I feel I may be on the fringe here, and I'll admit I can't really say much as I haven't played for any regular amount of time in I don't know how long. I'll pop in here and there, fly a few sorties. Once upon a time, handles were part of the fun, but the game grew to meet the new era. Since flying an account with a high score became a risk for those obsessed with the scoring system on something bordering addiction, having second or third accounts became typical.
Then, at what seems to me came after the announcement that the combat tour(if memory serves that's what it was called) was being dissolved, what should have been a new beginning, for me was the beginning of the end. Development slowed to a snails pace. Corporate politics found it's teeth sank firmly and the invasion came. This led to a fracture in the community, and the high-lighting of how it was falling behind technologically.
The dominant personalities of ole (Shane, FDB's etc.,) we all lament about like a cantankerous slobber donkey/kastrati you couldn't help but love it, if even only for a while. Started to leave. The people who nurtured the game's development from early on started moving on to other things. As the player base grew, it became harder to stand out from the crowd. So, the few personalities that remained added color more than character to the game.
Having said all that, some of my longest friendships have been with people I met playing AH. And that is what makes the current state of affairs all the more tragic. The lack of comprehension, understanding or perhaps even give a damn of online communities within the very companies that create the games is appalling. In online gaming, the players ARE the game. The product that they use to play is just the vessel, the medium. I sincerely hope some day, more game companies will along that understands this like the HTC crew does.
