As 2012 drew to a close I had a strong feeling that OSR blogging was in decline. Most bloggers are inconsistent in publishing posts, but I wondered if there wasn't a numerical correlation to what I was feeling. Turns out, there is a big one. If I choose the four OSR blogs listed above as my canaries in this OSR coal mine, I'd say the birds are dead and many of us are next.
The graph below shows the number of posts from those same four blogs over the past four years. If you include relative data from 2013, the trend is at an ever greater slope: Nearly 50 days into 2013 Grognardia and Jeff's Gameblog haven't published a single post.
I know that many OSR blogs such as Tenkar's Tavern and Greyhawk Grognard continue blogging. I know that there are specific reasons for the posting decline in many of the blogs above including family health crisis, birth of a child, and working on a new LotFP adventure. I know that quantifying the OSR by number of blog posts is tenuous. I'm not saying the OSR as a faction of role-players is either dead or triumphant. I am saying that many of the OSR figureheads have fallen silent or switched to a different vehicle for getting their content to the world.
The fourth of your big bloggers is in grad school, which is one of the reasons my own blogging has slowed down lately. That, and I'm actually playing these days rather than DMing (or wishing I were DMing), which is not as conducive to blogging, as Alexis at Tao of D&D was recently musing.
ReplyDeleteThere's definitely a downward trend, though. I'm still planning to stick to the blog format, though. I would maybe get more feedback with G+, but actually that would be detrimental in a way. I barely have time to keep up with the reduced number of OSR bloggers anymore. :)
Glad to hear you're sticking with blog format. I agree that it's a great vehicle for RPG content.
DeleteHard to argue with the numbers, or the sense many of the well-known voices have grown distant from the blogs, and taken with them clear reference points. That said, plenty of new voices are rising, and moving the song away from the now-familiar songsheets. The evolution and legacy of the OSR on the blogs may be an awareness of just what's been proven possible in this format - for a set of playstyles and a group of players that needed it at the time - and the application of that knowledge for new purposes and in other areas.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are some great new blogs out there. Good point, and one I don't account for.
DeleteThis is just a phenomenon called regression to the mean. People who post a lot get attention at first because various factors combine to put them at the top of their game, and then those factors fall away and they appear to decline.
ReplyDeleteThere may also be history factors in any one blog as they run out of ideas or switch attention to other pursuits. You see an initial ramp-up as they get more positive feedback and devote more time to things, but then a decline. The main problem is that when they yank their blog, all that stuff disappears, except for the few crumbs that can be gleaned through Wayback.
I would say the blogosphere in general is in good shape, would probably do well to move away from a celebrity culture where certain blogs become THE focus of things, and more to where a lot of creators share products, experiences and ideas.
Interesting idea. How do you account for the concomitancy in the blogs above? That is, they tend to rise and fall in proportion to each other. I wondered about this, myself.
DeleteI totally agree with the "move away from celebrity culture" idea, and that it's a positive thing. In the space left open by blogs dropping off, there are other blogs that can get more air time. I just think, as with all aspects of life, there's an ebb and flow to human endeavors. New blood flows in to replace to old. So yes, perhaps there's a decline of the "original" OSR blogs, but what about the rise of blogs that came later?
DeleteMove away from celebrity culture? HAH!
DeleteYeah, go ahead, give that a try.
@Alexis: A regular reader of your blog, and knowing that you don't always read RPG blogs, I'm honored to hear from you!
DeleteThe decrease in blogging by the big wheels of the OSR is not near so troubling to me as Knockspell and Fight On! sort of petering out without much of a word.
ReplyDeleteGreat point. Including those factors darkens the prognosis even more.
Delete... speaking of, what's up with Oubliette?
I suspect part is that some people who have the creative drive to write or create publicly have moved on from blogging to doing zines or kickstarters, and partly it's Google+ (which I see as an overall detriment to the community, but that's another discussion). It does get a little sad to see the old faces fade away over time.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there are still lots of new blogs all the time, and plenty of great content coming out. Also, that doesn't mean that the old content goes away (unless people have a snit fit and delete it all; that's why I archive things I find of interest).
This year has been hectic from a RL work standpoint so I just don't have the energy to keep up with the blog posts, social media or forums. Joe Browning has been eating up all my free time doing art commissions for Advanced Adventures so I do post my latest work on my blog, but not much else since I lack the time and energy. Hopefully after August I'll be back in the game since much of the craziness from work will have subsided by then.
ReplyDeleteI suspect for many, it's burnout.
ReplyDeleteThe more traffic you gain, the more attention (positive and negative) you attract. Negative voices can really effect your mojo ;)
I figure I'll keep posting as long as I'm enjoying it. If it starts to feel like work, I'll cut back. If it becomes work, I'm done.
I've definitely slowed down a bit, partly because I've redirected some blogging time to more exercise and reading time and partly to renew the creative juices.
ReplyDeleteI agree, by the way, about lamenting the petering out of Knockspell and Fight On! - hopefully, they're not dead, only hibernating.
I think its like most things, there are ebbs and wanes. New blood will replace old blood. Some will keep blogging along. Google+ has taken some of the energy out of some of the blogs, but I think overall its just another place to share. I use both, while not a large presence on Google+ I still take the time to take a look and often find a blog post I may have missed. Again, Knockspell and Fight On! may be on their way out, but if there is a demand for it, something else, hopefully as good will replace those two.
ReplyDeleteI know that I blog less now, but I'm playing more than ever. My CotMA game is nearly into its third year, I'm in a 2e game once a month and I'm playing Warhammer 40k monthly. When I have new ideas, I post, but I'm not maintaining much of a schedule anymore. Too busy with other things! :)
ReplyDeleteThat is fantastic! No need for burnout, and the games are what it's about anyway.
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