Well everyone, it has been great but I think it is time for me to step down from PUTL.
This has been on my mind for a few weeks now honestly. The time I have been able to invest into PU has been slipping away slowly over time, and I can see the horizon and know that this trend is not going to stop. I could compromise here and there to buy myself more time, but my activity will not be where I personally want it and what the tier needs of a TL. So, I am passing the baton before it truly gets to that point. PU has had a history of lame duck TLs and I will not be joining their ranks.
From my years here, I have learned that I am excellent at keeping the gears turning in the background, almost like a mule steadfastly marching its progress forward. This was great during previous gens during our massive expansion, as I actually ended up doing most of the work for the Circuit during Gen7 and hosted 4/6 PUPLs. Honestly, my achievements speak for themselves. Creating tiers is difficult, and I was the lead for technically 4 of them. I also have a lot of small achievements, like fostering everyone getting a "gratz" after every tour as a staple of the room and one of the first to push the "broke checks broke doesn't work" counterargument in PU way back in Gen6. Yes I am claiming that, you can check the forums for proof, and yes the current irony of that is not lost on me. Combined with the mountain of other contributions that I have to my name, I am leaving the position proud. PU is a good tier with a lot of good memories for me and I am proud to do my part.
It is still odd to me though. I thought I would be tired of the game when I stepped down, but I'm not. I thought I would be tired of contributing, but I feel like there is much more I could be doing. Even typing this out now, a part of me still thinks that I still have so much to give but it isn't what the tier needs right now.
Recently I have noticed a change in the tier. There aren't any particular current events that impacted this decision, but I wanted to speak about it while I could. I recently stumbled on to a large pile of concerns and complaints that I really wish were communicated with me rather than me having to dig them up accidentally well after the fact. I'm not mad about anything from them...if anything, I would be mad that I wasn't told sooner. I could have fixed a good portion of this, we could have had discussions, etc, etc, etc...but the point is that I feel like PU as a whole has gotten to a bad place regarding the community. There is a lot of "us vs them" mentality, and a lot of complaints behind closed doors that never see the light of day so nothing changes. Good faith in each other is at a low point. I can understand where a lot of the frustrations are coming from, but ultimately we have to remember that we all want the same thing: the best PU that it can be. We may disagree on the finer details on how to get there, but every person I have talked to in the tier all love the tier and only want what is best for it. We all have our disagreements, but it is vital that we leave these disagreements still having good faith in one another, that the other person's opinion is also one coming from a place of earnest interest for the tier's future. No one single person, or even one single group, can know everything and have the perfect viewpoint for the tier. It is only through finding compromise between our varying views that we can find the best possible path forward. I have always thought that, preached that, and followed that, and it feels more important today than before.
The tier needs a good amount of TLC. Bridges need to be built, disagreements need to find common ground, grudges dropped. All of these weigh the tier down. But with my mounting scheduling conflicts, I simply don't have enough time to invest to do all of that myself. So, with that in mind, I think the tier doesn't need its mule anymore. It is time for something new, someone new, and a big change...and here is the big change. In good faith, I am passing the baton to all of you. Treat PU well, it really is special and still has so much to offer.
But on to the topic of boring administration aspects. I will still be hanging around for a good while longer, but largely as an advisory role. I am hoping to pass on more of my knowledge to people so my roles are properly filled. I am also going to keep the oldgens for a while longer, as MZ admittedly doesn't have a clue what to do with them and I still have a few great projects I want to complete (so long as I breathe, Gen5 will be saved). I also will still be around, as like I said I still like the tier and enjoy it. MZ and 2x and whoever will end up taking my place will still pilot the tier just fine.
And with that, I wish everyone the best of luck moving forward. Thank you for reading, and thank you for having me as your PUTL.
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