An Open Letter to the Splinterlands Community

Being an earlier member on Steem as I aimlessly blogged away about my dogs, my personal struggles, my business and passions, the fam, and the possibilities available to us in this strange space we are all immersed in to some degree…I learned and grew a lot. I’ve met amazing people along the way that I am fortunate enough to consider actual friends. I’ve opened my mind up to the amazing opportunities that being early & involved in this space offers, and even traveled to places around the world to meet up and learn with other likeminded individuals.

It was at one of these events held back in 2018 in Krakow Poland, that I was first introduced to Steem Monsters or what we know today as @splinterlands. Although I didn’t really pay it much attention at first, I watched it grow and blossom (slowly mind you) into something that finally caught my eye. That, and the personal pitch with an overall vision by one of the founders in @yabapmatt. It was those ideas that personally got me to finally pay it some mind.

Throughout the time I’ve been active within this project, I’ve seen things go from but a mere whisper to insanely nuclear. I’ve seen the team expanding and contracting. Assets rise and fall…and fall further…then a bit more with room to continue to dip. None of that truly bothers or concerns me as I understand that this stuff takes time, and I’m here for the long haul. There’s ton of trial & error, and the team has gotten it wrong on occasion. A bunch of times in fact. But they are also getting things right, and in a space that is kinda learning and teaching itself on the fly, that holds a ton of weight in my book.

The evolution of the project and the ever so slowly expansion of what lies within, is what has me excited. Having folks like Matt, Nate, Mancer, and the rest of the regular crew spearheading the growth and creativity here has me feeling very bullish on our chances for success. The “Player Experience” finally being tackled with meaningful effort followed by a proper marketing push sounds like sweet music to my ears. Even if it begrudgingly comes at the expense of having Ranked, Land, Guilds, and Validators to have an even slower rollout of updates for the meantime.

As someone who’s onboarded a ton of people into our nutty ecosystem, to say it’s kind of a nightmare is being somewhat kind. Something HAD to be done, and I’m thrilled that this specific glaring hole is finally getting a little love and attention.

But in recent months, there is an aspect of this project that has me fairly worried…and that’s…well…that’s you. Yup. You, reading this right now. I’m taking about the overall community here that’s made up of folks just like you & I….and boy am I a bit nervous about what I’m seeing here.

Before I go off on my rant, I’d like to take a moment to point out that I’m in no way trying to invalidate any of the points made by those griping about the problems that do exist here. I hear some of you loud and clear, and even agree with many of the views expressed daily on our ever so happy Discord, or through the folks on X.

However, I also feel as though we have devolved into a miserable state of affairs due to a constant barrage of negativity and unhappiness. Instead of trying to logically work through the problems and issues, there’s just a wall of complaining text at any hour of the day on our platforms that exist to talk all things Splinterlands.

I feel as though something needs to be done to correct that, and by that I simply mean a proper process or outlet to express these ideas and potential corrections. I know we have a proposal system to help implement changes, and we have Town Hall’s to discuss…but I feel as though there’s something else missing. Something that can be both constructive & productive that allows all voices & ideas to be heard.

Perhaps a weekly scheduled get together where we can attend to work through some of these problems logically while trying to provide REAL solutions. Like a real community. I think it’s safe to say that we are all here because we at some point saw the amazing potential and possibilities that exist here. Some may not share that sentiment any longer, and while that’s a bummer…that’s totally ok. But lots of us here are still believers.

I often have looked at our very own Government here in the good ol’ US, and have often just shook my head at how inefficient we are as it’s so hard for our elected officials to just learn to compromise and seriously work their way through problems. It’s just finger pointing, bitching about the current state of affairs, and the like.

I used to think that these officials were just inept and that if different people were in their places, more would be accomplished. But then I look at what goes on here amongst everyday average people and how we simply are too stubborn, impatient, emotional, and thick headed to actually come together to enact change or attempt to implement a real solution to the existing problems.

I also feel that if the “Groundhog’s Day” group that do nothing but complain actually took a step back, they would see that all they are doing is hurting their own assets and the overall project’s health. There are constructive ways in getting your point across. Being negative 24/7 is not the answer and accomplishes nothing positive. In fact, I believe all it does is rile up other unhappy folks and tilt the scales for those who are on the fence. Misery loves company after all.

If you are truly unhappy and there’s no convincing you otherwise that the ship will be righted, I wish you’d just go and move on. I wish you luck and success in life…but at this point, goodbye. Screaming into the void daily just fucks things up for those of us whom are still here trying to build something special. Some of whom are your friends. But if you are still a believer that something beautiful can still be built here, then I ask for your support in trying to turn the page to a new chapter.

But I definitely think it’s time for a new approach. I don’t have all the answers. There are smarter people than I that can help bridge that, but I do recognize that we need a serious attitude adjustment. It takes nothing to be nice and positive. I feel it requires a lot of effort and energy though to spew the venom and vitriol we’ve seen in recent times.

Once again, this does not mean that anyone bringing up issues/flaws within our ecosystem is spreading FUD. I want to be clear on that. Taking issue is not the issue. I just feel as though there’s a way to express that and recently, we have simply lost our way. I hope we can find that again as we…the community are the beating heart of this project…and right now…we are nearing Cardiac Arrest.

This is my desperate plea to all of us to try to help turn sentiment here. I know it’s hard when asset prices fall. Or when changes are made that may shake things up in a way that isn’t all positive. But try to get that it’s a learning experience for all. I must have heard Matt say multiple times that the team is monitoring things and will adjust where they see it’s necessary. But we are only 1 season into the new Glint changes and from about 20 minutes into that said change, the bitching started and has not yet commenced. Not even a season in mind you…

Now I’ll agree that Splinterlands is anything but fast at implementing new updates. It’s probably my biggest gripe (outside of our community’s actions) about the project. But I knew what I was getting into when “investing” in something so complex as a video game with a real world economy flowing through it. I’m willing to accept the hiccups and slow growth. I think some here did not take any of that into consideration when entering and I feel, expect a bit too much.

I’m also willing to give Matt some real time to be allowed to implement the ideas that are near and dear to his heart. I feel as though we accomplished some great things under Aggy while also getting ourselves into some of the troubles that we are currently trying to dig ourselves out from under. I’m grateful for those successes that Aggy’s leadership gave us while also being frustrated at some of the more controversial decisions. I’m ok with allowing Matt some time to attempt to fulfill some of the promises of the past that we still are waiting patiently on. I hope some of you who’ve been tough critics, can try to actually get on board with that.

So in closing, I’d like to point out the things I’m grateful for here. For the first time ever, I took a small % of my earned SPS and bought Disney and Universal tickets for my family. That in itself kinda blows my mind. Within seconds I had loaded funds onto my Crypto.com card and boom…we were on vacation…all thanks to this project.

I’m grateful to be involved with a project that has a solid team of honest mofo’s at the helm. This space is plagued with scams, rugpulls, and shady individuals, and I sleep easy at night knowing the character of those helping to build this world are smart, creative, altruistic, and are generally straight shooters. Those aspects added with an ever growing and evolving immersive world here, have me feeling positive that at some point…we will position ourselves properly for success. In short, I never EVER worry about anything scammy happening here coming from the team.

I am also fortunate enough to have been a sponge with Matt on the regular, and Nate most recently while on that very vacation that Splinterlands contributed to. These guys have some incredibly ambitious ideas and if even a small portion of those come to fruition, success is a no brainer.

I am also looking forward to the overall vision of how Land will unfold. I want to be a card factory of sorts. Through my years owning a comic & toy shop, I’ve sold thousands of card packs to hungry collectors. I am excited at the opportunity to eventually be a big part of the new Items & Spells expansion. Plus all of the other resource management aspects that will flow throughout once 2.0 rolls out officially.

I happily and eagerly await the days when the project is flowing through the Validators, Land owners are crafting cards, multiple games exist that utilize various assets, a proper tutorial and onboarding is enacted to help simplify all, animations and voices help enrich battles, guilds are elaborated upon, and all of the other unknown aspects still to come will help shape this into a proper powerhouse. It won’t be easy. It won’t be quick. There will be mistakes and corrections along the way…but with a little patience, some coming together, support, and a little luck…oh boy…watch out.

Thank you for taking the time to read through my worthless thoughts. I hope that maybe, something I said made even a little sense to someone who’s conflicted. I also hope that with your help, we can help turn community sentiment around, throw some real support and positive energy toward the team…all while holding them and ourselves responsible and accountable in a tactful, respectful, and productive manner.

VoNaK!
Blewitt

Posted using Splintertalk