A complete resignation from GFL

[Guest SkydivingSquid]

Hello, friends. 

     This breaks my heart, but I am resigning from GFL all together.
I'd like to explain why. Though I am sure this is going to upset a lot of people. 
It only goes to prove my point. 

I can only speak for GFL TTT Gmod, but here goes. . .

Essentially, despite GFL entering a golden-age from a technical standpoint, we're in the dark ages regarding staff and drama. Over the last 7 years, TTT MC b5 has stood as a staple of GFL's success. It's unchanging, reliable, and simple layout brought dedicated return players who built up an incredible community. You could log on and always find memorable players online having fun. The staff were awesome and they put players first. But over the last year... most of the experienced Admin have resigned, and for good reason. The maturity of the Admin team has absolutely plummeted, but not in a good way... The humor is gone and the discord is dead...It's all drama and discontent... the feeling of close knit family isn't there anymore. Not even close... And online Admin are more focused on getting high ban numbers than actually caring about the community they are supposed to serve..

The b5 map that we counted on to be unchanging and reliable, started to get a lot of unnecessary changes. b5 was all but phased out and replaced with a rotational slew of congested, hard to navigate, maps... Shiny "new features" were added that makes it basically unappealing to a large demographic of players. It's not simple and clean anymore...it's clustered and cringey. Roy created GFL TTT Rotation specifically for a rotation of maps and to leave TTT MC b5 unchanged. Think of TTT MC like a historical land mark. It was meant to be untouched.... But that history, that respect, that understanding of what made GFL and GFL TTT MC so successful was blatantly disregarded by new Server Managers and new Admin who ran rampant with "great new ideas" that would have been better suited on Rotation or another TTT server.

Throughout the last year I've seen Admin fighting with one another, disrespecting one another, back stabbing each other... I personally have been deeply disrespected as a previous Server Manager and loyal member of GFL for 3+ years by new Admin, an inexperienced Server Manager, and a Division Leader.. as if I was less than a nobody... A lot more has happened, but that's left to a more selective audience.. I've seen a severe lack of training and confusion. Admin applicants are somehow accepted with virtually no experience in record time which allows players with a desire for power and authority to "flex" and abuse, but also resign shortly there after because they didn't have to really work for it. They didn't REALLY like the idea of work; they liked the idea of power. Instead of getting quality Admin who stick around for years, we get what we have right now... 

With that being said, after looking at the state of our once beloved server, the TTT MC "community", the Admin we have now, the staff discord, the void of any resemblance of family of belonging, and the mindless changes being applied to a "historical" server.. I no longer want to be a part of the community. I feel phased out and left behind. I don't feel that belonging I once did. It doesn't bring me happiness... it makes me sad... and the Admin now just made me frustrated. There's only so much someone can do before they realize it's fruitless...

I wish you all the best of luck. Some of my most cherished memories will be with GFL.
Early 2017 to early 2020. 🦑 

@Roy, you have done a hell of a job building up this incredible business. What I imagine was this tiny dream has blossomed into something well beyond anything I bet you could have ever imagined. You're the man! There's a reason other communities try to imitate your servers and why the original of TTT MC b5 24/7 is copied by others and so successful. 

@Liloz01, I appreciate all the time you spent listening to me and for always taking the time to actually take my concerns seriously. Thank you for all the times you had my back and for entertaining the idea of sponsoring me for bigger and better things before the Navy decided to change my life. 

@MilkMan, bro I seriously wish we could turn back the hands of time to 2017 and do it all over again. It's been a heck of a ride and I wish we could have gone out with a bang instead of a whimper. It's been so anticlimactic and sadly quite painful, especially with all the good times and the highest of highs we had. 

@TheSadBandit, without your support, I probably would have never got the chance to be an Admin. You're absolutely the worst and I can't thank you enough for it. Don't ever do that again. 😅

@Violator isn't here anymore, but god damnit, he is a legend in his own right and his iconic "Apply for Member today" will always be forever engrained in my memory. 

@Jerry Hat Trick, I imagine you've left the community for good with all these tasteless changes, but I've had a lot of fun playing with you online. 

@motorsteak you've put an absurd amount of time, effort, and dedication into GFL and I don't think it get's recognized nearly as much as it should. It's never gone unnoticed to me. 

@JadedJade you're the cornerstone. 






 

[JGuary55 707 / 14,712]

My squid friend ;( don’t leave me 

[VilhjalmrF 2,099 / 30,684]

We didn't talk much but Ig you were a chill lad. Dunno about the whole TTT stuff you mentioned, but just like to ask one question; do you truly skydive? Anyways see ya!

[PapiJesu 71 / 0]

The changes have been sad😔. 
I wish you well and hopefully we can go back to the old and true ttt mc

[Duck. 489 / 0]

I wish you all the luck in the world. I'm sorry if my actions came across as disrespectful, I never meant for them to 

[Alexis 578 / 12,012]

What a brave soul! You will be missed. 

[Liloz01 1,256 / 19,825]

xoxo, wish ya luck where ever ya go. lots of shade so hopefully staff culture can change for the better in coming weeks to prevent something like this happening again

[Reverb 273 / 4,902]

I dont want to offend anyone or any ttt mc admins, But I totally understand where squid is coming from when he mentions the feeling of humor and family is gone. Things definitely changed and near the end of My TTT Mc admin run the staff team was far more divided. I can say as A Rot and MC staff  member, Squid cared a lot about the community and even stepped up to help lead rotation when we had no server manager. Thank you for all the handwork and effort you put in squid.  

Edited September 10, 2020 by Reverb

[HaniUyu 15 / 724]

You want some sort of semblance of a "family" but you just patronized someone and tried to pass it off as a joke. You'd think that as a staff with any amount of experience you should be able to differentiate from what is a joke and what isn't. Clearly if the other person is not receiving it that way then it's not a joke. As it should be understood both ways you're trying to be amusing, and not just flat out rude. I'd post a screenshot for context but..... I won't do that out of respect for the other party.

[Rhysin_ 540 / 13,172]

It's sad to see you leaving Squid. Even though I didn't get to talk to you much, you were a great Server Manager and member of the community. I agree with nearly everything you said. While change can be great, recently for TTT MC it's been less than good. You've stating a lot of things in your resignation that I didn't touch in mine, and worded it way better than I would have. Unfortunately, I doubt this will change much.
I wish you luck in all your future endeavors.

[Edge 209 / 4,699]

The map rotation is just a temporary experiment 🤷‍♂️. Im sorry you don't feel as if you fit in anymore.  It's probably for the best for you not to stress over internet ranks etc. given that you haven't been playing on the server much since you resigned in the first place from my understanding. Godspeed.

Edited September 10, 2020 by Edge

[Rosalina ♥ 39 / 2,774]

Squid, I didn't play with you much but I loved the time we did.

 

That said, though staff tensions are high, we are working actively to fix it. I'm sorry that you feel as though you can't do what you used to, but I respect your decision to leave.

 

I hope that in the years to come you can look back at the time you've had, not soured by this little sore spot we seem to have, and simply indulge in the old memories of fun and family you seem to hold so dear.

 

You will be missed by many.

 

All the best,

Jessica W

[SS PigeonShit 231 / 0]

9 hours ago, SkydivingSquid said:

Essentially, despite GFL entering a golden-age from a technical standpoint, we're in the dark ages regarding staff and drama. Over the last 7 years, TTT MC b5 has stood as a staple of GFL's success. It's unchanging, reliable, and simple layout brought dedicated return players who built up an incredible community. You could log on and always find memorable players online having fun. The staff were awesome and they put players first. But over the last year... most of the experienced Admin have resigned, and for good reason. The maturity of the Admin team has absolutely plummeted, but not in a good way... The humor is gone and the discord is dead...It's all drama and discontent... the feeling of close knit family isn't there anymore. Not even close... And online Admin are more focused on getting high ban numbers than actually caring about the community they are supposed to serve..

The b5 map that we counted on to be unchanging and reliable, started to get a lot of unnecessary changes. b5 was all but phased out and replaced with a rotational slew of congested, hard to navigate, maps... Shiny "new features" were added that makes it basically unappealing to a large demographic of players. It's not simple and clean anymore...it's clustered and cringey. Roy created GFL TTT Rotation specifically for a rotation of maps and to leave TTT MC b5 unchanged. Think of TTT MC like a historical land mark. It was meant to be untouched.... But that history, that respect, that understanding of what made GFL and GFL TTT MC so successful was blatantly disregarded by new Server Managers and new Admin who ran rampant with "great new ideas" that would have been better suited on Rotation or another TTT server.

Throughout the last year I've seen Admin fighting with one another, disrespecting one another, back stabbing each other... I personally have been deeply disrespected as a previous Server Manager and loyal member of GFL for 3+ years by new Admin, an inexperienced Server Manager, and a Division Leader.. as if I was less than a nobody... A lot more has happened, but that's left to a more selective audience.. I've seen a severe lack of training and confusion. Admin applicants are somehow accepted with virtually no experience in record time which allows players with a desire for power and authority to "flex" and abuse, but also resign shortly there after because they didn't have to really work for it. They didn't REALLY like the idea of work; they liked the idea of power. Instead of getting quality Admin who stick around for years, we get what we have right now... 

With that being said, after looking at the state of our once beloved server, the TTT MC "community", the Admin we have now, the staff discord, the void of any resemblance of family of belonging, and the mindless changes being applied to a "historical" server.. I no longer want to be a part of the community. I feel phased out and left behind. I don't feel that belonging I once did. It doesn't bring me happiness... it makes me sad... and the Admin now just made me frustrated. There's only so much someone can do before they realize it's fruitless...

 

I couldn't agree more. I usually go through phases of playing TTT MC before taking a month or two off but since I last left, I have no plans to return. It's not fun anymore. It feels like many of the changes being made are happening simply for the sake of changing things. And the admin team, I won't even start there. Let's just say the joy has been sucked from the server by some. There are regulars I haven't seen in months who have left the server for the same reason.

 

But regardless, gonna miss you man, cheers 😔

[TheJitFace 699 / 18,162]

You are right about the dark age. I'm gonna miss seeing you on the forums lol. Good luck with your aspirations in life and keep jumping out of planes.

[Male_08 403 / 0]

10 hours ago, SkydivingSquid said:

Essentially, despite GFL entering a golden-age from a technical standpoint, we're in the dark ages regarding staff and drama.

Yes.

[Chewie2k 103 / 3,801]

bye bye squidy. Bbq squid is still yum 😛

[Adversary 96 / 2,197]

Hey Squidy,


Sorry to hear
I understand you completely, and without throwing too much shade I completely agree with you for the most part.

Though our time together was not in the best part of this place's history nor very long or maybe it is not even meaningful to you, regardless, I am glad you were around as you have been someone who has helped a lot. On behalf of the community for everything you have done for this place, including the history I was not even apart of at all, it was all very much appreciated and it is quite unfortunate how this place is ruined by the very characters that were supposed to make it enjoyable. I cannot say I blame you for your abrupt departure, but at the same time, I expected the amount of toxicity to finally start getting to the people who actually matter. It is very gross to the extent which some of these people are willing to go out of selfishness, and I have always given warnings of it ever since I joined, but some how to this day people still struggle to even realize that there genuine issues.

Personally speaking, I always thought well of you, and though we disagree in some aspects, you were one of the few people with an actual head on your shoulders that works. It is a shame that others could not see things in the same positive and meaningful way.
Hopefully, things could change, though I am still extremely doubtful, I can hope that maybe with some luck things can change for the better.

I do wish things could have worked out for the better for both of us. Maybe then things might have been better.

love ya still Mr. Squids


Sincerely,

[VilhjalmrF 2,099 / 30,684]

You still haven't answered my question you son of a bitch!

[Brotherwolf 326 / 7,218]

Damn you make a good point about the dark ages. 2019 and 2020 have been god awful in comparison to the years before from what I've seen and heard. I don't know you or most people who play TTT personally but I'm really sad to hear someone say this and I completely agree with you. It feels really weird and often unenjoyable to see this drama.

 

Don't know you but good luck on your future

Edited September 10, 2020 by BrotherWolf

[Agent L 109 / 2,475]

ok, so i havent used the forums much, - my admin app, which kinda coincides with what i know about you (as i first thought about applying when rot lost sm and zero.), i was there when you were placed in sm for rotation and from then on i didnt see you much but when i did i knew who you were. im glad that you and milkman were able to do enough so that when new managers for rotation were picked that it wasnt complete chaos. I am sad to see you are resigning, though will we still see you on as a player, because what i remember you are fun to play with.