I originally wanted to reply to this thread when it was first posted but got too busy at the time. I DO highly appreciate the fact that this thread exists however (and have been "lobbying" for its existence for a while now) so thank you for that. By now, other people said most of the things that I wanted to say and so eventually I felt like I'd just be repeating what other people had said which was why I was hesitant to post until now. But there is something that's been rubbing me the wrong way and I didn't want to just leave it uncommented.

As you've pointed out, Zoe, you took your time and drafted and redrafted your post (and I can only assume your reply/replies as well) to make sure it said what you wanted to say. Now, that some people have interpreted it as condescending (and others haven't) may have a great variety of reasons (including prior conversations and other context). I'm not here to comment on other people's feelings on the matter and neither should anybody else because these feelings are personal and should thus be respected and acknowledged.

This comment however is something that I couldn't just leave like this. Like I said in the beginning i can only assume that you've thought about your wording beforehand and therefore have CHOSEN to put the word "legitimate" in there. This is not your place. This implies that their are reasons why people haven't been rping on site that are not legitimate. Again, this is not your place to judge. These reasons may range from real life obligations (like Carla has mentioned) to simply...not feeling like rping. This is still a valid reason. And the fact that you felt the need to add "legitimate" means that you've thought of reasons that you deem are not "legitimate". AGAIN, this is not your place.

I understand that it might be frustrating for staffers (both in school and elsewhere around the site) if they put a lot of effort into something and then to have activity be low/non-existent. I understand this 100%. Which is why I also understand if those in charge of these activities might decide that it's not worth the effort anymore (such as Dueling etc.). This might be sad and disappointing for those who were STILL playing/enjoyed being active but I completely understand and it's the staffer's choice to organize something or stop organizing it. I also appreciate the work staffers put into plots/lessons/other activities/etc. I do. But making people feel bad for not posting is NOT the way to go. There are multiple reasons why people aren't as active on site as they used to be. And it's nobody's place to judge why someone else is not playing on site.

So please, refrain from differentiating between "legitimate" and not legitimate reasons why someone isn't rping on site. That is up to each and everyone of us to decide and while those reasons might be frustrating for other people they are still legitimate. This shouldn't be an obligation. This should be fun. And right now, with implications (and I would almost call it guilt-tripping occasionally) such as this, it is simply not.