[Mithadan]

I forgot to mention the werewolf games! Of course, this is because I never participated in one. As I said, my history of this site is subjective. I also did not mention The New Silmarillion forum and project which still, to some extent, lives and breathes. As I recall, Lindil was instrumental in getting it started. An ambitious undertaking; sift through HoME and try to figure out what JRRT's final conception of The Silmarillion was. I actually thought this was possible at the outset. I no longer do. First, it would require too much creative or interpretive writing to do it as JRRT may have intended. Only the tales of Beren and Luthien and of Turin were drawn out with any significant detail as the years progressed. The fall of Gondolin was only drawn out in detail in Lost Tales and the fall of Doriath was barely revisited except in summary. Second, I am no longer sure that Tolkien had a specific final version in mind. I have my own views on what Tolkien wanted The Silmarillion to be in his later years and have sympathy for him that he never achieved his vision.

I agree, Inziladun, that threads about HoME and NoME can be a bit off-putting. This is why I encourage members to open new threads or revive old ones that may be of broader interest.