And I realize that you have asked to have this done privately but it's time that things be said that should have been said a long time ago. I recognize that many of you have built up a community here which is an investment of your time and energy. I respect that. I cannot however respect this insipid cheerleading for a site that, in all fairness, is average. True, the scope of the games here is breathtaking and Fencer does play a more visible role in running this site than the owners of IYT or GoldToken (though I only have a passing knowledge of GT). That is commendable. I put my money where my mouth was and paid for a membership to a site that is really just limping along. I tried to encourage people to become members but honestly, how can I recommend a site that I myself am becoming dissappointed in? In short, this site is poorly managed by Fencer as a system administrator and as a benevolent owner. Between the bickering that he chooses to ignore by action if not by words and the ridiculous hardware issues I can no longer play here. However irrationally, I am angry at Fencer for his apparent inability to see that his creation is tarnishing and falling apart before him. What Fencer does not understand is that investment in time or money creates a certain expectation and when that expectation is dashed, it creates feelings of resentment and anger. This fiasco was completely avoidable and is avoided every day by companies with less money than Fencer has. I have been a system administrator for 8 years now, I am also a web programmer, I have made large enterprise web applications. I know what I am talking about when I say that money is not the issue at BrainKing, the underlying infrastructure and technology is. Coupled with Fencer's apparent innocence in providing customer service that is firm AND fair and really I don't see the value in being aggravated by playing here. I said I was angry, in fact, I'm also sad. I am a good player. Not the best but I am good. And I play some of the best here. But I won't be playing them any longer unless we can find some other mutually beneficial site to p(l)ay at.

I earnestly wish you all the luck in the world, Fencer. If anyone deserves to have his creation bear fruit and grow, you do. You've put a lot of time into this site and you truly care for it, which is rare. However, the future of BrainKing will not have me in it.

Greg