Where have the grrrbians gone?

[Paul]

There are only a few things in life that I take seriously and one of them is this Clan. I have been part of it since 2006 (I think), that is 5 years or the whole of high school and a gap year, so a while then. The entire time the overriding sentiment of the clan has been that we are more than just a bunch of gamers, some would go even as far as to say that we are a family.

If you are in this clan it means that you were chosen by fellow members, people who thought, yeah this guy/girl is like us and we could all game and have some fun together. It also means that you identified the people in this clan as people who you think or awesome (to varying degrees).

Now some of you might be thinking WTF is this douchebag talking about? Well I have noticed (and some of you may have too) over the past few weeks/months that this family is maybe not as tight has it used to be. We have people who barely show up whether on the forum or in game, we have people/groups who are there but are also separate. Everyone has Real life issues and levels of participation can vary and when you have a large group of people, one cannot expect everyone to be everyone’s best friend and people natural gravitate towards specific people but on the whole we should all be friends.

So I want to understand why that “loving” feeling has faded/gone…. What happened to automatically joining on Friends? What happened to joining TS/mumble and shooting the breeze while you wait for the queue or asking people to join another server. What happened to server invasion where 8 -10 grrr would invade a server?

Am I imagining this? Or is there a deeper problem. I was in two minds about creating a topic like this on a Friday but I said in the beginning of the year, I didn’t want stuff to remain silent, I want it in the open and resolved.

So please use this thread to air your opening, get sad, get angry but lets get this fixed

[SlipperyDuck]

Has the Magic faded? Don't go into the light - come back to the dark room, come play in the dark.

Yeah - Things have been on the slow train to nothingville these days.... sad, but hey, thats life ne?

[Phatso]

Good post Paul, I think it definitely needs to be aired out a bit.

I think its a combination of things.. Allow me to elaborate on them:
(note, I may note have solutions to these. I am merely stimulating thought patterns in order to identify the key issues).

1. The new MAIN GAME (BF3 in this case). Will always cause slight issues due to most of the clan playing, a few being forced to, and a few not wanting to.
2. Team selection for said MAIN GAME. Like it or not, this is always going to cause kak..
3. Uber-commitment to MAIN GAME. I didn't play BC2, but I can't recall playing with such a hectic schedule for other competitive games.
4. Real life. Truth be told, I think a whole lot of [grrr] got hit by the real life train in 2012, all at the same time.
5. Too many games, too little time. Currently LOTRO, ME3 etc... Future D3, GW2, BL2... We're spoilt for choice too much.
6. Forum participation. I don't know if its because we have too many threads or categories or if people feel forced to post, but there is no input.

All in all, I think BF3 (and 2012) have been the real tester for us this year and we're taking a few hits as a result. We just need to remember the key values of the clan and do our bestest to adhere to them, while the seniors do their best to bestow them upon all of us.

I must say, even though it looks like BF3 has been more of a painful "acquisition" if i can call it that, its also brought in some new blood. Some really good okes have jumped on board the grrrravy train and I must say, its been a pleasure to have you chaps with us.

[Thor_23]

Paul,

I have been noticing a decline for some time now in both participation and enthusiasm.
Reasons for these I cant say as I think its a combination of individual rl issues and socially related issues.

Another thing which might also be causing a big decline in participation:
Mega/ Jonny has always been the 2 pillars(forefathers) holding this clan together(for me personally).
That being said. Mega is out of the country a lot of the time and unavailable. Jonny is putting all his spare time into Lotro.

my 4c

[Onyx]

I have noticed it too for a while and there are definitely various reasons and its making me quite sad and worried.
I seem to be gathering up the bits and pieces of my life at last and would dearly love to somehow be a part of getting the glue of the clan sticking again, but not sure how.
My real boys are far away and it would be terrible if the virtual distances between us as a family here got bigger too so what can be done to fix it?

[s3xy_j0nny]

Some good points have been raised already, and some potentially problematic issues identified. The important thing is that everyone cares enough to contribute when a subject like this is brought to light.

We have made it through lulls in enthusiasm before. We have made it through grrrbians spreading themselves over a number of games before. What is important is that no-one should feel excluded based on any of the things mentioned. [grrr] is a place which makes rl bearable after a shitty week at work, or a 6 week stretch in Bumhole East Africa; it has absolutely nothing to do with who's playing in the competitive team; it doesn't include or exclude you based on what game you're into; it's about shooting the shit with every grrrbian, set against the backdrop of whatever game or gathering is going on. In this regard, I am totally guilty. I've spent all my kak talking time in the WrG channel, and only been in grrrmumble for clan pracs, which means srsbsns talk and only with team members. I'll come and play more BF3 and hang out in our channel more often, I promise. I've neglected my responsibilities as a pillar as Ion rightly points out - <3 you, man.

Moving forward, I think we need a 'clan night' once a week. The current game is BF3, so I suggest we pick the most convenient night for everybody and organise everyone onto a server and into the same channel for shits and giggles. Even if we play on our clan server unranked, it's about everyone participating. If people have feasible suggetions for other games, we can diversify, but for now let's get bonding. We need to get hold of Dirk and Sheri and see what's keeping them away - maybe Onny can make contact there. Also, where are Fly, Skouperd, SloDaz (probably baby stuffs), Mikey? Let's get everyone hitting these okes up for some action - even Daz can get a night off to play for an hour or two I bet. I'll get hold of Mikey and see if he can pull through to my spot for some play if his line is still borked. Basically, let's rally some troops and get the love back - thoughts?

[Paul]

Moving forward, I think we need a 'clan night' once a week.

Good idea

[flycatchr]

nice post s3xy, good thread paul, great summation phats..

rl -> baby, work and stuffs..

i should be able to be around a little more soon

[J_Th4ng]

Wow, this thread disappeared off the front page very quickly!

So, what decisions have been taken based on the comments made? How are we going to re-ignite the clan 'gees'?

It's a shame that the majority of people that have posted in this thread are those that are still active on the forum, and still game together (with the exception of our LOTRO visitor of course :ras . It would be good to hear from the clan members that haven't been heard of in some time. I include:

- Shadey
- Lep
- Voetsek
- Daz
- Skoups
- Jackal
- Duiwel
- Nomad
- Icenflame
- Murgs

I know that some of the above (particularly those on the lower part of the list) are still playing BF3 and do make occasional shouts on the SB. but they are lacking a regular presence on the forum. The first seven on that list though have largely disappeared. Does anyone have any contact with these members, and could find out why they aren't keen to hang out any longer? I will speak with Dazzie when I see him next. I know that he's very wrapped up in home life at the moment, what with a new baby in the house.

It's a real shame that the core of our clan has shrunk. There was a time that the clan website was the first place I'd visit whenever I accessed the internet. It still is, but nowadays its more through habit than any real expectation that there will be a bunch of my mates hanging out.

We really do need to try and do something about this.

[Phatso]

EVERYONE GET DIABLO 3!!!!!!

No but seriously, maybe some new life in the form of a new game that can be played at any pace really. Although you can only play 4 player COOP at once, the jumping in and out of games and the depth of the game (SO MUCH LONGEVITY) mean that a few good months / years will be sunk into this baby..

Just a thought..