Here it comes:  a resignation post!
 
Now, we certainly didn't see that coming, did we?
 
This is a long post.  The bulk of it details the situation for which led up to its posting, and may be skipped by those who are not interested.
 
 
 
There are a number of reasons I am deciding to step away from Accursed Lands.  I have had some unreasonably high hopes for this game, some of a selfish nature (I have been OPENLY aiming to get a copy of AL's code since 2006, something that was brought up at the exchange when I was first hired as a creator) and some of good will -- I have spent most of my life on this game and I honestly wanted to see it succeed.
 
Yet of all the reasons that I could find for quitting -- things ranging from the real-life stresses of losing a place to live to interpersonal staff issues to a frustration budding from the fact that I have been waiting for at least five months for the adminship on AL to elect a new "level 3" staffer capable of writing new content into the game and approving ideas -- the single reason that I am now leaving, that proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, is an IC event.  Or rather, a string of game events all dealing with the same situation.
 
 
 
THE REASON:
 
Some of you are aware that I have spent the last month attempting to put together a role-playing group.  The purposes for doing so were because AL was in a very bad situation, and its roleplayers were quitting left and right and many players were personally complaining to me that there was nothing to do.  The group was comprised of approximately 7 to 9 members, and proudly could claim most of AL's most well-known and admired role-players.  I will not name them, but you can probably guess who they are -- they have made large contributions to the game in terms of logs and helping other players throughout their time here.
 
The group was never able to fully take off because early on a conflict started with one of the, for lack of a better term, "twink teams."  I shall call them the Asshat Brigade, because their conduct throughout all of this was very poor, and when the group discovered it couldn't out-right kill the members of the RP group (they were staying close to an area the Asshat Brigade couldn't get access to), they began to create a number of "newbie alts."  The newbie alts rolled newbie characters that would get access to the area, and would be used to bait and lure members out and keep them in place so that the more powerful members of the Brigade could come and PK them.  Other behaviors included endless grinding, taunting and shouting in an IC area where it was not appropriate to do so, and calling members of their group online to PK.  One player openly and repetitively used whoareas to track down members of the RP group to kill them.  It got to the point we couldn't scratch our ass or even THINK of RPing without the insta-dying.
 
I'm not saying that the RP group was completely innocent -- because of the situation, two of its members turned to training combat continuously (something I had tried to discourage from the beginning).  I approved custom characters and augmentations for this group that had, shall we say, higher-than-average skills just to avoid this scenario.  I will openly admit that doing so is not the norm, however, I felt the need was sufficient given the fact that the game can barely stand on two legs without some OOC death march going on against any group that looks like it might want to roleplay.
 
The night before last, my PC (yes, I play the game, and VERY regularly) and another found one of the "enemy" characters and killed them.  It was without any cheating.  Dispite claims by other creators, I did NOT use my creator account to locate this player, and there are logs to verify that (in fact, the other PC I was with did the finding, on his own, and returned to our base to get my PC, under the assumption the other player wasn't going anywhere).  That player was permed.  And I will say this - no cheating was involved.  No rules were broken.
 
Yet, another creator (and I'll be lowly and call him out - Zaq) insisted we did in fact cheat.  He attempted to threaten me with "review", and when I did not bow to it and told him that would just fine and fair, he changed his tune and said that "this" would be handled another way.  At that point, he ignored me and would not respond to any further adult conversation.  The next morning, that so-called permed character was rezzed, by one of his fellows known for logging in at convenient locations and times, tracked down a portion of the RP group, and killed and permed them.  There are some incidents that occurred during this point that would make it appear that the fights were creator-assisted (namely, retaliations stopped functioning, one player got fatigue bombed, and a tell-based conversation between one player and Zaq makes it all sound.. less than innocent).  It is known that Zaq also told the player that was first permed by the group that it was done with cheating (and it was NOT).
 
It also came to my knowledge that OOC players not even involved in the fight were also killed in the scenario, when it was ICly completely inappropriate to do so, and likely was committed because of the hate-wave of retaliation going through the game over this perming business.  
 
 
THE END RESULT:
 
Not even 12 hours after the event, I have received messages and mudmails on the event, which basically sum up to player resignations.  
 
I have recieved THREE player resignations as a direct result of the night's events - Angelhawk (who apparently has posted his displeasure all over the forums, and you can read for yourself), Sidianrose, and Spikey.  
 
Remember those "big name, respected" roleplayers I was talking about earlier who had joined the group?  Out of those, I expect at least three more to quit once news of these events gets around.  
 
I am frustrated with this game.  I have put hours into trying to work up scenarios that would be fun for people to play.  I have provided things to PCs, no matter their allegiances, as they were asked for, ranging from custom items to custom characters to even RP opportunities.  Despite allegations and rumours that I am out there "face-stomping" players and policing them, the truth is, since my return in September or August, I have not "watched" players nearly as much as those creators accusing me of doing harm -- and in fact, I must say, I've watched players even LESS than they have.  The only time my attention moves out of creator land is when I got a complaint -- which was fully investigated -- or when alarms went off in creatorland of potential botting.  Recently, I've crept out to do some RP ops, and that has been it.  So to those of you who have spread lies about me "removing roads", "banning players" (I don't have the perms to do this, please stop even suggesting I can), and basically being a thingy -- go suck on an egg.  If I hit you with a stick, it's because you were being a moron and breaking rules or playing outside of the spirit of the game.  
 
Those of you who remain --
 
If you value roleplaying, I sincerely suggest you re-evaluate what you love about Accursed Lands.  If its mechanics outweight your desire for roleplaying, then yes, this may be the game for you and you should stay.  If you are expecting the game to evolve beyond a PvP warground, however, and see actual game balance introduced, I suggest you go elsewhere.  I suggest an RPI.
 
If you value PvP, keep on truckin', because now you've got a free license to do what you want.  Big bad Parhelion isn't going to "police" you anymore.
 
If you value grinding, well.. to each his own.  The game is properly set up for you to enjoy yourself, so have at it.
 

Well the middle ground in my opinion is the middle ground we had back in the old days
 
Everyone played together, the grinders mixed and mashed with the RPers.  RPers drove along the plot and conflict, so grinders actually had reasons to use thier uber levels.  Conflicts would be a combination of grinders and RPers vs  grinders and RPers.  It wasn't a perfect system, but it's the best system I've seen here thus far.
 
What we had here this last fiasco, was all the RPers vs all the Grinders.  There wasn't a plot line, there wasn't even really a fight.  IMO the fact that the RPers actually took out a veteran grinder, and he had to cheat to keep from being permed is amazing to me.  
 
::sighs::
 
some day it'll be fun again
 
Ryan

Well it's always sad when incidents come to situations where certain creators are asked to behave in an appropriate way by following the rules and to abide in player relations that don't involve simultaneously logging into your creator and player account, using AIM to direct player behavior and admitting that much on a continual, daily basis by none other than that individual who now stirs words in a last-ditch post.  I can't say that I know exactly what details Par may be attempting to insinuate but what I do know is that the resignation, if it isn't some ploy to stir controversy over continual attempts to correct the behavior, is surely noted.
 
I don't find it hard to say that despite Par's behavior, she will always be welcome for her noted positive traits, fervor for roleplay and her attempts to grasp the theme were surely admirable.  As everybody knows, this is a community and it can only be had by the attempts of our neighbors to ensure a fabric of nurturing each other to reflect a spirit the game has always enjoyed.
 
This game is meant to be enjoyed not only by the tireless efforts to create mechanics to channel our progression but also by the ever loving memories of a never ending story which will forever live on our memories and countless future endeavors waiting to be had within our cherished game.
 
Major additions are awaiting approval in the game and releases are but the blink of an eye in all respects.  For those of us in the creator realm who have toiled away on our work, focused on what was important and continued to bring the integrity of our team to the fore, the fruits of our reward will soon be enjoyed by all of our players.
 
Within the next couple of months, there will also be an increase in our player base.  After major revisions and releases have been made, a slew of already-designated methods will generate new players for the game and it will be up to our respected mentors and players who have not been involved in otherwise arbitrary activities to culture and retain countless stories waiting to be told.
 
And to you, Parhelion, even though you have trespassed against me, I will not think twice to welcome a side of you I only wished we could all see more.
 
 
 
Best wishes,
 
 
 
 
Zaq

This whole thread is pointless, in my opinion, for the most part anyway.  Accursed Lands never really was, and probably never really will be, an RPI MUD, even as much as some people may have wanted it to be.  You have a better chance of turning the Forums into an RPI (such as the story thread in Media) than you do the actual game.  You have to realize that the game's mechanics run the game, and nothing else.  As Ryan stated, I wish things are the way they were when I first started back in 2000.  People didn't give a flip if you were a grinder and just had fun, but because of the fact that so many things from the old days have been removed (such as demons with money bags), and rules have been changed to TRY and make the game more of an RPI, it has actually caused more problems than it has helped.
 
I personally believe that if you, the creators, left the world alone and let the players run it the way they want to, you will probably see things turn back to the way they once were.  It's because of creator interference that players like the ones who were fighting your RP Group are created.  They do it just to annoy and spite you, because they can, and they know it will get under your skin.  Just leave the players alone and let them do things their way, police other players their own way, and just have a good time.

Accursed Lands details on TMS (similar to the details posted and advertised on other sites)
 
Accursed Lands - MUD Details  
Move your mouse pointer over field labels for a brief explanation  
MUD Name Accursed Lands  
Telnet Address 66.249.19.206:8000  
HomePage accursed-lands.com/  
Language English  
Location Canada  
 
Admin Name Sirius, Xotl, Raulin, Kuzman  
Theme Realistic fantasy  
Brief Desc A subtly gothic theme with evocative descriptions and a skill-based, classless system. Crafted with realism for a strictly in character audience. Friendly OOC community & Free since '96.  
Date Added 21st August, 2001  
Codebase Lp MUD  
World Size Gigantic (20001+ rooms)  
World Originality All Original  
Player Killing Unrestricted Playerkilling
Roleplaying Mandatory
Online Status Open for Testing  
Category Medieval Fantasy  
Ranking Category Game-Medieval  
Avg Players Online 21-25  
Year Created 1996  
Vote URL http://www.topmudsites.com/vote-iris0.html  
Features Supports ANSI Color
Has Quests
Class-less System
Level-less System
Multiclassing
Equip saves on exit
Accepts Reviews
Free to Play
Hiring Builders
Hiring Coders
 
Mandatory:
 
Required by the order stipulated, eg, a specification or a specific description that may not be waived.
Obligatory; required or commanded by authority; Of, or relating to a mandate
 
Policing:
 
Acting on empowerment to enforce a mandate through the legitimized use of force.
 
I know it takes a lot of time to police, but if we're advertising the game as rp mandatory (aka an RPI), this would require policing.  Mandatory doesn't happen without policing, other wise it's just simply 'encouraged'.
 
Just some observations.
 
 
 

I decided to add a couple farthings to this thread.  I truly believe that for far too long a polarity has been instilled into the game and albeit that such a paradigm is a tried and true method for creative thought, it is not one in which provides a clear trajectory.
 
Nothing great is created suddenly.  It is in fact creativity that will have the power to connect to the seemingly unconnected.  It is important to remember this when addressing issues of 'policing'.  Besides, nothing encourages such a creativity than being able to fall onto one's face.  Those lessons are reserved.  Pointing and degrading does not encourage the process.
 
It is the machination of decision that dictates that one will travel in the direction of creative altruism or in the shadows of destructive selfish choices.  What destroys creativity is a sense of 'good sense.'  It will most likely be considered pompous.  We cannot restrict the paradigm.  It is better to learn from what we know in order to create than it is to create only what we know.
 
Problems will never be solved by the same level of thinking which creates them.  A community does not thrive when one wishes the community to behave exactly as one has forced their will unto it.  We must remember that we are all human and that all of us are capable of progress.  To think otherwise only makes us the very thing we rebel against.
 
 
Those who can't see these things only need to truly consider it and those who don't will only alienate themselves until they are no longer welcome within a community.  There's a chance to create something surely awesome in every reflection.  We need only to encourage that from one another.
 
I hope this is the only time I really have to implore the spirit of the mud.  The freedom from enjoying this mud will not come with a litmus test.
 
 
 
Truly,
 
 
 
Zaq

I'm going to go ahead and, even though I've exiled myself, post here, because there's something that I feel needs to be said. One, because I do not want my very last mark on this game to be one of outrage, and two, because there have been some things that have come to light in the days following my resignation that I feel need response.
 
 
 
First:
 
My original post, while it did have a solid point, was shameful in the way that it was structured and I apologize for it.  I am leaving it intact, because I feel that it represents who I am at my very and utter worse, and I am not going to pretend that I am not a flawed human being.  The correct thing to have done was to have some semblance of grace on leaving, and I failed at that.
 
I am only returning now to address some very powerful issues.
 
 
 
Second:
 
My integrity means a lot to me.  I am volatile, impassioned, pre-emptive, and often rash.  A healthy dose of paranoia has led me to be untrusting of certain parties' intentions, while at the same time my desire to foster RELATIONSHIPS with people on and off the game has put me at odds with the staff rule that no creator should EVER be friends with a player (a rule that I think is extremely inappropriate in an organization that is run by amateurs -- there is not a businessman or professional game developer among you who actually knows what they are doing).  
 
However, what I am not is a liar, a thief, or a saboteur.  I have been privvy to a number of conversations as of late that would suggest to me that a certain individual has made it their goal to spread such ideas about me because they have taken "professional disagreements" and made them into personal issues.  Normally, I would have ignored this, but the sentiment has spread to individuals whom I had a great deal of respect and affection for.  It is disgraceful to continue to wage a "war" on me, as a person, when I am not even here, and even more-so to not even show me the good graces of being able to defend myself.  Instead, you use my absence as actual proof and support of the arguments.  My faulty actions as a leader or creator are NOT being put on the table and used in a progressive manner, but instead my personal integrity is being torn apart to ruin my personal relationships with various parties -- and that shows a level of unprofessional-ism that almost overshadows whatever I myself may have done.
 
( "You" here is both in its understood literary form, and targetted at certain individuals -- I expect that "you" will know who "you" are. )
 
I have never once lied, at least not on purpose.  If you had ever bothered to actually ASK me what I may have done, I would have told you.  This is something I made very clear to anyone I worked with who was a part of this whole fiasco over the last few weeks of my creatorhood.  They each and every one were told precisely what our actions meant and that meant that they were ready and prepared to take responsibility.
 
To close the door on the issue and show my good faith, I will list every infraction I have ever committed while being a creator if it is requested by a staffer, and I will accept any responsibility - FOR THOSE THINGS FOR WHICH I HAVE DONE.  Somehow, I doubt it will be, because my gut feeling in this is that those left involved are more concerned about licking their own wounds and trying to do damage control (through dishonesty at that -- oh my, the irony) than treating me as an adult.
 
To those of you who have lapped up this information without even having spoken to me in the last two months and having had made no attempt to try and contact me on the REAL issues, you are no better.
 
This game operates solely on the principle of who can play the finest jig on their fiddle.  Both players and creators put on masks and dance about in an effort to swindle one another and garner favor.  It's all about butt-kissing the right people to stay out of trouble, or choosing the side based not on what would provide the best route to a solution but on which side would give you the most tinkering power.  It's about how you can get over on the opposition, and not about finding middle ground as a community.  It's about ambiguity and sameness, because there is a certain level of security in that stagnation.  
 
The man that is so bold and courageous to "accept his responsibility" like an adult is also the same man who has made efforts to not only contact every individual he's "won his game" against to gloat and taunt, but he has also chased players to OTHER GAMES to do so on public channels.  The man that has kept his cool and has made the claim that the undesirables have left the community is also the man that cannot accept logic-based arguments, takes every single crude/casual-speech colloquialism as a direct personal attack, and cannot communicate without confusing people because he tries to use elevated language when it is not appropriate.  The man that feels like a third-party victim in all of this and has jumped to the defense of the prior two is one that has made no efforts to accept data from any other source than those who he is so adamantly defending.
 
If you want to dance to the most charismatic fiddler, that's fine and dandy, but show me some respect by not attempting to manipulate individuals into believing things that are not true and stop trying to demonize me because you (and again, you know who you are) were unable to find middle ground, work out your differences when it was offered, shut your ears AND your eyes, and now can't find anything LEGITIMATE that you'd want to blame.  You'd do best to remember there is no greater evil than the one that sits silent in the shadows.

Quote from Black_Cat on 03/27/10 at 11:22:38:

 
Sure, let me put it simply then.  We're not going to micromanage the playerbase.  We know what happens when we do that and we're not going to issue punishments based off of the premise of spite and finger wagging.  I hope that's simple enough.
 
Regards,
 
 
Zaq