my resignation as forum ombudsman and me leaving this forum

[zeekomkommer]

well it's hard to find somewhere to begin here,

when i first joined this forum it was a good place, the GC was very respectfull and the topics of discussion were relevant and the players talking here on a regular basis were friendly, side mostly didn't mather we were just here for the purpous of the game, to have fun.

while time past things changed, the forum became a mess and the server war topic was going completly out of controle, ppl were screaming biased all around and bit by bit the fun died, all that were here were lies and half truths.

then i got to see the ombudman position, something i tought that could help better the forum, a mediator between partys, a bridge builder between the forum administration and the forum users. a person that could see to it that everyone is treated as equals and is treated fairly. i saw it as a ray of light in a forum that was getting darker and darker, i ran for the position and came in second after manetheren who asked me to become his understudy. i accepted it to show that FUALL and TTF can work togheter for the greater good, i did it so i could help better the forum.

manetheren i have all the respect in the world for you, you were truely great to work with. we tought the same about nearly any case and we had the same vision for the forum. when we took the duty on ourself we only had good intentions. but recent forum developments have made the ombudsman position a shared, i can't believe in it myself anymore then why should the forum users ?

the truth is that about 2 months ago the ombudsman got it's position clarefied by admin jason, admin jason said that if the admins agree the ombudsman could handle cases on it's own and make it's own descisions. the moderators tought this gave the ombudsman to much power and that it udnermined the forum authorety so they talked to admin jason who rewrote his post.

currently the ombudsman cannot make his own descisions, he has to present a case to the admins and the admins vote on what should be done. in my understanding the ombudsman was a neutral person who shoudn't be controled by the ppl he somtimes needs to be investigated.

as a regular user i always tought the ombudsmen and the moderators respected eachother, now i think about how naive i was. most of them just concider the ombudsman a thorn in their eye, something that shoudn't be. and when even the new admin begins to question the need for the ombudsman position then what is the point of this all ?

but i have to be fair, not all mods and admins have simular vieuws on this so don't think they are all the same, they are all different ppl with their own visions about the forum. only judge those you know.

i have met many great moderators and saw the admins like most ppl don't and all i have to say about the 3 admins i got to work with:

robe: i was pleasently suprised by you, after getting to know you i found that you were absolutely not the biased powerhungry admin some ppl take you for. you were always there with good advice and you do everything you can for the forum
lore: i realy regret you not being able to get on msn, you were a pleasure to work with becausse your input allways hits the spot, you are a verry wise admin
buck: mate overal you were a great admin, just like lore you always turoughly said what your opinion about things were, it's a shame to see you go.


goodbye forum, i'll only be visiting you as the PI allegiance leader when i have to declare wars or end them. or as id 75836 trading with other id's. i might check in to see for upcomming sgw meetings but i'm sure my friends who do read this forum will alert me to them.


i will remain on duty until manetheren gets back from his holliday (8th of july)

farewell

[Clarkey]

Wow things have changed over the past few months.

Well Zeeky, best of luck to you in the future. Take care.

[Noobert]

..

[Juliette]

Rash, young Thomas.. too rash.
*frowns*

[semper]

lol. Zeek, look up the definition of an Ombudsman.

[FreeSpirit]

Rash, young Thomas.. too rash.
*frowns*

^ What she said

[zeekomkommer]

some ppl might think this is a rash descicion, some ppl who know me better and longer could haev seen this comming. i was gradualy losing all interest in the game. i had so much to do that i coudn't do the 1 thing i wanted to do : play.

i was on the verge of leaving this entire game but some ppl close to me and a good night sleep talked me out of it. and there was one very wise man who just said to me:

don't leave the game for all that is going on on a forum or things like that, this game isn't played there it's played on your acount. so just play the game.

thats what i'm going to do, play this game, take care of PI and help my pies growin into bigger and better players, the only things i actualy still do enjoy in sgw

[Mordack]

Take care, Zeek. I hope you will understand that my opposition to the ombudsman position wasn't based on your performance, or anything personal. I always thought you were a good guy who did his best for the forums. Good luck with your future endeavours.

[Juliette]

Jason's decision to do what now?

[Jim]

Damn, so many people loosing faith in the forum.
Whats going on? As a relative newbie to the forums can anyone tell me whats wrong?
Too many people lost in nostalgia believing its not what it used to be? People trying to change it and failing and giving up?
Its such a shame to lose somebody in such an important role. Even if people say the ombudsman is a pointless position, the symbol of the role is still great and shows people are still willing to try and get along with everyone and thats why i think this is such a loss even though i have never spoken to you zeek

[~Vix~]

Well, we spoke about it a bit but i was 99% sure i could talk you out of it if we got on MSN... damn work stopped me from finding you. I'm going to miss you big Z, you've taught me a lot and i wont forget it, some very important lessons that will help me through out my future playing career here. I'm sure I'll catch you on msn and our lil nighty-chats will continue. You will be missed, and when you come back, you will be welcomed.

See you on MSN bud...

[Robe]

robe: i was pleasently suprised by you, after getting to know you i found that you were absolutely not the biased powerhungry admin some ppl take you for. you were always there with good advice and you do everything you can for the forum

Thank you for your kind words Zeek.
I think we surprised each other
I have very much enjoyed working with you and Manetheren.
You guys were a great team.

I agree that Jason should never have down graded the authority of the Ombudsman staff.
At the very least, the Ombudsman should have a vote on the outcome of complaints that they review, in partnership with the Forum admins. Otherwise they are just glorified secretaries.

You will be sadly missed.

[deni]

You did very good mate. I hope your successor will do as good as you

As bebita is currently banned from the forums, I am posting for him.

[Juliette]

This thread is derailing, we all need a little cooldown, and we will look at this thread and split the farewells into a "Quitting" (albeit just the forums) and a "Forum Issues" discussion thread.

[Juliette]

This thread is derailing, we all need a little cooldown, and we will look at this thread and split the farewells into a "Quitting" (albeit just the forums) and a "Forum Issues" discussion thread.

Done.