Learning about this website

[Mithadan]

Soriman, I am perhaps the only "active" administrator left on this site. It was founded by Barrow-Wight, as others have commented, and, when it began to gain traction, he invited myself and two others, Mr. Underhill and Sharku, to join him as administrators. A few years later, Thenamir was added to the team. I am still, more or less, in touch with BW, Underhill and Thenamir.

At the height of the interest generated by the movies, we added several moderators, one or more for each forum, to keep things more or less under control. We prided ourselves as being the "thoughtful" Tolkien board, though we certainly provided opportunities for fun and creativity.

As time passed, interest dwindled. The "fair weather" fans spawned by the movies faded away and the Hobbit movies did not resurrect them. As you have commented, other forms of social media have also distracted folks who might otherwise be interested. Even as members drop away or stop by less frequently, we still have a core of members that remain truly interested. Even here, after a while, some stop posting (we have always called it "getting treeish") but they are usually replaced with others.

I too miss the way things were ten or more years ago, though there certainly were challenges posed by the sheer volume of traffic that we had. I am glad that we still have a core of posters, but wish there were more. All I can say is the same thing that I have been saying for many years. Start a thread and people will discuss what you have to say. If you don't there is nothing to discuss.

Once again, welcome Soriman.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Mithadan

As time passed, interest dwindled. The "fair weather" fans spawned by the movies faded away and the Hobbit movies did not resurrect them. As you have commented, other forms of social media have also distracted folks who might otherwise be interested. Even as members drop away or stop by less frequently, we still have a core of members that remain truly interested. Even here, after a while, some stop posting (we have always called it "getting treeish") but they are usually replaced with others.

Very true, this.
Though not an "original" member, I found this forum within 7 months or so of its founding. I've been around for a great deal of the goings-on here.

There were indeed some very spirited discussions here back in the day. The fur was really flying for a while just before PJ released the LOTR films, and those threads were great.
What I love more than anything are the book-threads: getting deep into Tolkien with like-minded people on the Downs is a unique experience.

I've personally been busier than Gollum at a salmon farm the past couple of years: retirement, back to school, new career.....but I still check this place every day, and if I at all have time to comment on something, I will.

Am I going to have to watch that wretched Amazon series so I can come here and tear it shreds?

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

That said, even if we are more of Old Folks Home than a party house these days, some of the admins or mods are still about, even if they're not always logging in, and one of the factors that contributed to the site falling asleep was the rise of social media--but with the silver lining that, should any of them be needed, someone can usually be summoned swiftly enough through the Facebook group.

Funny I never thought of the Decline in that context, no matter how obvious it seems now.

I didn't see it at the time, but I guess for me the process really started when some of us started using LiveJournal for talking about non-Tolkien things. Though obviously it wasn't until the rise of Facebook that things really escalated.

I always just assumed that people got busy, and you know, that the crushing pressure of the absurdity of life had finally gotten to us all.

Originally Posted by Soriman the Whide

Thanks for the background, completely understandable situation you find yourselves in here. It's a shame most forums began to fade with the rise of social media, so much knowledge and great connections can be found on forums such as this one.

I find it entirely regrettable that I did not find this site 10 years ago.

Like many others in this thread I also long for the days when the site was buzzing with activity. Back then I would log in several times a day, these days I am proud if I remember to do it once a month.

I have made so many wonderful connections trough this site and not a day goes buy without some of my fellow wights being in my thoughts, which is probably why it pains me not to be more active.

[Bêthberry]

Gosh, remember when we were pseoudonymous (except for a certain few people)? And then we started mooting.

I think one of the really memorable things about the Downs is that it was limited to Tolkien talk. That focus was not dissipated by other topics and it allowed us to communicate without the usual distractions of real life partisanship, age, gender.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I'm one of the moderators that hasn't gone completely treeish, though my life has changed since the days I joined here (going on 20 years ago!) and I don't have the time to spend in intensive discussion or storytelling any more. I remember (wistfully) the days when I spent nights (due to time zone differences) in the Downs' chat room.

For me, lots of additional reading was inspired by discussions of Tolkien books that I hadn't previously read, and real life activities (especially Tolkien Society conferences and Oxonmoot, plus the German Tolkien Society, of which I am an active member) came about because of information shared on the Downs.

As others have said, the limitation to Tolkien discussion, with special emphasis on the books, and the insistence on (family) friendliness that some felt restrictive is what made this site unique. Meeting other members in real life was a privilege, and even in these days of restricted travel, keeping in touch with BD friends online is one of my life's pleasures.

I often forget to look in daily, but do try to keep up with any interesting discussions going on. We shall see if the new series sparks renewed interest in discussion...

Anyway, welcome to you and any other new members, and please enjoy yourself - you might inspire us Entish trees to wake up again!

[Boromir88]

Oooh, first Rune, then Bb and now Esty! Form, how many long-time members returning does it take that it does become a party house, in your opinion?

Granted I keep in touch with a few of you almost daily now since the pandemic, but it is nice to return to the forum to discuss our favorite author and his stories again.

Pardon me if I told you this story, Esty, because I can't remember if I did, but I haven't forgotten it. One of my first threads I created was "The Decision to Croak" (I would link the thread, but I don't want to return to that embarrassing time). Anyway, Esty, rightfully raked me over the coals for that atrocious thread title. And if your intention was to sear into my brain "do better when naming threads here" it definitely worked. 15 years later I still agonize over what to title threads. "Will Esty drag me for this thread title?" is to this day what I ask myself before submitting a new thread. "I haven't seen her around for a while, but she could be lurking and it's not worth the risk!"

So, Soriman, welcome and thank you for your interest in learning more about this site. Some of us, myself included, might seem like we are Huorns, as described through Merry's eyes:

"They stand here and there in the wood or under its eaves, silent, watching endlessly over the trees; but deep in the darkest dales there are hundreds and hundreds of them, I believe."

"..Dangerous. I should be terrified of meeting them, if there were no true Ents about to look after them."~Flotsam and Jetsam

But (at least for myself) I'm just protective over a place that has been like a home for over half my life now. Unfortunately, that could lead to an impression that I'm naturally suspicious and standoffish to new members, but I'll make more of an effort to not be so insular.

[Ring Bearer]

When was this website last updated?

The social media links to use for Personal Messaging are ANCIENT.

I've never even heard the names of these social media connections except for Skype.

Probably should include some modern stuff.