Interesting discussion.
I joined TheFlock as a level 20ish Beastmaster. At the time, I had just returned from a hiatus from the game, and I knew little about TheFlock other than that I had a few friends from my Samurai static party (Manasha, Weaponslayer, Godofdeath) that were prominent in the shell. At the time, TheFlock was a close-knit group of about 20-25 people who mostly just dabbled with doing sky and some easy HNMs whenever they felt like it, more for the fun of using their Beastmasters than anything else. There wasn't a ton of drama or anything, for the most part. Dejan insisted on keeping the highest level profile that we could, since he was very aware of how a single incident at a camp or in sky, or backtalking to other shells, could reflect badly on the LS as a whole.
My opinions regarding server migration were well-known in TheFlock right before it began. I was about level 50 by then, and I was told perhaps 15-20 BSTs would be joining us from LotB, an all-BST shell on Shiva. I was concerned, however, since I envisioned a flood of people from this new linkshell crowding out up-and-coming BSTs such as myself, and providing longer lines for gear and such. I was also worried that TheFlock would lose its close-knit atmosphere. Manasha and Dejan had put a lot of effort into promoting TheFlock on Alla and other multiple-server sites, but no one seemed to expect that, instead of merging with a single other all-BST linkshell, we got a flood of people from across all servers.
For the first few weeks after server migration, the linkshell was packed to bursting with new faces, some of whom brought substantial egos with them. Some were lone BSTs who couldn't get into endgame shells on other servers because they were just lolBST; some had multiple endgame jobs but wanted to use their BST in endgame, only to be repeatedly told no by their endgame shell; some were loners just looking to hang out with other BSTs. Some came over in their own friend groups and linkshell groups already. The clash of egos, preconceived notions about how the game is played, and the combination of so many people joining the shell at the same time made things in the shell a lot less fun for me personally. Even small things like a packed Vent server indicated the problem--no one could talk without being lost in the sea of new voices. When I mentioned on TheFlock's forums that we shouldn't just invite over anyone who applied, and that we should consider closing recruitment, a lot of the server transfers (especially from LotB) disagreed with me. Bigger was better, they said.
So, I busted my ass to get to BST75 so I could participate in our endgame system. Of course, with the addition of 70+ new transfers, the lines for gear were long, and sky quickly became a multiple-alliance event. The close, family-like atmosphere was gone; leadership was rapidly vanishing; the few leaders that tried to take charge were quickly overwhelmed by the scope of things and by stress. I had a front-row seat to the effort of corralling 40+ people in sky taking its toll on Manasha and Thefonz. Then, it began to dawn on me that this was not what I had signed up for when I joined TheFlock, and not what I wanted from my FFXI experience. After Thefonz left, I took a break from the LS myself. I still pop on from time to time, and recognize very few of the people on.
Mish has it right--TheFlock is nothing like it used to be, and this troubles and saddens me. I wish things would magically go back to the way they were, but this isn't likely to happen. To my fellow BST brothers posting in this thread, I don't think you guys are really helping your cause here, and it's probably better to take some of the things that Jamal and the others are saying to heart. This is the Flameboard, yes, and they are being caustic in their replies, but the truth is that the burden of proving ourselves and maintaining a good linkshell reputation is on us. And it's easier to maintain that sort of reputation from TheFlock's old attitude than from a pugnacious, defensive, us-vs.-the-world tack that I've seen in this thread and others across the Flameboard.
just a simple challenege. take it if you will.. i know no one has to prove anything to anyone... but dont downplay someones accomplishment... i know theflock doesnt sit at night and plan to do stuff like this just waiting for someones praise.. 
