![]() |
![]() |
Visit The *EVEN NEWER* Barrow-Downs Photo Page |
![]() |
#1 |
Haunting Spirit
|
![]()
Hello, I'm still fairly new. I'm just trying to piece together where this site is at? It seems that there are only a handful of active users left and as far as I can tell The Barrow Wight is supposed to be the admin/owner here but that account has not been active for a while.
Can anybody give me a quick rundown of who is in charge round these parts and the recent history of the site? Looking forward to spending a good long while here anyway, I don't mind the slow pace.
__________________
"And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite... ". The Silmarillion - Ainulindalë Last edited by Soriman the Whide; 04-08-2021 at 01:32 PM. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#2 |
Dead Serious
|
You have basically apprehended the basics: this is The Barrow Wight's site and it has grown quite sleepy--the analogy of the Ents turning treeish has been made many times and it grows truer with each year.
As far as "in charge" goes, it is still the Barrow Wight's site, even if he rules it as Elessar did Arnor--i.e. mostly from afar. There has, in my sixteen years, always been an element of "self-policing" among the membership, and this has grown as the membership had become more stolid and staid: the influx of teens during the early years after the original Peter Jackson movies is no more. 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. Ultimately, if there's a desire to shake us up or wake us up, I am not entirely unsympathetic (perhaps I am more of a Quickbeam than a Huorn)--I would gladly have a return to the days of logging in and finding a stack of posts awaiting me daily, but that would seem to imply a need for change and, well, change isn't always such a popular thing. From a structural standpoint, as noted, this website is still legally the Barrow-Wight's and although the majority of the membership has clearly fallen away from regular activity, I can attest to a high degree of emotional--and even financial--investment in the 'Downs as it was .
__________________
I prefer history, true or feigned.
Last edited by Formendacil; 04-08-2021 at 06:53 PM. Reason: Missed some pronouns that left a sentence ungrammatical. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#3 |
Haunting Spirit
|
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.
__________________
"And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite... ". The Silmarillion - Ainulindalë |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#4 | |
Blossom of Dwimordene
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: The realm of forgotten words
Posts: 10,357
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Quote:
![]()
__________________
You passed from under darkened dome, you enter now the secret land. - Take me to Finrod's fabled home!... ~ Finrod: The Rock Opera |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#5 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: The Treetops, C/O Great Smials
Posts: 5,035
![]() |
According to the words under my username, I've been here just over 11.5 years. I joined after I met and liked some of the members in person at various Oxonmoots (the main annual event of The Tolkien Society). I was once very active on a Tolkien messageboard under a website called Imladris, but it crashed about 20 years ago and was never the same after it was rebuilt, and then disappeared completely a few years ago. It always had a very heavy film bias, too, which was probably partly why I didn't feel at home there once I had seen and not particularly liked the films.
Nearly all my posts are in the Password thread. Unless anyone starts a conversation about Frodo, when you will see that I am not really sleeping, whether I snore or not. ![]() A hearty welcome, Sir! ![]()
__________________
"Sit by the firelight's glow; tell us an old tale we know. Tell of adventures strange and rare; never to change, ever to share! Stories we tell will cast their spell, now and for always." |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#6 |
Overshadowed Eagle
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: The north-west of the Old World, east of the Sea
Posts: 3,854
![]() ![]() |
It is pretty slow here. The only thread with regular activity is the Password game, but others pop on and off at times - a couple of the other Games threads have had bursts of engagement, and every so often there's a game of Werewolf/Mafia (as Tol-in-Gaurhoth, because we are geeks).
But - as this very thread demonstrates! - if a new thread goes up, it will usually accumulate at least a few replies over the next few days. There's been activity in all three Discussion subforums this year (ten different threads posted in over in Books!), and in both Quizzes and Mirth, so yeah, it rattles along. It just takes someone throwing out an interesting idea or question to get the discussion going. You can probably see for yourself that Roleplaying is long since departed; the last attempt to start an RP was in 2018 and didn't get any traction. Fanfiction is under construction (and currently serves as an archive for older material), and the New Silmarillion is an interesting project that has about two people occasionally working on it. hS |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#7 |
Laconic Loreman
|
I'm just glad this forum is still around, even though it's gone treeish over the last couple years.
Like a lot of forums a few years ago (what was it 4-5 years ago?) it suffered a vicious virus attack that nearly destroyed the whole thing. But perhaps the best thing about social media is the members banded together to rescue it. Even though if most of them don't post anymore (for a variety of reasons) there was that dedication and love from the membership to not let the site suffer the same fate as Melkor and disappear into the interwebs void. Lately I've been a little more active here than I have the last couple years, and I always intend to do a little more (I swear I'll return to that movie marathon thread at some point). My problem is I get easily distracted, like in real-life with the baseball season starting, and nostalgic feelings for the phantom's Arda Cup
__________________
Fenris Penguin
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#8 |
Spirit of Mist
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Tol Eressea
Posts: 3,352
![]() ![]() |
![]()
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.
__________________
Beleriand, Beleriand, the borders of the Elven-land. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#9 | |
Gruesome Spectre
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Heaven's doorstep
Posts: 8,035
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Quote:
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 ![]() 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? ![]()
__________________
Music alone proves the existence of God. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#10 | ||
Odinic Wanderer
|
![]() Quote:
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. Quote:
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. |
||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#11 |
Cryptic Aura
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 5,989
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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.
__________________
I’ll sing his roots off. I’ll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#12 |
Princess of Skwerlz
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles)
Posts: 7,500
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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!
__________________
'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...' |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#13 | |
Laconic Loreman
|
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: Quote:
__________________
Fenris Penguin
|
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#14 |
Animated Skeleton
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Bag End, The Shire
Posts: 26
![]() |
![]()
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. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#15 | |
Gruesome Spectre
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Heaven's doorstep
Posts: 8,035
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Quote:
![]() I know a lot of the peripheral applications on the actual Downs site are obsolete. My guess would be that it's due to the fact that only the forum section is seeing any real use, and it's been that way for quite a few years. You know, though, for me that's part of the charm. I can still look at my attempts at winning the haiku contest all those years ago. Sometimes, I can even keep a straight face. ![]()
__________________
Music alone proves the existence of God. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#16 |
Animated Skeleton
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Bag End, The Shire
Posts: 26
![]() |
Btw, I am not able to post a reply to a thread which had the last comment in 2001.
I do not have "enough privileges" it seems. Is it archived or something? |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#17 | |
Dead Serious
|
Quote:
It was always, however, considered fine form to post a NEW thread, linking to the old one and explicitly saying in the new thread that you were continuing the old one--if an Admin roused from their slumber and noticed, they'd combine the two threads: otherwise, it's a field trip for the Old Folks to go down memory lane and new thread of its own. Honestly, even when I joined in (*looks at dusty scroll...*) MMV anno Domini, the non-forum parts of the website were rather less used. I've had my bookmark link set at the forum mainpage since about 2006. I suspect too that even where the forum software has been updated here or there, insofar as forums are not exactly cutting edge technology anymore, the supporting software may not readily have modern social media plug-ins.
__________________
I prefer history, true or feigned.
Last edited by Formendacil; 04-12-2021 at 03:02 PM. Reason: Added reply to Inziladun. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#18 | |
Cryptic Aura
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 5,989
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Well said, Inzil. Rather strange for a newbie to come in and immediately start criticizing the place without any context or history.
Mirc has long passed its day and people can chat in multiple other forms of social media. What this forum has always been about is the posts, the discussion, the way people have responded to Tolkien and to those who enjoy reading him. Burra's haiku thread was great. So are many others. Well worth reading. ![]() This is internet history. Quote:
__________________
I’ll sing his roots off. I’ll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away. Last edited by Bêthberry; 04-12-2021 at 03:12 PM. Reason: added last sentence |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#19 |
Princess of Skwerlz
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles)
Posts: 7,500
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
We used to get new members though the Elvish name generator! I'll have to check and see if it still works...
The fun stuff on the main site doesn't keep anyone's interest that long, but the forum discussions are still valid, and some of them have moments of pure genius. It's the content, not the form that matters!
__________________
'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...' |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#20 | |
Animated Skeleton
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Bag End, The Shire
Posts: 26
![]() |
Quote:
|
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#21 |
Haunting Spirit
|
http://www.barrowdowns.com/theme-gimli.php
I'm pretty sure the name generator in question is on the left hand side of the main site listed as an "all in one" name generator. It doesn't work as far as I can tell.
__________________
"And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite... ". The Silmarillion - Ainulindalë |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#22 | |
Animated Skeleton
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Bag End, The Shire
Posts: 26
![]() |
Quote:
Many others on the Internet work. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#23 | |
Overshadowed Eagle
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: The north-west of the Old World, east of the Sea
Posts: 3,854
![]() ![]() |
Quote:
Working:
No obvious pattern, but it's likely the Location Finder used to run the same code as the Personality Test until it was "streamlined"; it might be possible to cannibalise that and restore the others. (Because it's all server-side PHP, I can't see the code and check, so this is all a guess. ![]() hS |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#24 |
Princess of Skwerlz
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles)
Posts: 7,500
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Thanks for testing all of those applications, Huinesoron! I tried the name generator, unsuccessfully, but hadn't gotten around to testing the rest.
__________________
'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...' |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#25 | ||||
Regal Dwarven Shade
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: A Remote Dwarven Hold
Posts: 3,589
![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() Quote:
![]() Quote:
There, I said it, I'm better now. Quote:
Quote:
Ours is but to riff and cry! Besides, if you don't do it, who will? I'm reminded of something the venerated Mister Underhill said one time about there only being so much mileage that you can get out of a dead author's work. (I wish I could find the post where he said that, but it eludes me). One of the big issues the forum faced is I think as the core group of Downers shrank, the long-standers have kind of all talked out the Tolkien issues that we had over the years and there grows to be less and less new items to discuss. It is why re-reads are good and new blood is better.
__________________
...finding a path that cannot be found, walking a road that cannot be seen, climbing a ladder that was never placed, or reading a paragraph that has no... |
||||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#26 |
Animated Skeleton
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Bag End, The Shire
Posts: 26
![]() |
![]()
So I was trying to figure out--How to start a new thread on the forum,I couldn't find any info about it--not even mentioned in the FAQ!
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#27 |
Blossom of Dwimordene
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: The realm of forgotten words
Posts: 10,357
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Go to the forum where you want to start the thread (eg. Movies, Quiz Room, etc). On the left side, below the Sub-forum box (if applicable) and just above where the threads are listed in their own box, there is a blue button that says "start thread". This is not necessarily intuitive, I know. I recall having to ask for instructions too when I first joined.
__________________
You passed from under darkened dome, you enter now the secret land. - Take me to Finrod's fabled home!... ~ Finrod: The Rock Opera |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#28 | |
Animated Skeleton
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Bag End, The Shire
Posts: 26
![]() |
Quote:
Admin should probably consider putting this information under FAQ perhaps... P.S. Any idea how to change Username? P.P.S. I understand that I went from "Newly Deceased" to Pile O'Bones--but how do you guys have such cool titles?Are they automatic? Last edited by Ring Bearer; 04-16-2021 at 02:15 PM. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#29 | |
Blossom of Dwimordene
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: The realm of forgotten words
Posts: 10,357
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Not sure if that's possible, but will leave it up to someone more knowledgeable in such matters to confirm.
Quote:
![]()
__________________
You passed from under darkened dome, you enter now the secret land. - Take me to Finrod's fabled home!... ~ Finrod: The Rock Opera |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#30 | ||
Odinic Wanderer
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#31 |
Gruesome Spectre
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Heaven's doorstep
Posts: 8,035
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
I'm thinking there might be a post count/length of membership standard, but I'm not sure.
__________________
Music alone proves the existence of God. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#32 |
Dead Serious
|
Names CAN be changed--i.e. it's an option in the deepest, darkest depths of the Administrator's power (and it might be an über-admin power: the sort reserved to the Barrow-Wight himself). But I can't recall a previous instance of it (on this forum--I believe I can elsewhere). If you're looking to refine/redefine yourself, you're best off trying to get a nickname going. In Ye Olden Days*™, besides your obvious ones (like Form for Formendacil, we had:
T.O.R.E for The One Real Estel Sally for satansaloser2005 Helen for mark12_30 Etc, etc... And, of course, the big differentiators are signatures and avatars. As to Forum titles, though... I'm being too lazy to link anything, but memory (and I trust it in this instance) is that the threshold for being considered for a Custom Title was 500 posts--but it was no guarantee. I want to say that Gil-Galad hit 4000+ posts before the Admins added him to the honour roll, which was dramatic but by no means unique. The idea of a custom title was to recognise a certain longevity and importance to the forum: the post count being a measure of quantity but quantity was insufficient. In other words, you couldn't get there purely by contributing to the "fun"--there had to be some substance, gravity of some sort. But it has been a while. And it was always fun to see what reference or fun title people would come up with. Mind you, who last crossed the 500-post mark even if the Admin team were still thinking of such things?
__________________
I prefer history, true or feigned.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#33 | ||
Blossom of Dwimordene
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: The realm of forgotten words
Posts: 10,357
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Quote:
![]() There are also members who re-joined under a different name for various reasons, such as log in issues. Quote:
...Actually, maybe not so easily, there is perseverance involved. I counted over 20 Ghost Princes at >1000 post count, there are many more in the 500-1000 range. Many of them have not been active for ages, but a good handful are currently or (relatively) recently active. One thing that I learned while doing this exercise is that either half of you people secretly changed your titles, or you just haven't posted for so long that I forgot what they sound like, because it was like reading them for the first time. ![]()
__________________
You passed from under darkened dome, you enter now the secret land. - Take me to Finrod's fabled home!... ~ Finrod: The Rock Opera |
||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#34 |
Shady She-Penguin
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: In a far land beyond the Sea
Posts: 8,093
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Oh wow, this thread makes me so happy. Is it normal for a person in their early 30s to get this high on nostalgia?
![]() But yeah, the name generator! (That's where Thinlómien comes from, incidentally.) Or the personal title promotions! And well... everything! I joined this site when I was 14. Coming across my old posts from say, 2004-2006ish is somewhat terrifying - the teenagerishness radiating from them is quite something. But I'm also pretty proud of myself for joining a forum in a foreign language at that age and discussing everything here quite comfortably if with the occasional sad linguistic error. (I still remember the RPG where I wrote about my character that as a kid he often "coupled with" his sister ![]() Yeah and of course my first thread here was about whether some of Thorin's company could have been women since it was reputedly hard for outsiders to tell dwarf women from men, and I got beautifully trolled by the infamous Sauce-Pan Man, because I was a 14 year old kid who took everything seriously. Good times! ![]() But that being said, I'm very happy to have logged in today. I think I will lurk around a little more again. Sadly, I don't think I have the stamina for in depth book discussion anymore, but we'll see. I think Legate and I started a chapter-by-chapter project maybe... four years ago? and abandoned that somewhere in the middle of the FotR. Maybe I could resume the reread and the chapter commentaries!
__________________
Like the stars chase the sun, over the glowing hill I will conquer Blood is running deep, some things never sleep Double Fenris
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#35 | |
Animated Skeleton
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Bag End, The Shire
Posts: 26
![]() |
Quote:
Not hating here--English is not my mother tongue either. I actually assumed most of you here must be Americans...
__________________
"I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened." "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#36 |
Blossom of Dwimordene
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: The realm of forgotten words
Posts: 10,357
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Quite a few are, but quite a few are not. Many are not native English speakers, but they express themselves so eloquently you would not be able to tell, which is an amazing achievement to their credit. And many have been introduced to Tolkien in languages other than English.
Though I currently live in an English speaking country and English is my primary language, my first read of LOTR was not in English, and when watching the Jackson films as a kid I understood exactly one line ("Rohan will answer"), the rest was mostly guess-by-the-pictures. I'm sure there are translated films out there, but at that time we were still using VCR and you watched what you had. I wanna second Lommy's feelings about coming across old posts. Whenever I look at my early posting I am quite embarrassed for myself. And on the flip side, if I am reading an old thread and think that I've made a good point there, it's probably not from my earliest years on the Downs. ![]()
__________________
You passed from under darkened dome, you enter now the secret land. - Take me to Finrod's fabled home!... ~ Finrod: The Rock Opera Last edited by Galadriel55; 04-17-2021 at 12:16 PM. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#37 | |
Odinic Wanderer
|
Post 4000
Quote:
I never managed to be part of a chapter by chapter, and it is actually one of my big regrets on this site. If I was to join one these days, I would probably need to do it by audiobook to make my schedule work. I hope you find the stamina. Last edited by Rune Son of Bjarne; 04-17-2021 at 02:07 PM. Reason: Milestone post... Post 4000! |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#38 | |
Regal Dwarven Shade
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: A Remote Dwarven Hold
Posts: 3,589
![]() ![]() ![]() |
Quote:
His activity mostly stopped in late 2009 - early 2010.
__________________
...finding a path that cannot be found, walking a road that cannot be seen, climbing a ladder that was never placed, or reading a paragraph that has no... |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#39 | ||||
Wight of the Old Forest
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Unattended on the railway station, in the litter at the dancehall
Posts: 3,329
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
And out of Erebus many souls arose of the deceased Dead
Welcome to the Downs, Soriman! You've already proven yourself a mighty conjurer to have raised so many undead spirits from their graves (with a little help from Formendacil on Facebook).
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
I guess what meant most to me about the Downs during my more active membership (apart from the sheer pleasure of finally talking to people who got what Tolkien was all about, and learning stuff about his work that I hadn't dreamed of) was the community spirit (and this, I feel, was stronger, or more tightly knit, among the Werewolfing crowd than the Downs at large, although I guess that the long time role players had something similar going, and there were of course overlappings); and this was also the part of Downs activity that was most easily transferred to social media, hence the shift Formy talked about above. Also I'm afraid I've got burned out discussing Middle-earth over the years, or at least I'm not interested in discussing the world-building rather than the actual literary works, which is a direction many recent threads seem to be taking (i.e. I couldn't care less which kind of units were in Sauron's or Gondor's army in the War of the Ring, stuff like that); but I'll always be up for close reading and dissecting Tolkien's prose, so... time to revisit Chapter by Chapter, I guess?
__________________
Und aus dem Erebos kamen viele seelen herauf der abgeschiedenen toten.- Homer, Odyssey, Canto XI |
||||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#40 | |
Gruesome Spectre
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Heaven's doorstep
Posts: 8,035
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Quote:
As I get older, I find myself treasuring Tolkien's works all the more, and becoming rather protective. I am fearful of not heeding Gandalf's advice to Saruman, about not breaking something to discover its workings. I really have no interest now in how the books were constructed. I don't care about real or imagined symbolism. I know what I feel when I read of Tuor seeing the Great Sea for the first time, and spreading his arms as if to embrace it; or picturing Galadriel standing with Frodo in front of her Mirror, struggling with her own longing and temptation to use the Ring. That's to say nothing of a relatively little-discussed work, Smith of Wooten Major, that can make me long to journey with Smith and meet the Queen by some shining water. I love this forum, though. It's been here through a great many changes in my life, and it's always a comfort to know I can come back.
__________________
Music alone proves the existence of God. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
|
![]() |