A ... different? ... perspective

Now that this "blog wars" b.s. has blown over it's safe to get back to writing legitimate blog posts that don't get cleared off the blog bar in a matter of seconds.

I feel like I need to say something about the recent clan turmoil. I know that, for the most part, it's over and done with but I have to throw my two cents in. I spent some time wondering what the hell was going on and reading the posts trying to figure it out. Some of the posts were rather helpful and other seemed like angry kids who felt like they were bullied off the playground. I never really did get the full story (largely because I stopped caring) so I apologize if anything I say is incorrect. Also, while I will be using PCP as examples it's only because they are the most recent group to leave the site. It's happened before for similar reasons.

Here's the deal: No one asked you to become a part of 2old2play. We didn't come knocking on your door, handing out brochures, begging you to join our ranks. You came here of your own accord and joined a community. They key word in that sentence is community. My biggest issue with this whole ordeal is that many members of PCP weren't part of the community at large. Rather, they stayed in their clan forums and spoke only to their clan mates. I lost count of how many people post a welcome thread and then vanish into the clan forums for the rest of their stay. To me that taking away from 2old2play's sense of community rather than bolstering it.

One simple fact a lot of people have lost sight of is that they're 2old2play members first and clan members second. You can have all rules and regulations you want for your clan to follow but they always are, and will always be, superseded by 2old2play's code of conduct. You were never just the Pork Chop Platoon. You were 2old2play's Pork Chop Platoon. There's a reason that, when you browse through the clan forums you keep seeing 2old2this and 2old4that. It's because they are part of a larger community and they reflect that in their clan names and tags. If you're going to join a larger community just to host a clan forum then you may as well be on guildportal (or whatever the xbox live equivalent is) because you're not a part of that larger community.

That having been said; are we better off without you? No. Were we better off with you? Again, no. The reason I stopped caring while trudging through all the back-and-forth a couple weeks ago was that it occurred to me that I had never really heard of any of the people posting blogs or comments. Some of them had hundreds of forum posts but I still had no idea who they were. We're not better off with or without you because we never really had you in the first place. You were the kids hanging out outside the mall. You weren't there to buy anything or support the mall in any way. You were just there to hang out with your friends until mall security ran you off. Now you're Starbucks' problem.

Now, I'm more than a little biased on this subject because 2old2play kept me gaming. I was ready to write off my xbox and stick to PC gaming until I found this site. Interestingly enough you know what brought me here? A clan. I was looking for a chromehounds clan. I found one and added a few guys to my friends list that are still there today. More importantly, they're still kicking around here too. I joined another general gaming clan after that to play everything else. It was a fun, laid back clan that got killed by drama too. I've seen both sides of the argument here. Since then I've joined two more clans that relate to games I'm playing. This, to me, is what being a 2old2play member is all about. It's being a part of a community of gamers. If I was locked into one clan I would have left here long ago too. Because I was able to jump into a number of different groups my friends list has exploded and I've met infinitely more people than by just hiding in my clan forums.

The reason I'm posting this is because I'm sure that there are more clans and clan members out there who operate in a similar fashion. My message to you: You're missing out. Get out of your clan forums. Get active. Meet some new people. You won't be sorry.

Remember, we're all 2old2play. That's why we came here.

- N. "Soylent" White