Thoughts On The Last Year

So I've been on this server a little over a year now... I wanted to write something to share a few thoughts on the server, as well as post a strange document I came across the other day while sorting some files. Let's start with that.

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As most of you probably know, I am new to ShadowXCraft. While that has its disadvantages, I also feel that that gives me a different, and while not necessarily better, at least a fresh, viewpoint on the way the server can improve. Specifically, I have never seen the server with over 100 players. Ever. And while most people would think of that as a negative thing to say, I find that I personally enjoy spending time playing with 1 other person who I get along with and like, more than spending time playing with 100 other people who I barely know. And it is a rare thing indeed that I get on the server, even at 3 or 4 AM, and find no one on that I know fairly well. This tells me that while ShadowXCraft may have lost some of the fluff players from its glory days, the core of the server, the really dedicated players, the ones that aren’t just passing through, are alive and well, and that’s what really matters.

So what’s the point of all this? The point is, I want to make the server better for us, not for them. Would it be nice to have the server filled to capacity every day? Sure. To always have people in kitpvp to play with? Why not? But should that be the main focus? I think not. The important part, that I think is being glossed over, is a solid, friendly, open community. And the foundation of that community has to be the staff. We’ve got a good, no, a great start. The staff on ShadowXCraft are exceptional. Yes, indeed, exceptional... all 7 of them.

There are few things I hate more that repeating what others have already said, but we really, really do need more staff. I respect your desire to keep the standards high, but I feel a really good (though ambitious) goal for improving the server would be to have a staff member on 24/7. Sound unreasonable? Maybe it is. And that is why I’m writing this application, not only for myself, but for those others who have applied before me.

I’m going to be honest here, if you accept me, I’ll probably be the worst staff member on your team. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, you may say. But this is not a chain, this is a hill. The more you pile on top, the greater it becomes. While you must make sure the pieces of your hill do not give way, you will get nowhere without any pieces. And great big pieces like the ones you have found so far do not come often.You cannot expect to build a castle on a molehill, you must first build a mountain. And I would be honored to be a piece of gravel next to the boulders, to help support this great castle we could build together.

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In case you hadn't realized, that's a staff application I wrote about a year ago. And Yikes that's pretty cheesy. I have since realized that I'm really not cut out to be/don't have what it takes to be a staff member, so that has never seen the light of day, however, I thought I'd make a few comments on the topics in this app.

-New to shadowxcraft: That's changed. I've spent a LOT of time playing on this server, and my opinion of it has only improved. Best. Server. Ever. Period.

-Enjoy spending time with 1 person more than a bunch of other people: That's always been the (at least a) big draw for me. Sure, there are servers with thousands of people on 24/7. But how are you gonna get to really know any of those individuals? Answer: you're not. You'll only ever have a relatively shallow and in my experience, short time of enjoyment on that type of server.

-Focus on community: Perhaps that should be more of an individual thing, I'm not particularly sure what I had in mind for the server/staff to do about that. However, I feel like I have several pretty good friends on the server, which I'm really happy about. I also can't really think of anyone I really hate/really hates me, at least that I know of.

-Staff being on 24/7: Looking back, realistically speaking, that's not going to happen, and never will. That being said, staff DOES seem to be on a LOT more than before. I'll often get on 11-12ish pm and find 2 or 3, even 4 staff members online and active. Literally makes my day when I see all 6 (Fallen Catalyst, DjDan, Tspringst33n, JackShadowPyrez, ADayToRemember_ and RJayT2) online at the same time. Even as I type this (approaching midnight), there are four people on the server, me, jack, tspring, and rjay. I think that this shows great dedication and drive on the part of the staff team, which I love to see. Keep it up! <3

-That last part: let's just pretend that didn't happen.

Finally, I'd like to say that I appreciate each and every player who has contributed to my shadowxcraft experience. I'm currently up to my nose in commitments, both financial and temperal between work and school, (I'm sure most of you can relate) as I am Dual Enrolled, a program which allows me to be in both college and highschool at the same time. However, when I finish up highschool in about two semesters, I hope to put back into the community some of what I've gotten out of it. I think this server IS on an upswing. Let's keep it that way