I guess I'm really late in replying to this, and the original topic has changed multiple times since the beginning, but there was something that I wanted to say about the whole forums and Oddworld thing.
One thing I have noticed being a fan of both Oddworld and Final Fantasy is the difference in how sites are constructed and how the communities are structured [these are examples that I can refer to, it may or may not be the same for other larger games].
With Oddworld we have a main forum and several major fan sites. Then we have other fan sites as well. Web-masters help each other out, or combine their efforts on a project. But the community all remains in the one place. There are a few other smaller communities around [one which has remained there from the beginning and ever earlier than OWF is the Yahoo Exoddus Club]. But generally other Oddworld based forums come, gain a few members and then dissapear due to inactivity. Usually smaller sites like to link to this forum instead, although this doesn't of course mean that someone can't create their own forum too.
The Final Fantasy community on the other hand consists of many large and popular websites, all having their own forums with lots of activity and members. People will sometimes be a member of more than one site, but usually stick to one main site. It is rare to see sites join up to form a community [although it does happen], but instead sites will affiliate with each other which is really just a linking program. Occasionally you will come across a site that sees you as a "rival" site and doesn't want anything to do with you because you are covering the same game as they are.
And you know, having experienced both sides first hand, I prefer the way the Oddworld fan community is. We are all together in one place, we work together, we help each other. Sure we have our spats and arguments, but in the end we are a group of fans together. I think the main reason it is like this is because the Oddworld fan base is much smaller, so maybe it would change if Oddworld were to become more of a popular mainstream game. Generally there are not enough of us to support lots of active forums. But everyone in the one place is like a family.
Abe Babe...