Time to Move On...

[cube_b3]

I always considered myself a hardcore gamer, I remember in my child hood as soon as I would return home from school I would boot up Sonic 2 on my MegaDrive. On the weekends I would wake up and without even brushing my teeth I would go straight to the lounge and play Streets of Rage before my elder siblings woke up, that was a long time ago as you get older your priorities change.

Sure, I try and play a few hours a week but it obviously isn’t the same. This year so far I've only beaten 3 games (Alan Wake, Sonic 4, Head Hunter: Redemption) perhaps this is why I was attracted to Nerds/Bits forums because it provided me an opportunity to vicariously continue being a gamer.

Back in the SN days I would occasionally have Graham or George post Dreamcast news (something I cover regularly by writing for DCS among other Dreamcast sites) but when Bits launched I approached George to post DC news directly rather than tipping him off so that they could have been posted concurrently (if not earlier). Every now and then I would try and get review copies for us as well.

As you can see from my status I am no longer a Retro Writer here, a decision George made without any discussion with me.
 
One day I log on to the site >
click the staff forum >
find a thread on writers released from staff >
read my name on a list.

I've known George for almost 5 years; I mistakenly believed (or at least initially it felt) I was writing for a friend who ran a community founded on different opinions but a common ideology "we were Sega aficionados". I never viewed George as an editor in chief but with time he became aloof. An editor in chief would've had the courtesy to at least inform me personally that my services were no longer required.

Later I learned in a PM (which was probably sent to me the same day as dismissal but I discovered it 1st Sept) that I was released due to the rule that writers must post at least once a week otherwise they need not be on staff, with that in mind it is evident that I hadn't posted in roughly 10 days (at the time of dismissal). In the dismissal PM, George asked if I had a reason for not posting, I informed him I was busy with immigration work.

I waited for several days but I never heard from him, I contacted him on Live Messenger today (Sept 4th) and told him I’ve been waiting for a reply to which I got a very cold response which can be paraphrased simply as keep waiting or get lost. I choose the latter my dismissal isn't entirely without reason simply executed with utter disdain.

This is a bitter sweet good bye…

I’ve been released from the staff in such a revolting way that I am no longer comfortable visiting this website and its fine community – It is simply a matter of my own integrity.
I would like to stress that I did not draft this letter with the intent of attacking this site; for the most part it has been very good to me. Writing here provided no incentives or reward nor did I ever expect any, this post is merely catharsis to give myself some closure.

To the Community

Almost 5 years with you all, it's been fun.
I remember only joining here to get Johnboy to stop editing Sega’s wiki page and I ended up visiting the site every day. Sega Uranus, Max Cady, Taroyamado, Wilhelm and several others I’ve loved reading your gaming experiences – it made me remember the good old days and often drove me to play more games.

To my Colleague’s

Working with you all has been an absolute delight I know we’ve had a few heated discussions in the past but at the end of them I always walked away with new found respect for each and every one of you admittedly it took a little longer with Sharky , but in the end we are all dedicated to Blue Skies in Games.

To Barry, thank you for all your reinforcement. Not only did you inspire me to be a better gamer, I looked as inspiration for being a better writer. Hopefully I’ll finally play NiGHTS as soon as I go back to Pakistan . When I play it I’ll remember you. I wish you all the success in the world brother.

To Aki-At, brother it’s been great knowing you, given that we frequently chat on msn I hope we’ll stay in touch.

To Shadi, you are a technical maverick. I can confidently say knowing you were one of the highlights for me here. I wish you success and I hope to see you go far.

To George, good luck with the site and all your future endeavors you truly are one hell of a writer, I wish you success and some class.

To all the other writers (MMG674, Sharky, Supa, Nuckles 87, Shigs) it has been great knowing all of you and I wish you all the very best.
P.S. Sharky I just found out that a friend of mine is a total war junkie, I’m going to get him to show me the ropes with Shogun .



The End.
.

..

…

WAIT!!!!

Did you really think I would make my final post without mentioning Sonic 06 one last time; here is a simply guide that will help you make most out of the game

*   Think of it as playing an unreleased incomplete game like Sonic X-treme and it can be enjoyable.
 
*   Sure, mostly the other playable characters in the game are crap, but the Sonic stages are truly some of the finest and MASSIVE stages ever made.


Okay, this must have been a long read.
Thank you for taking the time and reading this.

Farewell.

[Barry the Nomad]

Not sure you're returning to read this, since you've already said your goodbyes, so I'll keep things brief:

Sorry to see you go. While we didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things (mainly gaming related stuff) it was always fun to have a chat on the forums. Thanks for the kind words, enjoy NiGHTS and hit up my Dreamcast stream this Friday!

I think your comments directed at George are a bit unfair and don't need to be laid out in the public forums, especially when the average reader doesn't know whats up behind the scenes or what is required of writers. The short and simple explanation: to be a writer you have to write!

Anyway, titles aside, I hope you keep up with the community and don't drop out of the SEGA fan community completely. That would be a disservice to yourself and the community... and Silver the Hedgehog.

[tarpmortar]

Farewell Amigo.

[SOUP]

Best wishes sir.

[max_cady]

Barry already pretty much summed it up as well.
It's sad to see him go. We just hope for the best.

Though, it's generally not a good sign when people publicly announce on a message board that they are leaving the communit. Not just leaving the tasks that were doing, but outright leaving the whole community.

[Barry the Nomad]

Barry already pretty much summed it up as well.
It's sad to see him go. We just hope for the best.

Though, it's generally not a good sign when people publicly announce on a message board that they are leaving the communit. Not just leaving the tasks that were doing, but outright leaving the whole community.

Cube has done this in the past. At SEGA Nerds he left because apparently he hated me, lol. At least, that's what he told me. I was just a casual member then, I think the only real stuff I talked about with him was how shitty Sonic '06 was and that I called him Cubert occasionally. He takes offense to things pretty quickly and easily. If you're reading this: I love you cube, but its true.

Like I said, sad to see him go but personally I think its a very weak move to publicly announce that you're leaving a community. It's the equivalent of storming out of a room saying "I don't want to play with any of you! You aren't my friends anymore!". Not really a noble act.