[AMA] Audiosurfer

Status
Not open for further replies.

Audiosurfer

I'd rather be sleeping
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus

This Ask Me Anything (AMA) thread is a resource provided to you by the Smogon Mentorship Program. In it, feel free to ask this mentor about anything you'd like. They're most prepared to answer Smogon-related questions, but don't be afraid to ask them about their personality and life outside of this site. Have some patience when you post a question in this thread; it will likely take the mentor a few days to reply. If you're looking for our up-to-date list of mentors, check out our Mentor Profiles onsite. Read through their relevant information below, and enjoy!


Username: Audiosurfer
Areas of Expertise: Doubles, Contributions & Corrections, IRC

Background: I do a lot of stuff with the Doubles forum, and am one of the mods of both the Doubles forum and the Doubles Contibutions & Corrections forums. I've got SOPs in #doubles and am a room owner in the Doubles PS room.

Hobbies: I love listening to music (Last.fm in signature), reading books & finance magazines, watching TV (Downton Abbey, Legend of Korra, America's Next Top Model, various other cartoons & comedies, etc.), write, and play Doubles and Randbats.

Favorite Pokemon: Cresselia :)

Good Questions to Ask Me: If you're interested in knowing anything about the Doubles tier, such as how to teambuild, how I got involved w/ it, or how you can get involved in it, I'm your guy. Also great for questions regarding C&C since I do plenty of stuff there too. I have experience in other areas of the site though (played NU for a while, do Smog writeups, am involved w/ Other Metagames, and have had brief stints in many other site areas) so if you're curious about them or something more often than not I can answer your question, although like I said I'm best regarding Doubles stuff.
 
Last edited:

a fairy

is a Tournament Directoris a Site Content Manageris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Social Media Contributor Alumnus
Community Leader
What's the main difference between Doubles and VGC that you tell people who don't know the difference, aside that it's Smogon run?
 

Audiosurfer

I'd rather be sleeping
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
What's the main difference between Doubles and VGC that you tell people who don't know the difference, aside that it's Smogon run?
6v6 as opposed to 4v4 and there are mons that aren't allowed in VGC that are legal in Smogon Doubles are usually the differences I mention first
Why haven't you given yourself a title? ¬_¬
Don't see a need to do so really. It's funny too cuz before I got badged I used to brainstorm all the potential titles I'd have if it ever happened but once it actually happened I didn't really do that
How long did it take for you to make this thread and simultaneously announce it on IRC?
Likely less than a minute
 

Audiosurfer

I'd rather be sleeping
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
How would you convince a player who has never dabbled into Doubles to play Doubles? :)
I would tell them about how fun it is, how diverse it is, how it's a very balanced tier as opposed to other tiers that shan't be named where bans are going on like every other week, how you can actually earn badges for doing stuff in the tier despite how new it is (for those who are more focused on that sorta thing), how the tier is growing every day, how the knowledge you gain is easy to carry over to other doubles tiers, and how we've got a fun and lively group of people involved in the tier already and we're always looking for new people :) actually got an article coming up that talks about some of the cool things about the tier as well, so I'd point them there too.
 

Audiosurfer

I'd rather be sleeping
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
favorite frog mon?
Are you gay?
Why do you read books?
Froakie. Politoed just looks kinda weird and is lame, Poliwrath is kinda cool too tho.

No, I'm completely straight.

Because books are interesting, and make me feel like I'm not wasting time while still being entertaining. I also like to have actual books instead of ebooks (old fashioned). I've actually started reading a lot of finance magazines recently though which are also pretty cool.
 
Do you have a cool inspirational quote that you like?

Who is your favorite user that you met in the past three weeks? ;)

What do you think is the best thing doubles has over singles?

Are you gay?

Is Cresselia really your favorite Pokemon or do you like it because it's good in doubles? If it is your favorite, why?

What are ways to you get Double's Leaderboard points?
 
Last edited:

Pocket

be the upgraded version of me
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
What genre of music do you predominantly listen to? Any particular favorite bands? Why not download Spotify, which is the best thing for music lovers :] Are you also a musician?

How were you introduced to Doubles? What keeps you motivated in contributing regularly to Doubles? Any particular advice or goal you have in mind for Doubles community?
What do you dislike about XY Dubs in comparison to BW Dubs? What do you like about XY Dubs?
Underrated Doubles mon?

EDIT: What are the areas where Doubles community can make improvements?
What are potential team ideas that you're thinking of testing out in the future?
 

Audiosurfer

I'd rather be sleeping
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Do you have a cool inspirational quote that you like?

Who is your favorite user that you met in the past three weeks? ;)

What do you think is the best thing doubles has over singles?

Are you gay?

Is Cresselia really your favorite Pokemon or do you like it because it's good in doubles? If it is your favorite, why?

What are ways to you get Double's Leaderboard points?
not really, closest i get to that is song lines really. is this some roundabout way of seeing if i'll get a ct?

not you

doubles is just more enjoyable to me. the added pokemon make for increased versatility in move selection and teambuilding to which is cool

no

Cresselia is one of my favorites. It's good in Doubles which is part of it, but it's also really nice aesthetically which is cool too. Plus it's a moon duck, what's not to like? Truthfully tho it's only one of my favorites now. Latias would probably be my favorite but it was chosen already so I went with cress.

Posting well on the doubles forums, writin up articles about doubles for the smog, doing well in tournaments, contributing art for forum projects, completinf some of the new achievements, etc. there are really so many ways you can earn points since the leaderboard aims to recognize the many ways people can contribute to a tier, which is something really cool and unique about it.

What genre of music do you predominantly listen to? Any particular favorite bands? Why not download Spotify, which is the best thing for music lovers :] Are you also a musician?

How were you introduced to Doubles? What keeps you motivated in contributing regularly to Doubles? Any particular advice or goal you have in mind for Doubles community?
What do you dislike about XY Dubs in comparison to BW Dubs? What do you like about XY Dubs?
Underrated Doubles mon?

EDIT: What are the areas where Doubles community can make improvements?
What are potential team ideas that you're thinking of testing out in the future?
I literally listen to so many things as one could tell from my last fm (in my sig). Joanna newsom and the wu tang clan can coexist on my iPod, along with a million other things. If there was one I'd guess I listened to most it'd probably be rock or rap, although I listen to music more on an artist basis than by genre.

I already have spotify boy, had had it for some time. Dunno what I'd do without it either. It's so good :) basically use my starred list as a "to get later" list and I think I've got as many songs starred as on my iPod now lol (5-6gb I think). 1007 tracks starred, 1035 on iPod now. Sadly since I switched to ubuntu I can't get iTunes and thus can't synch new tracks to my iPod without using someone else's pc :/

No, not a musician. Can sing fairly well and played piano for a few years. Also did church choir stuff and have performed songs to get Ito a few different programs recently. Wouldn't call myself a musician though.

Weird turn of events really. Started with Solace's well thread. Since everyone kept talking about VGC on it, I decided to find out what VGC was out of curiosity. I read some of the onsite articles about it and double battling seemed really cool, but the whole ingame aspect seemed daunting for a whole list of reasons (thought it would involve a lot of grinding, didn't have a ds, didn't know where to really learn about vgc, etc). One day I was just browsing forums when I saw the initial doubles thread from when it was still an om. I remember coming onto #doubles after building a team using old VGC 2012 set info and playing polop. Beat him since his whole team was walled by Heatran lol. Found the game fun so I kept coming back and played more and the rest is history I guess.

Initially I wanted to be on the leaderboard lol. I saw people's names up there and thought it'd be cool to be recognized for doing something so I tried to post well and such to end up on there. After a while though I started to feel like it was a community I was really apart of, so I became more invested in its future and was thus more willing to do stuff involving the tier. Now that I occupy more of a leadership role I guess, I just try to get things done that I think need to be completed in the tier, or take on roles that could be beneficial to the tier. sometimes it can lead to things being worn thin at times but it's worked out pretty well thusfar. Really though I just enjoy the tier and want to see it succeed which is what gets me to contribute. If I ever stop caring I'll step aside and let others take over the work, but I find it to be p. enjoyable, especially considering how much headway has been made so far. Another thing is that since I've been able to be apart of the tiers development for so long, it really gives you a different appreciation for the tier than if you joined an already established tier. Coming from times where the tier's existence seemed to be pretty uncertain going forward, you don't really take for granted the need for things like a strong amount of leadership the way you might when you just join into a tier and it seems like everything has just always been there.

My main goals are to have the tier become more well-known and have a higher level of player skill overall. Want to be able to have people come to the tier and be able to get quality doubles knowledge. Would like to improve the reputation of the tier onsite since right now it's kind of underrated by plenty of outsiders. I'd also like for more established users to get involved with the tier, either singles players already on smogon or vgcers looking to try something new. A more straightforward goal that would be cool is if the best smogon doubles players were on par with or better than the best from a place like nugget bridge, although that's a bit far off. My advice for those looking to get involved with the tier is to just do it. We're always looking for new people and are pretty welcoming on IRC (link in my signature). Also, while going from singles to doubles might seem kind of daunting, it really isn't. The vast majority of people who play it now started off as singles players with little to no doubles experience, which shows the transition is more than possible.

Thing I dislike would be probably the loss of gems. I really enjoyed using them and thy were a big part of gen 5 doubles so they will be missed. In addition, all of the random nerfs to special attacks were really lame and unnecessary, especially to hidden power. Priority drop of follow me/rage powder also bites since you can't redirect fake out anymore.

Plenty of the new megas have been really fun to play around with as well as some of the new mons in general. outside of megas I like the will-o-wisp buff a lot. Thought I'd hate the permanent weather nerf but I've actually been enjoying it as well. Has been really cool strategy wise having to monitor your remaining turns of weather and adds another layer of strategy to the game.

Azumarill doesn't get as much credit as it should from most people, so I'll go with that. I've been enjoying playing with submegadactyl as well.

Having more consistency when it comes to projects and leadership as well as gaining more publicity as a community. Encouraging good posting by new users is always important since that has a direct effect on how people perceive the tier. Another way even those that don't necessarily want to contribute in other ways can help would simply be to try and improve their playing. The more great players we have, the better the tier looks and the better for the tier. There've been plenty of improvements in some of these categories though which is nice :)

Probably just rain offense or something. Don't have anything in particular planned really since I'm waiting for pokebank. Might continue to develop team e rank though considering its success lol

Sorry if any of these responses didn't make sense, I types em up on my iPod so lemme know if they need further clarifying.
 
Last edited:
What would you say is your greatest Smogon-related achievement?
What would you say is your greatest "real-life" achievement?

And that thing about iTunes; I run Ubuntu too, and I use a program called Wine (www.winehq.org) to run Windows programs on it. In fact right now I'm using it to play Peggle in another window (yeah, I'm unashamed to say that). I don't know whether iTunes is compatible with it but I've never found a program that isn't.
 
Last edited:

Pocket

be the upgraded version of me
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
ty for caring so much about Doubles ;) I am happy to hear your candid input!

never quit Doubles plz >_<

PS: I'll check out Joanna newsom and the wu tang clan, thanks ;d
 
Where do you learn your clever and beautiful trash-talking skills?

Can we schedule more battles for the sake of talking trash to each other? Bitch.
 

Audiosurfer

I'd rather be sleeping
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
ty for caring so much about Doubles ;) I am happy to hear your candid input!

never quit Doubles plz >_<

PS: I'll check out Joanna newsom and the wu tang clan, thanks ;d
I don't plan on it. And you really should, they're both amazing :)

What would you say is your greatest Smogon-related achievement?
What would you say is your greatest "real-life" achievement?

And that thing about iTunes; I run Ubuntu too, and and I use a program called Wine (www.winehq.org) to run Windows programs on it. In fact right now I'm playing Peggle in another window (yeah, I'm unashamed to say that).
Hmm. Becoming one of the project leaders for doubles back in its om days was really cool. Other things were when i became a mod, got my first badge, and got on a team for wcop. I remember not so much being super excited when I got my first badge but just thinkin it was really cool (I've literally read like every thread in IS since then lol, even ones from years back. Or maybe especially those ones) so I'll go with that.

I don't take too many real life accomplishments seriously tbh. Maybe I just don't accomplish much (somethin I'm tryna change about my life) or I just underrate em. My favorite accomplishments is how I'll answer if you don't mind since that's probably easier answer. Back in 5th grade I earned over 1000 accelerated reader points in one year which was really cool, especially since it set a record. I also got a near perfect score on my isats that year which was cool too. Other thing I'm glad about getting into my current high school (#55 in nation whatup /endbragging) and being accepted in a few different programs.

A fellow ubuntu brother :) I know about wine but never thought of using it for iTunes. Used it for steam a while back but now it's on ubuntu so when I finally made the switch from windows 7 I didn't get it. That's a smart idea though. I'll try it, thanks :)
Where do you learn your clever and beautiful trash-talking skills?

Can we schedule more battles for the sake of talking trash to each other? Bitch.
It's a gift :)

I guess you can dork, but I will humiliate you
 
will you ever play ingame mons w me/go to vgcs :(

also gimmie sets that you like to battle with, or sets that you tend to gravitate towards
 

Audiosurfer

I'd rather be sleeping
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
will you ever play ingame mons w me/go to vgcs :(

also gimmie sets that you like to battle with, or sets that you tend to gravitate towards
buy me a 3ds and i will. real talk though, i was actually thinking about gettin a 2ds and trying it but then kingofkongs told me how there are not any regionals near me so i didnt want to plunk down the money for it.

stealth rock ttar, bulky rotom-w, standard kang, sub ground-type (varies really), sd scizor, chestorest cress are some that i enjoy using on a good portion of my teams.
 
Do you have a favorite team 'theme' (weather,tr,tailwind,goodstuffs)?

And how do you start building a team?
 

Audiosurfer

I'd rather be sleeping
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Do you have a favorite team 'theme' (weather,tr,tailwind,goodstuffs)?

And how do you start building a team?
If I had to pick one I'd say goodstuffs since it's really solid and has nice matchups across the board (most good weather teams share elements with goodstuffs though and I don't really consider tailwind to be a very great play style even though it is popular. Think it's more something you use as opposed to something you build a team around.) Trick room is cool but I don't really build full on trick room teams very often.

I usually pick a set or two mons that I wanna build around or try, and I just try and pick mons that support those as much as possible. Once I have mons I fill in sets and once I have that I make ev spreads. Then I test it and try and patch up flaws where necessary (another weird thing I have is I don't like teams with ugly color schemes lol although I've mostly gotten over that). But yeah teambuilding doesn't takefor me, testing is where the magic happens. But yeah in short I just take cool ideas I have and run with them to see what happens. I build a lot of teams in general (or at least try to spend time doing so) so that way I have plenty of experience with mons to draw from and I'm less likely to fall into periods where my teams all start looking the same. Also lets me test sets myself and find gems as opposed to just relying on what others think about a mon, which is cool.
 
best wu-tang song?!?!

will you make a rym?!?!

any metal you are interested in?!?! if so i can give you recs!!!

speaking of recs since you like rap i recommend this album i think you'll like it!!!

#tybas
 

Audiosurfer

I'd rather be sleeping
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
best wu-tang song?!?!

will you make a rym?!?!

any metal you are interested in?!?! if so i can give you recs!!!

speaking of recs since you like rap i recommend this album i think you'll like it!!!

#tybas
tough question. at this moment in time i'd say da mystery of chessboxin but it could change

maybe if i knew more about it and the benefits of having one. right now i can say im not opposed to it

not really, never listened to any. closest i've gotten would probs be like sunbather or is survived by (by touche amore) but can't say how close those are to what actual metal is (might be missing some but like i said don't know what qualifies as metal). feel free to suggest any particularly good metal albums from this year though

i'll definitely give it a spin, thanks for the suggestion :)

amen
 
Do you love foster's home for imaginary friends?
Also what are some of the biggest pet peeves that user's do? or just things that really bug you on the forums.
 

Audiosurfer

I'd rather be sleeping
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Do you love foster's home for imaginary friends?
Also what are some of the biggest pet peeves that user's do? or just things that really bug you on the forums.
ofc

people who go out of their way to annoy others or just make the site less enjoyable in general. also people who act as though one owes it to them to put up w/ behaviour that wouldn't slide in the real world just for bein new or because it's the internet or whatever. also also people who don't seem to get that when ppl contribute it's not because they're gettin a check in the mail or anything. in terms of more substantive pet peeves, when people keep highlightin me on irc to say stupid stuff or if they keep spectating all of my games that can get old.

edit: some of that stuff doesnt hapen to much but when it does it's annoyin. another one is when ppl keep spammin bad jokes or just genrally unfunny or stupid things. and when people post on forums like they're on IRC

wow that was more stuff than i expected lol
 
dont leave smogon that is not a question
favorite doubles noob?
you plan on winning against me(no hax i promise ;-;)
gl with life man, hope to see you again on smogon :(
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top