Comments on: AFK Cafe Leaves Keyboard Forever

By: eric shrimpton

eric shrimpton — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:46:48 +0000

dont feel so bad you can all come to my internet cafe its in woollongabaa as well at 789a stanly street near the gabba cricket ground so come on down first hour free for ex afk peeps

By: JB Hewitt

JB Hewitt — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:38:20 +0000

It's a sad day - this place was a gamers chill-out zone for Brisbane and had a great mocha coffee to boot.

I'm glad we Brisbanites had the privilege of having such a cool place to hang out at for the time we had.

Hope that Jason and his wife bounce back from this venture and find success elsewhere.

By: Riff

Riff — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:42:21 +0000

You can has no more cheeseburger. :(

I've been depressed ever since I heard the news. From the first time I walked into the place, I felt like I was home. Aside from the really good food and excellent coffee (and I'm *really* picky about coffee,) the atmosphere was great. And the people were awesome. Almost every time I went in to grab a drink, or something to eat, I ended up staying for hours chatting, sometimes with the owner, sometimes with complete strangers.

I'm far too cynical to have believed that AFK would last forever. But I hoped.

By: Quadlex

Quadlex — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:34:59 +0000

Thank you, Kotaku. I couldn't think of a more fitting way to give AFK a Eulogy.

I miss AFK as well.

By: Andrew Low

Andrew Low — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 07:38:03 +0000

A mate and I went down and checked AFK out about 2 months ago and it was truly a great place. It had a relaxed, and mature atmosphere. I dont know if its a reflection of Brisbane lan center’s in general, but quite a few have closed their doors recently. The Sunnybank centers are still going strong, though they offer nothing like the services at AFK. A real shame.

By: Wayne Robinson

Wayne Robinson — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 04:06:08 +0000

AFK was so much more than just a LAN cafe. They had great food (and I am very fussy about my cafe food) and even better coffee. There were geeks from different parts of the community (board games, sci-fi, gaming) and they all mixed on a regular basis. The cafe was quite often full (both the computers and all the couches, tables, etc) on Friday and Saturday afternoon/evenings.

Unfortunately, I think this lead to it's downfall. A single person can only eat/drink so much in a single sitting, and having people just hang around in the cafe for 12 hours doesn't really turn over that much cash.

It was a fantastic concept and the owner (Jason) was an excellent 'leader' for his bunch of customers. If only they could've survived for another 12 months, they probably would've started to make money *and* be able to bring the concept to other cities. But, I understand why that wasn't a possibility.

I miss AFK :(

By: Jedi_Vader20

Jedi_Vader20 — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 03:03:52 +0000

It is a sad, sad day. AFK was the ultimate hangout for geeks. I wish the owners good luck in future ventures, and know that they will be missed.

By: Phaelix

Phaelix — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 02:21:41 +0000

Ventrilo and cheap, ubiquitous broadband have killed the LAN. Even going to the top-of-the-line setups in Sydney, you wind up asking yourself what you're getting that you can't get a home, and worse, dealing with broken hardware and exposure to other people's ear diseases.

It's a pity, because I like the idea of going to a LAN with the lads, maybe picking up some of that Vitamin D I've been hearing so much about.

By: fairplay

fairplay — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 02:09:18 +0000

Good Game?