Celebrate old Escapists! The war against the newbies has been won!

Secondhand Revenant

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DOWN WITH THE- *looks at friends list* *sees join dates*

Well um... good thing guys I guess? Just let me hide and escape the purge until I gain senority
 

IceForce

Is this memes?
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vallorn said:
Barbas said:
Misericorde said:
Yeah, but is it active at least?
Not as active as the Escapist itself. Doesn't go by the site's name - that'd be rather odd for a SubReddit, anyway.
Huh, I didn't know /r/KotakuInAction was the subreddit for these forums.
Well, it has more Escapist forum gossip on it than any other subreddit. So there's that.
 

Drathnoxis

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IceForce said:
There's another interesting thing you could tally: Tally the thread view counts on page 1 of Off-Topic and page 1 of Gaming Discussion, and compare the totals with the tallied view count total of page 1 of GID, and then tell me which board gets the most traffic.
(You'll probably want to disqualify any sticky threads for the purpose of this, otherwise they'll skew the results, badly.)
Well Off-Topic has 31473 views and Game Industry has 106031. But I'm not really sure that tells us much, since some of the threads in Game industry are almost a month old. It seems like both forums have different styles of activity...
Hmm, what if we compare the new threads and posts made in each forum since today:

Game Industry:
New threads: 28
New posts: 2718

Off-Topic:
New threads: 113
New posts: 4042

Judging by that, Off-Topic is still more active than Game Industry.

IceForce said:
On other forums around the internet, it's not uncommon to see people with join dates more than a decade old. There's one particular forum I also frequent where almost all of the regulars have join dates 2003-2005.

Why does The Escapist have such a (comparatively) high turnover of users? Is it because people get bored of it quickly? Is it the moderation? Perhaps it's because people tend to join this site when they're fairly young IRL, and grow out of this place after a few years.
I'm not really sure the reason...
That is a good question. I agree that all the reasons you stated are likely part of it. It could also be because the Escapist had such an influx of new users for such a long time that a tight community never really formed. There were just too many people for most people to get to know everybody, and without that sense of community there isn't a lot to keep people around long term. Or maybe I'm completely off base, I don't know, there were an awful lot of regular posters who were banned. Over a hundred that I personally recognised by name or avatar.

Barbas said:
The site's forums haven't been around for all that long. They got started some time in 2006, IIRC, which was as far back as threads with comments in will currently load for me. Earliest join date I saw was 2004, I think, belonging to someone who helped put the site together. A lot of people joined back then and simply don't post in the forums, ergo they aren't seen as much nowadays. The mute white faces are legion.
It's true that the Escapist forums didn't launch until August 2006, there was the Escapist Lounge before that, which was just the comment sections for the articles. It launched around December 2005.

As for older accounts, the Escapist launched on July 12, 2005 so any accounts made earlier than that are likely from the sister site WarCry Network which launched May 21, 1999. Escapist users were able to post on Warcry and vice versa.

LostGryphon said:
I think some people here are taking the OP a bit too seriously...
Yes, I think they are. A few people seem to be under the impression that the OP consists of anti-newbie hate speech. One person went so far as to say that I personally have made the forums a hostile place for newcomers.

Is it just me or do the forums seem to be more sensitive than they used to be? I seem to remember people making threads of a similar tongue in cheek nature several years back without everybody getting so literal about everything.

DeanCain said:
But really, what was the point of this thread? To shake your cane at the kids skateboarding in the street? I've seen no animosity against people strictly because they're new. Am I missing something?
Well, the purpose was really to point out the problem of there not being many new users coming to the site, thus the reason the majority of the OP consists of statistics.
 

Sarge034

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Super Cyborg said:
What about those like me, shouldn't you ask about how we feel for losing? Or are you assuming we feel nothing cause we all died from the war? Was this war LoTR style, or more futuristic dystopia style of war? Either way, I shall haunt you for assuming a ghost from some arbitrary war is not capable of feeling, and you shall feel my distaste for the lack of release details for Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter release details.

Whoooooooooooooo, fear me!
A SUVIVOR?!?!?!?!?
...


OT- This is a really really bad thing guys. That means the site appeal is down. The rising and peak phases are over, now the war of attrition to an eventual demise phase has started. Eh, but the quality of a site has to do with how many new folks it attracts...
 

KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime

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One of the major issues is that the site hemorrhaged a lot of users with the loss of a lot of content providers.

There's not much I can say that other's haven't already. Right now The Escapist is in a slump, especially with outcry some proposed content providers have caused. Before we can get new users in, the site needs to get some new exclusive content, basically that's all there is to it.
 

Barbas

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vallorn said:
Barbas said:
Misericorde said:
Yeah, but is it active at least?
Not as active as the Escapist itself. Doesn't go by the site's name - that'd be rather odd for a SubReddit, anyway.
Huh, I didn't know /r/KotakuInAction was the subreddit for these forums. But bah, who uses subreddits anyway, get yourself an 8chan board daddy-o and be hip n jive with the cool dawgs!

(This post is the result of too much coffee and a warped sense of humour, it is not meant to be taken seriously.)
Don't worry, I don't think that SubReddit should be taken very seriously.
 

Kae

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Cold Shiny said:
As a new guy, I wasn't aware this was a thing, but now I have been informed that I lost a war.... of some kind...

Now I'm depressed.
Not a serious thing, it was an old joke thread and nothing more, we were mostly goofing off and there was no vitriol or anything, trust me when I say most users find this to be kind of depressing, we don't want our hang-out to die off.

I was Switzerland at first but then I hid in a bunker with some guys, passed out because of the noxious gas of excessive bean consumption and ate a sock or something, pretty sure I died at some point.
 

Elementary - Dear Watson

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Hmmm... The only thing I have noticed about the Escapist over the years are less new topics posted each day.

But then again, most of them were utter shite... All about morals of drowning people (who will you save?) or billy basic 'what do you look like?', 'what is your favourite geek possession?' or 'who is your favourite game character?'
 

cryogeist

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Uhh, we won? Woo?
Gotta say though as someone who dropped off for 2-3 years this place is pretty dead now. (in comparison)

Elementary - Dear Watson said:
But then again, most of them were utter shite... All about morals of drowning people (who will you save?) or billy basic 'what do you look like?', 'what is your favourite geek possession?' or 'who is your favourite game character?'
I will admit to being guilt of this though, and some other crap.
 

Something Amyss

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Elementary - Dear Watson said:
Hmmm... The only thing I have noticed about the Escapist over the years are less new topics posted each day.

But then again, most of them were utter shite... All about morals of drowning people (who will you save?) or billy basic 'what do you look like?', 'what is your favourite geek possession?' or 'who is your favourite game character?'
Hey, it's vitally important to know whether your forum posters would save a drowning ham sandwich over Mother Theresa.
 

Something Amyss

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Secondhand Revenant said:
DOWN WITH THE- *looks at friends list* *sees join dates*

Well um... good thing guys I guess? Just let me hide and escape the purge until I gain senority
Don't worry, we rely on tokenism to keep up the appearance that there isn't a horrific slaughter cleansing of the innocent.

You're safe...for now...
 

Something Amyss

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deeman010 said:
Kinda posted to see what my join date was/ is.... nice to see a lot of oldies here.
You can check your join date from your profile or messaging page. Just, you know, so you know.

I start from my inbox, so I literally see it all the time, but others might not.
 

jklinders

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Firstly calling it a war is not my idea of an inviting environment for people to discuss anything which is the purpose of being the member of a forum.

Secondly, at least until someone shows themselves to have ill intent, slamming on them for being new and being gleeful at their leaving is not very cool.

Lastly, how is it a good thing that fewer new people are joining and staying? Seems like a sign that the community is dying and what passes for new content here (pretty crappy of late) is not drawing anyone in.

So it's kind of shitty.
 

Cowabungaa

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Elementary - Dear Watson said:
Hmmm... The only thing I have noticed about the Escapist over the years are less new topics posted each day.

But then again, most of them were utter shite... All about morals of drowning people (who will you save?) or billy basic 'what do you look like?', 'what is your favourite geek possession?' or 'who is your favourite game character?'
Don't forget the obligatory versus threads before those mostly died out thanks to the crackdown.
Queen Michael said:
Um... yay?

Seriously, this place needs something to bring people.
Like what? The only area in which it's really lacking, though I don't personally miss it, is anime and manga content.

What it definitely doesn't need is stuff like that weekly deal nonsense. The increasing reliance on lists doesn't sit well with me either. But overall, there's still quality content to be found here.
 

DazBurger

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Urra! This has to be my greatest achivement ever! And will most likely continue to be till the end of my days.
 

V da Mighty Taco

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shrekfan246 said:
Um, "yay"?

Nomad said:
This seems to me like it would be a bad thing, and also like it would be connected to the recurring complaints about the pace on the forums having slowed down these last few years.

You could, then, also view it as a victory for the "others". We're just the people that got left behind.
And also this.

I mean, it's already been pretty well determined that a lot of "oldies" have basically stopped posting here entirely. Chances are they're not going to be coming back, and the ones who are still here but just don't pay much attention to the forums anymore likely have their reasons which still haven't really changed. So if the "newbies" stop posting as well, we've just got a situation where oldies and newbies alike come into the forum and see that there are no interesting topics with no interesting posts being made and no interesting discussions being had, and then stagnation and the eventual slow heat death of the universe.
Damn, you make a good point. I mean, just look at my ass for a good example of what you're talking about - I've literally only posted on this site at all 3 times in the last month, and I'm not even true old guard (I officially stopped lurking and registered in April 2011). I remember when this site was once one of my top 3 most visited sites (alongside Youtube and TGWTG), but now I watch Steven Universe more than I do spend time here... and that show only releases new episodes these days like once a month at most (though in handfuls of 5, fortunately).

I'd imagine it comes down, for me personally, to a combination of the Content Exodus during GG, my strong opposition and resentment to both sides of GG, many old posters and mods that I liked getting banned or leaving (I think the only friend I have left on here anymore is Spidermod), and lastly - what is probably a bit rude for me to say - the influx of Chan-like posters (again, due to GG and Quinn's damn censorship campaign) changing the entire atmosphere of this place from elitist and uptight pseudo-intellectualism with quite the silly side to an openly hostile battleground brimming with over-seriousness where non-silly derails and direct insults are the norm (I actively remember during GG's peak Topaz telling me how they, as mods, were actually being heavily restricted on moderating non-discussive or hostile content regardless of what side of GG was doing it (if either), something I feel was a big cause for GG's disastrous aftermath here and wouldn't be surprised at all if was still the case. You mods have it rough). The site could have also used an area like GID long ago, though I will still stand by Tito's decision not to ban the subject entirely like so many clamored for. I honestly think the site would be in such a better shape if the mods were actually allowed to do their jobs and make sure all GG discussion was actually civil (as long as they didn't pick sides on who and who not to come down on) on top of giving it and other overly-controversial topics a place to thrive away from the people who want no part of it once said topic got too big for containment (imagine if ME3 or all Sarkessian topics could've been kept in a forum like GID. Wouldn't that have been lovely).

Regardless though, I do have to give the Escapist some credit in that it did play a massive part in me becoming who I am today. All the way back in April 2011, I came across a thread that got derailed by "Mods are asleep, post ponies" pics (which the OP had a good laugh about and even encouraged for a while). This lead to me not only becoming a brony, but instilling in me a massive passion for both animation as a whole as well as the arts of storytelling and creating good characters. It also pulled me out of a dark place in my life, lead to me getting my first job (yes, entirely so I could go to BronyCon 2012), and ended up giving me a sense of direction with my life. For that at least, this site will always have some small place in my heart (even if all the GG / anti-GG people here keep tainting my memories of this place -_- ).