I'm writing this as my personal response to the questions that keeps popping up around here, such as: Where is everybody? What's going on? Why are the boards so quiet?
I really think if us as refugees - run off from our beloved home, seeking refuge in a new place. The CT modified definition of a refugee is: a person who is outside his/her habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her membership in a particular social group and is unable to avail himself/herself of the protection of that residence, or to return there, for fear of persecution.
We escaped from the troll wars with little more than some institutionalized memories (the CT archives), and a strong sense of community that we wanted to preserve. While we have settled in a new home, and it is pretty fantastic in every way, with the most gracious hosts imaginable, the new home is different, we are different, and our future as a community is uncertain.
Following the Oscars, things were changing anyway on IMDb/CT, with folks losing interest over time and feeling the call of their 'real' lives. We just happened to have the troll wars to get us re-energized and cooperative in a very committed way, which brought us together more strongly as a group than we might have ever been otherwise.
And now, we've been here for a few weeks, getting settled in and acclimating ourselves to a new environment. And the committment to stay together as a community seems by most to be strong. But we do have the reality of...
- our 'real' lives needing attention
- spring weather calling us to get out of the house (depending on where we live)
- getting used to a new forum/format
- figuring out what we still have to say to each other
- where to go with the journey BBM created
There's no right answer to what's supposed to happen or how. We are each finding something we value and want to continue here, or we are moving on, as has been the case all along. Many friends have come and gone, and there's no doubt that will continue.
We refugees are settling into our new country, learning a new language and culture, working to integrate our own important customs and traditions into our new lives, and waiting to see how it all shakes out. And I think it's shaking out just as it should.
Sometimes it'll be busy, and sometimes quiet, and some new friends will come, and some old ones will go, and it'll keep changing and shifting, just like life.
How about you...?