The "nishi" in 2ch is real Nishi.
First of all, 2channel (http://2ch.net ) is an extremely nationally
recognized "hell hole" BBS system where virtually everyone can utter
politically incorrect opinions incognito (without revealing name). Special
syntax and spelling "rules" are observed (I'll explain this later).
While 2ch was once infamous for being a host to certain murderer who
hijacked a bus, nowadays 2ch is also seems as good debate ground. Of course
there is an MSX BBS too.
The "Nishi Kazuhiko of ASCII retired being executive?" thread initially
appeared weeks ago, and wretches who claimed they were ASCII employees were
recalling ASCII inside feud. Sudddenly, a guy claiming "nishi" appeared and
started accusing them in "I know you!", "stop lying!", "you fool!" kind of
way. The audiences were really pleased.
Of course everyone doubted "nishi" to be an imposter. So "nishi" began
disclosing his e-mail address ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) and announced he would reply
to anyone who would write him. To everyone's surprise, "nishi" actually
replied to all e-mails he replied.
Days went by, nishi became more and more familiar with those guys who find
peace in having touch with nishi, who gets irritated easily shouting "aho"
(you fool) "urusai" (shut up) even "kane wo moukete kara ie" (only those who
ever made money is allowed to say that kind of thing) a word which certainly
is not a man neck-deep in 45000000000 yen of debt is allowed to say. ;) A
lot of people slander and make fun of him, but nishi seems to be finding
peace in being a "chubo" (kitchen/junior high school student), a title
applied to 2channel frequenters.
Nishi is currently even planning meeting with his fan chubos.
Nishi is very proud being an MSX guy, and is fully convinced he'll succeed
(without firm reason; nishi too often is unrealistic). He seems to have a
lot of personal problems; he is short-tempered, has very bad memory,
arrogant, and worst of all, accepts only flatteries and refuses any negative
comments thrown at him. But I think Nishi is a good "mate" as long as he is
not a boss of your company. ;)
Note on 2ch
1) A lot of terms are spelled in transliterated kanjis; I mean, kanjis
pronounced same but with greatly different meanings. For instance, "chubo"
means kitchen, but is used as reference to junior high school student which
is also pronounced "chubo", and nowadays "chubo" term tends to refer to
anyone in 2channel. Also, "smile" or "'lol" is almost always spelled "wara"
that literally means "straw" but is used as transliteration of "laughter".
There are an army of transliterations and deliberate spelling mistakes,
which, needless to say, render automatic translation TOTALLY USELESS.
2) Many subscribers share same name. In case of Nishi's thread, 90% of
people are "nanashisan@dottokomu" (nameless@dotcom). This happens because,
in 2channel, most people are encouraged to omit their name, which result in
origination of one standardized name provided to each of the BBS genres. A
few people (like "nishi") sticks to one fixed name, though.
3) ASCII arts are occasionally posted to provide good laugh, biting insult
or just for fun. Some of them are taken from old anime or face of the
Japanese prime minister, but most of them feature cats called Monaa. Monaas
are de facto official 2channel mascots. They are cute, but often depicted
doing impolite acts such as murder. Even Nishi draws Monaa. ;)
4) Large percentages of postings are totally meaningless. Some of them are
deliberate lies. Fictions fabricated to irritate or entertain audiences are
called "neta", and are tolerated.
Notes specific to "nishi"
Nishi never uses ">" when he quotes. He quotes, then writes ":::::::::::::"
and then his answer.
When Nishi leaves, he announces what time he will appear next. But he often
appears in other times without warning. At this point, Nishi's last
next-appearance announcement is 10:00 (Japan time) of June 24.
Takamichi
--
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