So long, and a message for the site admins

[Aku]

No, this isn't some dramatic goodbye. I'll poke my head in once in awhile and see if there is any activity here. But this place has become a ghost town (the last time a regular posted on the pc boards was four days ago). No point hanging around or contributing anything.

Site admins, my guess is there are only a few of you with a whole bunch of sites to maintain, and this one is last on your employers' list of priorities. You might want to pass it on to them that the boards here are almost dead (except for System Wars), people don't write reviews here at videogameREVIEW (except for mostly short crappy ones), and new people don't join here. Eventually the advertisers will notice this and this site will lose money. That's about the only thing your bosses will understand. What they won't understand, of course, is that you should take some pride in a site like this, and that it should mean something. Provide some value to people. Otherwise, what's the point?

Good luck, and remember PCGR!

[BaneNWN]

I concur with this statement if i even spelled that right

[Glockstar]

Oh come on, don't go! Can't you wait out the summer at least?

Oh, wait, we're talkin' about PC's - they don't have a new generation before them that's about to start up in earnest in just a few short months. The PC Forum isn't what's dead, it's the PC gaming industry as a whole!

[Aku]

In case you haven't noticed, Glock, the console forums are dead too. System Wars is the only board with any life left. Hasta la vista, baby.

[Glockstar]

Well, what's to talk about?

I think all forums, across all websites, are slow. Maybe I'm wrong tho'.(?)

[Renzatic Gear]

Sad to see you go, Aku. Pop in or send me a PM from time to time...maybe even head over to TTLG once they get everything back up and running properly.

It's a huge shame this site has gone downhill like it has. And what's even worse is that it doesn't have to be a permenant thing. With a bit of good advertising, restructuring and planning, you could draw attention to the site again quite easily. All it takes is for someone to take notice and do something about it.

[Suicides-by-Steve]

Sad to see you go, Aku. Pop in or send me a PM from time to time...maybe even head over to TTLG once they get everything back up and running properly.

It's a huge shame this site has gone downhill like it has. And what's even worse is that it doesn't have to be a permenant thing. With a bit of good advertising, restructuring and planning, you could draw attention to the site again quite easily. All it takes is for someone to take notice and do something about it.

Thing is Renz, the review system sucks. I mean, who's going to come to a site about game reviews, only to find none (hardly worth reading), and then decide after that initial realization that the forums are just as meager? I mean seriously, one or two games a month handed out for good quality reviews is hardly unrealistic. Damn, I'm seriously surprised that someone on the dev team doesn't just spring for them out of their own pockets. Anyway, I'll contact you around the release of NWN2. We'll get together and see if there's any good PW servers out there to be had.

[Aku]

Well, what's to talk about?

I think all forums, across all websites, are slow. Maybe I'm wrong tho'.(?)
.

You can't be serious. I'm active right now on a forum for a five year old game. While it's not a beehive of activity, people post on the boards every day. I sometimes visit other boards that are not about gaming, and there is a steady flow of activity every day. This site used to be like that. Because of all the reviews, there were always discussions going on.

Yeah, I'll pop in, Renz. I'll stop over at TTLG when I get back into playing Thief again or whatever. Haven't been over there in a long while.

Now I'm really gone. But I still play on the weekends with a couple of the guys here, so I'm not far away.

[Glockstar]

You know what, maybe I am wrong... maybe other websites' forums are thriving... but I'll still bet they are doing so with a revolving door of posters; I'll bet none have the community, familiarity, or members in such long-standing, as here. Maybe they are busy... but I think they're also like romper room. What good is that?

Can I also just say that although the VGR forums have gotten really slow, and it seems like we've lost a lot of members/posters, I do not believe that we've lost them to other websites. By and large. I think most of our brothers have just simply grown "out of it", and for the most part have just simply stopped posting altogether.

Videogames are like that. The industry is constantly moving and changing and growing - especially pc's! - it's a tough hobby to keep up with. Of course, many don't see it as a hobby; videogames still have that stigma of being something as childish.

People move on for a lot of reasons. But I think that even those of us who are left who don't think of videogames as something that they should grow out of still move away from posting on forums because they realize that videogames are not something that they need to talk about everyday.

This is what I mean when I said, 'what's there to talk about?' I hit IGN a couple of times a day and Xbox.com and GameSpot a couple of times a week, and yes, 9 times out of 10 they have a new feature up and have news to report, but the majority of the time the articles and reports are of the "who cares" variety. It's actually quite stupid of me to frequent those sites that often, and I know it.

I think that times are especially slow right now in the industry - with regards to topics (that aren't dead horses), news and games - and I think the forums - this one especially - reflect that.

I hit this site, on average, a couple of times - way more often than I should - just to catch up with the latest; hoping that somebody posted something good. When there's nothing, yes I'm dissapointed, but I also thinking to myself 'well, what did you expect?' Those other sites I mentioned: I visit their forums maybe once a week. Maybe. Everytime I drop in there are dozens of new posts to read - every day - every hour. But I've never posted on any of them myself once, because while there is a lot being said, none of it is worth responding too. You know what I mean?

I don't know, maybe you (and Steve) have found "the promised land", maybe you've found Utopia tho'... somewhere where there's always something interesting to talk about and an intelligent conversation always follows...???

I'm sorry to see you go. Even though we've hardly conversed in 3 years, you are a familiar face... I know it sounds kind of wishy-washy, but there's respect and comfort to be found in that.

[Fivespot]

No offense Glock because I consider you a gaming bud (XBOX Live friends list and all) but you seem a bit defensive. These people leaving, from the best of what I can tell, are not doing so due to your becoming a forums moderator. That is merely a coincidence. Not that you said that but I'm thinking you might be concerned about it based on your posts in this thread.

And although you bring up some valid points re: why or how people are posting less and/or leaving, I can't help but agree that the site admins aren't supporting the site enough to encourage activity. The longer that goes unchanged, the more people we're in jeopardy of losing.

Hopefully someone steps up to the plate and helps because the facts indicate there is a problem (less posts than ever before). Actions speak louder than words as the old saying goes.

I expected the site to pick up with new systems coming soon but the exact opposite is happening. We can either make excuses or do something about it. I believe Aku was trying to do something about it and I thank him for that - thanks Aku!!

[Glockstar]

None taken. (And none, I hope, given.) Thanks.

I suppose I am being a bit defensive - but only because I don't want Aku to go. I don't want any of the oldies to go. Me being a forums moderator... I never thought that was an issue at all here (and still don't).

And I'm not necessarily taking up a defensive stance on behalf of the site - my reasons for imploring Aku to stay are actually quite selfish and personal. I want to see the site do well, and would love to do my part to help, but I am - and will continue to be - critical of it, when applicable.

And with that said, I think we're all in agreement that the site is not being maintained the way it should be. But I'm not convinced that the current status of the forums (their being "dead") are related to that.

I just get the feeling that many forum posters are leaving for "greener pastures"... but what I'm saying/asking is: are you sure they are greener?

[Fivespot]

Indeed - good question (where are the greener pastures?). All other pastures I've grazed are more brownish in color. VGR is very unique with it's small user base and intelligent users (for the most part) and for that reason among a few others I'd hate to see it get any worse.

Reviews have sucked for a few years now although both should be addressed IMO (reviews and forums).

[Aku]

I keep checking back on this thread (I'm never gonna get out of here!). The thing is, Glock, when you have a healthy membership base, with everyone dropping in only a couple of times a week, you are going to get lots of posts every day just because of the simple math of all those regulars. But when you have only a handful of regulars, then you won't see much activity. This site used to have a healthy number of regulars, but that has seriously dwindled. And it isn't because it's a slow time in the gaming industry (even when it's slow, people still have plenty to talk about), it's because this site has been ruined by the bean counters that run it. Believe me, I would like nothing more than to send a personal note to one of the suits who oversees these Consumer Review sites.

Most forums do have their regulars. Even forums dedicated to a single game have a core of regulars with a ton of posts (though it gets a bit ridiculous, I mean, how much time can you spend talking about a single game?).

As for the site admins doing something, have you noticed that not one has responded to this thread and that other one on site descrimination? That gives you an idea of how much attention the site admins are giving to this site....as in NONE. Where is that Murrillo guy? He was all gung-ho awhile back, now he's disappeared. So that is why this place has turned into a virtual ghost town.

And Glock, I didn't say I was going to vanish, just not be coming here like I used to since there isn't much going on. I'm not trying to create a bunch of drama. I'd just like to give the admins a little kick to get some kind of reaction. Splash some cold water in their faces.

Thanks fivespot. You've got to at least give it the old college try, but this place is owned and operated by idiots.

[Gadfly2317]

And yet another one of the better unpaid content providers on this site bids farewell.

It's a damned shame they've let the site come to this.

Take care Aku.

[Suicides-by-Steve]

I don't know, maybe you (and Steve) have found "the promised land", maybe you've found Utopia tho'... somewhere where there's always something interesting to talk about and an intelligent conversation always follows...???


I dunno, I'm not really leaving for another site or that, just playing more games, and less chat about them. I'm not an active reviewer currently, so I don't really delve into the topics much anymore; this is important considering this is a review site after all. I'm not really an expert, so I figure it's pointless to chat about games I have never played or even tried...

Thing is, I don't have time at the moment to play and chat using IM's and even in-game. My contacts know this. It's a time commitment/sink that I simply don't have any more. It's either play or chat. I'd (most of the time) rather play. If there were a reason to talk games, I'll talk here, but as of now, eh, there's no incentive...

Besides, time marches on, things change. People have kids, crises, deaths, etc. Damn, in the 7 years I've been here, I truly wonder about many of them. Blips on the radar that simply disappear. Who knows? I know of two people who have died that were connected to this forum.

My excuse? My gaming as a hobby has slowed to a crawl. I find myself finding a game, and becoming good at it, then moving on. Thing is, with such limited time, one game is usually enough... Civ IV has been really a giving game :). That's another point, the games coming out are pretty good, especially with the mods and stuff you can get with them these days...

Guild Wars, NWN, Far Cry, Civ IV, are perfect examples of games (IMO) that can really suck you in and hold you for a long while. While I was playing NWN, I was surfacing long enough, to post here, before diving back into the latest server. The creative mods coming out for games, is great!

My next big project, in leiu of hanging on forums, should find me focusing on NWN2 and a PW server. Start it as a side-project and see how it goes. I will pop in from time to time, but won't really contribute much to the community until there's actually a reason to write a review and talk about it.

I don't know why there's a refusal to read the writing on the wall, but it's there... Hell, this thread should be setting off alarm bells to the owners.

[Friend_Bear]

I'm still around but don't come nearly as much as I did, mostly because there isn't many active new topics. Lately there seems mostly just spam posts or annoying 1 post kiddys around lol