I suppose I should give you a bit of a background on myself. Well, I’m in my mid-twenties, I’ve been around the Internet for about half my life span and I have a very diverse set of interests. My early use of the Internet resulted in interacting with MMORPG communities. I’ve held many different titles in a few games, but I’ve also dabbled in many more. Each time I do join the ranks of a certain community it always becomes apparent that the community itself is what’s important.

When you interact with others, you make friends, share experiences and sometimes you walk away with bonds so special they can even trump relationships you’ve had for years. Joining a community that both you and another person find extremely interesting often leads to great ties. To have so much in common with another individual that you can’t fathom as to why you never bothered to do it in the first place can be a little overwhelming. I can honestly say that I’ve walked away with a handful of some of the best friends a person can ever receive and I don’t know where I would be without these people in my life. Sorry to go off on a tangent like that, but as you can see, they mean a lot to me. =)

Now, back to the MMOs…

MMOs were new to me. Interesting, even. It was a whole community made up of people from around the world, with whom I could interact with. I quickly made good friends with others around my standing. We all had our hopes and dreams of aspiring to the top of the food chain in the elite social circles that prevailed over us in every aspect of the game. We took our time, we learned day by day as to how and go about our etiquette towards groups, the politics behind the scenes and when we weren’t dreaming we were helping each other in every way we could.

As time passed, I held different positions in the justice system, some in hosting games for hundreds of people in the community and others in creating events and contests. After studying hard and doing a lot of legwork, I was taken under the wing of my mentor and I joined the most elite organization in the game. There were 30 of us, out of about 3000-5000. I felt proud that I had received such a high honor. In time, I would become a leader of that organization and guide others in a way my mentor guided me. It was a community within a community.

We actually ended up opening this circle to a large portion of the community and had a lot of fun doing so. I even created my own secret society with my mentor and a few select others, which resulted in some of the closest friends I’ll ever have and a whole lot of crazy times! It’s pretty scary how much we all think alike, even though we’re all from completely different parts of the world. Strange how that works, isn’t it?

I’ve taken the best parts of those experiences with me and have burned them into my very soul. To appreciate something is good. To be able to share your appreciation with others is grand. This is what my experiences have taught me. To not judge based on merit, skill, or any other identifiers, for better, or worse. Just to realize that “he,” or “she” is a person just like you. That you both have something in common and that it’s far easier to get along than to bicker and fight about useless things. Giving each and every single a person a chance is very important in experiencing a community. Nobody should be looked down upon unless they choose to disrespect you, or what you believe in.

Now, onto TPS…

It was only a couple of days ago that I had heard of “The Pirate Society.” I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it at first. A community of pirates that banded together to share their passion and experiences with torrenting. I had to do some more research. Thus, I stumbled across a blog, just like this one! I read it and instantly: I knew. I knew it was the organization for me. The talk about expressing yourself, to be free to aid the community in ways that you find fitting and how many people who are willing to go above and beyond to do both. At that very moment, I just knew.

After I read that first blog, I got addicted. I read them all. Each and every one I could find. I saw blogs filled with spelling errors, and a light went off in my head. I knew this had to be the community for me because these people truly don’t discriminate against others who may not have English as their mother tongue. That impressed me. Through a lot of the communities I’ve belonged to, I have seen far and wide lots of abuse and mistreatment towards some of these individuals and it made me sick. To see that a community is so open that they will give anyone a chance to express themselves is quite a rare feat indeed.

What now?

Well, now I’m a part of this community and I kid you not when I say this:

The community is exactly as the blogs described it. I haven’t seen any fighting going on in here whatsoever. Just people agreeing on different topics and giving their constructive criticism, or advice when needed. I saw one individual start to raise a bit of an issue with a certain problem, but he quickly reversed his stance on the subject once another member pointed out that he was going about it in the wrong manner. He apologized and explained that he was truly in the wrong for doing it.

Where else on the Internet do you get to see that kind of a community? There aren’t many places, I’ll tell you that much right now. In my experience, from being here for the last couple of days, I’ve met some great people. Some of these people have the exact same interests as me. I can talk to them at length about subjects that interest the both of us and they can not only completely understand what I’m saying, but they’ll even do me one better and throw me back a great suggestion. Even the guy that interviewed me initially to get in here still talks to me. We can share jokes and just talk at length regarding anything.

In some communities, certain people with a higher status feel they’re better than others. Well, I can tell you, that’s not the case here. You’d be very hard-pressed to find someone like that as opposed to a staff member who wants to help you with any questions you might have, or even a fellow pirate. I’m quite amazed by the mix of novices and experts alike in here, but not just that. The way in which they converse with each other is astounding. There really is a deep understanding that everyone starts somewhere and we’re all here to help each other as a community.

It truly is a beautiful place indeed. Thank you, TPS. I appreciate all that you’ve done for me. If you’re reading this and it sounds like the place for you, don’t hesitate to take an interview. Perhaps we too will be friends one day.

Ganbatte Kudasai.