The Sonic 2 Beta Page
From Sonic Retro
The Sonic 2 Beta Page (formerly Simon Wai's Sonic 2 Beta or SWS2B) is a website dedicated to the Sonic 2 Beta ROM found by Simon Wai. Originally hosted on Emulation Zone and left for two years to the care of Pelord, the site eventually moved to private hosting while the Sonic 2 Beta message board became Sonic Classic. Today, it stands as the most in-depth site covering Sonic 2 Beta, and its forums are considered among the best within the Sonic hacking scene.
As of September 6, 2006, Simon left the scene for good. He handed full control of the site over to LocalH, who continues to administrate the site and forums for the foreseeable future. This prompted the site to be renamed to The Sonic 2 Beta Page.
Upon gaining control of the site, LocalH appointed Tweaker as the third forum administrator, and in LocalH's punctuated absence Tweaker has found himself running the forums. He gave rika, Qjimbo, Stealth, and Cinossu moderator positions. Website maintinence is led by Qjimbo, who delegates to Aurochs as necessary.
In mid-March 2007, the website moved to Qjimbo's webhosting, and he was given administrator priveliges.
Forums
The S2B forums are considered by many to be the main area for modern Sonic hacking. Protected by a required entrance exam and the Pending Approval system, the amount of "misfits" is kept to a minimum. In addition to the hacking and research held in the main forums, there is an active social side to S2B, with notable memes such as the Gallery of Dumbasses and the S2B IRC channel (run indepentenly of the site.)
In Feburary 2007 the forum was put through a second cleanout, and users are now offered to pass two choices of quiz's created mainly by Sazpaimon (as other members showed little interest in contributing to the quiz). The effect of this cleanout on the board has been unclear, as although there is less drama, it seems to have decreased the amount of charismatic members on the board (though many also left due to previous conflicts with the new administration). There has also been some critisism that the trial member system isn't treated seriously, thus undermining the purpose of the cleanout.
As of September 6, 2006, the IRC channel is now official, on a trial-run basis.