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Is this place empty or is it just me?

I am sure everyone has noticed that the number of people using Active Worlds has plummeted. I feel the same frustration as everyone else because it seems like we can't do anything about it. Actually the decay of our virtual reality community cannot be pinned entirely on AWI. When you consider that all we really get from the folks in Newburyport, Massachusetts is the platform and our citizenships.

 

It is the community itself that either grows or dies based on the interaction of the users therein. People will go someplace that is popular because it is popular. Unfortunately, our community seems to have lost its popularity. There used to be so many things to do that people would show up on a regular basis. It's actually a downward spiral: there are less people, so there are less people to make things happen, attracting even less people. At some point you get into double digits and that's where we are now.

 

Peacekeepers still have work to do. However, the workload is nowhere near what it used to be. Our troublemakers, quite frankly, have run out of people to harass. A lot of the citizens that are still here have been here a long time and all of them have noted the absence of new blood.

 

If we are to save our community it must get bigger. All of us need to band together and come up with ideas to attract people. We will not get any support from AWI because they have very little to give. I encourage you to look for events that will attract people into Active Worlds. Those of you who are in high schools or college consider writing an article for your school paper telling about our universe.

 

I wish I had all the answers, I don't, but perhaps you have some. So if you want to help out spend a little less time complaining and a lot more time recruiting. This is something that the community has to do if we are to survive.