A while ago, I wrote about NeoGaf, one of the original online game communities.
Because of unforeseen circumstances….  that may or may not have been proven.  I’ve long stopped caring, if I ever did care, the community that was carefully cultivated and nurtured easily slipped into a new home:  ResetERA.

In a way, it was truly a reset.   The NeoGaf flame fest gained a lot of attention and brought a lot of new people into the community.  A lot of new voices helps widen the society and bring new thoughts and new friends.

In another way, it’s not a reset.   Some of the same discussions, groupthinks, and arguments simply transferred over.   Even though NeoGaf is hardly mentioned and might be against the rules, the old guard know each other well enough resume the former rivalries and friendships.   Many use the same user names and the same avatars.   They picked up without batting an eyelash or losing a hit point potion.   They’re really that good.

As a long time NeoGaf troll… because I never got approved until after the fallout… I was accepted into Era a little less than a month after its creation.  Of course, I promptly kept trolling, although I occasionally post on the general community boards.   Even as an outsider, I think I can understand why these real name unknown former Gafers are so committed to each other.

Although officially branded as a game site, there are threads about mental health, skin care, and black culture right along with Final Fantasy BE, table top games, and gache games.  Even the general community thread can be a cornucopia of topics.    I think last week, a member ask the community for help because his son locked him in the bathroom.  Sticky topics like is refusing to date bisexual people considered bigotry is discussed.  Some people ask for opinions about… just about anything like chiropractic care, e-cigarettes, and a good dose of daily news.  Okay, okay, providing the news is biased towards the left, sometimes on the far left, take the posts with a grain of salt.

—  That’s where the groupthink comes in.  To be accepted, I think that some who have other thoughts don’t post or simply support those who do.  I suppose that’s to be expected in an online community that is held together by members who have known each other online for ten years or more.    It’s intimidating for new people to speak up and, without opposition, one thought reigns supreme.

I think that’s the only real downfall of the place.  It’s difficult that intelligent people from differing professions and ages possible shun what they really think and feel.    It has to affect some of them in real life.

For those who have been part of the online community for a long time, any community, our avatars become almost physical part of us.  We absorb their names, histories, loves, and hates.

I guess, in a way, that’s what happened to Era.
It’s a nearly good combination of the past and potential future.

I have a feeling it’s going to be around for a very long time and, maybe, outlast NeoGaf.