[Dragonman]

The reason why people join forums like these and stay active in them is because they have a common interest. If someone really likes cars, they'd be comfortable in a forum about cars, and have things to talk about and do with other people who like cars. For us, we started off with RuneScape. People came here because they played RuneScape.

Nowadays we have various outlets. The RuneScape activity here has died down, although the game itself is still growing. Since we have more than one "common interest" to work with now, we need people involved in those interests to find other people who have that interest, because not everyone is working towards the same goal anymore... Not everyone is still involved in RuneScape, so it wouldn't be in their interest to try to stimulate the RuneScape area of the site.

--

Imagine it like this: You've just joined a new game like RuneScape, and you get familiar with things and start improving. But then, naturally, you feel lonely and see a lot of potential fun in sharing the gameplay with others, so you start looking for friends, or for a community involved in the game. The same goes for other things, like art. You start making some cool images and learning new techniques, but you want to show your work and get critique on it.

This means that a great source for us to get new members right now is people that are "newcomers" to outlets we have. People new to RuneScape, new to GW, etc.. Not only do we have areas set up to communicate already, but there are plenty of opportunities for them to help build our guilds/sections, and even lead them.

Newcomers to anything can always seem like a pain... you know, incompetent, maybe annoying, that's just how it is. As long as we show kindness and support to all, we can successfully build member bases in our guilds and divisions. Numbers are powerful, regardless of skill level. And that's the purpose of veterans, to help fellow members improve in whatever they do.

[Cspace]

This is quite true.

Gaming is a logical focus for many of us. So may be roleplaying, art, trivia, or debate. There are many others as well... It's up to you! What do you want to do here? The best recruiting you can do would be the recruiting of those who want the same thing.

Remember that even promotion in different areas by other members will improve the overall activity of the forums. That's great for everyone! We should all appreciate the effort of those who want to help boost activity, because that's by far what we need the most right now. Even if you want nothing to do with RS or something else, at least support those who do. If we play our cards correctly, it's a strength to have activity in many different areas.

[Atilla]

CurvedSpace isn't even about anything specific for most of us veterans now I assume. I mean, I haven't been active in nearly any gaming faction since like '05. I think I can speak for the majority of us when I say I'm only here now because I've just been here forever, and there's a lot of others that have too. You all are sorta like family in a sense.

I think the point Dragonman is trying to hit on is that when forums/communities become so tight-knit with a lot of old friends, it becomes harder to accept newer ones. They feel intimidated, and rightly so. I could name many a veteran around here that I personally was prejudiced against due to their apparent "imcompetence," and it caused me, and some others, to act coldly to them. Chief of these cases is ironically Xmadole's, who only survived a lot of our (I'm not including everyone in this category, but I will include myself) newcomer bashing due to his own perseverance, and look at him now. He's a mod and one of the most respected and active members of the community. I see his story as an example to all that we should be a little more friendly with newcomers, because if we don't give them a chance then they pretty much have to force themselves in. This shouldn't be the case here, as we've always been a "newbie-friendly" community.

Edit: Also, I believe lot of it is not so much that we've been cold to newcomers, but more just plain uninterested or unwelcoming. I'll edit more if I think I've got more to say on this.

[Phieta]

I'm tired, so TL;DR for the posts above (actually too long; skimmed).

But I'll be blunt and come out and summarize my thoughts in one line:

I'm only here because I know you guys already, and enjoy the community.

It's not just that we're such a tight-knit group that it's hard for newcomers to feel like they fit in. It's also that we don't really have a focus that'll draw new members in.

[delta_3mo]

I dont think any newcomers are shunned by the c space community.

Even if they dont play RS or any other games, they can still unite with other members against a common forum enemy.

That is how trollers are born.

[Cspace]

We shouldn't just focus on one thing. Even when we were just a RS clan, we didn't focus on a single thing. That was the whole deal with the "everything clan"... If members have the power and ambition to lead, and if members support each other, we'll be able to do pretty much anything we want.

If a member wants one thing, and others also want it, someone with ambition can make it happen. If five members want to recruit and have events in some obscure game, how would it affect those who don't play it? The forums will simply become more active from everyone else's perspective. So why not at least support them here, even if you don't play the game? They would succeed with their thing, and everyone would enjoy more activity right here. It shouldn't be ignored, and by no means should we resist or undermine it. We should encourage those who are trying to lead.

If we support those who want to lead, we're naturally going to be focusing on multiple common interests. Some focus on RS, some focus on GW, some focus on DS, some focus on Steam games, some focus on forum-ish things... Everything is covered, right? Just like our old plan that worked years ago? With support and a little ambition we can actually succeed with all that and more.

I think this is what Dragonman is getting at. We have many opportunities, and we need leaders to handle that which they each know best and want the most. We also need members to support them. Let's be open-minded and allow for our scope to expand, and realize that it all will ultimately bring more activity.

... And activity is what we all have as a common interest, is it not?

[Aaron]

I'm really just here because I'm a member of the family. I like you all enough to stick around .