[Huppy]

This topic is not about any project in particular, but servers, (just an example), like The Firiona Vie Project (and others) can set a precedence for the infinity of time, work and dedication that people like Turmoiltoad and his team put into a project, before it's even ready to launch. Quite often, it goes without a simple "pat on the back", let alone being recognized for their commitment, that my own heart is not even capable of.

Over the years that I've been hanging around this community, I've witnessed many projects, that have had 100's or 1000's of hours put into them, but the rewarding feeling they encounter, is not necessarily all about that infamous "population". Each server dev/owner decides for themselves just exactly what "success" means to them. For some, it may simply be sitting back, taking a look at what they've accomplished, the road it took to get there and all the trials and tribulations they went through to climb that mountain. For others, it could be the excitement of getting past the alpha/beta stage and typing those long awaited words, "Server is up".

I once read a statement from a former server owner, in which he said "Players are toxic". Although I struggle, not to totally agree with him, without trying to stereotype the player community, sometimes a portion of them will not understand why that much time and effort was put into a server. Some can be very unforgiving, selfish or without an ounce of appreciation for the work that has gone into a project by a developer with an unconditional love for what they do. They are not trying to jump into a phone booth and come out wearing a cape, to be someone's hero at the top of the server list. In most cases, what they put into it, was seeded from their own soul.

Each and every one of us, who stumbled across the EQEmulator project, for the first time, began to learn and grow, then learned from each other and continued to learn and grow, not just within ourselves, but as a proven community. Nobody, whether a player or a server/project developer, has ever been immune to asking questions or getting help. The kind of work, time and effort that has been done on these kind of servers, has contributed a lot to helping this community grow over the last 17 years. The collaboration between those server devs, the Emu/PEQ devs and help from players over the years, has brought us all to where we are today. None of us should have to question who we are, or where we came from, in this community.

In a nutshell, all those hours and months of work put into servers like these, both past and present, helped build the foundation we stand on and their work should not go unnoticed. So the next time you look at one of these servers, instead of questioning their work, or looking at it in a condescending way, try letting them know, their work does mean something. I've learned a lot from them.

Thanks!