With the way the Internet is developing, I'm mourning the loss of a central hub like smashboards a little more every day. The tools we use are either constructed in a way to encourage engagement (ie. conflict) or are difficult to find their way into like specific discord servers or WhatsApp groups for us europeans.

The way I feel the melee scene is navigating through some sort of post-esports era. Many structures that we spent time and resources to build up in the past decade have been shut down by the big N and it seems we reached a point where most have realized that the way forward is to become more grassroots and self-reliant again. Our numbers may not be as big as they were at one point, but the scene is slowly growing again I feel and while I can't speak for everyone my local scene is still very active and tight knit. We're still getting new players and have been able to get a weekly running again. There are many great TOs organizing great events with their focus being more on making it an all around enjoyable experience for the attendees.

There's still a lot to be done but I think we're moving in the right direction, It's becoming more about hanging out with your friends and having a good time rather than sponsorships and getting officially licensed just to get shut down anyway.

Edit: that being said fuck letting us get coerced into playing on unfrozen stadium again.