SerenityRO - Hope Server

[WildRanger]

I got this in a PM from a server I belong to:



I am pretty sure I am not the only one who got one.


Server's RMS link for reference: http://ratemyserver.net/index.php?page=detailedlistserver&serid=4319&url_sname=

[Moo]

SnakeEy3s, A pioneer player of SerenityRO. Serenity should speak to him about this matter.

[Ashe]

Serenity is no longer in charge of SerenityRO as far as I know. He doesn't want to talk about or have anything to do with Ragnarok online any longer. So, I wouldn't contact him about it or anything.

[yC]

this is, not something RMS can do about.  I will move it to general discussion.

yes, serenity quit: http://serenityro.com/

[yC]

u financially support the server but u have no contact with them? 

ur message in serenity ro seems you are really tired of it.

and you better change your sig xD.

[WildRanger]

well i thought this stuff was against the rules but i guess i am wrong

[Strider]

No, Serenity did in fact, not "quit" SerenityRO. To explain my position, I submit the following:

It was my understanding that he was dealing with RO burnout and personal issues. He had handed the server over to a veteran player named "Eleric"(Matt/Ryu). Eleric was in the process of trying to breathe new life into SerenityRO when Serenity decided that he did not like the direction that Eleric was taking with the server.

The change of hands was announced as follows: 06 MAR

Good Thursday to you all, SerenityRO ~

As the title suggests, yes, this is my formal resignation as the leader of SerenityRO. I know, I'm leaving, Serenity, the fellow the server's named after, but, my legacy lives on through the new owner, whom will be revealed in this letter, soon.

There are a multitude of reasons as to why I'm stepping down from the leadership position, and, it may come as a surprise, perhaps, it may not. It's not been something I've tried to keep hidden as of lately, and I've discussed and toyed with the idea for quite a while to be perfectly honest. However, I want what's best for this community and all of you, as well as myself. In order to accomplish that feat, I feel this is a necessary step to seeing SerenityRO further itself in the future, under new management.

Please welcome with open arms as your new server owner and leading administrator, GM-Eleric.

Matt (Eleric) has been a vital asset to this community since his joining many months ago. He helped aid towards paying the server costs (and then some), as well, has always been a voice of reason to me when drama came to be. There've been others who have helped as well, however, this post isn't about them (yet, at least).

We've accomplished a lot together this past year, you the community and myself, and, I look forward to seeing what can be accomplished in my absence. Wait, what am I saying, "What can" for- clearly, it WILL happen, I have full faith in Eleric and all of you.

I've prepared a short video for all of you to view as my formal "goodbye". To both ex-administrators, server attackers, and everything in between, this is it guys and girls.

(Video Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylvNmltv-Sw)

I won't make this a long drawn out thing, as, it's already hard enough to say farewell.

So, I leave you instead with a few sayings to live your lives by, whether it be online or offline;

Be the change you wish to see in the world. - Ghandi

Without struggle, there is no progress. - Fredrick Dougglas

And my personal quote I live each day by,

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind. - Dr. Seuss

You are *all* amazing people through and through, and not a day will ever go by that I won't miss leading this server. However, my time has ended.

All endings lead way to new beginnings.

This isn't only my farewell to SeRO, but to Ragnarok Online all together.

With love,
Justin Tynne

Citing "drama" and being dragged back into the mess, he shut down the site and server on March 13, 2008 without so much as a hiya to the individual he had given the server to:

(12:41:01 AM) dropsofserenityy: Everyone will get angry at me, but I left to get rid of RO, yet, 90% of the IM's I get are still *about* RO. So, I'm taking it down. SeRO, in it's entirety. I've grown out of it, and people are still trying to cling on and on about it. It's not me anymore, and I want nothing to do with Ragnarok any longer.
(12:41:25 AM) Ryu / Matt: O_o that's messed up.
(12:41:55 AM) Ryu / Matt: Wait, you're closing it?
(12:42:14 AM) dropsofserenityy: Completely. Indefinitely. I don't want anything to do with RO, and people keep dragging me back into it.
(12:42:29 AM) Ryu / Matt: You know, there's easier ways to get rid of something, like, getting rid of a screenname, or things like that.
(12:43:14 AM) dropsofserenityy: I'm not changing my screen name all my irl friends know just to drop my online presence. I'm over it. There's more a****** than people I'd want it to stay open for.
(12:43:36 AM) Ryu / Matt: :/
(12:47:45 AM) Ryu / Matt: Would've been nice to get a few days notice, but whatever.

He sent the following mass email: 13 MAR

Alright, so, here's what's up.

I'm tired of the drama. I'm tired of people pulling me back *into* the drama. I'm not going to change my online names or hide my online presence because people can't get over asking me to help them out with drama on SeRO, so, I'm doing what any sane person would do, and close the server down entirely. I don't want the drama, and I certainly am not leaving my hard work of the past year in the hands of people who I *thought* were capable of handling things, however, in retrospect, the server would have been better off being shut down to begin with.

There's fighting going on, rumor mongering, slandering, threats being made left and right, and frankly, granted that was *always* part of SeRO, I kept it under the rug as best as I could. The fact that everything's so public now disappoints me, and as such, I'm leaving the "better days" as a memory, so what it's become doesn't foul what it used to be.

I will admit, I was genuinely excited of the idea of Eleric and crew running the server, however, the fact that many of the "final tests" I left weren't detected, and I was able to successfully abuse a multitude of exploits that *should* have been taken care of that weren't, really, really upset me. I patched everything up, and just observed through live access logs. I was disgusted by what was being said about me from the people I left in charge, and who they surrounded themselves with as their new staff. I won't name any names, as I've grown out of the slandering business many months ago, but, you all know who you are, what you said, etc, etc, etc.

After my decision to shut the server completely down was made, I then had to receive threats "through the grapevine" about a "pre-emptive attack" against me, because "we know his cell phone number". ... Uhh.. okay? This was made by the very people I left in charge in my departure. Disappointing to say the very least.

I worked myself to the point of exhaustion on SeRO this past year. Through moving out from my father's house, to abusive situation after another, through being mugged/jumped, and catching mono from overworking myself on the server- I've put my sweat, blood and tears into making SeRO what it was. I've had help along the way, but the majority of SeRO, quite literally 90-99% of everything coded in or that was custom to our server was by me and no one else. The web server, custom scripts, tools, guides, the whole nine. I've busted my donkey on this server- and to what do I return to none other than sarcasm, being called an a******, having PM's sent to me saying derogatory remarks about the new ownership, -. Hault! I left on the premise that I'm starting my life anew, without SeRO holding me back. Yes, *holding me back*.

I had fun while it lasted. I met hundreds of amazing people I wouldn't otherwise have had the pleasure of meeting. But, on the other hand, I met people like those who are pushing me to this decision, whom I couldn't have cared less if they played or not and saw them only as a number towards the online count.

I liked the majority of you, but, the bad apples always spoil the bunch.

I don't expect many of you to have the maturity to understand why I'm shutting the server down. Perhaps, some day when some of you grow up, you'll be able to see things through my perspective.

In conclusion- thanks Josh for being my support through absolutely all of this. My closest friends- you know who you are; thank you for standing by my side, always. My loyals, you were all who I ran SeRO for, and no one else.

I loved the community, and as such, I feel this is what's "right", and what's "needed".

Goodbye, SerenityRO.
Serenity

Well, it didnt take long before he reversed his decision. He reopened the SerenityRO site and forums: 03 APR

Why, hello there! I'm sure you didn't expect to hear from me again... or.. did you? No matter.

It's been a month since we closed the doors on the SerenityRO project, and during this time, countless emails have been sent in, as well as instant messages, and even phonecalls from those who knew my personal number. There were a few people who begged for the server to reopen, however, what was discovered is that most of those who reached out to contact me stated their extreme distaste for other servers out there that they had been hopping around to in order to find a new place to call "home".

No matter how hard they tried to search.. nothing matched what SeRO had to offer it's players.

The funny thing is.. I searched, too. And.. well.. nothing.

I've played other games, such as FlyFF, Ragnarok Online 2, Holic and yes, I even took a shot at a game called Cabal, but it wasn't compatible with my computer at the time. But.. nothing filled the void that was left behind in SerenityRO's closure.

I had given the server over to someone I knew for a long while and trusted. I won't deny his ability as a GM, however, Eleric was seen unfit to properly administrate the community, as well, countless complaints were continuously filed regarding players who were problematic even during my time running the server, and the inability for the newly hired Game Masters to properly discipline said players. Instead of allowing the server to continue that path of decadence, and to finally eliminate the excess drama and complaints that continued to pour in, I did what had to be done in order to preserve the server's old image; I shut it down, without consulting anyone involved still on the project. I spoke to my veterans, and they supported my decision, and as such, the Freedom server was no more.

All the while, I observed Milliardo, Nocc, HotMama(Mishy), Snake and countless others, continue to work on and develop the Hope Server (Freedom's sister server). They learned how to properly administrate the server, and in very, very little time. It reminded me just why I enjoyed their presence to begin with, and I allowed the Hope server to remain online. They only recently decided to wipe the server and return to low rates, and as such, I've decided to step in once more and lead the project, the way it was always led during my time at the helm. Yes, that's right, I'm returning to administrating SerenityRO, just in time for our "second year anniversary".

I've had a hectic month away, and life's finally starting to slow back down. We all obviously have a LOT of catching up to do, and I'm sure there's going to be a few people who would like to extend their bitterness onto our message board. I invite those of you who wish to return, for whatever reason, to rejoin us on our message board as we finish setting the server back up 100%, however, please note that there will be a multitude of gameplay changes; namely, most, if not all custom items will no longer be available. Additionally, the donation system has been completely demolished, and items such as Serenity Helms or Naoro's Wrath's will no longer be available, neither will cards, custom gears, etc. We'll also NOT be accepting donations at least for the first two months back opened up for "rewards". There's going to be an entirely new system, as well as a horde of quests and other such additions this time around.

A few known faces will be returning on staff- Mamimi, everyone's favorite child-chasing loli girl, will be joining the team running events and providing support and handling public relations work alongside Milliardo, who successfully administrated and demonstrated his extreme value on the Hope server's GM team. He'll be providing support, handling public relations management, and will be the general "manager" of operations (in other words, a Mini-Me ;P). GM-Snake will also be returning to the team as he was hired on at the Hope server, and is a skilled programmer and has extensive knowledge in the ways of eAthena. One unknown face however is Heretic. Some of you know him, most of you don't. He'd rather not disclose his identity, however, he'll be assisting with things behind the scenes and is NOT part of the "GM Team", but is however my personal assistant.

One of the main things that's most important about the revival of SeRO is, I'd like to get absolutely -everything- "right" this time. Zero corruption. Zero tolerance of drama from the get-go. Zero tolerance for cyber-bullying or slandering of people; whether it be by staff, ex-staff, players, etc, nothing will be tolerated. Respect will be enforced, and anyone who caused drama on the previous server will pend IP banishment should they return by yours truly, as I'd rather keep out the bad apples so as to not spoil the bunch.

-

This is a fresh start, for all of us. The boredom that came with everyone being 99/70, as well as the extreme lacking of player/GM participation was taxing for everyone.

So, I invite all of you to rejoin myself and the rest of the GM team, as we work together to revive the SerenityRO project dubbed, appropriately; Resurrection.

--

I thank everyone who showed their support both before, during and after the server closed down. I appreciated all the kind words you all shared with me, and all of your warm wishes. You guys reinstated my faith that not everyone was a complete jerk, afterall. Lol.

So, join us on the message board at, www.serenityro.com - Where you'll be able to access all the old posts with the exception of news topics, events/player events and announcements, as well, the Global Moderation team will be working hard to remove and archive older posts that are no longer relevant to the new start.

Thanks everyone for all your support, and I hope to see at least a third of you back once again and ready to join us once we re-open the server's doors itself again.



Warmest wishes,
Serenity, Heretic & the SerenityRO Administrative Staff

He continues to play the active, integral and leading position of SerenityRO. He unfortunately is still in a position to carry out the most mundane of tasks, including, but not limited to banning those with whom he has personal contentions, without cause. ALL mass emails representative of SerenityRO come from him and him alone.

If you are told that he has nothing to do with the administration of the server, or that he is only an advisor or financial supporter, you are being misled.

[Strider]

I am simply stating that Serenity is, once again, in charge of SerenityRO, that the above claims stating anything contrary to that are quite irrelevent and now misleading.

@Serenity, thank you for finally supporting your claims with some kind of evidence.

I would like to point out the following, as is typical with my personal dealings with you:

Seriously, I lol'd.

I've since March 27th taken control of the server again, so, Tsuki, if you'd read the date of the first post, you'd note that during that time, Milliardo and Snake had full control over the server. I simply provided them with money to run the server, as well as gave them web space to make a website and forums at. -They- were responsible for advertising. Truth be told, when all the spamming was going on, I wasn't even in the state, so I came back to all sorts of emails AND the admin of UnityRO (server that peaked at nearly half of that of EuphRO, so around 500-600), Trojal- an old friend of mine, coming to me stating that Snake was spamming their forums advertising SeRO Hope.

You stated in the above that you took control MAR 27th. The post you made to yC was made the 28th. You either lied to RMS admin, or posted the above knowing full-well of your intent to take control of the server  thereby, hopefully sparing yourself any possible backlash for something "your" server admins did.

I paid attention to the dates, thank you and goodnight. 

[Strider]

"I've had this car since last Sunday" means I got the car on Sunday.

[Milliardo]

It's unfortunate you got that spam PM. I wasn't made aware of this action myself, so I apologize for what happened in behalf of SerenityRO (and Serenity himself, who already posted here).

[AceJay]

Wait what? It's back, again?

!