I love both the Kronos community, and the private server community as a whole. We are all a part of something that we feel passionately about. We all want the same thing in the end. We all are willing to fight for the ability to enjoy something that has long since been taken from us in retail. The reason we're all "here" is because we want to enjoy ourselves.
I get a lot of the frustration in the community. I am/was a player just like each and every one of you. I have been in groups that couldn't find members and ended up disbanding. I have been in raids that have been called for lack of players. I have been in raids that were impossible due to bugs and/or lag. These things are frustrating to everyone, and as a staff member I can tell you that these things frustrate us just as much as players.
I'm not a developer, nor am I a network specialist. I do not have a major computer background nor do I have a direct desire to do so. What I do have like all of you is passion. What we as a team have like all of you is passion. Whether you see us in game, on the forums, in iRC or discord, or don't see us at all does not diminish our passion for this project or for the private server community as a whole. None of us are paid to spend our time fixing quests or answering questions or patrolling zones catching bots, or investigating gold logs to put a hurting on gold sellers. The time we spend working hard for every player in our community is ours to give, and for this we do not expect anything in return. Well, let me clarify that last statement. We love making players happy by helping to solve a problem that is disturbing their game experience. It makes us happy when we can be of help, and when we can't we feel like shit. While we can only do so much, there is a lot that is outside of our capability. The enjoyment of players and their passion for the game is all the thanks we as a team need. It's why we do what we do.
Having said all that. The frustration from many players both within the Kronos community and within many other private project communities seems to be on a continual ramp up. Kronos is not alone in this, in fact another game master from a different project who volunteered his time and efforts for the exact same reasons we do could no longer take the frustration and hate that players were emitting and quit their project. I understand where players are coming from, and the problems and issues that plague many projects including ours. But understand that the constant negativity and borderline hate that comes from the player base has as much or more of a negative impact to a project than the problems themselves. It takes strong skin to be in a position such as this, and while I am not one to tell players what they can/can't say (as long as it's within the rules of the server). I do ask that everyone reading this to please think twice before you write based off pure emotion and think about how the negativity will not only effect your fellow community but those who both give their time to help others (staff and non staff alike).
I have never once not believed that Kronos has the best community in any private server. Am I bias? perhaps. I have gotten to know many players on the server both in my role as a staff member and as a regular schmo just playing the game to enjoy the content and community that retail has long since lost. Many of the names I see in this thread are players who I have either come to know in one role or the other, and I personally enjoy the passion you all bring. Seeing some of the things that has been said (and continues to be said) has been not only frustrating as a staff member, but disheartening as a volunteer and as a member of the community. Everyone is entitled to feel the way they do, I do not hold that against anyone. I do only wish that players would understand the greater scope of the situation going on not only on Kronos but the private server community as a whole.
At no point have myself nor any of our staff/devs spoken ill about any other project. In fact, if you look into my history on the wow server sub reddit you will see countless examples of myself not only praising other projects but also wishing that projects would be able to work together as a whole. Sure, that's likely wishful thinking on my part. But the simple fact is that in a community like ours, hate should be the last thing we do to any project (let alone a project you have spent a fair amount of time on). Yes, Kronos has it's flaws. Yes, some issues are more difficult to resolve than others. However rather than looking all at the bad, sometimes you need to stop and recount all the things that were good. Kronos has been through a lot in its time, and has overcome some of the most difficult odds that I challenge any server to compare. The DDoS attacks alone were powerful and lengthy enough that any other project would have taken a year(s) to recover (if at all). Those attacks were meant to kill Kronos. By sure perseverance, determination, a committed staff and an amazing community, we stood up to those who sought to harm us and we overcame. Did we make it out without scars? no, there was some lasting damage caused. We're proud of the scars we bare because they represent our dedication, and this drives us to become better.
On a personal note, I can honestly say I have never seen more dedicated people in a project than I have in Kronos. Through thick and thin we have kept on fighting, and we will keep on fighting. For all of those doomsayers who say "RIP Kronos", to so easily turn your back on a project that has dedicated so much to you is your decision to make. That won't stop us from doing what we do out of passion. Our team as a whole works endless hours and often without any thanks. Fix one issue, players bring up two more. Fix those two, and two more occur. This is a never ending cycle, and in the human population of the world people as a whole always expect more. We're not perfect, perfection is a mirage. However we are, and will continue to be relentless. The dedication and hard work we put in is not going anywhere. None of us will ever hold a gun to your heads and say you can only play here, and to those who view Kronos as doom and gloom and will "jump ship" at the next new shiny project I encourage you to decide what is best for you. We (Kronos) will still be here, continuing this great journey to Naxx and TBC.
In the end we all want some place that is fun and a place where we can meet people and come together. Kronos still is the best community, there is no comparison. I look forward to continue helping and watching Kronos grow, and am very excited for the fun that is to come for Kronos as a whole. I have complete confidence in our staff, in our devs, and in Twinstar. We've come this far through far worse things, and we'll continue to improve the project as a whole. Our community and our quality are our main priorities, and we will do everything we can to continue to be top notch in both. Our heads are not in the sand, our eyes are wide open and we encourage players to come along for the ride if they so choose.
We'll see you in game, and have a great day to all