I'm sorry, but I will no longer be able to come here during weekdays.

[Dragoon1140]

Oh, sure. Get into the school library, go on the forums, get caught by the librarian, and get kicked out of the library. School computers are for educational purposes only; anything other than that are not allowed. I'm not even sure if I can get past the internet blocks; sites like Facebook and YouTube are automatically blocked from my school network. We students used to have a few secret proxies, but I think the school blocked all of those already.

Have you never learned how to hide these things?  Getting past filters and key loggers is stupid easy on school computers.  Unless somebody looks at your screen 24/7, you shouldn't get worried about being caught.

[Bloodshadow]

Have you never learned how to hide these things?

Nope, never bothered. I never had problems with internet access before, so why would I want to learn those things? I'm not a computer geek, I'm a physics geek.

[Dragoon1140]

Nope, never bothered.

Well, now would be the ideal time to learn.  lrn2lie.

Anyway, there are other places you can go for internet use outside of school.  Internet cafes are a perfect example.  You can't actually say there is no way for you to get on the internet, it is borderline impossible.

[Bloodshadow]

Internet cafes are a perfect example.

Really. And how can I get to an internet cafe? On weekdays I have school; my parents expect me to go home as soon as school ends. Weekends... well, I don't need to do anything on the weekends, do I?

[Boingo]

It sucks you cannot be with us during the week.  That's bad enough, but I cannot believe all the crap people are sending your way.  At the end of the day, Elements is still just a game.  A fun game with a great supporting community to be sure, but still just a game. 

10 years from now which will be more important:  your performance in the Trial of Darkness or whether you got into a good university? 

IMHO, that's a no-brainer, but each is entitled to his/her own opinion.

[Bloodshadow]

Good to see that at least SOMEONE knows it's not my fault.

Anyways, I might be able to steal a few quick glances at the forums, when my parents aren't watching. But I definitely won't be able to participate in the Trial.

[Higurashi]

Sorry to hear that, man. Try to enjoy your studies then. Only way to get through them and keep your sanity.

[Essence]

I'm with you, Bloodshadow.  Don't stress about trifles like titles and staff positions.  In a month or two, no one will care, and people will still respect you for being the amazingly cool guy you are. 

[Scaredgirl]

It sucks you cannot be with us during the week.  That's bad enough, but I cannot believe all the crap people are sending your way.  At the end of the day, Elements is still just a game.  A fun game with a great supporting community to be sure, but still just a game. 

10 years from now which will be more important:  your performance in the Trial of Darkness or whether you got into a good university?

You are missing the point here. This is not a discussion about which is more important, Trials or going to a university. Do you honestly think that Bloodshadow had to make a choice between finishing the Trials or going to a university? Give me a break. Final battle lasts about 2 hours. That 2 hours of gaming does not ruin any chances of going to a university.

To be honest, I don't particularly enjoy updating all the Trial stuff. Following the Trials is cool, but updating the scores and starting new topics can get really tedious. People dropping out from events just because they don't feel like participating anymore is highly disrespectful towards organizers and fellow participants. Problem is that these people think their time is more valuable than others so they are entitled to quit whatever they want.

Sure you can blame your parents or whatever, but everyone knows that the internet is easily accessible almost everywhere, and suggesting that your school has blocked Elements the game or the forums is just ridiculous. Nobody is forcing anyone to join these events, but please don't make up weak excuses when you suddenly drop out. Sure there are some real reasons why people have to quit an event, but this is definitely not one of them.

Bottom line is that if you think you might not be able to finish an event, do not participate. This way you won't waste the time of other people.

[miniwally]

It sucks you cannot be with us during the week.  That's bad enough, but I cannot believe all the crap people are sending your way.  At the end of the day, Elements is still just a game.  A fun game with a great supporting community to be sure, but still just a game. 

10 years from now which will be more important:  your performance in the Trial of Darkness or whether you got into a good university?

You are missing the point here. This is not a discussion about which is more important, Trials or going to a university. Do you honestly think that Bloodshadow had to make a choice between finishing the Trials or going to a university? Give me a break. Final battle lasts about 2 hours. That 2 hours of gaming does not ruin any chances of going to a university.

To be honest, I don't particularly enjoy updating all the Trial stuff. Following the Trials is cool, but updating the scores and starting new topics can get really tedious. People dropping out from events just because they don't feel like participating anymore is highly disrespectful towards organizers and fellow participants. Problem is that these people think their time is more valuable than others so they are entitled to quit whatever they want.

Sure you can blame your parents or whatever, but everyone knows that the internet is easily accessible almost everywhere, and suggesting that your school has blocked Elements the game or the forums is just ridiculous. Nobody is forcing anyone to join these events, but please don't make up weak excuses when you suddenly drop out. Sure there are some real reasons why people have to quit an event, but this is definitely not one of them.

Bottom line is that if you think you might not be able to finish an event, do not participate. This way you won't waste the time of other people.

Well my school has...and yes they look at our screens all the time (through one computer connected to them all), however it's still secondary school and not sure that compares to whatever BS is in.

[Kuroaitou]

I'm going to guess that you being part of the Elements Council is probably not going to happen anytime soon.

...this is one of those situations where regardless if you clarify yourself or not, flames are going to be thrown your way.


Although I'm glad that you're taking an initiative to focus on your school work (unlike some people... *takes a look at his own past*), I kind of wish that... you lied about your situation in private used a different approach to your leave of the trials. Kael's probably going to be very satisfied (nonetheless) that he has his hands on the title, but the fact that you unfortunately had to go will also make him... um... discontent (?) over the fact that his challenger couldn't best him one more time for the final phase. But that's not the point.


I think that your initial post came out completely wrong. It seemed a little bit more 'Oh yeah, I can't play anymore because my parents suck. I'll see ya on Saturdays!', rather than 'Due to personal issues that have arisen up lately, I am unable to proceed with the Trials, and I deeply apologize for ruining the momentum of the event'. Perhaps the overall tone probably rubbed a lot of people the wrong way too, but... oh well. You can't edit out other people's responses, and you're rolling with the punches, I guess.

There are a few things I need to nitpick though:

...I joined the trials and now one step away from possibly becoming a master(mistress...?)

Stick with 'Master'. Mistress has plenty of negative connotations that probably wouldn't work very well... (if you want to know why, P.M. me if you need to. )

Well, now would be the ideal time to learn.  lrn2lie.

Anyway, there are other places you can go for internet use outside of school.  Internet cafes are a perfect example.  You can't actually say there is no way for you to get on the internet, it is borderline impossible.

Internet cafes are actually kind of lame though - most of them have TERRIBLE connections, and some have time-restraints anyway (which would be limiting again). Since I'm assuming that BS doesn't drive, getting to these places is also a pain, and etc. - don't bother trying to force him into finishing the trials. If he obviously doesn't want and can't do it under normal conditions, doing this just defeats the purpose of the situation he's gotten himself into.

10 years from now which will be more important:  your performance in the Trial of Darkness or whether you got into a good university?

If BS is aiming for an equivalent of UC Berkeley, Harvard, Yale, etc. - then yeah.

Good to see that at least SOMEONE knows it's not my fault.

Anyways, I might be able to steal a few quick glances at the forums, when my parents aren't watching. But I definitely won't be able to participate in the Trial.

You know, it's stuff like this that's actually not helping your case in proving that this was out of your control. It is your fault that you made a post that disrupted the Trials of Darkness as well as irritating a hell of a lot of people. It is your fault for still being able to 'apparently' take a "few quick glances at the forums" while being unable to do all these things that people were looking up to you to do (like those that voted for you to be the next Master of Darkness, or trying to maintain the Featured Card polls/project, etc.).




...anyway, have fun with your Senior year of high school BS. Or something. Such a disappointing outcome for the Trials of Darkness.

[twinsbuster]

I can only say…Oh, what a poor kid.
And please don't mislead other that asian parents are all like yours.