Hello again, Argonath! I’m back after 2.5 years with
yet another homecoming topic.
(groan)For the newer ones who don’t know me, I’m JDC. I joined in 2008, was a lot of things, including a chatterbox with the 2nd highest post count on the forum. (Kinda disappointed no one caught up!
) I last returned in 2018 for several months and revived the newspaper
Argonath Express until I had to disappear again from Argo due to IRL reasons, including political work against a
semi-dictatorship that executed thousands of innocent people. I’ve since moved to a different city away from my hometown, now living by myself, and returned to more peaceful work as a Graphic Designer.
Because of stress from the political situation, COVID, and adulting IRL, I’ve decided to return for good to Argonath and spend my free time in the place where I made some of the best memories of my younger years. (Am now 27 years old) I've been RPing as a
drug-dealing Priest (and occasionally again as a journalist) while catching up with people on SA:MP for the last 2-3 weeks. (I will be visiting VC:MP as well after I finish settling in, and V:MP when I get a new PC.) I have missed my old friends and am meeting new ones. I've been interacting with the players who are still around, and have spoken with some of those who left.
And I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to fellow players, past, present, and future:
rebuild.It's natural for people to grow up and spend less time on (if not move on from) Argonath to focus on other priorities, like school, work, and family. I myself am one of those who disappeared for years because of this. But while I still have a good amount of Argo history to catch on, I notice that there are plenty of hurt feelings over the events of the last several years, including from players who lost hope and others who stay around to talk about how Argo is dead, HQ "killed it", etc. etc. etc. Just yesterday on SA:MP, we had someone banned after demanding that HQ give special treatment to a ban evader who advertised a rival community, while shitting on all the players present on the server. He said that unlike his friends (including said ban evader who "did not want to play on Argo anymore"), the current players are not capable of rebuilding the server. This person was wrong, and being told by many players to leave after shitting on everyone.
Our player counts did not drop overnight, and neither does rebuilding happen overnight. Rebuilding needs the HQ who decide the direction of the community. Rebuilding needs the admins who enforce the rules. And
most importantly, rebuilding needs the players who go ingame to interact with each other and do one RP at a time, one day at a time. Rebuilding does not happen by shitting on those who still remain, which does not help anyone at all.
HQ leaders, admins, gamemodes, and even Argonath servers come and go, but having fun and interacting with others from around the world — the most important part — is constant. It is more important than any virtual ingame assets or rank/status.
To my new friends who I met since my return, I'm happy to see you coming in and having fun like us old farts did (and do).
To my old friends who caught up / will catch up with me, I missed all of you and appreciate the effort, especially the ones who went IG just to talk to me or pass on lovely messages and crazy memes.
To the disillusioned players (including some of my old friends) who have some grievance with HQ members, admins, or someone else, who may feel that they were unfairly denied a chance, I ask of you: try giving others a chance. It is easier said than done, but if you try to properly talk out your grievances with the aim of
listening and understanding instead of just defending yourself, you will be surprised at how far you can go and at the wounds you can heal. It will be better for everyone involved, and maybe for others too.
And to the players who stayed (whether active or less active), thank you for keeping this place alive and sharing the fun with others.
That being said, see you on forums and ingame! I am looking forward to more good times
(and dildos) with you!
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