Sunday, November 7th, 2010
Issue: 54   Editor: oSean


The Two Resignations Noir
Prelude: Are you sitting comfortably? The Buzz has done its very best to collect as much information as possible and cram it into one article. Interviews were conducted whilst things were still very much developing, with many being re-interviewed as things happened. We have included the most interesting and relevant of sections from interviews and research; we could not possibly fit everything into the article. This will be a long read. Please enjoy the summing up of what has, in the microcosm of Bootleggers' society, been a very exciting week.

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Last week, at just after 3PM BL time on November the 3rd, saw a flurry of topics in the Game Forum. Rumours were rife, excitement was high, but the truth was established within minutes; Nyxxie had stepped down from her position as Moderator.

There was no announcement. No final goodbye from arguably the most active Moderator the game had ever seen. She'd even banned a dupe just 3 hours earlier, giving no indication of her imminent retirement. This final ban was in response to a complaint in the Game Forum from a user who had been scammed by somebody's dupe. Nyxxie, who said she was 'in a good mood', not only banned the dupe but returned the cash to the creator of the topic. There followed the usual sport commonly known as 'Nyxxie-bashing.' It was in this topic that Nyxxie, in response to some of the criticism she received from users complaining that she wasn't being consistent, hinted at what was soon to happen.


Nyxxie wrote:
2010-11-03 13:43:59
I did what I could for him and I have done that to many other people in the past. I have tried for the past three years to get any sort of acceptance by anyone around here. Some people are hard to please- case in point. That doesn't make a difference to me. All I can say, it won't be going on for much longer.



Little more than an hour and a quarter later, Nyxxie quietly stepped down as Moderator, after two years of wearing the green coat (and even longer wearing the yellow). Ironically, the vast majority of subsequent topics and replies were full of praise for Nyxxie, coupled with sadness and fear for where Bootleggers will go from here. The sport of Nyxxie-bashing was uncharacteristically quiet.

With no topic and no reasons given for her retirement, the Buzz decided to get into contact with Nyxxie and ask her all the questions that were already plaguing the forums. Our first question was obvious: why did Nyxxie step down from her position? After some contemplation, she said "There were a lot of things that had been going on that I was thinking about resigning over. I felt like the job was thankless by the person who should be thankful for all the hard work people put into the game, free of charge. There are a lot of other things, but I'm not into calling someone out for their obvious flaws. I have been thinking about this for months, and was talked down by players and 5litre. However, there comes a time when you just realize that you have to move on. The game has been stagnant due to a lazy administrator. There are a lot of bugs that need to be fixed and were left as they are. Why? I don't know. I felt like I was fighting a worthless battle."

The Buzz asked Nyxxie what her future plans were, if any, and whether she thought she would miss her Moderator status, she stated "I won't be playing actively. I'll linger here and there but won’t actively play. I thought I'd miss the idea of being a moderator only to HELP others, but in the end, I did what was right for me."

Now that Nyxxie was no longer in a position where she had to maintain a professional attitude at all times, we asked her to dish the dirt, but she wouldn't budge, saying, "I don't want to use the "I'm not an EG member" as an excuse to slate people, but it's fairly obvious that there is lack of attention to this game by BSF. The game has suffered because of his unattentiveness. There are bugs that need to be fixed, features that need updating, but nothing has been done for quite some time. BSF is not one to be grateful for the work people put into it, because I feel like he believes he deserves it. The game seems to be stagnant at this time and, in my opinion, all players who could have made it great (even with lack of updates, etc), aren't going to bother because they feel like BSF just doesn't care. I think the game will be around, but it will never be what it once was until BSF does what needs to be done to fix it."

Clearly, Nyxxie feels resentment towards BSF2000 and does not have a positive outlook on Bootleggers' future. It's surprising how even somebody who worked for so long and hard on this game could voice the negative thoughts that are shared by so many players.

Baluce killed Nyxxie the day she retired, at 17:39:05 BL time. The Buzz wanted to question his motive for killing Nyxxie, but Baluce refused to comment.

Many people have said that Nyxxie's retirement is 'another nail in the coffin' for Bootleggers. The Buzz wanted to get 5Litre's opinion. 5Litre at time of writing, was a Bootleggers administrator, and it is common knowledge that he and Nyxxie are something of an item.

His answers were short, but to the point. We asked how he felt about Nyxxie's retirement. 5Litre said, ”Not too happy about it, but at the same time I completely understand her reasoning for doing so and support her decision.” He said that he shares Nyxxie's views on the game, though when asked if he had any plans to retire himself, we were met with the curious response of ”No comment!”

We asked him where he thought the game was heading and how he felt about the Bootleggers community and BSF2000, to which he said, ”If it stays the same way it is/has been then it's not heading in a good direction. The community and BSF are correlated in the sense that when BSF is active (whether that be talking on the forums/fixing bugs/putting out new features/etc.) then the community is very optimistic and a cheery bunch. But when things aren't being done then it shows with the way the players act.”

This was a chilling insight into how even the staff felt towards BSF2000. Within 24 hours of this interview, 5Litre took action. Throwing our then half-written article into disarray, 5Litre retired on the 4th of November at a little after 16:45 BL time. Again, there was no announcement in the Game Forum; just a barrage of topics from players wondering if the rumours were true. The Buzz got into contact with 5Litre, opening with the same question we asked Nyxxie; "Why did you retire"? His response was, "There were many different reasons why I left which I’m sure I could write a few articles on, but won't"

The Buzz wondered if it had anything to do with Nyxxie's decision. 5Litre responded with, "In the sense that "You jump, I jump"? No. We had been talking about it for a while and just figured it was the right thing to do."

5Litre was a member of staff for a long time, starting off as a HDO for about 6 months before serving as a Moderator for two and a half years. He was then promoted to Administrator, a position he maintained for a year and a half. For somebody who has dedicated so much time to Bootleggers, where did he think it was headed? 5Litre responded with, "I'll just say the direction it's heading isn't a good place to be.The only one who can fix that is BSF and hopefully he does. The game is great, or it used to be.I met some amazing people, I met Nyxxie, and I just generally had a great time here.BSF does need to step it up and listen to the players more.I know that even if he talks in the forums more often or gives feedback on features players want, that would be a huge boost in player moral.Right now players have little to no hope for the game/BSF and that all comes down to BSF not communicating with the people who make his game what it is."

Despite no longer being in a position where he needed to maintain a high level of professionalism, 5Litre played his cards close to his chest in our interview. He refused to specify any users whom he was considering promoting to HDO, and current HDOs who might be next in line for the position of Moderator. When asked what kind of pages and tools he had access to, he admitted having access to the photo album and appeals process, but wouldn't go into specifics. When asked just how much BSF2000 depended on him for the smooth running of the game, he replied, quite simply, "I really don't know."

We asked 5Litre if he had any plans for the future. He replied, "Doubtful. I'm sure I'll stick around and chat on the forums every now and then, but when it comes to full on playing, nope, I doubt."

The position of Administrator is a mysterious one, one that is now only held by BSF2000 himself. The Buzz asked what it was like to wear red. 5Litre admitted, "Loved being an admin.The schedule all depended on how active the game was.If the game was dead, then there wasn't much to do, but if there was quite a lot of activity then it kept me busy. As admin I basically just oversaw the help desk and dealt with appeals, all the fun stuff was when you were a mod and able to do all the investigating."

5Litre gave us his final words, "Thanks to the players over the years, I've met some great people.It's you guys who make the game what it is.For the most part, I had a great time being a member of staff."

5Litre was killed by Gant a little before 9AM BL time, on the 5th of November, a full 16 hours after leaving the Elite Guard. Gant's motive for killing 5Litre was, in his words, because he "wanted to give [5Litre] an honourful way to leave" following his resignation. He was full of admiration for both 5Litre and Nyxxie, saying they "both did awesome jobs and its sad to see them go".

Following the retirement of both Nyxxie and 5Litre, both of whom were critical about BSF2000 and his attitude (or lack of) toward the game, we decided to contact every single staff member to see if this feeling was across the board.

Riserva and CustomStyle claim that they are not surprised by Nyxxie’s decision to retire.Riserva went on to explain “I cannot say I didn't expect her to resign, due to the situation the Elite Guard and the game in general is in.” Riserva was also concerned about Bootlegger’s future, saying “As far as bootleggers goes, I am reluctant to say its time has perished. It had its ups and downs in the past, and hopefully this is one down it can recover from. The community is something which is what I believe to be the core of the game. Several other games have tried to replicate the functions, coding and look on the game, but have failed simply because they did not have the community to support it, like Bootleggers does. It's unique which is why it shouldn't be neglected, and I really do hope, from the bottom of my heart that more attention is put into it and restored to its former glory.”

We asked the staff whether they were worried that there might be an increase in their workload after losing two members of staff. Generally, the HDOs weren’t worried; though some were concerned that members of the Elite Guard may struggle with increased work.

Mika was honest about his views on Bootleggers and on BSF’s lack of activity, saying “The game and players are ready for updates, if not in desperate need of them. The fact that they are not being implemented is worrying and is something that should change.”

That said, Mika seems hopeful about Bootleggers’ future when asked if he thought Bootleggers would recover from the loss of two major members of staff. He said, ”It is certainly possible, yes. When Sabin left, for instance, the game lost a great Administrator and very active member of the staff. Some may claim the game never fully recovered, and quite rightfully so perhaps, but fact is that the game did somewhat recover, and that can happen now as well. It will be difficult and hard, but I do not deem it to be impossible”

Sean did not share Mika’s optimism. He voiced his concerns about the state of the game from now on, saying, “Where the game goes from here rests ENTIRELY on BSF's shoulders. He hid behind Sabin, then Nyxxie & 5litre. Now he has no one. Will he promote someone to do it all over again? Possibly. If there's one thing the community has learnt through experience, though, it's that BSF is ultimately responsible for what happens.”

We contacted BSF2000 for an interview, but received no response. Clearly, concerns that have been voiced by players for months are now shared by many members of staff. Last week showed us that they're not afraid to speak out. Nyxxie and 5Litre retired. Who will follow them?

All we at the Buzz can do is deliver the news. All that the players can do is make the most of the game as it is at the moment. All that the staff can do is continue to go about their duties unthanked.

We can safely conclude that many people, users and staff alike, almost unanimously want change. And the responsibility of change rests solely on one man's shoulders.