Four Days Left; A Send-off in Advance

"...it's just a rough start to the year."

Man, I really wound up eating those words, didn't I? It was a week prior when I made that confident assertion with my limited knowledge, and just three days after I'd come to find out I was wrong. That's always a pretty big mood-killer, but I'll be damned if I leave the boards on a sour note.

So, those who frequent Player Behavior might likely know me, and likewise, I've probably got your screenname well in-mind, too. I joined League of Legends seven years ago, and started taking my curiosity for the game to the Boards around five years ago; I started as a casual lurker, maybe making one rare post, but otherwise tending to observe discussions from afar for the first year or so. Then, when I started feeling more confident and having found my niche, I made my appearance in earnest in Player Behavior.

And while I hate to tout myself as being any greater a force than I am, I do feel at least like I've had some positive impact on that subboard and its culture. Or, if I haven't made an impact myself, I've at least put forward my mind on how I felt we could do better. I openly spoke against the "Tantram Smite" bandwagon, and on some fair occasion even made a push against other frequent posters to try and do better for those who came to PB seeking help or understanding of their punishment.

And this isn't to say I'm a paragon, either; countless times I've made mistakes, having caught myself mistaking someone for being the original poster or presupposing arguments through bias, and even in my time as a PB Specialist, I've gone over the line of what's acceptable for my role in the community and had to be corrected myself. But even with those failings, and above all else, I've always had three major goals for the subboard that I committed myself to;

1. Push it towards being a place where people can come and discuss the systems and their punishments openly without being shoved down and dismissed as "toxic" from the gate;
2. Help players - regular or new alike - to better understand the Player Behavior-related systems;
3. Help those rare few who will start up on the path of reform.

I would love to say I've done well in most regards, but I know full well that it wouldn't be entirely true. But, the betterment of PB and the community at large isn't the efforts of one person, but by multiple people, knowledgeable community members who take time to learn and help others, and to those most notable regulars of Player Behavior, I want to give their due credit. I'll doubtless miss a couple, but those who notice their absence can comment and I'll edit you in.

The Moderation Team - Prandine, Periscope, Ulanopo, Totally Not Jinx, The Djinn - the Moderation team as a whole has had the largest impact on PB, between their own inputs on posts, the updated guidelines they took the time to set out, and the effort they put into enforcing those rules and maintaining the positive culture in PB. While I've unfortunately no individual thoughts for you guys, know that I'm grateful for the work you all put into making PB a better place.

Hotarµ - I'll be honest, you kinda sidelined me when you first started showing up. You were knowledgeable and positive from the gate, and you were always passionately driven towards trying to get people to understand and be better people, even if they would adamantly reject the effort. Definitely a great Specialist, and it was always good working with you.

Imperial Pandaa - There is very little to say about you that isn't stating the obvious; you're amicable, you come at everyone evenly, you know how to have fun, and you know plenty enough about PB to help where help is needed. My only wonder is how you weren't the first PB Specialist instead of me or rujitra.

Kei143 - You're a reliable, knowledgeable, and frequent poster, and while there's not much particularly outstanding to say, I think it's safe to say your greatest contribution to PB is the solid basis of understanding for how the IFS works with your tension meter analogy. You're probably even one of the most-quoted players on PB, for that matter, and that alone I'd say is testament to your contribution.

GatekeeperTDS & Tele II - There is always something to be said about being plainspoken, and, while I've had some issues here and there along the road with GatekeeperTDS, both of you have always been straightforward and understanding, which has helped wonders in making PB better, for all the bumps throughout. I also have to further shout out to Tele II for calling me on my bullshit behavior a few weeks (I think it was 2 now?) ago.

Nightsky Pirate - It is rare to find someone in the camp that's sympathetic with punished players who simultaneously promotes and maintains civil discussion, and for this I have to give you my respect. You present yourself plainly and your want to understand the system and help punished players is refreshing, so suffice it to say, you're a noteworthy and valued contributor to PB in my book.

And of course, this isn't even to speak of the players who chime in irregularly and give their two cents to discussions or players. Everyone has had a hand in shaping PB, and I'd say, here at the end of the run for the Boards? We've all done some pretty good work with it.

And with that in mind, there's really only one question left; what's next? For me, the answer is vague and uncertain. I've no intention of moving over to Reddit, and I don't really intend to seek out any similar such venues to discuss League of Legends. I'll still hang around the Boards Discord, as the Moderation team is pretty frickin' awesome, but otherwise, it's hard to say how things'll play out after the 9th.

I may hazard to pop into the Discord's off-topic chat once or twice, see how chatter goes there, and for these last few days, I'll do my best to keep contributing to PB as I always have, but once all's said and done, I'm going to have a fair bit less to do in my free time. Whatever the case, I'll figure something out for myself - I always do.

So, in closing; it's been a hell of a ride, Boards. I'l be pretty bummed out when it all closes down, but the least I can hope for is that I've done well to contribute where I could. Come the Ninth, our work comes to an end - however temporary that end may be. Sayonara.