Greetings,
So this post is not exactly a "platform" but it will serve as an introduction
for those that do not know me. First, I am not an egomaniac. My name is
Blayke, in RL I'm an American lawyer, and a reasonably successful one at that.
I travel to Finland rather often as I have close ties with people there. I
have played this game longer than just about anyone currently playing, with a
few exceptions (hello Hair, Axl), and the reason I'm applying for this council
is that I have a genuine love for Batmud, it having played an incredibly
important role in my personal history, and I want to see Batmud continue and
thrive.

A little more about myself: I'm not the best player here or most geared, or
the most knowledgeable but I certainly consider myself one of the better ones.
I have run EQ ss's for most of my time playing on batmud, first in assisting
with RSF+ eq, then running Warrior+, and now I am guildmaster of Nightlife+.
I started Nightlife+ when I realized there was a serious need for an
American/Late night Euro chat channel and EQ ss. I take pride in having kept
nl+ running for a good 5 years and providing a lot of entertainment and
eyeball rolling for others.
I have helped Batmud as best I can. I have written guild, combat and area
descriptions for codeslaves, have used NL+ as a way to bring newer players
into the game and get geared, have volunteered as a newbie helper and I
generally assist those who need help running an LQ or getting gear they need.
When sales cheats were rampant on batmud I stepped up along with a few others
and wiped them out. Recently, when a group of castle raiders were forcing
newbies and midbies to quit playing I and a few others attacked them
relentlessly (losing a few of our gears in the process).we eventually forced
the thieves to give back some of the stolen pieces and pay some cash. In
general, as a friend I can be counted upon no matter what the cost or the
odds. As an enemywell who knows since I have no enemies .

I think it would be a mistake to propose a huge long list of the things I want
to accomplish. I don't think it would be wise or even possible for this
"council of mortals" to really effect radical change without the active
consent and agreement of the archwizards. I don't think Batmud will ever
return to its glory days of pre-WoW/Everquest/Visual MPORGs days, there is
just too much competition. But I think there truly is a place for batmud to
continue on as a vibrant and successful online community long into the future.
I want my kids to play Batmud (or at least to be introduced to it?. These
are the things I want to focus on, among others:
--Newbie/Midbie content. At the moment the newbie/midbie phase is just
extremely painful and usually rushed through so you can get to the "fun"
endgame stuff. I think more effort and time should be focused on crafting
unique quests and events for the younger players. Shardik started this with
his Pleasantville project and it needs