Rather, I shall simply state my beliefs and concerns involving these forums. There is more to me than the apparent hatred of newbies and designing groups.
I am tired. I'll be honest. These forums have degenerated, in my mind, into pointlessness.
Many of you are too new to remembre what these forums used to be like, so I shall gladly enlighten you.
When the Age of Kings forums were created, we didnt have these break-downs into strategy, history, off-topic, and so on... we had one great forum where we discussed what would become of AoK which would not be released for still anothre year... we fought a little, too... in fact, we mainly fought.
I still remembre clearly the crazy flame-wars we had among each othre, and over the most ridiculous reasons... one person's mis-spelling of his screen-name... a jelly stain on someone's shirt in someone's picture on a picture thread... we did truly fight a lot, and over stupid reasons, but the fighting helped us... it united us and caused us to respect each othre as we wondered about AoK and often chatted about all othre sort of topics from the occasional politics to who was the prettiest model... sure we fought, but these fights helped to unite us.
Yet i am talking too much of AoK Heaven... after all, this is a scenario design forum... not just AoK Heaven, so let me tell you of AoE Heaven's forums...
the Scenario design community for AoE was much different from this one we have here... it was nicer... more peacefull... and, if you ask me, far better... it was a time when you visited the forums once a week and only saw ten new topics at the most... it was a time when newbies came once every three weeks, one at a time and did not make their prescence known by boasting of their fantastic campaign that will be the best ever... they came quietly and posted not a topic... but a post... as if to say that they would have to earn the right to post a new topic... it was a time when scenario designers worked alone... aspiring to each make a good campaign, but keeping quiet... advertisements were rare and most did not know of a new campaign until he saw it put in the granary, which only recieved an update once or twice a month... but through all this, and perhaps because of this, the scenario design community reached an epitome... it was perfect.
We have lost that perfection... how can we not have? look at these forums... our sins and faults are not coming in the form of flames and insults, but in the form of haughty newbies and haughtier designers... in the form of advertisements and boasts... in the form of new scenario secrets and RPG's...
With that, I shall leave you now... You shall still see my stray posts filtering occasionally on these forums, but otherwise, I shall not be here... I am leaving AoK Heaven, though I shall visit it occasionally, perhaps place a post or two, but wait and wait until perhaps one day, AoK heaven can begin to resemble its predessor... when we return to Scenario Designing...
For now, Adieu and thanks, dear Heaven