[xnodeza]

Some of the best experiences were posting under a handle on a local gaming site and combining being a sarcastic troll with decent contributions to the forum, as well as writing game reviews for the parent web site.

That online community fostered involvement in an RL community through holding LAN gaming events on a weekend, or hanging out with other forum members at a few bars around town. I think you're spot on that localisation is key. I'd go on the world wide web and end up talking trash with a bunch of dudes who lived at most 60km away.