The most recent evacuations from the WoW blogosphere have gotten me to think about the people who have been a renowned part of the community for some years and suddenly disappear. Some years in the life cycle of WoW, for example, is a lifetime, though.
There are people who have been so renowned and revered by the community, that they have even gotten their named gear or regalia into the game. There are those who have given whole new names into the game, both in and outside it.
What became of those people after they left the blogosphere?
One thing which incited this train of thought was that about a week ago I saw a character who's name was familiar to me from my first real Internet family. One of the Clan, in which I learned all I know about the most important tenets of the internet: honor, integrity and pride. And that your name is the only thing worth anything in the 'net, something you really do not want to spoil or mess around with.
But there it was, a name from the past. And my heart jumped. Just like it had jumped time and again when I had seen the nicknames from that past group of dedicated players on a messy, old school text based browser game.
And I started to wonder, what has happened to the people after I last was in contact with them. Has that one troublemaker stayed out of jail since that first visit? How had the business been for the one who started his during the time? Where has the most aggressively acting, but soft mannered player gone after his graduation?
I know of only one for sure, but even though I thought the whole group to be my good friends back in the day, people I would have sacrificed a lot for, I have no contact with them anymore.
And it bubbled down to the issue which Larísa had with her guild. And what Tobold asked about playing with friends. And to some comments in those posts.
Those friendships over the net change you, definitely, as do every contact with another human being. I would even go further stating that they change you as every contact with a living creature does: you get what you give, but only as much as the other is willing to give in return. But those friendships are not true in the sense that you never know the person on the other side for real, you only see the avatar, the nick, the blabber of the chat channel or voip. Not the person, the body language, not the nervousness of the introvert or flamboyance of the extrovert.
You always get the filtered personality, a mask.
I wonder how many would even notice if I just disappeared from the internet. Or Larísa. Or Gordon. Or Tobold, even. Of course some people would notice the actual disappearance, but how long would people be interested about the reason or the whereabouts of any of us.
You will be missed may well mean "you will be missed for the next week... oh, look, shiny!", a kind of epitaph of the current culture.
Its always good to remember that latin proverb, Memento Mori.
Today I will ask myself, what would happen if I just disappeared. Was it worth it?
Would there be an obituary to the blog, stating "you will be missed"?
Would anyone even notice?
.
.
There are people who have been so renowned and revered by the community, that they have even gotten their named gear or regalia into the game. There are those who have given whole new names into the game, both in and outside it.
What became of those people after they left the blogosphere?
One thing which incited this train of thought was that about a week ago I saw a character who's name was familiar to me from my first real Internet family. One of the Clan, in which I learned all I know about the most important tenets of the internet: honor, integrity and pride. And that your name is the only thing worth anything in the 'net, something you really do not want to spoil or mess around with.
But there it was, a name from the past. And my heart jumped. Just like it had jumped time and again when I had seen the nicknames from that past group of dedicated players on a messy, old school text based browser game.
And I started to wonder, what has happened to the people after I last was in contact with them. Has that one troublemaker stayed out of jail since that first visit? How had the business been for the one who started his during the time? Where has the most aggressively acting, but soft mannered player gone after his graduation?
I know of only one for sure, but even though I thought the whole group to be my good friends back in the day, people I would have sacrificed a lot for, I have no contact with them anymore.
And it bubbled down to the issue which Larísa had with her guild. And what Tobold asked about playing with friends. And to some comments in those posts.
Those friendships over the net change you, definitely, as do every contact with another human being. I would even go further stating that they change you as every contact with a living creature does: you get what you give, but only as much as the other is willing to give in return. But those friendships are not true in the sense that you never know the person on the other side for real, you only see the avatar, the nick, the blabber of the chat channel or voip. Not the person, the body language, not the nervousness of the introvert or flamboyance of the extrovert.
You always get the filtered personality, a mask.
I wonder how many would even notice if I just disappeared from the internet. Or Larísa. Or Gordon. Or Tobold, even. Of course some people would notice the actual disappearance, but how long would people be interested about the reason or the whereabouts of any of us.
You will be missed may well mean "you will be missed for the next week... oh, look, shiny!", a kind of epitaph of the current culture.
Its always good to remember that latin proverb, Memento Mori.
Today I will ask myself, what would happen if I just disappeared. Was it worth it?
Would there be an obituary to the blog, stating "you will be missed"?
Would anyone even notice?
.
.
