Thanks for all your hard work fearless, you built something very special here.
9 Likes
People make clean breaks from things when they believe those things are counter to their own well-being. Smoking, porn, girlfriends with maxed out credit cards, general asshatery; these are all great things to turn tail to and never look back. A near-perfect sim forum that you helped build? A community that must stand as one of the most well-behaved, helpful and welcoming as can be found outside AA? A hobby that is finally benefiting from technology that can present it in its long-dreamed-of glory? None of these are harmful things.
Taking a break I get. Stepping back I certainly get. I assume that @fearlessfrog will not lurk to see the responses so I wonāt address him directly. Whatever mix of talents combined to build this forum was a rare formula for successāone that has benefited me enough to support it in a very small way. It is not self-sustaining though. Democracy doesnāt build great cultures. Leadership and constant creative effort do. And that effort cannot be sustained indefinitely.
Done correctly, clean breaks are helpful for the breaker and generally depressing for the broked-upon. May Mudspike continue to be a good place for good people to help each other get the most enjoyment out of a good hobby. I know that it willābut I am still depressed.
10 Likes
Thanks for your thoughts. I think I get where @fearlessfrog is coming from. From what I know of him, he is an extremely goal driven individual. What you describedā¦a near perfect sim forum and main site that has hit a pretty good stride, I think demonstrates a job well done, and for him, mission accomplished.
Perhaps he saw the needle quivering a bit the last couple of years though. While weāve built a community, we have to be careful not to become tribal - I think weāve largely avoided that. A new person should be as welcomed and feel at home as much as a five year veteran. I hope we still are that place. In the same vein, as weāve all grown to know each other well over five years, sometimes things turn more social and less sim related, which can also be a good and bad thing. Iāve developed close friendships that I cherish here and it is a natural state of man to want to know how people are doing beyond your immediate interests.
As we are at a time to reflect and reassess, Iād personally like to see myself get a bit more content to the main site side of the house. The forum really was a complete afterthought and we were surprised at its success and also continuously worried about it. Not because it took a lot of member management, but because we were worried weād grow into problems. Largely, that has not happened - thanks to the even handed and proactive guidance of @Troll and @Fridge, since I happen to be more erratic in my moderation style and sometimes open my mouth before I think.
The nice thing about the parting is that it was a bit of a surprise (but also not reallyā¦I did see signs) but also that we did it near the top of a relationshipā¦both between myself and Frog and the site and Frog. He isnāt mad at anyone. He is just making a decision to put his precious time to work in some other area. I too hope he continues as a member as I will miss his interactions here tremendously. Depressed about itā¦I think that is a good term. It hits hard and there is a void without a doubt. Maybe he will miss us as much as we will miss him.
Butā¦
Mostly Iāll miss the dog updates.
16 Likes
Some like to build.
When the building is done, they move on.
13 Likes
I think we have a great @staff team here. The loss of a founder will of course be a deep blow but we as a community can weather it. We can continue being the happy friendly bunch we have never ceased to be. The 2 new (ish) mods are fair and even tempered and are a fantastic asset to the community both in the content and the moderation of the site. We are extremely lucky to have such a great pair of people at the steering wheel.
Plus we still have the original captain @BeachAV8R and we still have our community of friends and acquaintances that give me hope for the future of mudspike and our hobby.
On the sad day that this forum is no longer. I hope that all the work and time we ALL put into it means we can part as friends. Nowā¦didnt someone say something about a Hind and a Supercarrier? 
11 Likes
All the best and thanks for everything buddy. Stop by for some rocket League!
7 Likes
This. A goal of āmaintenance modeā is not really a goal, but maintaining a current state/status/equilibrium. I think that work @fearlessfrog put into it, really shows and as a goal driven person, a builder, it would be time to move on to a new challenge. I can appreciate that.
I am gonna miss the dry humour. 
13 Likes
I for one am very grateful for this forum site, over the years having delved into many sites in search of information and like minded souls. Mudspike is a haven for me, a home away from home, @fearlessfrog thankyou for the creation and upkeep of this site (& @BeachAV8R, @EinsteinEP, @Troll, @Fridge) your all your efforts in keeping the train on the rails. It is an incredible legacy you are leaving and should be very proud of its result.
Its not the destination that counts its the journey.
All the best in the future, keep safe and keep us all updated.
10 Likes
I am still relatively new to mudspike.
I joined mudspike for being a grown-up and hate-free place where simmers, like myself, can freely talk and discuss their hobby (without others trolling, hating or developers being arrogant to the community). I consider this to be a rare place on internet and am very grateful for that!
If this was one of your goals, then it is fully achieved no doubt 
13 Likes