Jul 4, 2026 06:07 AM
(This post was last modified: Jul 4, 2026 06:13 AM by Pr0m3th3us.)
Where to start...
I have been on HF for over 11 years now. Looking back at my post history, I was active when I first joined in 2015, slowly tapered off for the next two years, and then made a single thread in 2019 before dropping off completely. I couldn't honestly tell you why, I just don't remember. I can honestly say, though, that back then, I contributed nothing useful to the forum. Like your buddy who smokes your weed and then bounces home to play COD.
Fast forward to 2024. I was working a job where I basically sat around doing nothing until someone explicitly brought me something to work on. Sometimes I would go a whole week without seeing anyone. Because I was so incredibly bored, I started drinking a bit at work, and then more when I got home. That boredom is also what brought me back to HF. I had a lot to catch up on...the Bytes system was totally new to me, the political landscape was crazy so the old politics section was lit up, and I also discovered I was locked out of my Coinbase account, which sucked (no clue if anything was even in it).
The Shenanigans & Group Hopping
I quickly got myself into some HF trouble because Deany and I were basically shitposting in the contest threads all day long. We did it so much that Omni actually changed the rules to 1 post per entry (sorry, Omni). We exploited the system, can you blame us? So unfortunately, I still bear that mark of 2,138 posts in the contests area :(.
Moving on, it was right around this contest fiasco that I joined @Chrome@'s new(?) group, "Pulse". Immediately got shit on by old users like @Sox@ and his whole gang of misfits. I still have no clue what that was about, but oh well. Eventually, the group was closed, and I joined another... Secret Society. I can't say much about this, but I was very excited to start doing what the group did. I was just getting things set up when BAM! @Zelos@ pulled an exit scam. Another group down.
Suddenly I was groupless. Omni ran a flash sale on lifetime Uber, so naturally I hopped on that (I was previously L337 lifetime). I tried to join a couple of other groups and finally got into Warriors, a long-standing group I am still proud to call my first real HF "group".
Real Life Struggles
At some point in 2024, I was officially diagnosed with a shitty medical condition that I’ve had most of my life but never wanted diagnosed. I was given meds, which I am 100% against (fuck big pharma). I won't say much more due to OPSEC, but it's a mental condition, and it sucks. I hated my job, I was drinking vodka to help with the boredom, and then putting away about 15 beers at home, which obviously didn't help. I even made a shitpost thread Getting Hammered Tonight. Eventually, I quit that job. I bounced around a couple of other jobs, but nothing substantial, and eventually had to quit those too due to my medical stuff.
I’ve been unemployed for a little over a year now. The trade I'm certified in is fairly niche and dying off, so there aren't a lot of prospects and honestly, I just didn't want to do it anymore. I applied to probably well over 400 jobs during this time with absolutely nothing to show for it.
After drinking heavily every day for years and spending over $400 a month on alcohol, I finally decided I needed to tone it down. Over the past 4 months or so, I've been tapering myself off. Currently, I'm down from 15+ drinks to 6-8 a day. The threads by Rsynced have helped a lot with that process, so thanks man.
The IT Resurgence & The Brotherhood
During this year of unemployment, I have had a massive resurgence in my thirst for IT knowledge, and 100% of the credit for that goes to HF. Mostly from user Bastille (miss you ya French bastard, wish you would come back). I've never formally worked in IT, but I built my first computer at 15 and have been around them my whole life. I bought a cheap Dell laptop locally for 20 bucks, installed Parrot OS, and made it my daily driver. I use it every day now, learning more and more, tweaking the system exactly how I want it.
One day I was on HF talking to 7, and I think he was also drunk because he invited me to The Brotherhood. This group has been amazing and is a huge part of my recent resurgence. Honestly, it's half the reason I'm writing this thread lol.
Since joining, I’ve made a couple of threads for a Brotherhood contest (you can find them on my profile if you're interested). I’ve also had a couple of users ask me to make some tutorials for them, so I jumped on that—huge thanks to Weekend Offender, cl0udzz, and DeathPenalty666. The CyberSec series by Mastercarder also inspired me. Since I am halfway talented at writing, I decided to start my own series called {Hacks, Scams, and Exploits}. You can check those out in the News and Happenings section.
Looking Forward
Months ago, I started looking into entry-level IT jobs and noticed almost all of them require a CompTIA A+ cert. I started taking practice exams once a week and usually scored just barely above passing, but sometimes failed. I did the math: between the price of the two tests, potential retakes, study materials, and the stress...it was cheaper and easier to just use @Undead@'s bypass exam service. I finally saved up the money, and the deal was done. Thanks bro.
I then used Claude to build a resume specifically designed to bypass all those damn AI resume filters. I applied to only 10 fucking jobs and already landed 2 interviews in less than a week. Wild.
I will continue to use Hack Forums and contribute as much as my small brain can. I am incredibly thankful for this place. Thank you Omniscient, Charlie Sheen, and the whole gang.
![[Image: ezgif-com-optimize-2.gif]](https://i.ibb.co/4R9K0LzW/ezgif-com-optimize-2.gif)
![[Image: zMpMcDB.png]](https://i.imgur.com/zMpMcDB.png)
