As most MMO fans likely know by now, the bell has tolled for the Joystiq network, including the esteemed MMO news and commentary site Massively. Despite being more successful than ever, it has been shut down by its corporate overlords at AOL* and will cease operation tomorrow.

*[Pause for inevitable round of, “Wait, AOL still exists?”]

This is a very sad time for the entire MMO community, and me personally.

Obviously, Massively was a great source of news. They offered updates throughout the day, every day, and happily covered older, obscure, and foreign titles almost as much as the bigger name and more mainstream games.

It was one of the few sites still offering regular coverage — and positive coverage at that — to The Secret World, so this is an especially sad day for those of us who are fans of the game. TSW needs all the support it can get.

If you scroll the monster comments section for the post linked above, you will eventually find that even Joel Bylos, TSW’s loveable game director, has offered his condolences for the closure.

On a personal note, the closure of Massively hits me especially hard.

Aside from being a part of my daily routine, Massively was a huge influence on me as a writer, a blogger, and a journalist. I learned a lot about writing and reporting by reading their articles, and I have a great deal of respect for their writers.

In particular, Eliot Lefebvre and Brianna Royce became idols of mine. I greatly respect their insight, their equitable mindset, and their keen wit, and I was always eager to hear anything they had to say on MMO design or gaming culture. It’s safe to say I want to be Eliot when I grow up.

I had long nursed the dream of one day becoming a writer for Massively. I even applied there once, and while I didn’t make the cut that time, I never quite gave up the hope of one day being good enough to join the Massively team.

Until now, of course, for Massively is no more.

There are some rumblings of them perhaps forging off on their own to create a new and independent site — possibly through crowdfunding — but as of right now, nothing is certain. I hope they do. I might even contribute to such a crowdfunding venture if they were to launch one.

In the meanwhile, we’ll have to settle for following the blogs of those writers who have them. A list can be found below:

Brianna Royce: http://skycandy.org/

Justin Olivetti: http://biobreak.wordpress.com/

Eliot Lefebvre: http://eliot-lefebvre.com/

MJ Guthrie: http://lookingforshinies.com/

Mike Foster: http://www.mike-foster.com/

Larry Everett: http://www.hyperspacebeacon.com/

Now I’m gonna go save some of my favourite Massively articles from over the years. Because history needs to remember Eliot’s evisceration of Scarlet Blade.