That's something that hasn't stopped in the five-plus years since the work began: The work. While the game has changed hands, the principles remain the same as well as the vision to what it's really about. A commitment to quality was first and foremost; that doesn't change, no matter who's at the helm. A desire to improve and expand has always been acted upon: The game has never folded; it's only grown. Sure, there were 'lean moments', as in people's offscreen lives becoming more demanding of their time than usual, as well as irreconcilable differences between staffers on occasion--which was actually healthy, for if all agreed all the time, where would the fire be?--but the game was always alive, as if it was its own entity. It was nurtured like a baby, and grew steadily, and continues to thrive.

Quality over Quantity: That cannot be stressed enough. None of us ever wanted an IRC Chatroom filled to capacity if no one was actually speaking, or were cybering in whisper, or "a/s/l" flooded the monitor. It was and is about the sheer thrill of escapism, the art of roleplay, and bringing fantasy to life. Whether two or twenty played, high standards were and are expected. Godmoding never sat well, and the Godmoders were largely chased off and embarrassed. (That was rather fun to do, heh.)

Many times, players who were embarrassed realized their mistakes and held us harmless for 'killing them off', or ostracizing them. Instead of running around and 'badmouthing' us to lesser games that would take them in and enjoy gossiping about the 'bad way Crystal Shores treats people', they'd rise to our expectations and learn how to roleplay, rather than wallow in the muck of many inferior games that are no longer running. They'd come to appreciate what it was we expected, and honed their skills with us, and made Crystal Shores their home, under a new, unblemished character. Fresh starts were and are never looked down upon, if it's to correct mistakes of the past.

Of course we had our detractors. One memorable "hater" was someone who wasn't allowed to portray an alien who carried a laser gun and wanted to kill anyone and everyone in his way. He ran to every game out there and spoke ill of us, which actually worked to our benefit, because it helped keep that ilk out. Think of that guy as our "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service" sign.

One source of pride for the Narrator, as the original owner of Crystal Shores, was to see total strangers come in and embody their roles. Many acquaintances and friends have been made over the years through Crystal Shores. Many arguments have been argued over Crystal Shores. But the love has always been there, for the fictitious Lost Isle that meant so much to so many.

There was some speculation as to why I stepped down as owner, and I'd like to take the opportunity to put it to rest. It was not because I was bored with the game; in fact, it's the exact opposite. Like many staff of the past, my offscreen life obligations began to spiral and overshadow the time I could devote to the game. Giving it to another was out of love. I didn't want to end the game, and I'd brought it to a trilogy with the help of loyal people. How could I 'kill' it? I couldn't, and wouldn't.

It was similar to someone giving a child up for adoption, to ensure a good home was procured, out of love. It was very hard to do, and probably one of my more selfless acts. But I do not regret it for a moment. Melissa, as owner, has taken it to heights I could've only imagined: She's on a commercial server with frequent use of the room, ranked currently at #2 after only a month-plus of taking it there. Whereas the servers past that I'd chosen were plagued with frequent outages and little traffic (yet people could find us if they wanted to...and did. I just simply regret now that I hadn't distributed it her way, sooner. Kudos to you, Mel.)

Achethe having its own domain is certainly amazing to see, rather than dealing with the large pop-up and other invasive advertisements our pages of old had plastered all over them. It's more professional, more streamlined, and simply far better than I achieved. This should be recognized.

So, OOC? Thank you to all who ever wiggled their toes in the white sands of Crystal Shores, but thanks especially to Melissa Zamborsky for ensuring that the memories never die.

---Darren O'Riley, October 2, 2005.