An Open Letter to the Community

Point is myself, ICC and a few other are here to keep the ties strong with the friends we have made over the years. I cant speak for everyone, but to me its unthinkable to cut ties and it's why i have attempted to remain as active as i have. To completely cut off all tie simple because I have obligation else where is ridiculous in so many ways.

Today I was able to join mumble without being driven out by drama and chat with sam,ninja and nick for the 1st time in a month and it was nice. Sam quit winning mobarena man...

As a whole the community is good it unfortunately does have a few bad apples. These are being given time to adjust to the new setup, but that time is running out. This kind of behaviour is upsetting for all as ICC and Twich said and it helps no one.

P.s great news Twitch glad to hear things are finally improving for you, you to ICC with your big move.

I don't understand: Why do you put this on the front page? A colorful award thread below this one and an even more colorful thread above, and then this in the middle. I don't understand, Aikar, Krysyy, Max?
I found it already disturbing when it was not a front page thread.

Honestly, I get the impression, some of the decisions and threads made from our management are not very well thought of. A little example:
"We are proud to announce a drop from 40-45% loss of new players in the tutorial all the way down to 7.5%!"
This sentence from the front page bothers me enormously. It is hard to understand and doesn't convey the message very well. Suggestion: "We are proud to announce an increase of 40-45% of new players that finish the tutorial, resulting in a total of 92.5% of players finishing it." Sounds much better, aye?

I am not going into details about this, thread. I just want to point out that especially the management better thinks twice before posting, making decisions or bumping something on the front page.

What? People still care about this drama? A creeper blew up the last tiny damn I had to give about it. Back to work! Those projects aren't going to build themselves!

Photo made by Mailman1980
EDIT: Well I'll try to fix that soon. (If it isn't working for you because it wasn't for me)
EDIT 2: If the image above doesn't work the one below should.

Image removed.

Epic. Seems like it would make a great symbolic image for the main post. Peace for all!

Make LOVE not war, alright ladies come here!

Is that suppose to be a banana? http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Ih2CRcjNpTw/TTt-V0l0n2I/AAAAAAAACug/1l2eFwZSvHY/s1600/Banana Card 010.JPG this is a banana

Wow. This is perhaps the single instance wherein I believe everything that can be said in regard to this issue has been clearly explicated, and the general message has obviously been understood by most of the posters here, me included. Well said, Kephras. Well said.

Minecraft may just be a game, however many players end up creating friendships and bonds that you cant find elsewhere. It seems sometimes people let situations grow out of proportions and end up messy.

Am I the only one that doesn't know whats going on here?

I 100% agree with this. The harsh comments and lack of respect need to stop. I firmly believe in the last couple days it has started to get out of control, and that is why I'm being mature and stopping. I cannot express how strongly I feel everyone else should stop as well, I s'pose if I were to express that, it'd have to be OVER 9000! All seriousness, the pot must stop stirring. Anyone who continues to stir the pot after what Kephras wrote I will begin to lose respect for. This is considered unacceptable behavior for anyone from what I've read, typed, responded to. I'm not saying i wasn't stirring the pot, but if i Was saying i wasn't stirring, I'd be lying. I admit to stirring the pot. I apologize to All I have offended and made sad/mad while doing so. I meant to say this yesterday, but I did not have internet, and was unable to. That whole day, I was thinking about all that has happened. It made me understand. Nobody wants to be arguing all the time, I've seen a few people writing their "peace treaties", or "I'm sorry letters". Think of this as my "peace treaty" or "I'm sorry letter". I sincerely apologize again to all of whom I've offended with my recent antics, rude remarks, and my lack of respect.

My personal apology to Aikar: I've been thinking recently, I have been a jerk to you for no real reason. You never did anything to personally insult me, or even make me feel like less of a person. I feel that recently, I have crossed those boundaries. I am deeply sorry to you. I never thought of it before, but You own EMC! I shouldn't be telling you (let alone with harsh words) how to run it. I realize you have gone through so much, risk has been a factor in buying EMC from Justin. If it weren't for you, EMC wouldn't have progressed as far as it would've if Justin still owned it. Justin (for all that don't know) was extremely busy irl and didn't have the amount of time Aikar has to code and freshen things up, so to speak. If it weren't for Aikar, EMC wouldn't be near what it is today. Aikar, you have brought EMC from what i believe was 60k members? please correct me if I'm wrong, I dont remember the exact number. To about 130k members! That's HUGE! I very much respect you for accomplishing that. I wish you great luck with Starlis LLC. This is what you do for a living. So why shouldn't I help you make it great . From this point on, I will help to lessen the drama and hatred associated with EMC and other places. If you want to talk about anything else, if I missed anything, if i was not clear about anything, if you just want to talk, feel free to shoot me a pm . Again, I sincerely apologize for all of what I've done, and hope I (as well as everyone else) can repair (if possible) the relationship between owner and player.

Minecraft is not "just a game".
Minecraft is a platform. It has created careers, relationships, marriages, educational advancement, cultural advancement, a bond for millions. It is in every corner of the world. It is a rags to riches story. It flies in the face of traditional thought about what makes a game popular.
To simply write Minecraft off as "just a game" is to ignore the real impact that Notch's project is continuing to have on the world.
It is a runaway success that has saved lives, improved lives, changed lives. It is a cultural icon. It brings together those from every single age and walk of life.

Minecraft is only Monjang's in the copyright realm. This belongs to everyone. It has no single owner. No single purpose. No single form of play exists any longer.
I truly believe Mojang has figured this out. Look at the most recent updates - Spectator mode, command blocks, world border, etc. These are tools to improve the platform not the core gameplay. On occasion they do put their sticky fingers in the code and usually take away from the principles that make it fun. However, the basics exist: Axe, Pickaxe, Shovel, Sword, Hoe, Seeds, Dirt, Trees, Pigs, Creepers, Zombies and Skeletons. Those things that make up that first night!

EMC is a branch of the Minecraft platform. The other server is a branch of the Minecraft platform. They are two communities. One is not inherently better than the other. Major ****-up moments have come and gone. Everyone involved has suffered deeply for it. To dwell on the past is to miss the present; to ignore the past is to repeat it. Choose to learn from this but also move forward.

I want nothing more than to see all of the hard work and dedication everyone put into this COMMUNITY to continue to thrive. No community is perfect. Otherwise we wouldn't have REAL wars. The wars that have scarred so many of this generation, myself included. I came here to escape real life when my world was falling apart around me. Justin and Jeremy welcomed me with open arms and opened their world to me. Eventually they allowed me to be a part of holding it all together. They gave me a purpose while I was without one in my IRL world outside of the computer.

Minecraft helped me to get close to my brothers after many years of animosity and anger. Our common ground was Minecraft. My youngest brother introduced me to SMP Minecraft. Until then, I always just played by myself and had nobody to share with or talk to.

Without EMC, I would have had nowhere to dump my thoughts and filter them into coherent understanding of my situation in life. I would have taken my own life if I had not found such a great community when I did. I was on the brink of suicide before I found EMC. My PTSD was compounding the troubles. I was an alcoholic, a drug addict - an all around broken man - with a uniform and an invisible wound. I couldn't share my story with my wife, my estranged family or my new wife and children. I couldn't share with my therapist or my chain of command. I needed strangers who shared an interest outside of my normal circumstances.

My story is mine. This doesn't mean it isn't similar for many of our players. Everyone has their reason for choosing EMC from their first day. The pain we all feel is not over a simple "game" but rather the absolutely emotional investment we all have in this community.

The damage is done. Those who can move on, will. Those who struggle need the community more than ever!
To send everyone away with a vague explanation and telling them to "just get over it" is not going to fix that.

How would you feel if someone killed your family and then told you "Just get over it!"? Would you "just get over it" or would you have some unresolved hurt and anger to work on?! EXACTLY!

I had to edit this.... I got triggered again. This cuts me deeper than a simple "girlfriend/boyfriend breakup" as some have equated this to.
I can't think now... Brain went blank... I might come back to rant a bit more, I might not... Time to exercise though. I need to clear my head and relax....

You have SlowKinggamer's full support on dis... letz be friendz...

Perhaps it's time for a somewhat grumpy, out-of-touch old-timer to weigh in on the conversation...

The sentiment put forth in this thread is nothing new. Not to the Empire, nor to any other decent sized community. I've seen threads in the past, started by myself and others, along the same lines. Conflict and argument is nothing new; they rise and fall as sure as the tides. Keep this in mind as you worry over the "decline" of the EMC community. On the other hand...

It is, I believe, necessary to be reminded every so often that we ARE part of a community, an entity larger than any of us (even Aikar, though I know it may be hard for most of us devout followers to believe). It is also, however, necessary to remember what that means. All of us here reading this thread want peace. Nobody wants to argue, nobody wants to fight, nobody wants to be angry, to be dissatisfied with the people with whom they play MC.

I ask each of you now, think of what you would say to someone arguing and causing trouble on the Empire. Perhaps a "shut up!" or a "take it somewhere else"? Stop now. Consider for a moment, and put yourself in their shoes. Kephras made an incredibly powerful point, that we as a community "gain nothing from keeping these wounds open". Do not stew in hate or dissatisfaction, and do not resent those who do, but work to help them overcome their own issues.

I do not believe that all problems can simply be ignored, or that we can always simply move on from an issue. There are topics and arguments that drag pieces of us along with them, and thus cannot be waved away. Remember, though, that anger solves nothing. If you cannot move on, work to solve your problems. If you must express your dissatisfaction, do it respectfully. And remember to listen. Remember that perhaps, to someone else, YOU may be the "bad guy".

One final piece of advice: If you see an issue, an argument, a member of the community angry or dissatisfied, be the hero. It doesn't take a moderator to moderate. As I know many others have, I have many times stepped in to cool what often started as a misunderstanding and developed into a parade of egos and blame. I have generally ended these interactions with new friends, often on both sides of the issue.

There is little that perspective, a friendly word, and an understanding ear cannot mend.

-Jabr

EDIT: Twitch's comments made me think of something else I wanted to add. He's right and wrong. I believe that Minecraft IS just a game. It's something we have to remember. Losing a favorite pickaxe to lava is an awful feeling, but it's all in a game. We can still go outside in real life and see the sun and the grass and the clouds. That said, I brought up the pickaxe because it's something every player has done. It is a shared experience. And through that, it becomes something more than a game. Minecraft may be a game, but Empire Minecraft is more than that. It is a community of people. Remember that.

^ Bravo.

It's probably better if you don't understand. It will let you easier focus on the 'moving forward' part. Majority of it was simply silly, anyways.