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Now that the dust has settled in what has been a hectic few days in the CMO forum's history. I have now taken stock on the recent contentions and can objectively reflect, on what has happened in the last few days, and years in this community. Anyone that knows me well, knows I am a committed champer, and knows I have always been positive and constructive, about the projects I am involved with, the new championship manager series and the community as a whole. Negative provocation is not my style, but as a long serving and respected member of this community, I feel it is now time to break the habit of a life time, and tell a few home truths, and set the record straight on a few 'matters' for the benefit of the gullible and naive within our community. A lot of people are asking me, what I think of this, and that, and usually I just say “go and make your own mind up" but for the 1st time I am going public on what I really think. The Scottish Clan and myself have done more than most, for our community over the years, and it is due to this personal time, that has been invested, along with some views of other respected regulars both past and present, that has provoked this post. Some people might not want to hear what I am about to say, but its time for everyone to put their cards on the table, so here’s my deck for what its worth........
Firstly we must remember that this is just a forum and only a computer game, too many people loose sight of this, and I can honestly say I have never lost it at anytime ever, with regards to playing champo on-line. I do respect everyone is different in terms of personality, style and motives for posting on these boards, it is theses different ingredients that make the CMO soup so interesting. I see the forum differently from most, for me it is a creative canvas, an imaginative vehicle to construct communities and lay down foundations for long-term on-line projects. All sorts of ‘banter’ ‘Bragging’ and ‘slaggings ‘ should be openly encouraged to develop healthy rivalries. Anyone who cant take a joke or takes themselves too seriously will never fully understand the community Spirit. I don’t feel I need to 'bam up' the Scottish Clan as were the original 'Clan' and that is up to others to judge. I am very pleased in the way we have evolved and developed over the past few years. This has taken time to construct believe me, but it is great, now rival Clans like E.M.A & E.F.B have emerged, and like us are driving things forward. I look out to forum land and I see a lot of talent and potential just waiting for a chance to develop, and it is these young Clans and hosts that are the future of CM on-line as we know it. Everything must be done, that possibly can, to develop these new games and encourage their communities to blossom and integrate into the wider CMO scene. Most the forum members 'flame' new guys who don’t know the rules. I don’t see the point of this; I see them as new opportunity and possible traffic. It saddens me when we loose so many potential on-line gaffers through this. I fully appreciate we need strict forum rules but education is the key here, and there are a few dedicated champers who are helpful and help the noobs. These helpful people are the forgotten unsung hero’s of our forum in my opinion and have always been an after thought.
The Blacklist idea has been discussed before, and personally I am not for it. Every one can make mistakes when they are young or inexperienced. Also it is hard to find the truth with regards games that go 'tits' up due to an individual's actions. The onus should be more on the host to organize better and vet potential human players before hand. The Scottish Clan does it, it is very rare we take a chance on a total noob but everyone has to start somewhere we were all noobs once. Guys who fail in the on-line scene whether getting beat or through fall outs are just community causality, and should be helped and retained within the community, not shunned away. In certain causes guilty or reckless human managers who have deliberately harmed a credible on-line game should get a warning or card to warn other prospective Clans or hosts that he has previous. The bottom line is think more about who you are playing with, don’t just rush in with unknown strangers. At the end of the day is the hosts responsibility so check new guys before u start, and help those who have probs, don’t drive them away! Also there should be more to enhance and advertise the community both out with and within the forum walls. I have no idea about some of the forums new games, who is playing, and who manages what. Some sort of host update or interview on a thread that can be accessed by all, would be a start in bridging the gap between rival Clans, and games that just never come to fruition in the forum. The "elite ' Clan game is a possibility but where would u find the time? I don't agree with this 'I’m the bestest attitude' as I will explain later, but perhaps if Clans were established, their top player or two could represent the Clan like an international against some other Clans gaffers perhaps in the later half of this year once the 03/04 revolution settles. Also all on-line games within the community should be brought into this forum. We do not want to turn out like other 'Kleeky' forums within the overall CM community we are all Champo fans at heart and this would help promote the overall scene.
Also that on-line website that was forced upon the community, what does it actually do? I have never actually given it much thought as our own games have been going well and we have never had to recruit. What I will say is I have never been asked or invited to contribute or help in any way so can someone explain what benefit it has had to the community? New forums and webby's within the CM scene spring up all the time! The last time we had a kleeky forum within a forum it was back in 2000 when the UCMING thread was made 'Secret', hoovering up all the gullible and naive talent from our community, and ostracizing what was then the other games and effectively turning our forum into a morgue. The scots Clan were the exception to this as they were the only net game going that used the forum and this whole selfish act nearly killed the forum once and for all. Yes they were going to close the on-line forum, it came that close and who were the ones who stood up for the regulars and got banned? Does not take a genius to work that out! So a couple of years later we know have deja vu and another kleeky forum set up by the same person is forced on our community causing the same divisions taking traffic away, and scaring potential new traffic from starting on-line games. I accept this view may be a bit harsh as the concept in its self is ok, but not making it in-house and free for all the masses was another bad judgment and missed opportunity which has damaged the forum yet again. Setting up games and finding new traffic for the forum is the single most important thing as is getting the old disillusioned regulars back . Bringing back in-house, or starting some really quality managed thread to encourage long-term game development within the 'free' forum structure is surely the only option. The latest article on our forum in the CM magazine September 2003 kind of summed up the general feeling towards such a website for the regulars within the forum. Instead of highlighting the thriving community and the numerous dedicated individuals and games in this forum over the years, the whole article was an advert for this website. This is another example of another missed opportunity both to win some friends within the community and ignoring the real factors in getting started in on-line play. The bottom line is Clans should be responsible for their own websites and more help offered to those that are new or struggling to get one off the ground. Whether it is by some web space or assistance in basic web design. A Clan webby can give a net game a real identity and 'home' and should be placed at the very top of the forum free for all to see. That was in my opinion the only good thing the last regime did for the forum.
Another issue which is very close to my heart is the actual development of the community and Clans. It is not rocket science, it takes a long time to find dedicated, like mind individuals whom you can trust to remain committed in a long-term net game. The Scottish Clan as an example are very lucky, they have been going for years and have a healthy following and waiting list of prospective human players eager to kick our jock asses. For us it works well on a local level. I know most the Scottish CM'rs on these boards and we are small nation and have such a national identity and culture which we play on. It takes patience and time to source the players, the whole CM 0n-line game can juts be picked up and organized instantly, planning and preparation are the key and the experienced hosts know this is critical. Not enough thought goes into finding the right blend for on-line games and I accept it is difficult for noobs to get established as most long running Clans are full to capacity and there has been no real help offered in the last few years to help noob's get started. It is very important that players keep their profile pages up to date and make contact either on msn, by e-mail or in the forum advertising a future game or inquiring about their availability and commitment to any new game. Too many people are coming to the forum starting games and disappearing. More effort has to be made in gaming threads to report objectively what is going on within that game's environment so that the rest of the forum have a clue what is going on. Very few Clans or games ever achieve this. The only way to rectify this is for people to post more and take pride in their teams/Clan within the forum. You can’t make guys post and anyone that never does, must really question why they play on-line and are wanting to be involved in a community. People are just lazy or 'glory hunters', its human nature, but if a human manager cannot be bothered writing and articulate e-mail or posting something constructive, then why waste so much time on-line playing CM with them. Another issue that bother's me is all this we are the 'bestest' p¡sh. taking an elitist point of view only fuels the glory hunting mentality that has crept within out forum. Over all the years I have been in the forum there are very few real expert players who have pushed the boundaries of on-line play. Everyone thinks they are magic at CM tanking the Ai every week but playing a human every game is a real wake up call. I accept rivalry is fantastic but the 'win or nothing' mentality is wrong as no one can win every game and on their day any human can beat another. How can u judge this any way? How do you referee this any way? Every net game is unique and starts totally different to another. Some start at llm level and some in a premier league, but what i will say as the good players always come through in the end, and the really good ones are the ones that are committed and put the time in and contribute to our community. The Scots Clan don’t think they are better than anyone else, that’s for others too judge!
For the record I must say that in no way personally am I interested in modding this forum, I just want a fun netgame and laugh with some like minded people. In my opinion the modding in the CMO has been non existent in the last few years, which has been very disappointing. In many ways this has been a good thing as the community and Clans have tended to police themselves. The downside of all this neglect has culminated in the total lack of leadership within the community and as a result many of the old regulars became disillusioned and are now lost to the forum. This mismanagement has also quelled the forum's growth, evidence of this is the lack of new traffic within the forum over the last year, and lack of credible Clans within the community, despite the launch of the CM4 series. From a selfish point of view we have been lucky with the Scottish game, but I have truly tried to make a difference behind the scenes, and inspire some others to get started. However this is not my responsibility, especially when other elusive so called 'trailblazers' have done nothing. The other major factor is why does our forum have helpers? I accept that a few of the lads have made a difference and contributed greatly to the development of the forum. No other busier forums have helpers! If our mods were present and active could they not deal with any issues? I used to help out , this is true, but I quit! and the reason was that the main mod contributed nothing, yet accepted all the credit. The old regulars know the truth though, even if I was taken for a right mug! I might not have said as much at the time to save any embarrassment for the aforesaid vain person, but at least i did my bit when the forum needed it!. I fully Support Dogs aka Mr. X and have a healthy respect for his modding capabilities and he is well equipped in bother communication and team working skills and really cares about the world of 0n-line play and the community's interests first. He as also been vocal and visible and very approachable, since his appointment commanding the respect from most the regulars. I am open minded about the helpers but it is critical we get another strong character who can help drive things forward. Perhaps another Mod from another forum or someone within the current community. One thing is for sure, any new mod must have an understanding of the on-line scene and be an 'experienced host' or 'creative mind’, willing to put the time in and 'determined' that they work with the existing guys as a team, and can deliver the community the long-term games they so desperately crave. No man is bigger than the community. It is teamwork, dedication and commitment that will drive the forum forward.
Lastly I have to say a few words about why all these changes are happening and should be taking place. I know in the eyes of many, that it may appear at 1st to be a radical over throw in terms of who is leading the forum, but I am like many, not surprised, considering that the forum has not fulfilled it's potential in this CM4 dawn. I too am guilty at times of idly standing buy with the knowledge that I am involved in some quality CM games, but making a scene or bad mouthing has never been my style, so I hope this post has been constructive. I feel I have the right to express my views above as I have been around the scene longer than most and have done my bit both recently and in the past. This has been coming a while and could have been handled better. The attitude from the recently departed mod only compels the thoughts of most mature individuals, and comes as no surprise. I can understand quitting the scene after so much time, whether be it for family reasons or work commitments, but for the apparent connection problems when CM4 is only NOW a game that can be truly called a multiplayer experience fit to be played over the net, is quite astonishing and disrespectful to the community that he has been responsible for overseeing, and the developers who have delegated this responsibility. The so very public fallout that’s has been conveniently deleted from the UCMING thread, calling a mod a 'nob' was just another example of the 'childish behavior’ that our departed mod has displayed. Every game that he ever played resulted in some sort of embarrassing tantrum and departure, that a respected member and so called leader of our community should have been above. Quitting the on-line scene in such an immature fashion is a huge slap in the face to the developers who have worked so hard making the CM network experience the most enjoyable and stable yet, a slap to the small band of dedicated players he was involved with, who gave up so much of their time over the last years weekends and above all the gullible and naive, within the community, who actually believed in him and voted in the recent CMO awards. I am honestly sad he is gone, or anybody for that matter, and accept that any reconciliation for the sake of the forum is now very distant, It takes a brave man to returns to fight another day, admit he was wrong, and is honest to his fellow peers. I remain bullish however and have a fair idea how things will evolve in the next few years and feel the CMO forum will be an integral part of the development of Computer Managements games on-line. I along with the champers I am involved with, will make a promise to deliver some real quality long-term games to the community and help some other's get off the ground. There is a new optimism with the release of the latest and final installment of the CM series, this is not the time for quitting! This is the time to drive things forward and get back to playing CM, and reporting all the drama in the forum! This will benefit the whole community for every one and make the CMO a better place, so come on lets make it happen!
P.s Sorry for rambling on so much ...this post is dedicated to the regulars both past and present. Gone but not forgotten.. Hardcore u know the Score!
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