Sunday, July 26, 2009
The Future of This Blog
If you are just now reaching this blog in an attempt to understand what has happened recently, start with the oldest post first and work your way up. From here on out, the posts will be decisively more wistful and happy. I still have limited net access, especially during my work-week when finding lab-time is rare. My next post will most likely involve ruminating over some really great highlights within Northlands' first year thus far, and perhaps my thoughts on some of the themes that we really tried to hit on, as well as my hopes for the future and best wishes to the staff who will continue to work hard to make sure that the players are enjoying themselves as they have thus far.
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104 comments:
About god time someone talked some sense.
Now go tell Luke to get off his ass, stop plowing Jenna, and finish his new mud codework so we can stop beating the dead horse that is SOI
Unbelievable stuff! I had suspected something, but this runs deeper than I could have imagined. Always had a strong feeling that FJ was Shadows plaything. Didn't know about anything else and can't believe Rhino is back - he once killed one of my PCs, but my complaint went no where.
You did the right thing in my opinion and the wrong batch of people have resigned. Kite should resign. Your desired direction for SOI is the one I argue for on the forums. I'm also glad to learn I was right in thinking that Daffodil was mistreated.
If you all are making something new I'd like to be involved if you'd have me even in a minor way as I can't play SOI anymore until there is a change.
Highlander.
If you were to make a game, I can guarantee you it would succeed.
Half of SoI will see this as a horribly cruel attack on people who've devoted their lives and energy to this game. Good for them, let them have the whole thing to themselves.
The other half will hopefully feel sick for even playing "Kite's game", but given no alternative they'll keep their mouths shut and keep playing it anyway. SoI is a difficult thing to just cut out of your life like that. I've tried myself to make a real RPI since it started heading in this direction, but I didn't have the energy or support to do it. I've also helped a good friend for a few months on another RPI, but no one had the zeal to finish it.
But if everyone who is sick of the crap at SoI leaves it and supports creation of a new RPI as actively or passively as they like it'll succeed and have a solid playerbase right from the start.
Yup. I'm done.
Keep in touch. Finley.Me at gmail.
O..M..G.. This explains so much. I have kept my complaints to myself because I knew if I sent them in I would be banned for complaining. the fact that Rhino has been let back in as staff considering he was canned for cheating and several other reasons is unbelievable. Right now Im not certain I want to continue playing..
Hope you guys set up another game. Hell, all of you guys leaving are great, and I'd love to play alongside ya again.
I'm sorry to see Traithe on the other side of this, but what Songweaver did here was completely justified (granted, of course, that everything he said was true). Someone with the level of dishonesty that Kite has achieved should not be running the game.
Of course, there's some merit to what Traithe said about Kite being dedicated. I think deep down he does want what's best for the game. Unfortunately, he seems to put his friends (not even himself) first.
So rather than call him evil and rant about the things he's done behind our backs, we should leave the game to those who can stand it. There's no need to make an enemy of SoI.
I'd like to post some stuff, myself, if I may.
So, needless to say, I'm not exactly protesting SoI or it's leadership, but after having read this blog, I really can't bring myself to want to login. I have known that most of this has been true and happening for quite some time, but to finally have it out in the open, and validated by a Senior Staff member, is very disheartening.
Paying for something does not give you the right to toy with people. And Traithe is entitled to his own opinion, but I wonder what information he's even privvy to these days, and if he really knows what goes on with the game he started (which I've always felt was much better under his vision.)
I'd play a MUD run by SW & co.
Hey Mir. Not really sure what's kosher with giving out contact info, buuuut, if you want to e-mail me, I can forward to Songweaver, or you can wait for him to reply. arestlessspirit-at-gmail.com
I think Kite's defense (http://www.shadowsofisildur.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=37007) is the biggest blow he's taken today.
Come to Harshlands. We may not be as active but with all the blood that SoI doesn't deserve, we could be.
It's where I went after Kite made me cry for the last time. It's far more worth it to enjoy where you are and trust who you're with than to stay while biting your tongue until it bleeds.
I always stood by the "for the players" mantra and was spat in the face for it. Sorry to hear I wasn't the only one.
Witnessed -alot- of the truth ICly that came out in this blog for myself first hand as a player and it all makes even more sense now that I see the backing behind it. I find what Kite and his underlings are doing as disgusting. HUGE change needs to happen or SoI will continue to spiral downwards. I believe I am done with this game now and I hope the awesome staff who had the sense to get out after working so hard to change things, decide to create a new game. I'll be sure to be there if invited!
"The game should be a place where the players have the power to affect and change the world, where there are IC consequences for IC actions, where there is failure and heroes and hardship and politics that are player-driven."
THIS.
Holy motherf**cking washboard-abbed god of kittens and cake, THIS.
Well said.
Whatever else happens, that's the vision that ought to guide not only SoI but other games. I'm crushed SoI's having the issues it's having, but I don't want to lose sight of that one guiding principle.
SW, I am genuinely sorry you had to go through all of that. I don't think you and I knew each other, but mutual friends have praised you continuously on AIM. I'm really sorry SoI lost you.
Cas, now Caris
(at sciallamud org)
This was apparent to me when I first started staffing. I took my concerns to Japheth and suggested that he'd be better served sacking the entire staff roster and restarting from scratch. Obviously, he retired soon after and the game passed on.
It's a very curious account, though. I confess that I stopped caring what happened up there after my own dismissal. I was quite content with Zapata's mud til that died. Kind of hoping he starts up again.
Ultimately, though, Traithe is right. Kite does keep SoI running, despite not being the perfect human. He invests a lot of time into the game, and as he's the "owner", there's nothing to be done but abide if you wish to play on with the game. While parts of it are self serving in the favour of his friends, it still provides me, personally, a place to play that I manage to enjoy regardless.
I wish all of you the best, and you were without doubt some of the best admins that SoI had seen for quite a while. No one can ever take that away from you.
- Blackjack
BlackjackSOI on AIM.
Right. This doesn't need to be a war. No one even has to choose sides. It's just an opportunity for a new RPI to be born with a good number of people ready to keep it going.
Otherwise, I don't see much point in this whole thing.
I believe the expression is, "Vote with your feet."
I think the saddest part of the entire thing for me was that SW's first character was perhaps one of the most brilliant PC's I'd encountered, and to go from that to such a splendid admin only to be burnt by the reality of life "up there" is a somewhat depressing analogy for how it is for most of the innocent ones that come to SoI.
Exposing everything like this is very much a detriment to things as a whole, in my eyes. It's certainly not something that occurred to me and I don't really know if it's for the best. However, I am a very big fan of Tolkien and breaches of canon always pissed me off because they happened much too frequently. I convinced myself that what I am reading was a necessary evil because Tolkien never really believed his works would be a success, yet he wished with all of his heart that people would take his works and enrich them for the pleasure of all. When you take something that is so very enjoyable and pure and honest and subvert it to your own devices, you are acting against the entire essence of what The Lord of the Rings and it's accompanying works were all about.
I will miss playing on SoI though.
- Blackjack
Really appreciate you posting all this, Songweaver. Truly sad to see such a bunch of wonderful admins leaving, but I'm glad you brought these problems to light as I was aware of a few of them for a long time but simply did not have the means to prove my point.
Songweaver it really fucking blows to hear you are gone from the game. Hell, you (and Anomaly) supporting and putting up with my first few PCs was probably the only reason I stuck around.
Good luck with everything, and don't forget all of us if you decide to start on anything new.
I retired my character, today. :D
Needless to say, I'm pretty much 100% finally done with SoI. I've caught my share of flack from Kite and Co. and I bit my tongue and took it and kept doing my thing, but this-- learning what he's done to friends, to people I admire, or even to good acquaintances-- REALLY pisses me off. Earlier today I was thinking about making some epic post and calling Kite out, posting it twice on every forum just so everyone could read it. I didn't, of course, but I kind of wish I had.
Anyway, I really appreciate all of you for everything you've done for the Northlands-- for generally creating the best sphere in the game. It won't be the same without all of you, and I honestly expect the sphere as a whole to fail. You guys were probably (actually, make that definitely) the best staff group that ever graced the mud of SoI. You certainly dealt with Kite and Co. longer and with more patience than I ever could, which definitely says something about your character as a whole.
Needless to say, if ANY of you wanted to start a new RPI, I would -definitely- be on board to help. I can build, I can RPA, I can organize-- hell, I can sweep damn floors, if I have to. For now, though, I'll be loitering around, trying to find something else to waste my time with.
Cheers and, if I never speak to any of you again, good luck with your future endeavors.
-Krelm
Well now that you mention it. I could use my apartment cleaned. You in for it Krelm?
-Hulk
Err - yes. Even without this blog, it's very obvious that there's something wrong. I had also very much suspected that SOI is running out of players to fill staff positions at this rate.
I wasn't particularly fond of Angost when I first heard about it, now I regret never getting there. From what I've heard, it was an awesome place to play. I would have been there or in the mines if my current character wasn't so stupidly long-lived :)
You did the right thing by walking out and -not- doing it quietly like I suspect many did before you. For SOI to have a future, Kite needs to go. Advocating player reps seems ridiculous in hindsight, this is way beyond the point where they'd do any good.
Did anyone send a link to Traithe or know if he read the blog?
Also, every player should get a chance to read this and take whatever consequences they see fit. Keep spreading :-p
Zapata, get your mud up and running again!
Ain't Songweaver a beautiful man? <3
Seriously. Beauuuutiful man. Same to Hulk. You've got the best damn pythons out there. Phoenix is a pretty princess and I won't say Bangarang is either (since I have no idea as to their gender) but I'll say you're damn awesome, dood/ette.
All the stuff you posted was definitely worth staying up to four in the morning to read -- many confirmations on things I'd only heard third-hand on the rumor mill (but at least it's -confirmed- now..you're a person I trust AND a former senior staffie!). I've been between quitting in a rawr-rage and sticking around since Kite's questionable sacking of Nocht (and the indirectly causing Arucard to quit/be sacked) and you've made up my mind.
<3333
Also, dude, goddamnit! Stop breaking laptops! :P
grab a screwdriver!
I'll leave for Harshlands(to try it for the first time) for the time being, but am at the ready to help if you guys decide to make a new MUD. Unfortunately, I think only a low number will leave in protest. Traithe post was disappointing. Ignoring corruption because of a few benefits is one of the worst things you can do!
SW? Are there any plans for a new game?
I'm heartbroken.
I trust way too easily and each time something's been not quite right it was all easily explained away. Now I know it -wasn't- me. And I feel terrible for you all having had to go through this. And that the rest of us are still going through it.
Please.. we all want to know... will you start a new game. Will you RPA for another game. I, for one, -will- follow.
There's a lot of discussions about a possible new RPI mud. Our biggest problem is deciding on settings and engines.
Of course Jap's engine would rule. But it's far from being finished. There's a lot of stuff that would need discussing before deciding to use his code. At the same time I know he's looking for a flagship mud.
the other choice is using the SoI RPI engine thingie. But it'd need modifications etc. etc.
But as it stands now, the big thing is deciding which setting. And no, Tolkien is out of the question, no matter if SW wants too or not :P
- Hulk
I would definitely join a new MUD with you guys!
Is the concept of a custom setting out of the question? Do they fail to draw players?
I know I'm not the only one who'd love a new darksun theme RPI :p Hell most of us have played ARM at some point or another.
I can't believe Hulk is lurking and didn't even contact me on my vast OOC network. *sniffle*
Yeah when I read the blog it reminded me of this PM Shadow sent me maybe a year or so ago when I was considering trying out a Harad in Mordor before they went to FJ. I have to ask, is this sort of thing normal? To get all this stuff handed to you just to be a dancer?
Hi,
We could really use a leather-crafter. We could use an alchemist too! We have a perfumer and chandler so the alchemy would be a nice add with healing instead. In fact alchemist is probably the best option at this point with healing and gardening. In fact if you want to do those, I\'ll set you up a shop and a little greenhouse if you choose this where you can act as an apprentice. If you want to come in on the Dancing girl role which is very favored, you will be set up with dancing silks and alternate clothing and a guard and housed with the Sheikh and Sheikha until you are ready to move on to your own shop as more than an apprentice. You could take the skills alchemy and guardening and healing to mature into the shop. This is how most of the women enter but it\'s not set in stone. You can step right into the budding crafter role. I would suggest clanning to the AM as merchant if you enter other than the dancing role. Either way it would be a nice set up. Also, we are open to anything you want to be. All you need is your imagination. :)
Shadow
I was wondering where all those dancing girls became vastly wealthy suddenly, and also why the Abdul Matin had so many (yet so little actually did diddly squat but sit around all day doing the asundry or gambling crafts). Good to know!
Whenever I joined one of her clans, she was sort of like that, yeah. Didn't think much of it.
I'm amazed by how much I suspected that this supports. But I think a lot of us were wearing blinders because we thought maybe it was just us. The little incidents we all suffered were just a conflict of personalities and were just us. Not even that it'd go away, but that we were overreacting.
Liars and cheats look for the lies and the cheating in everyone else. Good people want to see the best in everyone. I've been a good person.
I feel sick to my stomach from all of this. Not because what's posted seems untrue. There may be mistakes in it, but it's all presented by someone who came in without any history and without bias and came out with all they've seen. Even allowing for human error, there's too much of this that rings true and I feel ill for having allowed myself to be deceived as long as I have.
I've got your contact info and you know I'm all about helping once you guys figure out what you want to do in starting a new RPI. (Please have magic! I'll help make it balanced and work!)
You're right, I thought when I was offered that stuff it was just me and an incentive to try the area but I never took it because I didn't do anything to deserve having all that and not even knowing a lick about what went on there past what I read about it. So when I saw this behavior was common with Shadow, I had to post up that hobbitmail.
SW, do you have an e-mail that we could use to send you a mail. I need to pose a question to you, please?
I worked with Zapata/Kithrater on his previous MUD. The reasons for shutting down for many, but had nothing to do with things you might think. I think, in the long run, we simply didn't have enough admins to keep it running the way we wanted it to.
This might mean a change to that.
I am willing to help with the development of a new MUD - and I've already informed some of those involved of such. I think some of those departing already know of my work ethics and personality, so... let's hope it's good for the future, yeah?
Also, Phoenix would like you all to have access to her AIM name. Her access to the game was removed before she was able to pass it on to the players. It is aphoenicis.
In the spirit of sharing, my AIM is Yartiful. And as already posted, my e-mail is arestlessspirit-at-gmail.com, and I'm willing to forward any correspondance to Songweaver's personal (and independant from SoI) e-mail account.
I'd just like to say thank you to Songweaver and company. You have done what no one else ever had the balls to do and exposed the scandal that has taken place. I always knew things like this were going on and when I had my first account, I tried to expose it as well. Though, of course, no one took anything I said seriously, but I was getting it straight from admins at the time then. I knew a couple of them from way back before either they or I played this game. (Yes, I recognize the irony in that, as well, but oh well)
If you guys make a new game, I will certainly be there on opening day. Best of luck and god bless.
Hrm, that last one was me. If or when you guys make a new mud, I would really rather just come in as a player. However, I suggest Star Wars. If you guys want to do that, I've staffed on two other Star Wars games in the past, so I could help with that. If not, maybe I could do something to help anyway. As I'm going to try and continue to play SOI (despite of the vomit that nearly makes it's way up my esophagus each time I read SOI's forums) I'm not posting who I am. I'll send word through someone else. Good luck, once again.
Hulk, I'm sorry for turnin' all the Spears into a bunch of shovel-totin' sissies.
This is Traithe.
First, I suppose I should say that a (small) part of me smiles that I created something so many years ago that people are passionate enough to act this way about so long after I left.
I was saddened to learn more fully the scope of the problems facing the game, its players and staff.
That out of the way, I've said before and I'll say it again: I'm disappointed in everyone who has demonstrated such an eagerness to seize upon these things and parade them in public this way to further their own agenda (whatever that may be).
The simple fact of the matter is that there are two sides to every story. While I have no doubt that there are some legitimate grievances here, it's also very clear to me that they have been aired in such a fashion to maximize their impact on bystanders and inflame frustrations and emotional responses to the highest degree possible.
This, in my mind, somewhat de-legitimizes any claims or issues these staff and players otherwise would have had, as it calls into question their motives. If they were truly interested in helping to move things in a positive direction, why take action in such a way that any reasonable person can see would only inflict further damage? This is unfortunate, because as I said before, I am certain there are things to be learned from this - it's a shame that those otherwise useful lessons may need to be discarded due to the taint of potential political agendas and personal axes to grind.
So basically we're left with a really sad situation, from which nobody will emerge the better. Due to the direction in which this dispute has been taken, it is highly unlikely any of these grievances will be entertained or remedied by a hurt and defensive staff. In turn, their actions and reactions, while understandable given the situation, will only serve to inflame and alienate the disaffected players further, which will then feed back into the staff's overall levels of hurt and frustration. And so it goes.
I've sent Kite some of my thoughts on how to begin untangling this mess, and I hope he will find the advice useful. I just wish I could be of more help at a time like this.
For what it's worth, although I strongly disagree with some of the actions that have been taken over the last few days, I am genuinely sorry that SoI has been such a source of negativity for so many of you. It was created from a desire to entertain people and to make their lives more enjoyable - to tell great stories - not to generate such animosity.
To those of you who are considering the long and hard trek to creating a world of your own, I wish you the best of luck. I do genuinely hope that you succeed - in no small part because then some of you will finally grasp the demands and sacrifices involved in being truly responsible for the welfare of such a thing. It is an easy thing to criticize, cut down, demean and destroy - inspiring, leading, creating and holding yourself accountable are a much different ball-game.
Best wishes all. Take care.
Well feck, this makes me laugh. SOI, first and only.
For what its worth, I sort of agree with Traithe, although it would be interesting to see if another approach even existed that worked. It's frustration. It's passion. I could care less for the smear campaign, though I daresay that anyone who cares enough to read these comments already knew most of it.
I also would suggest that there was no 'stunt' in us all leaving at once, had we all not tried to stay together we would have left a long time ago. The ones that stayed maybe still have hope, but as I said in my retirement note, will only be there for so long before current administration takes a much needed change or burns them out.
That said, as many have expressed a willingness to keep tabs on where we go from here:
Forum for discussion of future projects -
northlands.mudsite.com
I think this whole thing brings to light the fact that as much as Kite and his harem wish they were beyond reproach.. They're not. Traithe, I am sorry your dream has become a nightmare. I, as a player, truly love this game and have done many things to show my support. However, I have been at the receiving end of threats, rants, blame and have witnessed blatant cheating by specific staff mentioned in this blog. One in particular. I , as a player who loves this game, can never reveal here who I am or send in a complaint about anything because I know what the consequences will be if I do. I have also seen this same staff member listed in the four named, kill pcs because they no longer fit within what was trying to be done.
The sad thing is, Kite, Rhubarb, Shadow, and Salahdin/Rhino will never change. They will never be held accountable for their actions and this will continue. Kite wont get rid of Shadow because he has the power to destroy the whole dbase if he tried. He gave her that power.( My own opinion btw) The other two need no explination.
Hats off to everyone of you who did this!
My point of view is that while people may not agree with HOW these things came to light, it does not make the information any less false at all. I find that statment that Traithe made about questioning the motives of the staffers who resigned and the players who took their side of the issue to be hogwash. Do not try to detract us from what is really going on, Traithe. You yourself said you were not aware of what was fully happening with the staff and the game. You built a great game world and it is being ruined, you have your right to defend the people who brought on staff and who remain still and I understand that but facts are facts still at the end of the day.
If no one on the current staff including the current owner listened or took suggestions, then what did you expect really otherwise? This had to come out and this is the way these staffers chose to be heard after they have no doubt tried to make things better and were ignored, bullied and not able to do their jobs, so I agree with how it came out but I am only one person.
I do not think that in this situation another PM or Hobbitmail or email wouldn't have changed anything if it's been done countless times over the years. Someone had to take the plunge and bring it out and maybe, just maybe this will actually help since we have Traithe coming to comment on the blog and offering to send Kite some suggestions. It shows that this -is- already going somewhere. So while some may not agree, this had to be done in my humble opinion and one can only hope for the best.
Take care all and I wish you well.
Hehehe.
Well, now that I've been banned I'm going to go ahead and open up all the evidence I've been sitting on.
My favorite part:
-----------------------------------------------------------
You closed down Minas Tirith's whole reason for being Minas Tirith without asking or checking. You have been rude, insolent and outright rebellious like a child who still wets himself. You have deliberately sulked and refused to talk to Rhubarb all because she does not hero worship your hero Nimrod. Everyone thinks Nimrod is lovely you moron. He just left a mass of PMs unanswered, went way too far out there without checking or leaving documentation, and he has let down a LOT of players through his imm and his character. You deliberately got your character killed off so you could play a K00L rangeh. Then you refuse to do what you are told. When I get home from my week of sheer unadulterated hard work and RL brilliance, I will probably sack you. I'm talking to RHubarb and others about you later. Prepare to lose your character, all your RPP, your staff status and everything else, unless you find some sort of instant redemption in your head and express it suitably. You honestly think that your signature gives you the right to treat other human beings in this manner? You are in my house, little man and clearly your lack of maturity and lack of ability to be part of a team leaves you out in the cold. Whether or not moving shops closer was a good idea, you just wiped out five years of work in a day. You removed the majesty of MT in one day. Deliberately to assist players who like to shop. You destroyed the entire system of tiers and circles without a single word before hand to any staffer - not even and especially Rhubarb, your boss. I am perfectly aware that you are bitching about her behind her back. Moron. Good luck saving your arse from my boot. I guess you may have half a day or so, and I still need to discuss you a little more with your boss to see what she wants to do with you. Kite
-----------------------------------------------------------
I received explicit permission to remove areas of MT that were not functional from Rhubarb. Every room and shop that was functional is in the AB. And I did not destroy anything, as I simply removed the exits. If you wanna fire me, knock yourself out, I know that I've done the right thing and I stick by my actions. Sorry to keep this short but if I'm going to be hung by the neck in half a day, then I'm afraid I need to get back to tending to my players needs. You are not the highest authority on this mud Kite. The players are.
-Daffodil
Evidence (from AIM logs):
10:23:50-7/9/09 Rhubarb: OK I have to go do rl work. Could you please check those slums over properly, and send me a PM letting me know how they are (room numbers would be handy). If there are areas that would take a bucketload to try to fix, then please would you just shut them off for the time being?
-----------------------------------------------------------
That sickens me.
It's really sad what happened to you Daffodil and the lies they told about why you were fired. Sounds like a set up with convenient memory loss. Gotta love it.
Traithe pretty much mirrors my thoughts on this. I was little harsher than I meant to be at first, for obvious reasons.
I'm not going to pretend I didn't jump at seeing so many good people finally split away from SoI, because it meant a true RPI might be on its way again.
As for the people who enjoy SoI still, I'll just say that I hope this ends well for everyone, including Kite and his friends.
Over the next few days I'll be compiling a large amount of logs and PMs (I saved them all before I was fired), and posting them, somewhere, for those of you looking for the hard and specific evidence behind this.
-Daffodil
What I would ask is if there is any chance for redemption out of all of this, if both sides were willing to meet and try and find a common ground?
It is obvious that everyone, on -both- sides, loves SoI. They may have conflicting visions of what SoI should be, but that love is there, and I think that is the most important ingredient.
As others have stated, every story has two sides. I wont deny that I'm shocked by a lot of the things that have come out in Songweaver's posts and that I believe a good many o fthem. However, I don't think that even -with- all of these things that have happened that it means anyone or anything is absolutely beyond redemption.
You guys have obviously suffered frustrations and hardships, and if enough is enough and you never want anything to do with SoI again, I would understand that. But I'm not certain that all of you want to leave, simply that you want things to change and happen differently. If that possibility existed, would you entertain the though of reconcilliation?
I ask because I think this loss will be a huge blow and I have had the most fun on SoI I have had in years under you guys. I have a, perhaps naive, hope that in the end, all the people that care about SoI can be on the same team, regardless of viewpoints.
- Brian
The problem, Brian, is that those that care /more/ about SoI than say, keeping their friends happy are not in charge of SoI. Kite's new plan for staff is do exactly what keeps him happy or else.
You see, we aren't arguing just for changes that /may/ have an affect on the game based on our opinion, we're talking about maintaining a level of integrity beyond reproach when it comes to certain things. There is no compromising here. There is no 'talking' it out. Kite isn't even acknowledging that this is a problem they care enough about to attempt changing. The only thing kite decided, based on his years of experience, is that everyone on staff -will- get along with (implied) him and his friends, or they will get out. This is what it breaks down as. Notice how any commitment to the players is missing here?
Another problem is that SoI probably sustains enough people who have still been somehow entertained enough to keep playing, accepting absurd change after change, that people are right, it probably won't have much of an affect on SoI - to that I say, good, because to me, SoI is beyond hope and I see little else changing that, but also i say, whatever happens to SoI is now just a consequence of making our decision to -leave- it and -push- forward. This experience is not something to throw away and let bygones be bygones, it is to motivate us for change. This is for you and I, the players.
We've demonstrated success with our model of administration - as you said it's the most fun you've ever had. Our playerbase was easily the largest and drew some of the best roleplayers in the game, hands down. (yes, others exist elsewhere, don't take this out of context)
I remember the first time I roleplayed with Hulk (although he wasn't Hulk then). I still have incredibly fond memories of the Three Stooges of the Battalions, and wish like hell he hadn't retired that PC. Aowein was the best of us, though; who knows what happened to Beowein. :(
I puzzled out who Songweaver only to see this implosion and the fact becoming semi-public knowledge. I only got to RP with his PC a few times, although I feel sad; now I won't be able to properly PK him. And, I wonder how much would be the same now if a certain impromptu slave-buying had turned out just a wee bit differently. *shakes fist*
Gosh, both of those guys have been absolutely amazing to SOI. And Phoenix was always such a supportive one to everyone. I'm sure she groaned at some of us, but it was impossible to think that Phoenix didn't like you. Bangarang - well, I'm envious of anyone who can do progs well. Kodiak I unfortunately didn't get a chance to see in action much.
I guess I'm posting here just to say thank you, guys. All of you. I'm not on Kite's side, I'm not on Songweaver's side, I'm not on anyone's side. Well, maybe I'm on SOI's side. I love the game, warts and all, and if Kite had been the one to leave, I would probably be posting on his blog, thanking him for all the amazing stuff he's done for my hobby, and then going back to play a revised SOI.
Thank you. All of you. I may not agree completely with the "dirty laundry" approach, but I know beyond doubt that all of your fingerprints are left indelibly on the game. You all should walk away with your heads held high for the good you've done.
I'm going to keep working as a player to make SOI the best game it can be, and I'm a one-MUD kind of person, but I also wish you guys well with whatever endeavor you end up doing, MU*-wise.
Be well, do good work, and keep in touch. <3
http://soigondor.blogspot.com/
For those interested.
The true fallacy is the Seven Year Plan. If people actually think games are developed to end up somewhere in 7 years, they don't know much about game development. With the high level of staff turnover and a tiny coding team, the chances of it happening are miniscule. Give it up, it's just Kite's excuse for why nothing's happening.
The whole seven year plan is outrageous in my opinion as well. I mean... 7 years? Come on.
Gotta love em, banning without warning or reason, breaking their own rules. Lulz.
Dayum. That blew away any desire for me to come back to playing SoI. Best of luck if you decide to make a MUD.
As much as I respect Traithe, and I really do. I feel he's taking the wrong approach to this as well. I am normally an advocate of diplomacy and trying to balance and see eye to eye. But sometimes the shit hits the fan and then you can try to be nice and friendly, diplomatic and reasonable, to whatever extend you wish. You'll still be hit with shit if you stand still, you have to take a side. And in this case it's proven that there aren't two sides of the story, or rather, there aren't two legitimate sides to the story. I for one picked a side long ago, and I left. I wanted to leave months ago, but SW kept stopping me. And I have absolutely no regrets leaving.
The only thing that saddens me is that I really don't dislike Kite. I really think he's just going down the wrong path somehow. Like he's lost or whatever, I don't know, but he was a kick ass administrator. He's just a worthless leader. Yeah I said it, worthless leader. Of course when he was appointed there was no other person to reasonably take for the job. He's a bit like George Bush, he kept us floating during the hard times but he's one worthless president none the less. So there's a mixed sense of gratitude and disgust I suppose. Poor guy.
-Hulk
What?
Valdyr
Northlands admins,
I really really wish you would not post this stuff.
I was one of the founding admins of Shadows of Isildur, and I stayed on longer than perhaps anyone except Traithe and Eyania. I sympathize with much of what you say, as I have always been a huge believer in transparency, and I spent countless amounts of time campaigning for weak and non-influential admin characters for the exact reasons that you mention. Corruption is bad. Abuse is bad. Player (and other admins') perception of admin abuse is arguably even worse, and thus you actually have to be super-squeaky-clean as an admin to prevent even the rumors. If all that you claim to be true is actually true, I'm sure I would have gotten pissed off and left in a jiffy. God knows, what you claim to be true of the game drastically jives with what my vision of SoI once was, and makes me quite sad.
HOWEVER, your public reaction here is really hurting the game that I spent countless hours upon, the game that I still love so much. Do you really think that SoI will reform to conform to your standards. Will Kite change anything? No. If anything, a normal human being will be reactionary to such accusations. There is, simply put, no positive benefit for the game from such an anti-SoI rant. The SoI community will simply lose players, prospective admins, and will accelerate the demise that you claim is befalling the game.
I am worried that you guys are putting your desire to be martyrs above and beyond your duty as an admin (and yes - an ex-admin) to help the game. It is selfish. Frankly, Kite, Traithe, and anyone else still on staff cannot respond to your accusations, for the obvious reasons that they will be hurting the game by acceding to this infighting, and they still care. This blogpost, and any such blatant, broad, and admin-started accousations, no matter how objective, are probably more damaging to the game than anything Kite could do.
Mirudus... don't post.
Yours sadly,
Ex-admin Fox
The info was already out there, creeping as rumors and word of mouth and was causing damage. I'd like to think that we can finally put the old garbage behind us once all this is over but I'm not getting my hopes up.
Maybe this will cause some changes anyway. A mud that can't keep staff is doomed, flamewars or not.
I heard about half this stuff as rumors and this blog is just really a confirmation of things people already knew/suspected/believed.
I'm pretty sure these staffers also tried to get themselves heard and to no avail, so... what was expected after that?
This situation was not going to end in a favorable way if time after time these staffers were not heard when they did try to have things changed and it seems to be the general consensus that Kite will not change since he has already lost many staffers and will continue to do so.
As it has been proven, staff continued to leave and also players and it didn't matter whether this information came out or not. Change is an effort by multiple people who are trying to get on the same page, instead of "this is my way and if you don't like it leave." and if the current owner Kite decides that "this is my way and nothing's changing." or "these are my friends, they can break as many rules as they want and I can hide it cause I have the power." then things will never change.
If you can't keep your staff and your players, then you're already screwed and being a stubborn owner isn't going to get you far nor is it in the best interest of the people who play or your fellow staff members. It's just plain selfish.
These staffers who brought to light what was and is happening and found a voice via this method are not wrong in my very humble opinion and I am pretty sure this was their last resort or it wouldn't have taken ex-staffers this long to post up a blog about it.
Like it or not, what Kite seems to fail to realize is that you cannot ignore the wishes of others while soliciting donations from them to keep the MUD running.
Exactly. He'll go through staff til all the players get a turn and see the crap and leave too. It won't take a day but eventually if he doesn't do anything to fix things, he won't have a MUD.
Fox,
I consider myself a friend of Songweaver's -- he and I spoke and played together quite regularly before he moved into his current position. That, as well as his constant need to apparently break every laptop he purchases keep me from staying in touch with him regularly as I'd like to, but please don't infer that these admins posted this blog in an attempt to force Kite to change by martyrdom.
I can't directly vouch for Bangarang or Hulk, but I know from my expirences with Phoenix and my friendship with Songweaver that neither would -ever- do such a thing on such an, when we come down to it, insignificant thing. Hulk's a man. He just constantly has testosterone and the need to crush things with those massive pythons, but he's definitely not a bad guy. :P I've never spoken to Bangarang!
It's my understanding that they posted this so the players would -know-. Many of us already heard specific examples from third and fourth hand informants -- I know I have. Hell, I remembering attempting to comfort Nocht over AIM when Kite angrily sacked her.
It's my position that this is knowledge we, the playerbase, deserve to know, that them, the admins, should let us know, and that those that have -yet- to join the game should have access to, should any of it effect either the former or the latter.
Kite runs this game like the Director of the FBI runs his business.
I bet Robert Mgabe (the dictator in charge of Zimbabwe) uses Fox's line of reasoning all the time - sure we're corrupt, but imagine the damage if we tried to fix things.
Sometimes you have to cut the cancer out, and it ain't always pretty or painless.
I find it hilarious that as soon as this comes out, Kite posts about banning people who use OOC IM (since that's the method this link has been spread to give us these revelations) and to ignore the ex-staffers because they are speaking nonsense. Someone sure has something to hide. He should work on fixing things instead of banning players who want answers and work on fixing the MUD he currently is in charge of.
A few quick and efficient points.
1) I never really thought that this blog would elicit such a vast range of responses, and I thank everyone for what is either their support or criticism. As I posted on the SOI forum, I did not feel "good" about posting this blog; I honestly felt like a bastard doing it. However, as some folks have picked up on, perhaps the most important thing to take away from this is that SOI will run out of staff and collapse in on itself unless something changes. Kite may be the greatest enduring force on the administration, and may genuinely believe that he is acting correctly, but no MUD can run without staff to run it. To note is that I take full responsibility for this blog, as I did not consult the other staffers before making it, and even had to out my own OOC identity (something that I protected greatly previously) on the SOI forums to post it. I know very well that I've had to cross a line to bring things that -should- be known out into the open, and I'm man enough to do this on my own two feet.
2) Apparently, the idea for us to work on another RPI is a popular one? I must admit that I see myself doing this, but choosing a setting and theme is a very important task that should not be hurried (and I have no laptop). I believe that http://northlands.mudsite.com/ is where the primary conversations are going on to brainstorm ideas. I will attempt to weigh in, because I do have a few thoughts about designing a game for success.
3) Reconciliation ... I wish that it were possible (and perhaps it is). However, unless things were really going to change at the level of higher staff on SOI, I could not trust Kite's word that things will change (and I have great doubt that he would obviously trust me to fall in under his vision again); however, Kite has lied so many times about punishing people that he never punished, and lied so many times to say to the staff that he is a changed man and things are changing ... that you can see why reconciliation would be very difficult while there is no trust.
4) I must admit that even given multiple days to cool off (remember, I have no internet, so I don't have SOI on the brain every waking second as per normal), I know that I would still have done the same thing. I admit that it likely hurts SOI in an immediate way, but I believe that if anything it has forced -something- to a head; Kite still has the opportunity to fix this and learn from it. I am sure that he will try something, and only time will tell if it works. Unfortunately, even after all of that, there is still contention with a staff that he has admitted to being unwilling to sack and will continue to give staff and players reasons to quit through -their- own actions.
5) I don't think that Kite's a bad guy, though he's an ass of a manager, quite honestly. I think that Kite's a fairly insecure guy who wants people's approval, and for those who give him their utmost approval and adoration, he becomes extremely protective; the unfortunate reality of this is that it actually makes Kite somewhat easy for corrupt staff to manipulate, and Shadow is absolutely the worst sinner in this. If I had a dollar for every Senior Staff post where Kite is frustrated or feeling doubt in his plan - and Shadow gave him a virtual hug or said "I believe in you, hunnybuns" - I could probably fix my laptop right now! And what does Shadow get out of it, but her own sphere where her favorite PC gets to be Goddess and do whatever she wants? Not a bad trade for anyone, except for the players of FJ who deserved better than that.
6) I'll just make a quick note on what many players have said, because it is very true; Kite's Seven Year Plan is a crock. There is absolutely no way that the plan will happen as it is written, and the concept of planning out seven years into the future is insane. Simply put, there are just too many setbacks and too many punches to roll with, to be able to predict that far in the future. I planned out one single year of plots in Northlands, and even just that was a struggle to keep on pace with (and I'm a pretty organized individual). As said elsewhere, I really believe that the Seven Year Plan serves as little more than a smokescreen to the people who question why things aren't changing, or promises aren't being kept. The Seven Year Plan is an excuse made to both players and staff, but if you actually read over it, it's not a very inspiring (or realistic) plan. In my opinion, it's partially a good thing; if Aura is to be replaced by Lore and Power, I definitely fear that there are staff PCs will take advantage of the transition to argue that their character should have high power even if they had low aura. Beyond this, it is very likely that Power and Lore will completely unhinge what little balance combat code actually has on SOI, though I will not get onto a rant about Power and Lore!
Summary:
I know that not everyone will agree with what I've done here; I even knew that it was likely that players and ex-staff that I've come to respect (either from reading old forum posts on policy or knowing their characters well in-game) would disagree with me.
But, SOI is spinning around in a cycle where it is doomed to slowly losing in the long-run. And the closer it gets to the end - the more spheres are open while the fewer staff the game is able to maintain - and the more jaded the ex-staff players become who leave - than the faster SOI's death will come. Out of this will come either a new leader, with a new vision (that will succeed or fail), or a new game entirely. There is simply too much creativity and pro-activity in the SOI community for everyone to fold up their laptops and call it a day. The incredible response to this blog is proof of that much.
Thank you, once again, for every poster who has been supportive - and for every poster who stated what I tried to make evident in my blog posts; there are two sides to every story, and this is my side. That is all that I can really offer.
From here, this blog will mostly be about Northlands, and I will attempt to move to the forum that it looks like Bangarang started for conversation.
If you want to get into direct contact with me, you can try me at SongweaverSOI; however, be patient as I do not currently have a laptop.
AIM: SongweaverSOI
Please ... be gentle. :(
Oh Songweaver, I love you so. You could be a cult leader with all these replies. Then when you go all David Koresh and show up on Fox News barricaded in a burning building with your harem of devoted wives and devotees, I can say... I KNOW HIM!
I'm not about to comment on the mess of everything, but I do know that a lot (most) of the people I enjoyed roleplaying with and under are gone from SOI. It doesn't seem to be proving such a bad thing, though, if something awesome and visionary is about to come out of it. The prospects on these new forums is quite exciting.
As for everything else-- shit happens.
Actually it spread via the game MOTD, forum PMs, forum posts, HMs and AIM/MSN.
Wow. Huh. Well, damn.
This is Throttle. I took a couple of weeks off the game (actually meant to sneak out and quit, as I tend to do a few times a year) and stumbled upon this landslide. While I normally take great care to stay as far away from the OOC mill as possible and have only ever had out-of-game contact with a select few players, it has been impossible not to notice the growing sensation of general unrest in the game for the past year or two.
As I have deliberately refrained from becoming acquainted with any staff members beyond the inevitable interaction that comes with playing in their spheres, I still am not 100% certain who to trust, but I know which way I lean. Little things crop up here and there that cannot be ignored, you hear enough about something for it to be impossible to brush off as rumors and baseless gossip, you experience the occasional questionable thing, and in the end I think a significant portion of the playerbase has been well aware that something wasn't quite right.
I have long been in strong opposition of the general direction in which the game is being steered, and have had no qualms voicing my concerns with various aspects of SoI. I like to think that I do this in a relatively neutral and constructive manner, and a recurring trend I have noticed is that staff (generally Kite) quickly attempt to explain and appease those worried with whatever is brought up, only to then never really do anything about it, or go ahead with what was being pointed out as flawed.
While much of what has been brought up here is sort of news to me, I can't say I'm actually surprised. It all corresponds quite well with being the bottoms of the icebergs whose tips I have noticed repeatedly. I hesitate to simply accept that this is all the indisputable truth, knowing as I do very little about what truly happens above the clouds, but then I already had enough reasons to stop wanting to play SoI in the first place. I keep trying to come back only to fade back out after a couple of months when the joy of rediscovery and the freshness of a new character wears off.
I have never trusted the Seven Year Plan in the least, and I loathe how it has been used to wave under the noses of any and every concern voiced by the playerbase. When I and countless others brought up the blatant problem with the number of spheres, Kite told us that the plan would fix it when the plan in fact was to further expand and dilute the game world. I've stopped trying to understand this.
It is truly shocking to find that many staff members have been treated so poorly. I never knew about this, and if it is indeed true as it has been laid out, I'm glad I never did apply for staff; I've often considered it, but I keep realizing that I would probably enjoy it immensely for a month and then promptly regret the choice. For starters, it would require me to enjoy the game in more than three-month bits at a time.
As for starting up another RPI, I have long been of the opinion that there simply is no room for another prominent RPI. I would absolutely love to see something new of the same quality as SoI and Arm, but I don't believe that there can be found enough administrators, coders and players for more than what currently exists (which is, IMO, insufficient for just the two). I would be interested to see what comes of the attempt, but I don't see where we would find enough people unless one of the existing RPIs sees a mass exodus, or someone actually manages to build an RPI that suits the number of players it is likely to have.
I saw Kite posted an answer in reply to the blog and accusations but he spoke alot and didn't really address the issues at hand from what I read and most people there who replied to it in another thread seem perfectly fine to ignore and accept what he has said which is pretty sad.
Kite posted a retort today, and good on him that he is moving forward and trying to explain thing. Of course, I tried to note specifically in my blog where there were questions without good answers. I want to make two thing clear:
1) I did not do this with the pushing, or backing of any ex-staff (or current staff). I did this because the high turnover rate of staff on SOI always leaves questions unanswered, and I didn't want the players to be in the dark.
2) Kite mostly retorts points from my blog that I had no way of proving since he has severely restricted the access of information to staff regarding logs and donations, and you are but forced to "take his word on it". I can't say for certainty that SOI donations go to pay for the other things on the server; all that I can say is that Kite pocketed donations without asking the players for their permission first - it's up to you whether or not that means anything to you at all.
3) His retort didn't really defend lying or cheating over-much, because Kite works in distractions and smokescreens. At the end of the day, my post was from my point-of-view, is likely very accurate, but also contains inevitable inaccuracies since Kite deletes Senior Staff posts and goes out of his way to restrict information.
Never-the-less, despite the smokescreen, I am glad that he is attempting to unify SOI. I don't want to see it die. Only time will tell if he is willing (doubtful) to change the policy that he PMed to the staff; the game will be fun for him and his friends, or else. When your friends are obviously capable of cheating and abuse, this policy, in addition to the generally bad direction the game is going in, is going to be a slow kill.
http://www.shadowsofisildur.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=37111
Hello.
The internet is a wonderful tool. You can say anything about anyone without proof or evidence. Nobody will censure you or imprison you for having opinions in most countries of the players who play SOI. That’s all fine, I don’t mind that. What I do mind is when people are trying to disguise their motives and then create accusations which are clearly incorrect to me. So then I have a quandary – do I answer them point by point and reassure the players of SOI who have placed their trust in me and my staff, or do I tell everyone to move on and ignore them? I guess a bit of both. I’ve been a soft touch recently, I’ve allowed people to get away with far too much and hoped they would become better people over time. However, I think it’s time to demonstrate to you that you should not believe everything you hear.
It is quite morbidly entertaining though isn’t it? A bit like watching the British labour government destroying itself internally. You can’t help but be fascinated. I realised today that some of you are actually having more fun being part of a covert group of freedom fighters than being part of the game community. I can see how that happens – you hear stuff, people explode, staff are accused, players post everywhere, blogs appear. Suddenly a bunch of you have a group purpose and bond. Lines are drawn and loyalties chosen. The Death Star has only five minutes before it is range. Chewbacca warns you of incoming tie fighters. Kite Vader and Shadow Fett are taking out your best pilots. Hell, that sounds like fun to me. If I wasn’t on staff, maybe I’d come join you!
However, you are not doing this for fun. If you think you are, that’s ok. The people who are leading this little rebellion are not from Star Wars. Naming my character, my wife’s business, accusing me of stealing, of bullying and of lying is not a game. But I forgive anyone for still finding it hellishly and gloriously entertaining. We all want to expose the bad guys, none of us really want to be the bad guys. I say this because it seems to me that no matter what I say the freedom fighters of Brazil will continue to sabotage pipelines and slap up posters on lamp posts. That’s ok. I forgive you. There’s a lot of bad stuff being said and you must feel frightened and confused right now. I’m not your dad or your uncle or your brother, I really am simply the leader of a game you are all quite involved in, whether or not you like it. For some of you, the community is more important than the game and for some of you the game is everything. See, that is what I have a responsibility to understand – that all of you want something slightly different to the person standing next to you. I have to always fight for your right to be offered that difference and refuse to be bullied into making decisions that I feel limit the game in some way.
I am here talking to you because you the players are not being left to make up your own minds anymore, you are being bullied and your privacy invaded, as mine was recently. I am sorry that the likes of Pinklepea and Daffodil from his player account have been doing that. It’s the freedom fighters recruiting you see. What fun! Thanks to those of you who have reported these to me so we can ruthlessly take action and crush the rebellion. Hmm maybe I’m relishing being Kite Vadar a little too much.
I had written a bit of a ranting emotional defence of my position. Then I realised I was not happy with it. I have never been happy when I explode and shout and yell at people and the world. I am far happier being optimistic and trusting in people. While that leads to me being rather embarrassed when my yelling and shouting appear on blogs and forums, you should know that such times show me at my weakest – when I am tired, frustrated and hurt. I don’t feel that anymore, I feel quite good and ready for the future of SOI being a bright one again.
Let’s begin. I don’t think I really need to repeat what I have said elsewhere about the quality of admins we have lost, but in case you missed it – I miss all of them very much. I had no personal issues with any of them as far as I was aware except with Songweaver (we shouted a lot about stuff we disagreed on) but I still thought he was one of the best members of staff we have ever had. Phoenix is my friend and I refuse to believe she is a part of the dirt. In fact I doubt she is, as it is known to me that the retirement messages posted on Songweaver’s blog were done without the permission of at least one of the people, for all I know without any of their permission. I was pretty angry when I discovered that. I hope he removes the private retirement messages – these were posted to senior staff in confidence and it is not right to post them on the web without the permission of those who wrote them and then imply they support what is written on the blog by association. Privacy is something you will all or do all realise is precious and not to be lightly played with. Songweaver’s grasp of staffing and plotting has been exceptional and I thank him and the others for their commitment to the players. Even though some staff may have quit, that doesn’t change how I feel about the work they put in and the good they did, now I have calmed down. Bangarang was an exceptional assistance to the game and his grasp and application of progging is just brilliant. We had our fights a while back, but he has been nothing but helpful and passionate since then, until he left. Kodiak is kind enough to still stay on and help train new staff and do a good handover, which I really appreciate. Hulk recently rewrote Balchoth material with a passion and genius few share. I wish they would return and do things properly frankly.
You may still not believe I knew nothing about mass retirements. I really did not. I –did- know that people were unhappy in the northlands staff and I went and talked to as many as I could. I was warned by ex-staff that something was brewing so I went after it. I thought it was fine as nobody came and told me anything was wrong. When your final conversation over AIM with a staff member who quits with a bunch of others contains jokes and smilies, or the final posts made are about future plans and what they’re doing next, it does sort of.. confuse me. Hence my theory that this was about a coup to install Songweaver as game owner. It’s clear we have the women behind the throne fantasy plot running here, with a bunch of accusations coming from ex-staff posted on the blogs. Also I have seen the AIM logs of how some of the main rebellion leaders won’t stop until Songweaver is in charge of the game, so that sort of proves my point. Remember I said Songweaver didn’t actually check with all the people before posting their retirement messages? Doesn’t sound like something he’d do to me without being pushed by others. He always strikes me as far too impressionable as well as an absolutely staffing genius. There, I said it. But let’s face it, it –is- a bit shocking to know he’d expose staff resignations without asking them first, don’t you think? I mean that implies everything he writes has the backing of the ex-staff. Some of them hadn’t even read it up to yesterday. Mass resignations only achieve one thing – a massive collective shock effect on those left behind in order to then force a major change, usually to topple the leader. We see it all over the world every year, this is nothing new. To then establish a blog and air grievances not satisfied while on staff only confirms this goal. To imply the rest of the staff want to achieve that is not very nice though. As I said above, I hope Songweaver removes the retirement messages. They were sent to me and the senior staff, not to the world.
You know I really must share something with you. I took over in November 2008. Here is how it happened. Note the bit about the servers please. Japheth had just posted on the senior staff forum placing his resignation. [this is here with his permission]
Quote:
Japheth: it'll be a good experience for my wallet when I give it up : \ .. so we need to work out arrangements for everything. server move, ownership transfer, all that kind of thing. technically Erebus needs to approve the transfer, otherwise he becomes the owner.
Me: he left a long time ago. maybe someone has seen him
Japheth: well yeah, just the legal terms Traithe left me with create that situation.. perhaps we can convince him to leave the terms differently for whoever takes over ..
Me: whatever. more important really is I decide what I'm going to do..
Japheth: Well you would be my 1st choice but then again you're my friend too
Me: lol
Japheth: and I see this as dumping a curse on someone. it's like turning you into a vampire. It's also a financial burden.
Me: I must say I am surprised about what you did. couldn't you have simply moved the burden to someone else rather than cancelled?
Japheth: to be honest I didn't think it would cost as much as it did when I took over. I also thought I would have a job to pay for it.
Me: it's one hell of a nightmare moving instead of taking over the money
Japheth: who would possibly do that? well I've just changed my payment options so it could just be changed again
Me: so I could take it over and we would keep it as is? I would far prefer that, whoever gets to pay
Japheth: if you're willing to pay 58 pounds a month.
Me: willing but not able. I'd post and ask someone for the cash or the game closes. but if we have to move, it becomes a nightmare of lost files and lost weeks. I'd rather it gets put into my name for now, but we can't afford anything of course right now. so yeah i would basically ask for the money.
Japheth: I know, that's the thing
Me: if nobody pays up, it closes.
Japheth: Well I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make the transition easy
Me: we'll do that. we have no choice. let them pay up or lose it .. we pay the same as you for the server here and I've kept it as good as it is only due to the forums and wiki and cms otherwise I could have downgraded us. plus it's our business. it already has enough soi sh*t on it. ok I am pretty sure Traithe checks in a lot less and Erebus is gone for good. it may be I become a placeholder tyrant until we get Traithe feedback. there isnt really anything else to decide is there? btw you may have expected me to fight for you to stay, but I value you as a friend too much to do that shit. I've seen what it's done to you being here.
Japheth: I knew you wouldn't. wasn't looking for a fight. I understand your position. I know this isn't necessarily the best thing for SOI, but it's the best thing for me and I need to think of myself at the moment.
Me: RL comes first and your wallet
Now I have been accused of using funds from donations to fund another business. Let’s just debunk that now. The server was paid for by me and my wife and has hosted her business (on that box or another) since 1997. I’ll repeat. I have been a server administrator since 1997 which is when we hosted the business site. I became game owner in November 2008. 11 years later. Please do explain how I can fund a business that was created 11 years ago with paypal donations. I also heard I was grabbing players from the business site’s community. Since I have always asked all of you to respect the privacy of me and my family, this is clearly untrue. I want nothing to do with this game in terms of my business life. Nor does my wife. We certainly would not support people on either community being involved in the other and have never done so. Any claims about this are simply misguided or malicious.
We have been paying for servers since 1997. A single donation was made towards the hosting costs of our server last year because we had no money due to some longterm issues interfering with our income. Songweaver and Phoenix both said this was perfectly acceptable and understandable after the fact a few weeks ago and dismissed all notion of stealing. Since then we have donated more back to the game fund than we were given. If we had not been given this one off sum we would not have been able to feed ourselves or keep the server going. Fortunately Shadow covered us a few months by paying for the Middle Earth hosting (NOT the website) until player donations built up. I must say I was rather shocked to see that the posts made by Songweaver on the thread about stealing on the senior staff forums are missing - where he completely agrees that there is no case to answer after all the accounts were posted. It’s rather sad that someone claiming great abuses elsewhere would delete his own posts in order to avoid having his accusations overturned. Fortunately I keep server and database backups. Perhaps someone would like to ask him why he did that. I found it very disappointing that the people claiming the moral high ground are reverting to these tactics.
So here is what happens with the two servers:
· The game server contains the middle-earth.us domain and the game itself.
· The web server hosts the website and forums, as well as various knowledgebases. It is shared with the business website my wife runs, the one that has been around since 1997. It is there because if the game goes down, we still have the community intact.
In fact, my wife pays for the hosting of the second server herself for us. She does not have any money from SOI. The one lump sum was the only money ever given to us or to me. My wife pays for your forums and your website. She has done so for a while now. You were never asked to pay to pay for anything other than the game server.
We have two servers so that we can offer you more. The game server costs £58 a month. Don’t ask me why - like I said, Japheth handed me the hosting deal. We have our own dedicated server with limitless bandwidth and a boosted load of RAM. Moving to a new server a few years ago was such a horrible nightmare that I have never been prepared to do so again. We were down for weeks and it was hell for staff – and I really didn’t think players would handle a new game owner and the game closing down for weeks very well at the time. What I will say is that this is quite a normal price to pay in the UK for a dedicated server covered by complete uptime, backups, unlimited bandwidth etc. I am more than happy to post here what we receive with that package.
Now, the Halo server. Lol. I have no idea what that is about. It was a coder who came to me to tell me they had checked and there was no Halo server on our server. I told them I already knew that, as I think we may have noticed. What a silly accusation. Where on earth did that come from? I have been pondering this for a day or so as it rings a bell. Someone somewhere ages ago said something about that. When I remember I’ll no doubt find out who created it. Once I stopped my coders laughing about this accusation we moved on to other things.
Clan leaders hired as staff do indeed get special permission to do certain things. No, the clan leader accused of crafting as a staffer only did that when they thought they could. When they were told not to, they didn’t anymore and were very embarrassed. Anyone who has seen staff members logged in for 14 hours crafting while they do their RL job know that these people aren’t crafting as staff. Oh and by the way, what I mean by this is that if you are a staff member and run a craft you can do so without timers or waiting for the craft to complete – it is all done in one moment so we can test and help players. Since some of our staff players are testers of new craft sets and suites some of them will receive crafts before players do.
Oh the accusation about tax. 18,000 coppers a few weeks ago. Fully searchable in logs. Even Daffodil has to admit to that one. I am pretty sure he was there helping test things at the time. I could be wrong about his presence though.
As for the rest of it, I will never ever be able to defend every member of staff from every accusation or gossip. There is a reason scandalous gossip is not allowed to be posted anonymously in game you know ;P I can only tell you that Songweaver was our investigator for weeks on Senior Staff. How come he did not find anything sackable or bannable while he was investigating? All the boosts to stats etc were audited by Vermonkey and SW knows very well that any inconsistencies were repaired. I also posted this to Staff Announcement. If he says otherwise this is because he has a firm view on the policy we had in place and believes we should return all totals back to the start. However he did not agree that if we did that we would also need to strip RPP from players who had not had to spend them during the “race picks don’t cost RPP” policy timeframe. You can’t argue one and not the other very reasonably in my opinion.
I have no idea why people think I said the Northlands had a limited amount of time to be in existence before I closed it. That is total nonsense. By all means post evidence and prove me wrong. I also have no idea why some of you think I should close spheres down which you aren’t even playing in, especially those which we have perfectly good plans to reinvigorate. I kept saying to Songweaver “please go and read the Gondor Project forum”.
I am indeed capable of bullying, shouting, screaming, exploding, being over-emotional, upset, tired, weary, stressed, out of time, impatient and brilliant. Aren’t we all? If I were to quote every single thing you had ever said or done in your life, what percentage of that would you be really proud of? If I was to quote the worst things you had ever done or said out of all context, would you really be able to defend yourself to everyone’s satisfaction? Of course you wouldn’t. I cannot defend some of the mistakes I have made beyond saying “sorry I was having a really shitty day”. Hell, I had to apologise to a coder today for that very reason. Don’t tell me I am meant to be placed on a pedestal of perfection. It does not exist, not for me and not for those creating blogs. I think it said a lot when Phoenix posted last night and told those on their forum to stop using it to be hostile towards SOI. Thanks for doing that, if you read this.
What I find exceptionally hard to stomach is the low tactics employed by the bloggers. Posting confidential conversations without permission, downloading the game database and files in order to use them yourself without permission, editing your own blogs in order to sanitise them when you realise your claims are a little –too- wild, spreading false information via unsolicited HMs and PMs, making accusations without any evidence, throwing enough mud that you hope it will stick in the end, etc. It is not the actions of a rational person or a person of honor. Say what you want about me, despite my rants and Elton John-esque tantrums, I strive to be a man of honor. I have not posted my own collection of evidence or attempted to damn anyone, nor have I wish to do so. At least the ex-staff had the good sense to demand Daffodil go and remove his rantings from their site and create his own as they found it embarrassing. It is not fair to spread rumors, then back them up simply by agreeing that “you” heard a lot about that too, it sounds like it’s probably true. It is more likely to be probably false. Hate campaigns are not the acts of reasonable people. Reasonable people let go of their hate and get on with their lives. I wish some people would let go of their anger and hate, because it certainly is NOT based in SOI, they arrived here with it.
Oh now I must answer a question from a player I received in my PM inbox. They asked if the truth was that if you were not a staff player in a powerful position you would not be able to make changes to the gameworld. Actually it tends to be the other way around. If a staff player does get themselves in too deep in a situation they tend to be severely reprimanded for it. Staff players have been forced to retire their characters before for this reason. We would far far rather a player climbed to a position of power and made the changes than a staffer player did. You see, the long term and the best staff players do things with a certain philosophy – we do not WANT to get involved in much of the best bits of politics and power as we simply do not have time plus we would be in severe danger of compromising our positions. My character is about the most harmless person you could meet in terms of their political motivations and wish for power, even if they have a big mouth. All of us want YOU doing the hard work so we can sit back, log in every now and then, and enjoy seeing what you have created. Players even complain that clans with staff leaders are those which get the least staff support. Yep. There’s a reason for that – it’s unfair to the players to favour a staff clan.
Ok some of you will be saying “yeah but I know very well that XYZ in charge of my clan has been favoring players who join them for years”. No they haven’t. Even if they have in the past they don’t now. I fixed it. I made it OK again. And if it happens now, how come I haven’t heard about it? Even the northland staff who told me I must fire Shadow admitted they had no proof whatsoever. I recall Songweaver’s saying I should do this not because of evidence or proof but because it would be good for the players’ trust in the staff. I don’t think so. See above – I will not be getting rid of anyone or making any changes because of bullies telling me I better or else. And that sums this whole thing up doesn’t it? I’m being told “resign and let Songweaver take over or else”. Uh, no ;P
I am not being forced to go with a plan I disagree with, namely to close FJ, reduce Gondor to Amdir and keep the northlands as it is. The 7 Year Plan is perfectly clear on the direction and emphasis and it is this that players donate to us based on. Any major change to that will be discussed with the players, not pushed through for any other reason such as threats. I kept asking the people who were not happy to read the Gondor Projects forum but was told that they didn’t like reading things in the case of Songweaver.
Please leave alone staff who were sacked, took the Mission Statement seriously, and returned. It took a year to convince me to return one such staff member named in the blogs and they have been invaluable in their aid to the game, though a little too emotional at times resulting in them being banned to the BP for a while. Passionate is not something that results in being sacked.
I am grateful to all of you on staff who are now working for the players and me to improve the game. I am grateful to the coders who really brought a lump to my throat when they suddenly announced that with Bangarang gone they had better start work on strongholds again yesterday. Thank you. I am grateful to the leads who have been willing to work on steadying their teams and looking at hiring and moving on to repair the damage. It has been very hard to regain my sense of humor, but I’ve done it. I know some of you will not be satisfied and never will be and will be quick to show examples of .. stuff. But for my part, I am content that I was open to being investigated for two weeks as it is and nothing was found, so the only alternative left to the noble rebels was to put up a blog and say silly things about my personal and business life and that of my wife, identify characters for no reason at all except to attempt to ruin the game for us, and to have a good place to share everyone’s sad stories. Hell I have some from when I was a player too, if you’d like me to join in ;P
I’m sorry to all of you who have been caught up in this. If you want to know anything about my plans for the game, please read the 7 Year Plan. I am going to return to leading the game. May the Force be with you. Oh and don’t think I take any of this lightly. Having a sense of humor is not the same as not taking something seriously.
Thanks.
Kite
Lotta fluff and going over things in the blog that SW already said he didn't have backing for so was beating a dead horse with that and he didn't say anything relevant past the donations and the server. He didn't address the matter of him and his wife and they running a highly influential clan nor the issues with his friends having those uber sets.
Quote: Clan leaders hired as staff do indeed get special permission to do certain things. No, the clan leader accused of crafting as a staffer only did that when they thought they could. When they were told not to, they didn’t anymore and were very embarrassed. Anyone who has seen staff members logged in for 14 hours crafting while they do their RL job know that these people aren’t crafting as staff. Oh and by the way, what I mean by this is that if you are a staff member and run a craft you can do so without timers or waiting for the craft to complete – it is all done in one moment so we can test and help players. Since some of our staff players are testers of new craft sets and suites some of them will receive crafts before players do.
^Yeah right. So why does it end up in their clan if it's a test?
Anyways, overall my personal concession is that he is trying again to blind people and put alot of irrelevant things in his post about how the other staffers are malicious etc etc and not addressing what's going on, yet again and the pbase at large that remain on SoI, don't give a damn.
What about the staff turnover rates?
Seems no one cares about how many on staff quit or get fired, they just are interested in keeping up playtimes and I guess til eventually all players make staff with that turnover rate. lol
Kite, I doubt anyone has left due entirely to this blog. People are comparing them to their own experiences and making decisions.
For sentimental and selfish reasons I'd like to see SoI succeed still, but your argument that everyone is just jumping on the bandwagon won't work. You forget that a lot of us have seen what you and your friends do, but written it off as an isolated incident or 'not a big deal'.
I'm not saying you're better or worse than anyone, even myself. I'd just like to play an RPI run by someone else.
Ho the propaganda. Kite is hilarious. Completely disillusioned to the problem SOI faces currently. Absolutely inept at trying to keep it from crumbling. Did anybody else see the staff announcements light up with calls for new staff? Who is going to fill in? More inept players most likely who actually believe Kite's bullshit.
Kite's post summed up in three words:
Pile of shit.
Cheers.
-Krelm
Also, is it just me or does http://northlands.mudsite.com/ not seem to be working?
Hey RPers,
My name is pof John, and I hate every single one of you. All of you are elitist, twink, crafters who spend every second of their day crafting stupid ass items. You are everything bad in the world. Honestly, have any of you ever gotten any RPP? I mean, I guess it's fun making fun of people because of your own RP, but you all take to a whole new level. This is even worse than spreading IC info via OOC.
Don't be a stranger. Just hit me with your best shot. I'm pretty much perfect. I was captain of the Gondor Army, and leader of the orcs of the Mines. What role do you play, other than "crafter made an orphan via orcs"? I also get straight RPP's, and have banging hot custom items (7AL; Sdesc was SO cash). You are all RPers who should just retire yourselves. Thanks for listening.
Pic Related: It's me and my custom items
The forums will be up again soon.
Ironically (or not), Kite's post reminds me of what many do when they don't want to appear as if something has effected them. Saying how hilarious it is, and very funny. A common tactic used on the internet.
Of course, I figured he was cheating and giving/taking perks for more than a year now.
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