Now I was intending to write a short little blurb about my spectacularly uncomfortable million-dollar-mancrush on Mr. Destructoid. I could show you some creepy, poorly photoshopped pictures of us on our "honeymoon". I could produce some horribly out of focus "sex tape" depicting my love for a grotesque Destructoid simulacrum made of cardboard and orange safelights, and then glossed over with green spray paint. But alas, there is no blog capable of containing my perverted obsession with one of the most glorious machines I have ever laid eyes upon. That, and if I ever did such a thing I'd be issued a restraining order and put on every FBI watchlist ever. So instead, I'll just write about the site and the people who inhabit it.

Part of the reason I keep coming to Destructoid is because of the layout. It's changed a good bit over the last year or so (or at least, I think it has), but the overall design philosophy has remained the same. Articles are tagged reliably, everything that isn't an article is on the sidebar, and everything is a pleasing shade of red or green. Everything's exactly where I expect to find it (except mistagged c-blogs, of course), and the site is simple to navigate. That's all I really ask of a site; good design. But it's the community that really gives Destructoid its distinctive feel. And at the heart of the community is the comment system

The comment system is so beautifully simple. No upvoting and downvoting of comments, no "mark this as spam" feature or "report this comment" button. Everything you see below the main article is a mass of unfiltered opinion, debate, and sometimes spam. But what makes it so odd is that more often than not the banter at the bottom of the page is actually productive and, even more surprising, friendly. Sure, we've got our fair share of trolls and fanboys here on Destructoid, but for every idiotic comment shat out by some internet half-wit, there are about three more that actually argue a valid point. Destructoid is the only gaming site I've been to that has ever influenced my opinion of a game. And it's not because of the great editing staff or even the stories themselves, it's because Destructoid gives gamers a soapbox and an opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with any of the editors who devote their full time and effort to the site.

Now I'll admit I've never been on the forums. I'm probably missing out on a significant part of some complete "Destructoid experience". But it doesn't matter. There are enough ways to be involved in the Destructoid community that even the most casual reader can get sucked in. Not everyone has the time to record a podcast or get involved in FNF, but anyone can take a few minutes to post a comment or a shortblog, or even just vote on the reddit page.

Well this has post has gotten longer than I had intended, so I'll just wrap this up. I probably sound pretty sappy with all this talk of brotherhood and camaraderie, but the fact of the matter is that Destructoid is the only community that actually feels like a community to me. What about you, Destructoid?