My Resignation Letter

Hey all, just wanted to explain my recent absence from the server and what you can expect going forward.

In September, n0m and I entered into a contract where I would assume ownership of RSCRevolution including the domain, server, PayPal, and mailing listserv starting October 2018. In lieu of a down-payment, we agreed I'd pay royalties monthly, plus more for work completed.

When the time came, n0m directed the donate button to my freshly created business PayPal account, but retained the domain, server, and listserv. To ensure I would be a man of my word and would stick to the contract, I was asked to treat October as a trial where I would run the PayPal but not announce the new ownership. With a successful Halloween and no issues with payment on Nov 1, the trial period should have been coming to a close. I requested transfer of the remaining interests, citing the agreement. n0m transferred the domain, but declined to transfer the host server. I nervously realized that I was now liable for the income of a private server without actually having any control over it. But I tried to stay optimistic that n0m would stick to his agreements and eventually transfer the host.

With the clock ticking on a much needed November newsletter, the rest of the staff team decided that we should announce the new ownership for transparency's sake. My first instinct was to keep it secret until absolutely everything was handed over. I suppressed that instinct after n0m read over the newsletter, asked for tweaks, then personally okayed the [url=https://www.rscrevolution.com/viewtopic.php?id=15390]final version[/url]. He even had me demod his forum account, and removed himself from our Discord server, announcing that I would be running everything. I had the previous owner's public blessing! For the first time since the deal was struck, I felt relief.

That relief was short lived. Only a few days after the announcement, the host server went down for 12 hours and n0m could not be reached. It turned out he'd forgotten to pay the host bill. Frustrated, I saw this as a prime example of why the full transfer of interests was still necessary. I again asked for help setting up the server host under my account, arguing that RSCR would not have experienced the downtime if I were the one in charge of paying the bill. n0m refused - then asked for double the royalties we had agreed on. Now it was my turn to refuse. I asked that we stick to our contract, but mentioned that it already provided for the requested percentage as long as certain responsibilities were met. As I refused, I noticed I could no longer access the administrative tools I’ve enjoyed for years. When I asked if the passwords had been changed, n0m replied “that’s so weird”. I felt as though admin access had been intentionally locked out as a retaliation for my wanting to stick to our contract.

Now I lacked the ability to deliver on the updates promised in our newsletter. Feeling coerced, I expressed my discomfort with this tactic and said I would step back until my access was restored.

It never was.
Left with no choice, I said I was willing to agree to the new deal for double the original monthly royalties. Nope, n0m said, that offer expired. I was told to give up my ownership completely, or else be removed from RSCR. The donation button was quietly deleted, leaving no way for players to support the server. I was told I could remain and assume my old responsibilities, but not be allowed to dictate any of the terms of any new deal.

Despite putting up a tough face, I considered it. I love this game. I love RSCR. I’ve always loved the community we have here since I joined 3 years ago from a now defunct server. As weird as it sounds, designing content and helping run things here since 2016 is probably the best thing I’ve done in my adult life. And it’s incredibly painful to walk away especially when I was so excited to helm this project and bring our shared vision to reality. But it's time for me to take a break. I don't think I can stomach someone with whom I so strongly disagree having the final say on all of our creative, development and staffing decisions.

With a heavy heart, I am returning this domain to the previous owner's possession, and I hereby resign all of my staff duties effective immediately.

This is the best team the server has ever had. You should expect that RSCR will continue to be on the cutting edge of development in this scene, as it always has been. Christmas is such an exciting time for RuneScape - there is always something wonderful for winter and around the corner. I'm looking forward to sharing these experiences with you, this time as just a regular player.

And if I don't see ya - best of luck to you all in your RSC and IRL adventures.

Billy