Again, thank you for asking before you flame.
I have seen very little of the code, usually only when Rich can't spot
a bug I'm complaining about, so he shows me a page and says, "hey find
it". This has happened twice so far (riding speed bug, missile weapons
in fog bug). I don't think I've ever learned anything significant that
way. For example, the movement "feature" was spotted by one of my
allies, not by me, because a noble given a horse did not ride on it.
I'm not involved with game management, either. I have submitted design
suggestions, and a fair fraction were adopted. That's my only weird
involvement. There are other players whose design advice has been
used. Most are now retired from Oly.
I don't think I have Rich's ear, except that he worries a bit more if
I say, "Hey, this bug makes the game suck!" The reason I get that
attention is because I only say that when I mean it, and I have
a history of being right.
-- greg