Nerdalius Newsletter! Issue 2

Hey everyone, it's your resident reporter here back with another exciting issue of the Nerdalius Newsletter! In last month's issue, we had a little sit down with the Admins and discussed some questions with them, this time it's the Mods turns! So, let's get down to interviewing.


Q: Let's start with an easy one. How about telling us a little about yourself?

A: I'm really boring and I like noodles. There's really not a lot to know about me.


Q: Alright, now...how did you come to join the site?


A: Eric wanted me on the site, but at the time I only had a tablet and it really couldn't do the internet. But one day the internet security updated, so I made an account and greeted him on chat that morning. He was kinda surprised.

Q: I see. So, as a mod of the site...how do you feel about it's day to day operations? And what is your specific job, if any?

A: 
I think that the site is doing great for as small as it is. To me, we have a moderate amount of activity and someone usually posts something at least once a day. Which is great. 


I'm really bad at my mod jobs. One specific job I have is keeping the peace within the chat box, which I'm really bad at because I start more problems then I solve. Another is handling abuse complaints, which is easy 'cause we don't really have any.

Q: I see. Now, according to your profile, you are the girlfriend to the owner of the site. Why don't you tell us what made you want to date him in the first place? You don't have to if you don't want to.

A: Meh, I didn't really want to. It just kinda happened. We've been friends for a really long time and he has always wanted to take it further, I just fell for it I guess.


Well, quite an interesting little take from our Mod, don't ya think? Moving on to the next one, we have:


Q: Alright, let's start. Tell us a little about yourself

A: I'm sorry what? You...you actually wanna know a little about me? Oh my goodness I need a moment....Okay so here's a little fact about me. I sleep at night. ZING!


But seriously, I am like a really easy going person. Ask anyone who knows me, I really am. You racist against me? Cool. You have two heads? Coo. You go in and out of a TV on a daily basis to battle monsters and discover your true self...cool.

I also like to write and RP (NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW) though I need to get better at actually finishing stories. Finally, I'm loud and hyper active. So when I walk in a room, your ears are done for.

Q: How did you come to join us here at the Nerd?

A: Alex asks me and I said sure why not.

Q: Well alright, now then. You say you're a RPer. Any plans for the Nerd?

A: No...yet Actually...I may have one I've been thinking about. Need to write down the ideas first but I may have something for the NEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDS on the nerd.


Q: Well alright, looking forward to it. Now, as a mod...what are your daily duties?

A: I watch the chat to make sure people are following the rules I break on a daily basis like POSTING IN ALL CAPS! I AM A GREAT MOD! BOW TO ME!

Q: Well, good on you our great Mod Overlord. Now, any extra thoughts you want to leave to our readers?

A: One thought and one thought only...read comics. I'm dead serious, go out there and read a good comic or two. Besides RPing, they are my main source of inspiration when it comes to writing. Some great writers only pop up on the comic scene and they tell great stories.


It doesn't even have to be the main stream stuff like Marvel or DC. Read some of Archie's stuff or go to Madefire(I think I spelled it right), they have great stuff. Think about it. How do you craft a story using only about 100 pictures? These guys do it and do it great.


And finally, the nerd is a great place. It may be small, but I have seen these people come together and become fast friends. Sometimes they argue and bicker, but these people are great story tellers when they set their minds to it. They are sweet, adorable, and funny. 


This message was brought to you by Jason Jasonified Jaytonic Williams. NOW GO, BE FREE! WHY ARE YOU READING THIS?! GO!

And that is that for that interview. Quite the character, wouldn't you all agree? Anyway, we got one more interview to go.


Q: Alright, how about you start us off by telling us a little about yourself? Feel free to say only as much as you feel comfortable.


A: Uh, well my name's Luca, I'm a musician, my roommate thinks I'm an elf, and I make those Korean mini paper stars in my spare time. I mean there's a lot to tell and not a lot to tell, so if there's anything in particular you wanna know then ask away.

Q: Alright, well then let's get into the meat of matters. How did you come to find yourself joining the Nerdalius and becoming a Mod?

A: Well I was the night lurker Mod at CMA, meaning that due to my schedule at the time I was on at odd hours of the night scanning the forums for anything out of line. Eric offered me a spot over here to continue my position and I agreed to continue my lurking habits. Though now I'm on a bit more regularly.

Q: I see, well glad to have staff on all the time I suppose. Are you duties that of night lurker then? Or do you do anything else of note?

A: I don't think I do anything of note at all, really. I'm just an extra voice for opinions, or at least I try to be a mediator when one is called for. And yes, I still lurk.

Q: Well that's good enough. Now, do you have any plans for doing anything on the Nerd? I've heard you're an avid RPer, as veteran as Razren is, so you must have something.

A: I can't GM anything worth shit so I don't think so. Also whatever Razren spreads about me, he lies. I mean I'll participate in stuff that goes on but I'm much more the person in the background taking everything in to see what others are doing and like to do for the future. That sort of thing.

Q: Ah, well no need to worry too much about it. Now, how do you feel about the site and it's operations so far? Feel free to speak as honestly as possible.

A: Operations wise, I still don't understand why user color names keep changing every other week, though that's something tech support is doing I figure and if it's keeping us afloat that I won't complain. I feel that one or two word replies on the forums should be more heavily monitored/discouraged, cause I do see a lot of those sometimes.


Site wise, it's doing well, though sometimes people need to realize that certain things aren't the end of the world. I feel that people can get too worked up about certain things without willing to see the other side of the argument, and sometimes it's downright infuriating. You need to be able to concede that maybe you're wrong or that you did something other people took issue with. You can't please everyone, but you also don't have to be a dick to everyone either. Though that's just my take on seeing certain interactions happen on the site every so often. It's more of a personal qualm than an actual issue, I guess.

Q: Ah well, at least you're honest. Now, any final words you wish to leave to our readers?

A: Someone's gotta put it out there. Final words? Uh, I don't bite so drop me a line if you need anything? I'd like to try being more of someone who users can turn to if they have any problems with other users or even us staff, so that we can work on any internal issues we may have. Happy users make a happy site.


And there is the end of that. Quite a nice staff we have here if I could say so myself. Now then, obviously as there wasn't many to interview that can't possibly be the end, right? Correct!

First up is the new section that I would like to talk about. From this point onward, feel free to send in questions for either Terrorking(Dragoon), Razren, or Abbers to answer, and I will post there responses IN THE NEXT ISSUE. Oh, and don't worry. These questions will be anonymous, so no need to worry about being embarrassed.

Secondly, I would like to share with you an article that a member of the news team wrote themselves, so without further ado...enjoy!

Virtual singers: The Great Wonder of the Music Industry

It's amazing how technology has advanced to the point that it affected the music industry so greatly. One of the revolutionary leaps in technology that has been the creation of a virtual voice which in turn brought to life one of Japan's most iconic pop star  under the image of an anime character, for those of you who don't know its Hatsune Miku.

Now your asking yourself who is Hatsune Miku? And how is that even possible? Heres a quick explanation to help fill you in.

Hatsune Miku is a character for a software developed by the Yamaha corporation known as the Vocaloid. The Vocaloid's objective is rather simple "To provide computers the ability to sing in human voices" now how it works is really fascinating.

How Vocaloid works: Basically you got yourself a synthesizer software (Not the keyboard synthesizer) it uses voice samples collected by real singers which is collected in a set of databases known as "Voice Banks" this enables the software to produce a voice in a realistic and natural way possible compared to other synthesizers. Now where does Hatsune Miku belong in all this you ask? This is because Miku is the mascot for the Vocaloid. Ever since her debut in 2007 she has earned a lot of popularity mostly because of her voice, appearance and timing to take on Japan, also due to sites like Youtube she has earned more recognition in a global scale.

Miku is simply a virtual singer representing a certain Voice Bank, despite having an anime appearance she is not from a video game, anime or movie although she does appear in a few animes and games as a cameo. Since western cultures don't have any idea on what Miku or Vocaloid is they cant really write much about it, so here are a few points in which the media won't tell or does not have any knowledge on.

1: Miku may be the mascot for the Vocaloid Software but she isn't the only Vocaloid out there. Vocaloid is a franshise made up of several companies (example: Crypton, Vocatone etc.) and there are several other Vocaloids representing a certain Voice bank designed for certain types and genres of music, these range from jpop, rock, choir or even opera.
They are all created from many singers both amateurs and professionals, since each Vocaloid is based on a real person each one has their own strengths and weaknesses giving wide possibilities when composing a song.

2: It is true that Vocaloid is created in Japan and most of their songs are in Japanese but there are other Vocaloid softwares that can sing in different languages, infact the first set of Vocaloids ever produced was in english.

3: Most of the music created with the Vocaloid are from amateurs and independent artists rather than professionals contracted to do so. This shows that anyone has the potential to express themselves by using a powerful and versatile instrument such as the Vocaloid which was impossible to do so in the past.
Now your saying to yourself that using a Vocaloid is easy, or is it? A Vocaloid is like an instrument that requires alot of time and patience to use, so it is only meant for people who are willing and dedicated to making their music with the Vocaloid.

4:The Vocaloids are not meant to replace real singers sure they can last forever and can be easy to manage but its not meant to replace them. They are their to provide voices to inspiring artists who cannot sing giving them a chance to express themselves

Although the Vocaloid has not yet reached its goal on making a computer that can sing exactly like a human. However the world cannot deny how the Vocaloids have affected it and revolutionized the music industries with a mixture of art and science. 

Fun Fact: In 2010 Hatsune Miku made her live debut singing "The world is mine" in japan using revolutionary video projector and a live band allowing her to perform live. The live debut has received an astounding amount of over 9 million views on Youtube.


And that about does it this issue folks! Join us next time as I head down into the RP Zone to see what RPs are cooking on the site, and reveal the first of your questions to be answered!


(To send in a question, PM it to me and tell me who you wish to ask the question to. In the next issue I will post their answer. It is completely anonymous, so they won't know who asked what. Hell, send in multiple questions! The more the merrier, I say!)

interesting. never knew that about people and I didn't know they did that with miku or as I refer to her miku-miku