Gosh, I can't believe it's been 5 years already. I remember joining Wintreath like it was yesterday...
I had just come from a different region as an ambassador there. I had immediately fallen in love with the overall feel and culture, the people...it was the perfect region. After disagreeing with my previous region's banning against the use of IRC chats that were powered by Esper (our only chat here at the time), I decided to say my goodbyes there and make Wintreath my new home.
Man has it been a rollercoaster of a ride for those five years. From being put in the Overhusen within my first month, bringing one of my favorite games to Wintreath and seeing how far it's taken off, being noblized, commended, and even made a Jarl because of what I felt were trifle things that anyone could have done, it's been a journey to say the least.
But every journey has its rocky moments, and eventually every journey must reach its end.
As you know, 5 of our members are leaving Wintreath shortly: Marz, Laurentus, German, North, and AJ. Two of which I've considered good friends, two of which I was starting to gain respect for, and one that I was at the very least enjoying to get to know.
What you may not know is why they're leaving, why the meetings were the breaking point, and why events led up to even Hannah deciding to take a long break from everything.
To put it simply, it's disagreements. On the one side, you have people claiming that they're putting in ideas, effort, and desire to make Discord better and only that. On the other side, you have others claiming that this is nothing but showboating because they deep down just want to be made OPs, with one claim (which was shown to me via screenshot by more than one person) that even the events with the discontent with a certain member's behavior on Discord being nothing but a stunt to make themselves look good to be considered for OPs.
Which side is correct? Which isn't? It doesnt matter. What matters is that it's both exhausting and disappointing. Exhausting because I feel like I'm smack in the middle of choosing sides. On the one, I want to side with the ones causing the people to leave, because they represent the place I call my home, and a couple are my friends. Hell, at first I was even ready to crucify those members leaving because of evidence being put forth, and I both said and volunteered for things that frankly, I'm ashamed of. On the flipside, I also want to side with the members leaving because they shared their grievances with me, I shared some of my own, they shared some of their own evidence, and I dont completely disagree with their decision. Wintreath has certainly changed since I've been here, and I can relate to feeling as if I have less of a place here. Some of the leaving members are also my friends, so I hate the fact that they're even considering leaving because of all of this.
At the same time, I'm disappointed to see it come to this. Seeing some of my friends I've made these past 5 years being at each other's throats and pointing fingers of blame like this is both incredibly painful and just disappointing. It's basically been two sides arguing to each other why their point is right without understanding why the other side has merit. Do both sides actually have merit to their arguments? No idea, I dont even know the actual events...just what I've both been told and have been shown by both sides.
But it's basically two versions of Gov (a former member) fighting each other with nobody necessarily right, and it's disappointing. Nobody wants to admit that they may be in the wrong, but they're quick to point the finger at the other person and say why it's their fault.
It honestly makes me feel gross that I was even part of it at all as an OP...where I had to actually DM those members just to get an idea of what was going on...and this was only after sitting in a chat where nothing good was said about them even by me since I didn't understand all sides of the situation...just what I was told and shown by the other OPs.
I dunno, maybe some of it I'm blowing out of proportion, because by this it may come off as one side being a bit malicious, and I doubt that was even close to the intent.
And to be fair, I also disagree with some of the comments made by the people leaving, in which basically it was suggested that all of those in positions of power outside of Thane/UH positions were given the positions because they're puppets that kiss Moot's ass. I'm sure this was something more than likely just said in the heat of the moment, but it's still not okay when we've had Jarls and even OH members alone that have disagreed with some of the decisions or choices that Wintermoot has made. It just happens that a lot of people on here just like Wintermoot including myself despite any of my own grievances I have.
And before anyone asks, I'm not going to get into my own issues here as most of it is nitpicky. It's just stuff that has basically piled up over the years, and is just another factor into why I'm leaving.
But I've certainly noticed things that have changed and have likewise made me question my place here. One of the leaving members made the comment that despite considering itself open, Wintreath is a very left leaning region...and I do agree both in the good and bad of that statement. Wintreath is very welcoming toward new members from all walks of life...but it has difficulty sustaining it. I've seen discussions from people with conservative opinions get shot to hell because members with different opinions have felt that even having a conservative mindset was an attack on their way of life. The politics channel was always a nightmare because many times...it would end in people flaming because they couldnt agree to disagree...this is absolutely not an "all encompassing" behavior.
So, I'm taking an indefinite break away. I resign from being OP of our Discord, and I don't know when I'll be back. I'm sorry it's come to this, but I cant see any other option. Know that I will always treasure the time I've spent here and the friends I've made...but all good things must end. I just wish they had ended on better circumstances.
Despite everything, I wish the best for Wintreath. Regardless of how muddy I feel the region has gotten with living up to its message of being an all-encompassing, warm, friendly region, I wish absolutely nothing but for it to prosper and grow, and hopefully rediscover the voice that I feel like has been slowly getting lost.
So keep it real Wintreath. Again, despite everything I still mostly treasured both my time and the people I've gotten to know here. I wish everyone the best, and if you want to keep up with me after all this, you can still find me on Discord (though I will be leaving the Server as well after this).
