I haven't been playing for the past couple months, for my own reasons, but do keep weighing a return. I didn't want to post during this time, but I feel kind of compelled.

>-- I don't think we could ever have a Shadow cabal seriously
>again because people talk in a way they didn't 16 years ago,
>and maybe wands are at that point too and I'm just refusing to
>recognize it.

I think you're right about the fact that people will talk about things like the Shadow cabal, and wands. But one thing to think about is: was it ever really like you imagined it? You see players looking at the past with rose-tinted glasses all the time (here in this very thread, in fact). Maybe there has always been a certain amount of OOC contact and the Shadow cabal existed in spite of it, as did the wands, as did hell. Players may have gotten less honorable, if you want to call it that, but maybe it's just a matter of degree.

Maybe the rest of us can have fun in spite of those people.

>But if that's the case, at this point in my life, I'm as
>inclined as anything to flip the big switch and just say:

I'm sorry to hear that. You deserve to feel better about the work you've put in, because despite all the crap you have created a lot of entertainment for a lot of people. And the things you do are still appreciated. I hope that you'll find the energy to care again, because you are an important part of this game, and the silent majority

>"This is a game that had a good run in its time, but it's over
>now." ...threat or anything of the kind. It's just the way I'd be
>feeling right about now if I actually was the evil dictator of
>CF I'm sometimes made out to be.

I don't know to what extent you do feel that way or not, based on what you've said, but I'll pretend you do.

The question is: why? Even if we suppose CF has to give up on some of that secrecy element, is it really not worth anything without it? You might say that CF just isn't CF without that part, but I think it is. Games change over time, and CF has changed a lot in 17 years, mostly for the better. Maybe CF can't be the CF you knew even ten years ago, but it can still be a great game.

To all the implementors:
What would you do if this were Josiah or Krikov? You would just treat it like what it is, a couple of bad players who want to hurt the game. I know it hurts to have a lot of hard work crapped on like this, but if you zap all the preps, take the game down, or do anything else that really harms the gameplay dynamic, then you're basically just letting a few a-holes ruin the game for everyone else. They're trying to emotionally hijack you and get you to screw things up out of frustration. Please don't let them.