I'm not very clued up on the subject of your message but I wanted to comment and let you know that I can relate to what you've written. All my friends and colleagues with whom I began the game with this time last year raced to 50 and left. Leaving my roleplaying at lvl 38...
You used quite a few abbriviations that I can only hope to learn the meaning of. I assume GG is Galaxy Girl... and what is Galaxy Girl? Is it the RP spot in Galaxy City? Because recently, I stumbled across a crowd of roleplayers there on the Union server. I joined in and had loads of fun! I often take a peek at the spot but I think it was a one-time event? *shrugs*
So what is IC and OOC?
GG refers to the roleplaying meetings under the statue of Galaxy Girl in Galaxy City, which happen on the Union Server at abour 9pm every night.
I was there! once... I had no idea they held RP meetings! omg. count me in!
To be fair, the older end at the moment are in the 40-50 space where the end is in sight, so we're pushing o at it. When we all get there, things should settle down a bit again.
We've had the discussion before, lulls happen.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
The 40-45 stretch took, if I recall, over a month. 45-50 will probably take even longer. Can you really assume everything will be the same, that the community will have just, paused, while that happens?
Besides, who's to say people won't get bored once the big Five O is hit?
IC: In character
OOC: Out of character
Here's my two cents, for what they're worth.
GG isn't dying. It's changing, evolving. Sadly this has involved people "leaving the nest". I myself left and regretted it for months, losing ties with two of my best friends here. Jennybear and Wordy himself.
Personally I have seen an exodus of late. More often than not, I find GG empty. Or a scattering of new faces selling their wares, metaphorically.
I'm horrified about the DC MMORPG news, but hopefully it'll live up to expectations when it arrives. Hell after CoH they'll have to be good to avoid the same mistakes.
But regardless. I've made a point of avoiding the same mistakes I made last time. Keeping relationships between my character and another out of the equation, and not relying on others to be around.
Like Gideon said, lulls do happen. If I had the time, I'd be pushing for 50 too, just to get it over and done with. But till I do hit 50, GG will be the place I go to.
I think one count can be attributed to the more varied places to RP now. Bases and Pocket D being two (Well, one and one catagory) in particular. With Pocket D, it's normally hard to know who's there and who isn't unless they are on your global friends list and you expand the menu.
Secondly, in the past month or two a large influx of new players have entered. New players are a good thing, but it can be daunting for an older player to come and have to start socialising with a whole group of people they don't know. Of course, before there was the problem of some people feeling daunted as a new player trying to socialise with established players, so it swings both ways too.
Evolution is a factor. Things have changed a lot since I first started. We went through the Supergroup phase, the teenager phase, the angst phase, the non angst phase, the balence phase, the plot phase, the railroad plot phase, the second plot phase, the angst phase some more, the teen phase some more, the fluff phase, the lesbian catgirl phase, the robot phrase... I think we're currently in the Migration of Birds and balence of plot, angst and fluff phase. I know I'm guilty of some of those phrases. Angst, teen, railroad plot, plot and fluff in particular.
I'll agree with CoH not being enough to keep me on its own. Without you RP'ers and friends I'd have dumped the game and gone back to Ragnarok Online. Or worse, FFXI.
I think that dying might be an incorrect term. Changing, oh yeah, just more rapid than usually. It might settle down again and give this old dinosaur some time to evolve, it might not. I'm keeping an eye out for meteors though.
I have found it somewhat difficult to introduce old characters to new ones, and after so many alts and limited power sets, making new ones to introduce.
I'll play it by ear myself though.
Yeah, going up to the new players and starting from scratch with my characters is intimidating. I've put a lot of work into developing my characters, creating friendships and relationships. I would like very much to further their plots. But right now, if I do, the only people who'll be there to see are most likely to not know the character in question, and ignore it. So, I have to go through several more weeks and months of development just to get to a stage I got to months ago. In all honesty, it feels like a lot of effort, which may just lead me to the same situation I'm in now.
The thing is, I know GG is changing. It has changed, a lot. The problem is, the characters with whom mine have changed aren't there anymore. So the other areas of GG have changed so much, it's like starting from the beginning again.
*thrusts arm in air*
i'm a GG newcomer! 
Ooo, I have a chance to quote a song!
So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same
Sorry, can't get that damn thing out of my head now I've found out what it was.
I had to start from scratch when I came back. I was scared to show my face with 2 new characters, like I was when I first logged on.
Ironclad knows noone, a fact I play on. But I know it's intimidating as hell. I mean, even with Ironclad, I find it nigh impossible to approach the regulars IC.
People who reach level 50 might NOT settle down again, but GG will still be around in some form.
[ QUOTE ]
I, for one, am not really willing to hang around waiting for people to come back to roleplay with the GG crowd. I can't develop my plots and characters properly, because their friends and loved ones aren't around anymore. I don't want to have to start all over again with them, only for this to happen again down the road. I'm stuck. Most of my characters are stuck.
[/ QUOTE ]
nearly all my characters are stuck. i grudge making anyone new because i simply can't devote the time i would like to more than 3 chracters. The trouble is that everyone seems to have many alts (for various reasons) and being there when the alts that you kinow are there is hard. Again, it tends to be i'll come on, sit and pink at the statue for about 4 hours.. and then nothing happens. You're right Wordy, i feel less inclined to come along in case i waste 4 hours sitting around listening to all the characters I don't know chatting. It doesn't help when you don't play assertive or bold characters, or is people completely miss/blank/ingnore copletely any small attempts for timid characters to try say hello.
I do hope the lull ends, I really miss seeing alot of people I know and recognise (well.. that pink knows at least). Pink's not on enough or socail enough to be getting invites to base and pocket D gatherings...
it seems i must type out some kind of reply in order to access the option to 'Add this thread to my favourites' ... so plz ignore this.
[helpfulness]
if you look at the very bootom bar of the page there should be a little bit at the left that says "favourit thread! (toggle)" if you click that you don't need to reply
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ohhh. *smacks head* cheers buddy!
do u like my new Poster image? its pious with wings! dyu reckon a close-up wud be better?
I've noticed it myself, and indeed have also been at GG a little less than usual. This week I have an excuse that I'm on early shift so I need to log by 10, but there's another reason too, an RL one I don't mind sharing with my friends over MSN, but would rather not bandy about the forums.
I've no plans to leave after Ellie gets to 50, she's at 42 now and I'm not really in any rush to get those last 8, but I can understand other people that haven't yet achieved that magic number wanting to make the final push. BTW: on Novastar, running 8 man teams, it took me 4 days to go from 44 to 50, playing 3 hours a night, so it can be done quickly with a big team.
I've also found all the newcomers a little daunting myself. Well, not the players themselves, but more the fact that local is spinning by so fast that if you look away for a second, you'll miss something someone you're talking too said...
Things will settle down in time.
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
[ QUOTE ]
I've also found all the newcomers a little daunting myself. Well, not the players themselves, but more the fact that local is spinning by so fast that if you look away for a second, you'll miss something someone you're talking too said...
[/ QUOTE ]
Sounds like it isn't dying so much as some of the regulars moving on and newcomers taking their places - not much comfort when it is your friends and storylines that suffer. I do remember a whole load of storylines back from a little under a year ago which were the main storyline at GG at the time ... most of those characters and players have since left. GG still seems to be going, although probably suffering from the same depletion that the rest of COH is suffering at the moment.
Synaesthetix:if your mum wasn't already dead I would go kill her for bringing
you into the world
*Huggles for Wordy* Yeah... I too havn't been around GG often, but my character tends to follow others around (being one of the younger toons). I'm not too sure if i'm counted as one of the new people or not because i've only been around since a couple of months before Christmas. I've built up quite a few friends since then and now have a regular group of people I rp with. I have been around long enough to notice the change. One thing I do think though is that the amount of fights and deaths around GG itself is quite high. Whos character would actually want to go there IC? heh
As for getting to lvl 50, I only do work during the mornings and early afternoon so my missions are usually done before 7:30 when I get bored and desire rp (Generally begging for it over SG chat or GGOOC by then). It only took me about 3 weeks of playing to get from 40-45 and I never do missions after 9pm unless its part of the roleplay (Or there is no-one around for me to rp with).
I only find the newcomers overwhelming when I have to go through 10 introductions or so in one night. The text does scroll quickly in local and in the GGOOC channel so if you blink, you're screwed! I'm thinking that if this is a constant problem we should branch it out a bit more. Use the grass, carpark, steps and other nearby areas more then previously. That way you can't hear everyones conversations.
I am trying really hard to sympathise here, but am finding it difficult. Surely, like life, situations change and evolve... We lose friends through fights, people move on and we lose touch, we change as people and have less in common, etc, etc. COH and GG are mirroring life and it's natural growth, but it happens much quicker in game and we have less time to deal with it. The fact is that life in game happens at an accelerated pace is something we have to get used to as our characters, and not expect the same slow pace of realtionship that we have in RL.
Perhaps those with higher level heroes should start to act like the icons they are supposed to be; encouraging the newer heroes. Too often GG feels like a private club that you've stumbled into by accident. Some of the regulars may not want to put in the effort to get to know and develop relationships with newer characters, but equally new players or new & naive characters can find GG and it's patrons impenetrable without a decent introduction or sponsor. You may say "But my character is aloof and dismissive", well that's fine, but then don't expect anyone who doesn't know you have a heart of gold under that hardened exterior to want to talk to you!
Formerly @Crimson Archer, now @CA
The Militia - Protecting Paragon City through roleplaying since June 2006!
C'mon the road then Wordy. There's lots of interaction to be found out there despite GG. Could even be a 'GG on tour' thread 
Don't get me wrong, I interact with the new heroes all the time. My character seems to be one that they get directed to when they first arrive. I enjoy meeting new people. All I was saying was that I have my limits and there's only a certain amount I can take each day.
Having only beena member for a few months myself, I know what it's like to come into a group of people that have known each other for a while already. But as you said it's like life, you can't expect to be accepted straight away. You have to work at it too.
Not wanting this to turn into another 'defense of GG' thread, but: [ QUOTE ]
You may say "But my character is aloof and dismissive", well that's fine
[/ QUOTE ]
I recognise almost no one currently at GG in that statement. I have no idea who you are, mate, but if the above represents your opinion of GG, I'd suggest you haven't actually tried roleplaying there.
Now then. GG is not dying, it is getting a new batch of players in. To be honest, I think the population has gone up. There are a load of new people at the statue, I have no idea who half of them are, essentially there's a whole new crowd.
GG isn't dying, it's changing, it may even be restarting after a year, but it's not dying.
I'm technically one of the people who is 'pushing to 50', except I'm not. About one night a week I end up going AV hunting. This week (with Aisla on late shift), I'm not getting a lot of evening time to do anything, so I may choose to mission later, but I'll turn up at GG sooner or later. Or I might not, like last night, because I felt lousy, or I'm not in the mood.
As for 'new locations taking over', rubbish. When the Vigil was at its height, you lot would decamp to a rooftop and have private RP sessions. The Rooftop Generation sucked practically everyone out of GG after about 10:30 every night to go street hunting and RPing in King's Row. The Cirque have always had their SG meetings and RP sessions (which is why, quite frankly, they are a successful, well knit RP SG). Maybe I'm a bit more sensitive to this than most since my characters don't seem to join SGs, and I found the bandwaggon jumping that was the whole teen-super thing a bit much. The only difference now is that the private RP sessions happen in bases, and the new Pocket-D is attracting a lot of attention.
And people have always come and gone. The number of people still RPing at GG (or even in the game) since this time last year is very small. A few have returned (Prize and Finn, for example), but a huge number have moved on to other games, or just don't want this kind of RP anymore. Old people go, new people arrive. That's how MMOs work.
So, sorry to say this, Wordy, but I think you'll find it's just your vision of GG that's dying. GG has probably never been quite the way you thought it was, and now it's changing again. That's all.
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
[ QUOTE ]
But as you said it's like life, you can't expect to be accepted straight away. You have to work at it too.
[/ QUOTE ]
Exactly my point, and maybe I'm getting the wrong end of the stick here, but it seems that the tone of posting here is that the effort isn't worth making because it's "only" new people, and unless there's prior history then no one is worth talking to... I don't remember Superman ever having that attitude! 
Formerly @Crimson Archer, now @CA
The Militia - Protecting Paragon City through roleplaying since June 2006!
I believe I fit in the "late old generation" of GG.
I believe I joined GG in about Juli or there abouts.
And of the "old" characters, Grav doesn't know them, really.
Nevermore: Knows him slightly, but mostly of him, there's a mutual respect.
WarCrow: Know him better than Nevermore, but not by much. But there's a good mutual respect and profecional courtesy, both he and Grav being mages.
Stargazer: I believe they said hi, could be mistaken, though.
Fusebox: Like Nevermore, but also more friendly due to assosiation with Jessica Kade and Ellie
Doctor Temporis: Grav considers him a friend.
Minako: Grav considers her mostly as a friend by assosiation: through Doc T an Ellie
Liz: Same as Minako.
That said, Grav is like me: a bit daunted by crowds and tends to cling to "her" group, and meets new people mostly through them.
So I don't know most of the new characters well, and doubt I ever will. But then again, Grav is getting more used to most and that only helps socially.
But yes.
GG is changing, and I think the main influance is Pocket D. It's a valid, and for some even more so, meeting place. Plus, villain characters can enter there opening that avenue also.
Is it a good thing? I don't know. It's changing with the people so overall, I'd wager it's a good thing. But it probably also means some people don't like the changes and have to deal with that by adabting or moving on.
Such is life, I guess.
@ShadowGhost & @Ghostie
The Grav Mistress, Mistress of Gravity
If you have nothing useful to say, you have two choices: Say something useless or stay quiet.
I've been noticing a trend lately, among all the older GGers I've roleplayed with. Basically, I think they're spending less and less time at GG, in general. People are roleplaying in their Bases, or at Pocket D, in-game in CoV, or doing IC and OOC missions more. And, to be honest, the more I see it happening, the less I feel inclined to go to GG.
I've spent months developing relationships with the characters of players I've come to know and count as friends. And now it feels like I have to start all over again with the newer players. I'm not saying that getting to know the newer GGers is a bad thing, just that it can be a little frustrating, that because of how I've chosen to play the game, and chosen to roleplay my characters, and the other choices I make, that I miss out on other things that are going on.
Now, before anyone starts, I'm not trying to get at anyone. I'm not blaming anyone for this, just observing an occurence which causes me some concern. I do not begrudge anyone for deciding to enjoy the game as they see fit. I just, sometimes, a lot more often lately, find myself either standing idle at the statue, all too late realising that everyone else is in Pocket D or on missions, or worse, feel completely disinclined be in-game.
I'm not a huge fan of missions. I could probably quite happily pay my fees just to play with the costume creator and roleplay. Missions bore me after an hour or so. I'll probably never reach 50, and I don't care. I'm starting to wonder, is all of this a fad? Will interest in Pocket D die off when the lag and tools become too annoying? Will mission-going die off once everyone hits 50? And more importantly, will there be any roleplaying left to be had once this happens?
I, for one, am not really willing to hang around waiting for people to come back to roleplay with the GG crowd. I can't develop my plots and characters properly, because their friends and loved ones aren't around anymore. I don't want to have to start all over again with them, only for this to happen again down the road. I'm stuck. Most of my characters are stuck.
Like in real life, when your friends and loved ones stop hanging around a certain place, so do you.
I'm not asking people to change their behaviour. I'm not trying to say "come back to GG or I'm leaving." I'm just expressing how I feel right now, voicing a concern that I have. Highlighting a potential problem.
CoH isn't a good enough game to keep me playing on its own. The roleplay was why I stayed. The worst bit of news I had today was that the DC MMO wasn't due out until 2008, and that the D&D MMO seems to be more like online dungeon crawling than anything else.
Is GG dying? How much longer before most (if not all) people I know in CoH move on? Will we be celebrating the second Real Life GG meet up at the Bristol comic expo in May, or having a farewell banquet?
Right now, the situation looks like this, to paraphrase someone we're all fond of talking about:
People come, and people go. Such is the nature of Galaxy Girl.