile."
- Ashitaka1013
Doom
"Doom"
-mike_markerson
"Most old games feel clunky. Doom 1 and 2 are still as smooth as butter."
- Matt463789
"Yes, the OG. I replayed classic Doom, as well as 2 and 3 recently. Then I replayed the original Wolfenstein."
- smoffatt34920
"this reply is way underrated. love classic doom game with its literally tens of thousands of fan-made maps."
- ritaremton
"I’m upset I had scroll down this far to see Doom."
- YuShtink
"Why is this so far down? 30 year old game, and I was playing it this morning"
- ogGarySe7en
"People complain about all the rereleases of Skyrim over the past decade. Meanwhile I've bought DOOM on Win 95, Win 98 (Collector's Edition), SNES, PlayStation, SEGA 32x, Jaguar, Xbox Live Arcade, GBA, Steam, Mobile, Switch... And I'm sure I'm still missing one or two. And I don't regret a single one, even if some of the older console ports are rough."
- LandauTST
Now for my personal little interjection here - Elder Scrolls:Oblivion.
It kind of crushes my soul to think of a 2006 game as "old school" so let's just focus on the reasons it's amazing, kay?
Oblivion gave us options on options on options. The programming was a masterpiece, so much so that even the glitches become glorious works of art.
And Sheogorath??? Perfection.
You know what the gamers of Reddit feel, and you know my vote - though my regular readers are probably tired of me ranting about Oblivion by now.
But what about you?
What classic game still gets you going?
"What makes someone bad in bed?"
WHERE TO BEGIN?!
The list is endless.
Half the time all it takes to be better is a little effort.
RedditorMidoriSpicewanted to hear about the lack of skills some people really need to acquire when it comes to sexy time. They asked:
"What makes someone bad in bed?"
I love sex. But it can be stressful. I've always found connection to be one of the best lessons.
Communications
"Assuming they already know what their partner wants/likes and doesn't communicate or take any instructions."
Melonqualia
Take it Slow
"No foreplay and not caring if your partner is enjoying it."
orangecrushhhh
"I had an ex who literally never wanted to do any kind of foreplay. He just wanted basically sex of any kind for him. He said oral on women was gross."
UntiltheEndoftheline
Will U?
"Proposing mid intercourse."
Immortal_D_Class
"Honestly? With the partner I have, I'd think it was pretty hot and romantic lmao. I'd check in after the deed to make sure he was serious but our relationship is already very serious so it wouldn't be a big deal."
Weird_Spinach
Talk to Me
"Not talking or making any noises. We don't have to dirty talk the whole time or even at all but you gotta let me know you're enjoying it at least."
idkburneridkidk
"I think there's some balance between having some small talk, silence, and dirty talk while being in bed with someone. Or maybe that's just been my experience. I don't know--I think there's some fun in trying to carry a side conversation while having sex lol."
BranTheBrokens
Experts
"Friction isn’t always a good thing."
KathAlMyPal
Yuck
"To this you can add unclipped fingernails."
Whats4dinner
"And dirty fingernails. Nah, ma'am. I’m betting this is not worth the infection. Thanks."
ADDYISSUES89
‘good at sex’
"I have a feeling most men will say 'lack of enthusiasm' and that most women will say 'being selfish about pleasure.'"
addicted_to_blistex
"I’m a woman and my first thought was lack of enthusiasm, but my own lack of enthusiasm. The only bad sex I’ve had is when I don’t genuinely want to be there. I’ve had sex with guys who weren’t ‘good at sex’ but still enjoyed it because I was really into them."
maybememaybeno
Damn Pat
"They are convinced they know more about what works for you than you know yourself. Just cause your ex-lover Pat liked technique X doesn't mean everyone does."
Less-Market9641
"Have experienced this, it sucks. He wouldn’t listen to what I enjoyed, didn’t want me to say ANYTHING even if it hurt or wasn’t working, and would just say something along the lines of 'every other woman I’ve been with liked it.' I’m thinking, all you’ve had are one-night stands, really, so they probably didn’t say anything."
"I’ve had numerous partners and love sex. Crashed and burned with this one and he really crushed my self-esteem and sexual confidence."
Proper-Beach8368
I KNOW!!
"The biggest thing is always going to be selfishness and the inability/refusal to communicate and listen to your partner. I've seriously had a guy yell 'I KNOW HOW TO DO IT!' when I was trying to tell him how I liked whatever he was doing. He then got even more upset when I said 'did you just f**king yell at me? Alright, off, I'm done.'"
drunky_crowette
Flavors
"Lack of variety. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean crazy kinks or positions from the karma sutra, but more when it's really predicable. I has an ex that had this weird routine of positions, it was exactly the same every single f**king time in exactly the same order."
thegrimrita
Sex. Let's be better at it.
Do you have similar experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below.
Love is so elusive these days isn't it?
Who knows what anyone is looking for in the relationship department anymore.
It's all too exhausting.
But people we keep trying.
RedditorProblemNice5257wanted to hear why so many people are still on the hunt for that perfect one. They asked:
"Why are you single right now?"
I'm single because I've given up. And I'm good. For now.
Peace
"I put absolutely no effort into meeting someone."
grayestorm
"Same! Also it's extremely difficult when you feel so at peace being by yourself. The fact that I have to find someone whose presence outweighs my level of comfort being alone seems impossible."
cheezkurls
Staying Put
"Hard to meet people when you are a hermit."
EchoOfShadow
"Yeah, I describe myself as a shut-in, lol. I leave my apartment to work, I leave my apartment to buy food, and occasionally I’ll bring out the trash, otherwise I just watch Hulu, play online chess, surf Reddit."
Tru-Queer
"Same. I've spent months trying to find an apartment I can afford without a roommate and finally settled on a small studio apartment for $1100 a month because I'd rather living in a tiny space and be left the hell alone than share a much nicer place even with a good friend."
ablondedude
Problems
"I have too many unsolved issues, i can't in good conscience bring someone else into them."
Zdos123
"Idk your issues but everyone's got some crap. Not sure how unique yours are but everyone's got some crap. It's good to share some of your struggles with other people. Just don't open with it haha."
dr-305
"Issues unresolved or not, (in my case) only makes it worse when you feel like you could open up to them, and they just take those to use it against yourself afterwards."
if_itsMolly
Isolated
"I hardly go out and expose myself to people. I'm uncomfortable with the notion of myself being in a relationship at this point. Also, I'm very dry in terms of personality."
Torturephile
"I spent a year entirely isolated due to covid and now I can't handle physical contact. It makes me really uncomfortable and a hug is enough to make my body shut down. I'm hopeless."
DinoHunter64
That's funny. But it feels oddly true.
Toxic
"Last relationship was so toxic, I've sworn off dating, at least for awhile. I haven't had this much free time in ages. It's nice."
"Edit: Hey, it's really great hearing from so many people with similar experiences. Like many of you, I've been taking it in stride and focusing on bettering myself, both physically and mentally. It's done wonders for my health and I feel a whole lot better. I wish y'all the very best. Stay excellent, my friends."
muchkoku
Alone Forever
"I'm 35yr old single father to a 5yr old and I work nights. It's hard to find free time to meet someone, especially in my area. If I do have free time to myself, I like staying home and ordering a pizza while drinking some beers and playing video games. I pretty much faced the fact that I will probably be alone for the rest of my life."
No_Leader_2711
taking space
"I was in an 8 year relationship (married for two) to my high school sweetheart. Exactly this same time last year, we got divorced because I found out he was cheating on me with my best friend. The best friend I had known LONGER than him and was friends with since fourth grade."
"She was living with us to try to get back on her feet. Yeah lol. So I lost my best friend and the man I had been with for 8 years within the same night. So I moved to another state, got an apartment by myself, and am now single and divorced all by 26. Not really looking unless the right person comes along."
"It’s pretty happy and peaceful now that they’re both out of my life though honestly. You realize people’s toxicity and flaws the most once you get space away from them."
yodacat24
Bad Loop
"Because my relationships end before they even begin."
_uberwench_
"This is my story right here."
xxshole
Alright. Now that we've laid out all the excuses, let's get to matching with some people.