Have an issue? Let's Talk :)

Well...
Like boozle said, we are just gathering opinions on related subjects and how it affects the server. We're not trying to make anyone feel guilty (-.- can't believe they haven't apologized yet) but we think it's best to PM you the issues, rather than publically state them as I don't want to be hated because of them, nor do I want my opinions to influence others into exploding the whole thing up. In reality, we're not a "drama" group, but a group of concerned players.

"Don't like a game company? Then don't buy their games."
"Don't like a game? Then don't buy it."
"Don't like a new feature in EMC? Then don't use it. If you can't turn it off or avoid it then explain to Aikar or the public community why you don't want to use it and why it should be changed or removed."

Not everything is just black or white. I might like a game/company/feature overall, but not like a few things in it, does that makes me not allowed to express the things I do not like? Lately I have seen a lot of attitudes like: don't like-don't use/don't buy/don't play, but what about constructive criticism? In my opinion that would always let things to improve.

okay, well i will give you an example. recently i was almost banned. I had accidentally griefed, yeah many people may not trust me after saying that, but it will help me stress Cows point. Bite was pulled into the issue and said that it looked like griefing, but decided to bring another mod into it, mods do this all the time. BigDavie found evidence that it was not something that was done maliciously. This just shows that the mods arent there just ban players left and right. they are there to help, they do their research before they ban, and then they ban if enough evidence is there.

This being said, all of you see that i am a diamond supporter. A lot of controversy has been going around that mods are less likely to ban supporters, this too is a falsity. Mods have temp banned me as a regular player and would do it again, IF I, OR ANYONE, DESERVES IT. I cannot stress this enough, Mods are here to help, not to hinder. What they do is for the good of the community and the players. Even if a life long diamond supporter griefed as well as a regular player, no special perks apply to that, both will be banned, this goes along with other supporters, gold and iron alike. ALL RULES APPLY TO ALL PLAYERS.

Word of advice from me, do what is right and always follow the rules of EMC.

very well written thats all i got

I hope you can work this out, whatever is the problem.
Just remember to talk and do not take everything personally. That is really important.

I think this was very well put and I think that this is the best possible outlet for any angst. That's pretty big of you to address the whole community on this topic not just the sparse few who are causing some issues.

ICC the counsellor? EMC is now like a society

This has always been his role, as well as many of the current/prior/future Staff, from the beginning. It is just now necessary to make a PSA to inform everyone and help to extinguish the flames of anger that have recently cropped up in the community.

That was a lot more writing than I expected it to be...

Well. That's nice and could have solved some past issues that I have seen in communities.
I now know the cow probably doesn't bite.

I think what we need is a friendlier staff. Not to say they aren't already friendly, but I mean a MAXIMUM friendliness. If people feel that they can relate to the staff on a pal/friend basis, we will have much smoother staff-player communication. Some ideas I have:
-Visits to players at bases, to give a sense of security and a sense that the staff is watching their back.
-Staff items, given out for helping a staff member/doing a favor for them
-Staff inviting players to games, ex: "StaffMember: Hey, bob123, want to do some pvp in the arena for fun? Bob123: Shur" The player will feel like the staff enjoy being with the players, and don't just interact with players because it's their job.
-Staff pranks: Nothing big or destructive, pranks that are both pranks and gifts. The players will feel that the staff are very fun people. ex: Putting cake all over a players floor in the shape of a smiley face

If we can feel the staff are our friends who have our backs and will watch out for us and our builds we will think of the staff as friends, not staff.

The following is my opinion and mine alone

When it comes down to it, no company can keep it's people/player/customers 100%. Some one, some where is always going to be unhappy with something. People may always think that "in this case" hinder game play, either by new staff/rules/content.

Alot of things you see today do come back and are suggest by players, Aikar himself may not be able to go thru and read everything every suggested. That's why myself and the rest of the mod team move suggestions along.

Now ill attack the survival update itself here.
This changed the being of EMC from what the "seasoned members" were use to and why they were here in the first place. But as life itself goes, things change and we adept. Yes the wild got a lot harder and this is what a lot of people were asking for, i myself have seen many people referee to EMC as "EASY minecraft" and still do to this day.

The update made it hard for most shop to gain stock, wild bases to stay safe. For the people that did adept it brought on a great new aspect to EMC that i myself love and still wish for more killer mobs to roll off the line, but that is my opinion.

The bottom line is change happens and needs to happen all the time and it'll continue to with or with out the people who dislike it. If you like the people and the community then you'll adept, anyone can do it.

As Jeremy has asked and people have agreed, if you have an issues address it correctly and promptly, or it'll fest and eat away at you. Speaking out in a correct fashion can be much more effective in an environment such as EMC, there can be no coo de ta here and the shadows wont get you any further in your goals.

I cannot fault staff for this. I had problems when I was running Paradise (nfell's and mines outpost town), we had players come are target us, create traps and annoy us. Chickeneer and R0bbiejo helped so much in banning and sorting out problems. There are many if not all friendly staff, they just may not get overly involved, remember they aren't paid to play, they play for fun too

I appreciate your kind words, first of all. I never pretend like everything I say or do will make everyone happy. Life just doesn't work like that. I do strive to at least show respect, however in anything I do or say, regardless of what the subject is or who will agree with it.

In terms of the rest of your post on Aikar. He is certainly not blind to the points that you have made. The first few weeks after he took over, I made it my personal goal, to help him become more of what the players expect out of him, seeing as I have to be in that position/spotlight 24/7. It was certainly not an easy transition, but, I can tell you, that the things done, even the 'threat' with the chargebacks, was not done as a matter of trying to be threatening, but more so protective of EMC. It's very easy to see that one come off that way though, since that is a tough subject in itself. What people don't realize, is that if they were banned or quit or whatever and want us to refund some of what they didn't use, all they have to do is contact me and I will make sure they get the last month back no problem. We've never disputed any reasonable requests for that and never will as long as I'm around. However, some people don't realize the damage of a chargeback. It takes more time on both ends to get the money back to the player and it charges extra fees on EMCs end that didn't need to happen.

Either way, I feel that Aikar is now at a point where he's doing things now that the community not only loves but is being 100x more vocal and transparent with it. I know you have some gripes, but I hope you stick around for a while and see if you like the new direction we've been heading.

Then ignore the first two quotes, and focus on the third that involves EMC directly, the other two were just for... comparison.

Jeremy, are we able to send you mail in game..? I have been writing something for a few weeks with a book and quill and I do not have the book mod that would let me copy paste it and I also do not wish to say the stuff written in it in a public forum.