At first I was inclined to say "It's really a sad indictment against the game that every immortal that deletes ends up making a post like this." However, after some further consideration I realized that perhaps more than not immortals just fade to black and the ones I'm remembering are the ones that went out with a bang...much like you have here.

I was an immortal for like less than a minute, but in that short period I came to some of the same conclusions that you did about some of the people you spoke about. I guess I'm pleased to have some of that corroborated, even if only by a disgruntled employee.

Now for the reframe....

If there has been one thing that the CF collective has lost sight of, it's that positive change has to begin at the top. Don't read that as a slap at Valguarnera, Sebeok, or any other implementor, it's not. However, a lot of times I feel as though the immortals place sole blame for what CF has become on the mort-players. I don't feel it is solely our fault, though we certainly deserve some of the blame. What your post does is kinda shed light on the fact that the immortals are deserving of at least some of the blame for what CF is today.

Sadly, it seems to me that the immortal staff is generally pretty slow to adapt to the changing CF environment. A lot of changes have gone in fairly recently where I said, "It's too late for that. That would have been the perfect change 2 years ago." Examples include improving at weapons worn by your opponents, the anti-gang code, and the rolling change. The rolling change in particular. How long did the players bitch about that and receive only scorn for suggesting the system sucked? Now it's exactly as it should have been years ago when the first person typed "You know what...the rolling system blows! I just spent 3 hours rolling for max."

Lately, though, it seems as if the immortals are taking the right steps. I only wonder if it's too little too late. I've noticed a slightly different vibe coming from the staff in general. Replies to posts have been a little more cordial of late and some things are being allowed (posts of thief items) that would not have been allowed 2 years ago.

PR begins at home and positive change begins from above. If your current batch of players (and imms) are unhappy, no amount of newbie influx is going to be useful.

Have fun or let somebody else who will take your place up there. We'll notice.