You watched too much TV or something. You're either a genius or get to expert stage that knows everything already after 10 years of hard work. Having said that not every opinion/remark matters equally.
I think you should compare the length of some of his essays to the size of your unicorn images. Victory to the largest files.
The main reason I don't code outside of work on anything serious is that I have due dates at work; I have code I must write and have running by certain dates - miss that date and I'll be missing my promotion (or I best have a good reason - which happens often.) I'm writing some windows phone apps on the side, and it's at my own pace. I've explored multiple app ideas, written some of the apps, tackled the worst challenges, become bored and dumped the code into my growing archive of random code. I do it because I want to solve a problem...when that's solved, I move on. I enjoy it. Working on a mod under a due date...well, I'll sooner go in to work and burn down some of my work items. At least work is paying me money. A mod like Empires is paying you with a shitty community. I don't think I have seen a community as shitty as empires to date. I'd say it used to be a great community, but I'd be lying. I used to care more, and thus tolerate more. To the guys on CT - enjoy yourselves. If you're aiming for a job writing code, solve some problems, better yourselves...if you release nothing, whatever - as long as you accomplished something. To everyone spewing hate here: you don't like it and think you can do better - by all means, grab VS Express and code away. I'll be waiting to see you fare no better.
People who still play Empires are `playing to pwn noobs mostly. These are worst kinds of players from developer's point of view. I work on Empires to have something I can play.
I might have not been precise enough. You have quite a bit of quite new people and few old timers. Out of old timers I know most of them quit and these that are still there play mostly to pwn noobs. Also "complete" no one even noticed that you disappeared so I dunno what's the fuss about.
Now I totally get you. I think you're right too, we did used to have a bit more of a friendly community, less vicious more jokey, but I think it's kinda suffered from the "snake eating its own tail" cycle. This was one of the best communities in-game when I joined, actually - during testing for 1.08. The only person who really shouted was HSM (and I was pretty shocked when I first heard it) and only a couple of people messed about. I played from like 100am til 3am for 6 months, and they really weren't wasted at all, even though I did nearly nothing else. The people here were great, the game was great, we all had fun. It's ridiculous compared to just how bad this community makes me feel when I come on these forums. But perhaps that's the thing, it's better in-game than on the forums now. Much better. Still makes me sad, because back then, this was my utopia for gaming. Heck, I could go back to css now and be less ragey after a day of play.
I still think Empires is better community then css. Less Kiddys shouting at me for being more skilled then them. Well. They tend to flow here now.
And no users calling themselves "//- PwNexx^" and "PussyHunt3r]". Though, that was more 1.6... but I still see 12 year olds using unfitting nicks involving the female genital in CSS.
I don't like pwning noobs, no satisfaction. It's more fun to kill someone good. Or play in clan matches. Empires is best played with people who know how to play. And ha! I wasn't the only person to confuse complete with commie..
Oh come on why does nobody understand it when I'm kidding. I hope internet 3.0 supports accentuation.