The Hylia - You Can't Handle the Truth

Home | Features | You Can't Handle the Truth

April Fools has come and gone, but the effects apparently still are lingering. I'm not in the mood to get into any heated debates, but quite frankly, the fact that so much negative feedback is coming out now is sickening. I'm getting tired of this mob mentality against this site and myself, and I'm not going to let stupid little rumors persist. And for the last time, no other site is the authority on my site, so whatever you've read about The Hylia elsewhere regarding the events of the past few days is a crock.

I think I'll take this time to set the record straight. While it's been fun, I need to give this information out before any other morons continue their stupid rumor mongering and trolling. For starters, thank you to the many voices of reason in the community who actually "got" what happened. For the rest of you who want my head, I'll get to you a bit later on how hypocritical you are.

To begin with, I bashed Hyrule.net for their hoax weeks ago, which was ill-timed and very detrimental because not only was it fake news/media, the site asked for opinions on the ordeal, making people waste their own time and energy to help the hoax work. Let's not forget Hyrule.net, like many other fan sites, is a site driven by ad sales and traffic revenue. Keep that in mind when comparing stuff like this to The Hylia (which is nonprofit). Anyway, I purposely posted in my update back then, "Still, again, I strongly oppose creating a hoax for any purpose (except the one I'm concocting now for April Fools - hint). "

Are you kidding me? Numerous fans pointed this out. I thought with that out in the public, there was absolutely no doubt people wouldn't get it was a hoax. Not to mention, last year, I only did something VERY SIMILAR. I posted an announcement BEFORE APRIL FOOLS and then delivered the "hoax" on April 1. Yes, I understand this time, I started even earlier - but how was I supposed to pull it off? Regardless, I really thought the interview was blatantly fake. But again, I proved myself wrong.

Apparently, contrary to those who claim it was obviously fake, several news sites and fans thought it was very real. Some even thought it was overhyped and not even a shocking interview (I really think the timeline's importance has gone to hell after seeing the reactions). I was shocked myself - I got a dose of my own hoax. So, I added more stuff to push it over the edge. Most of you got it was fake then.

With the "account suspended" thing, I simply copied a legit page which was suspended, and replaced my index file. I deleted all my site files, and renamed all folders. Some of you were clever enough to check my host, which I left in the html page title, and saw the account was perfectly fine. Many of you also figured out every other former page was an Error 404, giving you more evidence it was fake.

Then, on April 1st, I finished the hoax. The update even said I was trying to hurt the domain's reputation, which I thought would clear up the interview was not real. But alas, even now, news sites and fans are still asking if it is a real interview. This has me a bit worried about the community in general. Are we that starved that we're willing to believe anything? Perhaps people knew the interview was fake, but still wanted to believe it anyway. Regardless, I thought I did everything possible but say it was a hoax to ruin the surprise.

Most people applauded my work. They thought it was very clever and convincing. Many prominent news sites and Zelda fan site webmasters/editors said this. Yet, there are a few bad seeds that sprung from this incident. In particular, to no surprise, sites and people who have had issues with me in the past found this as a perfect opportunity to again ridicule me and try to bash my site and I. Quite frankly, it's pathetic, and those who sought this as a chance to take shots at me are also pathetic losers.

Before I say anything else, here's one last clarification of what happened, and what didn't:

Truth:
- Nintendo of America, Inc, did contact me regarding the interview. Apparently they thought it was going to be legit, despite me listing an NOA staff as part of the interview.
- I did go to Japan last year, but the interview I was promised did not happen.
- I am going to E3 and the Nintendo Media Conference, and may meet Aonuma face to face finally (one can hope, right)?

Fake:
- The interview with Eiji Aonuma (it didn't happen).
- A good deal of information in the article, in particular the delay reason, the timeline information, and the Revolution functionality specifics with Twilight Princess.
- Niels taking over my domains and bringing back ZHQ. Oddly enough, many of you didn't even know who he was, many bashed the site layout, and several of you voiced strong opinions against "Niels" in the forums.

So why did I do this? Many have accused me of wanting attention or traffic. Well, what a great theory. Not only did I disable my traffic counters for nearly all of two days during the prime of the hoax (see my stat counter, please), I do not make a penny off this site. I spend lots of money on this site and my hobby, and I never ask for a cent in return. Why the hell should I make money off Zelda if I don't create it or cover it professionally? I'm not a whore, and I'm not a cheap skate. This site is done for pure fandom, damn what anyone else says. Traffic numbers do not impress me, and they are not important to me. As for attention, do you really think this was about me? As it seems, many of you are mad at me - so this surely did "wonders" for my image. Just a bit wrong with that theory, aren't you guys?

I did this because I enjoy getting caught up in the spirit and emotion of special events. Certain people told me April Fools isn't even a holiday. Since when does the government determine what is a holiday or not. Jewish holidays aren't official holidays recognized by many governments - we don't get days off for them here in the US. But Jewish people still celebrate them. Yes, I get their holidays are still recognized as "official", but who the hell determines if it is official. If millions of people are engaging in the festivities, I think that qualifies it as a holiday. Some people think the Super Bowl is a holiday. Hell, some people think Festivus is a real holiday (if you don't know what Festivus is, leave now).

With the rise of the internet, it's nearly impossible to "trick" people with the plethora of resources available for the average person to use to verify authenticity. People have argued a hoax has to be funny to be appropriate. Forgive me, I thought a hoax was something designed to deceive people, and comedy was not a requisite. I think I did a great job of this both last year and this year. But still people whined that because I didn't do it on April 1, it was wrong. Give me a break. It was close enough, and it was part of a larger "hoax" which culminated on April 1. It wasn't like I put this hoax out there in the beginning of March, like say, Hyrule.net's photo. Why is there so much backlash against me, and there was so little against them?

Obvious answer - I've made a lot of enemies, and a lot of people are mysteriously jealous of me (what the hell do I have that is so great? Honestly, I do not see it). These two factors combined to give people an opportune chance to raise their pitch forks and torches against me. All in all, this "hoax" has shown me quite a bit. That there are still many of you who hold stupid, pointless grudges and can't grow up. It shows me rumors can substantiate in this community very easily, as people have been saying absolute BS about me that's completely untrue as well as people making up fake news (other than April Fools). It shows perhaps some of you need to chill out, enjoy your life a bit more, and perhaps cut back on the Internet or gaming for awhile and not take things at face value so much.

I'm not apologizing, I didn't do anything wrong. I'm not looking to mend ways with anymore people, I've said my peace to everyone I can think of, and whatever you think of me now is where I'll leave it at. Not everyone will like everyone, and the more attention your name gets, the more stereotypes and rumors fly around you. I guess I'm just not used to all of this "attention" on such a wide scale level, and the consequences it has brought. Those who point out I shouldn't care what others think should know this - I am deeply passionate about Zelda. When people talk trash about me in regards to Zelda, I feel I must stand up to it.

What's more amazing is how people believe this event destroys my credibility, and that I have a history of lying. I'm not sure where this comes from, but it makes me laugh. My site has been cited by many of the other Zelda fan sites you frequent, as well as major news sites, including IGN, 1Up.com, GameSpot, Planet GameCube, and many more. I saw this claim made quite a few times this weekend; "This interview isn't on IGN, so it's not real". Yet, those same people will have in their signatures "You can't spell IGNorance without IGN". Let that sink in. I mean, Reggie Fils-Aime has lied...how many times now? Aonuma? Shigeru Miaymoto himself? Where's the lynching for them? I'm beginning to understand what Matt Casamassina feels being an editor of IGN. Perhaps it is us, the fans, who are being "assamassinas" and need to shut up and realize we do not know everything and we do not know what is best.

Still, I think I have learned my lesson. People will always have opinions, and the more I stick around this community, the more certain people will become angry with me for whatever reasons, and the more certain people will become my friends and will give me good company. I've also learned perhaps I am held to a higher standard of judgment, and I need to begin acting in accordance with it. So, not only will I never pull a hoax like this again on April 1st (or any other time), I may simply never do another April 1 hoax again. If I do, it will be ON APRIL 1, and will be completely obvious, stupid, and will not be about anything remotely "legit". I think that will prevent anything like this from happening again.

To those who enjoyed this whole thing, thank you for your kind words. To those who felt the need to continue to attack me for whatever reasons, glad I could help you out with the fuel for the flames. This wasn't done to "prove a point" or to have some beneficial moral message. I just did it to be a part of April Fools, and to be another active member of the community.

That's the truth.