While I am unrelated to A1 in any official way (I like a number of them and enjoy their interactions with the community as a whole, and have a great deal of respect for their abilities) I have to say I would find it odd if it were any other way than it is in the SE community, or as the comparison has been made, that it should for some reason be unfair or strange thar it is not a mirror of the competitive MtG scene ( which I have been out of for long enough that I can't empathize with the 'once a Magic player...' sentiment very much ). Having spent better than two decades doing various seemingly trivial hobbies/games/sports as seriously as any paid competitor (even being a paid competitor, or at least in line for non-inconsequential rewards) IMHO the best ambiance to any competitive scene is one in which monetary reward is the least important factor and the biggest incentive is managing the most with the smallest set of options, very much like SE is currently. I would say I would be unhappy if the game grew to MtG heights, except it would make me very happy for Wulven Studios, but it would curb my enthusiasm for competing. When something becomes too much like a job, it often ceases to provide the 'fun' factor that makes it worth doing in the first place...
In any event, congrats Raph, and a belated 'Hi to A1 en masse.
Cheers,
-Harakhte
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