Namárië….

[swiftsnowmane]

I may be aging myself here, but I recently found out that as of yesterday, my very first online community, Imladris.net (which later became known as Council-of-Elrond), has officially died its final death. :( 

Imladris/C-o-E was a vibrant Tolkien messageboard that began back circa 1999, when the LotR films were still just under speculation, and reached its peak when FotR, TTT, and RotK were released and in the years that followed. We not only discussed the current/upcoming films, but everything relating to Tolkien’s works, made hilarious parodies that still make me laugh to this day, created ‘swoon-threads’ for fictional characters and for each other, had many an off-topic social 'pub’ threads like 'The Prancing Pony’, held outrageous contests, and arranged meets…. people from that site met in-person (which was still considered 'strange’ back then) and some even got married. ;)  

Imladris/C-o-E as a whole and the awesome people from all over there world I met there back in the day had a huge influence on me and I am so thankful that this relatively positive and well-modded place was my first true internet experience. I was just 17 when I joined, and that site was instrumental in helping me along to so many of my later interests that shaped the rest of my life. It provided me with fellow-minded friends at a time when I had no RL friends with whom I could share my passions for Tolkien and fantasy. It was my first real internet home. :) I have stayed in touch with a number of people from it over the years, even met some in RL and become friends. There is a FB group where some of us still chat, but so many have since dispersed into the ether. 

Much like the Elves who remained in Middle-earth, C-o-E lingered on in a diminished state for a number of years once the novelty of the Peter Jackson films had worn off. The website experienced a brief resurgence as a 'news site’ when the Hobbit films were announced and up to the release of the first film. But activity on the site trickled down again, and as of yesterday, the 'Blue Place’ as it was affectionately known was shut down for the final time…it gasped its last breaths and was put to rest. Sadly, only some text-versions of the site were saved, so for all intents and purposes…..it just has….ceased to exist. :(

If it sounds like I am eulogizing a person here, well…. I guess I am. The final demise of this website that was so hugely formative to me feels like a death-knell of a nostalgic past that I held in cherished memory for many years. I had not visited the site in a while but its absence will nonetheless be felt in times to come. I am grateful for the positive memories and for the lovely people I am still in touch with to this day. 

A few days ago I was thinking of changing my tumblr url, but I have decided that since it was my very first username EVER, and the name I went by at Imladris and C-o-E….. 'SwiftSnowmane’ I shall remain. :)

So, farewell, my dear Imladris, may we meet again on some distant cyber shore….Namárië. 

**Originally posted to tumblr here.