Why We Play...

Dear all,

So, I belong to an Empires and Puzzles gaming community, and it has recently had a subtle, but impactful, shift from 'a community that has fun playing the game, honoring, respecting, and guiding its members' to 'you must use every flag if you choose to participate in wars.'

What is the impact of this, dear members?

Do you remember Jish?

Jish was a member of this community. Not the most outspoken, but a good, solid player that participated in the game and achieved some good milestones. Jish was just booted from this community for not using all (nor, in fact: any) of his flags in our most recent war.

So, now, this gaming community, that used to honor and mentor each of its members, now can boot members because folks have shifted to a results-oriented community.

Members are no longer important: results are. You participate in a war, you use all your flags, or you're out.

What does that mean for the community? And what does that mean for me?

The relationship I've built with Jish, and, by extension, everyone in this community, has now taken on a temporary air, and an arbitrary one at that. Jish had two bad days. Was he mentored on these days? Did he participate in rectifying his standing with the community? I don't know. I do know what happened: he's 'X'd. He's gone.

And so are you, dear members. War is now a 'have-to-have' for you. You must participate or you must opt-out, and if you miss either of these: two strikes, and you're out.

Anybody remember the founder of this community? Solanar. He actually cried when, in one war, we used all our flags. Its not that we won or that we lost, it's that we all came together, and he was proud of us.

What happens now? We use all our flags, does anybody cry? Does anybody care?

I think not. I think that the response now is: "Well, that's expected of you."

What is your purpose, community? If your purpose is not: "to bring joy to its members," then what, even, are you? Is your purpose now: "To win wars, no matter what"? I think this is becoming our purpose, and, if that: we will start booting members for 'not using your flags effectively' and 'not having a war-team up to snuff.'

I'm on the chopping block, and so are you, dear members.

But even if I'm not on the chopping block, what concerns me more is that you are. You do something congratulatory, I congratulate you in game-chat or on LINE, and, next thing I know, like Jish, you're gone. Our relationship in this community is ended, and it's because I didn't speak up and say: "What the hell? Is winning wars what we're about now, because it was never that before."

It was never that before. Winning wars was nice, and awesome, and we won wars, ... a lot of them. But that was never our focus: our focus was the community and the mutual support and respect of one another, and with that mutual respect, we won wars. Now we do not have that mutual respect: we now have expectations, and that will erode morale, and that will cause us to lose more wars, and that will cause further draconian measures from leadership, unless you, members, speak up and say: "That's not what the pirates are about, and that never was, and I do not accept this as our mission-statement."

I am making this statement now.

Anybody remember our new member who, day one, said: "Well, it's either I spend my money here or on drugs. haha jk" Remember that?

Do you know what 'jk' means? It means 'just kidding.' Do you know what 'just kidding' means?

It means: "I really mean this, I just can't say that, so I have to pretend it's a joke." Every joke, every lie, has a kernel of truth in it, and it is a fundamental and absolute truth of the person joking or lying, if you're willing to open your eyes to see, or open your heart to hear.

Our community is the only bright spot for some of our members. The only one. When we kick members, we are saying: "You don't belong here." Funny that, because, in some (many?) cases, that member doesn't belong anywhere; anywhere, that is, except this community, and we've just booted him.

Yes, along with the community's responsibility to each of its members, I realize the member has a responsibility to conform to the mores of the community, I just don't think the recent, and sudden, and directed, change in the community's vision reflects that of what was its heart, and what most of the members wanted. If we were a war-machine, we'd be gunning for the number one spot, and setting that expectation. I'm concerned we are inching our way toward that.

Do we want to be that kind of community?

I don't want to be that kind of community. What are your thoughts?