QUOTE:
Please, go play on the servers you have paid for. This is free, it is an awesome project, it has the potential for infinite dynamic content, and the GM's are very helpful.

1). yes, it has potential, but it has a VERY long way to go
2). only a FEW gms are very helpful. the MAJORITY of gms i've had to deal with merely sit around summoning GM items for their friends and themselves, and either completely ignore requests for assistance or (and this seems to be a favorite expression here....) piss and moan about having to do "their job". I don't play at peak hours, so I hardly ever even see a GM, let alone any dynamic quests or GM events (vary rarely when the server ops are on they will spawn a mob or two and notify the players in /broadcast). so normally if a character gets stuck in a zone, i simply have to reroll, or otherwise wait five or six hours for a GM to log on who may or may not help me.

as for the comment about me just wanting to walk around with an uber 65 toon, YOU"RE MISSING THE POINT ENTIRELY. MANY eqemu users do so simply to take advantage of the item database, in order to compare and contrast available gear for different classes. and while there are some who simply want to be "the best", i am not one of them. there's no point in that mentality, when everyone around you is just as "uber" as you. we're simply checking out available options, we have no interest in levelling up a character. again, there's a time and place for that. However, when we're stuck at level one, with no mobs to fight, the point of even using the emulator is moot (now that most practical high level gear has level restrictions). and personally, i have NO interest in walking around wearing GM only items or hacked items with 1 million to all stats....

as for having "legit" servers, i think this is a marvelous idea. however, until there is CONTENT, just like in the live EQ game, it's foolish. until newbie zones are populated with mobs on ALL databases, it's foolish. until ALL spells work as they should with the effects they should have, it's foolish. until ALL zones work are are as stable as sony's live servers, it's foolish.

don't get me wrong, i have nothing against legit play. i applaud it. but one has to ask oneself just how "legit" the play is when they're wearing SS armor and epic(s) at level 1.....and yes i know not all servers have the #summonitem command, but the majority of them do.

my ONLY point in posting initially was to explain to the poster what eqemu is. and i think i did just fine. eqemu is a TOOL, not a substitution. perhaps someday it will be a substituion, but until then it is my OPINION that we shouldn't try to turn it into "legit" everquest. note the word OPINION.

i am not here to belittle those who play on legit servers. i understand why you're there. i understand why you do it. no doubt i will eventually do the same thing. but not until the db and world content more closely resembles Everquest. until then, i will use it to learn about classes, their spells, and their equipment. while it's getting harder and harder to do this because most of the stable servers have moved to "legit" play, this is what i plan to continue to do.