Flipend0 - I appreciate you giving your opinion on us "Soloers". I will however just point out a few things and then stop with this conversation as it would derail further from the thread's topic.
First, some people just want to play a game they want to play. Without bothering with other people even if it is an MMOARPG or some other type of multiplayer game. You see, players like myself cannot choose how a game is designed, and neither is it bad for us to play something alone in our own convenience and solidarity. If somebody likes how a game plays like, they like the game. It doesn't really matter if it is meant to be a multiplayer game or not. Server Emulators or Self-run servers like these solve that issue for us.
One point I'd also like to make is that there are people like me who actually just want to test stuff out alone and offline in the same PC. As long as the game and server runs, the bugs and issues I can find are still valid finds which I can then present to other people doing the development. There is really no "ironclad rule" that says if you download a release here you must run your own public/private server online and have a bunch of strangers connect to it to find bugs with you. That is precisely why there are releases and forums like this. So people can go about testing stuff at their own convenience and in their own ways. To put it simply, this is why this forum and the things people do to the releases here is "free". This is also the reason why some of the more savvy developers here choose to "Sell" their works instead.
It is up to the prerogative of the person downloading something off the internet to decide what they want to do after they get what they want. It's the freedom of each individual to choose whether to actually report bugs here or just keep quiet after satisfying their curiosity, and it applies to everyone here. I'm pretty sure nobody signed off their freedom when they signed in on this forum.
You say that you despise "localhosters" because they provide nothing in return. Perhaps I have to remind you how the world of the internet works... Deciding to post something on the internet that other people can freely download and access, regardless of what that item is, means that you are decidedly aware of the consequences that action entails. If you wanted something back, you would have chosen a release method that can get you what you want "in exchange" in the first place. This falls under the "selling releases" thing I mentioned earlier. If you choose to put a file up for release and download with everybody who has access being free to download it, then that is yet another choice you have to live with. I can understand getting a sense of entitlement if you work on a project or pay for work on one, in a way, it's a kind of pride as a craftsman, but that value pretty much goes out the window if you choose to release something to the public free-of-charge. Some people will care, some will not. That is how reality and the world works. There is no law that states people can't download something given for free and just play with that after making it work. HOWEVER, there is also no law that states people who host games locally cannot find bugs in a released build and contribute by reporting that somewhere where savvy people can take a wrench at it. In fact, that is actually how most public QA and Development projects like these server emulators work most of the time. Because people can find different issues in each their own unique environments. At the very least, I myself have reported a few stuff on some emulated servers I've tried alone at home. I'm just not tech savvy so I keep to what I can run and can't run.
You said it is assumed everybody in these forums must have the expertise with regards to the field of Network and MMO game developments for them to be a member, but that is pretty much your biased POV and assumptions. These forums are free to access with anyone who is able to sign up for an account and follows the rules. There are no technical exams or licensure exam requirements to get into these forums, and any development project who knows what they are doing follow their own processes to hold memberships like on GitHub projects. There's a reason why we "filthy casuals" are in this forum and not a member of whatever private project is out there. Also, it is more appropriate to assume that when you go into a forum like this, you are an average person with an average level of knowledge and skill (reading and writing comprehension is the most basic). You join a forum to "learn" something that you couldn't find properly even after doing a Google Search, because people who actually have experience and skill might be more capable of teaching you. If people couldn't ask to learn something they do not know in these forums, these wouldn't be called "forums". If these forums could only be joined by being an "expert" instead of the average person, regardless if this is an MMO Development forum, it would be one f*cked up forum where said "experts" only come and assemble to one-up each other. Or a strict private membership-only one. How is one supposed to become an "expert" if one wasn't to start from nothing?
And one last thing, I can feel from your post that you have some kept feelings about the people of these forums. Something probably along the lines of "We program/develop these servers without getting paid or getting recognition for it, but these f*cks just download it for free, use it, then complain if they can't make it work because they know jack sh*t. People who don't work for it shouldn't have any of it at all." And I can tell you have some sort of emotional investment on all of this topic, especially since you mention "Causing the state of MMOEXTRA". But let me tell you something I've learned as a lurker since I first registered here in the forums, and from many other forums I've been to as well, in various languages even. Every forum that delves in developing private/emulated servers of popular games are pretty much like this. You have people just wanting to try out stuff, people wanting to just play, people who actually want to contribute, people who are truly interested in making stuff from scratch, people who just want to throw money at something they want, people who want to be famous for making something, and people who want to make money from said project.
To put it simply, it's different strokes for different folks. Based on what I've seen and read in these forums the whole time I've been a member here, that is just the way these forums go. In fact, it is even going towards the direction of people actually making progress, but wanting to monetize that progress, so there are far few public releases nowadays. People like me who aren't savvy can download public releases, try them out, say what works and doesn't, ask for help, but we will never be able to touch those paid for items as they are exactly intended to work that way. That is just how this entire thing works for all of us. If you don't want others touching your prized "development" you will save yourself more grief by keeping it private if you feel so entitled to do so to make yourself feel better. And it is exactly your right and freedom to do so. Unfortunately this time, you are talking to somebody who is on a public release thread who is only asking how to make something work in a way you have some personal bias against. Just so you know, this isn't a private-experts-only-membership MMO Development Forums. You are presently in:
[h=1]MMORPG Extra[/h] Find, release and get help for non listed MMORPG games here.
--And inside the:
[h=1]MMORPG Extra Releases[/h] Share your MMO releases for non listed games here.
It is okay to ask for help here. That is how the rules work. Now please excuse me. I have posted long enough, and will no longer go off-topic here out of respect for the thread. Thank you for the time and the help. Good luck.