NeoGaf? Is everyone on there an "insider"?

No disrespect to Gamespot, but NeoGaf is a website that brings hardcore information about gaming news and thought provoking threads about gaming issues etc. It seems like it has an abundance of members because a large amount of threads fill up to 17 pages in a few hours.

NeoGaf is where I get my source of gaming news before the outlets such as this one, ign and etc. could get coverage. To join the site do you have to be an insider? or know someone who can refer you to the site?

I don't use or go to NeoGAF, but I suppose you just make an account there like you would here or on any other website. People that are known in the industry have been known to use that forum, so I bet a couple of developers use it as well. (If that counts as an Insider)

Actually, to join the site you don't have to be an insider. Although the thing is, they have a really weird registration method. You can't register with a free email address cause it'll get rejected. If you manage to have a paid one and register on the site, you're gonna have to wait a long time, as they don't have any automatic account confirmation method. What they do is take random batches of applicants every few months and that's it. And you aren't guaranteed to be picked out. When you get picked out though and they activate your account, you cannot post without a special permission from the staff. Conclusion: Don't even try. It's not worth the hassle.

This is it. And getting booted is easy if you mess up.

So in summary, its real hard to get into and you must be on your best behavior to remain a member, the upside is its pretty troll free and creates a environment where those actually in the industry feel comfortable posting there.

I'd bet there MIGHT be a few, but most likely its a bunch of interns that share things they aren't supposed to.

it's more of interaction between gamers and developers. It's not always that stuff get's leaked there first

You just need to sign up with a non-free email account, and then wait. After the review process you'll become a junior member and then you wait another couple of months to become an active member that can post threads. It's a larger community with more discussion, but you can easily be lost in the crowd of everyone shouting over one another. They're stricter rules, but there are still extremely silly and dumb things said on the forums.

I've been a member for about a year now.

@Jacanuk: Was that really necessary? No. Now stop it.

I am not trying to troll I am just trying to get a sense for what NeoGaf is. These forums are more thought provoking and sensible in my opinion then what I see in NeoGaf. I am not trying to join, I'm just intrigued by the people on that site who seem to have information faster then the gaming press. At the rate their pages fill up I wonder if everyone on that site was an insider of some kind? I'd rather stay in these forums because everyone here has a more "gamer" perspective than the people at Gaf.

Right of course and the registration button is also very "easy" to miss.

And they don't really get the news that fast, they get it as fast as anyone with google access do, so of course they are not insiders or anything remotely like that. The only difference is that most gamespot and other news sites frequent that site a lot more and there are different community managers also.

But in the end the site is no different from Gamespot, its just a lot more messy and have a much higher user count. perhaps because the forums there isent filled with spam each day and they have staff who actually uses it.

You do not need to be an industry insider to join.

In one thread in which homosexual activists harassed and intimidated a family cake business into closing, I stated that from certain perspectives, that community mightseemhate-filled (that caused that business to shut down for not selling a wedding cake to a homosexual couple because of their sexual orientation). Some users responded sardonically at that notion and I was subsequently banned. I made several attempts to resolve the situation with the NeoGAF moderators, but they refused to even respond to my emails. I felt like I was treated unfairly. That site had some things I am interested in discussing and users I would have liked to converse with, but that community seemed to not like my perception enough that I got a lifetime ban.

My advice if you get your account approved is to avoid topics like that because they do not seem to be thinking with fair and balanced minds there.

@BranKetra:

that's kind of messed up.

Chances are if you have a paid e-mail address and an interest in games you either are:

a) A videogame journalist of some kind (with direct access to press releases) or,

b) Working on the creation side of the industry

So yeah, the type of person on Neogaf may well have better news sources than your random Gamespotter.

@Articuno76: Internet Service Provider, education, or workplace email addresses are acceptable. I just used my university assigned email address.

I learned a lot of things in this thread about NeoGAF that I never knew before. So thanks everybody.

At this point, I am not sure if you are referring to their response or mine. Text can convey only so much of an intended message and I suppose that is what led to my account being banned there.

There response to you. Getting banned for having a different opinion is a little harsh I think.

I enjoy browsing Neogaf a lot, but it does seem like people get banned for the smallest of infractions. Almost doesn't seem worth it. I registered about 4 months ago, and am still unable to log on. Says my user names and passwords are incorrect, and I know they're not. So for all I know, I've been banned already.