pretty much what @Ikaru said. this topic can be helpful to the newer people that would like to know when e17 will be out, considering its explicitly stated here that it isnt yet, but its not meant as a message for the newbies. its moreso meant to change the mentality of the veteran members.
@Zarc I see what you meant with 'first post gotta be introducing yourself', I really do. point of the matter is that not everyone is interested in becoming a solid member of this community. they may have just heard about the game, and want to try it for themselves. in the meantime, a lot of people are mentioning this strange new thing known as 'episode 17'. maybe they will look it up a bit. some topics arise, but most of them are either pretty old or dont give a definite answer. so even if the newbie did their research, they may still be stuck with a good amount of questions, the most notable being 'when is e17 going to be out?', considering they 1. want to play the game real badly, 2. want to play the latest version of the game and 3. arent 100% sure whether or not the so-called e17 is already out now or not.
also, keep in mind that for people like you, who come on this forum every day, navigating is a breeze. you find everything you would ever want to find, because youre used to the layout, the structure and whatnot. people that just came on here may have never dealt with a forum like this before. they have literally not the slightest clue where to look for what, because theres so much info everywhere and its honestly really overwhelming. and please dont try to tell me that its easy to navigate this place, because even I had trouble to do so after the most recent site update, and that was after knowing this forum for a solid two years and a half. anyway, until they figure out how exactly this forum operates, they settle for the easiest way to find out whether e17 has been released yet- asking the veteran members.
its not my intention to go around and steal the fun of you guys, 'specially since im barely around myself anymore, but I do agree with ame that potential new members might get pushed away by this. its not because theyre initially uninterested to join the community that they will continue to be.
also again @Zarc double ping whoopsie doodles but id assume ikaru meant this post when he mentioned 'this post details etc etc', rather than literally this topic. or at least something that looks alike to it, cuz I have absolutely no clue where to find the best post that describes what stage e17 is at rn.
edit: ikaru2fast