Quote:
It's a natural forum progression. A typical poster in a given allakhazam game forum has several stages of existance:
Stage 1. Newbie
At this point, most of the posts are "how do I?" or "I'm thinking of getting the game/have the game, what should I?". the older estableshed posters sometimes get annoyed at this, and tend to lash out. Usually this stage is over by 100 posts or so.
Stage 2. Newbie with brains.
At this point, the questions start getting a bit more meaningful. the poster starts understanding game mechanics enough toask questions, and see flaws with the game. Some poeople never progress beyond this stage. those posters generally disappear after about a year if they do not progress. Generally 100-500 posts
Stage 3. Occasional regular.
You are here, people know you, can pick you out from the background posts, and listen to what you have to say. At this point, the poster usually branches out into one of several seperate paths:
A. The diehard gamer -- You don't post as much, but you are still here, and when you do post, people take notice because you know the latest in game info. Forums are reserved for downtime between games and when you are looking something up on the site.
B. The disenchanted gamer -- Slowly, the game is loseing it's shine for you. you like to play games, but you don't ;like what the game has become. Slowly you start to post more and more, and play less. Your posts about the game are often somewhat bitter. because of your post count at this point, your oppinions influence the tone of the game forums more than some of the other subtypes. These usually die off at around 1200 posts, or they branch off into the asylum/oot areas. Sometimes they take a year off and then come back, temporarily refreshed. Sometimes they even turn into diehard gamers. If they sucessfully pas 1500 posts, they tend to stay around for a long time
C. the OOT/Asylum poster. Spend most of your time in the off topic forums. You still feel a kinship for your origional game forum, but you don't post there nearly as much. Oddly enough, your time in those forums makes you more able to interact with people in the game forums on a more personal level, so even if you don't play the game anymore, you can often more effectivly direct newbies to get help.
d. The missing. You leave. sometimes you post, usually you don't. 2 months from entering this stage, you are usually lost, never to be seen on the forum again.
Stage 4. Forum mainstay. 2000-5000 posts.
By this point, you aren't going anywhere for a while. you post evrywhere, interact with everyone.
Over time, everyone you started posting with will leave. You will constently be surrounded by new posters. It will be harder and harder to find a truly unique topic. By this time, forum differences and grudges have usually blunted their edges, so while there are some posters you may not like or disagree with, you rarely make an effort to get rid of them or discredit them. Why? because you know that if they leave, the forum will irrevocably change yet again, perhaps this time for the better, but usually for the worst. Change becomes both a blessing, and the enemy. At some point, you will make a choice, continue like that, or get bored and leave.
+5000 posts. Of the millions of people who fisit this board, you are one of less than 20 individuals on this board who have survived this long. It's a mind trip.
Enjoy this version of this forum while you can. Blink, and the forum will never be the same. Pretty soon you will wonder outloud "what ever happened to Dark illyana or Notcoach or any of them." and then it hits you.
sorry, i'm rambling.
Stage 1. Newbie
At this point, most of the posts are "how do I?" or "I'm thinking of getting the game/have the game, what should I?". the older estableshed posters sometimes get annoyed at this, and tend to lash out. Usually this stage is over by 100 posts or so.
Stage 2. Newbie with brains.
At this point, the questions start getting a bit more meaningful. the poster starts understanding game mechanics enough toask questions, and see flaws with the game. Some poeople never progress beyond this stage. those posters generally disappear after about a year if they do not progress. Generally 100-500 posts
Stage 3. Occasional regular.
You are here, people know you, can pick you out from the background posts, and listen to what you have to say. At this point, the poster usually branches out into one of several seperate paths:
A. The diehard gamer -- You don't post as much, but you are still here, and when you do post, people take notice because you know the latest in game info. Forums are reserved for downtime between games and when you are looking something up on the site.
B. The disenchanted gamer -- Slowly, the game is loseing it's shine for you. you like to play games, but you don't ;like what the game has become. Slowly you start to post more and more, and play less. Your posts about the game are often somewhat bitter. because of your post count at this point, your oppinions influence the tone of the game forums more than some of the other subtypes. These usually die off at around 1200 posts, or they branch off into the asylum/oot areas. Sometimes they take a year off and then come back, temporarily refreshed. Sometimes they even turn into diehard gamers. If they sucessfully pas 1500 posts, they tend to stay around for a long time
C. the OOT/Asylum poster. Spend most of your time in the off topic forums. You still feel a kinship for your origional game forum, but you don't post there nearly as much. Oddly enough, your time in those forums makes you more able to interact with people in the game forums on a more personal level, so even if you don't play the game anymore, you can often more effectivly direct newbies to get help.
d. The missing. You leave. sometimes you post, usually you don't. 2 months from entering this stage, you are usually lost, never to be seen on the forum again.
Stage 4. Forum mainstay. 2000-5000 posts.
By this point, you aren't going anywhere for a while. you post evrywhere, interact with everyone.
Over time, everyone you started posting with will leave. You will constently be surrounded by new posters. It will be harder and harder to find a truly unique topic. By this time, forum differences and grudges have usually blunted their edges, so while there are some posters you may not like or disagree with, you rarely make an effort to get rid of them or discredit them. Why? because you know that if they leave, the forum will irrevocably change yet again, perhaps this time for the better, but usually for the worst. Change becomes both a blessing, and the enemy. At some point, you will make a choice, continue like that, or get bored and leave.
+5000 posts. Of the millions of people who fisit this board, you are one of less than 20 individuals on this board who have survived this long. It's a mind trip.
Enjoy this version of this forum while you can. Blink, and the forum will never be the same. Pretty soon you will wonder outloud "what ever happened to Dark illyana or Notcoach or any of them." and then it hits you.
sorry, i'm rambling.
I've finally reached level 3! I see a new era of 1337ness on the horizon. I wonder if Joph has attained a previously unknown stage of forum poster.
Edited, Thu Nov 3 13:19:47 2005 by Jacobsdeception
