[Mithadan]

Again, this "history" is entirely subjective. The word "I" appears all too often. I encourage others to tell their own stories.

Before I delve into the post-movies period, I’d like to add a few more comments on that three plus year time. While there were many challenges, there were also many enjoyable and funny times. For example, a member weighed in on a serious thread and argued a position that, as it turned out, was based upon one of my fan fictions. I took this as a compliment. There were also entertaining threads where members discussed “facts” that were unique to the movies, such as the scenes showing the birthing of Orcs in Orthanc, where book purists attempted to “correct” the movie fans and were often roundly ignored. I recall looking up “Figwit” because I had no idea what some posters were discussing. And, of course, there were the birthday parties. There were some memorable and creative posts in those threads. The opening of the second party thread drew so many members rushing in to post that they overloaded the capacity of our provider to keep up. Some posts were lost, others were seriously out of order and there was even a time lag in posts appearing. And there was still serious discussion, always.

A consequence of the burgeoning traffic was a marked increase in both the number of new threads as well as the number of posts in those threads. I recall peeking in during the morning, noting threads I found interesting and coming back later only to find dozens of posts with the thread’s subject changing as they went. I often found that I couldn’t take the time to read the entire thread and was often reluctant to post on the original topic when the thread had veered wildly off course. This was a factor in my eventually becoming “treeish.” Treeish, of course, is a reference to the Ents. In the context of these forums, it means established members posting less and less and often, and unfortunately, disappearing altogether.

At the same time, so many new threads were being created in the Books forum, posts that often should have gone into the Newcomers forum, that a serious thread would be opened and, within a short period of time, would become buried beneath other new threads so that members would not notice them. During this time, a little dismayed at the relative lack of serious threads, I undertook a project and encouraged others to help. I reread the books, including parts of HoME, took notes, and began starting substantive threads. I even developed a strategy. I would find an interesting subject, write an introduction followed by an open-ended question, with specific follow up posts in mind. Sometimes, my planned follow up posts would be mooted by the posts of others. I also sometimes would troll the archives and post to an old thread that I found interesting, bringing it “up to the top.” I still encourage others to do so.

The movies rush did not end with the release of Return of the King in December 2003. It continued for some time after that. Interest was spurred by a few factors. First, many who saw the movies then read the books and continued to post. Second, extended and director’s cut releases also drove interest. I cannot say with certainty when things began to taper off. Certainly, the traffic even in 2003 was less that early 2002. But by the end of 2004, things were certainly becoming quieter.

During the late and immediate post-movies period, I became involved in a few RPGs. This involvement eventually drew my attention away from other forums. Candidly, I was tired. Tired of policing and worn out by trying to encourage new substantive posts. I still have a notebook with thoughts for new threads scribbled down. Many I can barely figure out now. By mid-2006, one RPG that I was involved in had broken down. Another, Reunification of the Entish Bow, a parody well worth reading along with its predecessor, had finally wrapped up. I became full-blown treeish. For years, I barely posted. I took an intentional sabbatical during which I did not even look at the boards for a few months. My real life was very busy, and I almost succumbed to the “there’s nothing new to discuss” malady. Making things worse, the majority of the people who I had considered friends from the first few years disappeared entirely. I sometimes would reappear, do a mea culpa for my absence, and suggest that I was “back.” I even considered abandoning “Mithadan” entirely and starting up again with a new account.

For the purposes of complete disclosure, I have or had three accounts. I would use the alter egos for various purposes. There were a few times, during quiet periods, when I would actually “talk to myself” in a thread in an attempt to encourage posting. There was one occasion when a member was caught by his friends using a second account. For reasons that I do not recall, his friends took offense. He apologized and even suggested that he would abandon the Downs entirely. I used an exchange between Mithadan and an alter ego to poke fun at the situation and, together with some PMs, encouraged the member to stay. He still posts.

Obviously, I never left entirely. One event that helped draw me back, at least a bit, took place about ten (ish) years ago. The old, regimented, and structured RPG system was no longer working. The tiered forums and application process was discouraging and annoying potential participants. I stepped in and encouraged a dialogue for the airing of gripes and ideas. A contentious thread that reminded me of the old times. Ultimately, we did away with the old system and allowed a return, with some rules, of the freestyle RPG format. Unfortunately, while this was initially well received, by that time there generally was not a critical mass of enough interested members to resurrect RPGs on the Downs. Another casualty of social media, perhaps? Too many other ways to have fun online?

So, the Hobbit movies? There was some speculation that those releases might inspire a revival in posting. My suspicion, that those movies would not, turned out to be correct. Maybe this was because those movies were played as a pure action tale with little depth and too much absurdity. The departures from the story as written may also have contributed to the relative lack of interest in posting, beyond criticism. In 2001, Arwen wielding a sword at the fords of the Bruinen generated debate. The appearance of Tauriel in the Hobbit movies barely caused a blink. I have heard speculation that the upcoming series may also generate discussion. Perhaps…

I have tried to find enthusiasm in posting over the past few years. Sometimes I have inspiration and interest and, at other times I do not. This is apparently a common theme. At the tail end of last year’s birthday party (thank you Estelyn!) I made a toast to members departed. The list was distressingly long. Members have always come and gone here. Now, it seems, more go than come. This also factors into my lack of posts. Those that I deemed to be my comrades ten, fifteen or twenty years ago are now gone like wraiths in the wind or rarely appear and seldom stay. The analogy to the Elves departing as the ages progress is all too appropriate. Hmmmm, does that make me Cirdan, awaiting the last ship?

We still have a core of posters with varying interests and this is gratifying to me. Please continue to post! I will now issue the same challenge that I have made too many times in the past. Pick up the book that tickles your fancy, The Hobbit, LoTR, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, HoME, etc. and open the book at random. Read five pages. You will find something interesting. Then post! Simple or complex, it doesn’t matter. Why was Smaug not seen outside of the Mountain for years before the climatic events in The Hobbit? Doesn’t the beast need to eat? Was Baldog part of the canon and what was he anyway? Or scroll through the archives, find a thread from ten years ago and reawaken it with a new post.

I am still here because I am fascinated. By Tolkien and by the community. If you post, I will too.