I think I stand for many in the Tip.it community when I say it's not all about one thing. In this case, I suppose that 'one thing' is, in fact, RuneScape. I'm sure we all know that while that's the reason for Tip.it in the first place, the community has grown to include much more than just that. I'm writing this in response to the thoughts of many who think that Tip.it may be going downhill. This could be chalked up to the annual exams many of us have to take... But I believe it's been going on far longer than that, although I can't give a guess as to how long.
Those of you complaining, or wondering, or those that are worried that Tip.it will become another lost fansite shouldn't worry. I'm convinced that even if JaGex headquarters were to fall off the face of the earth tomorrow, Rune Tips would remain. The reason? It's simple. We have an amazing community, much of which now stays as far from RuneScape as possible. In this article, I hope to give you an idea of just how far the fansite and the forums reach, and how you can support it with just a little time and effort.
I'm going to start off with that big header, about halfway down the forums page. You know, the one that says, 'General Discussions'. While it's not as active as the RuneScape version, you can find great conversations, literature, and art here.
First off, Off-Topic. The land where just about anything goes. It's a nice place, if you like to talk about real-world happenings, new music or video games, or want some advice about your life. They have fun there too, and you can always find an interestingly titled topic.
Then we delve into Forum Games. If you don't visit here often, you probably won't fare well if you post in the 'How Famous are You?' topic, but you can always find a fun, time-wasting game to post in. And I hear they always need help to keep the mods from winning the various counting games! (Of course, the mods didn't read that!)
Tech and Computers is a wondrous place where you can count on help from one of our resident techies. If you're unlucky enough to be keylogged, they've got a whole sub-forum dedicated to helping you. If you're into it, there are discussions on the merits of different computers and other sorts of technology. You can also take a look at a lot of different computer set-ups and Internet browsers... The topic of merit is 'Danger Will Robinson!' because the title is great and the information inside is useful as well.
The Gallery is a very cool place. You can post almost any kind of art there, and others will give you their thoughts on it. Of course, there’s the Art Bazaar, where you can request all sorts of graphics from a variety of artists, and probably the only place a lot of people have visited besides the RuneScape discussions. You can learn a lot about art just by looking and reading the comments. You can always help an artist by telling them what you think about their art (even if it’s not that great). The type of art varies from day to day, and that’s one of the great things about The Gallery.
Next we visit the Library. Or rather, the first of two. The Varrock Library is your place for all sorts of literary works, from poetry to non-fiction to any sort of writing under the sun. Once again, you can stop by anytime and offer up your thoughts on someone’s story or poetry. Comments are truly taken into account, because the writers can always take the criticism and apply it to their next story. Once again, the stories vary widely, from RuneScape fiction to WWII fiction. There’s always some amazing poetry, and many thought-provoking pieces come through from time to time. If you want some help with a writing assignment, even if it’s just proofreading, The Varrock Library is what you need.
Lastly, the Falador Library. If you don’t browse the forums often, or do so without being logged in, you’ve probably never seen or heard of this forum. Within it are worlds to be explored, and worlds to be created. It is where Tip.it’s role-players can gather and play their games, discuss (lots of) random things, and generally have a lot of fun. You can stick your head in and see some of the games going on, and if you decide you want to join, there’s a sticky for that. The one thing I’ve forgotten to mention is Rusco. Rusco is a world (created within its own sub-forum) that takes place in a medieval setting, using characters of your own design and creation. There are aliens, magical creatures, and humans working together to forge a tight-knit community capable of surviving on its own and fending off predators. If this sounds like your bag of dice, take a look at Rusco and the other role-plays in The Falador Library.
There are a few places I neglected to mention. The ‘Tip.it Community Feedback’ forums are an important place. Forum Updates and Suggestions has many great suggestions that never see the light of day because not many people read them. The same thing has happened in the Website Discussion forum. You can always find ways the Crew wants help in the Website Updates and Corrections forum, so make sure to check it out. You might find you can help with just a few moments of your time.
There’s also the new MechScape Discussions board, the ArenaScape Discussions board, the Clan forums, the Player Killing forums, and the Events and Gathering forums. I don’t know much about these forums, but MechScape seems to be doing fairly well, as is ArenaScape (by the way, it’s a very cool game on the website, check it out!). The Clan, Player Killing, and Events and Gatherings forums are RuneScape related, so (and this is rather presumptuous of me, but I expect others can describe them better) I didn’t write about them.
Hopefully this has given you an insight into those ‘other’ areas of the forums you might not visit so often. I believe this is where the true community is, where they’ve stayed after the common thread that brought them in has dissolved, but others have been added and strengthened.
