HC4L gang thread

[Maddolis]

I think its time we discussed this in a calm, dispassionate manner.

The thread was locked for being "offtopic."
What, may I ask, is "on topic" in on the lvp chat forum? The American election? There's nothing more.
We even have about 5 threads devoted to spamming. Many other gang/clan threads are filled with offtopic behavior (which is fine), such as the [BA] thread, but I don't see that being locked.

What was going on in the HC4L gang thread is a group of mates posting funny-looking crappy paint pictures to each other, based on what the clan has been talking about recently (rather ontopic, wouldn't you say?), and everybody laughing about it. Nobody is being offended, and most importantly, it is LIMITED to the HC4L gang thread.
This is an important point. Unlike ingame where if somebody yells out something taboo and the rest of the community is INSTANTLY EXPOSED to it (as it is right there on the chat), to watch our supposedly "offtopic crap," you must first click a LINK to actually view it, and even further, scroll to read it.
The only people exposing themselves to it are those who go looking for it.

If it is just for a group of mates who have a laugh, nobody else cares (because, as I said earlier, we are not offending or insulting anyone)- just having fun over a game. That's another main point- it is just a game, where people get together and have fun- and I do believe the LVP community has lost touch of that aspect.
Its not like everything we're saying has an effect on the world as we know it- if you dont want to read the stuff we find entertaining, don't click the link.

At the moment it really looks like we're a group thats constantly restricted due to our "controversial" interests- despite the fact that we are not exposing it or directing it to the community (most of the time).

It may seem relatively pointless for me to write the next part (like complaining about the government straight to the government- I was going to use a more 1940s germany oriented metaphor but I'm sure you wouldn't enjoy that), but it is very essential.
estroe, a number of us really do believe that you should listen to the community's suggestions more.
Not just read them and brush them off- but read them, read them again, and think about it (such as this post). No, its not only I, and its not only [HC4L] or [W]arriors, but I have talked to numerous people on irc or teamspeak who I hadn't even met before and aren't part of the more well "known" or opinionated people in the LVP community such as myself, and they do agree, and have mentioned that you can be closed-minded (put nicely). It really does look at the moment like you play this game and are entertained my putting restrictions on the amount of fun other people are having. I was on the irc earlier, and Fireburn (great management member, crewmembers should look up to him as an example- and by god, he's young too!) have a nice speech, friendly and relaxed, and next thing I know you're there banning people, hyped up on testosterone acting grand.
The [HC4L] gang thread has nothing to do with anyone else, so they don't need to click it (just like how I rarely if ever click on the sK, Vz, H threads etc). There is no reason to limit a group of mates' way of communicating, this is just a game and has next to nothing to do with real life.

The game was made for fun, and sa-mp was a way to get a whole community of GTA fans to get together and enjoy the game as part of a community. And it has worked successfully for years- I'd had a whole lot of fun (otherwise I would've stopped 1.5 years ago and wouldn't've donated 25 bloody euro to the leader of a community I enjoyed spending time with so much). A lot of the crew have forgotten this meaning- and take the game far more seriously than they should (as I have heard from enemies, friends and other crewmembers alike).

As I said at the beginning of this post, I think we should have a good discussion about this.
No name calling and no getting too emotional (I know I'm not), but just talking it over like a group of mature people. And estroe, do listen- don't hastily lock this thread up, and actually read what I have posted and think about it- and if you disagree as you tend to with 98% of my suggestions, at least give other crewmembers a chance to express their opinions so that I may talk to them rationally.

Thanks.