Where to begin ...
Let's start with ... I don't particulary care one way or another whether the sub-factions are allowed to exist or not.
But it's clearly obvious that for some it's what makes the game enjoyable for them.
And really, are they THAT much of a problem? Yes, there were problems in the past. IN THE PAST.
Has anyone seen any problems lately? Anyone? No? Thought not.
So what is this about? The off-site forums taking away page hits from this place? Yes? Maybe?
eh. Don't really care really. What I do NOT like is the threat of bans hanging over people's heads like a sword ready to drop.
All because they what, wear a tag and post on another forum? I don't wear a tag but I post on other forums. Other Transformer forums too!
I am allowed to do that aren't I? Be a member of other forums? Because that's all these guys are doing, wearing a tag and being on another forum. Know what one of the biggest reasons I saw for people doing that? They find the population of Seibertron.com to be too big and are intimidated to join in the discussions outside of the HMW forum.
Just yesterday I had quite an enjoyable discussion with Alpha Strike. I challenged him over a number of things, in particular his absence. He defended himself that he's readily available on Yahoo! and that a lot of people can contact him there, and do so, and they often have great in-depth discussions.
Why is it then that a Moderator of this site, someone who no doubt supports this rule, is holding his own HMW-related court Yahoo! yet anyone who discusses HMW on another forum is threatened with a ban?
Rules are rules yeah, but not all rules are right, and three years have proven that the sub-factions have given many people more levels of fun for this game. And that fun has heavily out-weighed the problems they've generated.
But you know what I REALLY hate about all this? The people that are quitting. One in particular.
Tammuz.
When this guy first started he got up my goat something chronic. Him and the rest of his Boot "We don't want the advice from you veterans" Camp buddies. But this guy has risen through the ranks and become one, if not the most, versed people in this game.
When Glyph said he was implementing the support staff and invited me along, I recommended Tammuz as well. For whatever reason Glyph chose to not go along with that recommondation. When OS took over I again recommended Tammuz and OS quite readily agreed. And during my tenure on the support staff with Tammuz he did nothing BUT present good ideas and i'm sure he's kept doing that after my departure.
The loss of him WILL affect this game greatly. Sure, we still have OS on helm but everybody's capable of mistakes, or they could do with thoughts from another perspective, and Tammuz was one of the best for that job.
And if this rule means Tammuz isn't part of this "community" then it's not good for the game. And it doesn't just stop at Tammuz, there are plenty of others who have contributed to this game in some way, even if it's just being who they are, and if they're not around the game is going to lose a little bit of it's soul.
Surely there must be SOME way to work around this? I mean, I simply can't understand the need for threats of banning Is that really necessary?