I came here because, well, one of the top results on one of those server lists, and was made sufficiently curious enough to come check this place out. My memories back then consist of a) being good at SSM and b) being bad at Dominate. [Though, since EVERYONE was bad at Dominate back then, I was actually relatively awesome]
Within a week of joining the forums I was called a hateful, spiteful word that I hope no one ever has to hear, because had I actually cared about what was said I would have promptly left. Outside of Mineplex, there are a few...particularly rude individuals that enjoy degrading this server, even nine months ago. That incident almost confirmed my suspicions, and I would have left.
But I had a friend who had an interesting quote on their wall profile, and I got to read it every single day.
“I must respect you before your insults matter to me.”
I took that to heart the first time I read it, and that’s why I’m so indifferent when it comes to, and I quote heavily and not a little sarcastically, “cyberbullying.” Which, when used disturbingly freely here, means if someone hurt your feelings. The word’s been so twisted that very few people even know what it really is.
So rather than leaving, I promptly fired back a few choice words without losing my temper and started a 200-post argument.
The next day the other player was forum banned.
I used this place to advertise my slowly growing skills as a creative writer, and got some great advice while slowly making a few friends. This eventually lead to Journey’s End, my current story Though I won’t ramble much more than I already have!)
Late June is when I started kicking into gear, and within a month I had created about five rant threads, three suggestions, and two guides, accumulating over four hundred potatoes. I quickly made a new friend in
Morena and continued to write, exploring the forums, Mineplex, and its games. With the year of experience I had in unofficially balancing the class PvP system of another server, I continued to throw out suggestions and improve at the games available, finding SSM to be a fantastic game and writing the infamous Skeleton Nerf thread as well as scoring surprisingly good in the SSM Fall Invitational Qualifiers, though my progress was halted by a lack of time.My rise through the forums continued, to the point where I crested with my Amplified and Cyberbullying threads. These two, along with my Skeleton thread, established me as a well-known forumer.
With this time to think I identified several major problems in the system that I believe still exist today, and are problems that I am trying to prove and solve. As a Ultra / Hero, I publicized these issues and forcefully pointed them out to the community, to little effect. Through these efforts and my writing I met
Dessh and 
Relyh , both of which I respect for their writing talent. Relyh introduced me to several players that I now consider close friends, particularly 
JessiieeBae and 
xNewbx , as well as bringing me onto TeamSpeak. Over time, my focus shifted from playing the game to the gameplay itself, and from there onto the forums and the players inhabiting it. I noticed several things that have become part of my key mentality here on Mineplex and they, in turn, allowed me to notice the issues that had previously not been noted.It’s
Morena ‘s fault that you’re stuck with me as a Helper now, as she basically refused to let me think that I wasn’t, minus the occasional snippiness, decent Helper material. I don’t know what kind of magic wordplay she did but she actually convinced me to seriously run for Helper, so I did.And got promptly rejected, which was kind of a “I told you so.”
But instead of being discouraged, I became more determined to make it on. Mineplex, for all the mean things people have to say about its community, brought me some very close friends that I treasure and countless memories that I hold onto and I decided that I would be here, if only to help make the server a better place for future players to enjoy.
And then I got accepted, much to my surprise, and it’s been one trial after another. My first day of Helper, I spent twelve hours moderating lobbies and spectating Bridges and Castle Siege games. I did not play one game in that time period. That’s the kind of dedication I’ve wanted to put into Mineplex, although IRL issues continue to conspire against me to the point where I seriously considered resigning so that it would be less stressful.
And make no mistake, being Helper is just as stressful as it is fun. People like to jump on your mistakes, with startling frequency, and part of your job is to respond maturely and try to fix those mistakes even if all you want to do is bang your head on a desk and throw your computer out the window.
With that in mind, I have a few people to say thank you for walking alongside with me as I’ve taken this journey, or, in some cases, been dragged along by:
JessiieeBae : Oh, you KNOW what you did. Thank you for that. Relyh : Without you, I probably would have left by now. You’ve basically dragged me along this path, marching me up with hands behind my back to say hello to people, and otherwise throwing me off cliffs in a good game of Dominate. Thank you.
The_Mechanan : Your continued indifference is endearing. Morena : You were, I think, my first real friend here, and someone I’ve enjoyed talking to (when we have the time!). I remember when you were still an itsy-bitsy member lobbying for a Sheep Quest Brute nerf, and you wrote in a captivating way that I still admire today.
Punch : Kick_Wood
[Stirlingite] Face : Scrub.
MangoMantaray 
FrostedIce : I’m waiting on that marriage. In the meantime, continue being awesome. I know I’ll be happy to drag you two into a game of Dominate. xNewbx : Waiting for that Sr. Mod. 
Ic3_Ph03nix : bbyTo my poor mentor,
blondebug , who has had to deal with my many mistakes and errors: Thank you. Dessh - “It’s weird to see that the people I used to idolize and look up to are now my equals, or even looking up to me...” <<<
Tompaur - I’m sorry, but it’s always going to be Lindsey Stirling.And to the insufferable, entertaining, delightful, headache-inducing, and otherwise enjoyable community and fellow staff of Mineplex: Thank you for being here, and for making Mineplex what it is.
So this is also an Ask-Me-Almost-Anything thread. Don’t troll, keep it reasonable, and otherwise - go at it.
~Crystalliced
