Post by Morreion on Feb 3, 2015 19:26:04 GMT -5
Massively-that-was (Massively)
I have sad news for the Massively staff and community today, news most of you already knew was coming.
This week, we learned our AOL overlords have decided that they no longer wish to be in the enthusiast blog business and are shutting all of them down. This mass-sunset includes decade-old gaming journalism icon Joystiq, and therefore, it includes us. February 3rd, 2015, will be the final day of operation for Massively-that-was.
I would like to be able to tell you truthfully that this is an equitable and just decision that makes some sort of logical sense, but the reality is that our overlords' decisions have always been unfathomable. I know more of what I know about corporate from reading tech and finance news than through my own job. We all suspected this was coming eventually a year ago when a VP whose name I don't even know and who never read our site chose to reward our staggering, hard-won 40% year-over-year page view growth by... hacking our budget in half. There's nothing to do in the face of that kind of logic but throw your hands in the air. It's not about merit or lack thereof, and it's not about journalism or gaming being dead or anything grand like that, so there's no point in taking it personally.
But for me, it's hard not to. This was a lot more than a job for me. I've worked as a lead editor at Massively for just shy of five years, half of that as its boss, and it seeped into my life and became more than a full-time job, even though none of us ever received any benefits. You know that two-week "maternity leave" I took last year when my daughter was born? That was my vacation for the whole year. And I wasn't alone in that foolishness/dedication; the Massively writers, past and present, bent over backward for the site. I flat out love these guys. I came in here as a geeky copyeditor and am leaving with a fleet of good friends and a much deeper understanding of how and why my favorite genre runs the way it does, and it will forever influence how I play games and whose games I buy.
Massively's writers are second to none in the MMO genre; I'll so dearly miss the day-to-day, down-in-the-trenches collaboration with my team. People actually cared about this place. In a year when other sites were finally discovering ethics, we wondered what took them so long because our network already had a transparent ethics policy. We already didn't play dirty pool. You might not have agreed with all of our opinions -- I didn't always agree with our opinions! -- but our hands were clean, and you can't say that about a lot of sites in this industry. Some sites out there actually employ industry PR as fan writers, out in the open, like it's no big thing.
That's your industry now.
We tried to rise above it.
Our whole network did.
Massively's community deserves its kudos too. We had some trolls and some people who made me tear my hair out, but we also had a core of whip-smart regulars who sparked lively, thoughtful debate and inspired us to write more and better. I love our community, and I proved it by hiring several writers straight out of the comment section. I'm really going to miss being challenged to think harder and type faster by you. Where do I go to learn now? Even if I were still just a player, even if I had never worked here, I would be deeply troubled by the vanishing of a site like Massively. It's just not fair, but it's happening anyway.
I would like to thank each and every one of you who sent your condolences and best wishes and #savemassively tweets to us and kept #savejoystiq trending all Tuesday as the rumors began to leak out. There's even a petition, for skies' sake. I am sorry we couldn't overtly confirm it then, but I'm pretty sure most of you reading have been around long enough to understand why. We've spent a lot of this week linking those comments to each other to keep our spirits up. Heck, some of our harshest critics and even devs we've written about unflatteringly nevertheless rallied around us, and we're grateful and touched. Really, thank you. You're genuinely classy in an industry that too frequently isn't. But then I always knew that MMO players were a special breed of gamer. It's why I've stuck by this genre for over 17 years. Community may be degrading inside of MMOs, but outside of them, nope -- I see community every day.
I want to thank my team for standing by me through this brutal and exhausting last year in particular. Jef, who never put up with bullshit and always put the site first. Justin, who never complained and always did so much more than he had to. Eliot, with whom I spent so many mornings arguing just to argue. MJ, whose enthusiasm reminds me games are supposed to be fun. Toli, whose articles make me wish I could write half as well as he. Brendan, whose longevity is surpassed only by his talent and expertise in so many subjects. Larry, who wore any hat I asked him to and always found the inside scoops. And Mike, a consummate professional who for some reason willingly came back to write for me even after I had to lay him off once already. That is how much people love this place.
I would also like to thank my boss at Joystiq, Ludwig Kietzmann. He demonstrated tremendous faith in me to run Massively as a unique outlet in the industry. He insulated us from so much corporate ick, creating a writing-first environment that few internet editors ever experience. He kept us online last year when he could have cut us loose. And he treated the MMO genre with respect, which is nearly unheard of on mainstream gaming sites. /salute, Luddy
Many of you have asked us what's next. As we've been alluding, we are considering striking out as a team on a site that isn't beholden to indifferent corporate overlords. Those of you who are begging us to crowdfund might get a chance to put your money where your mouths are and help shape that idea. We'll be releasing more information over the next few weeks as we formulate our plans and will be using our social media feeds to communicate when we're ready. If we go forward, we hope you'll join us.
In the meantime, I invite you to follow our writers and share your own Twitter handles in the comments so we can follow you right back. (I mean it: There are some posters here I really don't want to lose track of.)
Bree Royce (@nbrianna, blog)
Jef Reahard (@jefreahard)
Justin Olivetti (@sypster, blog)
Eliot Lefebvre (@eliot_Lefebvre, blog)
MJ Guthrie (@mj_Guthrie, blog)
Mike Foster (@mikedotfoster, blog)
Anatoli Ingram (@ceruleangrey)
Brendan Drain (@nyphur)
Larry Everett (@shaddoe, blog)
The site, I'm told, will be archived and kept online, at least for a while. We're here until the lights go out on Tuesday. When you can't run, you crawl, and when you can't crawl... well, you know how it goes.
-Bree
So long, Massively, and thanks for all the fish (Massively)
"I'm going to miss the Massively team."
The real goodbyes began over a year ago, to be honest. I've not only had to say farewell to former staffers like Rubi, Liz, Krystalle, Richie, and Sera who went on to make a big name for themselves in the industry, but to a good chunk of the team that got laid off due to the AOL budget cuts last year. And now I have to say goodbye to everyone else, at least in terms of working with them on a daily basis.
Massively was an incredible work family. We never always agreed with each other, but we appreciated, respected, and cared for each other so much. We were each other's biggest supporters. I have always been in awe of being part of Massively because I got to rub shoulders with such terrific writers who always put up pieces and perspectives that made me try even harder due to their quality.
Bree's been the best editor-in-chief that anyone could ask for. She's been infinitely patient (especially with how I could never place "only" right in a sentence) and encouraging to the team and has helped transform us into better writers through coaching and grammar seminars. She inspired us all to do our very best and was a snarky podcast co-host to boot.
Jef is so hard-working and does so without ever complaining about the work (now about games, that's another story altogether), and he and Bree handled the editing responsibilities capitally this past year. I'll really miss his laconic attitude and his eternal search for a great sandbox.
Eliot has passion and gaming experience that shows in his pieces, and he's never been afraid to speak his mind, even on controversial topics. Larry is not only a terrific guy, but he's wowed me with his writing, vlogging, and graphics skills. MJ is simply one of the most enthusiastic gamers in the world, and her unabashed love for all things MMO was a treat to witness (as were her streams). Our columnists Mike, Toli, Brendan, and pretty much all of our former staffers had such impressive in-depth knowledge of their subjects and a talent in expressing those with thoughtful and fascinating pieces.
I'm really, truly going to miss jumping into our office chat room every day to talk to them and gush over the big news or the stupid industry move or our own personal lives. Come tomorrow, I fear I will be at a loss in regard to this.
This is Massively, and farewell to it (Massively)
Well, folks. This is it.
On November 2nd, 2007, Massively.com began. "This is Massively," Mike Schramm wrote, "and welcome to it." Today, on February 3rd, 2015, Massively.com ends. For the last seven years, three months, and two days, we've sought to be not a mirror but a lens through which to view the vibrant MMO industry. We conveyed news, opinions, streams, videos, comments, jokes, snark, and yes, even mourning for the far too many MMO sunsets we've all endured. Now the sun sets on us too.
This last week has seemed surreal. Consumed as we are by page views and comment counts, we sometimes forget that our audience is flush with remarkable gamers who care deeply about the MMORPG genre and the people in it -- even us. How strange that only in saying goodbye have we fully bridged that gulf between writers and readers. It's felt like meeting PvP rivals at a con for a beer and realizing that fun and earnest people stand behind those avatars. In person, you're all pretty damn cool.
Our comment sections and social media accounts have overflowed with sympathy and support as well. Readers like BalsBigBrother1 and Greywolfe and Xephyr and Dion posted videos and screenshots in tribute (just look at all the /salutes in this GW2 comment thread!). And of course, there's the heartbreaking memorial to Massively by Starr Long in Shroud of the Avatar shown above and the fierce tribute to Massively by Camelot Unchained's Mark Jacobs that rolled out this morning. Thank you, all of you.
Massively.com is done, and we've said our goodbyes, but we have more to write; it just won't be here. It'll be somewhere else... somewhere a little more overpowered. In a week or two, friends and readers, we'll need your help, and we'll want your company. We want to keep writing and podcasting for you. We hope you'll join us.
The Massively Golden Yacht. Eliot, don't forget the mojitos.
It was my honor to have been the steward of the Massively legacy and the last captain of the legendary golden yacht. This is Massively, and farewell to it.
-Bree
with Jef, Justin, Eliot, MJ, Mike, Anatoli, Brendan, and Larry
For those who missed it:
We're starting fresh as Massively Overpowered.
We'll be at www.massivelyop.com -- it's not up yet, but when it is, mailing list.
Kickstarter soon.
twitter.com/MassivelyOP
www.facebook.com/massivelyop
Can't stop the signal!
By breetoplay moderatorMassively2 hours agoUnlike78Reply
333 comments
The End of Massively, The End of an Era, The Opening Door (Casual Aggro)
...In my opinion, Massively stood as one of the last bastions of trustworthy gaming news out there. The more and more irrelevant “consumer revolt” who’s embers are slowly dying claims one of their highest tenets as “ethics in gaming journalism”. Well, Massively epitomized that. They stood up time and again for the consumers and never sugar coated a game in their genre that they didn’t feel lived up to it’s expectations. As a Philadelphia sports fan, this is second nature to me. When you’re passionate about a subject, you celebrate the highs but you push back when you see the subject falter. We are keenly aware of how good it could be, and we push it to live up to those standards. Massively pushed the MMO genre to live up to higher standards, and the genre reacted. Over the years, time and again we saw MMO developers take what the journalists at Massively said to heart and make changes to their games for the better. And those that didn’t listen? Well, let’s just say humble pie is hard to swallow.
This level of enthusiasm, which you could almost physically feel coming out of the text, earned the trust of many readers. Even in disagreement, which happened frequently, that trust still flowed. In this day and age of polarization where if you’re not choosing a side you obviously are uninformed and don’t care enough, and if you disagree on points with your chosen side then you’re an outcast, what news sources can we really trust? I won’t lie, the prospects are grim. MMORPG.com exists, but it’s hard to take them seriously with the uber-cluttered front page and propensity to deck their background in scantily clad characters. Fatal Hero has a decent missive, but they don’t cover MMOs often, and most of their pieces border on the over-compensating negative side. Personally, unjustified negativity tends to drive me away.
I won’t lie, when it comes to world news more and more I tend to get it from Facebook and Twitter. When it comes to trending stories, multiple outlets produce multiple stories and, when taken with appropriate doses of salt, combined the truth can rise to the surface. Information by inundation. The other day I was watching the RizeUpGaming weekly stream on Twitch and I asked the panel of hosts how they felt about Joystiq being shuttered, and their overall response was a resounding “meh”. They didn’t see the closure of the site as any big deal as it had stopped becoming their primary source of news ages ago. YouTube, Twitch, Reddit, Twitter, and other aggregation sites were where they said they received their information currently.
Is this the world that we’re heading into? If so, individual game bloggers, streamers, podcasters, and vloggers may be the last bastion of truth. Game and MMO bloggers tend to write with that same passion that the Massively writers possessed, just with not as much talent. We’re not writing to get famous, to become rich, for personal glory. No, we’re writing to make a difference, to give a voice to what we wish to see, to push the genre to the heights it could reach. We’re writing because we want to be a part of the overall conversation.
So though I may feel sad that Massively is the victim of AOL’s thrashing about to remain relevant, I am hopeful. The writers have passion. That passion, combined with their experience, means that if they wanted to continue writing they could probably easily find outlets that will take them, and those outlets would become better for it.
We may be seeing the end of Massively under AOL, but I certainly don’t think we have seen the end of the spirit Massively created.
Massively: You Will Be Missed (Inventory Full)
...That was what Massively did best. Every day they aggregated all the press releases from MMO game-makers around the world and put them in front of us. Where things went from there, well, that was up to us.
I found so many MMOs through Massively, from Realms Online to Otherland. When MMOs I thought had died, like Otherland (yes, again) or Argo came back to life it was through Massively that I learned how exaggerated the reports of their deaths had been. I'd hyperlink those posts as I've done so often but it seems there's no longer any point. In a few days those links will go nowhere.
Massively was a commercially-oriented, professionally-operated website. Its contributors were paid for what they wrote. Nevertheless, it always felt like part of this blogging community. With writers like Syp and Beau on board how could it not?
I won't pretend I enjoyed everything they published. Not even most of it. Some days you could feel the thread wear thin in the weave. All the same I never undervalued the work the team put in.
Massively was a magazine, a daily magazine, retailing 24/7 real-time rolling news when often there was nothing new to sell. They made the best of what they had and I very much doubt any of their critics could have done better or as well.
Farewell Massively. You will be missed. We'll all have to work that much harder now that you're not around.
I have sad news for the Massively staff and community today, news most of you already knew was coming.
This week, we learned our AOL overlords have decided that they no longer wish to be in the enthusiast blog business and are shutting all of them down. This mass-sunset includes decade-old gaming journalism icon Joystiq, and therefore, it includes us. February 3rd, 2015, will be the final day of operation for Massively-that-was.
I would like to be able to tell you truthfully that this is an equitable and just decision that makes some sort of logical sense, but the reality is that our overlords' decisions have always been unfathomable. I know more of what I know about corporate from reading tech and finance news than through my own job. We all suspected this was coming eventually a year ago when a VP whose name I don't even know and who never read our site chose to reward our staggering, hard-won 40% year-over-year page view growth by... hacking our budget in half. There's nothing to do in the face of that kind of logic but throw your hands in the air. It's not about merit or lack thereof, and it's not about journalism or gaming being dead or anything grand like that, so there's no point in taking it personally.
But for me, it's hard not to. This was a lot more than a job for me. I've worked as a lead editor at Massively for just shy of five years, half of that as its boss, and it seeped into my life and became more than a full-time job, even though none of us ever received any benefits. You know that two-week "maternity leave" I took last year when my daughter was born? That was my vacation for the whole year. And I wasn't alone in that foolishness/dedication; the Massively writers, past and present, bent over backward for the site. I flat out love these guys. I came in here as a geeky copyeditor and am leaving with a fleet of good friends and a much deeper understanding of how and why my favorite genre runs the way it does, and it will forever influence how I play games and whose games I buy.
Massively's writers are second to none in the MMO genre; I'll so dearly miss the day-to-day, down-in-the-trenches collaboration with my team. People actually cared about this place. In a year when other sites were finally discovering ethics, we wondered what took them so long because our network already had a transparent ethics policy. We already didn't play dirty pool. You might not have agreed with all of our opinions -- I didn't always agree with our opinions! -- but our hands were clean, and you can't say that about a lot of sites in this industry. Some sites out there actually employ industry PR as fan writers, out in the open, like it's no big thing.
That's your industry now.
We tried to rise above it.
Our whole network did.
Massively's community deserves its kudos too. We had some trolls and some people who made me tear my hair out, but we also had a core of whip-smart regulars who sparked lively, thoughtful debate and inspired us to write more and better. I love our community, and I proved it by hiring several writers straight out of the comment section. I'm really going to miss being challenged to think harder and type faster by you. Where do I go to learn now? Even if I were still just a player, even if I had never worked here, I would be deeply troubled by the vanishing of a site like Massively. It's just not fair, but it's happening anyway.
I would like to thank each and every one of you who sent your condolences and best wishes and #savemassively tweets to us and kept #savejoystiq trending all Tuesday as the rumors began to leak out. There's even a petition, for skies' sake. I am sorry we couldn't overtly confirm it then, but I'm pretty sure most of you reading have been around long enough to understand why. We've spent a lot of this week linking those comments to each other to keep our spirits up. Heck, some of our harshest critics and even devs we've written about unflatteringly nevertheless rallied around us, and we're grateful and touched. Really, thank you. You're genuinely classy in an industry that too frequently isn't. But then I always knew that MMO players were a special breed of gamer. It's why I've stuck by this genre for over 17 years. Community may be degrading inside of MMOs, but outside of them, nope -- I see community every day.
I want to thank my team for standing by me through this brutal and exhausting last year in particular. Jef, who never put up with bullshit and always put the site first. Justin, who never complained and always did so much more than he had to. Eliot, with whom I spent so many mornings arguing just to argue. MJ, whose enthusiasm reminds me games are supposed to be fun. Toli, whose articles make me wish I could write half as well as he. Brendan, whose longevity is surpassed only by his talent and expertise in so many subjects. Larry, who wore any hat I asked him to and always found the inside scoops. And Mike, a consummate professional who for some reason willingly came back to write for me even after I had to lay him off once already. That is how much people love this place.
I would also like to thank my boss at Joystiq, Ludwig Kietzmann. He demonstrated tremendous faith in me to run Massively as a unique outlet in the industry. He insulated us from so much corporate ick, creating a writing-first environment that few internet editors ever experience. He kept us online last year when he could have cut us loose. And he treated the MMO genre with respect, which is nearly unheard of on mainstream gaming sites. /salute, Luddy
Many of you have asked us what's next. As we've been alluding, we are considering striking out as a team on a site that isn't beholden to indifferent corporate overlords. Those of you who are begging us to crowdfund might get a chance to put your money where your mouths are and help shape that idea. We'll be releasing more information over the next few weeks as we formulate our plans and will be using our social media feeds to communicate when we're ready. If we go forward, we hope you'll join us.
In the meantime, I invite you to follow our writers and share your own Twitter handles in the comments so we can follow you right back. (I mean it: There are some posters here I really don't want to lose track of.)
Bree Royce (@nbrianna, blog)
Jef Reahard (@jefreahard)
Justin Olivetti (@sypster, blog)
Eliot Lefebvre (@eliot_Lefebvre, blog)
MJ Guthrie (@mj_Guthrie, blog)
Mike Foster (@mikedotfoster, blog)
Anatoli Ingram (@ceruleangrey)
Brendan Drain (@nyphur)
Larry Everett (@shaddoe, blog)
The site, I'm told, will be archived and kept online, at least for a while. We're here until the lights go out on Tuesday. When you can't run, you crawl, and when you can't crawl... well, you know how it goes.
-Bree
So long, Massively, and thanks for all the fish (Massively)
"I'm going to miss the Massively team."
The real goodbyes began over a year ago, to be honest. I've not only had to say farewell to former staffers like Rubi, Liz, Krystalle, Richie, and Sera who went on to make a big name for themselves in the industry, but to a good chunk of the team that got laid off due to the AOL budget cuts last year. And now I have to say goodbye to everyone else, at least in terms of working with them on a daily basis.
Massively was an incredible work family. We never always agreed with each other, but we appreciated, respected, and cared for each other so much. We were each other's biggest supporters. I have always been in awe of being part of Massively because I got to rub shoulders with such terrific writers who always put up pieces and perspectives that made me try even harder due to their quality.
Bree's been the best editor-in-chief that anyone could ask for. She's been infinitely patient (especially with how I could never place "only" right in a sentence) and encouraging to the team and has helped transform us into better writers through coaching and grammar seminars. She inspired us all to do our very best and was a snarky podcast co-host to boot.
Jef is so hard-working and does so without ever complaining about the work (now about games, that's another story altogether), and he and Bree handled the editing responsibilities capitally this past year. I'll really miss his laconic attitude and his eternal search for a great sandbox.
Eliot has passion and gaming experience that shows in his pieces, and he's never been afraid to speak his mind, even on controversial topics. Larry is not only a terrific guy, but he's wowed me with his writing, vlogging, and graphics skills. MJ is simply one of the most enthusiastic gamers in the world, and her unabashed love for all things MMO was a treat to witness (as were her streams). Our columnists Mike, Toli, Brendan, and pretty much all of our former staffers had such impressive in-depth knowledge of their subjects and a talent in expressing those with thoughtful and fascinating pieces.
I'm really, truly going to miss jumping into our office chat room every day to talk to them and gush over the big news or the stupid industry move or our own personal lives. Come tomorrow, I fear I will be at a loss in regard to this.
This is Massively, and farewell to it (Massively)
Well, folks. This is it.
On November 2nd, 2007, Massively.com began. "This is Massively," Mike Schramm wrote, "and welcome to it." Today, on February 3rd, 2015, Massively.com ends. For the last seven years, three months, and two days, we've sought to be not a mirror but a lens through which to view the vibrant MMO industry. We conveyed news, opinions, streams, videos, comments, jokes, snark, and yes, even mourning for the far too many MMO sunsets we've all endured. Now the sun sets on us too.
This last week has seemed surreal. Consumed as we are by page views and comment counts, we sometimes forget that our audience is flush with remarkable gamers who care deeply about the MMORPG genre and the people in it -- even us. How strange that only in saying goodbye have we fully bridged that gulf between writers and readers. It's felt like meeting PvP rivals at a con for a beer and realizing that fun and earnest people stand behind those avatars. In person, you're all pretty damn cool.
Our comment sections and social media accounts have overflowed with sympathy and support as well. Readers like BalsBigBrother1 and Greywolfe and Xephyr and Dion posted videos and screenshots in tribute (just look at all the /salutes in this GW2 comment thread!). And of course, there's the heartbreaking memorial to Massively by Starr Long in Shroud of the Avatar shown above and the fierce tribute to Massively by Camelot Unchained's Mark Jacobs that rolled out this morning. Thank you, all of you.
Massively.com is done, and we've said our goodbyes, but we have more to write; it just won't be here. It'll be somewhere else... somewhere a little more overpowered. In a week or two, friends and readers, we'll need your help, and we'll want your company. We want to keep writing and podcasting for you. We hope you'll join us.
The Massively Golden Yacht. Eliot, don't forget the mojitos.
It was my honor to have been the steward of the Massively legacy and the last captain of the legendary golden yacht. This is Massively, and farewell to it.
-Bree
with Jef, Justin, Eliot, MJ, Mike, Anatoli, Brendan, and Larry
For those who missed it:
We're starting fresh as Massively Overpowered.
We'll be at www.massivelyop.com -- it's not up yet, but when it is, mailing list.
Kickstarter soon.
twitter.com/MassivelyOP
www.facebook.com/massivelyop
Can't stop the signal!
By breetoplay moderatorMassively2 hours agoUnlike78Reply
333 comments
The End of Massively, The End of an Era, The Opening Door (Casual Aggro)
...In my opinion, Massively stood as one of the last bastions of trustworthy gaming news out there. The more and more irrelevant “consumer revolt” who’s embers are slowly dying claims one of their highest tenets as “ethics in gaming journalism”. Well, Massively epitomized that. They stood up time and again for the consumers and never sugar coated a game in their genre that they didn’t feel lived up to it’s expectations. As a Philadelphia sports fan, this is second nature to me. When you’re passionate about a subject, you celebrate the highs but you push back when you see the subject falter. We are keenly aware of how good it could be, and we push it to live up to those standards. Massively pushed the MMO genre to live up to higher standards, and the genre reacted. Over the years, time and again we saw MMO developers take what the journalists at Massively said to heart and make changes to their games for the better. And those that didn’t listen? Well, let’s just say humble pie is hard to swallow.
This level of enthusiasm, which you could almost physically feel coming out of the text, earned the trust of many readers. Even in disagreement, which happened frequently, that trust still flowed. In this day and age of polarization where if you’re not choosing a side you obviously are uninformed and don’t care enough, and if you disagree on points with your chosen side then you’re an outcast, what news sources can we really trust? I won’t lie, the prospects are grim. MMORPG.com exists, but it’s hard to take them seriously with the uber-cluttered front page and propensity to deck their background in scantily clad characters. Fatal Hero has a decent missive, but they don’t cover MMOs often, and most of their pieces border on the over-compensating negative side. Personally, unjustified negativity tends to drive me away.
I won’t lie, when it comes to world news more and more I tend to get it from Facebook and Twitter. When it comes to trending stories, multiple outlets produce multiple stories and, when taken with appropriate doses of salt, combined the truth can rise to the surface. Information by inundation. The other day I was watching the RizeUpGaming weekly stream on Twitch and I asked the panel of hosts how they felt about Joystiq being shuttered, and their overall response was a resounding “meh”. They didn’t see the closure of the site as any big deal as it had stopped becoming their primary source of news ages ago. YouTube, Twitch, Reddit, Twitter, and other aggregation sites were where they said they received their information currently.
Is this the world that we’re heading into? If so, individual game bloggers, streamers, podcasters, and vloggers may be the last bastion of truth. Game and MMO bloggers tend to write with that same passion that the Massively writers possessed, just with not as much talent. We’re not writing to get famous, to become rich, for personal glory. No, we’re writing to make a difference, to give a voice to what we wish to see, to push the genre to the heights it could reach. We’re writing because we want to be a part of the overall conversation.
So though I may feel sad that Massively is the victim of AOL’s thrashing about to remain relevant, I am hopeful. The writers have passion. That passion, combined with their experience, means that if they wanted to continue writing they could probably easily find outlets that will take them, and those outlets would become better for it.
We may be seeing the end of Massively under AOL, but I certainly don’t think we have seen the end of the spirit Massively created.
Massively: You Will Be Missed (Inventory Full)
...That was what Massively did best. Every day they aggregated all the press releases from MMO game-makers around the world and put them in front of us. Where things went from there, well, that was up to us.
I found so many MMOs through Massively, from Realms Online to Otherland. When MMOs I thought had died, like Otherland (yes, again) or Argo came back to life it was through Massively that I learned how exaggerated the reports of their deaths had been. I'd hyperlink those posts as I've done so often but it seems there's no longer any point. In a few days those links will go nowhere.
Massively was a commercially-oriented, professionally-operated website. Its contributors were paid for what they wrote. Nevertheless, it always felt like part of this blogging community. With writers like Syp and Beau on board how could it not?
I won't pretend I enjoyed everything they published. Not even most of it. Some days you could feel the thread wear thin in the weave. All the same I never undervalued the work the team put in.
Massively was a magazine, a daily magazine, retailing 24/7 real-time rolling news when often there was nothing new to sell. They made the best of what they had and I very much doubt any of their critics could have done better or as well.
Farewell Massively. You will be missed. We'll all have to work that much harder now that you're not around.
