I've refrained from posting at all in any forums, but this discussion is somewhat interesting.

Did I say interesting? I meant ridiculous.

1) First, the somewhat personal attacks. You admitted that you have been hassled by immortals, in one fashion or another. Can you expand on what you mean by hassle? I, for one, generally appreciate immortal interactions. I don't strive it, but if there is one, I consider it a gift and an opportunity to expand on why I play this game - goals and RP. It furthers my character.

By stating a negative tone when you speak about the immortal interactions, it tells me about your playing style; moreso, it tells me about how you view yourself as a player. You're likely one of the 5% of the playerbase who affects the game negatively. Whether that is breaking the rules (which apparently you have done and got caught for), griefing people, playing in an unsavory manner that attracts immortal attention, whatever. You draw the attention because of how you play. Immortals have better #### to do then to be spying people for crappy behavior. Grow up. You talk about accountability and public service and whatnot - how about you be accountable for your behavior and realize that there is a pattern to your playing style that attracts "unwarranted and negative" immortal interaction?

People are accountable for their actions. You should be accountable for yours instead of having "big brother" troll your ass.

** PS you may think that I'm a player who is over-rewarded and an "immortal favorite." I'm going to say that I generally play the devil's advocate in any serious discussion in CF (look at any of my posts where I provide a dissertation such as this). I'm also going to say that I make the game fun for both myself and people I play with. I don't act like an asshole, I don't grief, and I don't cheat. Can you say the same about yourself?

2) Transparency. This issue has, and will always haunt, CF. In fact, it will always haunt any sort of mud, internet game, whatnot when there is the proverbial big brother looking over your shoulder.

That being said, transparency, in the method and spirit of which you are asking, won't "solve" anything. Solely for two reasons: 1) people are accountable for how they play and 2) this isn't a democracy.

We, as the playerbase, can provide advice. There can be a survey on how things should be changed (in fact, I think there are a few ongoing surveys on facebook?). Imms can ask our opinions directly and listen to our response. The result? They CAN but do NOT HAVE to accept our suggestions. That is because this is not a democracy. We don't have access to the code, we can't freely change the game. We're playing a game that a select few have ultimate power over. There is no such thing as a power balance between them and us - they hold the sway, and they always will. That is how the game is set up.

Sure, you and others can provide the age old rhetoric of this game won't exist without the playerbase. And yes, it is true. But this game does exist, admittedly with a lower playerbsse than before (the factors of which is subject to another discussion and does not necessarily arise from any single immortal or collective immortals). So the big question is why?

PEOPLE ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR BEHAVIORS. Umi knows this, most decent people know this. They #### up, there are repercussions. And I'm not the only one who will say that the current admins are good people. They like adding to this game and they like playing this game. As you admit, they aren't here to get you, or any other players. If you think having more transparency so that the immortals will be accountable to the PLAYERBASE, you're sadly delusional.

3) Transparency regarding rewards. A hot topic.

I'll have to agree that sometimes the rewards are over the top. Case in point, my character who had an average 33 damage whip that befuddled and muddled. I wasn't expecting that when I lost my 40 charge flail due to a bug, and I was glad I used it. I would regularly send up prays telling them this and that and seeing if they think it's overpowered. But my thoughts are that they wanted to test out the whip that was made 10+ years ago and just have someone #### around with it.

But I digress. Conforming to one of the principle themes that I stated, what do you think transparency regarding rewards will do?

You're acting under the assumption that any rewards are not overseen internally among the immortals. We don't know that, or if there is a system in place among the immortals that level 52 can only give X type of rewards Y times, 53 can only give Z type of rewards T times. I know for a fact that there was a discussion among the immortals about the whip I was given. So there is accountability among the immortals. In fact, for what anyone know, certain rewards might have to be vetted by the higher ups. And they certainly are not, and will not be, asking permission from US to give rewards. Because it's a reward. It's a gift. As is this game. You have expectations, and perhaps rightfully so, but grossly misplaced.

CONCLUSION

Play the game for fun. It's a game. If you aren't having fun playing the game, stop playing. Umi, nor any of the immortals, won't bat an eyelash. Because, unlike you, they aren't here with a gross expectation. They don't know if people will appreciate their work or care that they are giving up thousands of hours of THEIR lives to support a free game. They are here for their own reasons, whether it is to support a game that has been a big part of their lives, gain more experience as a coder, work on their hobby, or have a creative outlet in their lives.

In fact, if you really think about it, the time invested in this game by either immortals or the players is whether the game is fun. The imms try to make a fun environment (I dare anyone to challenge this). Do you honestly think that "more transparency" will make this a fun environment?

** Excuse the grammar and spelling