From Darren O'Riley:

It's with more than a touch of embarrassment that I admit that some names have slipped my mind over these five years; For that, I apologize. However, know that while the human memory can be flawed, none can take from you the special touch you put upon Crystal Shores, for all involved at any point left their mark. Without the participation we've had, without your time and efforts, Crystal Shores would've been "just another rpg game" in "just another chatroom" on "some server somewhere" with "those people."

That was never the case.

Many staff have come and gone; I admittedly am not the easiest person to work with, and especially, work -for-. I was a stickler for detail, I wanted things a certain way or no way at all, and while it's generally appreciated by all involved, the difficult moments were necessary evils and experience was learnt for all parties concerned.

Early-Day Names like Marcus and Corinne, Sahyber and Torlin, Teiyah and Carol, Kim and Dave, and the list could go on for many a page, might not ring any bells or register with you upon first glance. But for me, to look at these names, brings back, in this order: The Creation of Old Achethe. The authorship of the Story of the Gods and the first rough outlines of the Isle's Races. The earliest stages of Development of Guilds and Shops. The first considerations and lively debates of adding more aspects from pen-and-paper games to translate online...or not.

Seeing eye-to-eye on everything never happened, thank the Gods. Had that been the case, this would have been a game that dropped to the Wayside early on, and would've been long-forgotten.

Names like Jane Maichen, Rosalyn, Kevorin, Boss Kuno, Khalidan, Neo are just a smattering of those who were there in the early days and continued with us. Never can enough be said or enough gratitude expressed about the virtue of loyalty from staff and players.

There are new staffers currently intermingled with the old, and there's no doubt that they will continue to contribute to the vitality of the place, as did their predecessors.

We learned from the mistakes of others in other gaming places, be it those who abused the power and trust given them by their players, or those who failed to live up to our expectations. We have never been shy about knowing what we wanted, and going after it, doing whatever it took to attain it. Many hours were spent, much sweat poured into it, and our gambles paid off.

Crystal Shores' shops were constructed boldly; the original goal was to have one hundred in operation. We met that goal by a deadline, and it was something that online gaming hadn't seen. The next thing I new? We were being blatantly ripped off by another game, whose owner lurked our site and mined our pages. They say imitation is the best form of flattery...but shameless rip-off is another story altogether. (Yes, I exploded; yes, I made another game owner cry.) Yet another moment in the life of a Crystal Shores GM, complete with Maalox and Scotch. There were many moments like this, and perhaps I've got a little more Carazzi in me than I care to admit, because in looking back, I didn't so much mind having targets for my aggression. I didn't pick them at random; they begged for it by trying to steal from me and mine.

I began to understand why Islamic nations cut off thieves' hands. Had we done that, there would be a lot of one-handed, one-stumped typists in the world today.

Yet...even THESE people deserve a credit. Why? Because they forced us to continue to strive for the best. We were not allowed to sit back and relax, not when there was something better we were capable of creating. If we kept working with quality, if we kept acting on our ideas as they happened, then it went without saying that we'd always be one step ahead. And we were. Without the constant challenges we faced, human nature dictates we would've gotten lazy and content. We weren't allowed to, and for that, I am now grateful.