Canyon, Coffee, and Conversation

[Incredible Bullshitting Man]

-Just snipping-

What we need is less talk about ourselves and more actual bridge building. We already have a thread for introductions (an official one, I might add.) I understand where you´re going with this, and I fully support your worthy endeavour. I too have seen the grouping that is, and has been, taking place in The Escapist; On one side we have the old guys, monuments from days long gone, and on the other new stars are rising. Additionally, there is the middle group: The non-profilic ones. These three mingle like oil and water. Nothing wrong with that, though. It´s only natural, and very human. However, we don´t have to just blindly accept this. Instead of talking about ourselves, we could be using this thread to get to know people outside our own...class, a bit like what I´m doing now.

Which takes me to my next point: I don´t remember ever having talked to you before. It´s funny; We are roughly the same age, but because you have been here over a year(!), you seem so much older than me. Ridiculous, isn´t it. Now, I doubt we will be chatting together very much in future, but let me at least offer you a hand shake as a gesture of goodwill and cordiality.

So, how have you been?

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

I don´t remember ever having talked to you before. It´s funny; We are roughly the same age, but because you have been here over a year(!), you seem so much older than me. Ridiculous, isn´t it. Now, I doubt we will be chatting together very much in future, but let me at least offer you a hand shake as a gesture of goodwill and cordiality. So, how have you been?

It's most just familiarity with the site. I'm honestly not any more or less clever than anyone in my age group. I guess because I've had a few things published puts up an air of credibility as well. Who knows, honestly?

I've been good, though I've been a little off-put by this divide on the forums. When I first joined, I had a sense of community. If the old faces were around more often, I'd probably feel like part of a community. The problem is most of those I goofed around with aren't really posting any more, or have even left entirely. So it feels like I'm an old face that people maybe see as haughty, when I'm instead more or less without a community to lean on?

Or maybe I'm being over-analytical...

Other than that, enjoying the Cockney thread a lot more than I should.

 

[Labyrinth]

I don´t remember ever having talked to you before. It´s funny; We are roughly the same age, but because you have been here over a year(!), you seem so much older than me. Ridiculous, isn´t it. Now, I doubt we will be chatting together very much in future, but let me at least offer you a hand shake as a gesture of goodwill and cordiality. So, how have you been?

It's most just familiarity with the site. I'm honestly not any more or less clever than anyone in my age group. I guess because I've had a few things published puts up an air of credibility as well. Who knows, honestly?

I've been good, though I've been a little off-put by this divide on the forums. When I first joined, I had a sense of community. If the old faces were around more often, I'd probably feel like part of a community. The problem is most of those I goofed around with aren't really posting any more, or have even left entirely. So it feels like I'm an old face that people maybe see as haughty, when I'm instead more or less without a community to lean on?

Or maybe I'm being over-analytical...

Other than that, enjoying the Cockney thread a lot more than I should.

Smaller forums don't get as cliquey. I think that some of the older users need to hop off their pedestal just as a lot of the newer users need to lift their game. Comes down to a bit of empathy, comradre even.

I think it helps that so many of us laugh at ourselves above all else. We never want for entertainment that way.

 

[Ultrajoe]

Or maybe I'm being over-analytical...

I concur, but it's a common mistake people make when considering the generational nature of the forums. Don't think so hard. All that's changed is the level of familiarity, not the people populating the forums (well, apart from the ones we've gained/lost), and the fact that people in new contexts appear to change. What you witness is your own brand of you-ness in a new light, exposed to strange new winds and opinions from your peers. So what 'NewClassic' meant a year ago is now something different to the NewClassic of today, without you ever changing. You only think you're different or that people think you're different because you think you're different. How delightfully meta.

So while you might think yourself haughty, all you're doing is acting very familiar to unfamiliar people. It's what gives some of our older users some understandable grumbling ammunition and can lead to some of the newer folks getting the wrong idea about them. What i'm (poorly) trying to conclude is that generations here are based more on perceptions than join date. Join date just alters perceptions. That's why certain people and personalities shift and slide through the cliques and friendships with ease, they aren't welded to a certain viewpoint. Empathy is the compass of the internet (I'm writing that down).

Also. I'm Ultrajoe. I haven't changed much.

EDIT: Bugger off Labyrinth, Empathy was my call.

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

EDIT: Bugger off Labyrinth, Empathy was my call.

Just an unnecessary aside to say that the resulting fight from this should be awesome.

That's why certain people and personalities shift and slide through the cliques and friendships with ease, they aren't welded to a certain viewpoint.

I think it helps that so many of us laugh at ourselves above all else. We never want for entertainment that way.

I think part of it is an implied barrier though. Even though it's technically beyond my control, the italicized name, old post date, and (relatively) high post count makes it seem more divided to the younger members. I remember when I first joined, I was really, really intimidated by folks like PurpleRain and mjhhiv. At the time, they were mostly who was around, so I just made due. If I were to have joined yesterday, though, it'd be a lot easier to post with folks closer to my "Escapist age", and seemingly someone I have more in common with. So the faces that know one another are a lot more approachable than someone like mister Monitorhead, or that ninja that wears purple. But again, just speculation.

So I don't think it's an air of pompous some much as an implied distance that is there only in perception, not practice. Which is why I'm making threads like these, to hopefully encourage things to be less... Impenetrable?

That, and I'm certain there are many cool folks I haven't met yet.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

My name is mshcherbatskaya and I'm one of the self-proclaimed grumpy old farts on the forums. This doesn't really reference my join date for the Escapist which was, lemme see...February 2008. I'm a grumpy old fart in Real Life too, and I joined that in November 1969. I'm also gay, feminist, and crazy, again, both here and in Real Life. Make of that what you will.

If you actually read my posts in Off-Topic, you will note that I am verbose and prone to pretensions of a leftist political sort. If you read my posts in the RP forum, you will note that I am verbose and prone to pretensions of a literary sort. My claim to fame, such as it is, is the RP, epic in size and glacial in posting pace, Star Wars: Queen of Hearts. It is, for all intents and purposes, a collaborative novel. Aaaaaand, I owe Ultrajoe an edit of his latest post submission so he can pull it together and write it up and actually, y'know, post it. I haven't done it yet, though, because it is not entirely uncommon for me to suck.

I don't post as much in Off-Topic as I used to. I could conceivably post more in the RP section, but the RPs I am in (QoH and Ratings War) tend to be longish stories posted on a less frequent basis. Oh! And User Groups! I like the user groups and tend to natter on quite a bit in the Azeroth Escapists. That would be the WoW group, and yes, I am one of those people who plays That Game.

 

[Labyrinth]

EDIT: Bugger off Labyrinth, Empathy was my call.

Just an unnecessary aside to say that the resulting fight from this should be awesome.

What do you think we're planning for the Epic Shenanigans at Escapism this year? Hell, I think I might bring my bansword and all. It will be awesome.

 

[bluepilot]

My name is bluepilot, I am a British ex-pat now living in Japan. I do research here into international language development and learning. I joined the escapist is an attempt to keep in touch with the English speaking world, because I am forgetting English more and more everyday.

I do not think anyone really knows who I am. I enjoy off-topic discussions, sometimes gaming, but just cannot get the hang of RPs. I am at the age of struggling with independance so I have no money and only have a DS console. I have to go to my friend`s house to play wii, other than that, I spend a huge amount of time in arcades. I love retro games and I do not understand online gaming.

I get quoted a lot, so I think the things I say sometimes resonate with others. Keeping in touch with the English speaking community like this makes me happy.

I like all the inside jokes that go on. I do not understand them all but I think they are funny.

I do not mind the division, it seems you have to be put through the ropes before you get accepted on the inside circle anyway. C`est la vie (I think)

 

[Fire Daemon]

When I talk about bubble communities this is exactly what I mean. No one listens to me though, no, what would I know? I've only been talking about these for a damn year and a half now!

Anyway, I'm Fire Daemon. I am what I like to call a shadow-poster. One that has been around for people to know of but is seen so rarely (due to low post rate of staying only in one forum) that many other people have no idea of their existence. So you end up with this thing were some people say hello to you because of a friendship or something while others stare at you wondering who the hell you are. There are a few of us although you will probably never know them all, I'll probably never know them are. There are a lot. Are you a shadow-poster or does everyone know your name? Personally I think it's better to be a shadow-poster. You fit through the gaps and go away for a large amount of time without anyone caring or even noticing.

Anyway, I've done a ton load of stuff on this forum but to tell you would only be like holding a north sided magnet against a north sided magnet. I can tell you all about what happened to me on The Escapist but to do so would only push you away unless you know about all this stuff, in which case you wouldn't care. I can tell you stuff that I do know though, right? I judge the Ratings War III with two other people, I make the odd post every now and again and sometimes (although rarely) am found in the IRC. I don't really do anything else except read posts. It's fun, I guess.

EDIT: I guess I should say some more.

First: Bubble communities.

A bubble community is a community made of bubbles. Each bubble is separate to another but some bubbles can contain numerous bubbles. Each bubble represents a divide, or split, in the community. The most obvious divides is between the different forums. Gaming Discussion is a bubble while off-topic is another bubble. It is possible to cross these bubbles but most of the time you don't. You stick to your own bubble and stay there. The introduction of usergroups and the ignore function is only strengthening this. I've been talking about this stuff now for a long time, a year at least although most likely more.

Second: Myself.

I'm a 17 year old student in an average Australian city. I play games every now and again, I read, watch movies blah blah blah. All this information can be found on my info panel. If you want to know about me, you'd read it. What you may not know is, I'm incredibly quick to anger but quicker to suppress that anger. I flip-flop and change my mind all the time, often during arguments. I don't have strong feelings on anything and have this odd ability to see things from both sides. I'm an all around not caring guy. I read everything with the word Fire as a description. The story behind my Avatar is that I started to use forest critters as an MSN display picture to annoy a friend and when I grew tired of my old Dragon avatar I changed to my current one. I really don't think this thread will achieve much but I'm running out of time and have to go soon. Let me just say that these threads only attract people who know those that are talking.

 

[Galletea]

I'm Galletea, or Gtea, or even Gall if you prefer. Been here a while, I was part of instigating the Holiday thread trend thing at the height of my presence here, and now I mainly lurk, offering my concise opinions here and there. I guess in groupings, I'm from the generation of NewClassic et al, and generally try to ignore the divide, and the random rantings of somewhat bitter older members. While I'm here I'm mostly on the irc, so most of my friends are from there.
Other than that, I suppose you could check my profile and find out.

 

[JemJar]

Hello. My name is Jem. Not in the birth certificate sense but only banks and the police call me anything else.

I am 24, English and deeply normal. I consider myself to by a "nice guy" but occasionally get sucked into cynicism and gloom. Today is a good day, so I am smiley and happy. Have a lovely day.

I'm an atheist and whilst I debate the mess of faith, belief, religion and hope I'd desperately like to be able to believe there's something more out there. But wanting to believe isn't quite the same as believing.

I don't currently work, but anyone who's been stalking me on here will have noted that I'm soon to leave England for Marseilles for a job. And will also pick up that I'm a mechanical engineer by education.

Forum-wise I'm generally sceptical of anyone with an apparently high post rate (no. of posts / time since join) - I freely admit that there is a certain amount of blind prejudice here but I defend myself with the claim that the most interesting poster will be those who either put thought into their words or get out enough to have other things to talk about. Or both.

And beyond that I write my own Formula 1 blog for my own entertainment (current readership: 2 if I'm lucky), game a bit, drum a bit, run a bit, fail to learn French a bit, go to the gym a bit.

 

[Jamanticus]

You know what a typical Escapist does when faced with a perceived problem on the forums?

Navel-gazing.

We have a perceived problem on the forums, so let us all look at our belly-buttons and say how unique and special we all are.

But that has nothing do to with my main points.

You know for a fact that one or two or even 50 threads will do very little to change the atmosphere here at the Escapist one way or another. I've seen numerous threads (by you, NewClassic, no less) that were thought out and carefully written, but got no more than a few posts in them before being run over by incoming forum traffic of favorite brands of energy powder.

Just last week, RAK was talking of how great threads get swept under the rug as more and more topics get made.

And this gap you speak of... I'm beginning to think that it's something that comes with the whole 'Escapist Community' package.

In September of 2008 there were people saying that all these 'new users' (who are now supposedly veteran posters)

were beginning to make the forums decay.

That didn't happen.

I was guilty of saying the snobby users

were the ones who would topple these forums.

That never happened either.

Everywhere I've looked on these forums, I've seen a community. Like any community, it has its share of complete jerks, intelligent people, elitists, sociopathic murderer wannabes, pricks, friendly people, assertive people, trollish people, happy people, sad people, etc.

And some people don't get along with other people. Just from the diversity we have here, there will automatically be gaps, cliques, strife, and all of that bad stuff.

You can't get rid of this gap without fundamentally changing the way each member of these forums thinks.

So let's all just make sure to enjoy these forums and make good posts. That's general good stuff to do on forums, so why not do that and let the stuff nobody can control do what it will.

And about me... I play the cello and I am a fan of fractals.

 

[scotth266]

Howdy.

I'm scotth266. I joined these forums back in January, leaping directly into the Game Discussion section. I quickly grew bored of the threads I found there though, and migrated into the News section, as well as the User Reviews section. I apparently arrived right as the rift between the old and new members was starting to form, and as such do not consider myself a member of either group, even though most would probably still consider me to be new. I've made several threads in my day, and written quite a few videogame/manga reviews, as well as random articles on whatever catches my interest.

I don't post as much as I used to in my prime: back then, I was all over the User Reviews section, correcting everyone's mistakes. However, once I made the now-stickied Your Review And You thread, I sort of gave up on criticism: I was all tuckered out. I still read what people post, but I don't comment unless the review is really unique (such as Nuetral Drow's recent reviews of visual novels, or whatever Say Anything has happened to post recently.)

As far as my political views go, I'm apparently a Libertarian/Republican mix. Generally though, I bill myself as "conservative."

I can bit a tad judgemental, and I've jumped the gun a few times in my day, but I've tried to keep myself in check. It's worked, for the most part. I, like Fire Daemon, consider myself to be a Shadow Poster: I'm pretty sure that only a few people know me, and I'm content with that.

Spoiler: Me grumbling.

I've had many fun days on these forums, but lately I've been getting the distinct feeling that I'm not welcome here, particularly in the Off-Topic section. A long time ago, I made a thread (titled Religion Threads: The Cold War Of The Escapist Forums) that listed bad trends in religion threads, and then asked the community if we could overcome these issues and make a non-flamey religious discussion for once. The first few pages were good, and sparked my hopes. These were quickly crushed, with a wave of bashing that (ironically) served as real-time examples of some of the bad trends I had listed. Ever since then, I've had a severe dislike of religion threads, and this dislike has only increased over time as I see more and more people posting the same old anti-religious propaganda that I listed in that now-deleted thread. I have similar feelings about political threads, which tend to devolve into "Republicans suck" threads.

 

[Labyrinth]

*Snip*

That second picture is so full of pretentious WIN it's almost dripping from my monitor. I guess that's what I get for having LCD.

Of course we're special! Of course we're unique! We're Escaparios man, denizens of the internet's Lighthouse of Alexandria. However we're all citizens together. There's always going to be people accusing other people of Ruining Everything ArghLargLagrLarghhhh!! I'm with you that the best we can do is to post well. Just a matter of convincing the whole forum that it's worth taking pride in.

 

[justnotcricket]

Part of the reason for my slim post count is that any Escapism I indulge in has to be crobarred into my schedule as a research chemist. Chemistry, as I should warn all those interested in getting into it, (what, no rush of eager volunteers? =P) takes an enjoyable but prohibitively long time to research ;-). Outside the lab, when I get the chance to see natural light and not live in a slightly chilled vacuum, I play in an orchestra and do ballet - and game of course!

Another chemistry type? We've got a few of you poor, poor souls here. I almost was one myself, but saw the Biology/professional grad school light before it was too late. Got out just in time to avoid taking the dreaded P-chem.

You mean physical chemistry? =)

 

[Lord Krunk]

Hi, my name is Lord Krunk. You might remember me as that guy with the sticky.

I've been around since March 2008, but I never really became a part of the community until the fabled Escapist Election, where I got to mingle with, compete against, and make friends with a multitude of the users that make this forum as great as it is.

I've never really done anything of note, and I'm a rather apathetic person in real life, which detracts from my social skills and makes me more of a 'background player' in the community. But I have always been around, posting, lurking, and writing for fun where I can, but not as memorably as faces like Ultrajoe, Labyrinth, NewClassic or Max.

So yeah, that's all you really need to know about me without looking at my profile.

I'm around most of the time, and I'm occasionally on IRC as well.

You'll notice a lot of people talk about MaxTheReaper and NeonBob. They all have their own in-jokes, their own community, their own thing.

They have in-jokes? Now I do feel old.

Which I shouldn't, considering how young I am.

 

[Incredible Bullshitting Man]

*snip*

It´s good that you´ve been good. All good, yes.

I can never stop wondering, how short the internet life is. Things change terribly fast here. After only a year you can become a landmark. When you leave, people who stay behind start using you as an object for nostalgia: "Oh, I remember the ancient days, last summer, when that guy was still around." Groups form and reform in an instant, especially in places with very high traffic, so it can be hard to achieve the sense of community you´re looking for. Almost every forum I´ve been visiting are exactly the same as The Escapist. I guess this is just the way forums are. We don´t have to like it, and in our own seemingly futile way we can try to do something about it.

Even gaze at our own navels. It´s okay, as long as we aren´t just admiring its beauty and uniqueness, but instead examining its possible faults. Of course it´s good to sometimes look outside the box.

Anyway, things are relatively OK. No need to be overtly nervous or anxious. Just chilling. Although I really should start writing again. I have a pile of unfinished stories collecting dust at the corner of my table, in addition to other assignments. Oh well, I think I´ll lurk just a few more minutes.

 

[Neonbob]

I understand this is a thread about community, so can please someone tell me:

What the fuck was Necroswanson banned for?!

I think he was banned for losing his temper and ranting at the entire community.
That was the gist of his post, after all.

 

[Lord Krunk]

I understand this is a thread about community, so can please someone tell me:

What the fuck was Necroswanson banned for?!

I think he was banned for losing his temper and ranting at the entire community.
That was the gist of his post, after all.

Not to mention describing murder as 'natural as eating'.