On Thursday 21st October 2010 I made a decision to withdraw myself from content creation for the Railworks program. After spending 48 hours pndering over the decision, I have decided that I am indeed following through with it. All freeware creation will stop with immediate effect and I will fulfil my current agreed project(s), after which I plan to stop altogether.
There are many reasons why I have made the decision, the main one being the atmosphere surrounding rail simulation at the moment coupled with the abuse I receive privately via email, private message, youtube etc etc. I have always thought of myself having a thick skin and generally can deal with it, however, when it gets to a point where I am becoming extremely frustrated and the frustration boils over into my home life, thats where the line has to be drawn. Nothing matters more to me than my partner and two young children.
It also has to be said that a situation during this past week also contributed to the decision. I was banned from the UKTS forums for making a throwaway comment after someone stated they couldn't see portions of a payware product. It had already been stated earlier that the new payware protection system may cause this to happen so my question was "Have you bought the route", nothing more. This was deemed by a few members to be a straight accusation, which it wasn't. Indeed, these very members are some that have taken issue with me in the last and despite other members responding in a kinder fashion, knowing full well what was meant by my statement, I still received a ban from the moderators along with other members. I was told from my ban message that the ban came into effect "despite moderator warnings", however, to my knowledge, I was not warned directly and certainly received no warning via private message, a course of action I have always presumed would be taken. Although the ban is relatively small at 7 days, the fact that various members who engage in far worse are still happily posting in the forum and indeed are still spouting vitriolic comments to all and sundry, made worse by the fact that certain said members contribute absolutely nothing to the community, their only existence on the forums is to stir up hatred towards fellow members who dare to take a positive stance on Railworks.
If anyone did care to read this, many thanks for doing so and also many thanks for those who have been supportive and have enjoyed the content I have provided, it was always strongly appreciated. As you can see from above, this is not a decision I am making to prove any point or indeed penalise those who enjoy my work, I just need to re-iterate that when the frustration boils over into your personal life, you then realise the importance of that.
I shall make a further announcement regarding my position concerning my existing downloads in the near future.
Darren,
ReplyDeleteHaving read this following your Tweet, I feel I have enough to say on this matter to warrant a comment.
Firstly, I'm sure I speak on behalf of several people here when I say that I really commend and salute you for your contributions to the community and sim in general. Furthermore, your stance to put family and personal matters first deserves to be noted, too. It's easy to forget more pressing affairs when tangled up with creation and the amount of time and work that goes into routebuilding and content making seems to be lost on the majority of the community.
Sadly it's all take no give, unless that give is negative comments and lack of support. Of course there is a large number of people out there that really are valuable assets to the community, whether they go on forums or not.
It shouldn't be forgotten what the likes of you do for us all - afterall, we don't have to create items for their sake. Put frankly, we wouldn't do it if we knew others wouldn't be interested - this is no different for payware or freeware releases.
A friend of mine has also been subjected to a stern talking to from the seemingly power-hungry mods on UKTS and common sense has again not prevailed.
I do have a lot more to add, but fearing a giant flame war somewhere, I would just like to close again by saying thanks Darren, I hope you find it in yourself to return to us in some way, shape or form at some point to continue your legacy. More and more often, people are dropping out or falling away from their RW attachments for various reasons, and it has to be said that my confidence has also wavered lately.
I don't think you should feel obliged to say any more than "I'm out" (or the equivalent) about this; the fact that you have is again another offering to the community. How they respond will be up to someone else I suppose. If only I was as efficient as you, then the Trench would be done by now! Hats off to you and all the best to you in life. I'm going to cower back in the corner and hope they don't wage an even greater war against all things insignificant.
Hi Joe
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words from one of the few who understand and talk sense.
Of course, all of the negativity comes from a small minority of the community but when you find yourself in the situation that the "good" majority are afraid to defend against the "bad" minority for fear of repercussion, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. We will all learn from it I guess, I hope anyway.
In all honesty, I dont expect a response from anywhere, probably just get a couple of weeks down the line and someone might ask "where did he go" and then if the realisation followed that I am not prepared to give any more, I will then be a scab or some other "anti" word.
All the best for your project Joe and others you decide to undertake. I will still be on the t'internet of course, should you need anything.
Hi Darren,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, let me thank you for the fantastic work you have preoduced, it really has brought new life to RW. It's not every day that we can find susch talented stars out there, and I can assure you, the RW content creation world will not be the same.
On the note of the current state of the RW community, I fully agree with you that it has gotten to the point where I am also considering not taking part in any discussions or topics on the aforementioned forums. I do believe that no good can come from people who focus on the negatives of others, yet those are the people who refuse to try it themselves, and see what it's like. The thread in which you spoke of was for me a complete shame. I remember all that transpired, and what was said to whom, and the fact that people took it beyond reasonable limits when trying to mush blame around, turned my stomach in shame.
And I respect you for putting family first, as I do know that sometimes the game can be an addiction, and my family too have noticed. People out there are taking it too serious, and that is not the way this hobbie should be.
Once again, thank you for your work, and being who you are, there is surely going to be a gap in the market with your absense. And should any of those people degrade or burn your work on the forums, I can assure you I will jump in and defend what I believe to be A grade craftsmanship.
All the best
You are right, the atmosphere has gone down recently, certainly on the UKTS forums, and I don't understand why they banned you, as you were one of the civilised people in the discussion. It will be a real miss to see you go
ReplyDeleteJaap
Well, Darren, we may have had crossed swords over PMs but I loved your attitude - even if I didn't always agree with everything being rosy in the RW garden! - and, of course, your work. Rest assured I'll be purchasing Bristol-Exeter the moment it's released.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I don't want to outstay my welcome but wanted to pass on my gratitude and wish you all the very best for the future, whatever you decide to do.
Paul (apparently I really DO have a name...)
PS - Re the comment about power-hungry mods, I learned it's best simply not to engage with the mods at UKTS unless it's a necessity. I've never known such a rabid set, especially given the rather timid subject matter!
Hey Darren
ReplyDeleteGood call, everyone needs clear priorities, and its clear to see happiness is always key to yours. It is a shame UKTS allows things to continue the way they do, and its always the nice people who end up suffering. Its amazing what a self proclaimed mature user has posted on his own website! :)
Good luck with your endeavours, and I hope to see you on Steam every now and again.
All the best.
Hi, mate.
ReplyDeleteJust read your blog, and must say I had no idea you had been treated so unfairly, my friend. It's a real shame such generous and talented people as you are (quite understandably) getting fed up with it all, but just wanted to say a big "thanks" for all the long hours of work you have dedicated to help us enjoy RW more.
Best regards and best of aluck with all your endeavours!
Manuel
Hi Darren, sorry to hear what has happened, it was a complete shock. I've been on the UKTS forum for eight years now and I've seen all this petty back-biting before. Some of the Mods are too heavy-handed. I tried to introduce two-tone horns way back in MSTS days but most people either shrugged their shoulders or made negative comments about it, I gave up in the end after my idea was used for the Hymek in a commercial add-on with no credits.
ReplyDeleteI can only say you'll be missed, a sad day for RW, but family comes first. Good luck for the future.
Dave (Nelson)