07-18-2020, 02:29 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-18-2020, 02:37 AM by matt_st3 (Strongrule). Edited 1 time in total.
Edit Reason: Noot noot
)
I'm going to preface this with, if you take offense to anything I say posted here, you are part of the problem.
I resigned May 13th 2020 with the idea that there was nothing left I could do to help the community and left with zero guidance. Through conversations with some people, I was asked to stay and continue to help with the Discord server as a Discord Admin. Let’s just say, this was one of the worst decisions I’ve made in awhile. These last two months have been nothing but drama, whining, and trying to solve problems I have no control over, and that’s not even in the Discord server.
Let’s discuss the Discord server first since it ties into everything else. The Discord server is supposed to be a point of connection for all parts of the community, much like the forums. With this being a mix of the entire community, the rules and guidelines were meant to bring together all of the rulesets of each server and find a middle ground. Some of you chose to act like entitled assholes, and tried to do whatever you could to push buttons, and break that foundation that was built; you chose to use whatever grey areas you could find to cause more problems and argue relentlessly when you were told to stop. This extremely childish behavior has made it very clear that the Discord isn’t worth my time or effort.
Let’s discuss the forums next since it also ties into everything else. The forums are a dumpster fire, plain and simple. You can’t make a serious thread or discussion thread without things getting shit on or troll responses that don’t contribute to the conversation. There’s no civil conversation, which makes it really difficult to get anything done or agreed on because the mudslinging and other needless comments distract from the topic on hand. I slowly started backing away from that after I resigned from TTT Admin because it was only getting worse and worse. And it’s pathetic that it’s the same people doing it. This extremely childish behavior has made it very clear that the forums aren’t worth my time or effort.
Let’s discuss the gaming servers now. I resigned from the servers I was staff on (TTT and PH) with the idea that there would be less strain on me to handle things in the community, but that was far from what happened. Instead, I watched things I helped set the foundation for be completely removed and changed, massive amounts of complaints about the decisions being made from the current staff that remain because the foundation was completely thrown out the door, and staff that completely ignored the structure that remained. You know there’s a large scale problem when the staff prefer going to the ex administration over the current administration to look into things and help solve their problems. You know there’s a problem when the administration ignores the staff and community completely on certain things and implements what they want. You know there’s a problem when they can’t form their own opinions either. This has caused me a lot of unneeded stress over something I have no power over and can’t fix, and has made it very clear that the gaming servers aren’t worth my time or effort.
Let’s discuss the staff and community. The largest issue has been, and probably will always be, a lack of communication between the staff and community. While it’s been slightly more transparent, there are still a lot of things that get muddled and lost because there is no one communicating things. Part of it comes from the lack of civil conversation mentioned above. Part of it comes from the community having issues with how things are run, but refusing speaking up and throwing shade towards the staff because these issues aren’t fixed; it’s hard to fix a problem when no one knows there is a problem in the first place. Part of the issue is how staff communicate with one another. Recent decisions in the staff system have left a lot of confusion, anger, and disappointment. There’s no communication when some of these decisions have been made recently, and I’m tired of having to try and explain and justify other people’s decisions that a lot of times I don’t find out until others do too. This isn’t the only issue with staff communication; part of this problem also arises when there is a lack of consistency within staff decisions and punishments, and causes confusion because of how it’s perceived by the community. Some people are too lenient while others crack down on every little thing, and it causes a lot of tension between players and staff because it’s inconsistent. There needs to be a balance, not opposite ends of the spectrum. The community ties into this too. A lot of you have asked for things to be cracked down on, and that’s great, we started working on fixing the trolling issue. But then it turned into “Why are you punishing us?” for cracking down on what you wanted. This led to a lot of bashing, memeing, and toxic trash that caused unneeded fighting between players, staff, and even friends. This behavior has pushed people apart, and left some stuck in the middle trying to figure out how to help everyone without compromising on just one side. The toxicity has also led to a lot of burnout and disinterest in the game and community, which currently shows as there is a lack of active staff in the community. This toxicity the staff and community foster is not worth my time or effort.
As I’ve stated in a previous thread, if you want to help the community, now is time to act. A person from this community told me there are pillars in the community that help keep it running; as more and more issues arise, these pillars continue to leave because it becomes too much to handle. If you don’t act now, the community will crumble. I know some of you love this community for different reasons, and I hate to see you disappointed, but I’ve seen this before. My community before Dinks went through this exact pattern, empty promises by the owner, the staff and community failing to communicate and becoming so toxic they were at each other’s throats about every decision and discussion had. I would hate to see this community head in that direction, but I feel like there’s nothing I can do to help, and without action, nothing any of you can do either.
All in all, this is a game, this doesn’t control your life, your future, and your plans; if it does, then you need to reevaluate things. Even though this server doesn’t affect my personal life, it has made me extremely cynical and has fueled my depression because I feel like I have failed people. I have a lot of current stressors in life, my job where I currently handle two separate positions, Covid-19 which is getting closer to home every day, deciding on my future (both pursuing even more education and prospective jobs), and other things. But my life is starting to have more positives too, and it’s time I go enjoy those more. I am a part of a loving Discord community that I staff that is very welcoming and friendly, I have hobbies that I love, I ride my bicycle everywhere because it’s peaceful. This is my goodbye from this community, and permanently this time. I am leaving the Discord, I am leaving the forums, and I am leaving the servers. I am not leaving my friends in the community; they have kept me together through all my current struggles and have shown me a lot of positivity. I will ask that they leave the drama from this community out as I wish to not be involved with it when I leave. I would list them all but quite frankly, you know who you are and we will continue to hang out and enjoy time together.
This is the last time I’m signing out. If you want to reach me or to hang out, add me on Steam or on Discord (Avi#4653). Farewell Dinklebergs Gmod, it’s another chapter I will close in my online book.
Forever a nurd,
~Avi
P.S. Noire you better send me some pancake pictures or else.
I resigned May 13th 2020 with the idea that there was nothing left I could do to help the community and left with zero guidance. Through conversations with some people, I was asked to stay and continue to help with the Discord server as a Discord Admin. Let’s just say, this was one of the worst decisions I’ve made in awhile. These last two months have been nothing but drama, whining, and trying to solve problems I have no control over, and that’s not even in the Discord server.
Let’s discuss the Discord server first since it ties into everything else. The Discord server is supposed to be a point of connection for all parts of the community, much like the forums. With this being a mix of the entire community, the rules and guidelines were meant to bring together all of the rulesets of each server and find a middle ground. Some of you chose to act like entitled assholes, and tried to do whatever you could to push buttons, and break that foundation that was built; you chose to use whatever grey areas you could find to cause more problems and argue relentlessly when you were told to stop. This extremely childish behavior has made it very clear that the Discord isn’t worth my time or effort.
Let’s discuss the forums next since it also ties into everything else. The forums are a dumpster fire, plain and simple. You can’t make a serious thread or discussion thread without things getting shit on or troll responses that don’t contribute to the conversation. There’s no civil conversation, which makes it really difficult to get anything done or agreed on because the mudslinging and other needless comments distract from the topic on hand. I slowly started backing away from that after I resigned from TTT Admin because it was only getting worse and worse. And it’s pathetic that it’s the same people doing it. This extremely childish behavior has made it very clear that the forums aren’t worth my time or effort.
Let’s discuss the gaming servers now. I resigned from the servers I was staff on (TTT and PH) with the idea that there would be less strain on me to handle things in the community, but that was far from what happened. Instead, I watched things I helped set the foundation for be completely removed and changed, massive amounts of complaints about the decisions being made from the current staff that remain because the foundation was completely thrown out the door, and staff that completely ignored the structure that remained. You know there’s a large scale problem when the staff prefer going to the ex administration over the current administration to look into things and help solve their problems. You know there’s a problem when the administration ignores the staff and community completely on certain things and implements what they want. You know there’s a problem when they can’t form their own opinions either. This has caused me a lot of unneeded stress over something I have no power over and can’t fix, and has made it very clear that the gaming servers aren’t worth my time or effort.
Let’s discuss the staff and community. The largest issue has been, and probably will always be, a lack of communication between the staff and community. While it’s been slightly more transparent, there are still a lot of things that get muddled and lost because there is no one communicating things. Part of it comes from the lack of civil conversation mentioned above. Part of it comes from the community having issues with how things are run, but refusing speaking up and throwing shade towards the staff because these issues aren’t fixed; it’s hard to fix a problem when no one knows there is a problem in the first place. Part of the issue is how staff communicate with one another. Recent decisions in the staff system have left a lot of confusion, anger, and disappointment. There’s no communication when some of these decisions have been made recently, and I’m tired of having to try and explain and justify other people’s decisions that a lot of times I don’t find out until others do too. This isn’t the only issue with staff communication; part of this problem also arises when there is a lack of consistency within staff decisions and punishments, and causes confusion because of how it’s perceived by the community. Some people are too lenient while others crack down on every little thing, and it causes a lot of tension between players and staff because it’s inconsistent. There needs to be a balance, not opposite ends of the spectrum. The community ties into this too. A lot of you have asked for things to be cracked down on, and that’s great, we started working on fixing the trolling issue. But then it turned into “Why are you punishing us?” for cracking down on what you wanted. This led to a lot of bashing, memeing, and toxic trash that caused unneeded fighting between players, staff, and even friends. This behavior has pushed people apart, and left some stuck in the middle trying to figure out how to help everyone without compromising on just one side. The toxicity has also led to a lot of burnout and disinterest in the game and community, which currently shows as there is a lack of active staff in the community. This toxicity the staff and community foster is not worth my time or effort.
As I’ve stated in a previous thread, if you want to help the community, now is time to act. A person from this community told me there are pillars in the community that help keep it running; as more and more issues arise, these pillars continue to leave because it becomes too much to handle. If you don’t act now, the community will crumble. I know some of you love this community for different reasons, and I hate to see you disappointed, but I’ve seen this before. My community before Dinks went through this exact pattern, empty promises by the owner, the staff and community failing to communicate and becoming so toxic they were at each other’s throats about every decision and discussion had. I would hate to see this community head in that direction, but I feel like there’s nothing I can do to help, and without action, nothing any of you can do either.
All in all, this is a game, this doesn’t control your life, your future, and your plans; if it does, then you need to reevaluate things. Even though this server doesn’t affect my personal life, it has made me extremely cynical and has fueled my depression because I feel like I have failed people. I have a lot of current stressors in life, my job where I currently handle two separate positions, Covid-19 which is getting closer to home every day, deciding on my future (both pursuing even more education and prospective jobs), and other things. But my life is starting to have more positives too, and it’s time I go enjoy those more. I am a part of a loving Discord community that I staff that is very welcoming and friendly, I have hobbies that I love, I ride my bicycle everywhere because it’s peaceful. This is my goodbye from this community, and permanently this time. I am leaving the Discord, I am leaving the forums, and I am leaving the servers. I am not leaving my friends in the community; they have kept me together through all my current struggles and have shown me a lot of positivity. I will ask that they leave the drama from this community out as I wish to not be involved with it when I leave. I would list them all but quite frankly, you know who you are and we will continue to hang out and enjoy time together.
This is the last time I’m signing out. If you want to reach me or to hang out, add me on Steam or on Discord (Avi#4653). Farewell Dinklebergs Gmod, it’s another chapter I will close in my online book.
Forever a nurd,
~Avi
P.S. Noire you better send me some pancake pictures or else.
Noot Noot ~(^-^)~
