Death of a Friend (Commentary on Kargatane Website)

[Michael Morris]

Death of a Friend (Commentary)

Death of a Friend

Well, not literally. Instead I'm referring to the closing of the Secrets of the Kargatane website. What they accomplished is nothing short of amazing, and I hope that the closing of the site doesn't indicate that Ravenloft's doom is indeed finally at hand.

The Kargatane site is was one of the only sites that has lasted as long as this one, though it hasn't jumped around as much in the interceding years. Most websites rarely last to their 1st anniversary, and to see any site reach a 7th is amazing in their own right.

But the reasons given for the Kargatane's closure bother me somewhat because I've heard them before. I've threatened to close this site when it became a chore, only to change my mind and come back to it all a few weeks or months later. In so doing I've done my own work a great disservice, not to mention the effect this wishy washy-ness has had on what support the site has had.

Enthusiasm and energy comes in spurts I've found. There are days when I write 20 pages on Art of Magic, and there are weeks when I write nothing at all. This site has gone awhile without any substanive changes because one book at a time is all I can do, and that book is consuming the time I would otherwise spend on this site. That and the fact I have other work to do.

Unlike this individual prone to bouts of depression and manic behavoir, the Kargatane are a well disciplined and insightful group - so I'm sure they've reached their decision after careful deliberation and planning. I am sure that, for them, it is the right one, and I wish them only the best in their future endevours.

Still, a light on the internet has went dark and there is a void in it's place that will never be filled. Even as the d20 publishing world has lit up, the internet has became a darker place as talent has moved away to be paid for their work, as well they should I might emphasize. Even Dusk isn't unaffected by this - for Art of Magic and its contents are destined never to be part of this site except - at best - as a download link for a pay PDF at RPG Now.

Dusk was still only a collection of my own materials when the Secrets of the Kargatane launched all those years ago. It inspired me to try to create a similiar but more general archive of fantasy information - a networld similiar in scope to the Forgotten Realms. That endevour failed and fustrated me - and echoes of that fustration haunt me still. Whenever someone new to the community proposes the creation of a networld, I laugh a haughty cynical laugh secure in the knowledge that it cannot be done. I snicker at the attempts to prove me wrong. And I hope that, one day, I will be proven wrong.

But today a step in the exact wrong direction to do so has been taken, and rather than be relieved, I am greatly saddened. Are we all so self important that the only projects worth working on are of our own conception? My mind tells me yes - for indeed I am the most guilty of all in this. But my heart holds out hope that it may yet come to be.

But who it will be and how it will be done I do not know. It will not be me. I have tried - and failed.

- Michael Lloyd Morris.

 

[EricNoah]

People gotta do what people gotta do. If you're in the fan website biz there's no reason to do it other than because it makes you happy. When it ceases to do so, you should stop. That doesn't mean the website has to go away; you never know who your dormant website might help or inspire while it waits there for you to recharge your batteries. It's certainly not a failure to work really hard on stuff for years and have it available for folks, even if you need some (or a lot of) time off from it.

I've learned that it can be very cold in cyberspace, with kudos few and far between. I'm not talking about my old news site, but other sites (my personal RPG site, work-related sites). I can count on two hands the number of times a stranger has written and said "nice website" (or even "here's a suggestion") for my personal RPG site or my work-related sites.

But I keep chugging along because, in the case of my personal site, it's just a place to stick stuff that I made. I put stuff there that I would have done anyway, but it's in a place where others can use it too if they want. Praise can be a good motivator, but it can't be a reason to be there in the first place.

 

[Michael Morris]

Praise can be a good motivator, but it can't be a reason to be there in the first place.

How very true.

Though I was spoiled by the amount of praise Dusk received its first year. (About 10x the amount than it's received in the subsequent 6 combined). It would seem that the amount of praise out there is finite - but the number of sites keeps growing exponentially

 

[EricNoah]

As I'm reading this again I see you specifically talk about shared worldbuilding. I have never thought that such a thing would be particularly fruitful though it may be fun for a while. "Creating by committee" just strikes me as extremely difficult. I bet Russ could weigh in on this topic with quite a bit of experience vis a vis Daemonforge.

 

[Dimwhit]

Originally Posted by EricNoah
As I'm reading this again I see you specifically talk about shared worldbuilding. I have never thought that such a thing would be particularly fruitful though it may be fun for a while. "Creating by committee" just strikes me as extremely difficult. I bet Russ could weigh in on this topic with quite a bit of experience vis a vis Daemonforge.

Interesting say mention that. My current little side project is going to start just that pretty soon. Of course, our is primarily going to cater toward writers rather than gamers, though we're hoping some gamers take us up on the project, too. But it hopefully won't be set up to take a lot of time.

Originally Posted by EricNoah
Praise can be a good motivator, but it can't be a reason to be there in the first place.

And you couldn't be any closer to the truth there. Sometimes, I get tired of the month-to-month, but getting praise envigorates me like nothing else. Great motivator, but you're right, it can't be the driving motivation.

 

[Treebore]

I haven't tried to do anything on the web. All i know is I like the Ravenloft campaign and I liked the Kargatane because it was a very good and useful site and was someplace I could go to talk to other DM's who also liked
Ravenloft. This is important for me since i am the ONLY DM in a rather large gaming area that likes and runs Ravenloft. That I have any knowledge of, anyway.
I do not know of another forum to go to to talk about Ravenloft, any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[Michael Morris]

I haven't tried to do anything on the web. All i know is I like the Ravenloft campaign and I liked the Kargatane because it was a very good and useful site and was someplace I could go to talk to other DM's who also liked
Ravenloft. This is important for me since i am the ONLY DM in a rather large gaming area that likes and runs Ravenloft. That I have any knowledge of, anyway.
I do not know of another forum to go to to talk about Ravenloft, any recommendations would be appreciated.

realmsofevil.com is similar in some ways. If I were to bet on a successor, that would be it.

 

[Tom Cashel]

Death of a Friend

Well, not literally. Instead I'm referring to the closing of the Secrets of the Kargatane website.

That's a cheap way to get attention.

And also where I stopped reading.

 

[Michael Morris]

That's a cheap way to get attention.

And also where I stopped reading.

...

 

[Harlock]

That would be, "Congratulations Tom, You're a troll".

So far as the Kargatane is concerned... I never went there. I'm not a Ravenloft fan, so much these days, though I6 was a blast in Jr. High! Still, it's sad, after such a long history and doubtless many fans, that it is closing up shop. Any site around for that long had to have some very devoted followers. On the bright side, maybe someone with more energy can pick up the reigns and start a new site. A better site even, and revitalize Ravenloft and save it from this doom you forsee. Best of luck to all you Ravenloft fans.