I'd just like to point out that although I am a cop, being a developer grants me *absolutely* no power over the administration of the server. Heck, I had only just managed to wangle the ability to RESTART the live server after hackers have turned it to shit, and now that is gone since the new dedicated server has come online in a different location with different access-control.
Similarly, my influence on the development process is, I sincerely hope, unbiased. Sure, I do some things for the cops, but I do just as much for the civs too, and ultimately, it is GAMEPLAY OPPORTUNITIES that is uppermost in my mind. When Ed Williams is out on the street, he's just a cop. He's not a developer. Sometimes I will post 'from his voice' on here (usually in the Lost Farts thread), but that's as far as it goes. Ed Williams is just a puppet. He's also an ex-rebel, and an ex-normal-upstanding-citizen too, so I think I've walked all the paths necessary to remain objective. That plus 20+ years of game-design and production-management for some of the biggest development houses and game-publishers in the US and UK, with a sabbatical as a games and product reviewer for the largest computer-magazine firm in the UK. I think I know what impartiality is, and its importance when seeking the correct balance for a videogame.
I'm hope Wilco's gesture has appeased you - I know he is as serious as I am about making this server a great place to play - whether you are a civilian trying to live an innocent life, a rebel with (or without) a cause, or a cop with a duty or a power-kick. When the medic role is finally created (oh joy, that'll be fun to build), I have every intention of trying it out myself for at least a while. At the moment, though, the cops are badly needed - even if people don't always like what they do, they're the first people *everyone* calls when THEY are getting griefed, having their vehicles stolen, being robbed, got a flat tyre, lost their ride, or just generally lost, full stop!
