An end

[Matt]

While cleaning on the site, I was reading some ancient threads and remembering people that contributed to the site over the years.  One of those people was @Kirby1024.  Lee briefly helped me work on the site more than 20 years ago and disappeared like so many others.  I looked him up and found the following on twitter:

Quote

 

My personal experience being in online and offline communities is that *most* communities don't reach "true community" stage - and certainly I've been in very few where I can say that that stage was reached.

And what you believe to be a "true community" is very much a matter of perspective - as I've mentioned before, no community can accomodate everyone equally, so there's always people who get less from a community than they give.

And even if you *do* hit that sweet spot? It doesn't tend to last. People change, all through life, their relationship to a communities thus must also change, and since a community is literally made of relationships, the community itself *will* change as well.

Eventually, either the community will no longer contain what brought you there in the first place, or what brought you there in the first place will no longer be enough to keep you there. Our relationship with community is fleeting, no matter what point in the life cycle it's at.

I say this not to berate people for trying to find that community - That sense of belonging that comes from community is genuinely important, I will never say to people to stop looking for that community.

Instead, I just want to remind people that communities literally cannot be what you want them to be for all your life. You will go through many communities in your life, you'll probably build a few too. A lot won't fit well, some will fit perfectly. Most won't stay in your life.

At some point, you and your favourite community will part ways. It'll hurt a lot. Maybe you'll leave because you already found a new community. Maybe you'll depart what you built because you just cannot anymore. Maybe you'll be kicked out, no longer compatible with everyone else.

When that happens, grieve, do what you must, then get back to finding or building a new space, with all the experience you've picked up from everywhere you've been before. And keep in mind that This Too Shall Pass.

I've beaten this drum a lot on Twitter, but this sort of community rise and fall is exactly why having many different spaces is *always* superior to one big centralised one. Never be afraid to build something new and invite your friends along.

No one space can hold everyone, and so we must instead work to ensure that enough spaces exist so that there's at least one space for everyone. And the only ways to do this are to build new spaces, and to work to corral changes in the spaces we already have.

And I recognise that this work is difficult and painful, and that it can feel worse knowing that in the end that effort will still result in you searching for a new community in the end. I've felt that a lot in my life.

But I only feel it when I leave - it's always so worth it when you *do* find that sweet spot, where you give and take from a community in equal measure, where you feel like you belong to something bigger. I'm learning to savour those times while I'm there, and so should you.

 

I think that sums up things pretty well.  I hope this site contributed something to you at some point and I hope you've found new things to take you where you want to go.

When the site closes next year, it will have been a part of my life for 25 years.  I've had some great times on here and met some wonderful people.  

I wish you all the best!

Take care,
Matt

[Wizard]

It's been so very long but I will always remember and cherish the time spent here and the incredible effort you put into making this something special. It always amazed how much you were willing to do, day in and day out, for all of us. 

Thank you so very much for everything, Matt. 

Best to you, and to everyone that ever crossed into this place. May you dream astounding worlds then make them real!

[Ashnod]

On 6/24/2023 at 12:17 PM, Matt said:

While cleaning on the site, I was reading some ancient threads and remembering people that contributed to the site over the years.  One of those people was @Kirby1024.  Lee briefly helped me work on the site more than 20 years ago and disappeared like so many others.  I looked him up and found the following on twitter:

I think that sums up things pretty well.  I hope this site contributed something to you at some point and I hope you've found new things to take you where you want to go.

When the site closes next year, it will have been a part of my life for 25 years.  I've had some great times on here and met some wonderful people.  

I wish you all the best!

Take care,
Matt

I also want to say, although I've been pretty much a lurker now for a decade or so, I still come back and check in periodically, and the characters here (both mine and those created by others) still live in work I continue to write.

This place meant a great deal to me for many years, and I'm very thankful for not only the opportunity to collaborate with so many talented people, but also for the friendships I made and continue to have as a result of it.

Thank you, Matt.
Kim

[Vixen]

Well, I'll be sad to see the place go, but I understand. And I appreciate all the time and effort you spent on it. I learned a lot about writing and a little about myself around here, and I have fond memories.

Been poking through the archives and laughing and misting up at some of the old fables. What a collection of talent in such a small place. Good times were had - and rough times, of course, but let's let those fade and let the good memories stay.

Especially thinking about everyone's favorite cishet baseline/nova couple.

(Surprise! I became a furry at some point.)

Edited September 9, 2023 by Vixen
Adding the "I'm a furry" bit

[Vixen]

On 9/9/2023 at 1:25 PM, Vixen said:

Especially thinking about everyone's favorite cishet baseline/nova couple.

... unless...

(Surprise! I'm transgender also.)

Once the idea for this popped into my head, I started writing and I show no signs of stopping. If you're curious what the lives of Roxanne and her spouse are like in the middle decade of the Nova Age, with Roxanne's husband realizing she's Roxanne's wife with a year and a half to go before their ten anniversary vow renewal?

Check out AO3 where I'm writing about these two again. Hope you all enjoy!

How they started dating: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52111891

And what they're up to in 2023! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50205457

Edited Monday at 02:23 AM by Vixen

[kestrel404]

Oh wow. I've been coming back to check this place out every few years, ever since it was N!Prime. This place was really important to me for a long time - and I still remember my play-by-posts here as some of the best RP I've done. Sadly, struggling with depression makes socializing and keeping up with a community difficult. This place made my life a little better, and I'm grateful for everyone who kept it going this long.

I'll be sad to see it closed down, but nothing remains constant on the net. Thank you, everyone who gets to see this, and good luck.

-The Alchemist