I look at it this way. In the beginning, this was a small local, fee paying pool (stick with the analogy) and the game was perfect for me. I was new to the pool (MMO's), and scared to swim with friends and be a little competitive. (group). This game, and the positive community (both in game and in forum) made me dip my toe in and try it.
I am now able to swim, and love swimming with others.
Recently, due to hard times, it's a larger, less exclusive pool - and it's free. The management have made it so that the swim lanes are broken down, and it's a free for all. I'm trying to swim with my friends in a lane, but someone's in the way throwing a ball about that they paid money for. I can have a ball too, but have to pay separately for it.
That's all fine - I'm glad he/she is having fun. I'm looking for another pool though. It's just a shame that my opinions are not valued enough to solve with actions - just platitudes - all the while getting money from those that want balls.
To extend the analogy a bit...
Many people observed that the running pools were making money, so a lot of people opened their own pools. That resulted in lots of pools, many of which were going to have to close if they couldn't find more people who liked to swim (there just weren't enough swimmers to support all the pools that opened). Therefore, the various pool owners looked for ways to make pools more attractive to less skilled or otherwise new swimmers. Pools became shorter, so laps weren't as tiring, or shallower so that weak swimmers could stop and just stand up. As a result, the original dedicated, strong swimmers started complaining about the short laps and shallow pools.
Originally Posted by Chunky_baby
Grand Poster
