This month I introduce to you one of the junk forums' most attentive members and one of our role-players: [Avaz]!

Is there a story behind your username?
Yeah. Allow me a bit of backstory for it to make more sense.

Back in the early 90's, I started playing this game called Wing Commander II. At the beginning of the game, it requires you to choose a callsign for your pilot. Well, being the perfectionist that I was, I couldn't just choose any old name all higgledy piggledy. So I spent (if I recall) 2 days going through a couple dozen names, trying to find the perfect one. I eventually settled on "Sandstorm." The name resonated with me on a personal level that I wouldn't understand for many years to come.

So fast forward to the heydey of AOL chatrooms. At this point, I started using Sandstorm as my online handle for various chatrooms and IRC channels. I was in my teens by now, and it was quite popular then to type in alternating case LiKe ThiS. I know. I'm sorry, too. :(

Anyway, "Sandstorm" got butchered to "SanDSt0rM". And that nickname stuck for awhile, and then I matured a bit, realized the alternating caps is stupid, so I dropped that. At the same time, the name was getting kind of tired and I wondered what to do about it. I eventually dropped the -storm and translated Sand to my native tongue, Armenian.

Thus, whammo blammo, Avaz.

What kinds of table top role playing games do you play?
I prefer the kinds that have a good mix of the pillars of many RPGs: Combat, Exploration, and Socialization. I tend to lean toward the more crunchy side of the mix, though. But just slightly.

My current group is playing a campaign in D&D (4e). However, there are many systems I've played in the past - and many more that I would like to try haven't gotten a chance to yet.

I think I might be biased if I said I prefer my own game the best. :P

Do you find it easier to make games for text based role-playing like here on Elftown or for a table top setting?

I find it's much easier to write for tabletop settings, for a couple reasons. First, you have the immediacy of other people right there, so if a question or issue presents itself, you don't have to wait to get any sort of response (as can be the case with text-based). Second, the visual aspect is much better on a tabletop game. Most of the games I play use a gridded battlemat with miniatures to represent the players. So there's no question as to where anyone is at any given time. In text-based games, I've encountered a couple times situations where my descriptions were getting misunderstood.

I wouldn't have that problem with tabletop. A picture is worth a thousand words, after all. Doubly true if that picture is a 1" mini on a mat.

Do you have any advice for all Elftowners?
In the words of the immortal Journey: "Don't stop believing." I think that applies to everything.

Any last comments/critiques on any Elftown matters?
Yes. I can't thank enough all the people that donate their time and energy to doing all the million small things that keep Elftown running.





To view the complete interview with this member go to fmi avaz
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This time the featured member is one of our own featured painters and a member who loves participating in contests and expressing herself artistically in many different ways! Here is some of what I learned about [Karithina]!

What is it you mostly do on Elftown?
I'm a bit of a traveling creative in Elftown. I explore around the site and latch on to pretty much anything arty I see, trying my hand at it: poetry, writing, photography, roleplay, visual art, competitions, submissions, own pages. Competitions here for me aren't something I enter to win, so much as I enter for the fun of creating something for a reason - which makes submissions equally exciting! I just need something to push me to keep making things~

When I'm not actually posting anything to/about arts (which was quite a lot when I'm busy, like my last semester of uni at the end of last year), I usually at least poke my head in to see what everyone is doing - it's pretty inspiring sometimes :)

Do you have a preferred medium of expression?
Visual art for sure(!)...although from there it gets a bit cluttered.

Drawing with fineliners, watercolour, and anything I can make a mess with, like charcoal and ink, has been my preferred medium for the last year or two.

For three years before that I was a digital artist, painting with Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop - these days it mostly only comes up now when I have to paint things super fast, or for graphics. I would like to merge digital with messy and make the most of all the past five years, that's probably my real preference, but it's all been experimentation rather than expression so far.

Have you ever tried expressing yourself through literary means such as poems and short stories?
Oh definitely, and with Elftown to thank for that actually!

What are your hobbies outside of Elftown?
Reading mostly fantasy novels and non-fiction biographies, playing RPG and FPS PC games, web design, walking... I do a lot of art too but I hope that's more of a career than a hobby by now, especially seeing that I've sold an exhibited work finally! If exhibiting work is a hobby I'm well into that, I've had work in 10 exhibitions since 2009 and it's going to be an 11th one soon :D

I've also recently started to get into baking and sewing after years of being stubbornly against both, my sewing has only been patches onto bags and stitches on paper so far, but I'm hoping not long now until I can fix clothing and keep my tattery skirt living for another decade or two :P

Oh I forgot in my hobbies I do gardening as well, at the moment I'm reviving a vine that attracts the Cairns Birdwing and it's super cool/scary looking caterpillars :D

What is your message to all Elftowners?
Try everything once, especially creative things.

Enter every competition, workshop or exhibition callout you have the time to try, even if you don't think you'll be very good at it. Everything you attempt improves your skills at whatever it is you are attempting, broadens the awesomeness-numbers of whatever you are entering... and sometimes you might even be lucky enough to be the only one to enter when there is a prize. This applies not only in Elftown or even just on the internet, but anywhere in the world that has opportunities available for you :)



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To view the complete interview with this member go to fmi Karithina
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As you can see from the above picture, Pauly the Anthro-dragon's creator, [Paul Doyle], has agreed to be the latest featured member! (He also apologized ahead of time for the long answers.)

What about the graphics reboot makes you want to update your house?
Why? First of all, there's the need for Elftown to appear relevant and attractive to target audiences. Secondly, we can implement updated new graphics while retaining "classic" ET graphics (like the official badges, for example), so the new look is not repellent in the eyes of long term die-hard Elftowners. Finally, this would allow ET to completely jettison any and all graphics made by various banned troublemakers, completely deleting them from the servers. Old graphics made by good users (but not used in the revamped ET) would be kept in storage and stay easily accessible for whoever wanted to use them within ET rules.

What inspires you to write poetry, create art etc.?
I’m inspired by many things. Primarily they are my imagination, my family, my myriad general-knowledge interests, and a continual self-challenge to produce the very best material I’m humanly capable of achieving, without the terrible influence of alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs.

I have always had a deep, vivid imagination. Even as I "grew up" this strong imagination remained. I was never a popular child, not even in my own family, and when the going got tough (and I couldn't do anything to overcome the toughness) I'd go into my own little world. Even as I matured and experienced life as an adult, this little world has remained. Fortunately I've set clear boundaries, and manage both my real-world responsibilities and my creative pursuits to the best of my ability.

As a writer do you ever run into writer's block? If so, how do you resolve it?
I do periodically get writer's block. Frequently it will happen when I have the full story ideas and plot ready to be written, but part of my brain refuses to cooperate, that part which really fine-tunes my focus and highly improves the dialogue. If I'm overtired (or suffering from a minor winter bug or something similar)I'll sleep it off feeling guilty I didn't get enough quality writing done. Sometimes all the caffeine and energy foods in the world won't help me regain focus when I'm that tired. (I don't use five-hour energy drinks, drink alcohol or use illegal drugs to find "inspiration", by the way.) It's frustrating as hell to write when you'd like to, but you're too tired to continue, but ultimately it's wiser to listen to what your own body's trying to tell you, rather than risk greater health complications down the road.

What is your message to all Elftowners?
We have the power and the skills to make Elftown a better place for artistic-minded people. Let's come together and make this website a happening place again! Elftown need not be as large a site as it used to be. With the right artistic people working together, this site will become disproportionately awesome and intoxicating. We can make it happen!



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To view the complete interview with this member go to fmi paul doyle

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Is there a story behind your user name?
Yes there is. When I first started online role playing I was creating a Sith character for a Star Wars group on Myspace (sad I know) but couldn't come up with anything good. So I found a Sith Name Generator that told me to take the first three letters of my first name and the first three of my last name and put them together so Josh Martin became: Josmar. He became an amazing character with a long history and also my favorite creation. I use this name everywhere now as my own little online persona.

What is it you mostly do on Elftown?
About 90% of the time I am roleplaying, either running my own games or playing in others. Then the other 10% is spent between my "official" duties and personal projects like my useless information wiki: Lord Josmar's Emporium of Useless Information.

What made you start up your useless information wiki?
I absolutely love useless and obscure information and for the longest time me and a friend of mine would have "Useless information fights" where we would try to outdo or amaze the other with useless information we had found out about random topics. Once we ran out of the information in our heads we had to start reading books that specialized on the topic, and that is when I realized that there are a lot of people that would enjoy reading such info. I love creating wikis on here so I just went crazy with it.

What are your interests and hobbies?
Other then Efltown, I am a pretty avid gamer both console and MMO. My current game of choice is Star Wars: The Old Repulic for the PC. I also enjoy doing Duct Tape crafts making all sort of nifty stuffs. Other then those, my kids take up most of my time.

What sorts of crafts can you make with duct tape?
So far I have made: Deck boxes, roses, wallets, and a lady's clutch purse. The first two items I even have tutorials posted up for them here on Elftown. But that is just a small list of things that can be created using duct tape.

Have any critique/comments/suggestions/admiration etc. on a specific Elftown matter?
I dont think I can give anymore admiration for this site then I already have, and any complaint or suggestion I have usually ends up in the forums. Pretty much just keep up the good work Elftown.



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To view the complete interview with this member go to FMI-Lord Josmar

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