Why are people still playing Ultima Online?

Later this year, Ultima Online will turn 18 years old. In the genre of MMOs, that makes the game positively ancient - and it's even more remarkable when you consider that it's still funded via a subscription model.I've never played an Ultima game, much less one that's nearly my age. I wanted to find out what the game is like to play today as a newcomer, and to ask people why theyive continued visiting Britannia for nearly two decades.I have little to no interest in MMOs, but seeing one of them run for this long is fascinating.