Death of the Worldbuilding Community

The general, overall, soft and subtle theme of the last few years has been that everyone's leaving the community, with no real reason as to why. People make posts about how it's not what it once was, but they don't really explain what "it once was" in the first place.<br>So I'll try. <br><br>I've been around for 9 years, back to when I was 13. I've never been a regular contributor, but I spend most of that time lurking. What it used to be was a place where people would brainstorm ideas, bring out their favorite worldbuilding pet peeves, or have an interesting discussion once in a while. <br>Back then, worldbuilding was a very niche topic. There was no worldbuilding sub, but there was a r/fantasyworldbuilding, which later became r/worldbuilding. <br>The general vibe of the community was of a group of people who had an interest, and through that, people made friends. I could go and have a short conversation about, say, the most recent Redditors post, and not see any definitions, or people talking about "primacy," whatever that may mean in the context of their worldbuilding. <br>Conversations were much more short and concise. There was no need to find the "right" sub to post it in because it wasn't an entire network of subs. People were more friendly and welcoming, and above all else, **they treated it as other people's hobbies**. The most popular worlds were of course Discworld and The wheel of Time, which says a lot about the type of people who were around back then. <br><br>And then one day, Middle Earth Enterprises lit the match that would soak an entire forest in oil. Then Middle Earth enterprises lit an arsonist's lighter, and told them to do the same thing, and a forest fire exploded, and it burned down the entire worldbuilding community. <br><br>I go and have conversations on here today, and the most common thing that I get sent is "Well that's not a very good definition of worldbuilding." And then there's the usual discussion about definitions, which of course doesn't lead anywhere, and neither of us talk to eachother ever again. Anyone who has ever had a conversation with me knows I go hard and fast, and then stop immediately, because I don't go for long. <br>There is no longer any general chatter, and most people don't even talk to eachother anymore. Everyone has their own clique, and above all else, **they treat worldbuilding as their career**. The most popular worlds are Middle Earth or the wheel of time, and you'd think that would be good, but there's a difference. Back then, people simply enjoyed those worlds, and of course that's not as much the case anymore. <br><br>I don't think worldbuilding people are as interested in other people's worlds as they once were. I don't think people want to listen to other people's worlds or ideas, or give genuine advice anymore. I don't think people are genuinely interested in other people's hobbies as much as they once were, and I don't think they want to make friends anymore.<br><br>**I don't think the worldbuilding community is about talking to people anymore, I think it's about talking to walls.**<br><br>So I, and plenty of others, are simply going to stop talking. And that's all. <br><br>And that's all of that.