Whoa... 
And I thought when I saw "Banned" under his name yesterday that it was just some kind of practical joke being played on him by the mods or dev team... the reality of it comes as a bit of a surprise.
To Phantom, if he's reading this..
Despite the way in which you came across the majority of the time, I for one understand your point of view and your methods, despite the fact that I didn't ascribe them to myself. There is, within me, a certain degree of cynicism that can only be obtained after many years of trying to help those with a much lesser degree of knowledge than one's self. (no I'm not talking about RunUO in my case, but I did do 9 years of end user ISP support.. and that will take a heavy toll on your level of patience)
Personally I always tried to look beyond the apparent tone of your posts, to the underlying nudge you always seemed to give in the correct direction. Most people always want a specific answer, however your responses forced people to try and learn how to do things for themselves, rather than having the answers force-fed to them each time they ran into a stumbling block.
I'll miss having you around here, although I do understand the reasoning behind banning you. My personal opinion certainly won't be the same as the multitude of "newbies" out there, and newbies are a necessity for any community to grow and prosper.
To Ryan and the other devs/mods..
That was a tough decision for you to have to make. I applaud you for making it, even if my own feelings regarding Phantom differ from those of the community at large. I guess I'm an anomaly in that way, but it doesn't mean that I begrudge any of you for choosing what was ultimately the best course of action.
To everyone else (especially Phantom haters)..
Always bear in mind that Phantom, despite the way he came across to everyone, was trying to be helpful in his own way. Will he ever win "Support Person of the Year"? Definitely not. But he knew his stuff, and he always tried to point people in the right direction while still trying to let them learn something in the process. Most were not satisfied with that, and wanted nothing less than the solution written out for them, which is exactly what Phantom would never do for anyone.
Personally, I learned more from Phantom than I have from any other contributor on these forums, despite his abrasive demeanor.
And I thought when I saw "Banned" under his name yesterday that it was just some kind of practical joke being played on him by the mods or dev team... the reality of it comes as a bit of a surprise.
To Phantom, if he's reading this..
Despite the way in which you came across the majority of the time, I for one understand your point of view and your methods, despite the fact that I didn't ascribe them to myself. There is, within me, a certain degree of cynicism that can only be obtained after many years of trying to help those with a much lesser degree of knowledge than one's self. (no I'm not talking about RunUO in my case, but I did do 9 years of end user ISP support.. and that will take a heavy toll on your level of patience)
Personally I always tried to look beyond the apparent tone of your posts, to the underlying nudge you always seemed to give in the correct direction. Most people always want a specific answer, however your responses forced people to try and learn how to do things for themselves, rather than having the answers force-fed to them each time they ran into a stumbling block.
I'll miss having you around here, although I do understand the reasoning behind banning you. My personal opinion certainly won't be the same as the multitude of "newbies" out there, and newbies are a necessity for any community to grow and prosper.
To Ryan and the other devs/mods..
That was a tough decision for you to have to make. I applaud you for making it, even if my own feelings regarding Phantom differ from those of the community at large. I guess I'm an anomaly in that way, but it doesn't mean that I begrudge any of you for choosing what was ultimately the best course of action.
To everyone else (especially Phantom haters)..
Always bear in mind that Phantom, despite the way he came across to everyone, was trying to be helpful in his own way. Will he ever win "Support Person of the Year"? Definitely not. But he knew his stuff, and he always tried to point people in the right direction while still trying to let them learn something in the process. Most were not satisfied with that, and wanted nothing less than the solution written out for them, which is exactly what Phantom would never do for anyone.
Personally, I learned more from Phantom than I have from any other contributor on these forums, despite his abrasive demeanor.
I dun like im.. but... this seems a bit harsh even for Phantom.. he isnt a BAD person.... he's just.. him..... ah well... *poofs off into corner*
