I Don't Blame The Voters, I Blame The Lack Of Respect
I fully understand why players support this. Mav chat has degenerated recently into a repellent for the game. I don't blame anyone for voting for this, many Mavs have been "trolling, belittling and delivering personal attacks." Getting rid of these Mavs is a normal response, and this proposal is a wake up call.
The lack of respect for the community on display should never again be tolerated.
Why I Will Vote Against It
I have met many amazing people that are part of our community, some are large and some are not. But many do in fact share the love of our community and the game. I will tell one story in particular, but there are many more I could tell.
There is a young lady that is in Mav Chat almost every day. She is a breath of fresh air, always positive, excited and motivated. I have known her for years now. I remember when she was so excited to buy enough packs to get her "Mav" title. She actually BELIEVES that being a Mav is something special.
Not only that, she saved up her money so she could attend Splinterfest. She's not rich, she's in her early 20s. But she saved her money because to her this is her community and she feels at home with us.
I can list many other things she has bought and traded for. Why? because she tells me all the time...She LOVES the game and CARES about the community.
She had 5 plots and didn't get a castle or keep, but a Keep was her dream for over a year. I traded her for one and she couldn't stop talking about how excited she was for at least a week. She also runs a guild, not a big guild but its a real guild with real players. And guess what, all those players wanted to be in her land and play with her in HER SLICE OF PRETORIA.
She wanted a Zyriel, because its cool. She can't afford a Max one, but she didn't care because just a few will do. I could go on and on.
We All Know Her Name
If you spend any time on Discord, you will know who she is. She's there pretty much ever day. Her name is The Lunacy System and I call her "Luna".
But not today. She is gone. I don't mean absent or busy, I mean gone. Exited entirely from Splinterlands.
Why Do I Care?
She's only one person, why should I care if she left? The answer for me is simple. I like to be a part of a community where someone like Luna exists. I like that she took pride in meeting her quota of getting 1000 packs to be "special". I respected her and conversed with her many thousands of times. She was my friend, and she is a friend to many others too.
On top of that she is a defender of the game. She constantly changed her handles, and one of the last ones was something like "Member of the FUD Fight Club". SHE WAS DEFENDING THE MAVS AND FIGHTING THE FUD WE FACED FAR MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE. She showed up every day with a smile and an attitude that she was going to defend us.
And now she is gone. In one day, with one massive insult, she feels not a part of this community. Not because she didn't actually belong, but because she KNEW she couldn't get 100K SPS.
Who can blame her? I can't.
She was fighting the FUD, while we were telling her she doesn't belong anymore.
What Luna Didn't Know
Prior to this proposal even being proposed I spoke to my friend @leveluplifeph and suggested that he add the provision so old Mavs could receive "delegated SPS". I knew Luna (and many like her) would not feel wanted and I would personally delegate my SPS to my friends to keep them in the club.
He even included my provision, but the first 3 responses from @oaaguy @michaelb and @clayboyn supported his own belief that my "softness" on this issue was not warrented, and a tougher line was needed. Note: I don't blame any of the 4 because they are all good people and they are trying to solve a problem they see. I'm just explaining the facts so people can understand them.
But nevertheless that provision was taken away, and now there is no real way for Luna (or others) to stay Mavs and be part of the club they were a part of if this proposal passes as is.
To me we just lost someone awesome. Someone that we should want. Someone that embodies what we want millions of. Luna may be gone forever over one simple thing, and yes she's sensitive, but to me that's what makes her special. Simply put, "she cared".
In fact she cared too much because her feelings were so hurt that she broke the love she had for the community.
How To Handle It?
In Luna's case she left. That makes me sad. She was and will be someone that I will respect and remember til I die. There are others like Luna too, don't kid yourself. For every immature player that disrespects our community, there are many more Luna's out there that love our community. I hate to let the bad guys win, but if this vote passes as is then I feel that will be the outcome.
So I will do 2 things: vote and react.
Vote And React
I will vote against this proposal. Not because I think the intention is bad to get rid of the toxic players, but because I DO NOT WANT TO GET RID OF MY FRIENDS THAT HAVE EARNED MAV STATUS but are not rich, they are my friends and my community. I will delegate them my own SPS to keep them if that is a requirement, but I can not vote in good conscious to let any of the GOOD PEOPLE in our community leave over this.
The second thing I will do is leave Mav Chat and hang out in the Tavern until Luna comes back and the vote fails as its written. I'm not doing this to be mean or "get my way", I'm doing this because I want to symbolically demonstrate to Luna (and many others) that I value their friendship more than I value a Mav title.
I want to be part of the Mav Community, but I want to be in Luna's Community more. Its not disrespectful to any Mav, in fact my feelings are just the ultimate respect for Luna and what she represents. We need a million Luna's and in my opinion we should be doing everything possible to get her back. (and those like her)
The Truth
I am only one person and I don't care if anyone agrees or not with me. I am not blasting anyone voting for this proposal and in fact I have a ton of respect for @leveluplifeph. I feel he is addressing a need that he sees and trying to find a solution.
I also do not think he or anyone that supports this has any intention of hurting anyone's feelings or disenfranchising anyone. I think they are all sincere and frankly want to see some respect again in Mav Chat. And I 100% support that too.
So please understand that I blame the community members that have repeatedly been "trolling, belittling and delivering personal attacks" on a daily basis. THEY ARE THE PROBLEM, THEY ARE THE ONES THAT I BLAME. THEY ARE THE ONES THAT SHOULD BE APOLOGIZING for making this issue even appear.
I'm Sorry As Well
There are many people that are guilty of "trolling, belittling and personal attacks", including me. I have attacked people that were arguing with me, so I'm guilty too.
For that I'm sorry. We are all human, which means we all make mistakes. I have not shown good judgement at times and I have attacked others. The point is not whether I was justified, the point is I set a bad example for others by doing so. I also showed a lack of respect for my fellow Mavs in the process, the Mav room is not a place for that.
So I certainly shoulder some of the blame as well, and I definitely apologize.
RE: “Mavericks House” Discord Channel Pre-Proposal