Wow..just...wow.
I gotta say, moving on into this new year and through this holiday season, I am so very pleased and humbled by this community. I was told here recently that someone had posted something negatively about me in the forums. I responded to the person that told me this, that I had not visited the forums in a very long time. In fact, I did not even see the negative comment before an admin had hidden it. I guess that does show the respect of the admin team for me and my role in the history of Moongamers. So, I decided to come on back, try and remember my password (which I did after several failed attempts), and take a look around.
Like your elementary school if you ever go back, it seems a bit smaller. I remember a time when, man, there were hundreds of posts a day it seems. Why do we have so many categories of forum stuff...well, there was a time when we needed that many categories, and believe me, I fought against every one of them, ask Lin. Just too complicated I said. Just too many places for a "founder" to visit. The number of postings is down. The number of people probably visiting the site is down. The number of overall servers is down. But, the spirit of what it means to be a Moongamer is still very much alive.
I saw that post where Lin was asking for donations as we had less than two hundred dollars in the paypal account to pay for stuff. And then, all of a sudden, we have just short of eight hundred. Well, that was great and it paid the bills for that month, but, remember, each month starts anew. But, for people to come out of the woodwork and send in their hard earned cash, still to this day amazes me. I mean, I sent in all those times because as a founder of the community, I felt I was obligated to. If I did not, how could I ask anyone else to put in their money? And again, some 14 years later, Lin asked and Moongamers received. Just amazing.
So, I wanted to come on the forums and wish everyone all the best. We, at Moongamers, have been in the business of offering computer online gaming since February 2004. We have seen many ups and downs. We have made friends and lost them. Some have come, and some have gone. There are people on these forums, that were young teenagers when they first found Moon and were probably a pain in the ass. And now they are college educated, young adults, married with a kid and making it on their own. And to think, we may have had a hand in "how" they were raised. Not so much the rules of the house, so to speak, but, social interactions. What is expected? What is fairplay? How should you conduct yourself in public. What is acceptable and what is not? And over the years the admin team here, were not afraid of calling it what it is, and taking the appropriate action. Sometimes, that action was harsh and thought to be too much, sometimes it was not enough, but, considering we are all just a bunch of yahoos that like to game, and thought we could offer a good experience, I think we did a pretty decent job of it.
It was a stressful time, back in February 2004. I can say, honestly, I lost sleep over what I was doing with the Core group and the others that made this leap of faith with me. I look back on it and wonder if it was all worth it. I have played so many games with Moongamers, there are just too many to mention. So many nights..so many hours... So, was it worth it? Yea..I think it was. I think we did a good thing here at Moongamers and have been for almost 14 years. I could not have not done it without my partners, Dan and Lin. Without you guys, this would not have been. You don't see Dan around much anymore, but, he was integral in keeping this place going in the early years. And Lin..what needs to be said. She has been the face of Moongamers since its inception and continues to work tirelessly to keep Moongamers going.
For me, I am around still, here and there, most often in the Admiral's channel in teamspeak. So, poke me if you want..just to say hello. But, feeling a bit nostalgic and all..I just wanted to come back in and say,
Thanks. Thanks for making Moongamers what it is. A damn fine gaming community to belong to. I am so very proud of what was accomplished such a long time ago.
