I have been a member of the RunUO community since September of 2002. I have seen this community grow and become the largest in the UO Emulation genre. Many people whom I consider friends are people I’ve met here at RunUO. This community has become sort of a haven for me, a place where I can come together and participate in an intellectual hobby that requires problem solving, abstract thinking, and teamwork. In fact, until I delved into programming in order to use RunUO, I never considered programming as a lifelong job. I am now earning a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science from Baylor University. RunUO has undoubtedly been a positive influence in my life.
That is why it saddens me to see this community in the state that it is in. I look around these forums, and I see a complete desecration of what this community used to stand for. It used to be a place where people could learn C# AND RunUO concepts and designs, as well as different implementations, and of course fixing buggy implementations. What has it become now? It is nothing but a short-tempered, critical, impatient community of egotistical pricks who have nothing better to do than belittle users whom are perceived as intellectual inferiors. Catch phrases such as “do a search, <insert variation of noob>,” and “learn C#” have become omnipresent. Do a search for something basic such as, “do a search” and look at those threads that come up. The number of results that return is unacceptable. Since when has repeating an answer or re-explaining a concept become a bad thing?
This community has become a massive cesspool of “l33t scripters” who’s infinite wisdom and “sk3llz” have lead to a holier than thou attitude that repels new users with a rapidity that can only be mimicked by a machine gun. Remember when Courageous made a suggestion for defining named constants for Clilocs numbers? How many people in that thread insulted his intelligence? How many users provoked him to “brag” (as it was labeled so in the thread by several users) about his credentials?
I remember when someone could ask for help making a timer. The response that user got was actual code, an example. Now all users get is a brief, overly vague statement such as “look at script <insert script name here>” or “create a timer and make it do the work.” These kinds of half assed answers are evidence of the digression of this community to the point where it is simply sickening.
And of course, we have those radical users whom believe that because of their join date, they are above and beyond the rules. People like Phantom/Seanchen.net/Jason. We all know this individual. He needs no introduction, but what he does need is an attitude adjustment, or removal from the community. He has single handedly started more fights with users than half the community combined. Why? Is it because his “answers” make users think? No. Only those who are blinded by the legacy of Phantom as a member of this community believe this. His answers are shortsighted, vague, and overly broad, and half the time, he is in fact, wrong. He’s been mass squelched and banned twice, yet he still persists to behave the same way he has since day one.
I write this because I feel it needs to be said. This community has become more or less, a shit hole. I no longer desire to be a part of this community for these reasons. I hope that perhaps the fact that what is being said is coming from a moderator, one who’s been a member of this community since the beginning, and has a genuine desire to fix this community. I am usually an optimist; however, each day that goes by, my optimism fades. If you care about this community, make a conscious effort to fix it.
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