So here's my story...
Like so many others, I first came here for Zero Punctuation. For me, it was late 2010. It didn't take long for me to discover other great content: Extra Credits, Escape to the Movies, The Big Picture...
And then, not long after I stopped lurking, Russ Pitts left, which was weird, but I was still newish to the site so I figured, "Hey, these things happen." Then, the Extra Credits controversy went down; that was when I first started to lose a little faith in the people in charge, but I conceded that I don't know much about the business world and it was probably more complicated than I knew, so I let it go. Under Susan Arent's tenure was the window of time in which Jim really hit his stride and the Jimquisition soon became my favorite weekly show, I started listening to the Escapist podcast, the first Escapist Expo was organized, it was just a great time all-around for content and community. I had at least one show to look forward to every weekday and the Escapist just felt like a great place to be.
Then Susan left after...what...a year in the position? The podcast was never same after that, but things stayed pretty well all-around. Then Anita Sarkesian and then later GG happened to the forums. Then the turnover was even faster for Greg Tito. Then Jim and now Moviebob leave within months of one another, taking their presence and continued content with them.
I'll still come here for Zero Punctuation--mostly out of habit, though I do genuinely enjoy it most of the time--and I'll still poke around on the forums--though I don't read/post nearly as much as I used to--but I can't shake this growing feeling:
When I started frequenting The Escapist, it felt...warm. It felt like a personable place. Now? As each of these unceremonious departures followed by a remainder of people who just keep going and pretend like nothing of note happened...the Escapist is a colder place to be. It once had this wonderful energy about it, like the community was something more than the sum of its members and contributors. Now it seems like the cold machine that technically is: a collection of computers and a web site for people to use as an inherently lifeless tool, nothing more.
What's your take on the trends at hand? And/or what's your abridged Escapist story?
Like so many others, I first came here for Zero Punctuation. For me, it was late 2010. It didn't take long for me to discover other great content: Extra Credits, Escape to the Movies, The Big Picture...
And then, not long after I stopped lurking, Russ Pitts left, which was weird, but I was still newish to the site so I figured, "Hey, these things happen." Then, the Extra Credits controversy went down; that was when I first started to lose a little faith in the people in charge, but I conceded that I don't know much about the business world and it was probably more complicated than I knew, so I let it go. Under Susan Arent's tenure was the window of time in which Jim really hit his stride and the Jimquisition soon became my favorite weekly show, I started listening to the Escapist podcast, the first Escapist Expo was organized, it was just a great time all-around for content and community. I had at least one show to look forward to every weekday and the Escapist just felt like a great place to be.
Then Susan left after...what...a year in the position? The podcast was never same after that, but things stayed pretty well all-around. Then Anita Sarkesian and then later GG happened to the forums. Then the turnover was even faster for Greg Tito. Then Jim and now Moviebob leave within months of one another, taking their presence and continued content with them.
I'll still come here for Zero Punctuation--mostly out of habit, though I do genuinely enjoy it most of the time--and I'll still poke around on the forums--though I don't read/post nearly as much as I used to--but I can't shake this growing feeling:
When I started frequenting The Escapist, it felt...warm. It felt like a personable place. Now? As each of these unceremonious departures followed by a remainder of people who just keep going and pretend like nothing of note happened...the Escapist is a colder place to be. It once had this wonderful energy about it, like the community was something more than the sum of its members and contributors. Now it seems like the cold machine that technically is: a collection of computers and a web site for people to use as an inherently lifeless tool, nothing more.
What's your take on the trends at hand? And/or what's your abridged Escapist story?