As some of you are no doubt aware, there are some people celebrating
things around this time of year. Whether you celebrate Christmas, the
birth of Mithras, Hanukkah, the clear choice of Winter-een-mas or any
other random pagan festival, or don't have any particular celebration at
all, this time of year is commonly chosen to be a time of good will.

It is for this reason that I'm writing this post, to briefly explain my
own thoughts on the "season of good will" and how it applies to our
community. We are a very strange little group, unique and equally
wonderful and terrible in different ways.

In the normal course of the year, there is almost continuous bad will
between people in it, arguing and fighting over things that only hours
later seem pretty trivial. However, there are also sparks of
appreciation, friendship and loyalty even in trying times. I can
honestly say that despite the rough patches we have, and any community,
large or small, has them, I am truly proud to be involved with you all.

I don't think I have ever come across another group of people who have
such high amounts of intelligence, interesting views and even, when it
comes right down to it, maturity. I would challenge you all to go out
among any kind of community you like, be it hobby groups in the real
world, or internet communities, and try to find a place that has as much
of a balance of smart debate and hearfelt passion as this one. After
all, even the arguments we have spring from that one thing we ALL share
- the love of the game.

So just as that common link between us all has led to some great things
- I've known players to meet, fall in love, get married, have children
and create a wonderful family all beginning from that simple link - I
encourage you all to see the other links between yourselves, and between
yourself and any person you might meet, who knows what great things
could come out of that?

Humanity has the capability to be the best and worst of almost any
living thing, and we see the highs and lows constantly around the world,
and reflected in the microcosm of our community. In the end, the only
thing you have in life is your personal choice. You can't control anyone
else, not truly, all you can do is choose for YOURSELF in YOUR
circumstances. If everyone chooses to seek the highest point of their
possibilities, chooses to recognise the similarities between them and
others, rather than the differences, we could rid the world of a lot of
the mistakes that we ourselves have caused.

In any case, now that I've rambled on for the prescribed time for sappy
peace-loving speeches everywhere, I'll sum it up for the lazy and
impatient who have spammed MORE to get to the bottom; despite our
differences, I appreciate you players for what you bring to the
community (in fact, you basically ARE the community) and I will be
trying to appreciate others for what they bring, rather than what they
don't, or how they're different, at least for a little while. I hope you
will too.

Thank you for making this world what it is.

P.S. Mad props to the volunteers too, yo.

Penned by my hand on the 18th of Variach, in the year 205 MA.