Please note: The following is presented as factual historical information only, in response to slander and propaganda that is even today still being circulated among members of some Elven groups. So that it is stated: Elf Clan has no animosity against Elf Circle. Elf Circle members are greeted hospitably and warmly in our lands and many members of Elf Circle are members of Elf Clan, and vice versa. Most Elf Circle members are totally unaware of its history, how it was founded, or the dark deeds and drama that occurred at that time. Only a relative few individuals were involved and responsible in these issues. Elf Circle members are always welcome in our land and at events. This is a historical record only, for the setting straight of spurious claims. THE RIFT Elf Clan, founded by Wayfinder Wishbringer, was one of the most successful groups of its day. At a time when the total population of Second Life was 25,000 members and the grid boasted a little over 400 sims, Elf Clan was the very first themed group to top 500 members. It won three Metaverse awards and was considered highly unique, a phenomena that sparked the growth of private themed groups and role playing on Second Life. The lands were friendly, peaceful, harmonious and above all, fun. Elf Clan was a sharp and welcome contrast to the Mainland area. Elf Clan operated for two years and became one of the most respected and well-known groups on the grid. June 2006 the harmony of Elf Clan was disrupted when Eldar Forcythia Wishbringer was privately removed from office for continued refusal to provide account of group funds and donations. Her response was to start a very vocal and drama-filled "war" within the group, misappropriating three sims that had been paid for by Elf Clan funding (ElvenGlen, Elf Haven and ElvenMoor). She wiped historic Elf Clan builds and land to bare ground and established her own group on those lands (Elf Circle)-- ignoring the wishes of the majority of Elf Clan members and destroying two years of group history. (This was not the first time such a thing has happened on Second Life. Renegade officers misappropriating group land has long been a problem on the Second Life system. Regrettably she was joined in such activities by some who cast aside the honor that was the core of Elf Clan policy). Unaware of the facts behind the issues, approximately 10% of Elf Clan left the group. Many held homes on the original lands and joined the ex-officer strictly due to land considerations, while others merely tired of the drama and left for more peaceful pastures. Some regrettably cast aside all sense of honor or loyalty to Elf Clan and immersed themselves in dishonest and dishonorable activities (some of which continue to this day). Propaganda and false claims abounded. Two notable figures were Fredrich Armistice and RodneyLee Jessop, both of whom openly betrayed and slandered Elf Clan and its Founder to achieve their own agenda in Elf Circle ranks (Fredrich to "protect his investment" in a joint sim with Forcythia. RodneyLee received high rank and property in Elf Circle). One relatively new member was responsible for destroying Elf Clan builds at Forcythia's instructions, claiming he was being "honorable" because he informed Elf Clan that he had been put in charge of doing so (he apparently failed to discern the difference between honesty and honor). Such activities were common during the founding days of Elf Circle. Wayfinder was able to re-establish Elf Clan on the remaining island of ElvenMyst, supported by the majority of the Titled and other Elf Clan members. Most long- time members remained with Elf Clan, most noteably the Orcs, who in a strong show of loyalty moved their Orc Embassy to ElvenMyst. Long-time Titled member Peter Lioncourt removed his sizable lands and gardens from ElvenGlen. Although down to one island, freed of opposition and drama elements, Elf Clan grew in two months to surpass previous numbers. With the absense of divisive factors, group activity and events increased significantly. Despite the rift (or perhaps even because of it) the group became larger, more active, and more cohesive than in its entire history. Linden Lab was asked to intervene in the matter of misappropriation of group lands and funds. The company refused, going so far as to change the TOS to legally absolve themselves in all such matters. In response Wayfinder announced he would no longer support Second Life. October 2006 the Elf Clan Counsel voted unanimously to cease financial support of the Second Life platform. Directly cited was lack of moderative support from the host company and continued technical instability of the platform. Elf Clan had invested some $12,000 over a two year period. The Counsel simply decided to cut losses and ceased further investment in the Second Life system. November 5, 2006, ElvenMyst was shut down and for the most part, activities of Elf Clan temporarily ceased on Second Life. PROPAGANDA and GRIEFER ATTACKS When the "rift" occurred, Elf Circle members immediately began to launch "griefer" attacks against Elf Clan (something in which Founder Wayfinder sternly cautioned Elf Clan members to not engage), circulate false claims, fraudulent documentation and other propganda against Elf Clan, even going to far as to post misinformation on the well-known Wikipedia "Second Life Issues and Criticisms" listing as follows: " In late-2006 one of Second Life's largest groups, Elf Clan, closed shop stating land theft by a renegade officer (and Linden Lab's alleged refusal to correct such matters). However, many feel that since the land was, and is, in the hands of the person who invested in the land, that these allegations are without merit. Many feel it is not true to say the Elf Clan left SL as most of the active membership moved to a new group, which continues to grow to this day." (italics ours) This statement is typical of those widely circulated by this group. In an effort to hide the misdeeds around which Elf Circle was founded, many facts are omitted-- such as the fact that it was the Elf Clan Group entire that invested in purchasing the lands (not one person), that the land was deeded to a land group founded by Wayfinder Wishbringer to reflect that fact, and that Wayfinder was responsible for designing, building and primary management of those lands. The statement that "most of the active membership moved to a new group" is unfactual (as indicated above, less than 10% of Elf Clan joined Elf Circle). At the time Elf Clan shut down support of Second Life, it had over 650 members compared to 180 members of Elf Circle (the vast majority of which were newbies). Many such fraudlent statements were circulated, including attempt to transfer the blame of missing group funds from Forcythia to Wayfinder. However, the olden and Titled members of Elf Clan knew what had happened. Documented records left no doubt as to the facts of these issues. Even when the Wikipedia was changed back to the original account, Elf Circle continued to re-falsify that post. At the time of this writing-- more than a year later-- Elf Circle continues to circlulate propaganda against Elf Clan (see "Censure of RodneyLee Jessop" elsewhere on this site). For a time, Elf Clan tried to remain neutral to such slander, but eventually developed a policy to "fight lies with fact". Thus this factual account and response. FAREWELL A wonderful farewell party was held Nov 5, 2006 with a closing fireworks display by Orc Chuina Asturias. ElvenMyst sim was shut down Nov 10, 2006 and the Elves "sailed off to the west, nevermore to grace the world of men". THE RETURN OF ELF CLAN June 23, 2007, exactly one year to the date of the rift, ElvenMyst sim returned to life and Elf Clan was reborn! See REBORN on the main page for further information. RUMORS Many rumors have abounded regarding what happened to Elf Clan. Founder Wayfinder Wishbringer comments: "The removal from office was warranted. Anyone not handling group funds by the book would be removed in any organization... and that was only one of many behind-the-scenes issues. Forcythia was not a founder of the group; she was an assigned officer who failed to uphold the tenets of that office and who showed her true nature in the way she handled her removal from office. She was obviously without love or loyalty to Elf Clan or its members. Looking back I wish foresight could have helped us avoid all that ridiculous drama. Her response to private removal from office was beyond excuse. There was no honor in any of it. I contacted her three times following the rift, recommending reconciliation for the good of Elf Clan. She adamantly refused. She had taken control of Elf Clan lands, she was now in charge of her own group and appeared happy with that situation, no matter what that meant for the members of Elf Clan. She showed no concern nor consideration for group members, taking the attitude that if they wanted to live on the lands they had worked so hard to pay for and build, they could join her group. She later rationalized her position by stating that Elf Clan members were welcome on "her" lands. Our response was plain: Our lands. Regardless of Linden Lab technicalities, she had been entrusted with lands paid for by Elf Clan funds. That trust was betrayed. No amount of propaganda or story spinning is going to change that fact. Elf Circle is not Elf Clan. We appealed to Linden Lab to intervene. Although they knew how the Elf Clan lands had been funded and were well acquainted with our group history, they refused to moderate the situation. Understanding they might feel "caught in the middle", we offered two suggestions: 1. Turn half of the sims over to Elf Clan and allow Forcythia to retain half, and we would both go our separate ways. Linden Lab rejected that solution. 2. If they were unwilling to act in behalf of Elf Clan, then to simply replace the lands that their policies had allowed to be stolen from the group, for which we would gladly pay the monthly tier fee. Their investment in a single server would have been negligible and would have brought the company over $9,000 a year in tier payments. They took the attitude that they weren't obligated to do anything; it wasn't their responsibility. They didn't even offer to set up a server at cost. We tried to work with Linden Lab. We asked them to meet us part way for the good and continued operation of Elf Clan. They couldn't have cared less. They threw away $9,000 a year over the cost of a single server. That's just plain bad business. Unfortunately, it's an attitude common among corporations who forget that they are funded by individual customers. At such point, investments become questionable. That attitude pretty much made our decision for us. No matter what other business they receive, in the end they lost out on considerable profit from Elf Clan. Linden Lab's self-serving corporate stance and failure to do what is best for their customers is legendary among Second Life inhabitants. Many members of Second Life are able to attest to such attitude. (Forgive me, but considering these issues, I shouldn't be expected to be "p.c." when it comes to LL policies. They cost our group some $12,000 in investments. I am not forgiving of such blatant disregard for customer welfare). They showed not only an apathetic attitude, but blatant disregard for the needs of Elf Clan's hundreds of members. No excuse. A month later the Elf Clan Council met twice and voted unanimously to cease financial and event support of Second Life. I think that was exactly the right decision. It made a statement that needed to be made. No matter how big a company gets, no matter what policies they conceive or alter, customers always have the right-- and in some cases the courage-- to "vote with their feet". Elf Clan could have operated indefinitely; we were a popular and successful group, even moreso after the rift. We just decided the attitude of the host company and the extremely shaky platform didn't warrant further investment of money and time. Most people have no concept of what it takes to manage a group the size of Elf Clan. It can be done easily and slipshod of course, but to do things right takes time. I spent an average of 6 to 12 hours a day on SL. Most days the first hour or two were spent just answering IMs and handling individual needs (large group managers will undoubtedly sympathize). If one is going to continue to invest that amount of time and dedication into a system, there needs to good reason. In this case Linden Lab proved that dedication and effort (not to mention considerable expense) to be unwarranted. The Elf Clan Counsel made the same decision. It's one thing to visit SL for giggles and play around; it's another entirely to invest heavily in it. When Linden Lab allowed significant investment to be taken from the group without any moderation on their part (not the first time such has happened on their board), faith in the company ended. I took the red pill and have never regretted that decision. There's a reason "real life" is called "real". Whether Second Life is successful or not, whether other elven groups are successful or not is irrelevant. The ending of ElvenMyst and the activities of Elf Clan left a big void in SL. It's pretty easy to build upon a foundation created and funded by others. It's another thing to build that foundation from scratch. Second Life lost Elf Clan-- and that will never be replaced. A painting can be copied; the copies are never of equal value. As for Elf Clan however, it's still around. People still remember. The group still regularly attracts new members, and old members often meet to enjoy friendship and association. I still visit on occasion, and enjoy helping members when needed. Because while we had our disputes with the host company, people still matter. And Elf Clan has always been about people. Elf Clan doesn't need a sim to exist. We could have been just as active on a simple 4096m plot. It's about the people and the core concepts. Elf Clan created the "Greeter" system on Second Life*. Our reputation was that of unusual friendliness and hospitality, treating newbies as part of the family. Our core charter was Honor, Respect, Loyalty, Integrity. Not a word of that has to do with land or material wealth. It's not about land, not about buildings or property. It never has been. It's all about people. That's what it comes down to in the end. Elf Clan still welcomes new people and treats them with the same dignity and friendship as it has since its founding. Even without advertised activity, Elf Clan continues to grow. That says something about the group. --o-- * Seriously. I wrote the "Greeter Guidelines" document myself. One could become a Titled member by working as a Greeter. Several people still hold that Title. Elf Clan members used to stand at Ahern Welcome and assist newbies on a daily basis. One of the rules was that we never push Elf Clan off on anyone; we help them with their needs. If they asked about Elf Clan, we were happy to assist them; otherwise, we were there to help them acclimate to SL. We considered that a service to SL. Elf Clan was (and is) a very friendly group. We invented the Greeter system. It's of interest that shortly thereafter Linden Lab introduced "their" Greeter program (LOL, they didn't even bother to change the name). Their Greeter document was almost identical in concept to the Elf Clan document, containing the same principles and guidelines. No credit was given to our group and to add insult to injury, Linden Lab forbid individual groups from doing the same thing. There's gratitude for ya. I'm not anti-Linden Lab, but anyone who believes that LL is stand-up, has their customer's best interests in mind and has anything other than corporate self-interest as primary policy-- such a person is living in a bigger fantasy world than SL itself.