I'm a few hours late to this thread, but I guess the long post mantle has returned to me. I'll try not to make this one too long, but you know me.
Salty, I'll be honest with you. When I first met you, I didn't like you very much. I thought you were a loud-mouthed, center-of-attention needing, class clown acting, moron. I actually remember my first interaction with you in-game. We were on Canyon and you were drunk. Very drunk. You were talking loudly over Garry's Mod VOIP (which is a crime punishable by death on this server) and I asked you multiple times to shut your fat, stupid, drunk mouth, but you never did. I think I gagged you once, but to no avail. Eventually I just muted you client side. If I'm not mistaken, your Trusted application was either already up or you were getting ready to post it. And I'll be honest with you (since I'm already being honest), I was very tempted to comment on it and say that your behavior on the server was unbecoming of a staff member and that you should not become a Trusted. But I held off on making that post on your application because I knew that I'm a stick in the mud, and oftentimes a joyless prick, but also because I had just come back from an extended break so I didn't really know you but the community seemed to like you.
Lo and behold, your Trusted application had been accepted and I was now forced given the opportunity to work with you on the server. I had some hesitations working with you because of the aforementioned incident on the server, but you quickly made it obvious that you knew what you were doing, and more importantly, you cared for this server and the community. You were extremely active on the server (we'll get to that later). Handling reports, talking in admin chat, answering questions, dealing with numb skulls, and you were equally active on the Discord server. I think I tried to give you some pointers thinking that you were completely new to staffing, but you said that you already knew what I was saying (thank you for that. I tend to give people "advice" that they already know, but I think they don't know, because I underestimate their knowledge).
Not to leak the staff Discord (which I've learned is another crime punishable by death and excommunication), but there were plenty of times where I would be hesitant to say something because I just came back from the extended break that I mentioned earlier or because it was contrary to the popular opinion and I didn't want to ruffle too many feathers (again, because I had just come back), but you would say either exactly what I was thinking or something eerily close to what I was thinking. There were countless times where I would wake up and check the staff server or check the server after being away from my computer for hours, and I would scroll up to read what I missed and once I got caught up, I wouldn't have to say much, if anything, because you already said what I wanted to say. Yes, you may be long winded, but the things that you said, on the forums or on the Discord server, were often profound (if it wasn't something completely stupid).
Fast forward again a little bit to when we were talking about something in the staff Discord (NO LEAKS), and you said that I had good takes. I didn't respond immediately (because it takes me an embarrassingly long time to formulate a good response and by the time I do, the conversation has already moved on. See this post), but I reached out to you privately and said that you also had some good takes and that I noticed how much time you spent on the server and how much "work" you put into the server (how much work is one doing for a GMod server? Although I will say that the Discord mods are doing some good work cleaning up that quagmire). I warned you that you were going "too hard in the paint" and that it's easy to want to help this server but you'll find that your help is changing nothing and you'll get burned out, especially with all the real life stuff you're doing. You told me that you made the same mistake before and that you were trying not to do it again (liar).
Fast forward once more to dong's resignation. After his resignation you said that you would be taking some time off from the server to think and reflect and whatnot. I said that you better not leave, but the writing was on the wall. I sent that in hopes that you would change your mind or maybe take an extended break (like I've done before, and mentioned three times now) and come back at a later time. But you didn't change your mind, and this post isn't surprising to read. Which brings us to right now.
blockhead (notice that literary technique I used? I used it in Guru/Cosmic's ban appeal too), you're an interesting guy. You've got many interests, many hobbies, many friends. But with all of that, you've still managed to be a decent person on the Internet. Every interaction I've seen from you has been (mostly) positive; you even manage to turn negative situations into positive ones. I told you in that same session of private messages I mentioned before that I saw a lot of me in you. We're both brass players, we both did marching band in high school and college, we're both staff members on Dinkleberg's TTT | Fast Downloads | Staff Needed (you stole that from me, but I'll let you have it since this is about you right now). Heck, we even write similarly. The list goes on. But after getting to know you and having watched you transform from stupid pissant to respected member of the community, I've come to realize that you've excelled past me a thousandfold. No, you may not have been an Admin on the server. No, you may not have spent years and thousands of hours on the server. But the positive experiences, friendships, ideas, plans, and changes that you've cultivated and implemented will have a much farther reach and a much longer lasting impact than just about anything that I've done or plan to do. Your ability to come up with an idea, get the required resources and people, and execute the idea is something that you should be proud of. Your teaching career, your future endeavors, your current and future friendships, your spouse, your life, will all benefit because you know what works and what doesn't work, and you aren't afraid of taking criticism. Personally speaking, whatever age range of kids you decide to teach (you seem like a middle school or high school guy) will definitely enjoy you and your teaching.
I'll cut this public knob-slob here; I don't think there's much else I can say about you. Actually, I don't think I've made a post this long about someone leaving the server, but I think you deserve it. Hopefully you don't mind me putting some of your business out here. You're a great guy and I have no doubt in my mind that whatever you put your hands and mind to will be successful. I know that I like to lurk in the shadows and will only pop up from time to time, but I'll be watching and cheering you on from the sidelines. I hope to keep in touch. Maybe I'll send you a Discord message from time to time to check in on you. Go be great and enjoy your time away from the server. Godspeed.
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