You know, for a website about "Escapism" talking about current events that's happening in reality seems to be more popular.

Samtemdo8

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Like threads I'm seeing that in the Current Events forum tends to reach a hundred posts if its a hot one, and its Current Events threads that I am mostly seeing in the Latest Posts thing.

Even in video games, the more hot threads with lots of discussion are about what developers are saying or doing in reality in regards to the development of the game, rather then the Game itself.Its world, its story, etc.

So.....yeah, its something I've just started to notice.
 

Gordon_4

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Mainly because most other websites are sensible enough to moderate their forums more closely than this place to stop some of the rampant idiocy that inevitably occurs otherwise.
 

Secondhand Revenant

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I mean I don't particularly relegate the website to a usage based on name alone. And the times I'm engaged in any kind of escapism would be the times I'm playing the games etc the site might talk about. If anything I'd consider the closest relationship to escapism this site has to me to be that it talks about subjects that people often use for escapism, not that it itself is a form of it.
 

Hawki

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I can't speak for everyone, but I can personally attest to the following reasons:

-I'm older (nah, really?)

-The larger reason is 2016. I never thought Trump being elected was a possibility. It's something that made me far more invested in politics than I was before.

-Over the last four years, the world's gone to hell in a handbasket, and it was already in a handbasket prior to that. Let's see...we are absolutely fucked when it comes to climate change and ecosystems collapse, and we're still driving towards the point of no return, if we weren't passed it already. The international order is chaotic. The social order is chaotic. Just talking about videogames, or entertainment at all, is making me feel guilty in a sense. In other words, how can I morally engage in escapism when there's so much shit still in the world, and the shit's always been there? You could say I'm woke, but trust me, I'm not a fan of wokism either. Oh, and we're living through Covid right now. Consider it a dress rehersal for when the shit really hits the fan.

Overall...well, you remember one of my prior avatars, how it was a smiling kitty cat? Let's just say I changed my avatar to this one because it better reflects my mood these days.
 
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Secondhand Revenant

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I can't speak for everyone, but I can personally attest to the following reasons:

-I'm older (nah, really?)

-The larger reason is 2016. I never thought Trump being elected was a possibility. It's something that made me far more invested in politics than I was before.

-Over the last four years, the world's gone to hell in a handbasket, and it was already in a handbasket prior to that. Let's see...we are absolutely fucked when it comes to climate change and ecosystems collapse, and we're still driving towards the point of no return, if we weren't passed it already. The international order is chaotic. The social order is chaotic. Just talking about videogames, or entertainment at all, is making me feel guilty in a sense. In other words, how can I morally engage in escapism when there's so much shit still in the world, and the shit's always been there? You could say I'm woke, but trust me, I'm not a fan of wokism either. Oh, and we're living through Covid right now. Consider it a dress rehersal for when the shit really hits the fan.

Overall...well, you remember one of my prior avatars, how it was a smiling kitty cat? Let's just say I changed my avatar to this one because it better reflects my mood these days.
I mean unless I'm sorely mistaken you're not like otherwise spending your time doing things that will fix these situation so engaging in talk about video games etc is not a worse use of your time than others. Unless you're a much more driven person than average that's out there otherwise spending their time to fix the world, whatever most people are doing has about as much effect as chatting about video games
 

Hawki

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I mean unless I'm sorely mistaken you're not like otherwise spending your time doing things that will fix these situation so engaging in talk about video games etc is not a worse use of your time than others. Unless you're a much more driven person than average that's out there otherwise spending their time to fix the world, whatever most people are doing has about as much effect as chatting about video games
Don't worry, I'm not trying to put on a holier than thou routine. I've worked in charities before, for all the good it's done. Still give to charities now, since with a steady job, I can afford to send off the cash (and get tax receipts, admittedly). But it's hard to feel that any of it even matters anymore.
 

BrawlMan

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I only go to the current events when I feel like it. You see me most of the time either the video game or off topic section. With that said, you cannot escape from reality all the time. When I do talk about games, I usually do try keeping about the game itself. But if the developers or publishers are acting like asses, then so be it, I will call them out. Not my fault there's a lot of shit in the game industry.
 

Samtemdo8

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I can't speak for everyone, but I can personally attest to the following reasons:

-I'm older (nah, really?)

-The larger reason is 2016. I never thought Trump being elected was a possibility. It's something that made me far more invested in politics than I was before.

-Over the last four years, the world's gone to hell in a handbasket, and it was already in a handbasket prior to that. Let's see...we are absolutely fucked when it comes to climate change and ecosystems collapse, and we're still driving towards the point of no return, if we weren't passed it already. The international order is chaotic. The social order is chaotic. Just talking about videogames, or entertainment at all, is making me feel guilty in a sense. In other words, how can I morally engage in escapism when there's so much shit still in the world, and the shit's always been there? You could say I'm woke, but trust me, I'm not a fan of wokism either. Oh, and we're living through Covid right now. Consider it a dress rehersal for when the shit really hits the fan.

Overall...well, you remember one of my prior avatars, how it was a smiling kitty cat? Let's just say I changed my avatar to this one because it better reflects my mood these days.
So you were all sunshine and rainbows before Trump got elected?

Can you link that Cat profile pic?
 

Elvis Starburst

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I've noticed this trend. I know that the world has a lot to talk about, but I do kinda wish the other sections got a few more new topics by comparison
 

tippy2k2

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There are maybe 50 active users on this site like....period.

Current Events is basically R&P where it's the same dozen or so posters saying the same dozen or so lines to each other over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over (and over) again until someone gets banned.

There's such little traffic in this forum that there is really nothing to gain from talking in most of the threads or creating new threads. Current Events/R&P keeps chugging along like The Little Engine that Could where everything else goes down because R&P has ALWAYS just been the same dozen people arguing about the same things so there was no real change between Escapist 1.0 and 2.0 so the lack of traffic doesn't really affect it.

I suppose you could argue that this is all a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point but I just don't really care anymore 😅
 
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Houseman

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One thing that might change that is to force all the users who use Disqus to use the forums.
 

ObsidianJones

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I joined this site when Escapism was a plausible thing.

2008.

What has happened during that time?

A massive recession, the rise of active shooters, world wide destructive weather due to climate change, police brutality on a massive scale, interference in national elections, A measuring contest with a Despot and the North Korean Dictator, Brexit, Fracking, disappearing women from Native Americans to Africans Chinese, a near global shift to the right complete with far right extremism hot on its heels, And oh yeah, a Global Pandemic killing hundreds of thousands without it being in check yet... bringing a possible return of the global recession and a possible civil war due to the ineptitude of the supposed leader of the free world.

I escape when I can. But we're all in some kind of high risk group. It would be folly to pretend otherwise.
 

XsjadoBlayde

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Escapism comes in many forms. Not just fluffy pandering fantasy. For instance, i could be visitng online politics forums to escape my own unpleasant environment, personal selfish thoughts, or even just to escape having to do the washing up for the evening. Perhaps sharing common opinions on political subjects is a way of not having to feel so alone amongst the constant delivery of dread. If a friend calls me to talk about their personal issues and real world worries, that in itself is helping me escape from my own worries by listening to theirs. In that regard, even films or other media covering real world issues and experiences are still escapism, just not the very narrow definition seemingly employed by the "nO """poLiTICs""" In mY VIDjaGamEs" type people. Some people escape by doing household chores. It's a varied spectrum.
 
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I think AAA games have declined in quality after 2010, so there's little to discuss. By that I mean the good games are so infrequent that it's hard to keep discussion alive. There's not a lot of innovation being made besides retweaking the formula, other than a lot of experimentation with monetization strategies.

Then there was a misguided effort of political activism within games, which functioned more like a stand in for a lack of talent and creativity. The effect of social issues "holding games back" as they say, was overplayed. On the other hand, it filled the void for things to discuss.
 
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Secondhand Revenant

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Don't worry, I'm not trying to put on a holier than thou routine. I've worked in charities before, for all the good it's done. Still give to charities now, since with a steady job, I can afford to send off the cash (and get tax receipts, admittedly). But it's hard to feel that any of it even matters anymore.
Oh the message was more that for most people I don't think there's a reason to feel guilty over spending some time frivolously because in the bigger picture the way we spend our time most of the time doesn't really affect things.
 

Kae

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Well I actually naturally avoid current events because I low key think all of you people are insane, but since there's so little traffic on the website I'm just more likely to see that someone is actually posting there which eventually leads me post there.

Don't worry guys even if you guys are insane I'm cool with it, otherwise I wouldn't post, I mean I'm probably insane too.
 

DJShaddycat

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I'm new here, so what I say should be taken with a grain of salt. But coming from reddit, I feel like as long as I stay out of the current events section, I can avoid politics on here. Vs on reddit, it's inescapable, no matter the subreddit or it's topic, politics will bleed in.
 

Trunkage

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The event that shall not be named me more interested in politics here... even though I think that was in GID. Compared to most other places, you can have a reasonable discussion with people who are opposing camps. So in a way, that is escapism...

I joined this site when Escapism was a plausible thing.

2008.

What has happened during that time?

A massive recession, the rise of active shooters, world wide destructive weather due to climate change, police brutality on a massive scale, interference in national elections, A measuring contest with a Despot and the North Korean Dictator, Brexit, Fracking, disappearing women from Native Americans to Africans Chinese, a near global shift to the right complete with far right extremism hot on its heels, And oh yeah, a Global Pandemic killing hundreds of thousands without it being in check yet... bringing a possible return of the global recession and a possible civil war due to the ineptitude of the supposed leader of the free world.

I escape when I can. But we're all in some kind of high risk group. It would be folly to pretend otherwise.
Just gotta say, police brutality was always bad. It was hidden by the police and FBI misreporting stats until WaPo and the Guardian did the numbers many moons ago. These stats haven’t improved since the 90s. Even then, many didn’t believe until video evidence was being shown... and many still don’t

What most shocking is that the biggest change in police brutality was laws put in place about not shooting suspects in the back if they ran away. Like 70% reduction of deaths in custody. Minor changes in laws with strict enforcement makes police behaviour dramatically better. It doesn’t take much to resolve the issue