carlo.comments: carlo.log → May 12th 2002, 21:32 GMT
Hactar
· 7 years ago
Right, i just registered to comment. Im also writing this where my thoughts lead me so if it turns out to be spaghetti im sorry... ;)
Gossip, PJG is definetly a great site, and its a lot of work, and i understand that you may just not have time/"lust" for it.
PJG is also your baby, so its completely your decision of what you do with it, and if closing it is your final decision then im fine with it.
Please also note that im NOT trying to make you feel guilty, you dont need to, any reasonable member of the JG community will accept that you want to leave, although we dont want you to go.
But as i see it, jumpgate WILL die. PJG is what jossh should be, and without it the game looses its RP, its squad community, and many useful tools. Therefore i can only plead that one of the following will happen:
a) You buy yourself a pair of pink sunglasses and decide to stay (this probably wont happen but one can always hope) b) You hand over your baby to the community, let the news posters take over, give over command to someone you trust. This ones really hard, i probably could not do it with some of my babies, but its still an option. c) You get hired by MG, on your terms. Money can be a great inspiration. d) You sell your baby. If MG/ND/Themsis are too blind to see that JG needs this site then JG will surely die.
I pray that something happens before May 31. Again i understand and respect that you want to walk away, i just hope that it wont end on this. I also know im being egoistic. Im only human...
Edited on May 12th 2002, 22:34 by Hactar
Lupus
· 7 years ago
As I've said in the comments on the PJG board I can't imagine living without PJG. It's become part of my life now :)
But it won't be your fault Gossip, no matter what happens. It'll be our fault for not stepping in, and coming up with a site to help build our community. Because that's what JG can't live without. I'm not a beta vet. I only heard about it a week after EU went retail. But I've come to know the community in EU pretty well. Not through the MG site, but through PJG. Without a community, JG would be nothing more than (as many have pointed out) boring transport missions, routine dumb fluxing, and the occasional RP, with characters you never see, and storylines that come round rarely.
I can't imagine using the MG site. I don't really like it, it doesn't feel right, and it doesn't really work. I can't read the news on the forums, because the marking messages as read function doesn't work. The people I know don't post funny little gems there. There's just no feeling of community there.
So yes, we've all been lazy - but the fact is, noone would have been able to compete with PJG for the community. Who would want to build a site which noone visited. So maybe what you've done will kick start people into making their own site. I just hope they're half as good.
Lup
EDIT: Over my initial shock, and I've changed my mind. I don't want anyone to take your site and do things to it. I know I wouldn't be able to sit back and watch that. So we'll see where things go from here :)
Edited on May 13th 2002, 12:45 by Lupus
Istvan
· 7 years ago
Don't feel bad, Carlo. When something becomes unenjoyable work, you owe yourself to cut loose and prevent the burden from being a strain on your life.
I knew about your near-miss in terms of coming to work for NetDevil. I didn't know about Mightygames. I believe that both of those companies each made a grim mistake on the days they decided they were unable to meet your terms, for whatever reason. Your decision to create a hobby of running PJG back in 2000 has been in no small part responsible for the success of JumpGate thus far. Those who have a financial investment in the game should have recognized the value of your contribution and brought you into the fold - you recognized what their sites lacked, and filled the gap. Their error, their loss.
I was online flying with you the day you mumbled "I've got an idea... see you guys later." and logged out from QC (when it was a potato). Two days later PJG went online. I never really thought I'd see the day PJG closed down.
You probably shouldn't have given this many days' notice before shutting the site off... I imagine it's going to be a tough twenty days as your mailbox fills up with the screams of fans.
Hang in there.
Zhaneel
· 7 years ago
Gossip, even though I've already left the community, I feel for you. I confess, I still visit PJG occasionally just to see what's going on. It was the first place I checked for anything important, and the first place I posted when I was PR for OSR. You made a great site, kept it up, and made the community what it is today.
But I also understand your reasons for leaving. Completely and utterly. I got burnt out way before you did, but I do understand. I also know this must be harder for you than any of us can understand becuase you've held on for so long and given so much of yourself to this community.
Perhaps the idea of letting someone else take over your baby is feasible. But I also know it is most likely not.
Congrats on two years of great work, service, and love. We respect you and your decision.
But don't take g-blog with you!!!! ;-)
Zhaneel
Sythicus
· 7 years ago
Like Hactar, I registered to comment as well.
I don't think I could possibly express in one brief post as much as everyone's said in the 200+ comments at PJG.
Nevertheless, I want to extend gratitude for everything that you've done. I've only been involved with the community for a brief moment of its history, but for me, being a part of that community means being a part of PJG.
Da gibt's eigentlich keine Wörter. Vielen Dank, und Servus!
Drizzt321
· 7 years ago
as #3, #4, #5 said, thank you for the wonderful time. don't worry about closing shop, I can understand your feelings, just keep in touch with us a bit, and don't ever look back and feel guilty! we respect you, we love the site you have/had, and we'll miss it and you. but you do what you need to. thanx!!
Mulligan
· 7 years ago
Hey! You made a decision you felt is the right one. Only you can make that decision. Ignore anyone that tries to suggest that maybe you should have done something, or maybe you shouldn't or yeah this is the right thing to do. PJG is your baby. You've done wonderful things to bring the community together. It's always a difficult decision to make, closing down a site. Especially if that site is as successful and means as much to you as PJG obviously does.
The wheel turns. Life moves on. Take immense pride in everything you've achieved. People will remember you for that.
Peace.
Mull.
ekoostik
· 7 years ago
Carlo, don't feel bad, mate.
I know how you feel, it's never fun to shut your baby down. When it reaches the point where it's more of a job and less of a source of enjoyment, it's just not worth it any more.
You and I have talked about this before, and you know my feelings on the matter. I think you definitely made the right choice.
I just wanted to say thanks for PJG. While i was playing JG, it was great to have, and i'll always remember it.
Philybe
· 7 years ago
Though i don't know you all that much, I still think your making the right desciscion. PJg has been a great sight for over 2 years. I've been a memb er since i entered beta, an dlo ve what you've donw with it. but all good things m ust come to an end, and it'd be a shame if it had ended any other way then this. I can't say anything about alternative option or anything. It's been a pleasure to read and use yo ur site for the year and 2/4 i've been playing jg. Thanks for the opportunity.
Tripwire
· 7 years ago
Definitely don't feel guilty. Your absolutely right about leaving. When you don't enjoy something and it's additional burden in your already busy life then it is time to let it go. I also think your right in leaving while your on top rather then letting it slowly decline. Go out as a legend :)
The effort and dedication you put into PJG is very evident. It's too bad you couldn't work things out with Netdevil. I am glad to hear that both companies respected you so much to offer you a position. I am sure your proud of that. You certainly deserved it. Like I mentioned on PJG I have a lot of respect for you and your talent.
As far as JG surviving without PJG.. well it is really up the the community. It's time for the community to step up to the plate now. If the community gets organized, if the community works together, then something new can emerge. It will never be PJG.. no where close, but it could be enough to keep the community thriving. If the communtity does nothing then yes JG will suffer, but it wont be your fault, it will the community's fault.
Personally I would say if you received some sort of offer from ND for PJG then you should take it. You definitely deserve whatever compensation you get for it. However, I can also understand if you don't want too.. because it is yours.
I also think you should consider licensing the code base/engine out. Obviously it wouldn't include the look and feel of PJG and perhaps the code is too integrated into JG for that. As a programmer/developer I hate to see all effort you put into the code go into mothballs. Maybe you have other plans for it down the road.
Take care and I'll still be here on G-blog :)
soraya
· 7 years ago
I can so feel with you, Gossip. Back in the days of the 57th Squadron after two years of building it as its Vice Honcho, in 1998 it was the same situation: it had become more a job than a hobby, more something I had to do than rather something I wanted to do.
To some degree I have never fully recovered from that overdose. It's 4 years later and I'm not back to where I started (as a fan). I'm still in contact with many people, some of who became my closest friends (like you f.e. ;-) but I never really came back to the fandom.
I hope your burning out has not gotten yet to the degree that you won't feel able to participate as a fan again instead of someone serving the community. Although I've never played JG and only heard about it through you, I've always admired your work on the site and saw it as the central station of JG's community - something you can always be proud of.
No matter what.
Soraya
Lilith
· 7 years ago
We talked about it a bit already, so all I want to say in public is this: it is your site, it is your decision. I will miss it, but it is your life and you being happy with what you do in your free time matters more than a game fansite.
As to JG survival--I dislike playing a doomsday prophetess (and that is how I usually end up sounding), but as Trip said, it IS up to the community, and only them. The sad part is that the community is not the same as it was in beta, and frankly, it has lost my respect for the most (not all, but most) part.
Too many of those who cared and mattered left it, and while there are many new fans, most of them don't know the first thing about JG (not even silly things like who Lothar's landing belongs to). The atmosphere is not the same, and a lot more things are accepted and taken as normal in the game that should not be.
I am not going to make this a long rant, so basically--I don't think the community is what it was. I don't think it will survive unless new leaders step up, and I don't know anyone who would/could do it that still plays the game.
Carlo, I wish you all the best, and I will still be around here, and bug you otherwise of course. :D
JG brought me a number of good friends and it's a shame that most of them walked out of the game for reasons similar to why I don't play myself anymore. Nevertheless, it's been fun and I am grateful to ND, since indirectly, it was their doing that we all met.
All Comments
Gossip, PJG is definetly a great site, and its a lot of work, and i understand that you may just not have time/"lust" for it.
PJG is also your baby, so its completely your decision of what you do with it, and if closing it is your final decision then im fine with it.
Please also note that im NOT trying to make you feel guilty, you dont need to, any reasonable member of the JG community will accept that you want to leave, although we dont want you to go.
But as i see it, jumpgate WILL die. PJG is what jossh should be, and without it the game looses its RP, its squad community, and many useful tools. Therefore i can only plead that one of the following will happen:
a) You buy yourself a pair of pink sunglasses and decide to stay (this probably wont happen but one can always hope)
b) You hand over your baby to the community, let the news posters take over, give over command to someone you trust. This ones really hard, i probably could not do it with some of my babies, but its still an option.
c) You get hired by MG, on your terms. Money can be a great inspiration.
d) You sell your baby. If MG/ND/Themsis are too blind to see that JG needs this site then JG will surely die.
I pray that something happens before May 31. Again i understand and respect that you want to walk away, i just hope that it wont end on this. I also know im being egoistic. Im only human...
Edited on May 12th 2002, 22:34 by Hactar
But it won't be your fault Gossip, no matter what happens. It'll be our fault for not stepping in, and coming up with a site to help build our community. Because that's what JG can't live without. I'm not a beta vet. I only heard about it a week after EU went retail. But I've come to know the community in EU pretty well. Not through the MG site, but through PJG. Without a community, JG would be nothing more than (as many have pointed out) boring transport missions, routine dumb fluxing, and the occasional RP, with characters you never see, and storylines that come round rarely.
I can't imagine using the MG site. I don't really like it, it doesn't feel right, and it doesn't really work. I can't read the news on the forums, because the marking messages as read function doesn't work. The people I know don't post funny little gems there. There's just no feeling of community there.
So yes, we've all been lazy - but the fact is, noone would have been able to compete with PJG for the community. Who would want to build a site which noone visited. So maybe what you've done will kick start people into making their own site. I just hope they're half as good.
Lup
EDIT: Over my initial shock, and I've changed my mind. I don't want anyone to take your site and do things to it. I know I wouldn't be able to sit back and watch that. So we'll see where things go from here :)
Edited on May 13th 2002, 12:45 by Lupus
I knew about your near-miss in terms of coming to work for NetDevil. I didn't know about Mightygames. I believe that both of those companies each made a grim mistake on the days they decided they were unable to meet your terms, for whatever reason. Your decision to create a hobby of running PJG back in 2000 has been in no small part responsible for the success of JumpGate thus far. Those who have a financial investment in the game should have recognized the value of your contribution and brought you into the fold - you recognized what their sites lacked, and filled the gap. Their error, their loss.
I was online flying with you the day you mumbled "I've got an idea... see you guys later." and logged out from QC (when it was a potato). Two days later PJG went online. I never really thought I'd see the day PJG closed down.
You probably shouldn't have given this many days' notice before shutting the site off... I imagine it's going to be a tough twenty days as your mailbox fills up with the screams of fans.
Hang in there.
But I also understand your reasons for leaving. Completely and utterly. I got burnt out way before you did, but I do understand. I also know this must be harder for you than any of us can understand becuase you've held on for so long and given so much of yourself to this community.
Perhaps the idea of letting someone else take over your baby is feasible. But I also know it is most likely not.
Congrats on two years of great work, service, and love. We respect you and your decision.
But don't take g-blog with you!!!! ;-)
Zhaneel
I don't think I could possibly express in one brief post as much as everyone's said in the 200+ comments at PJG.
Nevertheless, I want to extend gratitude for everything that you've done. I've only been involved with the community for a brief moment of its history, but for me, being a part of that community means being a part of PJG.
Da gibt's eigentlich keine Wörter. Vielen Dank, und Servus!
The wheel turns. Life moves on. Take immense pride in everything you've achieved. People will remember you for that.
Peace.
Mull.
I know how you feel, it's never fun to shut your baby down. When it reaches the point where it's more of a job and less of a source of enjoyment, it's just not worth it any more.
You and I have talked about this before, and you know my feelings on the matter. I think you definitely made the right choice.
I just wanted to say thanks for PJG. While i was playing JG, it was great to have, and i'll always remember it.
The effort and dedication you put into PJG is very evident. It's too bad you couldn't work things out with Netdevil. I am glad to hear that both companies respected you so much to offer you a position. I am sure your proud of that. You certainly deserved it. Like I mentioned on PJG I have a lot of respect for you and your talent.
As far as JG surviving without PJG.. well it is really up the the community. It's time for the community to step up to the plate now. If the community gets organized, if the community works together, then something new can emerge. It will never be PJG.. no where close, but it could be enough to keep the community thriving. If the communtity does nothing then yes JG will suffer, but it wont be your fault, it will the community's fault.
Personally I would say if you received some sort of offer from ND for PJG then you should take it. You definitely deserve whatever compensation you get for it. However, I can also understand if you don't want too.. because it is yours.
I also think you should consider licensing the code base/engine out. Obviously it wouldn't include the look and feel of PJG and perhaps the code is too integrated into JG for that. As a programmer/developer I hate to see all effort you put into the code go into mothballs. Maybe you have other plans for it down the road.
Take care and I'll still be here on G-blog :)
To some degree I have never fully recovered from that overdose. It's 4 years later and I'm not back to where I started (as a fan). I'm still in contact with many people, some of who became my closest friends (like you f.e. ;-) but I never really came back to the fandom.
I hope your burning out has not gotten yet to the degree that you won't feel able to participate as a fan again instead of someone serving the community. Although I've never played JG and only heard about it through you, I've always admired your work on the site and saw it as the central station of JG's community - something you can always be proud of.
No matter what.
Soraya
As to JG survival--I dislike playing a doomsday prophetess (and that is how I usually end up sounding), but as Trip said, it IS up to the community, and only them. The sad part is that the community is not the same as it was in beta, and frankly, it has lost my respect for the most (not all, but most) part.
Too many of those who cared and mattered left it, and while there are many new fans, most of them don't know the first thing about JG (not even silly things like who Lothar's landing belongs to). The atmosphere is not the same, and a lot more things are accepted and taken as normal in the game that should not be.
I am not going to make this a long rant, so basically--I don't think the community is what it was. I don't think it will survive unless new leaders step up, and I don't know anyone who would/could do it that still plays the game.
Carlo, I wish you all the best, and I will still be around here, and bug you otherwise of course. :D
JG brought me a number of good friends and it's a shame that most of them walked out of the game for reasons similar to why I don't play myself anymore. Nevertheless, it's been fun and I am grateful to ND, since indirectly, it was their doing that we all met.