Chapter one - The Veterans Edition

[Slavik]

So already you have the reactions and the statistics and yet again the ''team'' believe they are still correct with the transition. There is the ignorance.

The changes have to be made sooner or later.
Rs4 was good, but if you spend enough time on Rs5, you'll understand that it's even better than Rs4.

If you want to remove RS5 from the equation then I can easily say that admins often set their own rules when it comes to punishing players, too trigger happy. What's funny is that the admins actually use the banana command to indicate that their decision was correct. Why cant you all be like Dellstorm? Shake my head..

As for this, if you think that admins abuse their power, please do report them. 

[Oliver]

I figured I'd try RS5 out for myself since I'd heard a lot about it from people who were around when it first launched, and most of what I heard was criticism. I hadn't heard anything good about it so I was a bit skeptical - after all, people do tend to throw a shit-fit when they lose their e-property and e-money.

I was greeted by something that wasn't neither good or bad - just completely soulless. I did the same thing I did when I first started playing on Argonath - went for the nearest Police Department to start protecting the community and righting wrongs. The "exam" literally felt like something out of a cops'n'robbers server - there was no player interaction whatsoever, you just had to type in answers to pitifully easy questions and do two "tasks" that are completely irrelevant to the server - shoot at an object and drive a police car as fast as you can on empty streets. If emulating PvE combat and a depopulated server is what the brainchildren behind that "exam" were aspiring for, then they did a splendid job indeed.

Anyways, I got done with that, got my badge and gun, discovered that there's an arbitrary /rearm command that is somehow better than the previous system, hit tab and squealed with glee after seeing that literally two thirds of the server had blue names. No criminals were online, of course, but I can't really complain about that since it's only been three months since the scripts released, so naturally no one has any extra dough to go on rampages yet.

Then I tried medic duty and it was pretty nice, I suppose. Made myself 150 dollars. Then I got stuck in a wall at Mordor and quit playing.

I wrote it from the perspective of a complete newbie to this server, trying to remain as objective as possible. If my first impressions are anything to go by, then there really isn't anything to draw new people in - Argonath simply doesn't stand out from the crowd anymore. It's not good or bad, it's simply bland, something for old-time veterans to play and reminisce about times that are never coming back, with all of their achievements (properties, money, /whenmade date) wiped away.

P.S. The new speedometer goes against all laws of aesthetics. The old one looked a lot neater.

[Que]

Hey, Umuthan. Long time since. 

[Kaze]

The majority of players who voted in the poll do not always make the best decisions. Look at the past Oscars, where cheating escalated year by year to the point where the 2012 Oscars were voided.

I won't be surprised if you're someone who gets punished by admins a lot.

Admins who abuse their powers are secretly warned (not made public so as not to try and satisfy anti-admin player's egos, or engage in public shaming) or removed after valid complaints are sent. If you want more admins who conform to the ideal you possess of someone being kind and having patience that players can abuse and exploit, then you're just asking for a weaker community. In fact, admins need to be more strict.

Cheating for the Oscars is pretty much banter whereas fucking around with a game mode which affected the community is not banter.

Surprisingly enough, I only seem to get admin punishments in Argonath RPG. Admins need to be more strict? Fuck off, its already enough they are making rules on the spot. '/p chat talking about football'
''REDNAME: GUYS STOP TALKING ABOUT FOOTBALL''.  Is there a rule that we cant talk on /p?

I actually have a great time with Dellstorm, I do not ''exploit'' him at all. He is the fairest admin within the community. Weaker community? No, its just a matter of recruiting players which have the 'firm but fair' trait.

[Cyril]

Cheating for the Oscars is pretty much banter whereas f**king around with a game mode which affected the community is not banter.

Surprisingly enough, I only seem to get admin punishments in Argonath RPG. Admins need to be more strict? Fuck off, its already enough they are making rules on the spot. '/p chat talking about football'
''REDNAME: GUYS STOP TALKING ABOUT FOOTBALL''.  Is there a rule that we cant talk on /p?

I actually have a great time with Dellstorm, I do not ''exploit'' him at all. He is the fairest admin within the community. Weaker community? No, its just a matter of recruiting players which have the 'firm but fair' trait.

[Chase]

Also comments like:
"Why aren't you contributing instead of moaning?"
"If you don't like it here, then leave."
"If you got a complain, use [email protected]"

People should not leave. Every player here should be here. There will always be a bunch of nutshells, but we're speaking in general. Do not use such arguments. Them, if any, are not contributing. Keep up the positive tone. Work for a better community. People will always have different opinions, hence it is even more important to listen to them. Not all, not always, but still - keep it positive and be open minded. And lastly: If people hated Argonath that much, they wouldn't still be here 5 years later trying to fix what's wrong. Keep that in mind Argonathians.

I will admit that I have over used some of those comments out of frustration of repeated shit. I do want to make clear that while many people shouldn't leave, there are those who should because of point number #3.

My ideology on this is that there are certain people you can "train" and "fix" to not rulebreak, to not focus on killing, and to DO engage in roleplay acts that do not either hinder everyone else or make the server look like TDM.

And of course there's people who you cannot, after many attempts.

Many of these people have been banned repeatedly and continue to get unbanned through constant broken promises. And there are many of these people who do not get banned often, but continue their acts from admin action by disguising it as roleplay.

Those are the people IMHO who need to take it upon themselves to leave if management wont take action to force them out... for good.

[Devin]

Fortunately the systems and way problematic players are handled has been changed since RS4, players will not be given chance after chance to prove they have changed.
If they are not able to follow the rules they will be out for good. There is no patience for those that refuse to learn or understand what they are doing wrong.

[JDC]

Cheating for the Oscars is pretty much banter whereas f**king around with a game mode which affected the community is not banter.

Not entirely true. The Oscars are one of the most visible and tangible ways of players recognizing each other's achievements and contributions to the server, and reflect our players' ethics. If someone is willing to use dirty tactics to elevate themselves while undermining more deserving players, I would not expect them to have a trustworthy judgment. Sadly, we have no shortage of those kind of players.

If you have any actual proper experience with research IRL, then you will know that dangling statistics and raw numbers is not always the best way to address a problem, (hint: qualitative vs. quantitative) especially when a substantial amount of players participating in a poll analyze things in very superficial ways.

Surprisingly enough, I only seem to get admin punishments in Argonath RPG. Admins need to be more strict? Fuck off, its already enough they are making rules on the spot. '/p chat talking about football'
''REDNAME: GUYS STOP TALKING ABOUT FOOTBALL''.  Is there a rule that we cant talk on /p?

Again, another very simplistic observation with a very limited context. If you don't have a worldview biased against admins, then you will know that you are pretty much free to talk about any topic as long as you stay within proper bounds and don't escalate the discussion into a dangerous area. The fact that I can talk about almost anything on server (as I know how to restrain myself properly) proves your implication false.

Also, you omit the fact that Argonath is one of the few communities where admins are not chosen because of reliability and maturity, rather than on the basis of VIP, clan membership, closeness to community owners/leaders, or ability to spend RL money to buy features on an online game.

I actually have a great time with Dellstorm, I do not ''exploit'' him at all. He is the fairest admin within the community. Weaker community? No, its just a matter of recruiting players which have the 'firm but fair' trait.

Dellstorm may appear easy and approachable to talk to, but the question is does he actively and effectively suppress players who seek to sow discord in the community? Aragorn himself personally confided to me that he is sick of players who abuse Gandalf's kindness, like repeatedly-banned players who approach "kinder" admins and promise to change, only to go back to their shitty ways after, until they get banned again.

This is not to point fingers or label Dell as a bad admin, and I myself know Dell as a good friend. My point here is that just because someone does not conform to your expectations, that does not mean they are a bad admin; there are many different styles of carrying out admin work, from those who prefer the diplomatic approach first to those who won't take shit from any rulebreakers at all. Proof that our admin team keeps restraints on its staff to a minimum (aside from given responsibilities such as exemplifying rule-abidingness) and allows them to serve the community at their full potential regardless of personality once they pass the standards, rather than being a dogmatic body.

The community is in a vulnerable state now. Because of that, we need a stricter admin team; one that will not allow moaners and shitters to get away with griefing payers who are actually giving effort to help rebuild SA:MP. If you find yourself getting punishments from admins a lot, then you should look within yourself instead of pointing fingers at admins and saying they are the problem.

P.S: Also, everything Chase said.

[Eps_Smalls]

Can't agree more with you.

With this too lol:

Couldn't agree more with #1, I see more insults from ateam than from players, the way they say "leave if you don't like, leave" is equal to GTFO.

[Devin]

Can't agree more with you.

With this too lol:

Couldn't agree more with #1, I see more insults from ateam than from players, the way they say "leave if you don't like, leave" is equal to GTFO.

I could go along Aragorns route and simply say: Fuck off you ungrateful twat.

However I could not be bothered to respond to negativity with negativity as it won't lead to anything positive;
What I can say is if you don't appreciate the way the administrators speak to you then send an email as I check them at least twice a day and deal with them on the day I receive them.

[JDC]

This topic has good intentions despite it needing some smoothening out. Let's not let it get maneuvered by problematic, anti-admin players into another Players vs. Admins topic. (Yes, you know who you are and I am addressing this to you)

Admins are here to help. If you have problems with most of them, then take a good, long look at the mirror.

To quote Boromir: If you don't trust our helpers, leave. Unless an admin is abusing his power, there is no reason for you to portray him in a bad light.

[Petarda]

I could go along Aragorns route and simply say: Fuck off you ungrateful twat.

does that guy have tourette syndrome, all I heard about him was that he just insulted people and banned them.

[JDC]

does that guy have tourette syndrome, all I heard about him was that he just insulted people and banned them.

In behalf of all loyal Argonath veterans, I will state that the first letter of your name should have been an "R". Maybe you should change it that way, it suits you more.

Aragorn was one of the best leaders this community had and took no shit from anyone who wanted to cause trouble here. His rough language was one of his signature traits, but he got things done.

Also, when he attempted to resign permanently, players from all factions banded together and called for his return. Not like anyone would want you to stay.

[aleksandar_gojkovic]

I am here for 3 years, and i want to stay for 3 more. This topic really is great, and i support what vince said. Let's get this server back on top!

[Petarda]

In behalf of all loyal Argonath veterans, I will state that the first letter of your name should have been an "R". Maybe you should change it that way, it suits you more.

try harder