The Tip.It Times


Issue 16799gp

The Greying of Clan Populations

Written by and edited by tripsis

The beginning of the clan world marked a time where mostly younger players played the game. I unfortunately didn’t play during this time, but even around the time of my first glance at the clan world (2005/2006), a lot of younger players still had a large role. I remember a friend of mine had joined Corruption before I joined my first real clan. I asked him if he wanted to be one of those Warlords that led them into battle. I remember him telling me, “Give me a reason to lead a group of 13 year olds across the Wilderness.” It was a running joke at the time, but it just shows how much clans have changed overtime.

The present day clan world is much different, as made evident by the comparison to memories from six years ago. I remember a recent topic on another site asking how old everyone was. The average was around 17-18 years old. Compare that to a topic 5-6 years ago and the answer was around 14-15.

What does this mean for the clan world? I’m not quite sure, but in theory it should be leading to a better future. However, that may not be the case. In that span of time (5-6 years) the clan world (at least in terms of the Top 10) has changed drastically and not necessarily in a better direction. Take for example crashing. This, among others, was against the honour code that was in place that safeguarded the clan world from that and similar problems. But where is that now? Before, not following the rules of the honour code meant that your clan was “no honour,” resulting in you being hated by pretty much all of the clan world. There are very few clans now that adhere at least slightly to that anymore in comparison to what it was before. I find this ironic because typically we tend to think that as we age, we grow more mature and are able to handle disputes much better.

Why did this happen? There are a number of factors why this could have happened. The whole idea that age is equal to superiority is an example. What do I mean by that? Leaders in the past were mostly older, and with the clan members being much younger than what they are now would respect them more because they have the experience and the maturity which creates a sense of authority. Similar to their parents, they mostly listened without question and trusted that their leaders were doing the right thing. As members aged, that whole system of hierarchy disappeared and as they became “on level” with those in power, they realized how they aren’t so superior after all. I do realize I am generalising a bit because age does not necessarily mean maturity. By all means though, it created that idea of it, and that’s all that was needed.


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Tags: Account Security

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