Ok I just took the time to read this thread in it's entirety. Forewarning, this is going to be long but I hope you take the time to read it and don't tl;dr it.
For those that haven't come across me yet, I am NoeJeko and I am the owner of this site. I'm not going to waste your time by explaining what happened; it's already been linked in here and the merge info threads have already been linked.
First, let me say that all of you have every right to be confused and upset over the suddenness of the merge. I wish Louhfu had made a more public announcement on LTS, but what's done is done and we cannot undo that. I just ask that you please understand that he was trying to look out for you all and give you a place to go after the LTS server was taken offline. I watched this happen personally - a major fansite shut down with absolutely no warning and the members were scattered everywhere - they've slowly been finding their way here every since.
Some still haven't found us. Some don't want to find us. Some are angry with us. But we'll keep doing our best for everyone that wants to be here.
Next, let me say that I share a lot of your concerns on combined communities. Sites like mmosite and OnRPG don't appeal to me - the communities are too spread out and it's like you're all complete strangers on the board. That's also why the individual game sites on those boards do so poorly.
MyMMO's mission is to create a site that the nomad MMO gamer can enjoy, but still retain that "close-knit" feeling that dedicated fansites have. I've received a lot of outside opinions on this site so far - from other fansites that have taken notice of us. They all like the idea, and some are even telling their members they should come here once they lose interest in the games they cover! We will always strive to keep that warm community that you expect in a dedicated fansite. We have a professional, active, and motivated staff that keeps the community organized, spam-free (or as close as we can get it), and fosters events and community cohesiveness.
We don't plan to cover every MMO that's released. We plan to listen to our community, see where they're going, and adjust the forums here accordingly to accommodate them.
We're constantly adding features to MyMMOGames. We have an arcade (though yes, it's lacking in games and I'm working on that), a very comprehensive wiki that people are working very hard on (props to you, wiki team), a full featured image gallery, a staff blog, built-in IRC chat (you don't even need a client, just click the chat link!), graphics contests, in-game promotions, cash shop gift events (that you don't have to reveal your entire personal history and get spammed for!), a market and feedback system (with a completely custom market module coming later this year), and many more features on the drawing board that I can't tell you about yet!
WE care greatly about our site and take personal pride in ownership of the site. Our staff is responsive, caring, and strict when they need to be. We have the manpower to properly manage the forums and keep something new coming out around every corner. We guarantee you that we will all work our asses off for you - because it's our community too! We aren't just the "forum gods that sit upon high and moderate the mortals". We're community members first.
I can personally empathize with you all about moving around. Growing up, I went through family divorces, fathers leaving me, being tossed around in different homes - I changed schools 7 times before I graduated high school. For those that don't know, I'm prior US Air Force. I was even taken out of my home country and sent to live and work in Italy for 4 years, as well as 4 different states in the US. I've lived in 9 states and 2 countries. I know first hand that moving sucks.
On that note, moving is what you make of it. If you have the mindset that "moving sucks, I'm going to be miserable", then it's gonna suck and you're going to be miserable. On the other hand, you can view it as a new opportunity! Meet new people! Try new things! Get info on a hot new MMO and try it out with your old friends and new MyMMO friends! LaTale is coming out, and you all have the opportunity to interact with people you may not have met outside LaTaleSource! Likewise, some of us may never have met some of you. There's a good side to everything if you just open your eyes and look!
Regarding the forum skin - you cannot please everyone. The current skin is what has evolved from the feedback we've gotten so far. We get feedback daily, and if you look hard enough you'll notice that layout tweaks happen all the time. We do our best but we'll never please everyone. We can just hope that those that don't like one aspect of the forum do like the other aspects.
I've seen complaints about the work that went into the graphics of LTS. We run graphics events all the time, and these talented artists (I've seen the LTS artwork/design) can enter and win the contests and contribute directly to MyMMO's design and layout. There are avenues for everything, you just have to look around for them!
I'm not trying to convince you to like us. If you want to leave and start your own site, you're welcome to - I won't try and stop you. But why not at least give us a chance first? After the dust has settled, look around and see what you have. Look at how many people are working so hard to give you the best MMO community experience on the web. If you still want to leave, then you have my thanks for giving us a shot, and I wish you good luck wherever you go.
- NoeJeko
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