..so, this is my third post, and I find my self moving from the upset group into the one who almost doesn't care...I too was witness to a rather nasty fight between protesters and mods, and a friend of mine has been banned for what I understand to be three months because they tried to discuss things...But since i wasnt there, i have nothing to add to that. I am perfectly fine with waiting while raz and the staff test things out in order to help the community.
However, The feeling of disconnect between staff and members is what disturbs me the most.. The fight tonight was, in my opinion, a gross overreaction on both sides. As usual, each side had valid points, but for anyone to resort to name calling a degradation to get the point across is uncalled for. I know that there is so few staff compared to the number of users, and that you all are getting so much crap because of this, which is a fact I think is one some people don't take into considation when posting. Whether or not people who are against general being turned off, there really isn't a need to sit and provoke the staff, as was done tonight. I myself am in a group that was made simply to sit around and discuss the last few days. In fact, we sit there right along with red, crisis, and whoever else happens to be there. Nothing has come out it as far as a negative reaction goes. At this point, I honestly think that those who've been banned, kicked, warned, etc. are FOR THE MOST PART those who have sat around accusing th staff of doing absolutely nothing..as said earlier, we can't expect things to be perfect and instant. I still don't like that general is gone, as it has affected the game in such a large way, and because of the fact that i personally felt illinformed, but simply because of the fact that people are intentionally provoking select few, I'm beginning not to care if it comes back.
What i saw tonight was a bunch of kids throwing a tantrum and blaming a single person because they had their toy taken away...NOT a mature discussion. If people have something to say, no matter who it is, they should say it with a level head and calm mind. Right now, all that's happening (in game at least) are words being thrown at staff and members alike in a fight that will never end. Can't people accept that the mods do care about the game as much as you do? You've got to remember that they have to deal with what everyone has to say.. Trial and error.. Rome wasn't built in a day...all that philosophical stuff.
In a previous post, I compared general being taken away to the week long server outage because of trolls..now that I think about it, things could have been much worse. They /could/ have simply knocked the server down and said "We're getting rid of trolls." Instead, they took one chat, be it an important one to most, and left the rest of the game to us. I'm quite happy about that.
On the other hand though, i have seen members being ridiculed because of their comments..including ones that werent out of line in the slightest. we've been told we havent a clue about how a game runs and what it takes..i have to ask, who has the right to assume that? just because we are not a staff member doesnt make us ignorant. i happen to know a fair amount about coding and programming, and even though I was not part of the fight, i was left insulted by the words of a mod, the very people who are supposed to make all feel welcome. why cant this simply stop? if a member comes respectfully to voice their concern, its the staff's responsability to hear them out. That's one reason you're in the position you're in..to listen and help, not beat down and insult....
I think people on both sides need to better think of ways to speak their mind. Yes, the mods may feel as if they have to keep repeating theirselves, but frustration shouldn't be taken out on the community, just as frustration shouldn't be directed at the staff.
