How important is EoFF in your life?

[Shorty]

My experience is very much similar to Rob's. I joined twelve years ago, and I am now twenty-four. This place has had such an impact on my life for exactly half of my life, like Raistlin. I found it during a time where I needed to connect and be close with people, and so much more has come from it than I could have ever guessed. I spent a lot of time away in my teen years doing things teens do, but I've always managed to come back. This past 16 months or so has been the most active and consistent period I've been apart of for many years.

Livejournal has been another huge part of my life in relation to EoFF and even though it's nearly dead now, 98% of my friend's list is comprised of EoFFers and I feel like that site helped us all grow closer together. My life is still an ongoing open book there (sortof, it's private) and I will continue to keep it going, goddamnit!

I've moved many times in my life since joining this site and I've had to leave many friends. EoFF has always been there and I always know that wherever I go, it will still be there.

I've made friendships and had relationships and come in contact with so many people that I care so much for. I've had dozens of meetups, moved across country, made international travels for people and have made friends with some of the best human beings I have the pleasure to know all thanks to this site. It is very important to me.

[CimminyCricket]

If it weren't for EoFF I'd probably still be an uneducated fool. Without many of the members here I never would have found the drive to go to college. I would still be okay with an understanding of arithmetic and being just able to figure out the perimeter of a square. This place helped teach me that education is worth it. In short, most of you are ridiculously smart and I didn't enjoy not understanding a word you were saying.

[Pike]

You guys are my friends and I love a lot of you guys...

but...

it hasn't had the impact on my life that it's had on a lot of yours'. I was already well into university when I joined and I wasn't truly active until a little while after that. Huxley and I met on another site long before we joined this one (lots of people forget this and assume we met on EoFF... we didn't.)

Don't get me wrong, this isn't to say that I don't love the place and that I have a lot of friends here. That's why I stick around and have way too many posts.

But I can't in good conscience say it's made a particularly measurable impact on my life outside of knowing a lot more fun people than I would have otherwise known.

[Night Fury]

I have been here since September, and I can already say that this place has had more of an impact on me than any other place on the internet.

I met the love of my life and moon of my world here and we're moving in together in 18 days. That's pretty impactful.

Writing for EoFF has re-ignited my love for journalism and writing in general, and the encouragement I get from you guys to continue is what got me through my degree, no trout.

Basically. I smurfing love each and every one of you.

[Aulayna]

You guys are my friends and I love a lot of you guys...

but...

it hasn't had the impact on my life that it's had on a lot of yours'. I was already well into university when I joined and I wasn't truly active until a little while after that. Huxley and I met on another site long before we joined this one (lots of people forget this and assume we met on EoFF... we didn't.)

Don't get me wrong, this isn't to say that I don't love the place and that I have a lot of friends here. That's why I stick around and have way too many posts.

But I can't in good conscience say it's made a particularly measurable impact on my life outside of knowing a lot more fun people than I would have otherwise known.

Pretty much this. I mostly joined on a whim because I was having nostalgia about the forum I used to run that Pike, Hux and a few other near life-long friends used to post at. So I was 26 when I joined EoFF, that's already a fair few years on most people here

It's given me the opportunity to get more involved in a fansite again and the technical side of things so that's a pretty big impact for sure but I wouldn't say it's been majorly life-changing... yet at least. (well outside of pulling 3 days with 3 hours sleep for E3, that was pretty life changing xD)

Infact I think the actual lifechanging thing will be a result of BoB and smittenkitten in a few weeks time when XIV comes out and I lose many nights and weekends to having fun with the Fat Chocobos crew.

If I've had some small impact on peoples lives that I've chatted too in private then that's enough for me.

Obviously I enjoy it here, else I wouldn't have been top threadmaker for ages or even posted much at all. There are also times when some people here have absolutely driven me up the wall and I've wanted to do nothing more than call them raging ho-bags in public... but anyway! It's given me a fun distraction for sure but it's definitely not been as life changing as it has for other people.

That could all change soon though!

EDIT: Technically I was 19 when I originally joined EoFF and posted like 5 times before taking a 7 year hiatus.. so I was 26 when I came back last year So you can take that as "this site scarred me so badly that I had to leave for 7 years to purge the horror from my mind!"

[Pike]

I mostly joined on a whim because I was having nostalgia about the forum I used to run that Pike, Hux and a few other near life-long friends used to post at.

Auly I've gotta give you props, your forum did in fact have some major impacts on my life.

Got me my old boyfriend (an ill-fated relationship which I nevertheless learned much from), got me my current boyfriend, and got me into WoW which in turn got me into WoW blogging which gave me this huge audience for my writing out of nowhere.

In general I prefer EoFF's community though.

[Aulayna]

I mostly joined on a whim because I was having nostalgia about the forum I used to run that Pike, Hux and a few other near life-long friends used to post at.

Auly I've gotta give you props, your forum did in fact have some major impacts on my life.

Got me my old boyfriend (an ill-fated relationship which I nevertheless learned much from), got me my current boyfriend, and got me into WoW which in turn got me into WoW blogging which gave me this huge audience for my writing out of nowhere.

In general I prefer EoFF's community though.

Yeah, to be fair most of us were raging hormonal teenagers or early tweens then and we used to rile against everything that we deemed below our supposed superior intellect... even if that was each other at times. It had it's moments.

But yea I like EoFF's community a lot more too. Feels more community and less dysfunctional half-family xD

[Shauna]

How important is EoFF in my life? I don't know who I'd be without it.

This is a nice way of putting it.

I was what? 14 or 15 when I joined? A lot of formative year exposure there. Had ups and downs, but that's life. Also made some great friends. This community is great, and despite abandoning you all for 4 years, you welcome me back as if I was never gone.

[Chris]

Born in 1987 and joined in late 2003, so that'd make me 16 when I joined.

2004-2006: Were chaotic, but a lot of fun. Got to know a lot of people, and people I genuinely care about.

2006-2010: Were the "blackout" years for me. 1st ban.

2010-now: Couldn't live without EoFF. Sarah. Sam. Jordan. Cuch , Daniel, Meghan, and many, many more. You've impacted my life, so thank you.

[noxious.sunshine]

This reminds me when I stumbled upon Roleplaying at this one place.. When I was like 12. My internet access got super spotty after I moved to Nashville, so it was hard for me to keep in touch with everyone that I practically grew up with. It's funny now, I've found old friends that I used to be super close to and I guess because so much time went by and so much has happened during that time, it's just not the same with these people and I wasn't really able to get back on track with the friendship and get close to them like before. There are a couple that I've gotten close with again and the handful that I've found I have on Facebook, so they're there. We just don't talk. Ever. Sometimes I'll get nostalgic and "I Miss You!" on someone (usually when I'm drunk and feeling particularly emotional), but they're just liek "eh. Yay. Go away now? Thanks." Kinda depressing.

But like I said earlier, I do enjoy this place. Most of y'all have my exact same sense of humor, though still being a newb, I sometimes worry about stepping on someone's toes or crossing a line that shouldn't have been crossed with my joking around. Haha I joined another place and because I referenced Mexico City as "Messco Sh**ty" and said that Jesus is my Baby Daddy and called my boyfriend a Flip ('cuz he is), I got severely warned for "offensive language & content". Even though Jesus really -is- my baby daddy, Mexico City -does- suck, and my boyfriend really is Philippino and calls himself a Flip all the time. I was like "Yeahhhh this place just can't handle me. I'll go back to where I came from. Buncha pansies".

[Jowy]

I wonder where I'd be in life if I didn't spend over forty hours a week during adolescence on an IRC channel...?

You guys are alright though.

[escobert]

It used to be very important in my life with a girlfriend from here and lots of friends. But since that relationship ended a few years ago I just really haven't felt the attachment to this place. I come and go it more just passes some time while I take a break from killing everyone in the world in Guild Wars 2

[Pheesh]

Honestly, though I first joined like 9 years ago I only just enjoyed it enough to keep coming back. I felt extremely outcast from the main group of posters at the time and that is really the reason that I left for that two or three year stretch I think. Reading back on my old posts (which I try not to do ever) I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been my friend either, but 13 year old me was not able to handle that rejection quite so well. It was an awesome place to talk about Kingdom Hearts though.

When I returned I was a lot older and came back with a much more laid back approach to the whole site. I would jump into #eoff and that was really where I found the people that I'm closest with on the forum now. It's now at the point where even though I'm not really much more prominent than I ever used to be before my hiatus I feel extremely content with the friends and relationships I've made here. I spend so much time in chat because it genuinely makes me laugh and I have an amazing time, and I know exactly what kind of topics on the forum to contribute to and which I should stay away from.

In the last 2 years especially I've made friends that I think will last me for a long time, or at least will not be easy to forget. Of course, I also met Tara here, and that has made a massive impact on my life, and I hope it continues to for a very, very long time yet. I feel more for her than I have anybody else in a long time, so I'll always be grateful to eoff for that.

...you guys also saved me a fortune on accommodation bills when I travelled the US

[Ouch!]

Count me down as another person who has spent basically half of my life here (11 years, 24 years old). Maybe six or seven years ago I might have said that EoFF was very important to me, but these days it's just... not. I've made a lot of friends here--many people I'd even consider good friends--but I haven't actively engaged the community or new members in several years. Most of my interactions with other EoFFers are outside of the forum these days, though. Maybe it's a bit sad to say this, but as I've been trying to write this post, I've realized that EoFF was most important to me when I was at the lowest point of my life. As I've become happier, I've grown disconnected from the community here. I'll always appreciate that this community was here for me when I needed it most, but I can't say that I miss needing it.

[Del Murder]

I've been slowly uploading bits and pieces of my personality to the EoFF servers over the years, so this place is literally a part of me. Or I guess I'm a part of it.