Correcting your update #2. Raz has always had a broken version (as he's told it) of the code, I believe that is what was used for 1.17, to add the sliders etc. That was the shocker, that its always
sorta been there, but hadn't thought to use it until then.
Seems the recent issues were covered thoroughly but I'll list a couple other situations and give a quick hopefully unbiased synopsis. (some posts might be broken but I'll send the major links):
- Removal of general chat - One of the major chats that was visible throughout the entire map and often used for advertising was removed, causing major backlash. (X)
- Hacking incident - There was a situation involving 'hackers' taking control of accounts, I'm not sure if this was a serious threat or more of a trolling thing, but this led to the implementation of the login page which has to be open on the player's browser if they wish to play FH. (X, X)
- Buttswing - Minor in comparison to other events, but Buttswing was one of the actions/animations players could do alongside other dance moves. This caused issues with players performing this action on top of other players, particularly ones whose characters were laying down, as it mimicked inappropriate behavior not really suitable for a game generally aimed at kids/tweens. I don't have any links but this action was replaced in one of the newest updates.
- No Mod October - Genuinely not sure how much I'm allowed to say on this topic... but the thread is public. (X, X)
- The Update #1 - For the first time in forever, FH was given an update! This was before any access to the source code, but it was a major event to see a game we previoiusly thought was gonna remain the same forever get some sort of update. (X)
- The Update #2 - The source code was acquired, much to the shock of pretty much everybody. (X)
(If anyone smarter than me wants to correct any of that go ahead i have bad memory)
I think the downward spiral started with the hackening. Happened on thanksgiving a few years ago, as you wrote. That started with, obviously, the server being forced down for a while only to come back with the login. So much complaining about the login happened, in-game, but people were still in game despite that. It did issue a huge drop in population, because people used it as a reason to move on to other platforms or just on in life.
After that, the big update to change the 'classic' 1.13 maps to what is mostly the current set (Eastern Pass was different, Kibou Ridge didn't exist, and Ficho was a little different too, from 1.17). The community had wanted more maps, but they generally didn't expect a full replacement and a whole new, more cohesive world. I think many of them didn't want that at all, to be honest. Many complain/ed that it was a little too cohesive, and that they felt closed-in with the new map styles with the large borders. For a long time the favorite was Cherika and Kiwi right after the big change.
The next thing that happened to further drop popularity was the drama that led up to what is referred to as NMO. Simply put, everyone made bad decisions. The short version is that when the map making team for what would be the Eastern Pass, Kibou Ridge and Ficho update, were finished but Raz had disappeared, and the Staff then had taken it upon themselves to try to blend old FH maps into the new existing ones. It wasn't agreed upon that they should do this by Raz, and even as part of the map-making team, i had no idea they were doing it. When Raz turned it down eventually, one of the staff posted it on the forum either out of spite or to force Raz' hand by "showing him" how popular it would be. Of course Raz also reacted poorly to that, so.. All in all, it was a series of unfortunate choices by the staff and by raz himself, leading up to nearly not having any moderation staff. That never really came to fruition, I don't think, because they did eventually talk it out, and the game moved forward, with the originally agreed upon update that included Kibou Ridge, along with Ficho and EP's updates.
It seems drama peaks right around the time of an update as of late. From there, there was the character-maker update in which we saw new sliders and other changes that helped usability. That, I think went off without a hitch other than people being 'shocked' about suddenly having the source code available. And like I said above, sorta. lol
For a time things were peaceful, quiet, and numbers were slowly dwindling as same-shit-different-day got boring for many that would eventually turn into almost the entire poplation of the game just hanging out in The Grounds, some of them not so much as talking to eachother, just
being there as far as anyone would be able to tell. Through that period there was some rumors and stories of staff misbehaving and former and/or retired staff retaining their moderation tools and some were abusing that ability.
We eventually come to the last few months where it came to a head when someone asked about an innocuous thread being deleted. People were removed without reason beyond having a link to fhU or simply watching the questioning thread to begin with. It snowballed and eventually things that the moderation staff I hope really regrets happened, happened. Through that, it may have been the final straw for many members. Since then many have self-deleted their profiles, and moved onto FN:FH and are awaiting FHU. Simply put, many felt threatened by the staff here, and some may still feel that way, so they left.
The Fhu thing is a total 'nother ball of wax that I am not going to get into because those who are/were directly involved were either banned for their involvement or self-removed for the same reasons. Its not my story to tell, except to say that Raz has become very bitter, and I think it's catching on with the staff.