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The Most Missed Member was the first Ciddies category for which I ever wrote a speech. This was in 2008. The winner was roto13, a man who had recently been banned. I don't remember why. He came back. Eventually. For a while.
It's a funny little category. Most Missed. Which member's absence causes the greatest disturbance in the Force? Trying to find that sweet spot between "known" (or worth knowing) and "gone" is tough; this is one category that I think can begin to alienate new members because a significant cross-section of the community goes "oh yeah, sadface, I miss them so much" about people who are utterly irrelevant to them.
I like it, though. When I was a new member, I used times like this to familiarise myself with the history of the Eyes on Final Fantasy forums and its members. This same award, in 2008, introduced me to Owen Macwere, a member who died far too young. I never interacted with him directly, but there weren't many degrees of Kevin Bacon between us at all. It makes me sad that he's gone.
So I think we could all benefit from remembering some members who have gone away. Sure, giving them an award in absentia is a bit gimmicky, but that overlooks the inherent bizarre nature of Final Fantasy fan forums internet popularity awards in the first place. Have you ever tried to explain that concept to a non-member? Particularly one who never really got 'into' internet subcultures like this?
The Ciddies are dumb, but so are a lot of things in life. You get used to it.
But what I think is particularly noteworthy is what happens when you take off the rose-tinted glasses (I still lament the loss of my literally-rose-tinted aviators which were great for metaphors) and look at this award. In some cases, these members are beyond contact—they disappear into the outside world and may never be seen again. They might just be busy. Maybe they 'grow' out of such habits as posting on a message board. They might die.
Not always, though. We live in the most digitally connected era the world has ever known. Getting in touch with people is easier than ever before. You know how it goes: I have a little device in my pocket that can access the entirety of human knowledge (and for our purpose, the ability to contact anyone, anywhere) and all I do is play smurfing Dots and Fallout Shelter. Wasteful.
I illustrate this point because your list of nominees contains people that are barely far enough away that they could even be considered 'missing' at all. And that raises questions about what you're missing—not the literal existence-in-proximity of the person, because they're still right there. Maybe you miss those late night MSN Messenger conversations you used to have, singing karaoke and talking trout because there was no better thing you could have imagined doing than spending time with these people. Maybe they feel distant now, shifted away from you, and you can't ever get that feeling back.
I understand, though. It can be hard to keep up. Life moves fast and sometimes things slip your mind. I don't keep in touch with anyone as much as I would like to. One of the pitfalls of time's ever-forward march. I want to keep creating wonderful memories but find that some of the dearest people just slip out of the regular routine. I am sorry for that, friends.
But it's not enough to just lament this loss, is it? Why not do something about it? As I said, some of these people are not even gone and even the ones that are can probably still be contacted. Can you really, honestly, say that somebody is missed if nobody makes the effort to 'find' them? Nobody on this list is deliberately hiding, to my knowledge.
So make an effort. And that's important not just with the people who are 'missing'. It goes for everyone. Because being told that you're 'missed' while you've been standing there the whole time wounds deeply. It highlights that your existence is considered so unremarkable that the platitudes and niceties, earnest or not, are delivered even when they've no need to be. Being missed while you're there is telling that person 'I don't care enough about you to notice if you actually exist or not, but I like how this affects my image'.
And because all great wanky walls of text need a moral, let me summarise one for you: work hard to appreciate the people you have or don't be surprised if they're not standing there when you need them. Or here's an extra one for free: Words have power. I don't remember where that's from, but I totally stole it.
Congratulations to all the winners and somebody please take that broom off of Psychotic.
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Christmas
Originally Posted by Jiro
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Bubba and MissH obviously had the baby as a way to win Cutest Couple
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