Smuggler Archive

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DrevenStrobe wrote:

[snip]

The new blood is definitely nice for the profession. But, I believe some of the newbies (sorry, couldn't think of another word) lack the patience that some of us have developed over the past 18 months. And yes, it is patience...though most of us tend to mask it in our cynicism and sarcasm. Are the "elders" of the community as frustrated as our "newbie" comrades? You damn skippy we are. But we've learned to take that frustration and channel it into some sort of semi-constructive/entertaining/informative output to actually have a positive impact on the community.

[snip]

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I've been noticing this too. God are those feign death threads tiresome--and as for the threads that are just complaints about the state of the smuggler, I sympathize with them, but I advise that before anyone makes a post that's nothing more than railing on about the profession, you think for a second. The game's been out 18 months now. Some of us have been a smuggler all that time. In a year and a half of playing one, we may have noticed that smuggling isn't all it's cracked up to be, and while I completely identify with any anger you have over that, I can't really drum any up myself. That doesn't mean I'm satisfied with the way things are--far from it--but that I've accepted the fact we can't smuggle and half the things we can do don't work right. If we're not next in line after the CU, then I'll get mad again, but for now, we know.

I don't want to sound like an elitist windbag with that. But the one thing we do have as smugglers is this community, a place where, bizarrely, we mostly agree on the issues, and even when we don't, nobody takes it personally, a place where the last thing we'd ever expect to see is one smuggler taking his anger at the profession out on one of his fellow rogues. There tend to be a lot of great ideas here, fixes and additions that probably won't ever see a dev's eyes but are still plenty fun to read; there's cynicism all over the place, but it's both well-earned and (usually) extremely funny, something every other forum in the game tends to lack. The general goofiness and sense of being united in a common cause has created an actual community here, one I do not want to see succumb to misplaced anger.

It's impossible to tell whether this change is permanent, or just part of a larger cycle, or an anomaly, or what. But I hope it doesn't last, that newcomers get further into the spirit of the forum and that those damn BHs and Jedi leave us alone with all this nonsense over FD. (Except for the couple BHs that had good suggestions--always fun to read those threads.) This forum is really the only one like it, and I wouldn't want to see it descend to the level of those around it.

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korvass wrote:

I've been smuggling since end of last year. Can I whine?

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Please explain where and what exactly have you been smuggling - the rest of the community would sure like to try it, too.

I've noticed this to.. lately i don't even read most of the posts. I just quickly scan the thread titlesto see if anything catches my eye. Then i'm off looking for something else. I know i'm not well known on this board. I don't post a lot, but i've lurked for quite sometime. And when people talk about this place being a community, that's because this place is. Its like a guild in its own right. Just not in game. Like people have said this place was/is unique. I loved reading the smuggler boards because I knew I could get a good laugh.

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NickHeel wrote:

Is it just me or has our forum changed in the past month? Really, I notice something different, personally, and it bothers me greatly. It's bothered me so bad, I rarely post...or can post in this, my favorite, forum.

It's like, I seem to remember this positive, awesome Smuggler forum where 99% of people got along and we didn't go trolling into other profession forums. Nor, did we commonly have other non-Smugglers clogging up our forum constantly. The Smugglers and their forum were a unique place where you could go to converse and bring up exceptionaloriginalideas to discuss, talk about your Smuggling experiences, and just generally go in and come up feeling good.

Recently though, I've seen way too muchstuff that I commonly see in a lot of the other forums. I see posters with 'born on' dates of June '04 or October '04 whining(notcriticising)about waiting forever or asking if we're getting revamped. Or the constant stack of 5 threads asking about slicing at Master or Slicing 4 or whether it's random and this and that.

...And don't get me started on the Feign Death posts.....

I don't mind new blood in the profession, in fact, I encourage it. But I'm seeing a lot ofthe new names whining about a revamp that they've stuck out a whole 3 months for. Granted, no one should have had to wait 3 months, but there's a difference between whining about it and posting some constructive criticism or being cynical. The latter two of those I am happy to read about, the other just makes me ticked off.

I've been seeing this stuff build up for a month now and I want to know why. When you look atSmugglers like Fishbrains, Geevo, JTG, Dreven, Caylin, Wes, Yimaz, Ipseck, JediArashi, myself, and a few others I know I'm probably missing you see constructive posts (usually) that are either just fun stuff (what you got for Christmas/ect) or comprised of something that's decent to read.

Now, instead of reading threads with posts that make sense, are funny, or make you think, I have to wade through the 5.97 millionth "is slicing really random?" thread, "omg I'm mistreated where's our revamp?", "a solution to Feign death: MasterSmugler only!", "Feign Death solutions", "Smugglers opnions on Feign Death", and the always popular "Selling 73 locked containers on Bria!"

Now, I realized that this is a whining post...but really, I would honestly like to know if it's just me or if I'm just missing the days of the where the first page was comprised of great orginal ideas, funny yet cynical posts, and informational and intriguing threads. Have you guys/gals noticed a change to or what's up?

Finally, sorry to all the new Smuggler Forum readers/posters/lurkers out there. I meant you no disrespect but I have just been noticing a lot of junk, personally and it's kind of bothering me. I just hate to see the Smuggler forum being lessened from it's coolness and I wanted to make sure.

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I believe what you are seeing is a realization of the direction the leaders of the smuggler community chose to take it.

A lot of "Old Smugglers" chose to don a garb of pessimism and a grizzled/cold attitude. This was done by 90% of smuggler leaders. It was a change of attitude that you all chose to take, and I believe that those who were either lurking or just starting (i.e. June 04 - Oct. 04 smugglers) just picked up the tune.

When you guys chose to be openly negative and "expecting the worst", you influenced this whole community. Newcomers and lurkers see this kind of picture you guys hang around here and think that's the way it is. No wonder they are complaining. You created it.

Perhaps the one thing you should question, NickHeel, is if the attitude that has become popular by our smuggler community leaders is responsible for what you are seeing. I think the connection is strong, but I'm not dogging this community or its leaders. A community that has been through constant disappointment can easily tend to be this way. What I am suggesting is that it is exactly the actions of the Old Smugglers themselves that has created the situation that you are now appealing to them about. Kinda a funny irony I think.

I for one miss the old days when it was bright and optimistic around here. There were (AND STILL ARE) creative and vibrant suggestions all over this forum. At some point alot of leaders around here hung up their tools for being innovative and creative and took up an old dirty robe and are sitting in the corner waiting for the next punch to their stomachs. Screw that. I want to have fun.

On the whole, I do not intend to ostracise or offend anyone. I'm merely looking at the fact that picking up negative points of view and wearing them has an effect on those around you. It's human to do so, so I'm not judging okay.

Message Edited by Ternque01 on 12-29-2004 01:38 AM