I joined VMK about 2 weeks following the "grand" opening (after beta) so I've been involved with it for a while.
Now, I don't post often here anymore but this thread caught my eye because it's something I really believe is happening in the game.
When I first joined, I had fun! People were being kind, helpful, and just great to be around. Pirate games consisted of "Congratulations" and encouragement and the majority of guest rooms were of actual creativity rather than of rooms that edged on being against values. Now, this is not to say VMK never had those few bad eggs, you just didn't see it as often. The game was also new, however, and it can almost be compared to the first day of school - in slow motion.
You wouldn't walk into the school on the first day and start to bully kids around or publically gossip about certain people. Then, as the days progress people become more confortable expressing what's on their mind and the idea of what is rude and what is polite becomes a mixed haze. Respect slowly becomes a lost trait. Let's face it, sometimes school (especially middle-high school) can be brutle! Consider VMK as a slowly progressing first few days of school. At first, people participated in the game fairly and respectfully, but then it slowly became at a "comfortable" playing level where more and more people started expressing what was on their minds leading up to a level where it just became second nature for some people to lack in respect and dignity.
Fortunately, not all of VMK is like this but sadly, there is enough to be noticed at any given moment.
I know I have said this on the boards before, but it's true! I haven't played VMK, like really played, for a long time. Months, actually. And after being "gone" from it for a while and then to come back to it is like entering an entirely different game. I could not get over how the game had gone downhill so drastically as far as players having respect for others goes.
Nearly every game of pirates that I played, I found myself either teamed with or against rude players. No matter what room I found myself in, there was at least one person either begging for items or begging to start a game. It's sad, really, because it certainly has changed since the beginning.
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