(05-21-2017, 03:51 PM)Strigiforme Wrote: Unlurking just to say I wish I could lovingly embroider Graeham's post and hang it over my fireplace, as it pretty much sums up my feelings perfectly.
I understand getting defensive of a place you love when people are saying they don't find it quite as nice, but if someone has reached this point of frustration in their experience, a page of advice or anecdotes about how other people succeeded is too little, too late. The opportunity to help has come and passed, especially for those who have been trying for years. There are loads of great people on Balmung, but for all the positives that come with a large community, the sad fact is that a lot of people are unable to really connect with them and the desire to transfer to a community where they have a shot at not being invisible is very, very relatable.
Please refer to section of OP regarding leaving server for personal reasons. Solidarity in the RP community (so that RP remains common, available, and diverse) is more important than misconceptions particular individuals may have about a community that is so large, diverse, and vibrant that it would be disingenuous to impute negative attributes to it as a whole.Â
Perhaps I'm very lucky, but I've never had an issue with roving bands of stalkers, 'flaky individuals', or other negative stereotypes. RPers love to jest about the pervasive nature of such things, but in reality they remain largely mythical. But, as Gaeham said, these issues will exist on any server, and the problem with a smaller server is that you have no alternatives to escape them. Momo explained in a prior post the problems that happen if you encounter issues on a smaller server, and the OP explains those problems in great detail.
Again, we don't need to be wedded to Balmung in particular: what is far more important is that the RP community consolidate on one server [at the present time Balmung]. With any luck, perhaps we'll get an official RP server one day, and then the community can move there.
