I don't really know what "the worst stuff imaginable" would be. This is a free, old-school, text-based game on the Internet, not North Korea.

I also can't speak for Ignolmeer. But here are some things I will tell you, in the most straightforward and transparent terms possible:

We're all just people. We have jobs and families and lives outside of this game, and we don't get paid a dime for the work we do on CF. Keep that in mind when you see the number of hours that IMMs typically put in, Ignolmeer included.

Being a DM, administrator, area builder, etc. can be fun sometimes, but probably the majority of the time, it's not. It's way harder than I had imagined it to be before applying. If you want a peek behind the curtain, here it is:

Dealing with 12,000-line area files that are so finicky that a misplaced tilde or space can cause an hour's worth of troubleshooting is not fun.

Sorting out or working around technical issues in this big, old, 25-plus-year-old piece of software for the myriad projects we're trying to bring to life for players is often not fun.

Trying to schedule events, area reviews, etc. among a bunch of volunteers in various time zones with various obligations is not fun.

Trying to talk down players who are having OOC meltdowns and ruining the immersive world we're trying to create is not fun, and it is often depressing.

Interacting with and creating stories with quality characters that you all create is a ton of fun. It's what keeps many of us going.

Sometimes, all the not-fun stuff outweighs the fun stuff. When that happens more often than not, this crazy investment of time doesn't feel worthwhile. I imagine that some variable or variables in this equation changed for Ignolmeer, and he decided he'd had enough.

I am solidly in the optimistic, enthusiastic camp. But even after the relatively short time I've been on staff, I can understand exactly how someone could burn out or lose passion for this project.

I am, however, puzzled by the strange, conspiratorial fixations that seem so prevalent on the forums. From everything I've seen, we run a pretty tight ethical ship.

When dealing with players, we try to record everything and provide reasons for every reward and every punishment. I've even been taken aside and chewed out for punishing a player for some pretty awful behavior. I felt the punishment was quite reasonable, but others felt was too harsh.

There's a very strong spirit of fairness toward players in the IMM culture.

On top of that, the stakes are so, so low, but some very prolific forum posters talk about this game like it's a nuclear power. They act like the IMMs are civil servants who answer to them, or perhaps their employees. We're neither. We're volunteers trying to keep a niche, free roleplaying game alive.

In short, we want to have fun. And our idea of fun is watching and helping you have fun. We get giddy talking about ways to surprise you. I love handing out immxp when someone does or says something cool. I get a big smile out of imagining a player's genuine surprise and delight when they find a cool spot that I put into a new area, or I get to help them bring their character's role to life in an unexpected way.

I know Ignolmeer felt the same way. He doesn't owe you, or any of us, an explanation for making the decision to walk away. I only hope that he comes back one day or rolls a mort, if he'd enjoy it, because he contributed a lot to the game and deserves any happiness it could possibly give him.

Just do your best to have fun. If this game stops being fun for you, it might be best to walk away. You wouldn't owe anyone an explanation, either.

(I went a bit longer than I intended to on this, but you can expect me to link back to this post in response to any future conspiracy theory-esque posts.)