I am not sure exactly what you mean by that, Laurence, so i cannot answer it for you, unless it was meant as a rhetorical question. lol

I mean that this thread looks like more and more a settling of scores between moderators, ex-moderator and new moderator. And I find that shocking.
Especially since it does not really concern us!

Laurence,

It has absolutely nothing to do with settling scores. I am not being vengeful for I have nothing to be vengeful about, and it does have EVERYTHING to do with you and every other member on here. There appears to be a great injustice here and I am standing up and being heard. As I stated above, I am no longer considered a representative of the company. I do not hold a position on the LDW team anymore and because of this, I am able to state my opinions once again without fear of putting LDW in bad light by saying things of a personal nature while I hold that LDW position. It would not have been right or considerate of the company if I did that.

My original post was not an attack on any one person. It was made to point out my thoughts on the way things are run here. To show, even in this thread, how things are contradictory and are perceived differently between each member of the LDW team. I want change. I want fairness across the board. It was because of these inconsistencies that I quit being a moderator here. Vengeance brings nothing but grief. Standing up and being heard, backed by the power of examples of proof and offering a solution seems most logical.

I have a point to prove. That's the whole thing here, I have a point to be made and I am making it. You don't have to agree with me. That is completely your choice. That is the choice of everyone who reads this thread. Agree, disagree... That is what makes a debate a debate. Debate me. Tell me I am wrong. I don't care. That is your right. I don't have to agree with you. That is my right. Exercise your right. I am exercising mine. Please understand this though, it has absolutely nothing to do with settling scores, for, like I said before, I have no scores to settle. I chose to leave. I am just trying to make this a fair and even place by pointing out the flaws... It is not being vengeful. It is having a backbone and standing up to be heard.

What has become of my beloved LDW forums and SB where I had such fun? I used to love to log on, read posts and have a chat but now so many are squabbling and complaining!!

I love you all, so please , and let's all be loving friends again.

I don't care about LDW anymore, the only reason why I'm here is to talk to a friend, and we talk on other sites too.
And...
THANK goodness the SB is gone. All it is...
is disappointment mixed with noobs mixed with reprimands.
I'm sorry, but thank goodness.
For a while, I'd switch back to how it was before 06, LDW gaming discussion only, sorry.
Then I'd go back to um...
having additional perks?
(((((I shouldn't even be here. :I
I haven't bought a LDW game since 08, and by typing this post, and talking to the friend, I'm using up bandwidth, and wasting money.)))))

And Gnomey, the forum won't go back to hugs and kisses and cuteness, I don't think.

I'm saying sorry in advance in case I offend any person in this post.

Warning! This WILL be long!



Britney, forgive me, But I think your wrong. The Gnome was right. If we all stop right now and work together to make this a happier place, It can be back to us all being loving friends again.

Also, The Forum isn't just Who Am I, if you seriously look people post something new everyday! Also, this thread is also the cause of a couple of members leaving our dear forums permanently and temporarily. And Insulting LDW won't help at all and will only make things worse. Also, the Admins are working on the rules and some of you requested they change them. They are, but still, sadly, this fight rages on.

I know none of us will NEVER forget what happened here, but let's work together and not against each other and work towards making this forum a happier place. Maybe instead of fighting, we all could give suggestions for the revisions on the SB rules. Maybe we all could Calmly ask the Mods and Admins questions about what You've had done wrong or offer help. And by All I don't mean the whole LDW community typing the same the same question. For Example....

Member: Could you please tell me what rule or conduct I had broken The other day in the SB?

Mod or Admin: I'd be happy to answer that. You gave another member a spoiler. Please, next could you tell the member where and what He/ she needs to look up in the search function next time?

Member: I'd be happy to oblige! Thank you!

See? If we all acted a little kinder and more polite we all would smiling anytime when we log on or off LDW forums ( unless you woke up on the wrong side of the bed or somebody put cranky pills in your last meal! ) We all are a part of a ginormous family and I think there's no family that didn't ever have a fight. And they always made up. And maybe in the near or far future, Our big family will have a nice and dangerously funny ( ) reunion! And maybe all the long lost members will come back to us, even if it's only for a short period of time. We all need to say sorry and take down the fence that separates us all from paradise here at LDW forums. We need to pour a bucket of water over this Fire fight. We need to turn over a new leaf. We need to... Well, You get the point. Soon, The SB will be back and we'll have a second chance, So let's not ruin it.

Just wait and see, if we work together this Forum will be a fun, happy place.
Sometimes things just don't work out and a fight like this happens that could have been avoided.Next time when and if a problem like this arises maybe we can fix it in a more peaceful and friendlier place. I hope that you all took this post into careful consideration and this problem is solved a less hurtful way.

This was a miscommunication that I, and some other members, can be fixed quickly. I know this REALLY sounded like a sermon, But I promise I'll be back to mischievous little self as soon as this problem is solved . But you seriously should have expected this from, considering that long post I made about this problem. Thank you for reading this and I hope I helped and did not offend any one out there that has read this.

I mean no offense either.

Once something happens, its hard to go back to the way it was, although it may still get better. People only recently began posting every day in topics instead of who am I. A member(s) has been told change would happen two months ago, it still hasn't. It's hard to ask calmly when you get the run around repeadetly. Apparently one of the mods has called a member a liar. He has taken a break now to think this through, which I think will help the forums. The mods and admins are to busy to allow dangerously funny moments. I have doubts that the long lost members will come back, simply because they were gone before this took place. Sometimes, fighting fire with fire lets the other side see that your ideas, or "fire" is something they never thought of. I'll say sorry when I see change happinging, the only change I've seen in the past month or two is the posts per day dropping very rapidly. The niceties should be provided by the people who start the problem. I don't know how all the pm's went, but I believe gamey was polite in his post. CC, I'm not sure this will be ending any time soon.

Im not done posting until I see some change,
Luke.

I wasn't trying to insult LDW. I don't think any of us were trying to be insulting in the first place. WE'RE just stating opinion. And I'm sorry but I'm with Brit on this. All we get for answers is round abouts. I don't know what more I can say. I truly don't. The only thing I can say is this:

I don't think LDW forums will ever go back to they were again. There will be wounds that never heal. For new members prehaps it can happen again. But for those who have been scarred...never the same

I may be on break, but I will still check the forums now and then. I'm breaking my self imposed silence to say only this one thing.

Despite what you've read here, I NEVER called Spinny, or anyone else a liar. She totally misconstrued a correction I attempted to politely make in the SB when I caught her in what I perceived to be role playing.

I only vaguely recall the whole incident. I don't recall my exact words, but I believe (knowing how I usually handle such things) that it was a generic reminder that role playing is not allowed.

I recall that she attempted to openly challenge that, and I attempted to move it to a PM in which she claims I made a rather off color remark.

Those of you who know me, also know that I became a minister before most of you were born. My point is that I simply can't conceive of a circumstance where I would make the kind of remark she claims I made to her.

To those who feel these forums will never go back to being the "Happyville" of the past, I challenge you to reflect inwardly, as I will be doing during my hiatus.

The ONLY thing stopping this from being a gentle, loving place where all feel wanted, is OUR attitude towards each other.

Differences can be set aside, disagreements resolved, and hurt feelings soothed. It takes only a sincere desire on the part of everyone involved to make it happen.

I have, and am willing to continue to apologize to anyone I may have offended. I assure you such offense was unintentional.

When I suggested that if they site isn't making people happy they look elsewhere, I wasn't attempting to tell them they aren't welcome here, rather that they decide if this is really a site they want to visit.

Nor, was I attempting to shush Gamey, or suggest people don't have a right to suggest change. I think Barbara (who for all practical intents is "the boss" here) welcomes your suggestions.

But, please keep in mind that just because the admins want to hear your ideas, DOESN'T mean they will always agree, or accept those suggestions. If the answer is no, then you need to accept it and move on. NOT try to force change.

There are right ways and wrong ways to bring about change. I personally feel this public bickering is the wrong way. I believe it is doing far more harm than good. I really wish those who persist in keeping the argument alive would take their own time to stop and think about their ulterior motive.

Is it really to bring about change? Or is it simply to try and tear down something you no longer like? If the first, then carry on. If not, then please end this now.

Hi Everyone,

I'm sad that the shoutbox is causing people to bicker. Oh well. It's gone now. I really don't have time to manage a consistent and fair chat board, as has been pointed out. Barbara doesn't either, as she is essential in the creation of our new games, in addition to her contributions here.

I liked the shoutbox...to me it was a neat toy that made me happy. The forums' purpose is to enable communication between LDW game fans, as well as between fans and the development team. We were doing this successfully before the shoutbox, and I guess we'll just have to go back to that for the time being. Maybe when posting on forums (as opposed to the SB), people are a little slower and think a little more, and its easier for people to avoid stepping on each others toes? I do not know.

Bottom line is it is getting heated, and angry people are fighting with each other, and that has little to do with what I love, which is making games! Yay! Virtual Villagers 5 ("New Believers") is close to beta (which makes us extra, extra busy)...it's such an interesting and different VV that I'm almost exploding with excitement. We meant to get new preview shots up by now, but Carla has a bad cold so we're late with that. :P

Get ready for some really bold new games, as well as games now on Android phones (Fish Tycoon just launched!), and faster and better launches on iPhone and iPad.

THIS, to me, is what it is all about.

Arthur