The Importance of Community

Hello, everyone. I�fm Bob Roland, or as I�fm known on the boards, �gG.�h Bob. Many of you have seen me on the boards lately since I began working with Cynthe and took on the role of Community Coordinator for ORIGIN.

Generally, each team member�fs first �gComments From the Team�h starts with the person saying a few words about themselves, and giving a little history. This one will be no different, as I can still recall how I started down the road that led me here. In 1986, I stopped over at a friend�fs house to play guitar, only to find him typing away in front of a computer. I had always liked computers, but when I saw him chatting with another person over a BBS, something clicked. I quit my punk band, sold my guitar, and used the money to buy a used Atari 800xl computer. My parents shook their head sadly as I brought home a used computer with a 300 baud modem. �gWhy talk to other people over the computer,�h they asked, �gwhen you can just call them on the phone?�h. Why indeed! How could I explain the magic of the virtual world? Why spend time with people I had never met in person? I wouldn�ft have an answer to this until much later.

A few years back, I picked up a copy of Ultima Online. Just like I did back in 1986, I began to form friendships with people I would never meet in person, and get to know other members of the community. Within a year, the online game community would play an important role in who I was.

Even then, I didn�ft fully appreciate the strength and importance of the online community until last year. You see, in May of 1999, my daughter Claire Elizabeth Roland was born, and she meant the world to me. She was born the most beautiful girl in the world. She was also born dying.

Early in her life, she was diagnosed with a genetic disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy, one of the leading genetic killers of children. Only a parent who has been there can understand the feeling of being told that your daughter only has a few months to live. Your world collapses. You look for meaning, or answers. You look for someone who can understand.

I found some solace in you. The community.

When my daughter had only days left to live, I posted her story on a website. I wrote about the pain I was feeling. I wrote to tell people to give their children a hug that night. I wrote to inform them of SMA, and asked them to help in the form of donations to a wonderful organization called Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (http://www.fsma.org).

Within a few minutes of putting up her story, the e-mails began to flow in. You shared your stories, and offered words of comfort. You offered a point of light in an otherwise dark time. You offered your help, and your money to seek a cure. When Claire was gone, and night fell, my wife and I sat in front of the pale blue glow of the monitor reading what you wrote to us. It was the one source of comfort we could rely on.

In the 9 months and 9 days that she lived, little Claire touched many lives. To a couple in New York, she encouraged them to get tested for the gene that causes SMA. To a young woman in Canada, she sparked a career in genetics. To a young man in London, she inspired volunteer work with the disabled. The list goes on. Thanks to the community of online gamers, awareness was raised, and people were helped.

Now that I�fm working here as Community Coordinator, I take the �gcommunity�h part of my job title very seriously. Community is important. Not just because we play games together, but because of what a community is, and what a community is capable of. Part of the job of a Community Coordinator is to distribute information, but I see it as much more than that. The gaming community consists of more than just anonymous names behind computer monitors. Each one of us is a real person, with real feelings. The person you argue with on a message board just may wind up being the person there with you during your own dark hour. The person you flame in an e-mail may be the same person who reaches out to you when you need them. The player killer you fight at the crossroads may someday become your greatest friend. Helping to build and support that kind of community is an important task, and one I can only hope to live up to. Years have passed since I first began to wonder what the appeal of a virtual community was. Now I know. You taught me what it means, and why that word �gcommunity�h contains so much hope and promise.

[editor�fs note - Donations to FSMA may be sent to:
FSMA
In Memory of Claire Roland
P.O. Box 196
Libertyville, Il, 60048
United States
1-800-886-1672]