Opening "Gee Oh Pee" to the public.

Go at it.

The answer is no, and always has been. :)

Feel free to discuss, though, why you would prefer it be or not be opened to the public. It probably won't change my opinion or answer, but my ears are open to any feedback you have, so type away.

Here is my personal view on this matter:

In general, inexperienced goppers and experienced goppers do not work well together. Inexperienced goppers tend to mess up experienced goppers games (not always intentionally, but other times, intentionally). Experienced goppers often return the favor, just with more hatred and rage and the attitude that they are far better than all inexperienced goppers in every way. I believe that if experienced goppers have any desire to mentor, communicate with, or teach inexperienced goppers, then they can do that of their own free will. There is absolutely no reason that experienced goppers should be subject and pressured to do this in Gee oh Pee friend chat, which has a different purpose.

The purpose of Gee Oh Pee has always been suited to a community of experienced goppers, and not inexperienced goppers. The people who LOVE the Great Orb Project are the ones joining. Open it to the public, and everyone joins - that includes people who HATE the Great Orb Project. It is a private friend chat, to give the experienced goppers a place to find games. It is not a public chat to increase the overall love of GOP.

I am not planning on changing the purpose of the Gee oh Pee friend chat designated for such a purpose any time soon. However, I am not opposed to someone opening a friend chat dedicated to the general GOP community. From there, experienced goppers could join if they felt impelled to of their OWN self will. They could chat with inexperienced goppers, teach them methods of teaching, and host events.

I think that as two separate friend chats, the idea is a great one. The key difference between merging both together and keeping both separate is that experienced goppers may not (many of them do NOT) want to be in a friend chat with players with less experience. This would result in hard feelings, whereas experienced goppers joining a friend chat dedicated to the general GOP community of their own free will would not result in hard feelings. It would be more effective, and to be honest...it just makes more sense this way.

In summary,

1) Pros and Newbs don't get along, unless both are willing to get along. This is a decision made by the individual, not the friend chat. Friend chats don't make people get along, or increase love of GOP. People do that, and friend chats can help with that.

2) Gee oh Pee has an intended purpose (stated above), and has been dedicated to a specific group of experienced goppers for that purpose. I am not changing the purpose of it, as most people that actively join the friend chat are accustomed to the purpose of it. Simply put, changing things around suddenly is a complicated process that will end badly, and result in endless problems.

3) If someone makes a friend chat for the general GOP community, I would support it, so long as it is not rivaling Gee oh Pee in any way, shape, or form. (This mostly includes, but is certainly not limited to, attempting to merge the two friend chats together after the general GOP community friend chat has been created, as this is what I disagree with in the first place).

Gee oh Pee + inexperienced goppers is the same as General GOP Lounge + experienced goppers. Encouraging people to join is very different from leading them to believe that it is the new chat for experienced goppers, or constantly 'requesting' that they join every minute of every day (which, by the way, is different from requesting that they join once or twice a month, and more of a 'friendly' manipulation technique).

My opinion is very ambivalent. Whenever I'm ambivalent, I say that we don't change anything for now. Gee Oh Pee is still alive, after all... isn't it? Unlike other clans which died due to ... distrust.