Only just caught up with this one, but some interesting points for discussion at the end. A review of what the site was like five years ago was actually really interesting and I think you’ve accidentally hit upon a reason why the “old studio format’ appeals to so many of us….

…. just watch your video. Even just a few minutes in – look at the joy in the faces of those guys, sitting around the table.
It doesn’t matter what game they’re about to play or discuss. The game(s) are actually the least important thing in the video. Here’s a video of a bunch of guys, happy and comfortable in their own skins, clearly just enjoying being in each others company – and that’s what we, the viewers, get when we watch these old videos.

When I go to hang out with my mates, I don’t take an agenda, we don’t have a running list of things to discuss – we just hang out and enjoy being in each others company (often guitars are involved and we might play some songs, but often we’ll just talk rubbish, maybe rib each other affectionately and take turns being the butt of the joke). I don’t go to any of our meetups for the content. I go to just be around people I like.

And when I can’t get to do that myself, I love to see other people doing that.
And watching those old videos of Sam and Justin and Lance sitting around the table, under the gaze of Ben (who it turned out wasn’t actually part of the proceeding back then!) that’s what I’m watching – a bunch of guys not telling each other what a great time they’re having just by being in each others company.

I love hanging out with my mates. I’d never say it to them (though I’m not entirely sure why) but just being in the company of people I like gives me a fuzzy warm feeling. And when I can’t get to do that myself, I love seeing others enjoying that same thing.  And I guess that’s what I tuned into BoW for, all those years ago. And it feels that’s what’s missing in the current format.

Words don’t do it. Telling each other what a great time you’re having, as you sit at opposite ends of the country, gawping into a webcam isn’t the same as being in the same physical space as a bunch of people, talking about something shared – something as simple as a game laid out on a table between you.

As I’ve said before – I came for the content, I stayed for the community.
The site content really doesn’t interest me most of the time now.
And the community is struggling with our forums and the project system slowly crumbling and grinding to a halt.

It’s not too late to get things back on track.
I wish the guys would.
Of course, as we get older, we’re all accused of complaining about how crap everything is now and how great everything was in the past. But your review videos of just a few years ago are an interesting reminder of how good it used to be!