RAM: Old and Gray

[Lord Krunk]

Ah I was mistaken, I think I started posting more regularly (I.E. not just leaving comments on Yahtzee videos) in early '09. When I first registered I tended to lurk a lot more than I contributed to discussions.

Oh, okay then. But regardless, the time you joined was still within the parameters of the Golden Age, so to speak.

And when I said groups in my post I didn't mean like fanboys, haters, etc I simply meant that (it seemed to me anyways) the Escapist Celebrities tended to usually group together/interact with each other a lot more than people do now (As you said Eggo tended to lean towards the'Troll' side of the spectrum, but he still seemed to have a relationship with the more serious posters).

Hmm, I never really noticed that. I mean, there is the IRC and the Holiday Council, but I never really considered that segregation (I used to frequent the IRC, but ultimately decided it wasn't for me). But considering the relationships between posters like the banter between Furburt and Hubilub, or just how well Nuke and Labyrinth are acquainted (a lot of rants/parodies/stuff that either of them do is usually in conjunction with the other), and the awesomeness of the Larenxis/Purplerain romance, I can see where you're coming from.

 

[Cherry Cola]

My eyes! They can't take so much awesome truth!

I have to hand it to you, you have gotten me to rethink about all My past actions. All the fussing and fighting because of being new or old seems so... Pointless right now.

Maybe we don't know each other that well, but I respect you a damn lot.

Although, I know a good few Escapians on a personal level. I'm even visiting Furburt this summer. I know his mother by first name! That's some solid friendship right there! Either that or it's indicating that I'm sleeping with his mom... Which is totally cool with me.

 

[Kamaitachi]

These things never really happen to forums that you pay for.
mainly because all the idiots who post one word responses tend to think "I'm never really going to be writing any articles, just posting funny motivationals, I guess I shouldn't need to pay for that, back to 4chan..."

I would be perfectly willing to pay for the escapist, but the main problem is, im shure members that commonly write, long, well though out posts might also desert us if it becomes a paid forum.
I think perhaps the only solution is to hope we don't change much more.

I mean, the escapist is pretty good right now, not in its prime, but still really good, I would hate to see it deteriorate.

 

[DuplicateValue]

I don't know about that really - I joined during the time of the "new escapist" or whatever, and I like to think I've gotten to know some of the people here as individuals. There are people I like, people I hate, and people that I recognise for one reason or another.

Though, before I started spending time in forum games, the community did feel a little impersonal. I've rarely had any memorable encounters with people in Off-Topic.

 

[Space Spoons]

I guess I came to the Escapist during what's being referred to as the Golden Age or whatever, but I have to say, I just don't feel as much kinship with other older users. Maybe I didn't do enough to ingratiate myself to the community, or maybe it's just my kind of thing. Either way, it was and still is the case that I respect these forums quite a lot, but don't really have any stronger attachments to its users than I do any other forum. This isn't to say there aren't awesome users here... I just don't know too many of them that well.

As for the perceived decline in quality posts... It happens. Forums get popular, and the number of inane posts quickly buries the posts that are important. What's worth pointing out, though, is that the good posts are still there. They're harder to find, sure, but they're still there. This thread is a great example of that.

These things never really happen to forums that you pay for.
mainly because all the idiots who post one word responses tend to think "I'm never really going to be writing any articles, just posting funny motivationals, I guess I shouldn't need to pay for that, back to 4chan..."

I would be perfectly willing to pay for the escapist, but the main problem is, im shure members that commonly write, long, well though out posts might also desert us if it becomes a paid forum.
I think perhaps the only solution is to hope we don't change much more.

I mean, the escapist is pretty good right now, not in its prime, but still really good, I would hate to see it deteriorate.

I think I should point out that one of the most popular paid forum websites, the Something Awful forums, is not without its flaws. You'd be surprised how many people there are who are willing to pay $10 to be annoying on a message board. I think if the Escapist went to a paid format, the number of undesirable posts would decrease slightly, but would never peter out entirely.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I have to hand it to you, you have gotten me to rethink about all My past actions. All the fussing and fighting because of being new or old seems so... Pointless right now.

That's what I was thinking, it's a matter of mentality. We can still make something good of it, and The Escapist forums are still a big step above many other gaming-related forums.

I do think that we as a forum couldn't go back to the 'golden days' again, we have indeed passed a point of no return, it's what you get if you become popular. And why worry about the inevitable? We just have to deal with it.

But this does make me curious and raises a question; can you, as a more recent user, enter this still existing, close-knit community? How to not drown in the endless sea of 'one-sentence-posters' as I call them, and really become part of the community which is still obviously there but just less noticeable through the larger crowd.

 

[Poopie McGhee]

Interesting... I was "using" this site for about six months or so before finally giving it my email address, and I must say that it's (for the most part) quite a bit more civil than other gaming sites out in the "Internet Ocean"... The thing I most admire though is how in the comments for the articles there's not two pages of people proclaiming (sometimes wrongly) their numerical order as compared to others...
I know that it's a bit off track, but I guess what I'm getting at is that even though we are a collective, we are (for the most part)
a civil, intelligent(sic?), people... Which is why I am pretty proud to be a member of "The little e"...
Sure it's a little hard to meet "Persons", those you do meet are usually pretty cool...
[sub]Thank you for reading this :~P[/sub]

 

[Superbeast]

I don't think so, September was during The Escapist Election, a time that I fondly remember. The real surge happened early 2009, as the majority of people's join dates reflect. This is not meant to be in offense to any that joined within that time, I know and talk to quite a few of you.

I think, though, that this paragraph which I quoted ties in strongly with Nuke's OP, because in 2007/8 we weren't groups, we were people. Individuals with individual personalities, recognisable and lovable in their own ways. For example, Eggo. A troll by any other name, but a computer whiz like no other. Anarchemitis, a sophisticated genius with an adoration for parodical humour and steampunk. Khell_Sennett, whose rants are both idealistic and persuasive at the same time. I could go on forever, but I won't.

Nowadays, we are segregated into groups. We have fanboys, haters, nationalities, cultures, skill and beliefs that define where we are in the social structure of The Escapist. And while this was all around back then, it was hardly the be-all and end-all of things, we were all people with preferences, and we respected that as such.

As a sidenote, I'm fondly remembering my early months of posting, where everything I typed was a collossal word-wall. I spent longer as a Copy Clerk than I did as a Pulitzer Laureate.

I lurked for a while before I joined, and I joined Jan 09 - just when a lot of other people were starting to register too. I reckon I just caught the end of the "Golden Age" as it were. for instance I remember Eggo's annoying (yet entertaining) troll-threads, and his computer wizardry.

But this does make me curious and raises a question; can you, as a more recent user, enter this still existing, close-knit community? How to not drown in the endless sea of 'one-sentence-posters' as I call them, and really become part of the community which is still obviously there but just less noticeable through the larger crowd.

It does seem to be difficult. I haven't really integrated until now, I've only just really joined in the user groups.

It's very difficult to try to enter into the conversation in P.R.I.A.T.E for example - mentioning it since I've seen Hubilub in this thread - (joined yesterday, still wondering what the hell I'm going to say) - it seems everyone gets on really well and there's loads of inside jokes, a bit like starting a new school really I guess, but because you are faceless it's harder to introduce yourself and so on.

 

[Erana]

I very much consider myself part of the 'new wave' here on the Escapist, having arrived here for no other reason than a link to a Zero Punctuation video (posted on 4chan's /v/, to add imaginary insult to perceived injury), but I am very much aware of the process you describe, and have experienced its effects first-hand on several different forums.

The most annoying part to me, while realizing that I am just as much to blame for this as anyone else, is the way people respond to threads. As I mentioned in another thread, I made a thread about something game-related that I felt strongly about in an attempt to start a meaningful discussion on the subject, but most of what I ende up doing was repeating myself over and over for four pages because everyone felt entitled to share their opinion without even trying to keep any real discussion going apart from the occasionally quoted post. Some time after that I made another thread containing something that required a minimal amount of reading or writing and didn't contain anything worth thinking about for more than three seconds, and it immediately reached more than 10 pages.

Needless to say this annoyed me, but I guess it's only logical. The only alternative is to change forums whenever the current one gets too populous, but I feel I've done my share of forumhopping, and it's time to stick around a bit.

For now.

I've been bothered by this too; I've resolved to make a movement towards boycotting low-content threads. I hope others will do the same. I mean, isn't that what the forum games are for?
I worry that people obsess about their post count a bit, and will opt to post where they can, rather than use their discretion.

I am more and more intrigued about the Old Escapist I keep hearing about. Because it sounds like a good place. The sole reason I joined this place is because it had a more personal feel to it, though coming from the cold steel prison that is GameSpot, it was a big leap.

I do fear that perhaps some of the older member idolize this Golden Age. Though reading some of the threads around, I'm partially to blame perhaps. Though that isn't to say I haven't made an effort to get to know people better, more specifically the people that have added me as a friend or whom I have added myself.

I'm definitely part of the most recent wave of members, having only joined in late 09. And I'm not a particularly known user either. There seems to be a big thing about people being judged by their post count, which is a bit on the silly side. I just post when I've got something I wanna say, though I'm guilty myself in making one or two half assed threads.

Sometimes intelligent conversation seems to be sacrificed for the sake of humour, something I've noticed in a great deal of threads and something I'm guilty of myself. Every now and then there will be a good topic, but we're all so busy trying to scream our own opinions at the top of our lungs, there's never any room for actual discussion. It just ends up with a series of posts of "I think that..." and "In my opinion..." or "Fuck you, I don't think that..."

Ah, the golden age. It was real. Not necessarily guilded, but... Well...

i see

While i cant speak for everyone...

In my eyes, it doesnt really matter, its not as if this place will fall apart. Its a business and it shall continue until it is no longer economicly viable.

Yes i understand you have your intimate group of people you skype with or whatever. It seems to me that you, and others, are trying too hard to turn this place into some sort of hug time-friends hour where we discuss machiavellian concepts and the meaning of love...give me a break. Everyone comes here for their own reasons, sure the quantity of people who come here shape its values etc etc. Some choose to take it personally and attempt change in some way or another, yet others show up and have their fun and are happy with that. I come back to my business aspect, the more hits and people this place draws the better it is for the entire site as a whole. Would you rather have this place turn into warcry? If i remember correctly everyone there started on this complaining path about the "past" and eventually threw a giant hissy fit...now its a wasteland. Im ranting a bit, regardless. Its just as easy to ignore these things, make a group, or just simply head elsewhere. We all cant live up to peoples expectations of intelligence...and if im honest those standards border on ridiculous. Ive said it so many times before, this place is a video game website, their draws are bad flash animation and an english man reviewing video games with cursing. Maybe im not seeing this utopia people keep painting, there hasnt been much change in my eyes, it all comes and goes. Complaining certainly doesnt change things, neither do these threads that everyone forgets about or ignores. Just accept that the little niche website you joined so very long ago is now a big boy and can take care of its own issues.

I gotta address both of you with this:
The "golden age" that is so often referred to was just a matter of unspoken social rules. Its the little things that make a cordial demeanor, like offering to let someone else go before you through a door, or to speak flatteringly towards your fellow interlocutor.
If those around you reciprecate your politeness, then everyone's all happy and merry. If you're in a group, and everyone notices that one person is taking advantage of this, they may be somehow dealt with.
This is the model of the early Escapist. No one wanted to be the one jerk, and if someone was considered as such, the mods were not in the least bit afraid to take action.

If we return to the hypothetical situation, lets add a significant number of people who are not afraid to accept whatever is offered to them by the politeness of others and run with it. They aren't technically doing anything wrong- just always taking people up on offers of sharing or assistance, without ever giving the same to others, 'n such.
With so many people not technically doing anything wrong, the group authority can't rightly say that unspecific behavior of half the population is disruptive, and is unable to step in if they follow universal ideals.
The cordial people are left with two choices- either continue to do the nice thing and become the doormat to others, or to go with the flow and snap up any opportunities available.

"This is a gaming site" is true, and probably isn't going to change any time soon. Subtle, unwritten social practices are not etched out, and are by no means easy to moderate. Even things like "post quality" are impossible to truly define. And you're right, xmegatr0nx, this is a part of a business, and yes, by its nature, this forum and its users are transient. Some want to make the IRC/skorgy group out as the Escapist community, and its not. Between usergroups and a plethora of boards, addressing the "escapist community" is like trying to address the "christian community" or the "british community."

But all I really expect from the Escapist users is that in any social sub-circle, the priority is on promoting a good discussion, or just a good time for everyone involved.

 

[TimeLord]

Also; Just ignore Furburt, he may be absorbed by his own post count in the end.

My question for you is why should I ignore Furburt? Simply because of his post-count? Isn't that just as bad as ignoring you for relative your lack-thereof?

That wasn't my point, I don't mind Furburt, he isn't rude or offensive or in the way. Twas just a joke.

However people who ignore other users because of their post count really "grinds my gears" (as much as I hate that phrase)

 

[TimeLord]

Also; Just ignore Furburt, he may be absorbed by his own post count in the end.

My question for you is why should I ignore Furburt? Simply because of his post-count? Isn't that just as bad as ignoring you for relative your lack-thereof?

I'm just going to inject a little bit here.

I think that a lot of poster put more effort into their overall post count, rather their individual posts. Posts seem to be some form of representation of a users reknown, so a poster that makes 1000 slash dot posts is likely to be more notable than a user that has made 200 or so meaningful posts.

Aha, thank you that was my point. I have been on this site for nearly a year and a half and have 1500 odd posts, Furburt has been here less than a year (?) and has what? 12,000? I'm suuuure he puts a lot of thought and effort into every single one.

But like I said before, I don't mind Furburt, he isn't rude or offense or in the way he's just "there" and thats fine.

EDIT: oops double post, sorry

The "golden age" that is so often referred to was just a matter of unspoken social rules. Its the little things that make a cordial demeanor, like offering to let someone else go before you through a door, or to speak flatteringly towards your fellow interlocutor.
If those around you reciprecate your politeness, then everyone's all happy and merry. If you're in a group, and everyone notices that one person is taking advantage of this, they may be somehow dealt with.
This is the model of the early Escapist. No one wanted to be the one jerk, and if someone was considered as such, the mods were not in the least bit afraid to take action.

This "Golden Age" for which some are so obviously still connected with. Was a time when there wasn't 6 or 7 different video series', less posters attracted to the site, less User Groups (if they even existed back then, I am unsure) so less attraction to this site from the outside.

I admit, I was originally drawn here by ZP like a fairly large proportion of everyone.

However, there are still good people on this site, OP for instance, many of whom were born into the "Golden Age" and have lived through it towards what the site is today, and they don't like it. I myself started here a year and a half ago. I don't know if that was still "Golden Age" or not but the site was pretty succinct and punchy. Like it is now. only larger, with more videos, content and the like.
Which if fair enough and if they want to leave or try to make everyone aware of that fact then I will not object. However with the Escapist itself getting larger every month with new ideas brought in (LRR, the new web comic competition etc) then this is bound to happen.

However (again) you said about the mods "were not in the least bit afraid to take action" back in that time. Personally I'd say nothing has changed now. The mods dispense swift justice and help anyone who needs it. Hell Ultrajoe himself is a previously banned user and now a mod, if that doesn't show that we are one of the best sites on the web then I don't know what will.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Now, I could tell you Labyrinth's first name,

But you still forget wikkle old me.

Anyway, I can possibly solve this with some ease (well, not solve exactly, but at least provide some insight)

Nothing's changed.

Seriously, it's not the forum that's changed, it's just the numbers and a certain number in particular, one hundred and fifty - Dunbar's Number [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar%27s_number].

See, the human brain can only keep around 150 social relationships, and as the sites been growing, those 150 have been used up so fast. (because it's rare we forget certain...more prolific posters...) [And seriously, some of them were just damn annoying]

Now, let's say you have 300 friends on here, you can only keep track of half of them, and those that pull away are little anchors that remind you of 'the glory days' when things actually weren't that glorious. I remember some shit-storms, lost positive threads and all out name-calling that used to go on.

BUT...with the increased traffic, there has been an increase in getting things past the mods because they're only human. (Try reporting every breach you see and time how long it takes you to get sick of it)

The community hasn't been lost, it's just slipped into groups that don't talk as much as they used to (or perhaps should do), what with the console wars, and the 4chan wars and the Lady Gaga wars and all, we've all become disassociated from why we came here in the first place and of course we're gonna feel put upon.

It's called growing up. It was horrid the first time, and it's horrid now.

If you'd done a similar post back 3 years ago Newk, would anyone have paid any notice or just jumped in with their Troll killing equipment? It's time for us to change and see what we can do to bring people into the fold, or retreat to our own little vaults where we bob the Hawaiian doll and dream of "proper times".

Time marches on. Careful you don't get trodden on.

 

[Cherry Cola]

Also; Just ignore Furburt, he may be absorbed by his own post count in the end.

My question for you is why should I ignore Furburt? Simply because of his post-count? Isn't that just as bad as ignoring you for relative your lack-thereof?

That wasn't my point, I don't mind Furburt, he isn't rude or offensive or in the way. Twas just a joke.

However people who ignore other users because of their post count really "grinds my gears" (as much as I hate that phrase)

Then don't use that phrase. Make up your own! Here, I'll help you.

So you want a phrase that conveys the message of you being annoyed by someone or something... We need it to be modern and spiffy! I'm thinking... slang! Slang is popular with the kids these days.

We can have it in Teenie bopper pink or Original gangsta gunmetal gray. Since what's popular today is raping the English language by abusing vowels, let's do that. Anywhere you would put 1 vowel, we will now put 3. And anywhere you would put 2, we will put 4.

Now we have to take a word with a negative meaning that we can transform into something hideous and so unlike the original word that we can claim it as our own! Ok, I'm thinking.. annoying.. noo... bad! No.. Irritating! That will work!

Ok, now just inject the mainstream stereotypes in there... and you have...

Iiiryng

HURRAY! Now insert it in your sentence and it becomes:

"However people who ignore other users because of their post count are really iiiryng"

Mission Accomplished

 

[teh_gunslinger]

I think you make some good points Nuke and you spell out a lot of what I've been thinking about with the Escapist community for the last year or so.

As can be seen on my join date I've been here for quite a while but I've not made a lot of posts. I'd like to think that it's because I only post when I have something to contribute. Truthfully though, that's probably not the case. But I'm fairly sure I've made some decent contributions amongst all my drivel. In the same time I've made 4 threads I think and the most responses I got was 60 I think. Not that those 60 were bad. It was enough to highlight all sides of the topic, counter back and forth and reach a tentative agreement. In this case on the futility of original storytelling.

I can also tell you Labyrinths first name, I've got Root on my Steam list, I've gotten cookies from Combined any number of times, I've asked Eggo advice on computers and so on and so forth. Oh and the endless discussion with Cudly on religion. Good times. Now I'm not a "big" name like Nuke but over time I got to know a couple of people here. And that's all well and good.

But those "friendships" were just a side effect. I came here for the threads. And boy, were there threads. I never contributed a lot as smarter people usually did it better and more eloquently but I sure gobbled them all up.

These days I seem to spend my time going down the page, skipping an endless slew of 'Your favourite...' or 'Worst/best (Insert thing here) ever'. While threads like that have their merit, however small, they just don't entertain me as much.

Eh, perhaps I'm just getting too misty eyed here and should just move on. Though this also reminds me of an old thread called 'Flowers for Escapist' in a way. And Eternal September.

 

[Heart of Darkness]

Spoiler: *snip*

*snip*

Which makes shorter, cookie-cutter threads so appealing. Shorter posts means that the collective people can digest it all in one sitting, and get by with shorter posts--my favorite game is xxx, the protagonist from xxx is smug and arrogant, etc. And I agree with you that this masks our individual identities onto one, faceless legion. Without longer posts, we can't always discern every person's individual nuances, their specific personality, what makes them tick, to use a cliche'. It's just a post n' run mentality.

*snip*

Another well thought-out post - I've selected the bit that drew my attention.

Since I've commented on the "thread issue" in other topics around this nature, I would just like to say that none of the people that have been here for a while take umbrage of shorter threads per se. If someone can provide a thought-provoking, discussion-inducing thread with only a few lines and/or supported with a quote, then it's perfectly acceptable and probably preferable to the larger blocks of text (as people do skip over the longer-winded posts).

However there is an issue of...annoyance...with threads that are just "what's your favourite X". Sure, they are short-posts and only require short answers, so they gain a lot of replies. However there is no discussion for the most part, and quite a risk of things dissolving into hostilities as one side attacks the other over their choice in X - particularly if it's music or videogames.

And it's not just the post-and-run and lack of discussion that infuriates people either, it's the fact that topics usually get buried very quickly (look where the similar topic to this has gone, and that was only being addressed last night - page 9 or something now). So they crop up again a day or two later. Seeing "What's your favourite X[sub]1[/sub]" a couple of days or a week after the last thread on the topic just becomes a pain - particularly if it's a hostile thread such as say...about Halo. And even more-so when it spawns an offspring topic of "What's wrong with X[sub]1[/sub]" that degenerates even faster than the topic it came from.

But anyway this is now going way off-topic, as although this posting nature is an effect of the community currently on the Escapist, it is not actually *about* the changing nature of the community itself. But I just wanted to mention, and clarify a thing or two as I may have given the wrong impression in a previous thread.

I understand that some older users don't like shorter, content-deficient threads. But it goes with NewClassic's identification of the forum as a people. Sure, there are some individual persons who post more thoughtful, discussion-laden threads, but they get buried quickly due to lack of posts and the sheer influx of new topics. It results in homogenization, until the first page, at least, of the discussion forums are more often than not filled with anemic threads.

Please don't take this as an argument--I agree wholeheartedly. I do agree that the cookie-cutter threads get annoying, but I'm not going to lie and say I don't post in a few of them, especially if I haven't posted in a few days. But some of them seem to crop up in cycles: for a while, people were repeating the "What's you favorite FF?" thread, but for the most part those have seemed to die down, and has now been replaced with threads concerning RPGs: "Recommend me a...," "What's you favorite...?", et al. What also gets annoying are the people who, rather than let the thread wither and die, just post "Use the search bar" and leave, and they're usually (IIRC) older members who do so.

Then we have a special case: the Religion and Politics Forum. I've posted in it a few times, but I mainly visit it to lurk when I'm bored, and here's what I noticed: a lot of discussion-laden threads are repeated, but then either degenerate into nothing more than a shouting match or the same argument that's been posited in other threads in the forum, with a large number of the religious debates calling in Hitler, the morality of his actions, and debating what religion he practiced, of any. And the people who partake in these discussions once it reaches this point are usually the same few people.

I guess what I'm getting at is that repeat posts are as annoying as repeat threads, something that even the older members aren't immune to.

I feel like I'm going off-topic now, too. It's hard to keep up a conversation with someone when you ultimately agree with them... =|

 

[Superbeast]

*snip*


Please don't take this as an argument--I agree wholeheartedly. I do agree that the cookie-cutter threads get annoying, but I'm not going to lie and say I don't post in a few of them, especially if I haven't posted in a few days. But some of them seem to crop up in cycles: for a while, people were repeating the "What's you favorite FF?" thread, but for the most part those have seemed to die down, and has now been replaced with threads concerning RPGs: "Recommend me a...," "What's you favorite...?", et al. What also gets annoying are the people who, rather than let the thread wither and die, just post "Use the search bar" and leave, and they're usually (IIRC) older members who do so.

Then we have a special case: the Religion and Politics Forum. I've posted in it a few times, but I mainly visit it to lurk when I'm bored, and here's what I noticed: a lot of discussion-laden threads are repeated, but then either degenerate into nothing more than a shouting match or the same argument that's been posited in other threads in the forum, with a large number of the religious debates calling in Hitler, the morality of his actions, and debating what religion he practiced, of any. And the people who partake in these discussions once it reaches this point are usually the same few people.

*snip*

I'll admit I was a little confused at the first paragraph, until I realised you were in agreement

I'm guilty of posting in some of the no-content threads too. I think absolutely everyone on this site is, at one point or another. Hell, I'm posting in the "Trollbait" topic right now despite my better instincts.

I mostly lurk around the Off-Topic and Religion and Politics sections anyway. The RP section seems a bit...indomitable, and the newest console I own is an Xbox (the black flat ones) so the Gaming section is a little bit...over my head/inaccessible. I'd love a console, but being a student I can't afford one right now (and the Next Gen will probably be here soon-ish so there's little point IMO).

So maybe I have a slightly different view of the Escapist to other people, come to think of it, as I don't use the "primary function" (whether it gets more content or not I don't know) of the gaming discussion, but rather stick around for all the random, political and generally interesting stuff that crops up in the lower ends of the board (geographically speaking).

 

[Heart of Darkness]

I'll admit I was a little confused at the first paragraph, until I realised you were in agreement

I'm guilty of posting in some of the no-content threads too. I think absolutely everyone on this site is, at one point or another. Hell, I'm posting in the "Trollbait" topic right now despite my better instincts.

I mostly lurk around the Off-Topic and Religion and Politics sections anyway. The RP section seems a bit...indomitable, and the newest console I own is an Xbox (the black flat ones) so the Gaming section is a little bit...over my head/inaccessible. I'd love a console, but being a student I can't afford one right now (and the Next Gen will probably be here soon-ish so there's little point IMO).

So maybe I have a slightly different view of the Escapist to other people, come to think of it, as I don't use the "primary function" (whether it gets more content or not I don't know) of the gaming discussion, but rather stick around for all the random, political and generally interesting stuff that crops up in the lower ends of the board (geographically speaking).

I'm glad I put that in, then. Clarity is always good. =D

And I know how you feel. Currently, my only current-gen console is a Wii, and I only have a DS and GCN to back it up. Partly because I like Nintendo's IPs, and my parents weren't too keen on getting me more than one console, especially concerning the amount of time I spent playing them. And I've been getting into PC gaming recently, but there's only so much my budget laptop can play. And some of the older PC IPs don't really interest me, TBH. So a lot of the Gaming Discussion forums go over my head, as well. Curse our student status!

But yeah, I lurk all of the forums except Forum Games and RP, too; I don't really see the point. I've been trying to get into posting threads to the review section as a way to improve my writing for general consumption, as my experience with writing is limited to writing scholastic, verbose papers for high school.

Everyone's forum experience is different. I came for Yahtzee, stayed for the community, and now am trying to use it as a form of self-betterment.

 

[SnipErlite]

Good point - the amount of people these days really has changed the Escapist. It's still a great community of course, but it's true that you don't get to know people as well these days.

I know I'm fairly new compared to a lot of people but still