Insight into Citizens
Author: Dar'Jen Ab Owain
Published: December 30 2019 Tar Valon Times Blog
Once upon a time on TarValon.Net, we each started our adventure as a guest and then progressed to Citizen. I fondly recall my time as a Citizen in the City. The call of the Tower was strong, but I still have a great deal of respect for Citizens. So I decided to learn more as to why others have chosen to become Resident Citizens or consider becoming a Resident Citizen.
Q: What originally brought you to TarValon.Net?
This is pretty ancient history by now, but I believe I just sort of stumbled over the site while browsing and searching for WoT-related stuff online. I was still fairly new to online communities at the time, and this was before social media as we think of it today had really taken off, so I registered with some excitement and trepidation. In the end, it turned out to have been a decision that profoundly influenced my life, for the better.
I am an elf in The Lord of the Rings, and when I read The Wheel of Time I was like ”Now I also want to be an Aes Sedai!” I was following TarValon.Net’s Facebook page but I had no idea they also had a library and a forum. One day I was googling for Aes Sedai shawls and I found this site by accident. I started reading everything in the Library, especially about this site’s Ajahs and Warders; I read about how this organization started and I liked the logic behind it. I felt like ”Now I can be an Aes Sedai almost officially.” Because this site feels official. If an amount of people accept you as an Aes Sedai, then you really are. This was the reason that I have joined this community.
I was looking for a community. A place I could find friends and be engaged without having to leave my house.
Q: What keeps you around?
Well, I haven’t always kept around, so to speak. There have been times in my life when due to real-life stress and lack of energy, I’ve stopped posting for months at a time, or just had a very minimal activity level. I do keep coming back, however, and the reason for that is the many friends and acquaintances I’ve made here over the years, and while not all of them are still active, or are perhaps more active in other social media channels like Facebook or Twitter nowadays, there is something special about interacting here.
Adding to that, there is something about the old-school forum that I feel is a welcome change of pace from the hectic pace of Facebook, Twitter, what have you. The classic forum style is slower-paced, with more time to consider your responses, and more space to write how you feel about things. Additionally, it is significantly less intrusive in the daily rote of things, and so feels like more of a treat than the chore (or compulsion) that social media can sometimes feel like.
A more elegant platform from a more civilized age.
I like being here in my free time. There are lots of nice and kind people here, like you. I remember the time reading your introduction post. Now you’re also here with us. I like this.
The people, the classes, the games, the discussions.
Q: Any particular reasons why you’ve chosen to remain (or become) a Resident Citizen rather than join the Tower?
Way back in the day it was because I hadn’t read all the books yet, and I didn’t want to stay a Recruit with no access to the City for an extended duration of time (hah!). A decade later or so, here I am. But I don’t mind. I was even called the “Citizen’s Citizen” at one point, something I quite liked.
It doesn’t matter hugely either way for me. What matters is being here and enjoying the people and the conversations. And a little bit of spam every now and then.
I really want to be an Aes Sedai…but I don’t feel ready yet. First I need to…organize my life. So this is why I am still a Citizen. But don’t get me wrong, being a Citizen is also fun.
I have actually wanted to join the Tower for months. I want to find my home at TarValon.Net.
Q: What are some of the perks you especially enjoy as a Resident Citizen?
I haven’t used the Apartments in a while, but having a thread there was fun as long as posting kept up. Beyond that, it’s just nice to be of a lower rank so that newbies just act casually around you, or at least that’s how it used to be.
As a Resident Citizen you get a house… for free!!! And you can enjoy being neighbors to Aes Sedai and Warders! Other than that, there is no difference than normal Citizenship except feeling more resident. I think there should be also some ranks in Citizenship like in the Tower and you should get signs [on the boards], too, but with special colours belonging to Citizens, similar-looking to the Aes Sedai/Warder signs.
You are unaffiliated, making you very neutral. You can also take part in classes and take on some of the jobs that are hiring. I like that the Citizens are so included. This hasn’t always been the case, at least not with the classes, unless I have misunderstood that part of the Tower’s history. I’m glad we’re allowed to participate now at least.
Q: If you would recommend TarValon.Net to others, what would you tell them?
TarValon.Net is a mature community, not only because it’s been around a long while, or because the average age is probably skewing higher these days, but because as an arena of social interaction it’s built around individual responsibility and maintaining good relationships. That’s not to say it always works out, but to me this has always been important. TarValon.Net isn’t just an online message board, it is a genuine real life community of a diverse group of people who can come to together and enjoy each other and the relations we build. To me that is worth more than is easy to express in a short paragraph. Behind every avatar here is a full, complex person, and more than on any other platform I frequent, I am aware of this here. That’s rare, and it is valuable.
I have already recommended this site to some of my friends who also read WoT thanks to me. Warmness, kindness, and when you become an Aes Sedai or a Warder you can really feel you are! I also told them this is not just a fan organization that only talks and does nothing. No, here we really are Servants of All. We help the world and we also inspire others to do the same. This is actually what keeps me here.
That it’s a place where you can engage in a lot of activities; you can learn skills, discuss books (and everything else), and play games. It’s a place to have fun and get to know people from all over the world. And the Free Weeks are fun!
I want to thank Aran Cherubim, Lyndo Shiranui, and Arella Mathara for their willingness to share their insight into the mind of a Citizen. They each came looking for a place of shared ideas, stayed because of the home the site has provided, and would recommend TarValon.Net to others. Regardless of our path—to the Tower, or in the City— we are part of a vibrant community.
