Old Players Roll Call - How has Argonath affected your real life?

[JDC]

This one's a topic for the old veterans and those who have been here for some years. I'd like to list down the ways how Argonath has affected us in the real world. This place and us have been around for a long time, after all, so there's bound to be some effect.

This is not because we want to brag, but because we want to know how Argo has changed our lives.

You can be as abstract or specific as you want, and include real life stories you need necessary. Just post your own lists, regardless what others have already posted in this topic, and no bashing of others' posts.


I'll start by naming 10 things of my own.

1.) Made many friends from different countries, even if I'll never meet some of them IRL.

2.) Developed a better understanding of many cultures across the globe, a nice thing considering I haven't left my country yet. I worked for an offshore Telstra office for almost a year, so I had the advantage (learning more from Argo aussie friends) when I came in compared to the rest of the new recruit team who knew almost nothing. It was a good run.

3.) Better English and writing. Also learned how to make my writing more concise from trimming down "walls of text" to leaving the essentials. (Thanks, SA:MP Ideas) Useful for me now because I sometimes write media articles.

4.) Better debate / argumentation skills. I ended up joining debate varsity in my Uni days. (Thanks again, SA:MP Ideas)

5.) Better team management skills. (Thanks, admin team and FBI)

6.) Learned financial auditing and liquidation. (Thanks, Project ARISE)

7.) Learned Graphic Design because I admired all the beautiful forum signatures, and am now a professional Graphic Designer.

8.) Learned how to appreciate and befriend people with radically different beliefs, which helped me get along with people IRL that have different political ideologies. Believe it or not, having good friends who played as criminals while I stuck to being a law enforcer all the time contributed to this.

9.) Learned how boring paperwork is thanks to various leadership roles and the following-up shit they come with. Now I'm ready to work in the government IRL

10.) Adopted a somewhat more cynical worldview.

[Ehks]

Believe it or not Argonath dropped a huge impact on my life... It changed a lot of things...

If it weren't for that night on the 16th of august, if I hadn't clicked on Argonath RPG and joined the server let's just say today I would of been a complete different person.
1) This community is the reason behind my obsession with art... It built me a whole artistic ability, gave birth to this hobby(graphic designing) and made me the freelancer I am today!

2) I pretty much still have A LOT to learn about the grammar but hell Argonath taught me various vocab when it comes to English.

3) Made connections almost all around the world.

4) Taught me about game platforms such as Steam.

5) Weird yet true.... As much as I used to "waste" my time here when I was younger... Argonath taught me how to manage my time and organize it ( Events / attend meetings / court cases ... ).  I still need to apply that to my reality haha.

6) I've learnt about different cultures.

7) It's not only a community that's strictly for my gaming.. It's one where I seek for help and advice regarding well anything.
 
8) After spending 8 years of my life here, it came to my knowledge that lessons are not only taught by the elder... Lessons can also be taught by those who are younger than you don't underestimate them.

9) An other thing... Patience......  3 hours for them weed plants to grow? Ah well if I'm willing to wait three hours for virtual plants.... I'm pretty much ready to sit through opening commercials of my favorite movies in the cinema. Thank you scripters!


I believe that this "return" is not my final chapter around.. The journey is still long and there is a lot for me to learn.
I like the topic JDC, looking forward to other replies.

[Leonardo]

I would be certainly a different guy. Been like 8 years since i joined, so it's crazy to realise i've spent like 40% of my life with Argonath as a part of it, also. As of course:

- I've improved my english;
- Met people from ALL around the world who i can say i would certainly meet and have some good drinks n' convo IRL, even though as i live pretty far away from the rest of the server, that's just hard to impossible hahahah;
- Elaborated a very decent resourcefulness due to the fact i was a kind of a designated key-player for many situations, so it's kinda of natural that'd come along;
- Developed a wider sense of empathy and understanding, as i was not an one-sided player as in-character terms (I've been like, from a SAPD Lieutenant to leader of an hispanic clique [rest in peace 58th street conecta], so i can very well interpret and understand the extremes of demands and concerns;
- A few life values, why not?
- Taught me that homesick feelings about the past can be good, yet very annoying at times.

And more other things and so on that i likely forgot.

[TrotlDebilni]

Let's see

1) Argonath on it's own has taught me how to communicate in English, if you go to my forum profile, first page you will see a 11 year old Slovenian kid who can barely form sentences. Thanks to Argonath I have grown both in my vocabulary and in the fact I don't swear as much, since first English words kids learn are "fuck" and "shit"

2) Argonath has taught me how to be patient, I have been community banned twice and learned that time fixes everything, once for four years, next time for two years, and you know what I did? I was persistent and waited, I know @Devin might not agree with me, but I think I was.

3) Developed empathy, realizing this place isn't filled with just pixels.

4) Friends. As a loner IRL I was doomed from the start to not have any, maybe some people understand my issues, maybe they don't, and hopefully they never will have to experience not having a single human to talk to. But Argonath has given me someone, no, quite a few people; after I joined a group called Sforza I basically found my new family, it's been four years since @TonySforza reported me to ARPD as that is where I met him, it's also been forum years since I saw @Mukdk doing Taichi on top of a house in Temple, four years since I met @Thomas R and so many more.. so many people I can call friends, so many people that to this day I play games with, although not Argonath, but Overwatch, WoW, Planetside, talk to them on Teamspeak. And not just because I joined a group, for example the way I met  @Salmonella  .. well .. let's just say we had fun.

And that last part is what I value most. It is why I stick around here. There are great people in the community and if I even began to count them all this post would reach the word limit, although we bicker, we hate on each other, we go behind each others backs, it's just what all big groups of people do. I keep on here mostly because of the people. The scripts change but the people are the same, you can change the scripts however you want but you will never change the community.

[CharlieKasper]

Ruined my grades in high/senior years of my school.

[Dangerous]

Probably the best thing because I played Argonath in my life is that now I'm able to communicate in English.
Yesterday me and Derek we had an English exam which we both passed just because Argonath.
So, thank you! 

[Ellz121]

Ruined my grades in high/senior years of my school.

Omg same <333 

[Bruce.]

I now know how to cook meth IRL. Thank you teacher Marcel.

[Lionel Valdes]

The first thing that I feel I must attribute to Argonath is my English ability. I had joined around 7 years ago with little to no knowledge and started building it from ground level, and years later, French no longer remained my true second language.

Argonath has allowed me to meet new people, experience different ways of thinking, and quite honestly, compensate my loneliness IRL. I have no second thoughts when I say that the people I've interacted with in this community are more than the people I've met in person throughout my life. It is also the multicultural side of Argonath that makes it truly a world of its own.

This community can be a testing ground, too. Many of us have experienced ways of life, through roleplay or community services, that they cannot match IRL, or would like to make it their source of living. In my case, I am simulating a political life which I most likely cannot make a reality. (Political studies in my country are a dead end )

With all its downsides, Argonath has to take the credit for the impact it has made on me throughout all these years.

[Mikal]

Ruined my grades in high/senior years of my school.

Same! Thanks Argonath!

On the plus side I'd say it improved my grammar.

[TiMoN]

gooder englich

gave me a better life goal: get rich --> retire --> shitpost all day

[Julio.]

1. Like many others, helped ruin my grades during college!

2. Due to 1, I actually began studying a subject I like (computing), and now have a well paid job and am doing a computing degree...

3. Met a set of fantastically diverse and wonderful people. I am in contact with developers across the globe. (Beat that LinkedIn)

4. Learned tolerance.


Overall, thanks Argonath, you fostered in me a spirit of imagination, and an interest in computing that has carried me through to a career in software development. Wouldn't be here without you.

[Thomas R]

four years since I met @Thomas R

The good old times man. 

[Gnb_22]

Well after the old wife had passed on I had no idea how I was going to cope with life. I was an old man sitting at home rotting away in a lonely life. Thank god for the grandkids that got me a PC at my 65th birthday and introduced me to the internet where I found shit loads of new games to pass the time on. 7 years later here I am today with friends on the internet. My life has found new meaning thanks to Argonath. Thanks for being there for an old man in a time of need.

[Julio.]

Well after the old wife had passed on I had no idea how I was going to cope with life. I was an old man sitting at home rotting away in a lonely life. Thank god for the grandkids that got me a PC at my 65th birthday and introduced me to the internet where I found shit loads of new games to pass the time on. 7 years later here I am today with friends on the internet. My life has found new meaning thanks to Argonath. Thanks for being there for an old man in a time of need.

Your profile pic of yourself looks very vibrant as well mate!