Welcome to Zion: Meet the fans
By Jonathan "MercuryDomini" Fisher

Your average fan of The Matrix Online (MxO) is in no way your average individual. Most of these people have spent countless hours watching the movies and following the game. Many of them can tell you secrets about the movie you couldn't even begin to have found out on your own. That is one thing that you can not help but to love about being part of a community. They talk to each other, some care about one another, they're what makes games succeed and worth playing. These are the people you may one day call friend in a game that some of us loved long before we'll ever "jack in."

At first glance you'll think this is just another gaming community. Another group of people sitting behind a screen going on for hours on end about a game you may, or may not, have just heard about. Don't be deceived my little "blue pill." These are some of the most astonishing people you may ever meet. Some of them can hold conversations that would astonish some of the brightest minds you know. These are definitely not a group of people you should turn you back on. These are hardcore and intelligent fans.

The community is made up of many types of people, Some hostile but most friendly. You'll find the majority of them congregate at the MxO forums. There you'll find many, many interesting topics. They range from secrets about the movie/game, to your normal "just wanna chat" posts.

These people have definitely dedicated time into this franchise. Scoff as you may at the gaming community, these people are impressive to say the least. I've seen them crack puzzles that many had no idea as to where to begin. They've often times discussed the metaphorical concepts of The Matrix, and believe me, it's full of them. The Matrix is not the only thing they discuss, however. They'll gladly share theories on books, movies, poems. It's not uncommon to find an intelligent post on these forums.

The forums are not the only place to find your hardcore fans, there's also IRC. For those of you who do not know what IRC is, well, it's the best "chat" that there is. Here you'll find fans at all times of the day. You have your regulars that come in daily, and your casual chatter that'll pay a visit every now and again. These people are no less impressive than your forum regulars. Some of them seem to dedicate their lives to The Matrix Online. They work hard to make sure the casual person has all of the information they'll ever need to know for MxO. It's not out of the ordinary to see them going above the call of duty to find any new information. Sometimes they'll find interesting articles posted by the community, other times they'll find something from a Developer. Every now and again they will even have a nice chat with someone closely related to MxO.

Most of the fans are helpful, ready to aid you in any way possible. They're kind, and interesting individuals patiently awaiting a game that they hope will be the greatest of all games. Some of them don't have quite as much patience as others, unfortunately. Every now and again tempers flare when a newcomer asks a question that has been asked hundreds of times. It's not just pure anger towards newcomers, however, it's the desire to know more and to feel like you're getting closer to the game. This, is unfortunately an issue that some people have expressed.

The issue being that there is, and always has been, a lack of free information.

The developers closely guard the secrets to this mysterious, yet hopefully wonderful game. It's as if the game is the fountain of youth where only the chosen few are allowed to get a taste of eternal life. Information is a hard thing to come by in regards to MxO. Every time a new article is released we rejoice and throw a party. The forums come to life and IRC is flooded with newcomers and the regulars begin running more and more ideas by one another. We try out best to find new information, and gladly share this priceless commodity with one another. It's far too hard to come by to keep it all to yourself.

Currently we're all awaiting the exquisite taste of Beta. Yes, that's right, Beta has been out for quite some time now. Right now they're keeping it closed, only a handful of lucky souls have been graced with the full MxO experience. We've had very little information released to us about it due to an NDA, but the community is strong. We will survive the NDA and live to see another day. Anxiously we're all awaiting the day when the forums are flooded with a plethora of the desired information regarding MxO. All of it's beauty and it's hideousness. Right now we're all speculating on the greatness that we drool over. Taking the handfuls of information we're allowed to have and guessing at what we'll be allowed, and not allowed, to do in game. We can only hope it lives up to the vivid imaginations the fan base has.

The community is full of intelligent minds, though. This community is full of people who will not surrender until every secret possibly known has been found. That's is the greatness of this community, it's mind. The Matrix was a movie meant for adults, meant for intellectuals capable of discovering every metaphorical meaning, and they found them. I'm sorry Devs, but you've met your match. You've taken on a community of fans, fans that will never give up. I hope you're ready for a fight, because we will not relinquish, and we will know all!

Guest Editorials and the opinions expressed therein are those of the author and not necessarily the views and opinions of the staff or editors of The Matrix Online Stratics.

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