Earthpoet

Good catch. ;) It was a typo.

[4th Edition] June 6th, 2009 }Introduction }Communication Breakdown }Balance is Our Aim }Interview with Kill_Life }The Timeline Fallacy }Fandon (part 2) }Comic }Did You Know? }Credits [hide=Seers' Journal 4th Edition]Introduction to Your Journal by Tylerelyt First off, I wish to apologize for the month we were inactive. Unforseen circumstances took us some time to get things together for the edition, but now we're back and hopefully things should run smoothly from here on out. Next, I wish to say that we are always accepting applications for new writers, for any position, and we would love to see a new face join our cult journal. For those who don't wish to join, but would like us to look at something you wrote, just pm one of our staff on one of any of our host forums or on our own forums, and it will be seen to that your article is reviewed and, if it bests our own articles, published. If you merely have a topic you wish to see written about, there is a place on our forums specifically for that. Don't hesitate to contact us, we'd be more than happy to help. Finally, I wish to point you to our previous edition, here With no further ado, please, enjoy the edition. Communication Breakdown by Earthpoet Column Jagex has embarked on a new Public Relations strategy this year. They wish to open further dialogue with their fans and attempt to be more transparent with their intentions. Like an American politician on a campaign trail though, too many talking heads will lead to somebody, somewhere, putting their foot in their mouth. Earlier this week, a Jagex moderator attempted to clarify a question about the popular program, Swiftkit. The mod stated that using Swiftkit was indeed against Jagex rules. This means that Swiftkit falls under the policy against 3rd party software, and can be subject to account banning. The Jmods comments sparked a firestorm. Many players had flashbacks of the 2007 riots when Jagex attempted to ban the very same program, then known as Swiftswitch, from use. The 2007 incident led Jagex to change their stance on the issue several times before being resolved. The developers of Swiftkit modified their program to comply with Jagexs terms. Since then, the assumption has always been that Swiftkit was acceptable software while playing Runescape. Jagex said on their forums there would be an official statement coming soon to clarify the issue, and then Jagex did what they do best during controversy: censorship. Any thread attempting to ask a question about Swiftkit was immediately locked, citing that the very mention of the software was considered advertising. The next day, another Jmod posted on the forums that Swiftkit was allowed, and that it did follow Jagex policies concerning 3rd party software. A sigh of relief followed as his comments were pasted across all fansite forums, but is this issue really resolved? What can a player really believe when one Jmod says something one day, and another Jmod says something different the next? This result leaves thousands of players in limbo. Heavy is the head that wears the golden crown, and this recent incident has done little more than hurt the credibility of those that bear the Jagex staffs symbol. How does Jagex expect its players to comply with their policies when they seem unsure of how to interpret their own rules? This isnt the first time Jagex has contradicted themselves. Jagexs policy on luring changed multiple times before finally declaring it against the rules and the spirit of the game, and then the Wilderness Ditch was born to resolve the issue. It seems this same, hazy confusion reflects on their customer support department as well. A few years ago, a friend of mine was wrongly banned for a misunderstanding in the game. My friend did nothing wrong, but his appeals were still being denied, blatant evidence that either his appeals were not being read, or whoever was reviewing his case had no experience of the game itself. Finally, he was able to contact another Jagex moderator who reviewed his report, and immediately lifted the ban. While he was lucky to find a rare, sympathetic ear from Jagex, many players are not so fortunate. Another friend of mine became victim to a few token bans recently for what was deemed bug abuse. She will be the first to admit her actions may have been wrong, but her banning seemed arbitrary, as if nothing more than to make an example of her. She was banned while thousands of other players, some who profited far more than her from the abuse, escaped unharmed for the same crime. She acknowledges her own guilt, but it is still heartbreaking to see her on the verge of tears every time an opportunity to appeal comes up. This is also supposed to be the year of upgrades in Runescape. If Jagex is uneasy with players using Swifkit, they should look at why players have gravitated towards it. Swifkit, in simple terms, is a glorified browser designed specifically to play Runescape on. Its a dedicated tool designed by an avid Runescape fan, for the avid Runescape fan. The only other alternative Jagex gives is their browser client available for download. However, the Jagex client lacks all of the convenient features and tools that allow players to access information without opening several applications. If Jagex wants us to use their own client, then they should equip it with the tools that players need. Of course, if Jagex is too busy to write a new client, then one has already been provided for them. If Jagex wants to reach out to fansites, then they should also consider extending a hand to Swiftkit. It is understandable that Jagex would want to protect its players, but they cant control everything we choose to do. At some point, the apron strings must be cut, and players have to take responsibility for their choices. Regardless of what Jagex decides, they need to be clear on what they expect. Too many talking heads from Jagex exposes a severe gap between their knowledge of the game and ours. It is a good step to open dialogue between the developers and its gaming community, but Jagex must be consistent with the information they share. Furthermore, they must be consistent with their actions. Players need to have confidence in what the Jagex staff says. There are enough jailhouse rumors floating around the game from players. Balance is Our Aim by Tylerelyt Column When Runescape 2 came out, the combat system was revolutionized. Rather than a melee based system where range and magic merely supported the larger combat type, all three combat classifications had their strengths and weaknesses. This caused quite an uproar among the Runescape Classic players. Many felt pvp was ruined and to this day prefer the old style pking. However, at this point, combat was mostly balanced, and the combat triangle was born. Today, on the other hand, the players have asked for melee updates, and Jagex has complied. The balance has once more shifted to what it was in RSC, albeit not near as dramatic. There are two parts to this problem, the members half and the f2p half. On the f2p side of things, the problem is smaller. Non-members have pvm very well balanced, all three combat types have about the same speed of training. In pvp, range is still well balanced compared to melee. Magic however, is vastly underpowered once combat level 50 is reached, as it doesn't hit well or fast, and can't freeze meleers easily enough to survive with their utter lack of defence. Ironically enough, any good f2p clan must have mages to win in a war, but in any one on one fights, a mage will lose. Probably the easiest fix to this is a new spell book, on that can freeze efficiently and do greater damage or is more accurate. There are many superb suggestions for a new f2p spell book and how to obtain it; many of which are overpowered, some of which have been beaten down to being no better than the current spell book, and a few rare gems that are just right in power and use. On the other hand, the p2p side of things is quite the opposite, and complex. Pvp is well balanced, in fact, in many people's eyes, magic is quite overpowered. Pvm, however, is where things get messy. One of the big problems is that a meleer's high-end weapon, the whip, easily hits as high and as accurately at lower levels than the equivalent for range or magic at higher levels. At 91 range, my max with a rune crossbow and broad-tipped bolts is right around 25. At 75 strength, 16 levels lower and nearly five million experience less, my max with a whip and max strength boosting gear except for a dragon-fire shield, which I'll replace with the superior rune defender, is 26, one higher than my max with range. When you count in potions and prayer, as well as a void set for range, the maxes are upped to about 31 for range, and 37 for melee. That's not even counting magic, which has a max of 30 no matter what equipment you wear as long as you wear a god cape, starting at level 80. But wait, there's more! There are also two special pieces of equipment which only count for melee, the black mask and the salve amulet(e), which give 15% and 20% increases respectively in accuracy and damage. That makes the max with either increase to 40 having the same stats and other equipment bonuses as before, if you are fighting a slayer monster while you are on a task for it, or an undead monster at any time. The only consolation is that the two items' effects don't stack, which is small in the face of a very accurate, very fast, very high hitting weapon. Which is a lot of the problem. The whip has the second fastest weapon speed in the game, the only faster being the inaccurate and low-hitting knives or darts, and is most of the time as accurate, if not more accurate, than range or magic, without having to devote every piece of equipment to bonuses for accuracy, instead devoting every spot to bonuses for defence, prayer, or strength. How do we fix this? That's the question. Member's pking is so balanced right now that it's impossible to do something to pvm without unbalancing pvp. A whip speed crossbow might work for range, and a more accurate spell might work for magic, as well as giving the black mask and salve bonuses to magic and range, but what would that do to all the melee pkers out there? It's a delicate balance that must be struck, and that's the most difficult part of it. Of course, range and magic both have their strong points. Range has some of the fastest ways of making money, via aviansies, or Armadyl or Saradomin bosses in the god wars dungeon, and magic has the fastest way to collect charms for summoning, as well as both having a 300k+ experience per hour training method at vast expense, but that's about it for the benefits to these skills. They may be large, but is it right for them to be inferior in everything else just because of that? Until a working solution can be found, a balanced solution that doesn't hurt the economy badly or make pvp more unbalanced than it is, however, things must stay the same. Maybe, one day, our Jagex gods will come up with a plan, and down from the heavens will rain the balance that came with the implementation of Runescape 2, but until then, we must try ourselves to find a way to equalize the three combat types, for members and non-members alike. Interview with Kill_Life by Omnitec Interview Heres what happened when I caught up with popular Tip.it Admin, Kill_Life! So, first off, thanks for joining us today :). Hello! :). For those who don't know who you are, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your position in the Runescape community? I'm Kill Life; long time Runescape player (started shortly when RS2 came out and took the usual breaks). I've played Kill Life for a very long time. Until it became a member for several months, but I've stopped that because I didn't like it (yes, many are surprised when they hear that). So now that account is standing in an F2P spot loaded with member objects. I still do the holiday events on it, or play some Clan Wars on it. Now I play K1ll_L1f3, my pure. I PK from time to time, but really enjoy skilling on it. So, I train everything on it, except Prayer and Defence (and staying at 40 Attack). You can see the progress on my blog: http://forum.tip.it/viewtopic.php?t=672478 As for Tip.It, I used the website before I joined the forums. I subscribed on 25 Feb 2006. Started to use it for the Marketplace but slowly discovered the other parts. And now I'm where I am now, still a loyal Tip. It supporter. Cool! So why did you become an Administrator on the site? Because they needed one, I guess, hehe. So were you offered a place then, or did you apply? Goes like every position on the staff. (Application drives are an exception) What sort of things do you do around the forums? Are you designated to any specific jobs or anything? Every Admin occupies him/herself with the whole site. All parts of it. Of course, one has more attention for something than others. Meaning there is some 'specialization'. It's not that you're better at it than the rest, just that you give it more attention. And of course, there's still the moderating :) Where would you say your attention lays the most then? Graveyard (which isn't the same as Clans). Furthermore, whatever the staff wants me to do (well, there are limits, haha). Hehe :). Moving onto in game, you're obviously an experienced player...what would be your highest level on both accounts, aswell as the most expensive item(s)? On Kill Life, Woodcutting I guess... Somewhere in the 80s. The skills on that account aren't bad, but haven't played it in a long, long, long, long, LONG time (except for the holiday events). Most expensive items: Proud owner of two Santa Hats (though because of merchanters, they aren't as cool anymore). On K1ll_L1f3, I have some nice levels. 92 Fishing being the highest (I'm fishing right now and still have 47k feathers to go, and no, I'm not going for 99 (yet)). I'm proud for having 74 Runecrafting aswell and the story that goes with it (which is when I started my blog). Most expensive item: Green Halloween Mask. Result of the 74 Runecrafting. Fits nice with Camo, my favourite outfit (Which I lost and still haven't received back. Forums + Tree Spirits = Dead). Yeah, well hopefully with the random events update we can all sleep/browse safely at night :P. Speaking of updates, have you agreed with all the current in-game updates? Has there been anything youve disliked as an update, or something youd like to see? We can browse the forums safe now with that update. You just get randoms so slowly now in my opinion. Today I had my first Leo, the Gravedigger on this account by the way. Hurrah for that. I've got a new emoticon! And there are updates I like and like less. But I'm not worried about anything. It just doesn't matter if you make a big deal about it or not. So you better don't make a big deal about it. I'm sure many didn't like the RWT update. Meaning removal of the Wilderness pking and trading. As a pker, that was a huge deal of course. But it didn't matter really, we got Bounty Hunter, and now we have pk everywhere and more updates are still to come if we have to believe Jagex. Rewards aren't so good, but so what? Its sad so many ruined their account because they were upset. Something I'd like to see? There are many things; suggestion board is full of them. But I'm not hoping until I actually see it's implemented. I've read on the forums a mod said (MMG?) that F2P would get an update. Would be nice, but I'm not hoping. I'll believe it when I see it. If I had to believe statements and screenshots, Summoning would be F2P, which it isn't. I don't care really that it isn't though. But first see and then be happy. Yeah. So where would you like to see yourself in a years time? What goals would you have liked to achieved or made? Finished my studies. But I assume Runescape-wise, haha. A 99-skill. Perhaps Fishing? I've been playing for a long time and depending on what happens, hopefully I'll still play. Fish, mine, Runecrafting, Ranging. All lovely. And some pking from time to time. I don't do a lot with friends actually, more some chatting. Sometimes a pking trip. Cool :P So are you into music a lot? No. Like I always say: To like or not to like. Present me a song and I'll like it or not like it. Doesn't matter what genre. I'd like to say: The top 3 I absolutely don't like: Pink, Amy McDonald and Rihanna. Oh, and to the previous question, I also like Anime and Manga. Cool. So youre a lifeguard? Does this and other real life things affect your forum and in-game work/play? Yes, I am. And no, it doesn't. Of course, real life goes before Runescape and Tip.It. Should always be like that. When you start neglecting parts in your life because you want to play Runescape or something, there's something wrong. Of course. So now Jagex are working with Tip.it, how're proceedings going and what do you think of the new partnership? Exciting times of course. There's already a result, the interview. Too bad some questions weren't answered, but that's understandable. Keep an eye on it, hopefully the future will bring many new things involving this partnership. Are you personally involved then? Like do you meet the mods? I've heard some stories of Mechscapeworld meeting in person with them. No idea of it's true, but I can tell you, it's not that extreme. Perhaps it would have been cool... Though not needed. But you never know, it's all new for us aswell. All conversation happens pretty formal, so no one is really 'personally' involved. Cool. Do you have any idols then? Both in game and in real life? There are some great people, but idols... I can't think of any at the moment. Well, thanks for taking an interview today! Anything to say to the readers? Stay in school, visit my blog, and respect the signature rules (Many seem to have a problem with that). And thank you. The Timeline Fallacy by Earthpoet Column Recently, submarines have been spotted off the coast. It seems as though those pesky penguins are at it again. Will the penguins succeed in their attempts at global domination? After seeing the creepy periscope crest the waterline to spy the area, I feel there is a more pertinent question to ask. Why are there submarines in Runescape? Every so often a young player new to the game will ask a simple question: Why are there no guns in Runescape? The innocent question is bashed by hordes of howling veterans. Guns do not belong in Runescape because they werent invented yet. We cant have guns, but there are submarines patrolling the waters? Submarines werent developed for practical use until the 19th century, but muskets have been around since the 16th century. Although we dont have firearms in Gielinor, we do have heavy artillery. The dwarven race has developed an interesting cannon. This isnt your typical medieval cannon either. The Dwarf Cannon comes equipped on an automatic rotating turret, giving it the ability to fire in all directions autonomously. It can cause some significant damage. Not as much damage as I can do with my whip, but it gets the job done. (Why a leather whip can hit harder than a flying cannonball is another story.) The Dwarf Cannon is a technological marvel in Runescape, but the user must remember it is quite the temperamental weapon as well. The player must be careful to not let the cannon overheat, lest it disintegrates. However, picking it up and putting it back down can easily remedy this problem. I dont want to bore you with the physics and technical jargon as to why this is possible, because frankly, I have no idea. It would seem blowing a kiss at it would be just as useful. So if the dwarves are building cannons, why are catapults still being used? The reason is the cannon cannot destroy every foe in the game. The Kalphite Queen scoffs at your technological toy as she pulverizes it to dust. Cannons are not a suitable weapon in her lair, but hurling little twigs with tiny shards of metal attached should work just fine. We can have fussy cannons, flying carpets, and penguin-guided submarines, but we cant have guns. Why? It would upset the balance in the game. The armies who discovered bronze weapons inevitably conquered the Stone-Age warriors. The Aztecs were no match for the Spanish conquistadors arsenal. How do you think youd fair with your scimitar against my AK-47? As the old saying goes, you dont bring a knife to a gunfight. Introducing guns into Runescape would render all other weapons obsolete. Of course, we could still use our timeline hypothesis. Guns didnt exist during this time period. Cannons may have, but dwarves didnt. Submarines werent transporting penguins, or anything else for that matter. They werent around. Neither were gnomecopters, or even gnomes. It is just a game though. It blends fantasy and medieval life together. It isnt meant to be believable; its meant to be fun. That means if we can have fire-breathing dragons, an angry sandwich lady stalking us, and can turn a bow into cold hard cash, then I suppose we can suspend our belief further and enjoy the humor of penguins in submarines. It isnt medieval Europe. It isnt the Renaissance period. Its Runescape. Would you want it any other way? Fandon part 2 by Tylerelyt Fictional Series Tylerelyt sighed. "Zanik, no one is going to change their beliefs because of you. They probably believe the same as Juna, that going against the gods is a worse crime than murder." He knew they did; that's what most people believed, but that didn't change Zanik. Zanik ignored him completely. "They guard the secret of creation. If Bandos gets this place, he won't even have to visit another plane for supplies. Why don't they listen?" She had done this on every trip to stop Bandos followers thus far. Admittedly, the Mystics were probably more important because of the secret of creation, but as Tylerelyt looked around at the mass of adventurers, he knew that unless every one of them was a follower of Bandos themselves, Bandos wouldn't take this place. "I'll meet you at the goblin temple. I left my goblin potion in the bank." Tylerelyt said, pulling a law rune, air rune, and earth rune from his pockets. "Right." Zanik replied distantly. "Meet you there." She grabbed a teleport sphere from her supplies and broke it, disappearing in two flashes of lightning and a ring around her body. Tylerelyt opened himself to the power of the runes, and teleported to his house. *** It's time for you to go Fandon of the Dorgeshuun. Juna's soft hiss produced nearly inaudible echoes. You will be missed soon. Fandon glanced at his lantern, and did a double take. I've been here for hours! he exclaimed. You won't be missed. Juna said soothingly. Guthix has made sure of that. But I thought- Do not try to understand the gods. You will only fail. Juna coiled herself up again, and breathed deeply and rhythmically in the patterns of sleep. Thank you, Fandon whispered. When Juna didn't respond, Fandon set off for Dorgesh-Kaan, watching for other cave goblins the whole way. May you not fail, Fandon of the lost tribe. May you not fail. Juna whispered, eyes closed in a facade of sleep. *** Fandon crept into the city the same way he had left. No one had seen him come or go as far as he knew, and no sounds of a search came from the city. He started off to the marketplace, where he always went at the end of his wanderings. It raised fewer questions if he ended up where all the other goblin children went, and plus, he enjoyed the taste of wall beast fingers. Something, however, drew him to his left. A surface golin stood near a burnt out light orb, trying to reach it. What are you doing? Fandon asked. Blackfoot just changing light. It dark, and strong goblin tell Blackfoot to change it. Blackfoot squeaked back. To Fandon's ears, the goblin's speech seemed odd, but Fandon passed it off as his lack of experience with the surface goblins. Who told you to-wait, Blackfoot? The only surface goblin here is Grubfoot. Why are you here? Blackfoot come with goblin embassy to Dorgesh-Kaan. But you not big cave goblin. Blackfoot thought only big cave goblins allowed to roam city. There are exceptions to the rule. Fandon muttered. Here, hand me that light orb, I'll replace it. Blackfoot handed Fandon the orb, and Fandon reached up to replace it. Many thanks. Blackfoot said, retreating to the stairs leading to the first level of the city. As Blackfoot disappeared down the stairs, Fandon heard a vague muttering from him. He caught only the words goblin and ham. Fandon crinkled his nose in thought. There you are, Fandon. Mernik's voice broke Fandon's train of thought. I was wondering when you'd return to the nursery. You ready now? Yeah. Fandon replied absently. Do you know anything about a surface goblin embassy? There was a goblin named Blackfoot trying to change this light orb who said he was part of one. Yes, it came in a couple hours ago. How'd you miss it? Mernik replied, tilting her head quizzically. I don't know. Any idea of why they came? No. They were speaking to the council last I heard; they might be taking a break now. You're awfully curious about it. I'm going to go get some wall beast fingers, I think. Maybe I'll see a council member on the way. Fandon said, turning from Mernik. I'll come back right after that. He started off. Don't get into any trouble. Mernik called after him. Fandon climbed down the stairs Blackfoot had used, spotted Captain Undak of the city guard, and walked over to him. Excuse me, Captain Undak? Fandon said. Hmm? Oh, Fandon. What can I help you with? Do you know why the surface goblins came to the city? One of them was changing a light orb, and said something about an embassy. Ah, the embassy. They were wanting- Captain Undak! Zanik's voice came from nowhere, and she suddenly appeared next to Fandon. Half a moment later, a surface goblin appeared on the other side of him. H.A.M. is attacking! They've taken over the goblin's Bandos shrine. Their next target is to be here! the goblin said. I'm sorry, Captain Undak said, turning to the goblin, but who are you? The goblin looked up at the captain, then realization crossed its face. A shield and a whip appeared from nowhere into its hands, and the goblin morphed upward into the shape of the city's other hero, Tylerelyt. His other equipment appeared on him just as quickly. "Oh. Good to see you again Tylerelyt, or maybe not so good. What happened?" Captain Undak asked. Zanik started, "As you know, Tylerelyt and I are trying to stop the followers of Bandos from supporting him. He's a foul god, and must be stopped." "We haven't had any success, nor will we." Tylerelyt cut in. "No one will change their beliefs for one goblin, especially one who turned from her destiny, as they see it. But that's not why we are here. H.A.M. has found out how to change themselves into goblins, in the same way I can change myself, and they plan to use this to destroy the Dorgeshuun. Has the goblin embassy arrived already?" "Yes. A couple hours ago." Captain Undak replied. "The lights. If it's been two hours, even one will have been able to replace all-" Tylerelyt cut off as the lights cut off across the city, and a collective scream spread across the city. "There's no time!" He yelled over the screaming. "They'll be here soon!" To be concluded... Comic by Omnitec Games Did You Know? The pyrefiends and jellies that reside in the minigame Soul Wars can be fought to count for a slayer task, as well as having the black mask's effect activate if you are on task for them. Credits Our Staff Founder Junka666 Manager Randox Graphics Editor Niperwiper Columnist Earthpoet Advice Columnist Sir Hartlar Creative Writer/Columnist Tylerelyt Creative Writer Sheeptails Comic Artist/Columnist Omnitec[/hide]

I take responsibility for that, mag, and as an English major I understand where you are coming from. When I first wrote the article, I thought deceptor was a word, and didn't understand why my spellcheck insisted it was not. I looked it up and found I was disappointed. Like you said though, it is latin, and I found: "deceiver, betrayer of, one who plays false". I didn't tell book about it, but he caught it during editing. I explained my thoughts and he decided to let it go though. I found I liked the sound of deceptor better in the title, and decided to take artistic liberties in using it. If this was a class essay I might've changed it. As it is, I didn't feel the word would confuse people. In my opinion, I haven't 'misused' the word. It was used in the correct context. Also, I am not going to translate the entire article to latin, nor change the title. Literature has a history of borrowing terms from other languages (e.g. laissez-faire). I feel it would've been different if I used the term more liberally within the article. I stand by my article. If anyone chooses to judge my capability as a writer based on the title, well, that's a chance I am willing to take. They wouldn't be my target audience anyways. I apologize if the title offended you.

If you would've asked me that question prior to RWT updates I'd have said "no", but now you never know what they might do. Jagex pretty much is taking a laissez-faire approach to it, in other words letting things be. To be honest, I don't think I would want them to get involved, because whatever they did would probably be worse than what we got. At some point, the developer's responsibilities have to end and the player's responsibilities have to begin. Sure, Jagex could offer a warning to make player's aware, but we as a community should be prepared to police our own and look after ourselves. It would be really hard to punish these individuals as well. Though price manipulation is against the rules, the system they use is rather complex to catch it, and technically it's done within the boundaries of the rules. Players need to be aware of any risks before jumping in, and that there are still others out there willing to take advantage of you. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

This is something I had considered before writing the article. I did even mention it under RWT. I don't believe the GE itself was part of the RWT updates. It was the trade caps placed on the GE that was a result of RWT updates in an attempt to remove unbalanced trades from the game. The GE could stand alone, and have just as much of an impact on the economy even w/o RWT updates. The proof of this is the recession it created prior to December 10. Other MMORPGs have a similar system to the GE. Like unorclan mentioned, I believe the GE would have been an inevitable update, because trading in pre-GE days was such a pain in the [wagon]. That's why I believe it deserved a separate recognition.

You do make a great case for why the party hat dupe should be higher on the list. I suppose all I can do is chalk it up to the author's bias. I'll be sure to speak to him about that in the future. ;)

@Itsjustagame: I believe this paragraph is what you are referring to as incorrect: [hide=Seers Journal, March 21, 2009 - Top 10 RS Moments]It is reported that Jagex banned SixFeetUnder, and several others involved, but did not remove all of the duped items in the game, nor performed a rollback. Some believe the incident still has an impact on the economy. The pink partyhat (now known as purple) was at the time the most expensive item in the game. After the incident was resolved, the duped items were left in the game and this partyhat, while still considered valuable, dropped to become the cheapest of the six partyhats.[/hide] Before I continue, I would like to point out that I said not ALL of the duped items were removed. Also, the purple party hat has long been the cheapest of the six. Typically, all rares move at once, ex: if santas increase in price, mask holders figure theirs is worth more and raise their prices, and phat owners then figure theirs must be worth more and etc. Now, you say you know because you were actually there. I can't argue with that, because I was in fact not there. All I can do is try to corroborate my facts the best I can. The following is some of the information I collected while researching the dupe: I also did my best to confirm my information with a few friends who were playing at the time. Again, you said you were there, and I know I wasn't, so I won't try to refute your account. However, I still stand by what I wrote and I feel confident about what I researched. As for replacing the Falador Massacre in the top 5, I see your point. I feel the Falador Massacre took place at a more popular time in Runescape, and created a big buzz outside of the game. Effecting the economy isn't the only means of gauging impact. Also, the incident was just so bizarre. If the partyhat dupe had occurred in '06 instead of on RSC, I would've ranked it higher.

Niperwiper actually answered this better than I could. You are right. I guess I arbitrarily left that part out. John Henry did beat the machine, but at what cost? He lost his life. Furthermore, he ultimately failed to do what he was hoping by entering the duel, and that was to prove that neither he nor his crew could be replaced by a machine. Thanks for pointing that out! I'm not sure if you were able to read our last edition, but the party hat dupe did make the top 10 at #8. If you are saying it should've been higher I might be able to see your point. Perhaps you could elaborate a bit more on this... Thank you! And thank you to all that have been posting! I know everyone on the staff works hard to put out our best quality paper, and hearing the feedback makes it all worth it. Hearing about what you enjoyed, and what you think could be improved helps us make better decisions. It really has been a treat to be a part of the Journal. And thank you Tip.It!

The Journey or the Destination: I've always heard this, and I believe it is true. If Runescape was a single-player, offline game it would be one of the most boring games ever created. The Nature of Names: It was ok. It was nice to see the opinion of another player, but I have a main character with a name/number combination, and I have played through the game much further than "Kurito". Although I would admit I'm not crazy about my character's name, I don't feel an impersonal detachment from him. I instead choose to look at my character as an alternate me, or like you put it, an extension of myself. But thank you for writing the article, and sharing your thoughts.

I went back and looked it up after you said something, too. :lol: I certainly don't mind readers checking my facts. If you see something that you believe isn't true, please don't hesitate to point it out. I try to keep everything accurate, but I'm only human and it's nice to know others are keeping me honest.

Most of you are stressing community, but it seems to be a long history of power that tends to attract members to certain clans. Once you are inside, I'm sure the community would keep them there. Mind you, this is from an outside perspective.

Thank you very much for responding. I should be making contacts within the next couple of days. I look forward to speaking with you.

Hello, I currently write for the new Seers' Journal on the TIF. You can view our first edition here. (The images can be slow to load, and we hope to have this resolved for the next issue.) I feel it would be a shame to continue publishing this magazine without discussing one of the biggest aspects in the game. I would like to write a story about some of the biggest clans in Runescape, but unfortunately, I'm not a PKer nor am I in a clan. I am familiar with some of the bigger names, and a quick browse of this forum confirms them. What I would like is for some of the members and leaders of of the pro clans to help me learn more about your way of life: some history, how things are organized, some of the biggest wars, rivalries, the biggest player names, what makes a clan dominant and lasting, how clans have learned to evolve with the game, and the appeal of clan-life. This could give you an opportunity to discuss your side of issues (the direction you feel the game is going in, etc.), and could possibly gain more recognition for recruitment. Anybody who is willing to help will get credit. If this project is successful, it may become a recurring section in future editions. This is what I'm looking for: Someone who has a long history in clan-life, and contains a deep understanding of the history and traditions Someone who holds (or has held) a leadership position would be a plus Someone who is mature and honest Someone who is patient and willing to instruct me and answer any questions. Someone with good interpersonal skills ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I can't guarantee anything for our next edition, but hopefully I can write an article for the one after in mid-April. If you are interested, feel free to leave me a message or PM me. Also, feel free to begin a discussion on what topics you would like to see written about. Thanks! Hope to hear from you soon!

Guilty as charged. :D Thanks for the feedback.