Ok, I'm going to try a different tact and am willing to be open-minded about this predicament. Therefore, I write this missive in two parts.
First, an open letter to Dayne, followed by an appeal to the DMB community.
Dayne,
It seems that we've reached an impasse that may seem insurmountable. It's too bad really, because we both want the best for DMB, and are now placed in such a precarious situation. But I optimistically believe that there is some middle ground that can be reached that would benefit your company and the stand-alone PC community.
From day one after you acquired this company, things started off on the wrong foot as it were. My impression, and please correct me if I'm wrong, is that you believed that we'd be open to new ideas and that we'd embrace an online version of DMB. Now if you got this impression from Tom Tippett or someone else it is now immaterial and as they say, ancient history. The fact that you never really warmed up to the PC community may have acerbated the current situation and are now the target of a lot of enmity. It also seems to me that you're taking out your frustrations and anger at us for not supporting you and are basing your company decisions on sheer spite. Why else would you wait a week to deliver news that you surely had made up your mind earlier about, and knew would inflame the stand-alone community? Yet, you lurked the boards all weekend and even participated in an online chat that was both pointless and surreal.
But enough with the recriminations. It is not too late to move forward.
What do you Dayne, want from this community? Obviously you want us to play the online version, yet you plan to continue producing season disks for the stand-alone game. This is all confusing for many of us, because we're really not certain as to what direction you're going. Perhaps it may be to your benefit to end support of the PC game and focus your attentions on the online version, but if so, let us know now.
You're a successful businessman, and I'm very certain that this whole predicament may be eating at you. I'm also sure you do not want to risk losing a lot of customers because of stubborn petulance.
I understand you want to make money, but can we not reach some sort of compromise?
I understand but don't necessarily agree with your reasoning for not developing a version 10, but could a 9d patch that cleans up some of the remaining glitches in the game not be offered?
Your gracious offer to play the online game gratis for a year is fine, but that doesn't generate revenue for your company. Perhaps if you charge us a small fee to play the online version and get a 9d patch thrown in as well to sweeten the pot may be a more enticing offer and would perhaps engender more amiable relations between you and the PC community.
I hope you respond to this letter, and in conclusion please stop holding online chats. They seem to cause more antagonism than anything does.
Regards
Rldp444
Now to the DMB community.
Teeth gnashing, the rendering of clothes, and the yelling of accusations don't seem to work. We're all very disappointed in Dayne's decision, but if we're very nice, and stop the ad hominem attacks and likening him to Kim Jong-Il, perhaps we could all benefit from this mess. As far as I know, and despite what many may choose to believe, Dayne has not starved millions of people. Call it Godwin's Rule of Communist Dictator Analogies, but anyone accusing Dayne of being a despot already loses the argument. This forum and the IS forum is not a democracy. We're guests here, and we should show some respect to our host. I know many of us have spent a lot of money on this game, but that does not give us the green light to run amok. So posting on the IS forum in order to engender support is not conducive to getting the results we'd like.
If we can't say anything nice about Dayne Myers, then maybe we shouldn't say anything at all.
I believe we could come up with some arrangement that would be beneficial to both parties, but we should take the first step and be perhaps less critical. We do have the option of continuing to play with the current version, and if we're not satisfied with that, then the other option is to purchase the competitor's game.
However, call me jejune at worst, but attacking the man personally is not a tactic that is destined to work

