From the heart ...

[Draco1962]

I am a little peeved at some of the complaints I have seen over recent months and, I believe justifiably so. I have not said anything up until now.

There are some that complain that they cannot download because of file download size and other limitations. All I can say is "Too freakin' bad!" There are ways to get access without any limits, some do not involve opening your wallet.

You can be recognized by the staff for your contributions to the community. You can contribute images and videos, or put your programming skills to work building a useful application, script, or add-on that works with the frontend to add fucntionality. Or you can just give frequent and consistant help to others.

Of course, you can purchase an annual or lifetime membership. Trust me when I say that you are not making anyone rich by doing so. Tom's costs for hosting the forums and file storage are well in excess of what he takes in from memberships.

Also, there is a perception that if one does purchase a membership, they are entitled to be treated differently or can act differently than someone that hasn't paid. You only get access to additional areas and program functionality that is not available to Basic members. That is it. If you behave like a tool, you will be dealt with accordingly regardless of membership status. If you are respectful to the staff and other members, you will receive the same in kind.

OK, soapbox mode off. Carry on, treat one another with awesomeness, and have a great day!

[DazzleHP]

Here here, it's about time someone said it. I'm glad it was you.

[stigzler]

4 hours ago, Draco1962 said:

You can be recognised by the staff for your contributions to the community. You can contribute images and videos, or put your programming skills to work building a useful application, script, or add-on that works with the frontend to add fucntionality. Or you can just give frequent and consistent help to others.

This, in particular, is well said, Draco. There's some very selfish, high-entitlement ****s in this hobby who contribute nothing and expect everything. One fella told me that he thought entering his own game controls in CPWizBiz was "too much like hard work" and that he was expecting to have it come pre-populated (presumably just for him). I politely explained that it had taken me nearly 3 years to code (given that I didn't know how to code!) and thus I was a little too tired to work night and day just for him and that I couldn't ensure his needs were prioritised over everyone else's. 

It doesn't take much to learn GIMP or gather assets. Sadly we live in a world where there is a huge sense of entitlement and low drive towards community or contribution. Most will continue to be walking cliches, but some will surprise - I live in hope!

Thanks for all your mod work, Draco - you're a trooper in that regard - you do mega-more than I do in that regard!

[stigzler]

As for that Dazzle fella - all he does is get drunk and sing chumbawumba....

[DazzleHP]

I know right! I'm such an asshole. Apologies.

[stigzler]

I meant the other tequila drinking Dazzle! You know - the one who walks on his feet a lot...

[hansolo77]

I'm definitely in that category of "recognized by staff".  I came into GameEx with no experience.  I dabbled in retro gaming with emulators, and the whole drawn out process of manually loading a ROM from within the emulator itself.  Then I heard mentions of "frontends" and GameEx appealed to me because of it's capabilities to also work as a media center.  It took some time, but I eventually got how it all worked, and tried to make my own experience as a newbie be helpful for others around that would inevitably stumble like I did.  So I started by giving step by step examples and screen shots of my processes.  Saying "load this, click here, type in this".  If anything, at first it was meant to help me so I'd have an online backup of what I did to make it work so I could do it all over again if I needed too.  Luckily, that little bit helped.  Then as things moved on, I became more proficient with the system, and was able to help troubleshoot common issues people seemed to be having without having to go back through pages of notes.  Again, a little, but it helped.  Years go by, and my status was just sort of forgotten.  I think it was Tom himself who said he thought I was already a mod/admin.  I didn't finally get my badge until a forum was restructured and the inclusion of a high score sub-forum was made and the need for me to have the ability to edit threads became necessary.  I never once asked for such a promotion, and certainly never felt deserving of it.  With any of the software from any and all aspects, I never felt like there should be an obligation from the programing staff to "halt all production to fulfill my own needs".  I'm not one to throw my on wait around.  I'm patient.  This is an ongoing, ever improving hobby.  And they key word there is "HOBBY".  It's not a job.  You shouldn't be making money on this.  It's a courteous generosity that the software is as cheap as it is, considering what it's capable of.  And with the announcement of Evolution, I noticed a lot of "WHEN" questions, but hardly any "What can I do to help?" ones.  You're not entitled to having a perfect system just because you paid for it.  There are people who haven't paid that get a lot more out of it.  I've donated a few times in the past, enough to get multiple copies/installations.  I never felt like since I've paid that I can suddenly turn around and start demanding things to happen.  Because I've been with you all for so long, I understand where it's all coming from.  The bad part is, the internet makes it so easy to hide behind a computer screen and troll.  People feel like they can't vocally be offensive, so they try their best visually in forums, etc.  There is a level of internet etiquette that so many people have yet to achieve.  It shows what kind of person you are by the way you treat them.  I'm glad I'm a member of this awesome community, and will continue to be for a long as we're online. 

If it were me, and you have to deal with a rude "customer"... do what I do at work.  "Make it right".  If you're not able to satisfy the customer's request/issue, offer a refund and kick them out.  Simple as that.  If they don't like it, here's your money back and don't let the door hit you on the way out.  Don't continue to settle to their level in arguments.  Just blindly smile, hit the return button, and kindly shove them on their way.

[RedDog]

Well, there is a silver lining. The vast majority of folks who drop into the forums are pretty decent folks and they make it pretty clear that they appreciate it when you are able to help them get them where they are going. It's even a nicer nod when one of those people that you gave a hand to steps up and give help to another member.

It's only the occasional person that might have a chip on their shoulder, so I think ratio isn't too bad.

@Draco1962 You are a good dude man. Maybe step back and take a breather for a bit. It's only fun until it isn't. Anyway, I am sure Stigzler can pick up the load once he's sobered up and is done breaking into song.  

[stigzler]

@RedDog - heh. Naw - I was clear with Tom that I wouldn't be very good at the day-to-day forum moderator stuff - I just aint got the skills for that. In that department, what I have been doing is as I'm setting up new emulators, I put an entry in the wiki for that emu. Thus, passing on emu setup knowledge, saving someone else the job. 

The other side is writing plugins and software so you guys can download it to have it break on you because it's made from spit and glue. Oh and let's not forget media set creation - big fan of that! 

Think we are blessed here with not too odoriferous members. If you head on over to byoac - there's a handful of real stinkers there who just ruin the fun for everyone (although this seems to be getting better). I still wish, though, that more people would contribute rather than just take. I think the percentage of contributors is really low. The game icons project, for example, is a great idea, but hardly anyone's helping out despite not requiring too much technical knowledge. And sorry, but if you can set up emulators, you can figure out GIMP!

2p worth over. 

[Draco1962]

@RedDog all is good here. I have actually been laying against the ropes and giving the world a break in responding to the posts. 

As I am now a non-smoker,  taking a breather, or a few deep breaths before responding is becoming more instinctual. 

I have a good crew here in you guys and have let them pretty much handle most of the heavy lifting. 

The majority of our members are good people and I understand that some will simply have an off day. I get that. I have them. Brevity in posts sometimes leads to misunderstandings as do imperfect Google Translations. 

That said, it has been a while since I've said much to address the behaviors noted and, having seen a slight uptick in them both in the forums and in IM, I felt the need to bring it out and let all know where I stand on them.

 

[hansolo77]

We're all behind you!

[Tom Speirs]

Just want to add to this and make it clear that I've never "sold" special support or entitlements. Everyone, whether paid or unpaid gets the same level of normally high service and support. Any payment is for products and services (such as GameEx, FTP and gameex online).

Its just logical really, a few bucks does not cover hours and hours of time in any sense which I why again I make it clear no payment is for "support" and never has been but we try our best.