i think that the game does belong to the players in its way, not in the legal sense no, but this game would be nothing without the players, and the players arent going to play if theyre unhappy.
yes it is only a game, but if people are unhappy theyre not going to play, and the point of playing a game is to make you happy isnt it?
You're not going to like to hear this, but the forum community consists of about 3% to 5% of the active playerbase, so it's not really a good measure to assume the playerbase is unhappy due to a few vocal forum members.
It's also important to realize that those who may be unhappy, are more often than not the ones who have violated a rule at one point or another, hold issue to having undergone the humiliating process of having to provide assurances they won't violate the rules again, and are quick to take arms in defense of others who were likewise outed for violating the game/community rules.
And for those unhappy folks who
never violated a rule, well then wake up and realize you're being suckered into rioting for an unjust cause. Or do you really
want cheaters, trolls and trouble makers in the game & forums?
You obviously don't know much about mods. I believe they are payed something like 2000+ Gold a month? That was the lowest amount I could find.
Oh moderating isn't thankless,
but it
is work, and it does come with a helluva lot of abuse. And let's be honest, MyKing, if it was
just free gold, I'm sure you would have quickly signed up to be a moderator. But free gold is a paltry compensation for the amount of work and abuse these moderators, and especially the CMs, have to endure. So let's not try to belittle their efforts, because I know you know the truth of it all.