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Ironically, the most repped post (as of eons ago) came from The Green Dragon Inn.
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Whoops! Now you've got me started.
Why should that be 'ironic'? As a Shire moderator I probably have a bias here, but I do not see why a creative attempt at storytelling should merit less consideration for rep than a scholarly analysis of some aspect of Tolkien's writings.
Moreover, I frankly feel that Tolkien would have said the same thing. What primarily draws us to this site is Tolkien's creative work: his ability as a teller of tales, rather than as an academic. Yet, in the Letters, we are repeatedly reminded that Tolkien was somewhat embarassed by the amount of time he spent on his "private hobby". He felt defensive about his creative efforts and wondered if his fellow professors at Oxford would privately chide him for spending time on something as commonplace as storytelling and invented languages when he should have been engaging in more 'serious' pursuits. Tolkien's contributions as an academic are indeed very great. Yet as much as I value the commentator on Beowulf or the translator of Gawaine, it is the storyteller who holds the dearest place in my heart. If there is one thing that Tolkien teaches us, it is that we are all part of a greater story and that stories must be held dear....and that includes even the honest if flawed attempts that many make on this website.
Tolkien, moreover, intimated that his world was not a closed one. Perhaps knowing that he would never truly "finish" the Legendarium, at one point he suggested that others bring their talents to bear to flesh out the tales. This is certainly not to say that every RPG post rises to the level envisioned by Tolkien, but then neither does every book post. There is a range of quality in both. There are book posts that make me sit up and think, and for those I am immensely grateful. There are others that seem little more than tearing apart something that might be wiser to leave whole. (I am, of course, paraphrasing Tolkien here.)
At its very best, a strong RPG (or fanfiction story) not only shows evidence of the posters' writing skills and a strong mastery of the facts, but something more than that....the ability to reflect back Tolkien's spirit of Middle-earth in a believable fashion. That is a gift and should, in my opinion be acknowledged by a tip of the hat or the granting of rep.
Indeed, there is one thing that intrigues me. I may be off base here, but I wanted to share this thought and see if others felt the same. When I first came on this board a number of years ago, there were many serious threads directed at the material in Silm and HoMe. I remember drawing back and feeling rather intimidated because I feared I lacked the in-depth knowledge to contribute to such discussions. Today, there seem to be far fewer threads focusing on this "historical" material (meaning pre-LotR). The best of our current book discussions tend to be literary or philosophical in nature treating the history only in passing. The one place on the site where 'history' now dominates are the RPGs. More and more of these tales explore the earlier history in some form or fashion. And I do think that is worthy of acknowledgement, whether by rep or some other means.
Rant over....
