Communication PLEASE staff!

heatherm19 • 2 days ago

I'm well aware this is being talked about elsewhere, but I don't see a dedicated thread for it and with Eggcave's birthday coming up...

I know @Ian has been having some personal/life/health things that have kept him from being very active here, but it's been MORE than long enough that we *should* have some communication. Even just a 'hey, I'm still here but it'll be awhile before things get back to normal' would (imo) mean a lot. Because it really does feel like this site has been abandoned by it's creator, and I'm seeing users leaving specifically because of it, and that breaks my heart a bit.

The reason I'm posting this now is because July 20th will be Eggcave's 17th birthday, and it feels especially important that such a milestone NOT go by without some communication. If Eggcave is on the backburner for now, let us know that. If Ian isn't able or doesn't want to continue updating and improving the game, PLEASE let's allow someone else to do so?? Please? (I've always been worried about the fact that Ian seems to be the only one able to actually make changes in this game, whether it's an annual event that doesn't start on time or a bug that affects gameplay for many...)

Speaking of bugs, with Ian not around Tickets seem to be abandoned as well. Which is especially frustrating. I re-opened two tickets in June because the bugs had started showing up again, specifically June 8th and 10th (with a follow-up a week ago) and no response. In my experience bug-related Tickets are usually responded to fairly promptly, but not anymore.

Let me be clear, I do NOT want this to be a 'dump on Ian' thread! Real life happens, and 17 years is a long time to commit yourself to running such a game! I have incredible respect for Ian, and his attentiveness to the game was one of the first things I noticed when I joined.
But there are a lot of us that still really really love this game (and, to be honest, some of us have poured a ton of real-life money into it) and seeing it seemingly abandoned is just... heartbreaking. And unfair to us. If this site is truly on it's last legs, at least give us the courtesy of knowing that. If there is hope in the future, it'd be great to know that too.

Literally just pinging all staff listed on the staff page: @Ian @mastergemma @jazzyleia @Orderedchaos @Meteoroid

raccoon • 2 days ago

Maybe I'm just not active enough but I haven't thought things were bad...?

We also aren't really owed information on Ian's personal life. :/ I get the frustration and I'm ALL for communication between staff and players but something about that just seems a bit entitled? I'm sorry if that sounds rude, I promise I'm not trying to be rude. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're asking for?

I don't feel the site has been abandoned either. Though I DO think Ian and the site could benefit from more staff. Especially more staff with the ability/permission to do work on bigger aspects of the site. If only just to take some of the burden off of Ian. But at the end of the day, Eggcave isn't a big site...

jarsha • 1 day ago

I feel very frustrated and let down when I come onto this site recently.

I agree that in order for the site to be healthy, there needs to be someone available who can perform the tasks Ian does. I am also worried this is an abandoned site, as I've mentioned a few times now there are things that haven't been touched for years such as the site event History page not being updated at all since 2020, despite being described as a complete history of site events. My ticket from June has not been addresed either. Nothing is being retired and hasn't been for a long time, making all new items incredibly hard to come by in the shops and increasing difficulty and frustration with questing. It bums me out to see beautiful new items that artists spent time on just being things I cannot engage with and enjoy. Regular events not starting in time. No word on galleries or site login updates.

I'm sorry but I was so excited for this site as a new player, and am really let down. I would at least appreciate it being clearly and honestly stated if there is no plan to work on the site, and some effort going towards finding someone able and willing to work on it. It's worth working on and this is a fantastic community here, but in the very, very least some transparency on if improvements are actually going to happen or not. I have been spending less time here because I don't like that I now feel the same frustration and let down that it seems like a lot of long time users have been feeling for years, but especially lately.

I think the existence of this thread addressing the topic is important, because communication is important. Now whether it means anything will change or be addressed, I don't know and unfortunately don't have high hopes, but perhaps a place where this topic is focused on such as this thread could give it a chance to be addressed in one focused spot and some large communication gaps filled. We all love the site and see good in it, and find value in the community here and is the reason why anyone wants communication and improvement in the first place.

I think it would be fair and an act of respect to let us know if work on the site isn't going to happen and isn't actually intended to happen, so that we can be allowed to understand what to expect and can make informed decisions on how and if we engage with the site as users going forward within that context.

Ian • 1 day ago

Hey everybody. Thanks for checking in and I'm sincerely sorry for the lack of communication right now. Right now, my life has really continued to fall apart, I've spent some time in the hospital, and I've had to prioritize my mental health. I feel like I'm a lot in a "it gets worse before it gets better" stage because I have to untangle everything in my life first to understand it.

Sadly, this is affecting Egg Cave. Full stop.

I'm committed to the regular monthly updates at Egg Cave, but even those, I know, aren't perfect. And the sign in changes took a back seat from months ago. It's not an excuse, it's what's going on with me and broadcasting deeply personal things and deciding what to share and how to share it has been extremely personal and sensitive to me. Thus, me being really quiet.

I hope to be back to Egg Cave full time soon once I'm feeling better. And I hope that's really soon. I love all of you guys and this community from the bottom of my heart.

And I know I'll be better soon, I'm just not quite there yet.

snowywinter • 1 day ago

@ Ian - Wishing you many positive vibes. These struggles can last a long time, and it doesn't help when things keep piling on. Everyone's journey is different, and so too how it's handled.

I know it can be difficult to multitask the external when dealing with a plethora of internal.
I truly appreciate the effort at keeping the site functional.
(another one of my favorite sites, that had been running since 1997, went mostly kaput this year. years of archives lost, forums gone.
I can feel the difference btwn the slow decline of that one over the past few years, and the shiny stability of here.)

Your health comes first though. Take care of yourself. ♡

redflipflap • 1 day ago

@Ian I’m so glad you’re okay ♡ sending good thoughts and positive energy your way, and we’re here to support you 🫶🏻

myriadium • 1 day ago

Ian,

Thank you so, so much for the update. The community has been left greatly lost and uncertain about the state of the game as of late, and your message assuages the main concerns around the previously promised updates. Now we know that progress on these updates have essentially halted as of right now, which is honestly all I (personally) needed to hear.

Also, please take your time regarding any personal matters. @/raccoon is right; the playerbase is not entitled to details about your personal life, and you're under no obligation to disclose anything. With a community as small as this one, I don't think it's a good idea to do so. Updates concerning the site, especially because you're the sole developer, is the only thing that should be shared; and your message that the sign in changes "took a back seat" is all that's required for users to understand the current state of development.

Wishing you a restful recovery.

jarsha • 1 day ago

Wishing you luck and support as you work through what you're going through. I hope you recover well, and thank you for not sharing personal details that you aren't comfortable sharing as there's no obligation or expectation to do that. Privacy is a really valuable thing.

Thank you for the clarity on the status of the site, even seeing this clarification I am hopeful for the future of it, but am no longer left feeling confused and let down now that you've shared that it just needs to be on pause right now. Wishing you the best Ian

isis • 1 day ago

@ian Thank you for the update, as this clarifies a lot. I wish you nothing but the best in your journey to recovery. Please take all the time needed, health always comes first, both physical and mental. Sending lots of love your way ❤️

Ian • 17 hours ago

Thank you everybody. It means a lot. ❤️

heatherm19 • 11 hours ago

Ian, so so so so grateful for the response, and it makes me so hopeful for the future of Eggcave just to know that you aren't abandoning it. To me, just having this bit of communication is so incredibly important and really goes a long way towards keeping the love of Eggcave alive.
Mental health always needs to come first, that's something I learned the hard way long ago. I'm so sorry life has been so rough lately and I hope things look up for you soon, regardless of site stuff. You are important (that sounds so horribly cliche but words are failing me). ❤️