![image.png](https://images.hive.blog/DQmcxrW6kk5RHgcGrhn1AjfNbB2hqnr2LC1GHddRNhBJ7Ti/image.png)

 So we had the fork and I have yet to post since. I've actually rarely been on any block chain simply out of having shit to do. After all... we are in a moment of world not going back so there's been errands to run. However, after having a bit of a look I've realized... I've missed a lot. 

 Recently I've jumped back on to both Steem and the Steem forked chain Hive and basically prowled around the blogs of the quite and loud  voices I've grown to know here to see how many are digesting the fork. One of the posts I've come across is @davemccoy comments on the matter.. Though I voted for the fork rather than pure centralization under Justin Sun I do agree with many of his points... in fact a lot of them. With the fork we we all were caught in a rock and a hard space. However, scrolling through my old friends blog lead me to his post on Splinterlands... and here is where I found myself scratching my head after... Simply because the cranky old man makes some damn good points as cranky old men do. 

So first off, I love the game. At one point I regretted not joining sooner though I'm probably a third wave player in regards to jumping on board. But nowadays I roll through my daily quest and don't want to play further. Why? It's begun to suck as a means of entertainment. I'm predominantly playing bots, there is no challenge, the game has become non engaging. 

 Next I think about why I'm playing..  I mean some would play a game for monetary gain, entertainment value, both... But where is Splinterlands actually going? Outside of our echo chamber here, and a much treasured space that's widely touted on a few Dapp websites it's hardly known. The world it exist in, and it's growth though having some improvements isn't moving that quick. The main drive to promote it has been going around to gaming shops and acting as an "ambassador" to gain new players... so if Splinterlands was a cafe or nail salon that might work.. but otherwise it's dropping flyers... which tend to have a response rate of 1000 to 1 on response. I mean seriously? 

 I can't help but feel we have a great product and concept with Splinterlands, but it's dying like many good ideas with great potential. I'm definitely losing interest with it. I could easily see it going the way of Spells Of Genesis where it's amazing at first and then dies off. The game is fun when it's balanced, but balance means far more than dealing with just broke cards and some dumby fail safes for bots. What's the solution? Dunno. I'm not a programmer, witness, or any thing else related to techy. I'm a user of a product. That's it. I don't want to play bots, I want real challenges, I want diversity in my gaming experience past a quest.. otherwise I'll plug in my NES and play bloody Mike Tyson Punch Out over beers with friends. More rewarding.

 I have read a lot of posts about how if this neck of the block chain woods is to gain real traction past it's unwillingness to die then it needs talent. Authors who start here and draw people in rather than come here from other platforms, video bloggers who start and build their following here rather than migrate.. Products that start here and bring people in. But for all the talent around this place it's odd... It's like Avon sales people meets talented coders. 

 For those of you who lived in the states you may remember a company called Payless Shoes... often their stores sat near a Walmart. Well, I hate to say this (and genuinely I do) but Splinterlands is starting to feel like the Payless of card games. I know work is being done, I know that there are new features coming soon... but if there is no competition, no advertisement past ambassador programs and echo chamber podcast style videos... then why play? It's a shrinking community not a growing one. Oh... and bots.... why play bots? Most of my games are bots.. there is no reward for real players anymore. 

 This post is just a rant as a consumer. I'm not a coder or witness. I genuinely give a breezy fuck if I'm disagreed with as it's just an opinion. I have always had a soft spot for this chain (old and new sans J Sun/Stinc) but it's shrinking for a reason. It's a great concept and many people in it make up a great community, but their input is mistakenly and sadly undervalued. The only reason to hold on to anything related to this space anymore is to hope for an unrealistic pump later in bullish hysteria and dump it.. but continue to use it? No matter where we fork or where it goes? I mean, if those behind the various gears that power this particular area of block chain space are hoping that the next surge in the market will be the day Steem or Hive takes off, and above all solves it's problem of user adoption and retention... I gotta bridge for sale if you're interested. 

The community continues to shrink despite recent victories of a take over, the products grow stale or just aren't developed... or just get given up on altogether. A community isn't devs. It's users. Normies. People who want to blog, play games, connect with others, feel rewarded, then piss off again back to what their doing. One of the main reasons I've been returning to this neck of the woods is Splinterlands, and now that sucks to. Why bloody bother? I mean outside of the content creators who stick here with a persistence that would make a genital wart envious... there's an increasing amount of nothing. 

 Well, normally in my usual posts I'd say something positive in closing. I'm not here. This post was just an over all rant. An attempt at nailing vomit to a wall. I've stopped enjoying the things in a corner of the interwebs I used to think of as home after a couple years. I've been persistent in that, but this post is basically me venting on feeling like the one thing I liked here anymore (outside of some of the people I engage with here or consume the content of) is now a let down. Splinterlands has stopped being fun. New quality content creators, incestuous conflicts (Stinc beef excluded..that was reasonable) abound, the platform has yet to solve solidity (the recent conflict with J Sun showed a great community spirit, but a far cry from solidity) , etc etc etc. 

I get people work hard to keep this place running, I get that there's ideologies tied into some individuals motivation. I get it. Your montage is in the mail.  But it's supposed to be a decentralized space in which various products are used and adopted or discarded. You're working to sell your wares. It would be better if mass appreciation came from the quality of the product provided, rather than expected it to be appreciated simply due to the amount of work put in. 

This post has been a rant, a winge, a vent as I mull leaving the chain/chains altogether like many others already have. Not because of getting up votes, or down votes, not because of conflicts with someone higher than me, not because I disagree with some all omnipotent/ all impotent ruler of the great voting power.. Just a rant before I get up and head to the door due to this place and space just not being fun for anyone anymore. I'll still sit on the crypto, like many I won't throw away anything that can be exchanged for some monetary value. But continuing to engage here is swiftly becoming a hard sell after almost three years of diligence.