- Zee JollyRoger
- |
- Exalted Mythic Member
"I pledge to punch all switches, to never shoot where I could use grenades, to admit the existence of no level except Total Carnage, to never use caps lock as my "run" key, and to never, ever, leave a single BoB alive."
2B || !2B - Why don't you look Inside the Machine?
I believe that Chapters are the glue that keeps Bungie.net together. Before the Chapters were taken offline for serious marketing overhaul (I suppose) they, at least for me, were a great deal of what I did. I'd log-in, check the Chapters, then the Main Forums. Some of the friends that I've made through Bungie.net have been results of Chapters and the freedom of expression that Chapters offer. Without Chapters Bungie.net would continue, however I think the serious fan-base would be highly disappointed. How would User A ever get to share his/her biggest fan-fic with others like him/her? Sure he/she could post it in the main forums, however, a Chapter would serve the better purpose. Because a Chapter can be as specific or loose with content control they offer people variety and flexibility. Said Fan-Fic fan could find a Chapter that deals specifically with Fan-Fics. He/She could read other Fan-Fics, have his/her Fan-Fic revised, share stories, make friends, etc. The Main Forums don't support that kind of "niche" social structure because it isn't completely relevant to everyones interest. The Main Forums (as I see them) are not for day to day chit-chat, whereas a Chapter could be.
The Bungie Jumpers is a perfect example of this type of Chapter. Jim intervenes when needed (rather to beat on Flamechu) and the rest goes normally. They (we) discuss anything and everything in a mature manner (save Flamechu). Without this Chapter where would poor Flamechu get to spam GameStop links and curse in an odd manner? Certainly not the Main Forums of Bungie.net. Chapters have and always have had a purpose on Bungie.net; they allow for the expansion of the social integration of the Bungie.net Community. Essentially Chapters are the Community behind the Bungie.net. Without them no daily Gamestop Gossip and blab with Flamechu, No Nosferatu WoW updates and spam from Teh 1337ists, etc. Because what happens in Chapters in most cases as far as discussion is something that isn't permissable here on the Main Forums. The Main Forums are the arteries for information, whereas the Chapters are capillaries for dispersing this information over small populations evenly.
[Edited on 04.23.2007 5:57 PM PDT]