Many of you know who I am. Many do not. I'm Troy, a long-time member and current faction leader of the Vagrant Raiders unlawful faction. I disappeared for a bit after being fed up with some rules and the state of the community about a year and a half ago, but I've seen some changes made and am now actually glad to be back in Discovery.
But that's not what I'm here to talk about.
This evening I was cleaning up the faction post some more and I noticed a couple posts in the faction thread by a former leader (I will not name him, but I am sure you can guess who he is) making comments about SRPs and the admin team from the faction's forum account. This does not look good at all, and I asked Widow to remove/invis the posts for me (thank you for taking care of that so quickly).
Worried about what else may have been posted, I began looking through the vagrantraiders account's post history and found a particular thread that I will not link because, quite honestly, I am ashamed of it. For those who don't know what thread I'm talking about, it basically consists of the former leader whining about the SRPs for the VCS Metropolis, VCS Systematic Chaos, VCS Nightmare, VCS Black Cloud, and VCS Silver Lining being taken away due to issues with SRP transference and inactivity. I edited a disclaimer about the post being opinion of a former leader in and a quick apology on behalf of high command, and went through the thread to look for more.
And then I saw a post in it.
(05-25-2013, 11:58 AM)Jihadjoe Wrote: Andrew, as much as I hate to break it to you... The VR come and go and come and go and never stick around for more than a few months. They have spent more time not existing than they have existing.
Since Dream Theatre left they've become probably the single most tears-fueled faction I have ever seen... Honest to god, I've never seen anyone complain so much as yourself at the helm of the VR. It's embarrassing to watch.
I don't mean to single anyone out (especially not Joe, who I respect deeply as a person and a member of the community), but god, that hurt to read. I actually felt horrible reading that. I held back tears of sadness. This is not how I want people to see the Vagrant Raiders at all. This is not how I remember seeing people treat the Vagrant Raiders. The Vagrant Raiders were not a whiny bunch at all. We were calm and friendly. And seeing this makes me sad because it means the faction I spent so much time playing with and loving has turned into a mess that is regarded by esteemed members of the comunity as a "tears-fueled faction".
So I want to apologize, not only for any whiny actions of my own in the past, but on behalf of the entirety of the Vagrant Raiders. That is not us. We do not want to be known as a temporary, tears-fueled faction. We are not here to complain and to be disturbers of the peace. We are here like 99.9% of the rest of the community -- to have fun and roleplay.
I want to apologize on behalf of the faction for our former leader. While I appreciate that he kept the faction more or less alive for a while, I do not appreciate the tone he used when doing it. Using the faction's "official" account to whine is not cool. Nothing of the sort will ever be seen again. You all have my word that the Vagrant Raiders will not degenerate into a pit of whining and sore losing ever again. I would sooner disband the faction than let that happen again.
Since Josh (Dream Theater) and the rest of the original Vagrant Raiders high command left, the VR did take a nose dive, and I accept that. The past can't be changed. I would also like to apologize for the failure of the faction at that point, but I think I've done enough apologizing for things I couldn't have controlled at all. However, things are taking a turn for the better. Activity is up, membership is increasing steadily, and the names of the Vagrant Raiders and the VCS Metropolis are getting out there in-game and proliferating through Sirius.
The Vagrant Raiders are no longer a tears-fueled, temporary faction. We are here to stay, and here to enjoy the community and game with calmness and a desire to be remembered as a faction with some troubled times but an overall positive influence on the Discovery Gaming Community and mod.
Thanks to everyone who read this post.
TL;DR - Read the post, please. I put a lot of thought and an equal number of feelings into it.
