What do you think caused this server to be populated by tumbleweeds?

I'd say it's negligence and the asshole community.

 

First off, after playing on the server for the best part of this evening, I can confirm that there were more players spotted than tumbleweeds.

Secondly, whenever someone asks why the server is in a near-abandoned state, I usually say that it’s due to multiple reasons:
- the typical undesireable players every professional server faces - attention seekers who join the server just to cause drama, those who join just to troll everyone else and hackers who just want to show off their apparent ‘skills’ and desperately try to climb up the leaderboards on competitive games. On the rare occasion that Skywars actually gets any players these days, it’s just a hacker or two coming online rather than actual players. I've seen the last two kinds of people (trolls & hackers) online within the past few days, it’s unavoidable unless there’s a super efficient team of staff monitoring the server closely 24/7.

- Noah leaving the server - I didn’t play very much back when Noah was around; only the odd Skywars Evolved game here and there, but it’s understandable that if people follow a YouTuber on a server they own/play on then they’re probably gonna follow them if they leave too. While this was a hit to the server, I don’t think it was as bad as people made it out to be seeing as there still were a fair amount of regular players online in the post-Noah era.

- The current ownership of the server - yes, it’s easy to say that Surge doesn’t care about the server just because he’s barely ever on. On the incredibly rare occasion that Surge actually does come online, around 90% of the time it’s because a staff member (me) has asked him to come investigate something as opposed to coming on of his own free will. I know from experience that it’s difficult working with Surge sometimes, in the past it's taken weeks of me constantly bugging him just to get him online, most of the time when he comes on the server he gets distracted by anything other that what you asked him to sort out or spends most of the time afk. Not to mention that if Surge adds something that he thinks is the best thing ever to happen to the server (ie kitpvp’s acc, skywars’ Auto bridging plugin, skyblock’s completely useless animal taming plugin) then he’s gonna be protective over the stuff he's added, no matter how many people oppose it. Any changes made aren't well thought out and when they impact players/servers then it gets left to the players to just put up with the existing problems.

But just because we don’t see Surge doesn’t mean he isn’t there, on a slightly different level to the existence of a God (not intending on going into a religious debate here). From conversations I’ve had with Surge it seems that he has ideas for the server but it’s pointless to implement them to a server with so few players. There seems to be a lack of communication between Surge, the staff and regular players which is causing players to be left in the dark.

- the lack of staff - it’s fair to say that I’m one of the most, if not the most (if not the only) staff member who comes on the server these days. Of course I, like lots of people, have our periods of switching between the server and other games/servers, but other staff members seem to be away more frequently or for longer periods of time. Yes, some people aren’t in a position to come online because something is preventing them from doing so, but others just can’t be bothered anymore. The fact that no staff applications have been accepted or get ignored for well over a year doesn’t help, but then again most of the more recent applications I’ve seen just don’t make the cut anyway.

- The attitude of the players - yes, I’m talking about those that make the bold, yet completely flawed, claim that Squadcraft as a whole is ‘dead’. Where or how games/server’s etc came to be described as dead even when they’re alive, I have no idea. I’ve tried to explore this apparent other meaning of the term ‘dead’ but all attempts so far have been unsuccessful. Most of the claims that the server are dead are based on the reasons mentioned above, as well as the explanation of how the server used to have hundreds/thousands of players and now there’s only a few left. Sure, that may be the case, and there may not be any evidence or actual statistics to back this claim up, but that doesn’t mean the server is dead just because there's less players than before. Squadcraft being referred to as dead is just like calling an elderly person whose health is deteriorating dead, or someone with a terminal illness dead. It’s one thing to say that either of those people are as good as dead or pretty much dead, but it’s another thing to say that they’re actually dead, especially if they’re still moving/breathing/talking etc. It’s this flawed attitude and pathetic reasoning of Squadcraft being dead which has been driving players away, preventing issues from being fixed and moderator applications from being approved in the past (other reasons also cause the lack of accepted applications as mentioned before.).

I’m going to finish this by saying the following:

Anyone who comes on the server or the forums to make the claim that Squadcraft is dead is merely flawing themselves as they have to come on to actually make the claim in the first place. If they’re trying to pass on their flawed claims to other people, then other people have to be on the server or forums in order for the claim to be passed on. Anyone who responds to me trying to claim that the sever is dead is merely supporting my valid point that it isn’t dead. Anyone who even comes on just to read my post without responding is still proving that Squadcraft isn’t dead.

If Squadcraft is dead, the server would be closed down for good!

If Squadcraft is dead, there would be no forums available and you would therefore not be in a position to read this!

The day that you find you can no longer access the server and forums forever will be the day that Squadcraft is actually dead!

I welcome anyone who thinks they can convince me to change my mind about Squadcraft not being dead with actual reasoning/proof/facts etc that have not been mentioned above. Be warned: by attempting to prove me wrong, you are merely supporting the fact that Squadcraft isn’t dead.

 

Why do you bother?

 

Why do I bother with...?

 

The long ass replies, you're wasting your time. Even to retards with shitty mod applications, you completely dissect everything they say. Why do you bother?

 

I see, well then allow me to explain. I write in detail for multiple reasons:

- I don't necessarily intend to write in detail. I just start writing what I want to say and then look back and realise just how much I've written by the end of it.

- Writing in detail is pretty natural to me. After being expected to write in more and more detail as I advanced through school, I've ended up following that practice since finishing my education whether I wanted to or not. Of course, in some professions writing in detail is important and it just so happens that my past and present jobs require detailed information. That combined with the speed at which I can type, it's not that difficult to write a lot in a short space of time. As a result of my education I've been able to be more critical and develop an eye for detail, both of which are pretty useful to me when it comes to writing counter-arguments or providing explanations, such as this one.

- By the time I've figured out how to summarise what I want to say, I've already explained or written something in detail; since I've already explained all the points I wanted to make, it's even more time consuming to try and summarise it in which case I might as well stick with the more detailed version which explains what I want to say in as much detail as I want.

- A waste of my time? If you say so. To me, it's hardly a waste of time; as you may learn from previous and future points. If I expect to end up writing in large amounts of detail or if I encounter a topic that is rather thought proviking then I don't necessarily write everything in one go, I just work on it as and when, contributing to it more and more whenever I have nothing better to do. Doing so gives me something to fill up my time when I'm not in a position to do much else that I actually want.

- I get satisfaction from being able to submit a piece of writing or work that I've spent a fair amount of time and put lots of thought and effort into. At the end of the day, it's what I want to do; regardless of whatever anyone else thinks or wants or however much they want to read. Other than taking the time to either explain myself or flaw another person's argument, I don't care what anyone else thinks. Praise and constructive criticism is one thing, which is fine, but pure criticism and negativity is just meaningless to me, especially if the other person can't formulate a valid argument or respond with anything of any significance whatsoever; not necessarily talking about you here.

- Following on from the above point, I don’t care how much people decide to read, or whether they even bother reading what I say. At the end of the day, I’ve got a detailed post that’s online and in a place that I can visit and look at, I can read over it and reminisce over what’s happened. Regardless of whether other people read much of what I’ve said, or even if they’ve read it at all, at least I’ve covered my back by looking ahead at as many, if not all, possible eventualities. If the time then arises and someone tries to make an argument about what I’ve written without reading the whole thing, then they’re just leaving themselves open to be flawed. It makes life so much easier writing in advance because I can simply just refer back to what I’ve already said and use that to flaw lazy people who can’t be bothered to understand the point of view of their opposition, meaning I don’t have to rewrite what I’ve already said, which would be more of a waste of time.

It’s like if after all this you came along and said “whatever, you’re just wasting your time”, I can just flaw your argument with what’s been written earlier in this post. Or even with your question as a whole of why I bother writing so much, some of the reasons I’ve mentioned above have already been explained on a previous thread, so I could use that to provide you with part of the reason if I wanted to, but I’m prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you haven’t read that particulat thread, or just don’t remember it very well.

For future reference, the thread in question is here:
http://squadcraft.net/threads/zombieblood208-mod-app.20149/
Here you can see first hand my previous explanations, as well as the effects of being detailed and critical against other people. Of course, the same can be done in succinct posts, but I find it tends to be more effective with detail. Not intending to use any of the people involved in the above thread as case studies, we’ll all but the original poster. Of course, you do get some kids who are just too thick to understand anything no matter how many times you flaw and counter them, at which point those hopeless cases are just a lost cause.

- Regarding moderator applications, well they’re special cases. As I’ve become increasingly involved within the community, my role in judging applications has become more prominent. It started out as me doing whatever I can to stop anyone who I know full well doesn’t deserve to be mod or people who I see as likely becomin corrupt and abusing the powers bestowed upon them from getting said rank. In some cases, I provided the missing pieces that would give everyone the full picture of the person applying, warts and all, so that firstly people would know exactly what the applican is really like behind their facade and secondly so that they would know what other players; particularly those who play on the same servers as tbe applicant, really thinks about them.

Of course, there’s the whole ‘dead’ (flawed) server argument that people have used in the past, and off the top of my head there hasn’t been a moderator application that has been approved in well over a year and a half, even though there have been people made into mods since then such as myself. However, again, I’m preparing for all eventualities. On the slim chance that the application gets reviewed by a mod who is in the right position to approve or deny mod apps, seeing as I was never given forum perms, then it means that I’ve got my response ready and the applicant can be exposed for who they really are. Worst case scenario and the applicant is somehow successful, people are still going to be aware of my response and may well be wary about what the newly appointed mod can do. Otherwise when the mod slips up, and believe me they probably will, then I’m in the position to say that I warned everyone about it beforehand.

Since becoming mod, and currently one of the only (if not only) mod who actually visits the server on a regular basis anymore, I’ve been more involved in any applications where the applicant is referring to Skyblock, since that’s the main server I play on therefore the candidate; should they be successful, may impact me and my island. As mentioned on my profile previously, benefit of the doubt again, my main priority on Squadcraft is to my island, I am here; and have remained here all this time, primarily for my Skyblock island. I’ve worked on it really hard for the past +2 and a half years and I’m not the kind f person who is determined to see a project through to the end and doesn’t abandon their hard work very easily. I work to support the best interests of myself and my island above all else, then I worry about everything else. Secondly, I’m here on Squadcraft for my friend’s, to hang out with them on the island(s); and for some people the server, we all know and love. I never wanted mod, I never intended to get mod, in my opinion it wasn’t right time for me to get mod. But I was lucky enough to be given mod by recommendation to Surge by an existing mod, potentially to give the players of Skyblock a representative and someone to turn to if the common undesirable player joins Skyblock and needs to be re-educated. Regardless of whether I’m a mod or not, someone else getting moderator could disrupt the peace on Skyblock. Plus, since I’m on so regularly then I’m in a pretty decent position to recall whether a players being truthful when they say they spend most of their time on Skyblock or not.

Well, that’s it. Of course there’s some unnecessary details here and there, but for anyone considering pointing them out; it’s not necessary for you point them out, think before you act and don’t be a hypocrite whatever you do.

To summarise:
- I write in detail because it’s what I’ve been taught to do, as a result it’s natural to me.
- Writing in detail takes up very little of my precious time because I do it when I have nothing better to do. Regardless, I like writing in detail anyway so it’s not causing an inconvenience to me.
- It keeps me covered, the less other people read whilst the more they try and argue simply means the more I have to flaw them with using what I’ve already said meaning less work, time and effort on my part
- I don’t care who reads what I write, I don’t care what anyone thinks about what I write; other than taking the time to flaw any criticism. Be warned: if you’re going to try and argue with me about something I’ve written, take the time to actually read an dunderstand what I’ve written first otherwise you leave yourself wide open and you’re doing most of the work for me.
- Any applicants who claim they spend time on Skyblock are special cases to me and must be reviewed thoroughly.

Oh, and one more thing

I only critique what I find needs flawing. So depending on what the applicant’s response is, I may well have to dissect everything. Otherwise, only parts of the application require dissection.

There’s you’re answer. Have a nice read.

 

Been there, done that. But whatever. Then for future reference, I shall direct people to you for the full and accurate account that I have provided. Of course we both know full well that won't go down well, but it saves me the trouble of wasting my time for real as I ain't gonna re-write it, fear not for I shall have the original account archived within my own personal collection.

Regarding the need for other people to scroll just to read:

To summarise what I've said in response to what you've said, with pre-made summaries:

Appreciate it? I humbly decline, for it is something that works both ways.

And for the sake of it, have the even more summarised version:

You have now been granted the summarised forms of my work, as well as the summaries for those summarised forms. You're welcome.

And to save everyone from wasting their time in future, perhaps you shouldn't concern yourself with asking the questions for the answers you aren't going to bother reading.

Enjoy being the go-to person for knowledge regarding the life, times and legacy of me. Sure saves me the trouble of doing it myself.