03-05-2013, 12:48 PM
Hello everyone. I just wanted to take this opportunity to say a few things about how my role at Mesalia is changing. Specifically as the subject of the thread indicates, I'll be retiring from staff in a more or less mutual decision. While a few particular disagreements I have recently had with a couple of the other staffers contributed to this decision, it's been a long time coming and there are other factors as well.
That said, I want to stress that staff is absolutely deserving of everyone's respect for the time and effort they put in. A few staffers have been pretty stressed lately, and showing a bit more appreciation for the work they put in couldn't hurt. I hope that everyone continues to respect the server's rules about how to interact with staff in a respectful manner. If you have any issue with staff, always approach them directly rather than venting passive-aggressively. Despite our small differences, I could not hand pick a better bunch of players to lead the server,
One of the other factors contributing to this development is the fact that I think I have managed to achieve most of what I hoped I could as a staff member. There were a couple of times long ago where I was even the most active staffer, which brought both great responsibility and logically also a bit of flack from the playerbase. In time I seemed to have built up a bit of reputation, and this has occasionally made it hard to enjoy the experience I hoped to create for players. This reputation has even made it hard to work within staff at times I feel, though this might simply say it is deserved.
Since I progressed from GM to lorekeeper my role has been a bit less visible perhaps, but certainly fulfilling in the long run. Between taking a leading role in designing our new setting (which I hope is ultimately a successful one or I will look like a fool) and conceiving a few religions from scratch, all with a lot of help from others of course, I think I have managed to hit on a lot of what lorekeepers aspire to do. I also suggested the staff blog (for which I had both general RP tips and theory and a bunch of Mesalia-related stuff planned) that was to be my third major contribution, but unfortunately due to circumstances outside my personal control that hasn't panned out yet.
I've also been asking myself lately whether- like twenty months into the activity now- I really truly enjoy roleplaying for roleplaying's sake. Honestly I still don't have a straight answer for that question; I certainly enjoyed roleplay as a form of escapism at one point, and I've enjoyed how Mesalia has allowed me an outlet for my creative energy. But I think I know that it is something that I will eventually grow out of in all likelihood, not because it's immature but because eventually we all have to start paying complete attention to our real lives at the expense of our fantasy lives.
Lastly, there is much in the way of IRL reasons for my retirement. As many of you have probably heard at some point, I'm finishing up my last semester of college at the moment and graduating next Sunday. I don't really have plans for the future and while I would eventually like to attend graduate school that's sort of far off for the moment with the state of my resume. Nevertheless I will be using the next year to evaluate my direction in life and that leaves less time for self-indulgent pursuits.
In my personal opinion, some of the recent stress among staff has to do with the lack of a second-in-command to arbitrate matters when Zarkaylia is unavailable, but that's not an easy issue to address at all and perhaps my retirement will somewhat ease the tension within staff. Although she is in fact more experienced than me with these things, I've thought of Fae as my replacement in some ways, and I'm sure she will do an excellent job with Conrad as Mesalia's lorekeeper(s).
I'll still be participating in the RP as time allows, and I will continue to offer my services to the staff as a server builder and a blog writer if that ever materializes. However, as of now I am no longer a member of staff proper and I will cease to have influence in their internal decision-making. This is not something that should be the cause of any sorrow to anyone, as I look forward to returning to the role of a player.
Thank you,
-mcmanusaur
That said, I want to stress that staff is absolutely deserving of everyone's respect for the time and effort they put in. A few staffers have been pretty stressed lately, and showing a bit more appreciation for the work they put in couldn't hurt. I hope that everyone continues to respect the server's rules about how to interact with staff in a respectful manner. If you have any issue with staff, always approach them directly rather than venting passive-aggressively. Despite our small differences, I could not hand pick a better bunch of players to lead the server,
One of the other factors contributing to this development is the fact that I think I have managed to achieve most of what I hoped I could as a staff member. There were a couple of times long ago where I was even the most active staffer, which brought both great responsibility and logically also a bit of flack from the playerbase. In time I seemed to have built up a bit of reputation, and this has occasionally made it hard to enjoy the experience I hoped to create for players. This reputation has even made it hard to work within staff at times I feel, though this might simply say it is deserved.
Since I progressed from GM to lorekeeper my role has been a bit less visible perhaps, but certainly fulfilling in the long run. Between taking a leading role in designing our new setting (which I hope is ultimately a successful one or I will look like a fool) and conceiving a few religions from scratch, all with a lot of help from others of course, I think I have managed to hit on a lot of what lorekeepers aspire to do. I also suggested the staff blog (for which I had both general RP tips and theory and a bunch of Mesalia-related stuff planned) that was to be my third major contribution, but unfortunately due to circumstances outside my personal control that hasn't panned out yet.
I've also been asking myself lately whether- like twenty months into the activity now- I really truly enjoy roleplaying for roleplaying's sake. Honestly I still don't have a straight answer for that question; I certainly enjoyed roleplay as a form of escapism at one point, and I've enjoyed how Mesalia has allowed me an outlet for my creative energy. But I think I know that it is something that I will eventually grow out of in all likelihood, not because it's immature but because eventually we all have to start paying complete attention to our real lives at the expense of our fantasy lives.
Lastly, there is much in the way of IRL reasons for my retirement. As many of you have probably heard at some point, I'm finishing up my last semester of college at the moment and graduating next Sunday. I don't really have plans for the future and while I would eventually like to attend graduate school that's sort of far off for the moment with the state of my resume. Nevertheless I will be using the next year to evaluate my direction in life and that leaves less time for self-indulgent pursuits.
In my personal opinion, some of the recent stress among staff has to do with the lack of a second-in-command to arbitrate matters when Zarkaylia is unavailable, but that's not an easy issue to address at all and perhaps my retirement will somewhat ease the tension within staff. Although she is in fact more experienced than me with these things, I've thought of Fae as my replacement in some ways, and I'm sure she will do an excellent job with Conrad as Mesalia's lorekeeper(s).
I'll still be participating in the RP as time allows, and I will continue to offer my services to the staff as a server builder and a blog writer if that ever materializes. However, as of now I am no longer a member of staff proper and I will cease to have influence in their internal decision-making. This is not something that should be the cause of any sorrow to anyone, as I look forward to returning to the role of a player.
Thank you,
-mcmanusaur
