Quitting Runescape is never easy

This article is written by a person who quit Runescape a few months ago. The author brings up two points:

1. The game is so fluid, that it is almost impossible to keep up with the changes without actually playing the game on regular basis.
2. You loose pretty much all your online friends from the game, even if you used to maintain close communications on fan sites and forums.
   

While I agree with both statements in general, I'd like to add some additional thoughts.

1. Yes, Runescape is changing very fast and it is hard to resume playing after a long hiatus. But it is possible and I know many players who did just that. I did it myself in 2006. I actually see "Runescape fluidity" as a good thing: while the game changes it lives and grows. That is one of the reasons I am not particularly happy with "2009 fix everything year" motto, by the way.
2. Yes, when you stop playing an online game, expect to loose contacts with your online friends. But this is not a Runescape thing. It is people's nature and there is nothing wrong with it. Do you know what is the main factor that contributes to friendship between people? Do you think "matching personalities" or "common interests"? Nope. It is "proximity". Simple geo-spacial (if you will) proximity. "Common interests" would come next. Now, when you quit the game you loose both "proximity" and "common interests" ties. No wonder the relationship quickly fades away.