Let's have a serious talk for a moment.

[Secrets]

Hi folks,

I just wanted to take a moment to say something very important. There's been a ton of drama, ex-staff members fighting, current staff members fighting, and other nonsense going on. I'd like to share my take on this.

Little backstory for those who don't know me: I'm Secrets. I develop client fixes, have consulted with Nilbog for help with content, and for a brief stint of time, I was a guide, GM, whatever you to call the CSR position.

Lately, Braknar and Greengrocer did something that I did about 4 years back: They tried to attack players, staff members, and staff members on a personal level for what they thought was the 'good' of the server. I am ashamed to admit at one point in my life I thought these actions were 'for justice'. But the only justice I performed was a self-righteous crusade laced with revenge fueled intentions.

Here's the bitter reality: You're affecting real people when you do these kinds of acts. Not even the 'doxing' stuff; I meant the emotional and physical impact of these actions are in detriment to the server's health and the people behind them. Not just the staff, but the players too.

I learned something by going on one of these 'crusades' and it was the most important thing of all: Integrity is key and if you violate those rules of integrity, you are doomed to become what you hate and you will dig a hole that is hard to get out of on a personal and external level.

This is why Rogean and Nilbog are doing a great job as leaders. It is better for them to say nothing at all than to pander to the community at large. They do not get involved to save their sanity. Not everything needs a statement from 'dear leader' even if they want it. Involving yourself only stresses you and doesn't stop the people that you are trying to stop.

Plus, being less vocal shrouds the staff in secrecy so malicious players and ex-staff have less of a voice so you may continue providing what the average player wants; in this case, Classic EverQuest.

When you use malicious communication - whether it be releasing private information, an insult, or manipulation - you do not achieve the ultimate goal you are trying to do, unless your goal is destruction to begin with.

If you want to see something happen - for example, changes in Project 1999's staff - you should learn to make your own Project 1999 and make it better so you can recreate the project in your image. Trying to destroy something you wish to save (such as Classic EverQuest) can only result in more destruction, as you are acting out of vengeance instead of righteousness.

I understand the legitimate concerns of the various scandals that took place on P99 recently. Between dsetup.dll, Greengrocer outing Derubael and various information on the staff's methods, and the personal information being flung back and forth, there is a lot of concern about security, and a lot of questions about integrity.

If you think you can do the job better than the staff while keeping the spirit of Classic EQ alive, then do it with full integrity and show that you can do it better. Otherwise, continue to enjoy Project 1999 for what it is: Classic EverQuest.

[Swish]

inb4 Chest starts licking your boots.

[Swish]

What blue needs to thrive and be a great place to play is more community cohesion events such as those provided by Omni (and Rampage with their PoM event recently). This does a great job of integrating everyone rather than some guilds which don't and won't do community events and try to be elitist while calling themselves casual.

I'm not just talking about one guild there for anyone ready to roll their eyes.

Blue is fixable, it just needs people to "be nice"...there's some of it around, but more effort required as a community from what I can see.

[Secrets]

Originally Posted by Swish [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

What blue needs to thrive and be a great place to play is more community cohesion events such as those provided by Omni (and Rampage with their PoM event recently). This does a great job of integrating everyone rather than some guilds which don't and won't do community events and try to be elitist while calling themselves casual.

I'm not just talking about one guild there for anyone ready to roll their eyes.

Blue is fixable, it just needs people to "be nice"...there's some of it around, but more effort required as a community from what I can see.

The thing is people don't need fixing - you can't fix people. They need to be willing to change themselves before changing the mentality is possible. And even then they have to realize the conclusion themselves.

[Swish]

I agree. I think there's a Grand Canyon sized gap between community attitudes on the forums and in-game sometimes... but overall, from what I heard of EQmac, it was a much healthier place to play and more fun.

What would help players be better human beings on P99?

[ ] Scrap RNF?
[ ] Change the raid scene to be more inclusive for new players/new guilds?
[ ] More community events? (with less bitching about community events and lack of guises etc)
[ ] All of the above?

[Secrets]

Originally Posted by Swish [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[ ] Scrap RNF? This is a good start, it will fuel that toxic environment elsewhere - such as Reddit. New players probably click on the R&F forum and shit bricks at how bad this is.
[ ] Change the raid scene to be more inclusive for new players/new guilds? I believe removing variance would fix that. Same with increasing sim repop frequency. You need to be ready to go, not ready to wait, when a mob spawns.
[ ] More community events? (with less bitching about community events and lack of guises etc) Absolutely, but they have to be for things other than guises.

Stuff that is obtainable ingame right now, but without the farming process, and more importantly, the staff shouldn't have to run these events; they should run themselves. Think of them like a 'temporary quest' that appears much like simulated repops simulate patch days; these would simulate the appearance of guides.
[ ] All of the above? See notes.

[arsenalpow]

Braknar responded to a threat, that's self defense imo. Don't doxx a man's wife and kids, that's fucked up. GG and Sikorsky are the ones that stepped over the line.

[Wisteso]

Once you realize that at least 1 out of 10 people have a serious mental illness/disability/deficiency that will make them seem crazy/selfish/trollish/whatever the world will be easier to deal with.

You cant fix those people - just learn to deal with them.

[Tann]

Originally Posted by arsenalpow [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Braknar responded to a threat, that's self defense imo. Don't doxx a man's wife and kids, that's fucked up. GG and Sikorsky are the ones that stepped over the line.

^^^

[Pringles]

Originally Posted by arsenalpow [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Braknar responded to a threat, that's self defense imo. Don't doxx a man's wife and kids, that's fucked up. GG and Sikorsky are the ones that stepped over the line.

I had nothing to do with RL information being passed around. I have no idea who one or the other is IRL, nor do I want to know. I think its pretty damn ridiculous (as I said over on reddit) that it came down to RL info. Do I have an issue with Braknar? Yes, however I would never, and never have, brought real life into it though.

With that said, I've received some pretty fucked up PMs over on reddit about my family. No game is worth this bullshit / my families safety.

I'm out fellas. Its been a fun 6 years on P99, but I'm done.