There\'s nothing \'deep\' about it, really. (Edit: After writing this, I\'d like to change that: it\'s very deep xD) Here\'s an example of how, in general, things play out. I\'d like to use Efflixi and Kiern as common examples, if you guys don\'t mind.
It\'s just namedropping to help explain some concepts.
This is a typical cycle, not an exact one. This is from my personal experience and may differ from others according to personalities and opinions. (This is written as a sort of timeline):
Year 0: I first arrived in PS. I was a newbie. My \'generation\' were people like Seperot, Draklar, Pooky, etc. For us, \'oldbies\' were people like Kada, Kiern, Paxx, Link, etc. We saw many of them leave over time. One of the reasons they left was being unable to accept the newbies, unable to identify with them anymore. People also left through gradual loss of interest.
Year 1: My generation matured, and became the main part of the community as our oldbies became a little rarer and more obscure. We saw newbies arriving, and many of us found it hard to identify with them. Confident, self-sure, and somewhat bitter, we flamed and degraded them for their lack of intellect and knowledge. We saw more oldbies leaving, for whatever reasons, and assumed it was all going to pot in this community. Depression and bitterness began to kick in. We forgot that
we were once just stupid newbies ourselves, being flamed and scorned by the generations above us.
Year 2: We matured into early \'oldbie\' stages, and some left, for the same reasons as our elders before us. Our newbies (Efflixi) matured and become the main part of the community. Many of my generation felt they couldn\'t relate to these newcomers and lost hope. This is where my generation had witnessed its first full cycle, as we ourselves became the oldbies we saw when we first arrived. Our newbies, people like Efflixi (who are now the \'main part of the community\'), witnessed people from my generation leaving.
Present: This is where the transition begins to occur. Subconciously, the depression of seeing his oldbies leaving makes Efflixi\'s generation feel that something is going wrong. Their newbies are still tolerated and pretty much ignored (for the most part). Still, some of my generation oldbies (Kiern, Gronomist) are still around. Many of Efflixi\'s generation oldbies (people from my generation) are still around.
Future: The cycle continues, and eventually Efflixi himself will become an oldbie; perhaps a calm, insightful, knowledgeable one like Ayshe or Kada... or the other type, cursing the new people, watching his elders lose interest and leave, causing him to become more bitter as time wears on, transforming him into the typical elitist oldbie who, eventually, leaves too, full of hate and lost hope. It will depend mostly on his personality and experiences here. But, if he
does become a bitter oldbie, Efflixi will not be missed when he eventually moves on. As we probably won\'t miss people like Kiern (for example) who can\'t be as nice to the newer generations as he was with his
own generation. Oldbies who refuse to identify with the main body of the community are forgotten quicker than the rest, and the cycle continues regardless.
Not every oldbie becomes bitter and full of hatred like some of my oldbies have.
Many more simply lose interest and inevitably fade away. My theory is that the further from being a \'newbie\' you become, the less you can identify with the newbies that are always arriving to fill the gaps. The ones who survive are the ones who can keep themselves involved in the ever-changing main body of the community, those who realise that
change is inevitable, and not always a bad thing. It\'s not a downward spiral, as the bitter oldbies may ceaslessly chant; a spiral,
yes, but downward only in their eyes.
Some notes: I chose Efflixi as an example of \'my generation newbies\' since he\'s someone who springs immediately to mind for me. We laughed at how sad he looked when he first arrived as FESFES (sorry Efflixi, but it\'s true) and now he forms the main body of the community along with the others who arrived with him. He is no longer the clueless newbie he started as- he has learned, just like we all do. But he will inevitably find it hard, just like most of us, to stay in touch with the newer, \'dumber\' generations; it is so easy to forget how we began ourselves, and our growing time and experience here may make us think we\'re better than them. Well, we all started there. We all asked some stupid questions. We didn\'t
always use the search button or be bothered to read pages upon pages of settings and history before asking a harmless question. And yes, we got shot down for it too.
I chose Kiern as an example of the \'bitter oldbie\' because... well... he is. I don\'t think he will consider it an insult.
But he is a great example to use.
Me explaining all this doesn\'t change a thing- there will always be those who can\'t accept it, or those who may have their own theories. Like I say, it all depends on your opinions and what you personally experience. It\'s just nice to see how it all fits together, how we interact and change over time... I find it fascinating.
...*looks up*... Er... so what was the topic again? :/
