We Need Leadership

[G4RG0YLE]

Now that I'm home, I'd like to just elaborate further on my initial points as well as address some responses, to apologise where necessary and help people have a better understanding of where I'm coming from.

As for FHU, why in the world are you still bringing that up and comparing FH to it? That game has nothing to do with the direction this game will go or what it's future will hold. It seems more like FHU has become everyone's bargaining chip for demanding change over here. Because every time someone wants something different here they start talking about how FHU is doing something differently. They have their own concepts and we have ours. The whole reason they left and started FHU was because they had differing ideals that conflicted with the ones over here. So stop comparing 2 games that must take their own separate paths. It will only start more unneeded drama and hurt more people like what happened in the past.

We may need leadership, but is it really need new Administrators we need, or a new Server Master?
That's why Feral Heart Unleashed exists and a lot of people have migrated. xSpirit has made promises that he can actually keep, while also proving that he's much more capable of handling FH in comparison to Razmirz nowadays.

In all honesty when it comes to Raz handling FH, he has one job, a job that he has set himself, and that is to be the janitor. Show up and fix things when things are a mess and do maintenance on FH's servers when need be. Yes he still has the final say on what goes into the game, but over time I can come to agree with him on most things.

xSpirit on the other hand has nothing to do with this situation as it is FeralHeart's, and not FU's. His focus on on FU, not FeralHeart. I'm sure he doesn't want to be involved in anything Original FeralHeart, so don't drag him into this.

The reason why I mentioned Feral Heart Unleashed is because FH is technically it's birthplace. It didn't start in Feral Heart itself (as in start as a group in-game and expand to a game of their own), no, but it is named after FH with 'Unleashed' afterwards to indicate a new chapter. New staff, new everything, but essentially parts of the same community. Not everyone migrated but most of the people who've been around long-term have seen it as a new home, but a similar environment, to start over.
There are similarities that everyone can deny as much as they like, it doesn't change the fact that FHU/FH are very often confused in terms of difference, or how one came about.

In addition, I've not once used Feral Heart Unleashed as a 'bargaining chip', I was making a comparison to describe that FHU is part of the reason that FH is or has died. People are moving on to a game that can provide regular updates because they don't have a leader that is very strict with what is & what isn't in-game and put out; content wise. With no updates in FH, people are going to look & move elsewhere to places where they can look forward to what's coming next, not be... what Ironic described as sitting ducks. Everyone has or has had patience, but there comes a time and a place where elderly members like myself, grow tired or concerned for FH's wellbeing. Hence so much previous "drama".

I'm not going to stop making the comparisons, sorry. Why I won't is because it further validates the point I'm trying to make... it's not an attack or any sort of "this game is better than that because of ____" it's just to add onto the discussion being had here.

As for lack of leadership and dwindling staff numbers, how should we know who may or may not be working behind the scenes on this very game. Expecting daily progress updates is quite unreasonable and would greatly slow down progress on the very updates you are seeking.

Furthermore, if Raz was gonna close this game, he would've done it when Kov left. But instead he has kept running it despite all the drama and crap that has gone down over the years. I seriously doubt he is just gonna shut it down now or anytime soon tbh.

Looks like we all need to calm down, be thankful for what we have right now, and look forward to what is to come.

I may be misunderstanding the tone trying to be used here, but it does seem like you're acting a little bit passive-aggressive and defensive. I beg that you correct me if I am wrong, though, I don't want to go off of this assumption. I'm just shedding light as to how I've read this.
No one is making demands for daily updates, but for 3-4 years now the community has asked for updates in general, just small insight of what's in the works and what's planned to come. We have always been given the "it's a surprise" response, but the community has grown bored of waiting for a surprise. For so long that, the surprise probably won't actually be that exciting anymore unless something BIG is put into the game, like hunting NPCs, quests, but then it gives too much of an IT server vibe.

As for Razmirz, it wouldn't be the first time he has threatened to shut down Feral Heart. Back in 2017/18, he closed the server down and even locked the forums down, with only a message being displayed on everyone's screens.
So, I wouldn't put it past him to do it again depending on how he feels. He has that power and he can use it whenever he wants, regardless of influential attempts by the Staff and the community. He knows he's that powerful.

We are all calm and having a civil discussion as best we can.

But, what is there to come?
No one knows this, which means people are unsure if there even is anything worth looking forward to. No one likes to be left with high hopes and then deeply disappointed. I'll be looking forward to changes to see what potential can be seen, but a lot of the community (or what's left of it) feel like they can only enjoy FH as it stands, because nothing else will become of it. Or at least, that's how it feels.

I also understand that Staff feel frustrated to hear that over and over, because truthfully speaking they can't actually do anything without Raz's permission or looking over their shoulder, but they also feel trapped because he's too absent to be handing out that permission and supervising them as such.

The current state of Feral Heart has been a state that, I believe, is beyond saving by now.

Anything can be saved if you want to save it. The fact that this game is still running, with new players still registering and old players still returning, and that the community is still, in a sense, fighting for this game, with this thread being proof of it, that says something. This game has been running for 10 whole years, and if people just sit by and say "it's dying", or to leave because you're "beating a dead horse", then yes. It will die. But there are still amazing people out there who still fight for this game and play it because they don't want to see something they hold so dear to them die.

I like this, as this is why I've returned myself. I did feel like I'd left a bad mark with FH and I didn't want to become a stain on the community, villainised as such by a handful few. However, I come back now because at the end of the day, for a long time FH has moulded me and drawn me closer & closer to the roleplaying animal community. I've tried several other games, but this was most of my OC's and roleplaying skills' birthplace. I can't leave that behind. So I agree with this statement.

While yes the Staff work for the community and have tried many handfuls of times to make things work, their work is also a factor of Feral Heart's downfall.

Don't lump everyone into one to two person's doings. When it comes to things update-wise, I agree that the 1.16 update was handled poorly, but that's not the way that ALL the staff members wanted it to go. Do you think everyone wanted to just pull the carpet out from underneath everyone? To one day log on and realize that all those maps that have so many memories and sentimental value were just gone without the chance to say goodbye? No. Not everyone wanted it to be a 'surprise' that the old maps were removed and replaced with new maps. In the grand scheme of things, the update had to be done due to issues the old maps caused on the server and other factors that play into the decision, but it didn't need to happen the way it did. I was one of those players who was deeply hurt to see the old maps gone, and to tell you the truth I was very upset with the staff as well- but after taking a step back and looking at the situation at hand, I can understand and appreciate the care that was put into the update despite it being handled poorly. This unfortunately is something that a large amount of people can't get over, so they just sit in one place and rant and rave about how the new maps ruined the game, placing the blame on all the staff members when not all of them wanted it to go that way in the process. That leads me into my next point. The staff are just so few people, while the community as a whole, considering what FeralHeart is, IS the game. If the community collectively stops playing the game, then guess what, there is no FeralHeart. Just an empty chat room. To my knowledge, a lot of those players did stop playing. Some out of spite, some out of disinterest, and some for their own reasons. So it's not just one side's fault. As you've said, we all play a part.

The Feral Heart Staff Team were a very close-knit team and their behaviour very much displayed this. They were, maybe still are, family to one another.
However, they had and will continue to have a bad side to their reputation. There have been claims of wrongful bans being handed out, as well as in-game kicks, etc. and there was even plenty of pages of evidence to prove this, Tumblr/deviantArt being the most popular. Of course, these situations were denied & ignored.

Again, don't lump everyone into other people's doings. It is highly unfair that all of the staff members get blamed and held accountable for things that had happened years ago, to which they may not have even done themselves. Many staff members have come and gone through the years, and a handful of wrongfully placed bans may have been placed by a staff member that has been gone for years, yet the current staff are still being blamed for it. In fact, I have been blamed for wrongfully banning players, when the truth of the matter was, I hadn't even gained my powers yet. Being a very new staff member, I have received the extremely blunt end of this, when I had absolutely nothing to do with those situations that are long gone with time. I am new, but apparently I have a bad reputation now because of everyone who has come before me? No. That's not how it works.

I would like to point out that most of those claims are most likely from people who have been warned plenty of times beforehand. With my time of handling situations both here and in real life, I have learned that you will warn someone not to do something because there are consequence to follow those actions, however after warning them three times and they still do it, those consequences catch up to them and they get punished. 9/10, that same individual will come back to you and complain that they were doing nothing wrong, and you had never warned them in the first place. After this, they go around saying to their friends that they were wrongfully punished. Who will believe them? Their friends, because they weren't there to see the situation unfold, and they trust them to tell the truth. After all, we're just scummy staff members who have a bad reputation, right?

Now, I am not denying that fact that wrongfully placed bans have most likely happened here, no. I'm positive this game has had it's fair share of them, but when it gets to the point that every single new staff member that comes and goes is automatically bad due to those claims, I think you need to start looking at the ones who are making a fuss about the matter in the first place. Now, I am not saying that the situation shouldn't be looked into when these claims arise. Everyone has a right to trial, but bare in mind that you are innocent until proven guilty. For those who have been proven guilty, then they are guilty. For those who's guilt lies in claims, they remain innocent until it is proven otherwise. Until it is proven, you can consider any harsh treatments about the matter as harassment and slander.

When I spoke of the Staff Team being very close-knit, this wasn't an attempt to lump anyone nor blame them in an entirety for FH's issues.
What I was trying to suggest was that the FH Staff Team were (& some still are and will continue to be, which isn't a bad thing but can have negative aftereffects which is entirely situation dependent) close-knit and family-like, this isn't false. However, individually they are responsible for their own actions & decisions. But what won't happen is people identifying who did what and calling them out for it, as for hateful and toxic members of the community... that's far too much effort! They'd rather name and shame the Team as a whole. While this is wrong, it's not completely incorrect.
When a member of Staff does something wrong, it can change the reputation of the entire Team.
When I talk about wrongful kicks & bans being handed out, I had to speak generally. I don't think the specific members of Staff that I know and have seen evidence of them doing this, would appreciate being named, as some people that linger in these forums for hateful purposes may slander them elsewhere.

You say that most of the people would've been warned a handful of times, but this is simply not the truth for all cases (even though it should be). When I was on the Team, I witnessed people kicking for one reason, while others banned for the exact same reason. There was no set-in-stone system that said "if a user does ____ then they receive a kick/ban for ___ minutes/hours/days/months/years" and as a result, I was receiving reports from users left, right & centre of them receiving a severe punishment for something that their friend received a lesser punishment for doing the exact same.
Now this may have changed since the Staff Team were changed, but I know for a fact that this was a broken kicking/banning system that had been going on for a long time prior to me & others being appointed. It was an issue that may have been addressed behind the scenes, but never got beyond a discussion. Little to no action was taken.
This is also a Leadership issue (to keep it related to the original topic). While we were all trained in some way, some of us were trained by one person with a specific way of doing things, while others were trained by someone else. & To add, they trained by what they thought was the best way to train, there was no step-by-step training guide for them to follow to ensure everyone received the same training.
I don't know if this has changed or will change, but I sincerely hope so if not done already.
Then again, this was also at a time where it was very... Old Staff vs New Staff vs Razmirz.

I would like to, however, apologise that you've received hateful messages and been on the receiving end of accusations. Going to back to my point earlier, unfortunately when someone comes forward with malicious intentions for the Staff, they don't intend on actually finding out who did it and finding out why in a polite manner. It's awful behaviour I want to clarify, I will never condone. Neither should someone else's actions affect your reputation but, in today's society (not just FH but the existence of human beings) the actions of one mean everyone that follows them, is just as bad as them.

There are countless examples of times when members of the Staff Team give very emotionally driven responses that are actually unprofessional. Lack of professionalism will not help the game survive, in fact bury it even deeper.
This has come from Razmirz's lack of activity and drive/workload for them to finish whilst he's busy running errands with his job.

While I agree that members of staff of any place should have a sense of professionalism held to their chest, you cannot deny them their right to feel emotion either. I truly feel like the staff of this game are held to an insanely high standard of professionalism, in fact I honestly feel that it's used against them in most situations. The second they feel they can be more loose and open with the community, they are put down and shunned because they are not being professional. Then all of a sudden, they are all the same and they never change. I agree that people shouldn't let their emotions carry a response to anything but rather take a step back and breathe first, but I don't agree that they should be slandered and put down for showing those emotions either. Granted maybe those emotions shouldn't rear their heads in responses, however what you can do is try to be understanding of why those emotions are rearing their heads in the first place.

Everyone has a right to react as any human would. No one - Staff, community, guests - is a robot (except bots). The reason why the Staff are consistently held to a high standard is because the community is very passionate, the concern will continue to grow the more time that is wasted with no progress/updates/communication. They're very defensive over a game they love and care for, which I suppose means the community is often also emotionally-driven when they speak up with their concerns, but it is frequently expected of Staff to be able to remain composed when they are so heavily looked up to.

Yet, there have been occasions where Staff that have left and are still in the Team, have been very rude and lost their composure when dealing with a very sensitive topic. They've snapped and made snarky comments (publicly and privately) and made users feel crap just for trying to show some care for a game they've probably grown up with.
I won't make any examples because I feel in this context it's a little unfair to say 'this member of Staff has been the most unprofessional' because they actually haven't and have gone on to develop and apologise anyway.

Sadly, if one Staffer does it, the user may feel that all Staffers do it. That's just how people react and if we could change this, I'd like to believe we all would.


I hope this has been a little more elaborative but I'll happily respond if people are confused/want to discuss.

I'm glad to hear that the administrator positions are soon to be sorted, this is reassuring. Maybe the next people will be able to push harder than the previous, but that isn't me trying to say the work that LordSuragaha and PrettyReckless did will go unacknowledged. I respect that they're exhausted and what they've been trying to do with Razmirz for this community is admirable.

I only hope that Raz will soon listen. As there have been times or certain topics which he'll simply shrug off.

[DylanCheetah]

DISCLAIMER: This post was written for the sole purpose of getting people to see the error of their ways and prevent the past from being repeated and to maintain peace in the future.

Now that things have calmed down around here, you all seem concerned about the future of this game. You are concerned about the dwindling number of staff. You are concerned about lack of progress. But one thing you are still missing is the fact that many of the people who left this very game left because of all the drama that people in the community, not the staff, started.

There is one thing that I feel people are still overlooking. Not everyone who left this game left because things weren't going anywhere. Many of them left because they were tired of the drama being stirred up by their fellow community members. Disagreeing with someone is totally different than gathering up angry mobs and making a big scene over something. That is the primary thing that drove my own friends away. Not lack of progress. Drama. And ignoring this fact and sweeping it under the rug will just lead to the past being repeated over and over. Which is why everyone needs to learn from all the crap that went down last year and make an effort to ensure it never happens again.

A perfect example of what I am talking about is when an angry mob was accusing Sura of doxxing someone. I hate to burst your bubble, but merely showing a redacted picture as proof of wrongdoing is not doxxing. That post contained no personally identifying information, but yet the angry mob was screaming "I need you to step down." and other crap. That was wrong. There is no justification for the way she was mistreated. And this is one of the many incidents that angered peaceful members of the community and drove them away. And those who stayed became less active because they did not want to see this sort of crap. They had already seen enough crap from other various incidents. It's easy to see why so many staff left afterward. They too were being mistreated by toxic members of the community. And it wasn't just here that they were being mistreated.

Furthermore, I am not posting this to stir new drama or rekindle old drama. I am not posting this to be disrespectful to past or present staff. Even though some have accused me of doing one or the other or even both in the past. But the new staff of this game should never have to go through what some of you put the old ones throught because you though it was somehow "justice". Even if one of the staff did do something wrong, that is no excuse to mistreat them or any of their fellow staff. Two wrongs DO NOT make it right and revenge is never the answer.

As for lack of progress, there are many factors at play with that. But constantly seeing people post crap like "The staff don't care." and "This game needs to die." definitely kill one's motivation to continue work on a project that nobody appears to appreciate. Does it not? How would you feel if you were the ones getting told you don't care about something you pour your heart and soul into?

But more than anything, this game is gonna take more than just a simple update to fix things. It doesn't just have issues with the game. It has issues within its own community and their behavior toward other members of the very same community. There is no single person to blame for all of this, no small group to blame for it either. New players will not keep playing a game where everyone is fighting all the time or starts drama every so many weeks, months, or even years. We need lasting peace and stability and respect for ALL our fellow community members whether they be staff or not.

Bottom line is: Members of this very community are the very people who drove many people away from this game. And some of the individuals who were driven away by the drama have vowed to never return. Much damage was done due to people letting their emotions get out of control and ultimately they became slaves to their own negative emotions. The community as a whole has broken the spirit and destroyed the motivation of many who really did care for this game and sought to make it a better place. How long before you learn the error of your ways and got back to caring about ALL your fellow community members whether they be staff or not?

[G4RG0YLE]

No one has denied the other factors leading to this game's loss of members.
I simply made a point that (SOME) Staff were one of those factors. I didn't say they are the only reason. Other people have listed other reasons and the list can go on and on until we're bored of giving out points of what has caused or is causing this game to go quiet.

I've not posted my replies to spread hate towards old & new Staff.
I never would, never will, nor will I be the one to be seen as a ring leader for such hatred that may be portrayed by others - inside and outside of the community.

Things have been calm from the beginning, but I stand by my mention that I do feel you're getting a little bit too defensive in all of this. I like that you support the staff, but this is no personal attack on them whatsoever, just a mere mention.

There is no bubble to be burst... rather rude to phrase it that way. Yet, Sura making & spreading accusations of Birdie using an alternative account to start drama will never not be deemed as an appropriate action to have taken. Your example is reasonable, but the reason why there was such an outburst is because how she talked down to Birdie and accused her based on IP address. Ironically, I mentioned staff talking down to community members before and this example is evidence of such. I'll say nothing more on the matter, anyway.

The lack of progress stems from Razmirz himself. I don't doubt the staff have been itching to make and post new content for a very long time, but it's Razmirz that is preventing this and the community honestly understand this, at least the majority. If anyone should be labelled as "uncaring" for the game, it's him. If the game is going to die, it will be because he let it happen. If he is as busy as people say, then someone should have been stepping in his place to aid the Staff in producing new content at a better pace.
There needs to be another Server Master, a 2nd 'Ultimate' Leader, to keep the ball rolling. Obviously, new Administrators are going to be put in place as well which will help with the need for leadership.
Oh wait, that was what xSpirit did for some time... then they had a falling out.

EVERYONE is to blame for Feral Heart and it's downfall is the bottom line.

[Bloo.]

EVERYONE is to blame for Feral Heart and it's downfall is the bottom line.

This. I really appreciate those who respect all that we do for the community, we're by no means perfect and we've made mistakes, but we do try to do what is best for ya'll even if you don't think so or realize it.

Toxic community members, mistakes made by staff members, things being taken the wrong way or out of context, misunderstandings, vague information/lack of information, conflicting opinions, conflicting emotions, the list goes on. All of these things together have led to the decline of FH. I won't say downfall as this game is still alive and kicking, regardless of population. There is still room for improvement on both the staff and community side and the most we can do is hold out until advancements can be made. We're still here right? It takes zero effort to hang around, however it takes both effort and a negative mindset to constantly berate a community that hasn't lost hope.

Feral Heart Forever.

[DylanCheetah]

No one has denied the other factors leading to this game's loss of members.
I simply made a point that (SOME) Staff were one of those factors. I didn't say they are the only reason. Other people have listed other reasons and the list can go on and on until we're bored of giving out points of what has caused or is causing this game to go quiet.

I've not posted my replies to spread hate towards old & new Staff.
I never would, never will, nor will I be the one to be seen as a ring leader for such hatred that may be portrayed by others - inside and outside of the community.

Things have been calm from the beginning, but I stand by my mention that I do feel you're getting a little bit too defensive in all of this. I like that you support the staff, but this is no personal attack on them whatsoever, just a mere mention.

There is no bubble to be burst... rather rude to phrase it that way. Yet, Sura making & spreading accusations of Birdie using an alternative account to start drama will never not be deemed as an appropriate action to have taken. Your example is reasonable, but the reason why there was such an outburst is because how she talked down to Birdie and accused her based on IP address. Ironically, I mentioned staff talking down to community members before and this example is evidence of such. I'll say nothing more on the matter, anyway.

The lack of progress stems from Razmirz himself. I don't doubt the staff have been itching to make and post new content for a very long time, but it's Razmirz that is preventing this and the community honestly understand this, at least the majority. If anyone should be labelled as "uncaring" for the game, it's him. If the game is going to die, it will be because he let it happen. If he is as busy as people say, then someone should have been stepping in his place to aid the Staff in producing new content at a better pace.
There needs to be another Server Master, a 2nd 'Ultimate' Leader, to keep the ball rolling. Obviously, new Administrators are going to be put in place as well which will help with the need for leadership.
Oh wait, that was what xSpirit did for some time... then they had a falling out.

EVERYONE is to blame for Feral Heart and it's downfall is the bottom line.

My post was not directed at you in the first place. But some have and still do not see some of the things that are really hindering this game from recovering. Nothing I said was rude, it is the facts.

And furthermore, the fact still remains that if Raz truly did not care, he would have shut this game down years ago. And quite frankly, if everyone keeps saying he doesn't care, that may just be the very thing to push him over the edge.

[Bloo.]

Let's keep from pointing fingers back and forth, ya'll. Butting heads won't keep this discussion civil and if it jumps over that line, I'll lock it.

[BloodWinsAll]

My intention with posting is not to stir anything up, but I do believe that perhaps there are some steps to take to keep the conversation civil? If I am out of line I will edit my post accordingly.

I think, that I agree with G4RG0LYE/Shurtle  on this one. And Bloo.-- since this was posted while I was writing this.

Toxic community members, mistakes made by staff members, things being taken the wrong way or out of context, misunderstandings, vague information/lack of information, conflicting opinions, conflicting emotions, the list goes on. All of these things together have led to the decline of FH. I won't say downfall as this game is still alive and kicking, regardless of population. There is still room for improvement on both the staff and community side and the most we can do is hold out until advancements can be made. We're still here right? It takes zero effort to hang around, however it takes both effort and a negative mindset to constantly berate a community that hasn't lost hope.

Feral Heart Forever.

No one has denied the other factors leading to this game's loss of members.
I simply made a point that (SOME) Staff were one of those factors. I didn't say they are the only reason. Other people have listed other reasons and the list can go on and on until we're bored of giving out points of what has caused or is causing this game to go quiet.

At this point, I do believe most of the community is aware of the multiple reasons the game has gotten steadily quieter-- and I think that bringing them up isn't to keep beating a dead horse, I think it's to create a baseline for suggestions. I mean, you need an issue to start working on solutions right?

Anyways, I think part of healing and working together as staff and community are to remember not to lump anyone in with anyone. Let's not lump the staff in with all previous staff-- that's 10 years' worth of mistakes that certain staffers haven't even been on the staff team for. Let's also not lump everyone who has a disagreement with how the game is handled with the small section of toxic community members. Everyone in here has been incredibly respectful in their criticisms and their concerns-- I don't see much of anyone being outwardly rude or nasty. In cases of misunderstanding, they've been corrected almost immediately-- this is probably one of the most civil threads I've seen in a while regarding this kind of topic.

I agree that everyone here is working towards a better community-- we might not all agree on how to get there, but we're all trying and I think that says a lot about a game that others have given up on.

 

Furthermore, I am not posting this to stir new drama or rekindle old drama. I am not posting this to be disrespectful to past or present staff. Even though some have accused me of doing one or the other or even both in the past. But the new staff of this game should never have to go through what some of you put the old ones throught because you though it was somehow "justice". Even if one of the staff did do something wrong, that is no excuse to mistreat them or any of their fellow staff. Two wrongs DO NOT make it right and revenge is never the answer.

As for lack of progress, there are many factors at play with that. But constantly seeing people post crap like "The staff don't care." and "This game needs to die." definitely kill one's motivation to continue work on a project that nobody appears to appreciate. Does it not? How would you feel if you were the ones getting told you don't care about something you pour your heart and soul into?

I think the first step here is to-- stop phrasing it as if the people in this thread ("you") are, or have, acted in this way. I think that'll stop a lot of miscommunication that might be happening in here...?

We can acknowledge a part of the community is toxic without assuming that they are the same as the majority. In my experience, most people who sit around and post "the game needs to die" are those who are doing so to stir the pot and shouldn't be taken seriously. There are still plenty of people here who enjoy the game-- I've seen new rp groups pop up over the past few weeks and preset posts!

anyways-- I've been rambling for a while now.

The community cares. I think the bottom line is that we are all in here because we care and we want to see the game thrive! What better way than to discuss it all together?

Things content-wise, I can't say much but I have been grinding away at...something. It's a hefty feat but it's a challenge I have happily taken on. All that's needed is time, in all honesty.

As for Raz, he's still around. He's a very busy bee.

For our admin situation, things are being sorted. Again, we just need some time and patience, that's all I can ask of you all.

I am actually super excited about this ^ and really happy to see it mentioned!

[DylanCheetah]

BloodWinsAll is right. But where shall we begin? What constructive concept will help bring about needed change? Anyone got any ideas that would be accepted by all parties involved here? We need compromise to bring about lasting change.

[Ironic]

Before this does happen to get lock, I do want to express myself one final time.

I'm not big when it comes to discussions, I like to observe first before anything, and I think I got my answer.

As for everything else... Thank you all very much for your kind words and comments. We have tried so hard for the community, fighting tooth and nail for everything that we can manage, especially Sura, Ressy, Moggy, and all those other amazing staffers.

Things content-wise, I can't say much but I have been grinding away at...something. It's a hefty feat but it's a challenge I have happily taken on. All that's needed is time, in all honesty.

As for Raz, he's still around. He's a very busy bee.

For our admin situation, things are being sorted. Again, we just need some time and patience, that's all I can ask of you all.

This is an extreme delight to hear from you, Ame. Thank you for taking the time out of your day, to announce this, it really is music to my ears. As for the others, thank you all for stepping in and pitching in your voices. This is truly a step forward and a mark of history for FeralHeart, and something that we all needed to get out of our chests. Thank you for sharing your ideas, opinions, and thoughts. It truly means alot to me and the community. Please don't feel ashamed to voice your ideas.

The only way this game can succeed is if we push through this together. c;

[toonanimals317]

EVERYONE is to blame for Feral Heart and it's downfall is the bottom line.

This. I really appreciate those who respect all that we do for the community, we're by no means perfect and we've made mistakes, but we do try to do what is best for ya'll even if you don't think so or realize it.

Toxic community members, mistakes made by staff members, things being taken the wrong way or out of context, misunderstandings, vague information/lack of information, conflicting opinions, conflicting emotions, the list goes on. All of these things together have led to the decline of FH. I won't say downfall as this game is still alive and kicking, regardless of population. There is still room for improvement on both the staff and community side and the most we can do is hold out until advancements can be made. We're still here right? It takes zero effort to hang around, however it takes both effort and a negative mindset to constantly berate a community that hasn't lost hope.

Feral Heart Forever.

ALL of this. I agree wholeheartedly with everything said here. I also agree with everything that BloodWinsAll had to say.

There is one thing that I feel people are still overlooking. Not everyone who left this game left because things weren't going anywhere. Many of them left because they were tired of the drama being stirred up by their fellow community members. Disagreeing with someone is totally different than gathering up angry mobs and making a big scene over something. That is the primary thing that drove my own friends away. Not lack of progress. Drama. And ignoring this fact and sweeping it under the rug will just lead to the past being repeated over and over. Which is why everyone needs to learn from all the crap that went down last year and make an effort to ensure it never happens again.

I don't think anyone was trying to overlook the fact that drama is one of the main reasons people have left. I don't see anyone overlooking that and, while I don't speak for everyone, I think that's a pretty obvious reason for why people are leaving.

That being said, that's one of the good reasons for this topic - leadership is needed to help to keep drama at bay.

Leadership doesn't have to just come from the staff, it can come from us as a community as well. Step up when we see things going wrong, help people if we can. Of course we  can't do as much as a staff member can, but we can reach out to staff on someone's behalf if they're afraid to bring it up on their own.

As I said before, the staff does their best and I truly appreciate that! I'm so happy that this thread was created because hopefully it is going to help the community band together and continue to keep Feralheart alive since it means so much to so many of us.

As for everything else... Thank you all very much for your kind words and comments. We have tried so hard for the community, fighting tooth and nail for everything that we can manage, especially Sura, Ressy, Moggy, and all those other amazing staffers.

Things content-wise, I can't say much but I have been grinding away at...something. It's a hefty feat but it's a challenge I have happily taken on. All that's needed is time, in all honesty.

As for Raz, he's still around. He's a very busy bee.

For our admin situation, things are being sorted. Again, we just need some time and patience, that's all I can ask of you all.

It's little hints like this that are really exciting to see! Nothing is actually being shown, but it's enough to pique my interest and know that something is going on instead of radio silence. I can't wait to see what's next in store for FH!