The Anatomy of Fansite Communities

Lots of people have left. Things “aren’t the way they used to be”. I don’t see it as a bad thing and I don’t see it as a decline. But if feels like nothing is really going anywhere. I guess that over time, we all grow sick of the games we play but we’re normally closer to the people we meet. I know I am. Is there a point to this post? Well, maybe.

You see, you play a game (i.e. Runescape) because you get foolishly attached (note how I didn’t say “addicted) to it and you like meeting other people who are the same way. Then, after some time.. the game is less and less thrilling. It happens to everyone. So then you stick around because you like the people there. Then the people you like leave. Then you leave.

That’s the anatomy of how fansite communities exist. It is, thankfully, an ongoing process preventing things from dying altogether. But it doesn’t make it any less sad. It does make me wonder when I’ll feel that it’s my time to go. For now, I hope never.