1. Many of the posts in the thread below is a classic example of the "shoot first" mentality from players. Rather than give the changes a chance to live test, they jump all over them*.

That doesn't necessarily validate, or invalidate any opinions. It does, however, lead to wholesale speculation as to the intended nature of the changes.

2. Prior to this there were some characters who (as Destuvius pointed out below) were able to obtain rather excessive amounts of Role XP just from being prolific writers. I see that as an issue, especially when we already have monthly Role Contests and so on.

From my perspective, having read and rated a lot of your roles as players (over 120 chapter entries to date) I could tell you that there is an obvious disparity in role writing ability. A lot of those rewards are double-counted through role rating and the role contest wins (in my opinion).

This aspect of the change is a positive move provided the staff set a more active approach for giving experience for good RP.

3. I would point out that (barring a few older classes) the game does not have to be a min/max grind-fest if you choose not to play it that way. I know that many people will not alter that particular play-style, and it is their prerogative as a player to not do so, it does seems to be deeply ingrained in the psyche of many members of our player base.

*I am personally a big advocate of transparency for the players. I like that the staff document their mechanical changes and put it out there for the world to know. I think it is important to maintain communication between the players and the people who do the code work. So there needs to be some give on both sides. If you guys want coders to actually work (as volunteers) on the game, enjoy working, and be transparent about changes, then please lower personal expectations.

Having expectations of the staff as being completely infallible and/or only ever making changes that benefit you personally as an individual is a very problematic mindset to get into.

PS: And yes, everyone on the staff has volunteered. They don't get to turn around and act like they are owed respect because of it. I maintain that respect is earned. But guys, really, you are expecting far too much in too short a time from a group who are not paid to do this work. If this game is to have a future, we need to be realistic about what we want and what we can achieve, given resources, as a community.