>But as someone who rarely plays anymore, I can honestly say it's not because of the content of the game, it's because of the prioritization of things that have been put in, and how the staff chooses to react to critique.<

I rarely play too, but it's because my RL time has dried up mostly. Recently I finally accepted this, and my last 2 characters are just casual characters that I don't expect to get anything done with other than some cool RP and a PK or two.

I don't think I've ever met someone who said they didn't want to use Verizon because they don't handle "critique" well. They don't use Verizon because there is a better product out there. Or because Verizon is a bunch of cunts who steal your money. Not because of "how they handle critique". The ####?

>The problem I'm seeing right now is that the staff appears to be more interested in being right, than making the game better - and they also cater to a crowd that has similar ideas of what's "right". Before, there used to be a much more diverse staff, who were open to different ideas, were more okay with the occasional joke, etc. Nowadays, it's the hammer approach to all dissent, justification of low numbers due to vitriolic playerbase, and any number of other justifications.<

Really? It doesn't seem that way to me. The "edge point nerf" was in, to me, a correction towards equilibrium in how the system SHOULD HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED. And, unless you were on Staff, not sure how you can comment on how idea exchanges occurred then/now.

>The reality that needs to be confronted in my opinion is that the playerbase hasn't declined from vitriolic players, cheaters, or "better" alternatives. It has decreased because the game is less fun to play than it used to be. I haven't found a MUD that is as fun as CF used to be - but I know of plenty of MUDs that are as fun or more fun than CF is *now*.<

I mean, I guess? CF used to be "more fun" for me, because it was new. It was fresh. Ignorance is bliss. The game itself was basically the same. I WAS THE ONE THAT CHANGED.

>When people don't see transparency or feel like they can participate in what they consider something very dear to them, they cut ties and move on. That's a healthy person's approach to situations like that, in my opinion. Some people stick around, hoping that they can change opinions through words, but that only works when the person in power is legitimately willing to accept constructive criticism on a real level, and not already have their mind made up on the way forward before hearing out the critique.<

Did you literally only read the Matrik thread and base all your opinions thusly? Because Umiron/Twist/several other IMMs have actually been a lot more forthcoming in the last 2-3 years than ever before. I miss Zulg too, but Umiron has been doing a pretty decent doppelganger of the Big Z for the last 2 years.

>When blame is shifted to the "vitriolic" players, it bothers me. There were plenty of cheaters, plenty of vitriol, plenty of multikillers, plenty of full looters, and plenty of other douchebaggery through the entire history of CF. That's never gone away, and was part of the fun sometimes. People grow up - that I get, and sure, it's arguable that part of the decline in playerbase is due to different medium for games - but as a person who has an awesome new HTC vive, a pimp as computer, and any number of other avenues for entertainment - CF fulfilled all of the needs I had for a creative outlet, adrenaline rush, relationships, and a number of other aspects of life that I felt a need to have. My personal reason for not sticking around is consistently getting the feeling like I couldn't affect positive change, because my opinion on what positive change was conflicts with the current/at the time crop of imm staff. I can only invest so much emotional effort and hope into something I care about (Like CF), before I have to cut ties and move on.<

Sounds like you're growing up (not meant in a sarcastic way at all, I really mean it) and discovering that hey, the world has a ton of cool #### out there and CF just doesn't do it for you. I mean, saying your didn't stick around because you couldn't "affect positive change". The #### does that mean? Roll a character. RP your ass off, interact with people. That's all you gotta do. I mean, were you expecting to start a new cabal with every character you roll? Is your ego that big?

>The last issue from my side of things, aside from the above points, is watching Imm staff that represented my opinions and the things I loved about CF (How they did interactions, what sort of roleplay they fostered, etc) get ousted through political BS, legitimately being unpleasant, leveraging relationships with IMPs, etc. This isn't limited to other Imms - it's been slowly but consistently happening over the last ~10 years. People who disagree with current higher up staff are pushed out the door with a gift bag of "This is your fault" and a letter jacket from "Not my problem" high school. That OOC interaction and watching it over the years has soured my interactions with specific Imms to the point that I legitimately cannot separate my OOC knowledge of their interactions from my IC interactions as a character.<

I mean, if you had posted this after the infamous IMM departure of 2008-9...I would have been banging that drum with you. But this is ####ing 2016...which IMMs have gotten ousted in the last year through "political BS" (I mean, I'm pretty sure Verathi was being sincere when he said he just lost the time)? And your last line is ON you. If you can't seperate a player from a character, that's on you. I do it constantly with every character I play. ####, I try to pretend like I can't spot certain players with every character they play. Just for example, I've had 3 heroes in the last 6 months. 1 loved Daphedee and interacted with her. 1 thought she had betrayed the Light and was being corrupted by Gaspare, and therefore would not talk to her. 1 didn't give two ####s. If it were up to me (Sam the player), ####, all my characters would roll up and be like "Yo Daph what the haps?"

tl/dr CF just doesn't fit your ideal of it anymore. And it shouldn't. You want CF to be like it was in 2005. Stop living in the past.

Hope all is well with your RL.