Would Runescape still be here without Fan-sites?

[TheKoolKandy]

You know, I'm surprised at the lack of imagination and thinking outside the box that General discussion seems to have nowdays.

 

To put it in a more simple way, imagine if all fansites suddenly disappear, and no way for any fan-sites to be made after. If this had happened in, for example 06, would many of the higher levels of today still be here?

If it wasn't for tip it I probably would have quit months ago, but all the friends I've met have kept me going and enjoying this game.

 

So atleast for me I think fansites play an important role in whether I will keep playing or not. I will probably keep playing until I have a reason to stop.

[theotherscaper]

You know, I'm surprised at the lack of imagination and thinking outside the box that General discussion seems to have nowdays.

 

To put it in a more simple way, imagine if all fansites suddenly disappear, and no way for any fan-sites to be made after. If this had happened in, for example 06, would many of the higher levels of today still be here?

 

The only way that could happen is if freedom of speech on the internet disappeared. If there was no freedom, there would be no gaming. If there was no freedom, there would also be no internet.

 

The idea of fansites diappearing pretty means no internet anyway. There's no way of no existence of fansites. It's like saying Myspace and Facebook were not bound to ever happen.

[CharlieBrown]

Fan sitess.

 

No fans of runescape = no fan sites.

 

No fans = gg runescape.

 

LOGIC@2

 

/sarcasm.

[Junkmutt]

In a world where there is no Runescape fan-sites, the official runescape forums would be a ton better. All the guides would be like the Archive of Wisdom on TIF, of course mixed with lame guides. The want to have a separate place to store this information would birth the first runescape fan-site, thus breaking the basic law of that universe destroying the fabric of reality, effectively removing said situation from ever had occurred.

[green9090]

You know, I'm surprised at the lack of imagination and thinking outside the box that General discussion seems to have nowdays.

 

To put it in a more simple way, imagine if all fansites suddenly disappear, and no way for any fan-sites to be made after. If this had happened in, for example 06, would many of the higher levels of today still be here?

If the internet was shut down I think we'd have bigger problems than not being able to make fan sites, as far as keeping RS afloat.

 

You've got this random infeasible idea that you're trying to force into being discussable, but it just isn't. Fan sites are a direct result of RS being popular- you can't imagine what might happen if they didn't exist because that would go hand in hand with a completely unrelated lack of interest in the game. Fan sites are a symptom of a healthy community- healthy communities are not the result of fan sites.

 

Related to this discussion: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheWikiRule

[canadiansmurf]

Yes, without the fan sites I never would have bothered levelling skills. I wouldn't have bothered doing quests either as it would be too annoying to keep gathering things as you go through the quest without a reliable guide.

 

The combat system is simple and afkable but for skills it's best to know experience rates so you can see how long a 99 will take, and costs for various levelling methods etc.

 

 

It's shameful how there are so many mistakes and a real lack of information on the RS official site. Their game manual is not user friendly at all.

 

So is Jagex compensating you guys at all? The people running the fan sites? You deserve a percentage in royalties at this point :thumbsup:

 

 

My expectation is without these fan sites the game would have had fewer players but a better community as most people would have been playing because they like challenges with a smaller community you would get to know people. There would be less botting as well because people would not care about levels or GEEPEE.

[canadiansmurf]

In a world where there is no Runescape fan-sites, the official runescape forums would be a ton better. All the guides would be like the Archive of Wisdom on TIF, of course mixed with lame guides. The want to have a separate place to store this information would birth the first runescape fan-site, thus breaking the basic law of that universe destroying the fabric of reality, effectively removing said situation from ever had occurred.

 

Oh young one, you weren't around when the RSOF forums USED to have great guides. A few were stickied, most were bumped or eaten by the page 50+ monster.

 

The frustrating part was that the people making amazing guides were rarely rewarded for the time and effort they put in, Jagex could have handled it better, now they seem to reward people randomly for breathing with a forum modship.

 

I remember Gen (or Gem or something similar) who wrote an amazing slayer guide that was used by almost all the top slayers at one point.

[SwreeTak]

This is silly. If no fansites existed, that would be runescape's failing, not the fan sites. Any sufficiently popular thing has websites made about it, that's the way the world works.

 

Fansites exist because runescape is popular enough to warrant them- fansites are in no way essential for the survival of runescape except in that if all fansites fell inactive it would almost certainly mean runescape was dying on its own. There's no conceivable way runescape could be popular without fansites coming into existence as a result, so there's nothing to discuss here.

 

I agree fully. Runescape would be able to survive without it's fansites, but since fansites are created when a game is popular enough, this all just becomes a pretty much impossible discussion. This because the whole thing we're supposed to discuss is pretty much impossible to happen.

[Obtaurian]

This topic seems like a sort of ploy to get everyone to exclaim their undying love for Tip.it.

[Sir_Kurity]

Of course it would.

 

Though, i anticipate alot of new player quittage. Some of jagex's quests are simply impossible without a quest guide, and new players may simply give up and quit if they don't have a guide to look at.

[Youmu]

I imagine Runescape would be a lot more dumber without these fansites here.

 

Face it, the KB is majorly screwed up, and Jagex's forum system is obviously inferior to other ones out there, like these forums for example.

 

Also the RSOF is trolled enough - it doesn't need to be worse.

 

If anything, fansites are improvements over Runescape's current community. However, as others stated in this thread, fansites are the results of popularity, not the other way around. There are still TONS of misinformed people even with tip.it around.

[Ginger_Warrior]

You know, I'm surprised at the lack of imagination and thinking outside the box that General discussion seems to have nowdays.

 

To put it in a more simple way, imagine if all fansites suddenly disappear, and no way for any fan-sites to be made after. If this had happened in, for example 06, would many of the higher levels of today still be here?

If the internet was shut down I think we'd have bigger problems than not being able to make fan sites, as far as keeping RS afloat.

 

You've got this random infeasible idea that you're trying to force into being discussable, but it just isn't. Fan sites are a direct result of RS being popular- you can't imagine what might happen if they didn't exist because that would go hand in hand with a completely unrelated lack of interest in the game. Fan sites are a symptom of a healthy community- healthy communities are not the result of fan sites.

 

Related to this discussion: http://tvtropes.org/...ain/TheWikiRule

I agree that this thread doesn't have any discursive value, but I'm not sure if I agree with the Wiki rule. Take Pokemon. Bulbapedia exists as a Wiki, Smogon exists as a fansite. The wiki serves to provide information based on objectivity and fact, the fansite offers personal opinions on competitive strategy. They exist alongside each other, and have different niches.

 

The thing about Tip.It, in my own humble opinion, is that Tip.It attempts to be both and fails to be either. It doesn't have the same quantity of information as RS Wiki, and it doesn't offer the practical advice that can be found on other RuneScape fansites, let alone to the quality of a site like Smogon. Take the magic guide; doesn't even mention the String Amulet spell, let alone its usefulness in training the skill quickly and relatively inexpensively.

 

Of course, Tip.It predates RS Wiki. It may have served a wider purpose many years ago. Can you say that nowadays, Tip.It is keeping RS open for business?

 

Not a chance.

[Danqazmlp]

You know, I'm not forcing any of you to post here so if you think there is nothing to discuss, you can try not posting.

 

My main thought is that fan-sites (not just tip.it) are creating a sort of barrier which is stopping a lot of the higher level players from quitting. Without the multiple fan-sites, many players would have gotten bored without the competition or discussions that happen. I would say that fan-sites are responsible for keeping a large amount of RS players still playing.

[The Observer]

I find this an interesting question actually. In truth, no Runescape will probably not exist today. There would realistically be little to no community considering the forums they have aren't exactly the best in the world. Not to mention that fansites offer various options that the Runescape site itself doesn't and cannot offer. That is quest walkthroughs, more in-depth skill guides, calculators and a lot more. This boosts the community exponentially and influences players to remain in the game. Also players of other games can see the community and be more encouraged to try it out.

 

I suppose this question is similar to can a game survive without a strong community? In my opinion, it's very difficult. Why? Well, think of it this way. Runescape is considered a 'nerdy' game right? Players would be less likely to stay in the game unless they have other people playing it with them. Not just one or two but lots more. But, on the contrary games such as Call of Duty don't really require a fansite. This just shows how Runescape is a lot more vulnerable than other popular games when it comes to fansites at least.

[Obtaurian]

To both previous posters:

 

The RSOF would still exist and suffice as a medium for discussion, even if it's sub-par. I was very active on the RSOF before I discovered TIF, and while it's a madhouse, there are a lot of great G&A threads and skill guides (Mega Slayer Guide anyone?). Sorry, but fan sites do not keep Runescape going. That's a ludicrous claim.

[Danqazmlp]

You may think it is a ludicrous claim, which is exactly what I said in the first line of the first post, but fan-sites have had a large effect of the longevity of this game and it's lasting success.

 

Take the clan world for example. The clan forums on the RSOF work, but they do not work anywhere near the way those here on tip.it and those on RSC work. The clan world would in no way have the strength it currently does, and therefore, you have to ask whether some of the things catered towards the clan world would exist too. For example, would clan wars have come into existence?

 

To a player, a community is one of the driving forces to staying in the game. Jagex have taken time to introduce things such as clan chats to try and create communities, but for a long time, the only good places to create communities were fan-sites.

[Ginger_Warrior]

But if we break that analogy into a process, it's either one of two things:

 

1) People want to compete in a clan -> Find Tip.It -> Play RuneScape

2) Play RuneScape -> People want to compete in a clan -> Find Tip.It

 

It's pretty obvious 1) doesn't happen in the real world.

[Danqazmlp]

The clan world is much more complicated than that. However, both of your examples should be joined into one.

 

With fan-sites:

 

Play RuneScape -> People want to compete in a clan -> Find Tip.It -> Player Runescape

 

 

Without fan-sites, the last part of that process doesn't happen, or doesn't happen as efficiently. The reason for said player wanting to find a clan may have been that the rest of Runescape bored them, which, if there were no fan-sites with active clan communities, they then may quit the game altogether.

 

There isn't one specific model which can be applied to any circumstance.

[green9090]

ITT: Dan covers his ears and hums loudly.

[Ginger_Warrior]

Firstly, how many people are in clans? (I'm reckoning not a lot)

 

Secondly, it's a bit egotistic to suggest the longevity you talk of could only have been provided through Tip.It and RSC. If Penguin hunting is organised very capably through the RSOF, why can't anything else? Furthermore, if the supposedly competent people on Tip.It weren't on Tip.It because Tip.It didn't exist, they'd be on RSOF, organising stuff there.

[Danqazmlp]

I would say you reckon wrong. The clan world is a very large part of Runescape. It has a very large weight with Jagex and has influenced a lot of updates. This is not just Pk clans, but skiller clans, event clans, mini-game clans etc. On penguin hunting, it is half organised through the RSOF, but it also relies heavily on clan chats. This was something championed by the above-mentioned clans.

 

I am not saying that Runescape would not be here, but it would be a very different place and there is a possibility that a large portion of current players who are at the higher end of the level spectrum would not be here.

 

 

Also, I'm not suggesting it is only Tip.It and RSC who have had an effect in this longevity of the game, but all the fan-sites which Runescape has. The thousands of players who use them for blogs or for posting achievements, would they still have the drive to play is they could not show them off? They could post them on the RSOF, but with it's no picture system and size, would it have the same effect on the user?

[aspeeder]

I would say you reckon wrong. The clan world is a very large part of Runescape. It has a very large weight with Jagex and has influenced a lot of updates. This is not just Pk clans, but skiller clans, event clans, mini-game clans etc. On penguin hunting, it is half organised through the RSOF, but it also relies heavily on clan chats. This was something championed by the above-mentioned clans.

 

I am not saying that Runescape would not be here, but it would be a very different place and there is a possibility that a large portion of current players who are at the higher end of the level spectrum would not be here.

 

 

Also, I'm not suggesting it is only Tip.It and RSC who have had an effect in this longevity of the game, but all the fan-sites which Runescape has. The thousands of players who use them for blogs or for posting achievements, would they still have the drive to play is they could not show them off? They could post them on the RSOF, but with it's no picture system and size, would it have the same effect on the user?

I kindof see what you're arguing, though correct me if I'm wrong: the RSOF and other JaGeX implemented infrastructure are vastly inadequate compared to the current fansites, and would the community be as strong without the tools that fansite forums provide, but clan chat and RSOF don't (Such as messaging). I would say it'd be fairly weakened, because though there are alternative ways to compensate for the primitive structure of the RSOF (For communication there's email, IM, skype, or IRC for example), the community would be divided between the different mediums, and it'd be difficult to bring masses of people together. It's an interesting hypothetical, but honestly I'd have quit over lack of correct information before the lack of community.

[Sir_Kurity]

All the guides would be like the Archive of Wisdom on TIF, of course mixed with lame guides.

 

No way, it would be "against the spirit of the game".

[gspbeetle]

You may think it is a ludicrous claim, which is exactly what I said in the first line of the first post, but fan-sites have had a large effect of the longevity of this game and it's lasting success.

 

Take the clan world for example. The clan forums on the RSOF work, but they do not work anywhere near the way those here on tip.it and those on RSC work. The clan world would in no way have the strength it currently does, and therefore, you have to ask whether some of the things catered towards the clan world would exist too. For example, would clan wars have come into existence?

 

To a player, a community is one of the driving forces to staying in the game. Jagex have taken time to introduce things such as clan chats to try and create communities, but for a long time, the only good places to create communities were fan-sites.

 

I think we will probably lose to rsof with we declare war on rsof clans forum. Our active population that still plays the game is low and the one who will actually join TET events? Even lower.

 

Not sure about other specialist fansites, but scapeboard or other mmo fansite startout as something like wikileaks. We are basically sharing informations, view points or maybe rumor that the company probably dont want you to know. The J company hate questguides and it is probably not wise to say something they dont appreciate in their backyard no matter how great their forum software is.

 

Anyways, I am not disagreeing with you, tip.it does keeps me playing... However it obviously doesnt apply to people like some admin and mods we know who have rage quited and still remain here.

But in some degrees, it does keep those non-active players interested in what happening with the game and may cause them to return for a few days or so.

[HerHero]

I believe so, all fan-sites do is bring the community of players who are already committed together. If you count RS wiki and other Runescape-guide-like website, then there would be people drifting off. God knows how many times I've done quests on multiple accounts, and if I didn't have the help from the fan sites I don't think I would have even bothered, thus lessening the amount of time I play.