Rules for spawned epic mobs

[Ravager]

I'm relatively new to the raid scene, and I wasn't there for the Phinny thing, but this rules stuff is interesting to me and I'd just like to comment that someone as new to raiding as me (and I'm certain I'm not the only one with new players reaching raid levels all the time) will have no idea what all of these unwritten/assumed/player agreed rules are.

In my opinion a rule is something that's written, by the staff and posted publicly for everyone to see. Regardless of how old the rule is, or when it was written, whatever is posted as rules is all a guy like me is going to have to go by. How am I supposed to sift through thousands of posts to find all of these unwritten/assumed/player agreed rules and how am I supposed to know which ones are the ones to follow since there seems to be five sides to every story? Even if I knew every unwritten/assumed/player agreed rules and played by them, I can't be certain that if I do have a dispute that needs GM intervention that I'll be found in the right because they don't always mesh with the actual written rules.

Further, it seems that the only rules that matter to Rogean are the written rules, since whenever questions come up, he's apt to quote the written rule, regardless of how old it is. So I will assume that whatever is written is the rule.

I am also of the opinion that no matter what the posted rules are, whatever a GM says goes. We're playing on their server. They can run it as they see fit. They'll make mistakes and do things that contradict rules, but they are their rules to contradict. And by the nature of the game, not everyone is going to like the outcome of their decisions, but big deal. They are generously donating their time to this community and doing the best they can with what they have to work with, be it resources, information or support. They can only handle the disputes on a case-by-case basis and only the GMs know what they know and I do believe they try to make the best decisions they can based on what they know about each dispute.

I don't have all the facts about all the major disputes and unanswered petitions either, but the general vibe I'm getting is that the players are treating the GMs like garbage, so it should be no surprise that petitions get left unanswered and disputes unsettled. I don't consider this favoritism to one group or another, just a general "I give up, solve your own problems" position they're taking. And if half of what I heard about how the players treat the GMs is true, I really can't say that I blame them.

In the end, as long as this server is up, there will always be another Phinny, Ragefire, Draco, etc... if you don't have the time to wait for the next pop and try again, you're probably playing the wrong game.