(not my image lol)
Disclaimer: Not the usual tl;dr bs. For the most part, at least.
Ok, I’ve had some time to think things through here, sort my emotions, review facts, etc. I’ve decided that, even though I, of all people, have more than enough reason to want to quit (‘retire’ lol) at this point (which seems to be the sudden trend lately?), I think that’s the wrong way to go about this. I've decided I'm not gonna let a few bad apples decide where I get to have my fun. But I feel I do need to speak my mind here; even if it may get ugly.
Now, a few things before I begin my rant. Firstly, I’m not here to instigate more drama, pick sides, or any other asinine mafia mind games like that. That’s never been my goal. I refuse to stoop to that idiotic level. I’m a creator. I create stuff. In fact, that’s the very reason for this thread: Reason itself. I want to try to solve problems, and I honestly think reasoning is the only way to do it.
Go fuck yourself if you disagree!
(just kidding lol)
That said, let's get past the obvious: The community isn’t what it used to be. Even I can’t ignore that anymore. It's not because of the "Starcraft is dead" schlock that I've been hearing for the last 6 years now but still hasn't happened. I could blame specific things or specific people, but that’s useless too, and will only contribute to the problem. I think the real reason is simple: There’s a general lack of mutual respect between members nowadays. That’s all it boils down to, really.
Now, let me clarify what I mean by that. Mutual respect isn’t throwing arbitrary praise around or giving each other handjobs. Nor is it agreeing on every point or trying to be reasonable at all times. In fact, you don’t even have to like someone even in the slightest. Mutual respect is, as I define it, NOT being an asshole to others. Let's start by not feigning ignorance and pretending I need to explain this. If you know it doesn't apply to you, then don't worry.
I think we’re reaching a point, partly as a consequence of an aging community, where that mutual respect is breaking down. Leadership problems, members grating on one another, site turnovers (SEN to Maplantis and back to SEN again), disagreements and misunderstandings manifesting into bigger problems, etc. All of this is unavoidable and happens naturally over time. I generally like to file it under the "shit happens" category, and move on. But even on my end, I’ve lost my patience a few times, certainly. Whether it’s someone taking a steaming dump on something I spent 9 months working on, or losing patience trying to reason with people... ugh. I'll get to this crap shortly.
First, one of the other things I want to say with this thread is this: Though I don’t plan to quit map making or the community or anything dumb like that, I should mention that I do plan to scale back considerably. This has nothing to do with SEN drama. I'm just getting tired of the half-year-in-the-making style of map making, really. I want to try to have a bit of fun with maps now rather than try to pursue grandiose ideas. I have tons of maps I still want to try to do, but anything that’s gonna take me more than a month at most is gonna have to have a damn good reason for me to do it. That’s what I’ve decided. And I think you guys will come to like that decision, too, since it'll mean more maps from me for a change (rather than just a scattered few really big ones).
Now then. With that out of the way, let’s get down to business. I would honestly say I have fun making maps even still (I might try to participate in that Alcohol map contest later, too, by the way), so I can pass that decision off as a minor thing. But the mutual respect issue that I mentioned earlier is just something I can’t ignore. I’ve trusted staff and administration over the years to make the right choices with regards to the community, which I’m grateful for, because it allows me to focus on doing the thing I like most: Map making. But lately I'm finding some things are just getting out of hand.
Of course, I'm not perfect either. Personally, I have a nasty habit of addressing any problems I see pretty much right away when I see them; whether the timing or circumstances make doing so tactful or not. But I want to make it clear that I do this because I believe that ANY problem can and should be solved by reasoning. I don’t believe in playing silly mind games or hiding issues to make way for assholes who want things their own way. At least, I won't accept that anymore. If I’m wrong about something, then I would ask others to either be respectful and address why for a change, or stfu plz.
There. I said it.
With that too out of the way, I will say this, though: At this stage, I’m prepared to accept that reasoning is just not going to always be an option. And this is where my proposal comes in. Bear with me.
First, let's start with the old adage: ”If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” No amount of reasoning will matter in the slightest if there isn’t a common denominator of mutual respect here to work with. I say that's fair to start with.
The other thing we should be doing from now on is not letting issues fester in the darkness until they explode out in the open. I trust I don't need to cite examples of this.
Frankly, we should be handling these issues maturely and honestly as a community. Doing otherwise is a faithless, cowardly approach. We should have nothing to fear here. And I trust most of us by now aren't still immature pre-pubies, so we don't really have that much of an excuse, either. We're better than this. Grow up.There. Said that too.
If that is too much to ask for, well, no hard feelings then. SEN 4chan has my blessings in advance. I’ll try to have the gay midget tentacle porn ready soon, too.
Post has been edited 14 time(s), last time on May 15 2008, 2:07 pm by Tuxedo-Templar.
None.
