Goodbye, Discovery Community

[onca]

Friends, time has come to call it quits. Disco has been a 2nd home for the past 1.5 years, and it's been alota fun. But like all things it must end somewhere.

So long, fairwell, Auf wiedersehen, goodbye....

I know I've been on a soap box lately. I've been a prick and gotten on people's cases needlessly, like Dreygon, and Epyon before that, and I apologise.

That said, my leaving is nobody's fault... no bitterness, no complaints, no "scroo u awl", no big red "IRGONE" siggy, no "wah wah I'm taking my bat & ball and going home!!!" Just a case of I've taken the whole Freelancer thing about as far as it can go. I've put many 100's of hours into this game, and any more is more of the same... I've had enough. Seriously. There is the RP of course, but my heart's not in it any more. I had a bloody good run, met some fantastic people at Disco and had many more good times than bad. We've had our ups and downs, but it really has been a privilege knowing y'all. Now, there's a ton of stuff out there I must move on to. (Don't worry I'm not getting sucked in to Wow or Eve or anything.... oh god no....)

For one thing, my dream is to quit the crummy computer industry and get into writing & film making. That'll mean going back to college full time for 4 years and being a bum student. Followed by starving to death. (And in case you're wondering, the answer is "yes"... heh heh)

Adieu, adieu, to yieu and yieu and yieu....

There are a few people, past and present, who deserve a mention.... you meant something over and above the norm to me, even if we never even spoke two words, which you might find a bit weird; like it or not you made my stay in Disco a little bit more special:

- MrSns -- my alpha buddy
- Fellow Hoodlum -- a heart of gold right there
- Malaclypse666 -- brings narley chaos and purdy colors to a drab, ordered world
- Caylith -- don't let the flame of your spirit ever go dim
- Nightfall -- shame about the stuff, you always contributed a lot to this place
- Korrd -- one who just made this place what it is
- Marauder -- another one who made this place what it is
- Bulldognk -- one word: "tenacity"
- Dark Oddity -- don't ask me why, just accept it
- McNeo -- we always found ourselves playing on the same team
- Majkp -- an all-round top bloke, as we say here
- Archelon -- you brought something unique to this community
- Bluntpencil -- Ares and Farquar just seemed to click, I reckon
- Yngen -- a most pleasant fellow, we gave those Junkers a run for their money
- Virus, Quintinius, Alpha, Dboy, TankTarget, BestFlyer, Kane -- young men I've grown to respect
- Harlequinn -- >.> <.< >.>
- Supernova -- drove everyone to distraction, but I just could never be mad at you
- Igiss -- goes without saying but I'll say it anyway: Большое спасибо за Диско
- Last but not least, Dab -- head the size of a planet, yet you give me hope for the youth of this world

Oh god I'm sure I've left people out.... anyway to the rest of you, forget about what I said about this place not being the same. What Hoodlum said in another post is correct: this is still one of the best online communities around. And not just with Freelancer, but anywhere. I mean that. I hope it stays that way.

And the young people here... when all's said and done, you are some of the most mature and intelligent kids I have ever met. You are a cut above the usual slackjawed lot who hang around the malls and train stations, and sit drooling in front of Big Brother and other mind-rotting pollution. Although sometimes I might wonder otherwise, I am proud to have associated with you. I firmly believe you who are the future leaders of this world, and maybe there is hope for us yet.

I wanna reiterate what I said elsewhere: remember what you're doing is above all a game. That means don't take yourself too seriously, and at the same time it means play nice. The other players are human beings too, with actual feelings and what have ya. So don't be a bully, don't be a rule nazi, and don't be a shameless pwnz0r. Cut people some slack, give them a break, do everything you can to make their experience a positive one... coz don't forget everyone is here primarily to chill and leave the stinking RL behind for a little while, and have a good time.

I leave you with this. My Disco philosophy, my guiding light if you will, can be summed up with this classic track:

When I wake up
in the morning light
I put on my jeans
and I feel all right.
I put my blue jeans on
I put my ol' blue jeans on

Rightio. I guess I'll pop back in occasionally, and I'll be on Skype (jquarry747) and elsewhere (onca747). Call me anytime; note I often pretend to be "offline" if I'm playing something. I'll keep an eye out, and I hope to see many of you around the traps.

You've been a great bunch of pals. I'll make sure mom doesn't sell you or anything. Bye!

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