There is alot of buzz about what OP's gonna do in
2 days and how we should react accordingly. For those not yet informed, it seems we need to
solve some issues to OP's satisfaction or the CF server is closing... permanently.
I am not sure exactly what OP is asking of us but it seems that it has something to
do with Chaos Clan and our openly stated plans to eventually leave the server. We had wanted
to keep a Wing of the Clan here and create another wing on another mod/server. I had told OP
that we would leave, prolly in about 3-4 months time. I really don't want to go into the
reasons for this, but know its a decision that we didn't take lightly, and its not a result
of the recent troubles either; although the R-39 episodes sort-of crystalized it and set the
time-frame.
What I am led to understand is that OP finds this unacceptable; that he
believes that for the good of the server we should leave immediatly and entirely, or not at
all. Well at the time I told OP our plans for the future, I understood that it wouldnt be an
ideal situation for him, but I was determined not to lie or exaggerate anything just to
mollify.... And that is still our position.
I understand some of his objections and
reasons for them; but allow me to answer them here. I dont want to make this discussion
adversarial or confrontational... And as I told OP last week "Disagreeing on something is
not a Deal-Killer".. Meaning we are not inflexable or intolerant of other's ideas, and are
willing to look at this thing from all angles.
> First Objection: That the remaining
Wing of Chaos that stayed would recruit and siphon-off ppl from CF to our other server(s).
I think that it is actually more likely that more new ppl would come to CF than would be
"stolen" from it. So far, with Chaos or R-39.... That is actually the case: We have brought
several (6 or 7) new ppl here inthe last 2 months that had not come or prolly would not have
come except for Chaos (...or R-39 originally).
I think the pragmatic view of all
this is: FL is global community; not just the "tribal" community of the server. Like we at
CF are a "village", one that is part of the greater "Province" (the Freelancer MP world).
Ppl move from one village to another very commonly... or from one province to another (...
to other MP games). But they come back to the ones they like and feel at home in... In this
and many respects, it doesnt matter that we play Freelancer / CF Mod... Its the ppl and
their interactions that count, the game is just the cosmetic framework that allows us to
interact.... It just so happens that FL allows this better than most.
I think that
OP should have a little faith in his creation the CF mod, and the general good feeling ppl
get from of the server to continue to draw a sufficient amount of new ppl; and to retain a
decent percentage of them over time, making it their "home". After all; there are still many
thousands of ppl playing FL online servers; way more than CF could ever hope to handle if
they all decided to visit, lol...
> Second, that if we go on as now, we are living a
lie. Im not sure exactly but it has to do with us having faith in the community and wanting
to promote it. Hmm.. I dont have any way to fully answer this: Imo it is too early to be
asking us in Chaos to believe in the future of CF's community... All we have done is agree
to "try"... And not hold a grudge from all the crap that happened before. We are ready to
get back to normal. However; there is no way to "force" or "push" ppl into fully believing
in the community. There were a lot of harsh feelings and it will simply take time to heal
them all. To be frank, some Chaos ppl are not willing to do this at all and have left for
other servers already. Thats their perogative and we wont try to stop them or change their
mind, but they are a minority.
Furthermore, I must state the obvious: That it is
extremely hard to try and convince ourselves to have faith in the future of the community,
when lurking in the back of our minds is the threat of the plug being pulled at any time. So
that this part of the equation becomes a viscous circle: Have faith or OP pulls the plug /
How can we have faith under threat of having the plug pulled.
Maybe im just not
getting it. I dont believe i have all the answers or am wiser than others. I just wanted to
set the record straight. We don't want to see this community just close down, that seems a
damn waste. But... Im not OP and i have not walked in his shoes. Perhaps he's tired of it
all; needs to move on. I dunno... I wouldnt blame him if he did. But if this is the case it
should be stated as such, and i think few would begrudge him that.
We are willing to
listen to all comments with an open mind; now is the time for us to discuss the issues.
