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sari_berry
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Post Realm gone quiet?
on: November 17, 2007 09:52
Just out of curiosity, how many realms have noticed a sharp decrease in member participation? I'm in Lorien, so I know that has, and I was just wondering if this was a one-realm problem or something endemic at the moment.

If it's endemic, what can we do to get people back to being involved in the realms again? They're one of my favorite parts of CoE, and I would hate to see them all go quiet and activities in them die out.

Thanks.
Arthwen_Eruwaedhiel
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: November 18, 2007 08:25
It's happening in Aule too... but sometimes it goes up and down depending on people's Real Lives and the Season.
nedra
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: November 19, 2007 05:05
I agree. I have noticed same things happening at Mandos. We had a long period when there were hardly any people active. Now I am glad to say that the realm is having a re-awakening. New people have joined and we are having a realm leader election running at the moment. How ever... The voting numbers are not as high as expected. This probably means, that people are having other things to do than check on here as much as would be nice. But I think it won't last forever. School or work can't last forever... I am feeling quite optimistic about the future of Mandos, at least.
Zaarin
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: November 19, 2007 09:15
As with Mandos, Vaire seems to be revitalizing a little.
Lossendiliel
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: November 19, 2007 11:28
Same thing happening to Yavanna... We get a new member now and then, but it seems like almost none of them are active...

However, we are a few very active members who keep it alive and try to attract new members...
Dinenlasse
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: November 19, 2007 12:08
I am of the same opinion. There are about two really active members (the realm head and myself) and an occasional other one or two in Tulkas. But maybe things will pick up in the summer.
"There is no such thing as a geek, just those who love things the rest of humanity finds weird."
PrincessPana
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: November 19, 2007 02:24
Just a thought . . . . the Inter Realm Magazine 'Realmers Digest' is making a final call for articles . . . . See Rosearielelven's post below . . . . .

Why not advertise your Realm & it's benefits, or planned activities :rolling: . . . . or say why you joined your realm or make an impassioned plea . . . :cry:

but hurry . . . final deadlines already passed . . .

EEEEEEEEKKKKK !!!!!!!

[Edited on 20/11/2007 by PrincessPana]
Vanime18431
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: November 25, 2007 07:40
I would have to agree that things have quieted down, judging from the past number of posts to now...but I would imagine that it'll pick up after the holidays? Isn't that the norm? I myself am from the realm of Ulmo and love it there, just wish like all of us that there was more going on...

And as a thought, maybe the admins could send a "reminder" email to ALL realm members that COE is still here, and that we would love to hear from them? It couldn't hurt...

Hugs,
Vanime18431
sari_berry
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: November 26, 2007 06:23
Hmm...

Interesting that it's not just any particular realm. Hopefully it is just a pre-holiday lull, but I think Lorien's been kinda dead since early summer, and participation has been decreasing for a while. I know that the people there love it - I certainly do - but I don't know. I guess I'm just worried because it's been so vacant lately.

Maybe we should try to come up with ways to encourage more member participation in all the realms, or at least increase awareness of them? Just a thought.
Timpenin
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: November 28, 2007 02:12
Sari, I used to be sorta worried about it too, but I, at least, am in the Realms because I have friends, so it doesn't matter too much to me that we're a quiet Realm or that we don't have a lot of members. I know in Yavanna, yeah we only have 4 members who've been around and stuck around for awhile, but we're all such good friends I don't think any of us would leave lightly. Just in the past few days, we've gotten 2 new members, which is wonderful, but if we never got another new member, I know we'd be fine.

However, what I do to get more people active/clean up the member's list is send out a mass PM letting people know that they need to post in the Realm at least once or they will be considered nonactive and deleted. You can always suggest it
Yavannildi and proud!
Gileth
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: December 03, 2007 04:40
Well, I think part of the reason could be because the hype of the movies has died down. I know one member of Varda said some months ago that she felt it was time for her to move on.

As for me, this is actually my first post on CoE since at least August. I was never one who posted very often, however I would at least visit as often as I could. But ever since I moved to college, for some reason I stopped visiting for a long time, even when I had plenty of free time. I'm trying to visit at least a few times a week now though. I think for me, it was just the change of lifestyle. I still really like lotr and CoE, but I'm still trying to adjust to being away from home, and I think that has had an inpact on my participation.

Anyway, I think that could be another cause for the lack of participation. Many of us younger members are just entering college, or will be shortly, so we're going through a change. But I suspect and hope that there will be at least a little more participation during the holidays.
nedra
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: December 03, 2007 05:32
Hmm...sounds kinda sad... lotr is so much more than just the movies. o___o

I'm now in a new school myself and I find myself from here still quite often. But that could be part of the reason to some. School, college... If you put your heart to it fully, sometimes it's difficult to think anything else, I guess.
LadyCeleborn
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: December 05, 2007 11:12
I think that is happening in every realm, folks. Even in Ulmo which happens to be one of the larger realms things have been quiet lately. Usually they pick up during holidays and summers. Often when something newsworthy appears in the papers and websites about LOTR you will see an increase in activity. Hopefully if they get around to making 'The Hobbit' we will see a major jump in membership as folks take interest again in the books and movies...

Timpenin does have a good suggestion though. Have your realm heads/leaders pm folks that haven't been around for a while. Give them an update on what's happening in your realm. Have a project going on? Discussing a book? Send out a pm to your members asking them to join. Might generate some interest. Certainly can't hurt...
raina_alassë
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: December 16, 2007 11:50
Be greeted!
I think it is quite sad that the Realms are falling asleep. There are many wonderful subjects, it is sad that people lose interest in them. But maybe they have just forgotten what they were all about. Some things are really funny, but when one is the only one to post there, it becomes a sadness. I know that people are busy, some are moving on. Some are studying hard. I love CoE anyway, and I love my Realm. I don't yet know anyone there. But I have been peeping in, and posted some as well. I do hope that we can make people return. Some of my very best friends, are online ones. Actually... I do have real friends, but they never have time for me, so i guess internet is where I meet my friends. One I have met in real life, hopefully I will meet the others as well, one day. And I want to say, that this site is the best site I have ever been to. A good language is a must (I mean to be well-behaved), and people here really seem very friendly. I feel comfortable here. I am 35, but I don't feel that i am out of age, I feel welcome, there are those older than I am, and to me, it feels like this is one giant family, with relatives one never heard of, but when one gets to know them, they prove to be marvelous. I so hope we can awaken the Realms again. I have friends from other Realms, but I also want to get to know my own Realm's members.

Maybe we can do something Inter-realm to benefit all realms? I think even the Realms that are awake, sometimes need to step in and help the sleeping ones. They are part of CoE, and they are needed too. Sure, members of a sleeping Realm can move on to another, but then we lose something. I don't mean that they aren't allowed to, I just mean that if everyone abandoned the sleeping Realms instead of awakening them, we are losing a "body-part". We are all different, and the Realms are there to give something to everyone. So that we all can feel that we can contribute, and get even closer. Similar children has the best plays. That doesn't mean we cannot play with others, it just means that we fill up our stores among those similar to us, to better be able to contribute.

I am short of ideas, but I am more than willing to give a helping hand.

With love
-raina
Magoleth
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: January 04, 2008 02:19
I wonder if when Newbies are greeted they could be directed to joining Realms and having the benefits extolled to them. I beleive that the site still manages to welcome many Newbies each month but they seem to disappear or remain as guests so to speak and never enter the realms themselves so they will never know what friendships etc they are missing out on.

Maybe something could be done in that area to direct Newbies to the Realms.
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: January 05, 2008 03:31
I do have a paragraph in the Official Welcome Message to point new members in that direction, with a link:
If you enjoy the feeling of a closer-knit community, there are the Realms of the Valar: Realms Home Page. Here you can kick your shoes off and really feel at home. Each Realm draws from the persona of the individual Valar it is named after. There is a simple quiz to indicate which Realm might suit you best or you can make up your own mind and choose the Valar you feel shares your personality. Each Realm has its own activities and you have the chance to make close friends with the Members there.
But I agree, Magoleth, that perhaps a further nudge in the Newbies forum might be a good idea.
Lweven
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: January 05, 2008 07:50
Vana is steady, lol! We have a lot of games and discussions. Lots of random things like the off-topic chat thread, the positive thread, the rant/encourage thread...we kinda hit ever aspect of life mixed with Lord of the Rings games and polls and captions. They enjoy it and so do I.

We pmed all our memebers once...I mean all of them and the ones that wanted to stay in our Realm posted in a thread and they come back from time to time. The current Realmers keep up great discussions and things. It's sad when the Realm's fall slow but as long as they have a few people you've a community of people who get along and can keep threads up and contests going!
raina_alassë
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: January 05, 2008 09:40
Also Ulmo is up and alive. It is a pity though, that so many has fallen asleep...

All my best to them, nevertheless! And I hope they will get an awakening! :love:

I will try to give better pushes for the Realms as well, as I love to greet newbies. I "was" one myself just one month and a week ago. (And actually, it was the welcoming letter that made me check out the Realms, and I had a desire to join. *curtsies low* I thank Thee, my Lady, for that first letter! :hug: )
Nenya_Ring
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: January 06, 2008 06:35
I think interest will gradually pick up as "The Hobbit" is in the making. We should also realize that many of the realmers or CoE members, for that matter, joined because of the movies. Once the movie craze died out, they too outgrew it. Let's face it, with some it was also a stage in their lives; many started working, graduated uni or high school and time just seemed to run very short.
And you simply can't just push newbies into joining a realm; it has to be something they themseves choose to commit to; it takes a bit of involvement, time, energy, as we all know. Many site newbies don't go beyond the joining stage simply because the site is so vast, it comprises so many members and they're just reluctant to dive right into it. It took me half a year to start getting active, so I should know!
Luckily, there's a "transition" stage available now since gondolinian opened up the welcome chitchat thread. That allows newbies to "start small", feel comfortable and gradually get curious about the rest of the site along with people who are in the exact same situation. I've noticed it's been considerably used in just one month since it was put up. If existing realmers also stop by and get to know the newbies there first, that way they might get interested in the realms more quickly.
Just my two cents. Good job, Errandir.

[Edited on 6/1/2008 by Nenya_Ring]
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raina_alassë
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: January 06, 2008 10:23
Good point, Nenya! And I so love that thread at my Lord's place :naughty: After all... he is Heruvinlië (Lord of New Folks), and he will remain my Lord, I think, until my old age! LOL Getting to know him, and some others at first at the introduction thread, and that started the chit chat thread... we - Lothara, me, Linwe_Saralonde, frodofan14 and some others, just couldn't stop posting at the newbies forum LOL! Not even after getting directed to Green Dragon Inn... Hehehehe.

And it is a good way to start at CoE! And Nenya is right... :nono: Even if I hate admitting it... When it comes to CoE members as realmers and active members over all. Oh well... In time... In time... And at least there ARE active realms!

Heads up to us all! And thank you, Nenya, for reminding me about what I really should have figured out myself, but was too air-headed to do (sometimes I wonder where my brain is... )! :hug:
Nimiel
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: January 18, 2008 05:54
as you see i'm a newbie and a member of the realm of mandos

first of all: i think that the realms are a great idea! CoE is - because of the amount of information - a confusing place and i think its wonderful to have your own little "family" from where you can spread out in the big CoE-world. espacially as a newbie it's less "scarier" to first join a smaller community on this great website

but it's so sad that it seems the activities have slowed down so much! of course there is - for us newbies - the newbie forum. and i wanna thank again everyone who welcomed me so heartily there!!! but i thought that joining a realm for me would have the same effect: get to know one part of this community, starting with small steps into CoE, see what the "oldies" do here, and not forget to mention the "fighting" with other realms

so i ask the question too: what's to do to get life in the realms? honestly: i don't have a clue!

but perhaps that's the wrong question. perhaps we should ask: why are the realms losing members? why do the old members don't post no more? why aren't more newbies joining the realm?

you might think these are the same questions... my point is: do not look for the solutions, find the problems first. then the solution will come.

i'd love to offer my help if needed!

and please don't get me wrong. i'm not trying to complain. i just think it's a pity if the realms (or at least some of them) would decay

GO DEADLY REALM :disco:
LadyCeleborn
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: January 18, 2008 09:11
Greetings, Nimiel... :wave: Welcome to CoE & to the Realms.

Unfortunately with the end of the movies a great deal of folks have moved on to other things...other adventures. But the Realms do manage to survive. Some are steady and some are busy. Some are smaller than others but their hanging on...

You might pm your Realm head/leaders and ask them about what you can do to encourage more activity in your realm. Perhaps you have some ideas that you would like to share with them. Also the Realms are involved with an inter-realm Digest which you can find here. You can definitely get involved with that. Perhaps you can team up with some of your realm members for a joint effort. It certainly can't hurt to try!

We're hoping that 'The Hobbit' movie will bring those old members back and bring us lots of new ones...
golden_lorien
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: January 20, 2008 07:23
Yes, Lorien is rather dead at the moment. I just came back to CoE after a long absence, and I found that my poor beloved realm was going through a drought. I'm determined to see Lorien (and all the realms) get up and running again, though. I love the realms, and would hate to see them go dead.

Anyway.
frodofan14
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: January 22, 2008 11:00
i think im going to join Yavanna agian, but after that i would like to join Manwe, but it seems to be very dead.
NenyaGold
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: January 22, 2008 02:39
frodo, you don't have to *join* Yavanna again after three months. As long as you want to stay and post occasionally, you are always a member. If after three months in a particular realm, you can join another. You'd go to that realm's home page and like you did with Yavanna, click the join button.

But I can't imagine why you'd want to leave Yavanna! We have all of the chocolate!!!
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"He had a ring, a golden ring, a precious ring." ~ from The Hobbit
frodofan14
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: January 22, 2008 03:35
well, yes, i do like chocolate, but i also like eagles....
TurinGwoheyuloi
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: February 08, 2008 04:09
Anybody seen the Mandosians? They seem to have wandered off again....

Is it normal to have a rather extreme lull after the holidays, or ought I to be worried?
LadyCeleborn
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: February 08, 2008 05:41
Unfortunately all the realms are seeing a small lull, Turin. Things have been quiet but they will pick up again...it always does. With the 'Hobbit' movies in the future we will see more folk joining CoE and more than likely past members will wander back as well. For the moment all we can do is be patient and continue as we normally do...
LOTR_obsessed_loony
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: March 02, 2008 09:14
I've just got this to say:
This realm ain't asleep, this realm is in a coma.
(I mean Aule.)
"...Though thereafter we may walk in the shadows, I will not go forth as a thief in the night." – Boromir, FotR, The Ring Goes South Image Image Image Image Image
calenmarwen
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: March 05, 2008 05:35
I thnk you guys are right though, things will probably pick up now the hobbit movie is in the making.
As for right now, I think we just have to carry on going. Even if there aren't many active members in a Realm it's still possible to make friends and have fun!
"There is more in you of good than you know ..."
LadyCeleborn
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: March 05, 2008 10:52
Well said, calenmarwen... That is exactly the right attitude to have! :disco:
Wizards_Pupil
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: March 10, 2008 11:37
Okay obsessed, i couldn't agree more with you what are we going to do? feel free to PM me with ANY ideas!
Galethiel
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: April 11, 2008 03:39
No one's posted on here for a while... but hey!

Lorien is having a big brain think about how we can liven up the realm again... It's in its wintering, but since Spring is here hopefully Lorien (and the other realms) can liven up a bit. :love:.
I agree with what everyone's been saying about the Hobbit film getting some more people in.
raina_alassë
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: April 11, 2008 06:23
I have a suggestion... This is something we do at Ulmo, and I completely love it.
We send cards to each other. 1 at each season. You can either do the same, or make your own celebration days, but it is a lovely way to do things. Those who cannot or may not give their addresses, use e-mails or pm:s instead. And we make a list of those who wish to participate, and everyone on the list send cards to the others. Just a tip...
Aralkariel
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Post RE: Realm gone quiet?
on: April 12, 2008 06:22
I'm sorry to see so little activity in the realm. Lorien seems to be quite far gone.. but there's a hard core still there, keeping the place alive. New active members are always welcome though.

raina_alassë, that's a great idea actually! It might remind everyone that the realm's still there, up and running.
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