Where did all the older Escapist users go?

[The Lugz]

For me it was Unforgotten Realms, before it was shit.

my words, stolen they were

i've been around quite a while, just made an account recently to socialize a bit and comment on all the impossible news topics
i gave up my ninja stealth, but oh well.

there was an outcry over forum bans, and then extra credits perhaps the older guys got annoyed or just too busy mine-crafting or something

 

[Gunner 51]

.

you sure are big on this "intulectual" thing arnt you? what the heck would you define as an "intulectual" anyway?

I find it kind of silly that some bitched and moaned about the jimquisition because they found it "insulting" and "abrasive" (poor fragile little souls they were) jim may have gotten off to a rocky start but as time went on he showed the he had some damn interesting opinions which we contray to the generl veiws seen here...and persoanlly I think a nice change to the cyasm of yahtzee

and of coarse anyone who thinks jim is actally being serious (as in the persona) is obviously to effing stupid to be here anyway...kind of like some who will LOVE yahtzee untill they insult a game they like..OR base all their opinions on yahtzee

honestly this "we were intelectuals" is coming off as rather pretentious

I did seem to blow my own trumpet a bit during my last post. I guess it's because I remember a time when the Escapist's forums were choc-full of FMs like Therumancer. I guess I'm just acting like an old man reminiscing about the past and of the good old days. It comes with the territory when you get to my age.

Back in those days, articles and FM alike would critique a game, give valid reasons for doing so - while remaining really pleasant and respectful. You are quite right that the opinions expressed on The Jimquisition are rather intriguing - however, the immature and overly bombastic delivery in which Mr Sterling delivers those opinions negates the point he was trying to make.

Jim has a wealth of experience and knowlege of the gaming world as the editor of Destructoid and he doesn't need his ghastly persona - especially when he has experience and intellect. He doesn't need to demonstrate this with histrionic tantrums and making childish noises.

 

[Druss the Legend]

They got sick of all the pretentious bullshit that seems to have popped up lately.....

Well, that's why I'm thinking of leaving...
but no-one knows me so no-one will care.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

I think a lot of people after the Extra Credits fiasco. That show got replaced with shows like Jimquisition and I guess that was one of the last straws for some people.

I actually left Destructoid for the Escapist because that site was turning into the "Jim Sterling fansite" rather than a general gaming site. Then lo and behold he shows up here and his fans come by and call his show "tha best thing evar."

You just don't have shows like Apocalypse Arcade or There Will Be Brawl anymore. To get a show you seemingly have to be an active member in the business side or journalist side of the gaming world.

And like I said before, the captcha doesn't help, the forum health meter is a joke, and to be completely honest here, the star based review system is probably where this all started.

The Escapist was the last site (pretty much) to have reviews that didn't have ratings. The way is should be. We all know that no matter what rating system you choose it's mathematically flawed for any game getting the equivalent of 70% in ratings. And some reviews don't correlate with their ratings. Any big AAA release pretty much gets 4.5-5 stars on this site, Hell, I sometimes watch ZP in order to placebo myself into thinking that this site's review staff still have a bit of tact.

Hell, I may just up and leave soon. What reason is there to stay? Don't get me wrong, the community here is great, but a lot of new members are setting up posts on topics with next to no talking points or talking about Skyrim. Remember a when Geohotz mattered? On the related forums, it was less about Geohotz and more about 50% of the posters claiming that he was some internet Che Guevera (while not know what they were talking about) and the other %50 (myself, JDKJ and others) telling them how the laws actually worked and how they were very, very wrong.
Hell, a newer member posted something about rallying members to go and "bomb Sony's ISP with loads of people going onto their site at once", another member posted a threat to Sony from Anonymous and told us to join up.

The shit's hit the fan on this site a few too many times for some.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

They got sick of all the pretentious bullshit that seems to have popped up lately.....

Well, that's why I'm thinking of leaving...
but no-one knows me so no-one will care.

I may as well. Getting sick of it as well. It's a mix between pretentiousness and seeing the ghosts of the communities of Destructoid & Gamespot lurking around.

 

[Caliostro]

10% are 2008 and the rest are older.

Aw man... Had I signed up 23 days later I wouldn't even be accounted for.

Also, hey there!

I think it's less "old users aren't around", as much as The Escapist's population has really ballooned year after year. Every forum has members that drop off every now and again, but it's a lot easier to notice one member from 2008 dropping off than one from 2010, simply because there weren't as many from 2008 to begin with.

To make this discussion worthy, post why you came to the Escapist. For me it was Unforgotten Realms, before it was shit.

Came for Yahtzee (...like 99% of everyone back in 2008), stayed for the articles + staff. I'll never forget the article that really "flipped the switch" for me: Robert B. Mark's The Anatomy Of Violence [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_153/4960-The-Anatomy-of-Violence]. Beautiful read.

 

[Jaythulhu]

I came here after seeing ZP previewed in X-Play on the telly. Never meant to join the forums, but one night I got drunk and saw a thread that amused me, so I signed up.

I'm nowhere near as active as I was a couple of years ago, mostly only popping in to see if there's anything interesting being discussed after I've watched the latest ZP or Big Picture.
With the constant vidspam being shown before video episodes driving the cost of my net skywards however, I'm less & less inclined to come back each week.

It's inevitable that older users will bail, I guess. Boredom, shiny new things, life... everyone can find a reason to give up on a forum/chat app/whatever sooner or later.

 

[SUPA FRANKY]

They moved on.
Got banned.
Still hang around but don't post much.
I ate them all.
They all got pissy about a certain user-group trying to have fun and left. Not really, I'm just joking about this one.

Take your pick.
But there are some still active, you just need to keep an eye open. I know there's a 2004 user lurking around somewhere.

What the hell? I've been around about as long as you have, but I don't have that many post!

OT: I'm wondering that too. Where is Furbert and Pete?

 

[PhunkyPhazon]

For one, this forum doesn't have as much appeal as it used to. Some people say this place was once a serious hotbed for intellectual discussion. While I would never go as far as saying that, it was a few notches above the average gaming forum. That seems to be gone.

Another reason I personally haven't been as super active is because I'm a lot busier then I was two or three years ago. Back then I was pretty much a bum, I essentially just spent my life playing video games and going online. Now I'm in college, and with college comes a huge amount of homework. There just isn't as much appeal in spending hours on a forum anymore. I want to spend my free time playing a game or doing something with friends.

 

[Metal Brother]

Something I recently became aware of was the lack of older Escapist users on the forums. That's not to say they're not there, but they appear rarely. In 90% of the threads I enter, 20% are 2011, 30% are 2010, 20% are 2009, 10% are 2008 and the rest are older.
Obviously I welcome every newcomer. I'm not even that old. All I saying is it seems really odd. Where did everybody go? Was there an exodus with extra cedits that I missed? Because I feel sort of lonely these days...
To make this discussion worthy, post why you came to the Escapist. For me it was Unforgotten Realms, before it was shit.

I pretty much gave up on posting because of the horrible performance and regular errors I receive when using the forums.


Not to mention the gods-damned captchas.

 

[newwiseman]

I started watching the videos a few year back,

I just got an account last year when I saw a thread on the forums that had replies that were completely false, I felt I was doing a civic duty to put in my two cents.

*I looked up my posts, it was a thread about the US singing the ACTA agreement and people seemed to think that was the same as an instantly binding law; not realizing that it was really just saying we would do our best to pass legislation in our country that complied with the agreement. We still haven't though we are closer, SOPA would do it; good thing it's never going to get passed.

 

[Iggy Rufflebar]

I've got to thank the OP for making me realize just how long I've spent lurking on this site

It's probably just a case of people getting bored and moving on to different things.

 

[Knight Templar]

More of us are here than you would think. Granted the most and perhaps best of us are no longer here, but many people are and simply post less and read more. They are not gone and if you want to see them you simply need to ask where they all went.
I am not sure how many people who were around before Yahtzee are still here though, so expect his name or some other video content to pop up a lot as to why people came here.
Personally I came for Yahtzee, found him on YouTube and followed him to this great site. I first decided to make an account because of a review from Purple Rain (or perhaps it was some comments of his in a user review). I was a different person then, so I don't find it odd the site was too.

I'm still here!

Who are you?

...*sigh*

I think of it as a sign of just how long I have been here. A name so old it has been forgotten by time!

At least that is how I like to think of it.

 

[slipknot4]

I came here for ZP, lurked around for a while but finally settled after awhile. Don't know when but I did it never the less.

 

[Rhythm]

Long time lurker, infrequent poster myself. I've been here years reading and watching the various series (and forum posters) come and go.

I'll still probably be here in a few years too but don't expect my post count to rise too much by then >.>

 

[Cobelo]

Long time lurker, infrequent poster myself. I've been here years reading and watching the various series (and forum posters) come and go.

I'll still probably be here in a few years too but don't expect my post count to rise too much by then >.>

Hey look, a person with a similar post frequency as i have. Very few people have been around this long but have posted so little. Me, i came for ZP, then ended up staying for There Will Be Brawl and Doomsday Arcade.

Damn do i miss those shows.

 

[Smagmuck_]

Let's say around the time of the Hub.

Furb banned, Hub banned, Teddy banned, Kharloth banned, Cuth got eventually banned, er...Xandus banned, HankMan banned then banned again for ban jumping, Xandus again, Timotei banned then unbanned, Zeeky banned and Xandus again for the third time, I think. I also forgot to mention Swollen Goat and Pararaptor were also banned as well.

I think that was most of the more active and older users anyway.

I feel so old now after reading that, I was a wee youngster when these people used to roam the forums.

OT: ZP, found the forums, spent about a year and a half in a RP section. Came back to Off-Topic. More than likely mid-process of getting an IP Ban and end up going the way the above went. But I try to hold my tongue.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

They got sick of all the pretentious bullshit that seems to have popped up lately.....

Well, that's why I'm thinking of leaving...
but no-one knows me so no-one will care.

But I'll miss you

 

[Combustion Kevin]

fuck, do I feel like a rookie now. >.>