So I feel fairly confident in assuming everyone has atleast one website they visit religiously whenever online. That one site which, even after a long time away from the web, you visit first to check for any missed updates.

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My question - What keeps you coming back to a site? Are there key features you've come attached to and expect when another site doesn't quite live up to your standards?

I'm interested in seeing what features actually keeps you connected to a website - not including interaction with its community. Maybe its a news feed coming from another website. Perhaps its not even original content - you simply prefer it because of the content's organization and implementation!

Note: Link us to some examples, if you have them readily available. While a description is great, actually seeing your favored features in action tells a story in itself. ;D

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and this is me testing fun stuff.

www.runevillage.com

No reason apart from the community. This isn't what you meant though, is it.

I guess www.funnyjunk.com - For humor purposes.
www.facebook.com - Obvious

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Facebook - Popular social networking site, easy way to keep in touch with people. Although their constant addition of "features" has been turning me away; The simplicity and straight-forwardness of the site is what drew me to it, as opposed to the overly-accessorized MySpace which I had been using prior.

Mspaintadventures - You cannot hope to beat Hussie in a webcomic-off. He is simply the best there is.

RuneScape - Fun game that I've invested too much time and effort into for me to stop checking their website. Even when I'm not playing (for whatever reason, be it dial-up, lack of membership, hatred for the company, whatever), I still read all the news posts to stay up-to-date with the game's content.

RuneVillage - This is strictly a matter of emotional investment, and has been for a long time. What originally drew me here was that it did, at one point, have some of the best RS quest guides on the web. Also the community seemed welcoming and fun.

Wikipedia - ALL OF THE WORLD'S KNOWLEDGE IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND.

I really don't visit a lot of other websites these days, at least not consistently.

Dr Mcninja- Three updates a week of consistent quality.

Gamefaqs- Daily poll.

Team Four Star- Praying for updates.

Moral of the story: I like things that update regularly.

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Interested in playing Dungeons and Dragons playtesting paper and pencil rpgs playing Dungeons and Dragons with your fellow villagers? Drop me Eadwulf me a pm!

RuneScape - Because i've spent 148 days on that game and i'm not gonna stop now, also it's a very coloourful and welcoming homepage, but getting to the game is such a pain > click on button > wait 5 minutes to load > log in > wait another 20 seconds > play on lag.

RuneVillage - I have grown used to bothering everyone here, i do feel part of a community and i like being able to contribute (RVET and Guide Writing).

Digi Comp - To see the progress being made, and to laugh at the banner at the top.

YouTube - Because it's YouTube and i go there for a laugh, every one knows how to use YouTube.

RoosterTeeth - Funny stuff, easy to navigate website, i go there for a laugh to be honest, they update very often (once every 1 or 2 days).

FaceBook - Hopes of people commenting on something funny instead of what they're doing irl every 5 seconds or saying something meaningful which has no link to them at all.

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There are 10 types of people in the world, the ones that understand binary, and the ones that don't.

Thanks Lou for the help with the avatar.

www.runevillage.com - usually out of boredom - although while I could check other websites, I do come here
www.leagueunlimited.com - sport (rugby league) forum
www.lotro.com - lotro forums
www.facebook.com - herpa derpa

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Guild Wars 2

~ Kudzu, Dreamer, Frostfang, Eternity, Flameseeker Prophecies ~
~ Nevermore, H.O.P.E, Moot, Incinerator, Meteorlogicus, Howler ~
~ WvW Rank 964, sPvP Rank 75, 25,437 AP ~

Runevillage- I like the community here, and I like to check the new posts and stuff out. It's a great hang out place!

LOTRO Forums- I like to check out the General Discussion board, as well as checking updates and news about the game.

Facebook- Friends and Family are on here, good way to keep in contact with people.

Sims 3 Forums- I like browsing the Expansion Pack boards, and to check the latest updates/releases coming out for the series

Renaissance Fesitval Forums- I do this when I am bored, and when I miss going to the renaissance faire. I like browsing and reading the topics about the happenings at faire, as well as see the upcoming renaissance faires for the season. I usually visit this forum after returning shortly from a renaissance faire, or when I cannot stop thinking about it during off season time.

YouTube- I like to watch various videos out of boredom

Blogger- To update my blog on there, as well as check up on other blogs that I am following.

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Runevillage - The memories, the people, the chat, and the rank.
Reddit - Great community, tons and tons of variety and lols.
Facebook - social networking blah blah

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The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. -MLK

Antic Hero wrote:

My new years resolution is 1680x1050.

Rocky Martin wrote:

TheAnimal is one cool dude.

Hideyoshi wrote:

There's a demo. Play the demo. Form your own opinion.

Also throw in ESPN.com and NFL.com for the Fantasy Football.

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Awesome sig made by Goten!

Runevillage- Obvious reasons
Facebook- Obvious again
Youtube- Still obvious

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Add me on Steam! Click this thingy!
If you're in the Runevillage group, it makes it easier to identify you!

Hidden: 

Kikori wrote:

Topsummoner wrote:

Riptide wrote:

I used to get you and J@n mixed up. Except your funnier. And nicer. Happy 21st bro!

Oh man Jan, you just got zinged by Riptide. How much does THAT suck?

Well, statistically speaking, slightly more than a giant suckusaur. A dire one.

PenguinGuy wrote:

Lets see if I remember how to play...

EX REX IS MAFIA SCUM FOURTHVOTER UNVILLAGE BLAH BLAH BLAH SCUM BLAH WINE IN FRONT OF ME BLAH BLAH META GAME BLAH BLAH BLAH SMELLS OF ELDERBERRIES BLAH

Right?

I see straight through your plan Il Demon lI, so i'll be more specific

Slashdot, has a very good (IMHO) way of sectioning up the articles, with means of expanding or contracting them, but also with funny quips under the titles (the dept. jokes)

OSNews because of the way it splits up news articles into full original content articles on the main page, and smaller, maybe less relevant news on the right sidebar

and that's the techie stuff i look at.

XKCD because of it's witty comics and regular updates. I stopped reading cyanide and happiness because of the pop-ups and stuff...

Wiki's are usually a first stop for me too, on any subject, because of their readability in section layout and general easy-to-use-ness(?)

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There is a village, which is hidden in the shadow of a mountain.
Everybody is suffering from a lack of light.
One day, the eldest of this village leaves for the mountain with a teaspoon in his hands.
The others ask him what he intends to do.
He replies that he is going to move the mountain.
"But you will never succeed!" they cry out.
"No, i will never succeed, but somebody has to start."

~~~The Wising Up Song - Misty's Big Adventure

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Kikori wrote:

Runevillage the forum is pretty well much done. Runevillage the group will eventually die, but as long as we're still friends with each other in the end, it's still a pretty big thought in our heads. Runevillage the family is forever, no matter where we settle down. If absolutely nothing else ever comes of Runevillage in the future, that alone is a pretty damn awesome thought.

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Never argue with an idiot, they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience

Runevillage-durr
Facebook-Durr
Nmu webmail (My college email)-durr

Cracked.com-perhaps the the funniest writing I've ever read in my life. Also usually educational. New articles daily.

Detroitlions.com-I like to stay on top of my Lions news, and I sometimes like reading player blogs.

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Awesome Squall sprite courtesy of Goten! Check here if you'd like a runescape or game-themed sprite!

Just about the only websites I visit.

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Paladin | Shaman | Priest | Mage | Warrior | Death Knight | Druid
Waiting on Warhammer Online SW:TOR Tera Guild Wars 2 A new MMO

Runevillage.com -
nhl.com - NHL official site
hfboards.com - NHL forum
bodog.ca - My sports bookie
Youtube.com - Vids and stuffs.
damnlol.com - Funny pics, although they get repetitive after a while.
freestockcharts.com, http://www.stockcharts.com, - Stock related websites

Some other ones related to banking, my cell phone, school and things like that.

-Phat

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PoopbaLL`

somethingawful.com - Forums are a very interesting place; most recently they had a bunch of people take pictures of themselves dressed as mermaids, to great hilarity.

fark.com - news aggregator, mostly of worthless news which is then relentlessly mocks.

cracked.com - as mentioned, hilarious yet educational articles.

runevillage.com - has a weird tf2 team

facebook.com - yeah

youtube.com - yeah

Facebook -

Runevillage - Always like checking in on the old RV.

YouTube - Funny vids yo.

5-Second Films - Updates daily, short and sweet video content baby.

RoosterTeeth - Once again, funny vids.

ESPN/NFL.com - Football Football Football

The Escapist - Gimmie dat Zero Punctuation.

Cracked - Funny articles, occasionally some good videos as well.

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To me most websites are very fleeting, and the ones I frequent really depend on what I'm trying to accomplish. There are specific pages I go to for information, and completely different ones I go to if I'm just trying to pass the time. In either case, though, the ones I go to have three things in common (and this is excluding the community aspect of it, like you requested). In them the possibilities are endless, advertisement is low, and the cost is zero. What I mean by the possiblities being endless is....linkage. Whether it be links to another page on the same site, or links to other sites, that's what keeps me coming back. If I want info, I want in-depth sites with links to sources and/or facts and/or opinions. If I want to pass the time, I want sites with seemingly endless content.

For info I go to:
Google.com -The King of Links.

Wikipedia.org - For most things. Great for information backed up by links to sources (other sites and info) and links to other pages on Wikipedia itself without any advertisement.

Erowid.org- Let's say my doctor has just prescribed me a new medication and I want to know exactly what will happen before I take it. Erowid has vaults for vast amount of drugs, complete with lists of side-effects, common doses, and extensive "patient" experiences.

Ign.com- For all info I need on Wii and PC games. Links to a lot of games' wiki guides.

For entertainment:
Youtube.com- Once you are done watching a video, they have links to tons of other similar videos they recommend.

Playlist.com- I enjoy making playlists. They have an incredible amount of songs, and links to the sites they came from.

Pogo.com- Extensive selection of onlin games with a rating system and rewards, although you do get more access if you pay....which I do not.

Questionablecontent.net- Pretty specific in that it only has one aspect to it. The web comic itself. It has an archive of every single comic he's put out since the beginning.

Theonion.com- Humorous faux news complete with an archive of past humorous faux news.

A mix of info and entertainment:
Facebook.com- I've been going to this less and less as of late....I'm pretty sick of reading the nonsense people I know personally spew, but I do like to keep in touch with certain ones. It's also a good place to listen to a band's music if they keep unauthorized songs off of Youtube.

Runevillage.com- I value the opinions, and often get recommendations for a wide variety of things.

I also go to certain band's websites for news, tour info, etc...

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Hidden: 

The Chrome thing was a great idea Ninja

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Eventhubs
Shoryuken
Iheartchaos
Cracked
Kotaku
Siliconera
Facebook
Redflagdeals

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Props to steve-loser on the old sig.