I find one of the major things that keeps me still yoyoing is this forum, YoyoExpert.
I haven’t met anyone in real life who yoyo’d when I started. I eventually met a fellow yoyo’er in real life through this forum from the Contest and Events section.
I go on here on a daily basis and the biggest things I’ve learned here are not just tricks but rather how to maintain a yoyo, from cleaning, swapping out response pads, bearings, lubing, what to buy etc.
This forum is a huge network in yoyoing for me and if it didn’t exist, I would’ve only learned about 1/6 or less the amount of yoyoing knowledge I do know now.
Everybody here is very mature I find and there is jokes but very little trolling which is surprising for a forum with a lot of youngens. Shows the high maturity of young yoyo’ers. I would like to thank everyone here from the admins to the regulars and to the newbies for keeping me yoyoing.
EDIT: Oh, I Forgot to answer my own question, no I would not be yoyoing if it weren’t for YYE. It’s what keeps me going and if not, it is the number one thing that keeps me going.
Believe it or not, there were yoyo communities before YYE and there would likely still be others (or at least they would be more popular) if YYE wasn’t around. But they are, and life is better for it
Without the fourms, I would actually throw more. Less talk more do. Ive actually been considering taking a year away from the forums to focus on just play.
YYE Really got me back into it after a rough spot in my lift, but I got a friend or two hooked on yoyoing, and i taught classes, but the forms kept yoyos on my mind and yoyo in hand. XD
Probably not. Like you, I’ve learned a lot from the forums about maintenance and what’s what. Whenever I’m bored, this website is the go-to place, and it’s rare that I leave without learning at least one new thing.
I probably would have gotten into it since YYE wasnt a thing when I got into this sport of throwing ^ ^
But YYE did bring me back and get me involved in the community again!
In one case the owner shut down his store and forum pursuing other interests, in another the owner shut down the store but spun off the forum as an independent entity to the forum admin w/little or no funding. Eventually it succumbed to hackers and spammers. In another case the owner died. That board lives on but it’s a mere shadow of it’s former self. YYN suffered from neglect by the owner and a major theft. Not sure what happened at Greg’s board. Yomania was the only forum independent of any store that I am aware of. It was hit by a major hack. It really never recovered and eventually went away.
YYE will continue unless something happens to Andre or he decides to pursue other interests.
I probably would never have gotten as serious into yoyoing without YYE, I definitely wouldn’t own the beautiful throws I do now. I probably would have found other trick tutorials, and other online yoyo shops, but none of them would have made me want to get better like this forum did.
Granted, I’ve been yoyoing a cool month now, so I haven’t exactly scoured the Internet for yoyo sites, but I don’t feel the need to look anyway
Yes, YYE is a great place and Andre has put a lot of work into making it so, but the former forums and stores had a very strong and loyal following as well. This in no way detracts from YYE, just stating a fact.
A lot has to do with the owner. If the forum is attached to a business, when the business closes, there is less incentive to maintain the forum. If there was never a store attached to the forum, exactly the same, there is still little incentive to maintain the forum.
But, to answer the question, “yes.” I found YoyoExpert a few months after yo-yoing, so I’m confident I’d still be at it. I just think that finding YoyoExpert made things much more fun, and more convenient. But, without YoyoExpert, I think I’d spend less money, for sure. Making a few posts a day on the forum isn’t this great commitment, to a point where I think I rely on it in some way.
Has there ever been another yo-yo store that generates this kind of excitement, sponsors this many contests, gives so many charitable contributions, creates a cool place to hang out, and a place to learn tricks, while presenting you with yo-yo news an updates…and the list goes on? For me, YoyoExpert is the place to be, for all things yo-yo, and without it, I’d certainly scale it back computer-wise, but I’d still be yo-yoing. No doubt.
I should add, that even when there was another forum up and running at the same time as this one, I never posted on it. I knew something about this place was extra special.
