Thread Closed
I've tried to keep my opinion mostly under wraps, but I feel it's probably high time I explain it at least through an admin perspective. I know some have questioned the decision to "allow" this split to go on. So let me explain as best as possible. I'll leave my personal opinion and predictions out of this, in order to ensure they don't influence anything in a bad way. Though if you want my personal opinion (which I had already typed out xD ), I have no qualms sharing it in PMs. However, for this, I'm only going to post an administrative perspective and explain why the RPC is on the path it is now.
When one removes emotion from the situation, there are only two logical outcomes to this split. Either the Gilgamesh RP community succeeds, or it doesn't succeed. That's it. There's no other outcome. Balmung will remain largely unaffected as a whole. The number of current RP shells there are equal to the number that started out in 1.0. And with the game being in a far better state, the number of those shells to be retained stands to be higher this go around. This is not Balmung's game to lose, as it stands to lose practically nothing as a whole. The ONLY threat to Balmung is Square-Enix themselves if they were to pull a douche move and proclaim some other server as the official RP server. That's it. There is no other threat to Balmung's future.
That said, there are two options an administrator could take in this issue.
Option 1: Proclaim the site as Balmung-centric only and essentially tell people who want to go elsewhere to take a hike. Doing this would keep the RPC united on Balmung, but it would also create a devastating division within the overall community. If one thinks the "competition" between servers is bad now, I assure you it could be 5 times worse. Imagine a 2nd RPC forming and horrible proxy wars being fought on other sites ("We're the TRUE RPC!" "No, we are!!"). Kind of sounds like more of a headache, don't you think? Assuming the other server community doesn't succeed, it'll also seal their fate in never returning to a community that was so intolerant of them, thus negatively impacting the entire Rp community as a result. On the other hand, if the community succeeds, the escalated competition and and jaded anger will last for years to come. Lose-lose situation for everyone regardless of whether the server succeeds or not.
Option 2: Support the "division" and keep everyone at least semi-united for the time being. In this manner, the RPC itself remains united without having to deal with the headache of a competing community. While the two servers may still be seen as "competing" in some ways, it's a very different scenario when said competition is WITHIN the RPC and thus slightly easier to control. In the event that the other server community fails, the chances of them reuniting under one server banner increases exponentially with this option, as they remember that they were supported from the start and will be less likely to hold grudges. In the event that the other server community succeeds, the competition may continue to some degree, but again, it'll still be in a more controlled environment and future forum rules can easily be implemented to stifle that competition to some extent.
Logically speaking, option two is the smartest option to take. And I wish those thinking purely on their emotions could see that. And that's the option that was thus taken.
With that said, I want to leave a message to both Balmung and Gilgamesh communities.
To Balmung: While many of you may despise this split, know that there's nothing any of us can do to stop it. Even if I did choose Option 1, it wouldn't stop it. It would only escalate the issue further. We've already seen this with a particular linkshell that has forever abandoned the RPC because of when this issue first came about months ago. So I advise you all to step back and stop arguing. You will not change anyone's mind. Balmung's only role here should be to remain supportive and ensure that misinformation is corrected as needed (such as the false belief that non-legacy people can't join legacy servers). Continuing to argue about servers is not only FAILING, but it's pushing people further away. Should the Gilgamesh RP community not succeed in their goals, we should be there with open arms to console them and be willing to take them in at a moment's notice. We should NOT give them "I told you so" comments or anything of the like. Should they succeed? Then we should congratulate them and give them kudos for doing something that was perceived as nigh impossible. Any future issues with "competition?" We'll cross that road when/if we get there.
To Gilgamesh: While the odds are stacked heavily against you, you remain unwavering in your current path. The risks have all been laid out. And no amount of debate will change anything it seems. So the best of luck in your endeavor and know that the RPC will remain supportive of you as needed. But please do try to exercise your "Gilgamesh pride" carefully. Know that the issue is still very contentious and any remark can easily offend those in Balmung. If Gilgamesh succeeds as a RP community, you should also refrain from "I told you so" in the same manner that Balmung should if the opposite were to happen. Also know that if your endeavor doesn't work out, Balmung will always be here no matter what. Which leads me to a very serious question that I hope you consider as such: IF, hypothetically speaking, the plan to establish a long-term RP community on Gilgamesh doesn't work out, what would you actually do? You don't have to answer this with a response. Just think about it in the back of your mind. Would you quit the game forever and move on to another? Would you focus more on the game itself moreso than RP? Or would you actually consider reuniting on Balmung to continue your RP?
I'd rather avoid locking this thread. So instead, I'll encourage everyone to just stop posting. Hopefully that request will be respected. The only ones who should be posting on this thread any longer should be new people who may have questions that need clarified. The rest of you old folks are just chasing your tails endlessly with no hope of persuading the other party. So just...stop? Stop trying to get the last word in, all of you.
When one removes emotion from the situation, there are only two logical outcomes to this split. Either the Gilgamesh RP community succeeds, or it doesn't succeed. That's it. There's no other outcome. Balmung will remain largely unaffected as a whole. The number of current RP shells there are equal to the number that started out in 1.0. And with the game being in a far better state, the number of those shells to be retained stands to be higher this go around. This is not Balmung's game to lose, as it stands to lose practically nothing as a whole. The ONLY threat to Balmung is Square-Enix themselves if they were to pull a douche move and proclaim some other server as the official RP server. That's it. There is no other threat to Balmung's future.
That said, there are two options an administrator could take in this issue.
Option 1: Proclaim the site as Balmung-centric only and essentially tell people who want to go elsewhere to take a hike. Doing this would keep the RPC united on Balmung, but it would also create a devastating division within the overall community. If one thinks the "competition" between servers is bad now, I assure you it could be 5 times worse. Imagine a 2nd RPC forming and horrible proxy wars being fought on other sites ("We're the TRUE RPC!" "No, we are!!"). Kind of sounds like more of a headache, don't you think? Assuming the other server community doesn't succeed, it'll also seal their fate in never returning to a community that was so intolerant of them, thus negatively impacting the entire Rp community as a result. On the other hand, if the community succeeds, the escalated competition and and jaded anger will last for years to come. Lose-lose situation for everyone regardless of whether the server succeeds or not.
Option 2: Support the "division" and keep everyone at least semi-united for the time being. In this manner, the RPC itself remains united without having to deal with the headache of a competing community. While the two servers may still be seen as "competing" in some ways, it's a very different scenario when said competition is WITHIN the RPC and thus slightly easier to control. In the event that the other server community fails, the chances of them reuniting under one server banner increases exponentially with this option, as they remember that they were supported from the start and will be less likely to hold grudges. In the event that the other server community succeeds, the competition may continue to some degree, but again, it'll still be in a more controlled environment and future forum rules can easily be implemented to stifle that competition to some extent.
Logically speaking, option two is the smartest option to take. And I wish those thinking purely on their emotions could see that. And that's the option that was thus taken.
With that said, I want to leave a message to both Balmung and Gilgamesh communities.
To Balmung: While many of you may despise this split, know that there's nothing any of us can do to stop it. Even if I did choose Option 1, it wouldn't stop it. It would only escalate the issue further. We've already seen this with a particular linkshell that has forever abandoned the RPC because of when this issue first came about months ago. So I advise you all to step back and stop arguing. You will not change anyone's mind. Balmung's only role here should be to remain supportive and ensure that misinformation is corrected as needed (such as the false belief that non-legacy people can't join legacy servers). Continuing to argue about servers is not only FAILING, but it's pushing people further away. Should the Gilgamesh RP community not succeed in their goals, we should be there with open arms to console them and be willing to take them in at a moment's notice. We should NOT give them "I told you so" comments or anything of the like. Should they succeed? Then we should congratulate them and give them kudos for doing something that was perceived as nigh impossible. Any future issues with "competition?" We'll cross that road when/if we get there.
To Gilgamesh: While the odds are stacked heavily against you, you remain unwavering in your current path. The risks have all been laid out. And no amount of debate will change anything it seems. So the best of luck in your endeavor and know that the RPC will remain supportive of you as needed. But please do try to exercise your "Gilgamesh pride" carefully. Know that the issue is still very contentious and any remark can easily offend those in Balmung. If Gilgamesh succeeds as a RP community, you should also refrain from "I told you so" in the same manner that Balmung should if the opposite were to happen. Also know that if your endeavor doesn't work out, Balmung will always be here no matter what. Which leads me to a very serious question that I hope you consider as such: IF, hypothetically speaking, the plan to establish a long-term RP community on Gilgamesh doesn't work out, what would you actually do? You don't have to answer this with a response. Just think about it in the back of your mind. Would you quit the game forever and move on to another? Would you focus more on the game itself moreso than RP? Or would you actually consider reuniting on Balmung to continue your RP?
I'd rather avoid locking this thread. So instead, I'll encourage everyone to just stop posting. Hopefully that request will be respected. The only ones who should be posting on this thread any longer should be new people who may have questions that need clarified. The rest of you old folks are just chasing your tails endlessly with no hope of persuading the other party. So just...stop? Stop trying to get the last word in, all of you.