Philosophical & Meaningful Quotes

[Sadie Meowsalot]

Similar to the existing quotes topic, except geared specifically with more meaningful quotes in mind rather than the more nonsensical and inane ones.Although there already exists a topic within which to dump things that are deemed quotes-worthy, it would be nice if the more meaningful of those quotes were condensed within one singular place wherein they're easily accessible. And just to clarify, that isn't to say the more silly quotes aren't important, because they are in that they provide humor and happiness to the forum, effectively making for a more positive community atmosphere. 

As such, if you have any meaningful RRU quotes, please post them here on which for people to reflect and hopefully improve themselves as people and members of both the community and society in general. 

Any further quotes I find and deem suitable to this topic I'll edit it into this post provided someone doesn't reply between now and then.



I'll start us off with a quote of Cyrem's in reply to McJobless' "Wot I Fink: Family" blog entry:

Cyrem:  "Despite there being member ranks I think it is important to remember that all members are valued regardless of their rank. Every single one of you makes the community, without you(and I'm talking to everyone here) there is one less person to talk to. There are less posts/ideas/opinions and that wouldn't be enjoyable.

 

Tensions build, stupid things get said... things you generally wouldn't have said otherwise, I'm no exception. It happens, everyone has to deal with it. Sometimes you get into an argument and say things without thinking it out, but by the time you realize this... it's too late. This is no different from most families, we all need to knock each other back in-line again once in a while, it's a good thing. We do this because we care. People just need to see it this way. Every now and then a member of the family leaves, usually a result of some argument. But arguments aren't forever, they are this little tiny thing that can occur in seconds and can somehow destroy days, months and years of work and friendship. Are you going to let something like this get in your way, or will you resolve the problem?... or even just forget it occurred? It's something to think about. In a lot of cases it's not reasonable to leave over petty disputes, after all RRU is not about two individuals, it's about everyone.  A lot of these things tend to work themselves out in time... enemies become friends etc... Unfortunately some people leave before any healing can begin. "

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Additional quotes: 
 

 

McJobless: 

"I tell you this story because of that word; "family". That's what we, more or less, are. Cyrem's the single parent, the moderators are the older siblings, the new editors are the nosy kids who like to shower everyone with gossip, the donators are the spoiled goodie-two-shoes, the contributors are also spoiled goodie-two-shoes ( ) and then we have all the other younger siblings. That just how it is on this site.

 

As much as a family stands together, I've seen more of a family falling apart. And this one is no different. We all have our difference in opinions, in the way we do things, and the way we communicate. It shows most online, and especially here, where the anticipation between each post builds up moreso than on a instant messaging service. That's a problem inherit in forums, but it seems to be less of a problem here. Nonetheless, we still have parts of it showing up, and mostly within myself. 

It happens in cycles, and those cycles are regular, and it's happening right now. A certain member appears to shake up the website, and embarks on a journey where we are constantly disappointed by their actions and their words, to the point where some of us outright (and people, we all must admit it sometime, despite how we'd normally say "we just stumbled upon this topic by accident") follow their post rampage, hoping they'll eventually listen to us, as we try to defuse a ticking timebomb that could bring an end to forum order itself. Or so we think. Cyrem has a nice giant big "UNDO" button in his office.

Sometimes I get out of hand. I go beserk and then attempt to justify my actions as being right, when I'm no better (and that's hard to say for some people) than the person I'm trying to call out. It's of great disrespect to myself, and to the forums when new members come and see what I've posted. I hold a position of, relatively, some power, and to act as I do...I should know better. We should know better. It's not right for me to hide behind this computer and call out people, only to reflect poorly myself on those who have worked harder than me to bring us all together in the first place. Respect must be given if it is to be earned, and in many ways, I have been undoing what respect I gave to the staff and members here that I worked up with great effort. One step forward and three steps back."

Drill Master:  

"When I think of family, one song always pops into my head: "Family Time" from Disney's Brother Bear. When I joined here almost 1 year ago, I thought that I would get the same negative response as I did with a gaming forum I was on before where the members treated me like dirt because I was the new guy. Not here. People came and said hello to me and gave me good advice about pants. The way I see it, every new person acts like a freshman in High School. Young, ignorent, unaware of their surroundings, and so on. I was the same way. I wandered the forum, and I learned what bugged people and learned to change my ways to make everyone happier. My great issue was indeed, my addiction to a certain video game series: Halo. @Zeph: I was a little upset on Skype when you said that I earned the title of being the forum's "Halofag", but then I realized that this was true. Looking back, I kind of exploded with topics about Halo.

 

But over the course of the year, I have since dulled down a lot. Also, I am sorry for over-reacting to the truth.

In marching band, we had a special chain that we would bring to every competition. This chain had a link for every person it our marching band. We would pass that chain around, hold it, feel the bonds between the links, remembering the famous saying: "We are only as strong as our weakest link", and pass it on. I have 3 families. My home family, my marching family, and of course you guys, my RRU family. Each of my families work together and helps each other out, but when one member of the family doesn't work well with others, it drags the entire family to a screeching halt.

 

I can't think of anything better to say than that. A family is not just a group of people, it is a group of friends who bond together, stay together, STAND together. Through sun and rain, a family must provide for each other in order to stay strong. I am proud to be a part of this family, and as I look ahead to my 1 year anniversary, I want to thank all of you for taking me in."

  

Cirevam: 

 

Let me just say that, in my humble opinion, reverse-engineering games and such is simply too difficult for the majority of people. We have to rely on our small cadre of four or five skilled experts for that. I'd love to contribute something, anything to Lego Racers research, and I gladly share my observations from playing the game where it's relevant, but most of the things origamiguy and the others do are simply beyond my humble understanding. All I can really do is use their tools and thank them for their efforts.

This is the core issue with our community. Read this over a few times then look at the people who do modding research and make tools. Everyone can come up with ideas but only a few people can implement them and even fewer give us the ability to do even that. For Lego Racers it's something like THREE PEOPLE researching the game. Rock Raiders was roughly the same way on the old forum. And even when we get good ideas for mods it either takes us bloody forever or the end result is not too significant.

Why? We're all lone wolves here. It doesn't take a geologist to see that. None of the community overhauls even got off the ground. A few people make one or two things, a texture or something just to act like they're interested. But the community doesn't band together because only a few of the elite have the capability to create expansive mods. But that's not the only reason, since we do have enough people to create small teams. The main reason is that we're all dicks to each other! I don't even have to point out names due to the recent topics and blog posts. And it's all avoidable. Why? Well, the shoutbox only appears on the forum index. You can click away at any time, turbo goblins, don't let the mean people get to you. You don't have to read every single blog or status update. I certainly don't. And I believe there's an Ignore Member feature if you're so easily offended by someone's words.

At the end of the day, if someone here is getting on your nerves you really have to ask yourself, "why am I on this forum?" If you can't come up with a reason or if it's "forum games lol" then you might as well leave since the only thing you're contributing is anger or padding your post count. Don't bother making a goodbye topic just to come back a week later, simply ask me to ban your account and I'll do it since I really can't stand how childish some people are here. Granted, there are a lot of what most would consider children here, but that's not really the point. The mods don't have time to babysit you guys, so either get it together or pack your bags. Better yet, contribute to the forum community. I have plenty of stuff that I don't have time to do since I have a full-time job, I'm looking for a better job, and I'm looking at the process of buying a house for next year. I have maps and other simple things that I would gladly let other people handle if they were willing. Even if you yourself don't have much time, it helps. And that's what a community is about.

 

 

Cyrem:

"RRU was greater in it's younger days and I've had a hard time trying to find the reason it has changed over time. The reason I believe, is that back then members didn't know each other well, they didn't see each others faults, nor did they look for them. Over time, you get to know more about the people you talk to, you see their faults, you learn their opinions etc. People judge other people more often and this carries on in their future engagements with them. Eventually, you've built this wall where you dislike certain people, ignore them, hate them and hold grudges.The only solution to this issue I can see is: dropping those grudges and forgetting/ignoring their personal faults.I have said this before, only the community can make RRU a better place. It cannot be done by one person, everyone must take part."
 

Expanding on what I have said above, I think it is important to note that there is a time and place for HEALTHY arguments. If I look at the 'argument' in this topic, it really isn't that bad compared to past ones. There is little name calling, and the argument itself is simply based on the opinions of the site failing vs site getting better. Which was bound to happen since different people have different opinions of RRU. Some questions require arguments to take place in order to get a result, an answer, the weighing of opinions to find truth. So having some sort of expectation of one big happy family, isn't really realistic despite how much everyone would love that (myself included).

 

When anyone gets involved in arguments tensions and frustration will arise, it always does. When that happens, you need to step back as if in third person, look at it from the view of the other person, take some time out then later come back when fresh. This helps me and I'm pretty sure it works for all humankind. If you don't, it continues to build up, it's not good for your physical health.

 

Common Cause

I don't believe the community has lost it's cause. In fact, I think it has regained it with the furthering of LEGO Racers modding, not to mention the opening of the other classic forums. The cause of existence has morphed from dedication to LEGO Rock Raiders to dedication to Classic LEGO Gaming. The reason this was done, I think, is clear.

 

We're All Over the Place

If you mean "connected", RRU members are indeed very connected as Extreme has pointed out. People talk everywhere. If you mean what games people are interested in, or focusing on... yes there is variety, but this is for giving something for everyone. The main modding focus should be on LRR and LR, as these two have the most progress... however I change around because I like to have some variety. I don't think it is a bad thing.

 

The Tension

I can see this to be a problem (see quote above). Community Help Cirevam touched on this. No one really helps each other out with modding. It's like we're all waiting around a campfire for someone to start cooking the sausages, but no-one wants to put in the effort to prepare the food and cook it. This needs to change. People need to put in the effort even if they don't gain anything themselves, just be a good neighbor. Some people have been doing this, and I will give one example. LRR Level, people make them... almost no one can be bothered to play them.... why? Someone took the time to make it for US, can we not take the time to see what they made for you and everyone? It's practically a present... and how many of you ignore or deny presents from people? Lair of Rockwhales has thankfully taken some time to play and record the past levels that were made, and he is enjoying them. Cirevam has put up his hand for help, be a brother, lend a hand and not only will you have the pride of being apart of the development of TR, but you've done a good thing... you were apart of something. Take the plunge like Lair, and give them a try... show that you are thankful for what other people have made for you!

 

Documentation 

I'm going to throw this in. I have a gut feeling that due to lack of proper documentation that works, people a less inclined to mod or even try mods. LR has some excellent tutorials written by JimbobJeffers that are detailed an understandable (not saying the other tuts aren't, just an example). When we go over to LRR tutorials, I see incomplete(I have one of these), un-detailed and tiny tutorials. And there are some things that people just don't understand which we (the more knowledgeable modders) expect them to know.... "or get out". It seems we've gotten into this middle ground where we "know" but haven't turned our knowledge in words. Tutorials need to be clean, need to be understandable for most people and need to reference additional material, such as content on the Wiki(which again, areas have lack of documentation).

 

Off-topic Club

It's time to bring this up. RRU has an off-topic club. That is, users who visit and solely (or almost) post in the off-topic areas of RRU. Now, the off-topic areas are not an "evil of RRU", it's purpose it to fill in the gaps, help all members to be more casual and have fun. If you notice the forum layout, it's at the bottom. It's there because it is the least important part of the community. If you post in the areas of the community of which RRU is purposed and in off-topic, there is nothing wrong. However too much of one thing is bad, and in this case, if you are only here to live in that section, you are not productive to this community and your time is probably better spent on a forum that is dedicated to 'off-topic' discussion. One other thing, off-topic club members generally are viewed as the ... "lower class", I know this sounds bad, but if you think about what I've just said... you'll will see why. I guess, on RRU, your reputation depends more on how productive you are on the community.

 

I don't think this is an issue we should "bury" and hope it goes away, thats been tried and it only comes back to the surface over time. I think this does need to be addressed so that we can kiss it goodbye for at least a long while.