CaterpillarKing
Conqueror of Cacoons
Note that I am biased because I only actually was here through a few of these eras, but I analyzed dates and time between posts and titles for stories to get this data.
A New Forum: 2004?-November 2005
-A new game was born unto this world. Civ 4 reached the masses and the elderly Civ 3 was retired. A new story forum was needed and created. In the ensuing chaos many stories filled with random newcomers and various people cluttered the forum. There were no rules and no precedents, but little did those first few know, something great was to be made. No survivors are recorded.
The Era of Contstruction: December 2005 - December 2007
-The forum itself begins to take shape. Stories of actual character are now emerging and evolving into what they were to become. Some of Civ 4 S&T's most famous stories come from this time period, such as Princes of the Universe. This is an era of much tranquility as the fledgling forum grows into a power. The population is unprecedented and wouldn't stop growing for years to come. Nothing would seem to stem this flood. Very very few remain from this time period.
The Divided Era: January 2008-October 2008
-This is a darker time in the sub-forum history. The forum is soon divided into two camps, with the large, successful stories, whom were few in number, trampling over the smaller stories. The view gap widens as the small become smaller and the large become larger. These issues begin to mend themselves as the short age goes on, but it is a problem that still has its repercussions seen 7 years later and would create an irreversible trend.
The Regression Age: November 2008 - March 2010
-The stories of Civ 4 S&T once had much character, but this seems to slow down to almost a grinding halt at this time. The lively tales now turn to short gameplay blurts or tidbits of information. The sad times show how the sub-forum regresses, but it still has the numbers and power it had before, but it is misguided and misdirected. This power was soon to go, though, as the age of dominance would come to an end soon enough.
The Pre Civ 5 Days: April 2010 - August 2010
-Civ 4 enthusiasts watch in agony or hope as Firaxis prepare to release its newest version of Civilization. The people of the story and tales subforum go about their daily writings, unaware of the damage that this new game will do to their tidy community that had stood for around half a decade.
New Trials and Tests: September 2010 - August 2011
-The damage done by the new release is almost instant. The number using and replying drop almost instantly with the release of Civ 5. Those who simply scrolled and replied or had small stories dropped off and never came back, presumably to play the new Civ 5 game. The old-timers stay, but only just. The demographics show that a few come back after being disappointed, but the damage is done, and it is painful.
The Dark Ages: September 2011 - March 2013
-After the hit of Civ 5, the forums once more change. A small revival occurs, with new stories being built and created and made. This seems to be good, but the stories are quickly abandoned. This era is filled with many short, unfinished, blurbs about little to nothing. Overall though, the stories are few in number. This period of about a year and a half are the darkest times the sub-forum has seen, but one can only go up from the bottom.
The Consolodation: March 2013 - February 2014
-Stories are still few, but they are building up. No more short blurbs are being made, as now full-length stories are the only creature to have survived. Writers such as Moai_Spammer, constantinople, and so on hold a few newer mainstays that become very prevalent in the sub-forum. Times are still dark, but they are seeming to be moving more into the light.
The Renaissance: March 2014 - August 2014
-The forum sees its most brilliant recovery with the creation of America: Write Your Own History. This IAAR is not the first of its kind, but it absolutely explodes in popularity. Over the summer this story causes much of the growth that was seen, and spawned many other large stories, such as The Rise of Brazil, A Tryst with Destiny, and so on. Many other stories were made and forgotten but this time of friendship and prosperity would last for a very long time, relatively speaking.
The Downturn: September 2014 - February 2015
-The story that brought the growth of the forum back has ended, and many others have too. Now the forum sees a major loss in many of its major participants. A few stories attempt to recapture the public, but nothing works. While not as bad as the Dark Ages, this is still a bad time for the forum. Fewer stay, with only a few steadfast writers refusing to let their stories wither away.
The Second Revival: March 2015 - Present
-After the downturn, many new story writers took a stab at creating their own masterpiece. The friendships of the Renaissance stay and so do the large stories. The forum appears to now be once more littered with short blurbs, but this trend will not stop the hopeful, ever forward march of progress.
Writer's thoughts: The current trends kind of worry me. What tends to seem to happen is a bunch of new stories are made, forgotten, abandoned, and then the forum has a small collapse. I just want everyone to know that you are invaluable to the creation of the forum we have made together. There have been problems, big and small. There have been fights and arguments. We have survived though. We are a resilient group and I hope that all of you will try your hardest to stay here as long as you can. I hope you newcomers can make a proper home in our forum, for we welcome you all. Thank you.
A New Forum: 2004?-November 2005
-A new game was born unto this world. Civ 4 reached the masses and the elderly Civ 3 was retired. A new story forum was needed and created. In the ensuing chaos many stories filled with random newcomers and various people cluttered the forum. There were no rules and no precedents, but little did those first few know, something great was to be made. No survivors are recorded.
The Era of Contstruction: December 2005 - December 2007
-The forum itself begins to take shape. Stories of actual character are now emerging and evolving into what they were to become. Some of Civ 4 S&T's most famous stories come from this time period, such as Princes of the Universe. This is an era of much tranquility as the fledgling forum grows into a power. The population is unprecedented and wouldn't stop growing for years to come. Nothing would seem to stem this flood. Very very few remain from this time period.
The Divided Era: January 2008-October 2008
-This is a darker time in the sub-forum history. The forum is soon divided into two camps, with the large, successful stories, whom were few in number, trampling over the smaller stories. The view gap widens as the small become smaller and the large become larger. These issues begin to mend themselves as the short age goes on, but it is a problem that still has its repercussions seen 7 years later and would create an irreversible trend.
The Regression Age: November 2008 - March 2010
-The stories of Civ 4 S&T once had much character, but this seems to slow down to almost a grinding halt at this time. The lively tales now turn to short gameplay blurts or tidbits of information. The sad times show how the sub-forum regresses, but it still has the numbers and power it had before, but it is misguided and misdirected. This power was soon to go, though, as the age of dominance would come to an end soon enough.
The Pre Civ 5 Days: April 2010 - August 2010
-Civ 4 enthusiasts watch in agony or hope as Firaxis prepare to release its newest version of Civilization. The people of the story and tales subforum go about their daily writings, unaware of the damage that this new game will do to their tidy community that had stood for around half a decade.
New Trials and Tests: September 2010 - August 2011
-The damage done by the new release is almost instant. The number using and replying drop almost instantly with the release of Civ 5. Those who simply scrolled and replied or had small stories dropped off and never came back, presumably to play the new Civ 5 game. The old-timers stay, but only just. The demographics show that a few come back after being disappointed, but the damage is done, and it is painful.
The Dark Ages: September 2011 - March 2013
-After the hit of Civ 5, the forums once more change. A small revival occurs, with new stories being built and created and made. This seems to be good, but the stories are quickly abandoned. This era is filled with many short, unfinished, blurbs about little to nothing. Overall though, the stories are few in number. This period of about a year and a half are the darkest times the sub-forum has seen, but one can only go up from the bottom.
The Consolodation: March 2013 - February 2014
-Stories are still few, but they are building up. No more short blurbs are being made, as now full-length stories are the only creature to have survived. Writers such as Moai_Spammer, constantinople, and so on hold a few newer mainstays that become very prevalent in the sub-forum. Times are still dark, but they are seeming to be moving more into the light.
The Renaissance: March 2014 - August 2014
-The forum sees its most brilliant recovery with the creation of America: Write Your Own History. This IAAR is not the first of its kind, but it absolutely explodes in popularity. Over the summer this story causes much of the growth that was seen, and spawned many other large stories, such as The Rise of Brazil, A Tryst with Destiny, and so on. Many other stories were made and forgotten but this time of friendship and prosperity would last for a very long time, relatively speaking.
The Downturn: September 2014 - February 2015
-The story that brought the growth of the forum back has ended, and many others have too. Now the forum sees a major loss in many of its major participants. A few stories attempt to recapture the public, but nothing works. While not as bad as the Dark Ages, this is still a bad time for the forum. Fewer stay, with only a few steadfast writers refusing to let their stories wither away.
The Second Revival: March 2015 - Present
-After the downturn, many new story writers took a stab at creating their own masterpiece. The friendships of the Renaissance stay and so do the large stories. The forum appears to now be once more littered with short blurbs, but this trend will not stop the hopeful, ever forward march of progress.
Writer's thoughts: The current trends kind of worry me. What tends to seem to happen is a bunch of new stories are made, forgotten, abandoned, and then the forum has a small collapse. I just want everyone to know that you are invaluable to the creation of the forum we have made together. There have been problems, big and small. There have been fights and arguments. We have survived though. We are a resilient group and I hope that all of you will try your hardest to stay here as long as you can. I hope you newcomers can make a proper home in our forum, for we welcome you all. Thank you.
I've been in only the last three. I realized that the one era ends on the same month I joined with my stupid fan fiction story 
I seem to remember that being moved over in the same general time period as RT's America came over, which really had a lasting effect on the subforum (not only for its inventiveness and creativity but also because it stayed in the DoC subforum long enough to get subs there, and then was moved).
