Hi, just wanted to pop in here. If I saw this thread sooner I would have posted then, but I guess I’ll have to make up for lost time.
For me, I first noticed a downturn in forum activity when Neonevik got banned. Obviously from reading this thread, it had been happening for a lot longer, but that was when the changes effected me the most. After he was gone the place felt a lot, calmer...
There was less volatility and arguing, and I myself started to suffer less headaches, but I miss the frequent discussion prompts he would post. Neonevik was the kind of a guy who was rarely afraid of saying what was on his mind, and even if some of it was uninformed and poorly articulated, with enough time and effort, I would usually be able to understand where he was coming from at least.
Still, that’s enough talking about Neo. He wasn’t the sole keystone of this place after all.
I originally joined these forums due to masterwork, where I quickly got involved in an over ambitious modding project. It was fun to work on it for a while, but eventually I moved on from that and started lurking in mafia. I then clicked on FreeFormSchooler’s sig and got introduced to “The Warrens of Oric the Awsome” and forum games as a whole.
What I saw blew my mind! Stories that adapted to the actions of you the player. More freedom than any open world video game ever made! The ability to be an active part of something truly great!
Of course most games didn’t really live up to those lofty expectations, but I managed. Eventually though, school started to get tough so I had to take a break from those kinds of things. I then moved to general discussion and that’s where I’ve been hanging since. I don’t post ridiculously often (ever since my first crush rejected me, I haven’t been the kind of man who takes the initiative), but if someone starts an interesting discussion such as this one, I’m not afraid to chime in. As a result, the health of my own posting activity is directly linked to the posting activity of some of the more thought-provoking forumites. If they go, I guess I’ll go too, but for now I’ll enjoy my community. You’re like a second Corner Pub to me.