Been not as active lately due to real life requirements taking up my time. I have been monitoring things though for the last few weeks and am a little surprised by some of the reactions and actions taken.

Seems to me that alot of you have forgotten what this Site was for in the first place and believe that what is going on is the end it all. Step back a minute and look at this a little differently.

I believe that the site was originally designed for us share and discuss our creations and creative ideas regarding the game Simpleplanes. Over time many the community has grown to become more of a hang out then and creative outlet. Here is in where the problem is.

The Devs set forth rules in which most of us higher level player accuse lower players of breaking yet some higher levels are just as guilty of doing the same. The Devs gave us a place for off topic discussions with Reddit and chat but most still use this site as the go to for such activities. One cannot argue that is it sometimes easier to just post stuff here rather then go to the other outlets as they may not be as frequented as here. But here we are breaking the rules to suit our needs.

Some of us have even resorted to bullying others into what we believe is right or how we perceive they should act in a community that we all claim is great and full of helpful people. In most cases this is true but there is a dark side to some that make these claims. Our level of tolerance has diminished over time as we all spend time here. We all seem to be projecting our own ideas on how the site and the community should act and respond to events that take place here. Let me try to clarify....

This site is not a social gathering place. It's not a place to have role play games. It not a place to attack others about there political or religious beliefs. It's not a place to discuss these things to begin with. There is no where in the rules that i see that out right bans this but really it clogs the system that was put in place to allow us to share and refine our creations.

Alot of use post alot of things that really dont help and or even pertain anything to do with the game itself. There are alot of good things, helpful things posted but then tend to be flushed away with consistent useless post about nothing, memes and "look at me" posts.

I personally don't think that the odd self promotion in the right form is a bad thing in all cases but those of us who abuse it on a consistent basis make it all most impossible for it to be done correctly.

Some claim that with people leaving the site that all is coming to an end. I disagree with this assessment. It's not. What is happening is people are moving on. It happens again and again and will continue to so here and every where. It's a fact of life. Some of us have seem to forgotten this.

I don't disagree that some that have moved on that have contributed alot of great things to the community is discouraging but there are others that will fill in the voids that they leave. The community and the ideas would stagnate if they didn't.

Respect is another issue that has come in to light here. There isn't much of it. We claim to respect each other and their ideas but I don't see it. Is this a wrong analysis of the current state of the site. I don't think so. If we respected each other as we claim we wouldn't have the issues we have here or at the very least a lot less. We also claim to Respect the Development team and mods...funny because alot of us seem to tell them how to to their job or try to do it for them. Donno know about you but if I consistently had to deal with issues that should not be a issue in the first place I would be a bit disheartened and less likely to want to help out. Especially if I was giving you my free time.

Saying the community is dying is not a correct assessment of what's going on here. It's the lack of common courtesy to each other and disregard for the rules put in place for us to keep the site a fun and enjoyable place for all to share and grow our ideas and creations that has casted a shadow over it. This storm will pass but only if we change and return it to what it was.

It's not dying...we are killing it. We have no one to blame but ourselves for it. You want changes...as the old saying goes...take care of your own yard before trying to take care of others. If we all did this everyone's yards would be awesome!

Well that was long winded and if you made it this far... I hope that we can all take a little from this and restore what was and is still a great site. We could make it better if we try though.

I'll let you get back to building and enjoying the game. I have things to build and friends to share with!! All this is just food for thought. Take it or leave it. That ball is in your court.

Cheers MoterKade