[a_Guest03]

There's a reason why you install three. They're all made by different people and are released at different times. They all serve different purposes.

db.sql has a purpose. Its purpose is to be an empty structure. Using that structure, a database can be populated. This is released by devs, always with the main eqemu server software.

dumpeditems.sql has a purpose. It is updated in a quarter-day cycle, IIRC. It is very current, and holds many items. One could easily incorporate a snapshot, but it wouldn't be current. This is released by a dev-created program, basically.

Other:
tcsmyworld and crew produce a moving database that is released and updated often. This one is released as often as necessary.

So what should we do? It might be a good idea for a person or group of people to decide what's best for the newbies, to create a package of all of this, and release it. It's one extra file to host so that newbies can use just one file. It's also a new process that we must support. Old process would require support, and the new one would require support. So you're inviting more complexity in the support area.

Do whatever you like, but be aware of the facts and the reasons why things happen as they do. There are free dbs. I can understand people wanting to have their own copy of Wiz's server setup, or of guildwars. I think custom worlds should be released, but it wouldn't hurt to let the people who make them finish them before they invite splinter setups. If I had created something wonderful, I'd like to play it out until I knew everything about it, so that releasing it wouldn't cause a barrage of annoying support questions that I spend weeks addressing, especially with newbies.