A request for all Silent Hunter 4 Forum posters

[John Channing]

So far today I have been called pathetic, a moron, and heaven knows what else (haven't read all the threads).

Neal has also been slagged off and it has been implied that he is secretly paid by Ubisoft to promote their wares.

A number of other Moderators have been the subject of personal attacks.

People.. that is not what Subsim.com is about.

We toss the word "community" around quite cheaply, but when push comes to shove I really wonder.

No one here is saying don't voice your concerns and complaints. Quite the opposite. For the developers to deliver another excellent piece of work they need our feedback. We are the hardcore, the grognards, the best-of-the-best and we know what we are talking about.

BUT...

We need to do it in a manner that respects not only the other person's ideas and position, but also their feelings. We are better than some of the behaviour we have seen here over the last few days. I know we are because I have been around here from the very beginning and I have seen it all.

So my request is this.

Continue to voice your concerns, but know what you are talking about first, and then do it in a positive, respectful manner. If you happen to be the Director of Marketing for UbiSoft, and you signed the memo that stated "PUSH SILENT HUNTER 4 OUT THE DOOR EARLY... SCREW THE FANS" then by all means comment on the inner dealings there. Otherwise talk about things you know about.

If your are one of the development team and you want to complain about Dan going on endless coffee breaks while you were trying to get the AA working, then by all means do so. Otherwise talk about things you know about.

If you want to threaten Ubisoft this is not the place to do it. If you want to jump on a "UBI SUX" bandwagon this is not the place to do it. If you want to take cheap shots at the developers this really isn't the place to do it.

And if you want to take shots at Neal... well... you and I will be having a chat real soon.

This is the place to make things better, not engage in silly, childish name calling, taunts, threats and uninformed accusations.

Keep it honest, informative and informed and things will be fine.

Thanks for the soapbox.

JCC