As the IRC regulars already know, I have been working on a secret project for about a year now. It is a redesign of the court-records.net website. Wooster has been doing the visual design and I've been doing all the boring php and html coding.

Those who are curious about the current state of the project may check my W.I.P. version. Expect maybe 14/7 availability and low bandwidth capabilities, it's not a proper server. Feel free to sign up and test things out.

We were sorta planing on having it ready for Dual Destinies. We obviously failed.

I am tired of keeping it secret. Development has more or less halted due to Wooster going missing. Again. For the third time.

As such, I am now looking for someone to fill in for Wooster until he remembers that the site still exists. I am looking for someone good with CSS to complete the design. Familiarity with PHP is a merit. Be sure to have a portfolio ready.

I am also looking for some copywriters, the new site is a chance to write better text.

Interested people may contact me on IRC.

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Well, I don't know anything about web design, so I can't be much help, but I can say that I think it looks really fantastic! Great job on updating everything!

I like how easy to find everything is.

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All the credit for the visual design goes to Wooster. He's great at this, when he bothers working. Kinda like I am great at php when I bother working...

But I did the navigation structure. I wanted to categorize by content and not by media type.

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I can't help you with web design but I'm free for 3 months after 17th of November (in AUS), so I could assist in Copywriting. Shoot me a PM after then, and I'll see what I can do. My assistance in the GK2 translation failed miserably due to mounting uni pressures and my lack of consistent Japanese practice. We shall see this time around :)

Aww you meanie, I'm sure Wooster just has a really busy life outside of CR.

Good luck with your project though, I can't wait to see the result.

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Quite some life indeed if he can't even be bothered to show up long enough to say sorry.

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Jesus Christ, man, it's a website that he helps run in his spare time, and real life always has to take a priority. That's why other administrators are appointed because sometimes (as has happened before) you can't be around when you'd like to be since real life must take priority. While I'm sure the new website will be stupendous when it is finished, there really isn't a pressing need for an overhaul yet as the one we have now works fine, and Wooster doesn't need to come back and say sorry, to you, or anyone.

This website isn't his job, this website isn't his life. Things have to be placed in priority and no one can blame him for that. It's not that he can't be "bothered" to work on it, it's that he just can't work on it, there's no way for him to do so and juggle the rest of his life concerns and priorities. So we must keep soldiering on in his absence, and it might do you some good to come down off the high horse a bit.

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Sounding kinda bitter man...I thought you were just joking around; hopefully, you still are...

But yeah, looks good!

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I repeat what I said the last time he went missing. It doesn't take long to just show up and explain how things are. I know that it might not be easy to find time when things are stressful, but I am a firm believer that it is possible, especially when the most difficult part has passed.

He has been missing from IRC for 19 weeks now. And he hasn't read a PM sent more than a month ago. I don't expect him to show up every day or even every week, but this is too much. There is no life trouble that can excuse a disappearance like this short of being kidnapped. You'd think he'd at least show up now, the release week of a major game in the series, but no.

I don't expect much, but I do expect showing up at least once a month and on special occasions.

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Wooster's had to deal with a hell of a lot in recent time, more than anyone should have to. Until he presents his side of the story, there's no reason to slander him and give him such a harsh time. Life gets in the way sometimes, and it's and it's not fair to attack him for stuff he might not be able to control. Leave it be, leave what you can't control and focus on what you can.

No. Henke is right. And his crossness with me is justified. As he's stated this isn't the first time I've disappeared. I won't justify it, but I will try to explain it. When I was 5 a friend of the family gave me some 8-Bit video game. The thing was I was too scared to play the game. (It was a game appropriate for 5 year olds). But rather than play the game, I saw in my mom's office for hours just staring at the main menu. Doing anything would've been more enjoyable than that. The game was intended to be fun. But I sat there irrationally petrified of doing any action.

Not addressing things, even things I consider fun, because of irrational intimidation is a habit I never grew out of. The flaw got enforced as things which intimidated me either died away or someone else took over. Admitting the truth is easy. Taking appropriate action is anything but.

The timeline for the disappearance went something like this, Henke made a request that I ask Croik about CR's plans. At about the same time the person who helps with the heavy projects had one of her classic blow ups around some important projects around the farm. It resulted in a lot of high tensions and work loads that went from breakfast to dinner. On days like those, I can't change gears and work on my computer. I flat out don't have the mental energy to think digitally. Digital consumption? Sure. Digital Creativity? Nope. That period lasted for 2-3 weeks. It wasn't an isolated incident, but it was the catalyst for this cycle.

Now, this brings the intimidation flaw. I hadn't been on CR in weeks. I felt I couldn't show my face, particularly on IRC, if I didn't have something to show for it. So I'd wait for Croik to show up online to ask, and when she did, I'd either get distracted or not find a good way to transition in. It created an endless loop where I was irrationally intimidated. I couldn't show my face on CR and I couldn't bring myself to ask. And so I hid. I still don't have anything. And I likely would still not be showing my face if Bolt hadn't pulled me out.

That is the primary story for my absence. (There is a second story and it's ugly, but it's secondary and of a very personal nature I am not comfortable sharing. but what I've shared was the primary show stopper.) It's unjustified what I've done (or rather not done). I don't want nor deserve sympathy. I need to get over this. But knowing/admitting is easy. Taking appropriate action is not.

I want to thank Bolt for kindly yet firmly getting me to write this. It's mentally anguishing to write this. I keep wanting to stop and leave, or go to bed, or anything but this. But it's something I needed to do. I don't deserve you people.

But yeah, recruit whatever you want Henke. I burned the privilege of responsibility quite well.

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Wooster, I think you are being way too harsh on yourself, personally. Now, I understand that the project/communication stuff is between you and henke, so I'm not going to get involved in that, but I will say that I think everyone can understand life and whatever real issues are going on taking a priority to a fan site about a video game. That's not me putting down Court Records or Phoenix Wright at all; I love the series and this community, but it still isn't as important as whatever issues could factor in in the real world. This site has been around for like 8 years; there's no way that anyone will have as much time to devote to something like this as they did when they were younger. And the site has plenty of moderators, so it's not like all hell breaks loose if you aren't here 24/7. Just because you can't spend as much time on here as you did when you were younger and had more time to work on internet stuff doesn't mean you "don't deserve us"; you just have more pressing real-life stuff that has to come before the site.

I'm not trying to undermine what you wrote or anything, I just want you to know that I think we all could agree that as amazing as Court Records is, it's still a side project fan site for a video game. It's not a paying job, and it's not your life's work, and there are sometimes going to be bigger and more pressing things in the real world that get in the way. I think we all understand that, and have all experienced that. You haven't betrayed the site or anything, you just had to stop frequenting it for external reasons. It will probably happen to all of us at some point.

You shouldn't feel bad or responsible in the slightest that the real world prevented you from being on the internet. Sometimes life gets in the way of what we enjoy doing and we have to do what's most important first.

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Last edited by D.A. McCoy on Mon Oct 28, 2013 5:11 am, edited 1 time in total.

The only opinion that really matters here about your complaint is Wooster's, but honestly, I don't think you should expose someone like this in a forum. You made it sound like he doesn't care which is clearly not the case here.

I have always known that he does care. But this is the first time he discusses the explanation for the disappearances.

What is obvious here is that he needs support by friends to get over blocks like this. Bolt did a good job in helping him here, but that isn't satisfactory, Wooster needs more friends to be there for him. Wooster, please let people help you. Let me help you.

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I'd like to be involved in some way if needed, either on the writing side or design side (or both).

I don't really know a huge deal about CSS, whenever I've used it in the past it's always been me hacking other peoples scripts to bits to bludgeon it into doing what I want, but I'm decent enough with Photoshop and would be up for helping plan the layout etc.

I totally get Wooster's deal though, I've done similar things in the past (perhaps that's not the best thing to say as I volunteer...), but I guess I mean I wouldn't want to step on anyone's toes or anything.

Show up on IRC and as mentioned, have your portfolio ready.

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Could we have a forum topic (or sub-forum) for the CR3.0 project? Makes it easier to drop in with ideas etc., I don't ever use IRC...

Don't you worry Wooster! It sounds like you've been through a lot.
I've been through the feelings too. Even now I sometimes have those feelings of being to afraid to return. (I have that feeling when I'm away from a site, or even with a game too, when I was little, I left a game for 6 years because I was afraid of the first level, and it was just a Sonic game!) So you're not alone! Hang in there, and know no matter how long you're gone, no one will think any less of you!

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