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Molly · 12-10-2003, 12:51 PM

According to statements made by themselves, some of the Muds joining this new 'closed' discussion list, intend to not take part in any discussions on the Forums here any longer. They DO however still intend to use these Forums to post promotions, advertisments and announcements about their games.

Does this not bother anyone but me? There is an expression for people that just take without giving anything in return; 'skimming the cream off the milk'. Or, to put it more bluntly, 'sponging'.

Wouldn't it have been a bit more fitting, if the people, who obviously look on other posters on these boards with such disdain, left the boards completely?

This community once was about contributing and sharing. The discussions on these boards were once interesting and intense. They could sometimes be heated, but the tone, with a few exceptions, was generally civil. Trolling was very rare. People on these boards once respected the opinions and knowledge of others. There also was a general respect for other peoples work, and ethics and morals still seemed to mean something to most posters.

Why this has all changed lately can be debated. In my opinion at least some of the fault lies with the person who is now complaining the loudest. He set the tone, others followed.

I for one have not given up hope on these boards, and I have no intention of leaving. Since I have been here almost from the start, I know for certain that several posters here have intelligent and interesting contributions to make about our mutual interest, the creation and development of Muds, although they may not have been very vocal in the last year or so.

Competence in my eyes is neither measured by the size of your playerbase, nor by how much money you can make from your mud. Many Administrators of small muds are extremely good at what they are doing, and many experimental Muds have far more interesting things to offer than those that just cater for quantity.

A fact is however, that free Muds and commercial Muds have rather different goals. And consequently it is perhaps not such a bad thing if the bigger commercials withdraw to their own 'Exclusive Discussion Club'. Perhaps if in the future there are less threads here about purely materialistic things and more about coding, building and administrating muds, the boards could be restored to what they once were, before the decay set in.

12-10-2003, 12:51 PM	#22
Molly Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Sweden Home MUD: 4 Dimensions Posts: 574	According to statements made by themselves, some of the Muds joining this new 'closed' discussion list, intend to not take part in any discussions on the Forums here any longer. They DO however still intend to use these Forums to post promotions, advertisments and announcements about their games. Does this not bother anyone but me? There is an expression for people that just take without giving anything in return; 'skimming the cream off the milk'. Or, to put it more bluntly, 'sponging'. Wouldn't it have been a bit more fitting, if the people, who obviously look on other posters on these boards with such disdain, left the boards completely? This community once was about contributing and sharing. The discussions on these boards were once interesting and intense. They could sometimes be heated, but the tone, with a few exceptions, was generally civil. Trolling was very rare. People on these boards once respected the opinions and knowledge of others. There also was a general respect for other peoples work, and ethics and morals still seemed to mean something to most posters. Why this has all changed lately can be debated. In my opinion at least some of the fault lies with the person who is now complaining the loudest. He set the tone, others followed. I for one have not given up hope on these boards, and I have no intention of leaving. Since I have been here almost from the start, I know for certain that several posters here have intelligent and interesting contributions to make about our mutual interest, the creation and development of Muds, although they may not have been very vocal in the last year or so. Competence in my eyes is neither measured by the size of your playerbase, nor by how much money you can make from your mud. Many Administrators of small muds are extremely good at what they are doing, and many experimental Muds have far more interesting things to offer than those that just cater for quantity. A fact is however, that free Muds and commercial Muds have rather different goals. And consequently it is perhaps not such a bad thing if the bigger commercials withdraw to their own 'Exclusive Discussion Club'. Perhaps if in the future there are less threads here about purely materialistic things and more about coding, building and administrating muds, the boards could be restored to what they once were, before the decay set in.