delirium
Clueless newb
grumpy cat
Posts: 90
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Post by delirium on Mar 29, 2023 10:53:08 GMT -5
I sympathize with Baron, but ultimately I do feel like the frustration is a little misguided. after some thought i do see where Baron is coming from. It just frustrated me to read because I was a very by the books, reclusive player that did NOT ooc communicate but felt legitimately harassed by staff attention, to the point where staff would reach out to ME over discord and tell me shit and I'd be like, I'd rather not know, and explicitly tell them not to tell me, and would not take it IC but it frustrated me to have to remember what I did and didn't know... ..or if it was past stuff chatter, just be polite to them... I can see how that would be construed as favoritism. Except it was the opposite side of the shitty coin. It sucks to not get staff acknowledgement, and I should be understanding of that... and I do, really, I get that feeling ignored feels fucking awful, and I should've been more empathetic about that from the start. I was coming from a place of supreme frustration with the opposite side of the coin. From my viewpoint, it sucked to be steamrolled and practically stalked by staff, too, when I would go actively out of my way to NOT need them, they would force their way in. I hear the same story from a lot of female PCs over the last month or so and it seems like if you are a) AFAB, b) a decent RPer, c) good at involving others, d) less important, but a factor: good at staying alive, then staff will literally give you NO CHOICE. And yes, 6 hours of staff attention (as in the example of Ender's nilazification) seems cool until you realize that Ender neither wanted or asked for that much attention-- he just expected maybe an hour, two hours, as a result of "oh weird I wonder if this does what I think it does" and had other PCs with him that had the option of being involved, but they ended up noping out, so he ended up being essentially held hostage by a really punishing, draining, depressing scene for SIX HOURS... did they ask if maybe he wanted to log out before 3a on a worknight? It was either OOC that he had to go or roll with it so the scene could play out, but, knowing that if he did that, the scene would not resume and probably no "background stuff" would be worked out so it wasn't a total wash... so he ended up sticking through with it. So yeah... it sucks not to get staff attention. But also TBH... it sucked to get staff attention as well. So that's what I meant by it being misplaced to be angry at your fellow players for what was ultimately the behavior of staff. I don't know how chatty Ender was or wasn't OOC but I never observed any metagaming, and we'd go out of our way to play in separate areas when we started living together (but then sometimes staff would paint me/us in a corner where we were FORCED to interact, like with my last character, which ended up being his PC's right hand man, so we had to like, sit at an angle so we couldn't see each other's laptops, it was hilarious). Anyway. Rambling story short, I do empathize with your frustration. I just think you're assuming the worst of players, and while I have no doubt that some of them said fuck it and used/abused the hell out of the privilege of staff attention, it is really not fair to paint all successful/vet players with the same brush. As someone said, a lot of us were successful in spite of staff, not because of them, and would have roadblock after roadblock thrown in our way like they were playing the Sims and they wanted to see if we managed to survive being trapped in a kitchen with a flaming oven and no doors. tl;dr, sorry for snapping at you Baron, you're not wrong to be frustrated, I just wish you could see our viewpoint a bit better too.
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Post by terminal on Mar 29, 2023 11:30:02 GMT -5
I just think you're assuming the worst of players, and while I have no doubt that some of them said fuck it and used/abused the hell out of the privilege of staff attention, it is really not fair to paint all successful/vet players with the same brush. As someone said, a lot of us were successful in spite of staff, not because of them, and would have roadblock after roadblock thrown in our way like they were playing the Sims and they wanted to see if we managed to survive being trapped in a kitchen with a flaming oven and no doors. out of all the opinions and experiences that get thrown around about arm, being “successful in spite of staff” is what i identify with the most. it’s been my expectation (especially in recent years) that it i want interesting shit to happen, i have to do it myself. the moment i have to begin submitting requests i’m almost certainly fucked because it presents the opportunity for someone who hasn’t been paying attention to suddenly say no. the real vet advantage is knowing you can just do whatever the fuck you feel like as long as you don’t ask for permission.
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Post by Azerbanjani on Mar 29, 2023 11:56:23 GMT -5
"i have to do it myself. the moment i have to begin submitting requests i’m almost certainly fucked because it presents the opportunity for someone who hasn’t been paying attention to suddenly say no."
That's why every character I played in Arm after a certain point was strictly something I could do without staff, which gets ab it old/
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Post by blahblahblah on Mar 29, 2023 15:33:19 GMT -5
I feel and understand you on your points, Delirium.
I remember Hasan's final death scene from years ago. My character literally had no idea what was going on, but it was pretty big and pretty... final. To hear that the character was somehow reused is odd, to say the least. I've heard before that if someone is being abusive toward someone else, they will sometimes try to publically use/wreck something that person likes in order to get an emotional response. Someone else on another forum said that it's best to ignore those displays, as its a way to draw someone back in when they've clearly walked away and established boundaries. Sometimes I wonder what's become of my character's legacy, but if someone were to tell me that it was all reduced to rubble, I'd shrug, call the people that did it vindictive and petty, and then move on. Because it's not worth the emotional bandwidth.
I can probably say, that I could have been considered a "staff pet" by a lot of people's definition. I was the merchant that was stayed an execution when RRR wanted to kill my character, and a red robe droppe dout of the sky to stop it. I was FULLY ready to say goodbye to the character at that moment, and adrenaline was zinging through me. I saw how upset and disappointed the player was when they got embarassed IG, and felt really bad about that (though I was also glad my character didn't bite it). I don't know if the player cares, but mine never forgot that templar, and always quoted their "prayer" that they said over him all the days of his life. They, and everyone else that initiated those actions, tried hard to give my character a decent and memorable ending. I never really got into OOC circles that discussed the game, so I have no idea all of the behind the scenes on that, though I was told that the whole thing had nothing to do with my character at all.
I'm going to ceneter my comments on my experiences because it's how I relate. Please pardon that, as I am not trying to make this about ME, or even being defensive. Just giving my own context.
Arm was so new and sparkly to me. The idea that you could accomplish anything or fail really hard was at the front of my mind. Timotheo Fale told my character that he could be like one of the templar statues in the circle, and I took that shit to heart. I diligently filed long reports, week after week, I asked for karma as SOON as I hit the longevity mark, and petitioned for more when I hit other goals that were outlined in documentation. I didn't understand why everyone else didn't have karma when all you seemingly had to do was ask when you hit your marks. I now get why that's not the case for everyone.
Every. Single. Major achievement my character had, I had to struggle for. Making the statue in front of the Fale estate caused me so much IC grief. Constructing a wagon took me over a year and so many hoops and pitfalls. The Merchant House storyline that seemed to end on, "everyone pile on this guy" was teeth-grindingly frustrating, and made me wonder if some other players were legit mental. Making the firepit in Kadius' yard was because of my offer to sacrifice 3 of my mastercraft slots, AND get the whole compound to help build it - and in the end, nobody's personal mark (which was part of the build and storyline) was actually put on the structure. I felt so bad about that last one, because it gave off the impression that my character was center stage to the build when I wanted EVERYONE to have something nice come of it in a way they could look back on. The flower my character cultivated, and eventually grew, was a huge character arc of work -- to the point that he had a positive relationship with the land by the time he was done. I didn't even think anyone that wasn't a mage could GET that.
Don't get me started on my re-write of all the Kadian beverages, and not being allowed to take credit. OR the fact that the staff actively tried to downplay player efforts to create and make Bloodball a thing, then attempted to take credit for it. To the point they basically sabatoged the clan's efforts to host and profit off of it. I remember the post where they mentioned a Templar sponsoring it all with a tiny (and Kadius had something to do with it) thrown in. As if we were supposed to be so grateful to be mentioned at all.
Others would look at all the success and think I was being babied, coddled... I agree with it. I think I was. I also had to fight tooth and nail in game to get what I wanted. I admit to being resentful of other characters when it looked as if they got things easier than I was, for all the work I was putting in. I pleaded for an NPC escort, and an Agent promotion, and listed everything I had accomplished, and was told not only no, but I'd have less if that particular staffer had anything to say about it. Only to see almost fresh out of chargen character in Kurac be promoted to Agent and get those same NPC guards I had been wanting/needing forever. I was told by a staffer that I had to write detailed sales lists in my reports - only to be told by another Storyteller, LOL you don't have to do that near hour of compling sales every week. And I'd look at other characters claiming that they had hit million sid sales quotas and be rewarded for it, while asking myself, how do you KNOW that for a fact? I have literal papertrails proving MY claims and accomplishments.
When the Storytellers saw my over 80k bank account, it seemed like it was a new goal to drain it as quickly as possible for the lulz of it. Refusing my character aid from the house, demanding that I pay 50k worth of fines to Kurac for things not my fault, telling me in my reports that I had to fix other character's fuck ups, take away my character's abilities to promote people, and then ultimately.. as I later discovered, trash me in the request tool and say that my character was useless and not worth a damn. Then, when I asked to just store, the chilling proposal that my character marry into a house that despised him (recalling Lady Kit's fate), and flat out refusing to heed the fact that the character was gay with the sentiment of "You'll get what you get". It made my skin crawl, and felt very... rapey. So of course, I said no while still trying to be polite about it.
Staff seemed to like throwing wrenches in people's plans just for the fun of it. If things were going too smoothly, here's a literal meteor to deal with - never regarding how fatigued a player might be from all they'd had to overcome before. Some of the staff seemed to understand that players need rewards to balance out strife. I started looking forward to October because the rollover of the clan's bank account meant that we could get nice things if we had done well during the fiscal year... which ALSO made me think that this game is run like a literal office, and they ran it like middle management.
I have negative feelings toward some other players (possibly undeserved), because of some of the "favoritism" bestowed on them by staff. The shady crap players pull on other players that gets enabled by staff is the disappointing part. Not only enabled, but encouraged. And while some play puppetmaster to make people dance to their tune, they ignored actual voiced needs and issues. The secrecy that is insisted on allows for so much behind the scenes negligence and abuse. Two players can't even discuss any issues that may arise, because that's "cheating". Meanwhile, the admin literally refuses to enforce their own rules of consent or punish people that break the rules. I'm not mad at players that want to get a vibe check on another player so that they can play more easily and harmoniously together. I'm MAD at staff that trivialize issues, sweep aside problems, and then act as if they are being so wronged when people have a problem with it and speak up about it. As if they are being bullied. The fuck?
It was so hard to stay positive in that environment, and I wish everyone got the same level of support and consideration.
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bebop
Clueless newb
Posts: 106
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Post by bebop on Mar 29, 2023 16:36:03 GMT -5
I feel and understand you on your points, Delirium.
I remember Hasan's final death scene from years ago. My character literally had no idea what was going on, but it was pretty big and pretty... final. To hear that the character was somehow reused is odd, to say the least. I've heard before that if someone is being abusive toward someone else, they will sometimes try to publically use/wreck something that person likes in order to get an emotional response. Someone else on another forum said that it's best to ignore those displays, as its a way to draw someone back in when they've clearly walked away and established boundaries. Sometimes I wonder what's become of my character's legacy, but if someone were to tell me that it was all reduced to rubble, I'd shrug, call the people that did it vindictive and petty, and then move on. Because it's not worth the emotional bandwidth.
I can probably say, that I could have been considered a "staff pet" by a lot of people's definition. I was the merchant that was stayed an execution when RRR wanted to kill my character, and a red robe droppe dout of the sky to stop it. I was FULLY ready to say goodbye to the character at that moment, and adrenaline was zinging through me. I saw how upset and disappointed the player was when they got embarassed IG, and felt really bad about that (though I was also glad my character didn't bite it). I don't know if the player cares, but mine never forgot that templar, and always quoted their "prayer" that they said over him all the days of his life. They, and everyone else that initiated those actions, tried hard to give my character a decent and memorable ending. I never really got into OOC circles that discussed the game, so I have no idea all of the behind the scenes on that, though I was told that the whole thing had nothing to do with my character at all.
I'm going to ceneter my comments on my experiences because it's how I relate. Please pardon that, as I am not trying to make this about ME, or even being defensive. Just giving my own context.
Arm was so new and sparkly to me. The idea that you could accomplish anything or fail really hard was at the front of my mind. Timotheo Fale told my character that he could be like one of the templar statues in the circle, and I took that shit to heart. I diligently filed long reports, week after week, I asked for karma as SOON as I hit the longevity mark, and petitioned for more when I hit other goals that were outlined in documentation. I didn't understand why everyone else didn't have karma when all you seemingly had to do was ask when you hit your marks. I now get why that's not the case for everyone.
Every. Single. Major achievement my character had, I had to struggle for. Making the statue in front of the Fale estate caused me so much IC grief. Constructing a wagon took me over a year and so many hoops and pitfalls. The Merchant House storyline that seemed to end on, "everyone pile on this guy" was teeth-grindingly frustrating, and made me wonder if some other players were legit mental. Making the firepit in Kadius' yard was because of my offer to sacrifice 3 of my mastercraft slots, AND get the whole compound to help build it - and in the end, nobody's personal mark (which was part of the build and storyline) was actually put on the structure. I felt so bad about that last one, because it gave off the impression that my character was center stage to the build when I wanted EVERYONE to have something nice come of it in a way they could look back on. The flower my character cultivated, and eventually grew, was a huge character arc of work -- to the point that he had a positive relationship with the land by the time he was done. I didn't even think anyone that wasn't a mage could GET that.
Don't get me started on my re-write of all the Kadian beverages, and not being allowed to take credit. OR the fact that the staff actively tried to downplay player efforts to create and make Bloodball a thing, then attempted to take credit for it. To the point they basically sabatoged the clan's efforts to host and profit off of it. I remember the post where they mentioned a Templar sponsoring it all with a tiny (and Kadius had something to do with it) thrown in. As if we were supposed to be so grateful to be mentioned at all.
Others would look at all the success and think I was being babied, coddled... I agree with it. I think I was. I also had to fight tooth and nail in game to get what I wanted. I admit to being resentful of other characters when it looked as if they got things easier than I was, for all the work I was putting in. I pleaded for an NPC escort, and an Agent promotion, and listed everything I had accomplished, and was told not only no, but I'd have less if that particular staffer had anything to say about it. Only to see almost fresh out of chargen character in Kurac be promoted to Agent and get those same NPC guards I had been wanting/needing forever. I was told by a staffer that I had to write detailed sales lists in my reports - only to be told by another Storyteller, LOL you don't have to do that near hour of compling sales every week. And I'd look at other characters claiming that they had hit million sid sales quotas and be rewarded for it, while asking myself, how do you KNOW that for a fact? I have literal papertrails proving MY claims and accomplishments.
When the Storytellers saw my over 80k bank account, it seemed like it was a new goal to drain it as quickly as possible for the lulz of it. Refusing my character aid from the house, demanding that I pay 50k worth of fines to Kurac for things not my fault, telling me in my reports that I had to fix other character's fuck ups, take away my character's abilities to promote people, and then ultimately.. as I later discovered, trash me in the request tool and say that my character was useless and not worth a damn. Then, when I asked to just store, the chilling proposal that my character marry into a house that despised him (recalling Lady Kit's fate), and flat out refusing to heed the fact that the character was gay with the sentiment of "You'll get what you get". It made my skin crawl, and felt very... rapey. So of course, I said no while still trying to be polite about it.
Staff seemed to like throwing wrenches in people's plans just for the fun of it. If things were going too smoothly, here's a literal meteor to deal with - never regarding how fatigued a player might be from all they'd had to overcome before. Some of the staff seemed to understand that players need rewards to balance out strife. I started looking forward to October because the rollover of the clan's bank account meant that we could get nice things if we had done well during the fiscal year... which ALSO made me think that this game is run like a literal office, and they ran it like middle management.
I have negative feelings toward some other players (possibly undeserved), because of some of the "favoritism" bestowed on them by staff. The shady crap players pull on other players that gets enabled by staff is the disappointing part. Not only enabled, but encouraged. And while some play puppetmaster to make people dance to their tune, they ignored actual voiced needs and issues. The secrecy that is insisted on allows for so much behind the scenes negligence and abuse. Two players can't even discuss any issues that may arise, because that's "cheating". Meanwhile, the admin literally refuses to enforce their own rules of consent or punish people that break the rules. I'm not mad at players that want to get a vibe check on another player so that they can play more easily and harmoniously together. I'm MAD at staff that trivialize issues, sweep aside problems, and then act as if they are being so wronged when people have a problem with it and speak up about it. As if they are being bullied. The fuck?
It was so hard to stay positive in that environment, and I wish everyone got the same level of support and consideration.
I don't know how you are, or who you played as that was right on the cusp of my 5-6 year break before I came back and played Rohatiph Fale. I just wanted to say I appreciate your post and wanted you to know my character became obsessed with your statue and left offerings for it all of the time. At one point even believed she was a decedent of them (though I'm not sure she wasn't just made up by Timotheo.) As for the subject matter, you could also look at me and think why do you keep getting leadership roles. I'd like to think it's because I'm decent at them, have shown I'm not afraid to shake things up, and will play them out. However, what a lot of people don't see, as you say, is a LOT of struggle that really makes the game not very fun and just a general long slog. I endured so much abuse with Ro and later with another noble just because I played her. At first glance, staff attention can seem like a benefit and favoritism but it really isn't always, and a lot of times my stories have gone in a direction I did not want them to go because instead of facilitating my goals and helping me my goals got taken over. The Falecium is one such example. I never wanted it to be a tent. I wanted Fale to have a minor goal or something for the nobles to manage. I wanted them to buy one of the taverns or even the bakery. But I wasn't allowed and was forced to make a pavilion or nothing. I'm glad it's still in use, but it was cut down tremendously, originally had a lot of typos, and wasn't entirely what I envisioned and now it no longer belongs to me and my character was killed off shortly after its creation. Despite getting leadership roles they have ALWAYS gone awry due to staff intervention or lack of support. I was really hoping Altair would be potentially my last major role in the game that would finally (actually) get the support I needed and deserved after almost 20 years and now she's been killed off in a ridiculous manner and I and my spouse are banned from the game. Long story short, staff attention isn't always what it may appear to be at first glance.
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Post by blahblahblah on Mar 29, 2023 16:56:17 GMT -5
I'm glad that the statue was well liked. <3 I know Timotheo was starting a tradition of leaving her offerings, and thought it was amazing how creative that player was and how lofty his goals were. He might very well have invented a lot of "history". He had my character make the large tapestry in the estate depicting a board game and a burning city, as well, saying that it was an ancestor of his. I do miss the shennenegis he would stir up.
You mention Lady Ro, and I keep thinking of the Lady Ro that my character (Maristen) used to hang with. It felt like we were the noble/aide/merchant brat pack with all the shit we got into. Just for that memory, thanks! I feel you so HARD on that tent thing and wanting to make things to help other players. I LOVE the idea of giving nobles something to manage and work toward in a concrete way, that was a goo didea. I was trying to do the same with the, at the time, unused and empty bar in the magic quarter, because I just wanted more magick type folks to hang with while ALSO helping people new to karma have a good start.
The lack of foresight is staggering when it comes to these things, and all the stories I've heard. But yeah. Burn that tavern down, crash that wagon, destroy that monument. Ugh.
EDIT - And to not spam the thread, after reading Ender's post. DAMN. That sucks, dude. Sorry they did all that.
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Post by actuallyender on Mar 29, 2023 16:59:30 GMT -5
I've had a lot of time to think about this since all this went down. My response in the feedback thread on the GDB that started all of this was mostly because I noticed one of the things that has kept me away from the game had still been unaddressed in the feedback. It was honestly pretty low on the list of reasons not to continue playing, but one I felt slipped through the cracks.
The primary I reason I quit was because staff would not listen to me and Delirium after over a year of hostility, rudeness and downright harassment. They chose Shalooonsh over us, so we quit, and honestly I've been much happier since then. It gave me perspective on how unhealthy the game was, as well as how unhealthy it was for me and others I played with. I regret not listening to others sooner, and I feel bad for those who felt left behind and ignored when they tried to call out the bad behavior. I am certain, looking at Baron's posts, that I contributed to that unhealthy environment with my characters, and for that I am sorry and have no excuse for that other than explaining what I was going through at the time.
Specifically what I was calling out was the fact that Armageddon tries to present itself as a collaborative experience when it is not. You are forced to sing and dance for the whims of staff (something I got fairly good at) and when you are done doing that, they own your story and can do whatever they want with it without your input. I was trying to say it SHOULD NOT BE THAT WAY. After I had already quit it was genuinely upsetting to hear what they did to the Mul Outpost after I worked incredibly hard on it, and when I heard that Hasan was part of a plot it was just another "Yep, glad I quit" moment. I do not think Haldol was intentionally trying to upset me, and I do believe he was doing it out of some misguided attempt to relive a story he enjoyed being a part of back then. The problem for me is that staff have impunity to do whatever they want with our stories and at the same time have threatened players with punitive actions for revealing those stories OOCly because they are now their property which is just yet another nail in a coffin that's probably mostly just nails at this point.
As for OOC communication and being a staff pet, I did not communicate with staff outside of requests nor was I given OOC information to give me any sort of advantage. Most of my interactions with staff in game were either unsolicited or almost entirely punitive in terms of game power. Hasan was a special application I put in because I did not have the karma to player a sorcerer. A lot of what he experienced was both me having to work VERY hard to convince staff, and me giving into staff prodding to tell the story they wanted me to tell. I had no real intention of going defiler, but staff were clearly upset that most sorcerers were preservers because of various gameplay elements that makes starting as a defiler basically impossible and makes it very difficult to go defiler once you've progressed as a preserver. So staff kept prodding me and prodding me to go "evil" and they would mock my group as a "cuddle puddle".
Hasan's end was due to basically Nessalin not paying attention and then one day deciding Hasan had to go. The original ending story I had proposed was dismissed out of hand, and all of Ness' ending stories were like "Hasan goes away and tells no one" which I felt was very shitty to all the PCs Hasan had antagonized over the years, so I decided that the Nilazi corruption plotline that had been forced on me was slowly killing Hasan and he was afraid if he died normally he'd become a mindless servant of Nilaz, and he figured the only way to prevent that was to be destroyed utterly by the fires of Tektolnes so he went to Allanak to achieve that. After that Nessalin admitted to me after denying me karma to play another sorcerer that he thought I was communicating OOCly with the players of Hasan's minions and telling them I was storing. I wasn't, but clearly those players were smart enough to figure out I was going away because I told them ICly "I'm dying". And he accused me of "changing the agreed upon story" when at the time it was my staffer Rathustra who was literally animating my OWN PC'S THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS and I had NO CHOICE but to go along with them, but because Nessalin didn't agree with what Rathustra was doing, I was blamed for going along with it. What the fuck was I supposed to do, argue with the invisible sends that were sending thoughts and feelings into my PC's head? Nessalin trusted me so little that during the final scene he removed spells from me and removed all my mana before I went into Allanak to I guess make sure I stuck to whatever script he had in mind (which I was not privy to). I was literally made to be this weird tug of war between Rath and Ness and it was NOT fun.
Hearing about Hasan being animated and played by a staffer (even if it was an NPC pretending to be him) brought up all those memories of staffers literally playing my own character or dictating how my character should act against my own will. That said, I am truly sorry for those who felt ignored or neglected by staff and made to feel a backseat to PCs like Hasan. I do look back at what I did, both intentionally and things I was goaded into doing by staff and cringe at how unfun it must have been for others around me, and for that I do apologize.
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bebop
Clueless newb
Posts: 106
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Post by bebop on Mar 29, 2023 18:24:42 GMT -5
I think in general a lot of the above posts sum up what's going on. The game is a lose/lose situation. You have the choice of avoiding staff by not becoming a character of notice so you don't incur their attention, or you get attention and feel like you're getting to do something with autonomy until ...you don't and all of your work is either taken over or flushed.
Also, staff are causing a lot of damage and hurt to players by not doing right by them and dragging out all of this for weeks and now months. Players are going through the pain of trying to move on only to realize one more thing that made their prior situation shit or one more lie that was hidden behind a veil of secrecy. It's a veil of secrecy and nepotism that staff are willing to kill the game over. Case in point, they'd rather lose almost a dozen long-term, leader players than ban one shitty abuser/cheater because he was staff.
As the days tick by a lot of players are realizing that staff had and have the back of an abuser and not them. They're wondering why he's still part of the community while those aforementioned others were discarded. That person that they sought fit to remove from staff is still permitted as a player, while the people he harassed have been banned or force-stored. Why are staff and mods wondering about how to do right by the abuser slowly over weeks and months, but have no problem acting immediately to ban his victims?
It's just an exhausting, toxic situation that is bringing harm to a lot of people who were already hurt. Forcing abuse victims to parade out and prove their abuse in this society at the expense of their mental health is the standard. Many of us have done this and were (unsurprisingly) retaliated against. This is supposed to be a game, a place of fun and recreation. What it ACTUALLY is, is what it's shown itself to be this past month. A convoluted, lumbering time suck incapable of pacing properly or doing right by its players. This is why I think it should end. It's not a good use of time, energy, or emotional labor for anyone involved. Not for players, and not for staff. I don't like Haldol's post, but I empathize with the fact that he's being sucked into committing to working on this game during his time off.
And for what? This patchwork niche retro game on the internet should not be replacing personal quality time. It should not be causing this much strife. It is a game. A tiny, niche game that operates more slowly than other games thousands of times its size. It has failed to be a fun, recreational, safe space which one assumes is the purpose of a game. And a month later staff are still scratching their head as the numbers plummet about advocating for players that were loyal to them for decades, over a single player that's been constantly accused of abuse, harassment, and even assault.
It's genuinely mind-boggling.
I honestly believe this situation was an opportunity for a windfall. If Shalooonsh had been removed and staff made steps like they just did to keep them accountable and root out other problematic staffers it could have been a healing opportunity. But moving so slowly and trotting out the "well actually's" has just further served to damage my ability to assume good intent. When there are only a dozen or so players on at any given moment it means the odds you'll run into Malifaxis (if he's playing) or another staff avatar is astronomical. That (for me) would be enough to keep me away. But the fact that they've retaliated against the people they hurt is really unfortunate.
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val
staff puppet account
Posts: 28
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Post by val on Mar 29, 2023 18:36:03 GMT -5
You mention Lady Ro, and I keep thinking of the Lady Ro that my character (Maristen) used to hang with. It felt like we were the noble/aide/merchant brat pack with all the shit we got into. Just for that memory, thanks! OMFG Lady Ru was me. It really was the brat pack, so much fun and just a lot of hanging out. The scene where Maristen's guy was going back to the New Borsail Estate that last time was legitimately heartrending, and I still think of it from time to time to channel that emotion into my writing. Ironically (not really) I also stored after getting marriage-screwed. There was a huge bait'n'switch by Bokkr, who was a storyteller back then, where I could marry into House Oash if I chose, but after I agreed, it was all 'no u can't marry ur lover you have to choose a diff dood' among guys that included someone with developmental disabilities, a hunchback, and someone else. We all put our hearts and souls into that damn Senate plot and to get told in an OOC fashion in a report that his player hadn't done enough with the plot was enraging. Anyway it was fun to play with you bud, I hope your life is great. You may all return to your regularly scheduled program regarding Ender and his wife, Mrs. Ender.
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mehtastic
GDB Superstar
Armers Anonymous sponsor
Posts: 1,337
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Post by mehtastic on Mar 29, 2023 18:40:17 GMT -5
There's like a dozen different people on the GDB asking if Shalooonsh is banned and the staff are somehow Mr. Magoo'ing their way around all of them.
I always felt the staff think the players are stupid and inattentive, but Jesus Christ, it was never as obvious how low the staff think of the players as it is today.
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Patuk
Shartist
Posts: 442
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Post by Patuk on Mar 29, 2023 19:07:08 GMT -5
There's like a dozen different people on the GDB asking if Shalooonsh is banned and the staff are somehow Mr. Magoo'ing their way around all of them. I always felt the staff think the players are stupid and inattentive, but Jesus Christ, it was never as obvious how low the staff think of the players as it is today. Check again, lmao
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jkarr
GDB Superstar
Posts: 2,030
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Post by jkarr on Mar 29, 2023 19:08:50 GMT -5
There's like a dozen different people on the GDB asking if Shalooonsh is banned and the staff are somehow Mr. Magoo'ing their way around all of them. not anymore ur wish is their command gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,59229.0.html
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Post by Prime Minister Sinister on Mar 29, 2023 19:10:27 GMT -5
damn ya'll quick
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Post by Barsook on Mar 29, 2023 19:34:05 GMT -5
Didn't we have player moderators before? What happened back then?
I'm worried that things will fall back to their old ways...
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baobob
Clueless newb
Posts: 100
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Post by baobob on Mar 29, 2023 19:50:29 GMT -5
Didn't we have player moderators before? What happened back then? I'm worried that things will fall back to their old ways... We did! Unfortunately, some were banned for opposing the problems now finally revealed. Several post here now.
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