Course Corrections

[Cupcake]

So if you see another player doing something - well, not WRONG, but maybe not so right? Do you offer corrections? Do you go through staff?

For example:

• A player uses past tense in poses, when the general consensus is present tense. Do you say something?
• A player ICly says something or poses an unthemely reaction. Do you say something?

What's the best way to approach this kind of thing without coming off like a dick? Or is the not-dickish thing to do is try to ignore it?

[Ganymede]

@Cupcake said in Course Corrections:

So if you see another player doing something - well, not WRONG, but maybe not so right? Do you offer corrections? Do you go through staff?

For example:

• A player uses past tense in poses, when the general consensus is present tense. Do you say something?
• A player ICly says something or poses a an unthemely reaction. Do you say something?

What's the best way to approach this kind of thing without coming off like a dick? Or is the not-dickish thing to do is try to ignore it?

Style is personal. I refrain from commenting on style, else I might as well start commenting on spelling.

Unthematic IC reactions may be made from ignorance. What anyone considers an "unthemely reaction" may be based solely on personal interpretation. Again, if it's an issue of personal interpretation or style, I would refrain from correction. If there is an egregious breach, however, I would bring that up, i.e. a Silver Fang Garou falling in love with a Shadow Lord Metis (which is, for the most part, pretty unthematic too).

[Cupcake]

@Ganymede said in Course Corrections:

a Silver Fang Garou falling in love with a Shadow Lord Metis

Gross, Gany. So Gross.

[Ghost]

@Ganymede Agreed. "Unthemely" is sometimes in the eye of the beholder, but there are some times where unthemely is unthemely.

• Spock uses his lightsaber to attack a Dalek.
• Battlestar Viper pilot plays with Legos (which won't be invented for 30,000+ years)

Best you can do is either comment to staff as a side note and see if the staff wants to nudge the player. You could nudge the player yourself, though even if you do so politely, you run the risk of being treated like you're calling WRONG FUN.

The Viper pilot/Lego situation was a real situation, and when I mentioned that current pop culture references weren't in theme (I approached this delicately, politely), she told me that understanding the show wasn't required, that she'd never seen the show, doesn't want to, and to stop talking to her. Weeeeelp.

Whatever. Push comes to shove you can just choose to role-play around the players who have no interest of theme or of learning the theme enough to be accommodating to other players.

[Roz]

@Cupcake said in Course Corrections:

So if you see another player doing something - well, not WRONG, but maybe not so right? Do you offer corrections? Do you go through staff?

For example:

• A player uses past tense in poses, when the general consensus is present tense. Do you say something?

I generally grit my teeth and bear it. I mean, they must notice that everyone else around them is using present tense, so they must just -- be committed.

• A player ICly says something or poses a an unthemely reaction. Do you say something?

I've said stuff for this one, yeah. I generally bring stuff up as a sort of "Oh hey, you might not realize that theme actually says X about this. Just a heads up!" kind of thing. Because, like @Ganymede said, a lot of the time it can come from ignorance.

[Ganymede]

@Ghost said in Course Corrections:

The Viper pilot/Lego situation was a real situation, and when I mentioned that current pop culture references weren't in theme (I approached this delicately, politely), she told me that understanding the show wasn't required, that she'd never seen the show, doesn't want to, and to stop talking to her. Weeeeelp.

I'd've reported her to staff.

It's one thing to not know the theme. It's another to be willfully ignorant and unwilling to change that status because, fuck it, you want to play with Legos on a war-themed game.

[Roz]

@Ganymede said in Course Corrections:

@Ghost said in Course Corrections:

The Viper pilot/Lego situation was a real situation, and when I mentioned that current pop culture references weren't in theme (I approached this delicately, politely), she told me that understanding the show wasn't required, that she'd never seen the show, doesn't want to, and to stop talking to her. Weeeeelp.

I'd've reported her to staff.

It's one thing to not know the theme. It's another to be willfully ignorant and unwilling to change that status because, fuck it, you want to play with Legos on a war-themed game.

Yeah. No policy of "you don't need to watch the show to play this game" also includes "and you don't have to listen to any nudges or corrections about theme!" because that would be stupid.

Also, like, just make up plastic block toys that aren't called Legos?

[ZekeTheG33k]

@Roz Maybe they used the term Legos to describe the toy. It's like using Kleenex to describe a tissue. It's a brand, yes, but it's also an instantly recognizable association.

[Roz]

@Seamus Yeah, totally, which is why it would be dumb -- if this were what happened -- to argue that you should be able to have specifically Lego brand building blocks when you're playing in a theme that could easily have the toys without the brand.

[Cupcake]

@Roz said in Course Corrections:

Also, like, just make up plastic block toys that aren't called Legos?

Which I think is a completely reasonable way to approach it, but yeah, 'brand names' wouldn't be a thing.

There was similar frustration when The Drift was up and running, with folks (one of whom I'm certain was Leggo Chick) not just having not seen the film but actively refusing to do so, wanting to play Jaeger pilots. It's not even being asked to watch the entire series of BSG for theme relevance, it's 90 minutes of a movie. And an actually good one, at that!

[saosmash]

I find it totally immersion breaking when people do certain types of stupid wrongfun but I do tend to generally grit my teeth and bear it unless it is actively impacting my RP (for example, when people do dumb homophobic and/or sexist shit on Arx).

[ZekeTheG33k]

@Roz said in Course Corrections:

@Seamus Yeah, totally, which is why it would be dumb -- if this were what happened -- to argue that you should be able to have specifically Lego brand building blocks when you're playing in a theme that could easily have the toys without the brand.

Well no, that's just fucktardiness. I mean it is one thing to say. i'm playing with some legos, and a whole other to say I'm playing with actual Legos. Using the brand as a descriptive, totally ok with.

[Ganymede]

@Seamus said in Course Corrections:

Well no, that's just fucktardiness. I mean it is one thing to say. i'm playing with some legos, and a whole other to say I'm playing with actual Legos. Using the brand as a descriptive, totally ok with.

It's also a whole other thing to say: I don't need to learn about the theme because I wasn't told I have to, so don't tell me how to play, even if what I'm doing and saying is making absolutely zero sense in context.

[ZekeTheG33k]

@Ganymede So... what's the PK Stance of the game?

[Ganymede]

@Seamus said in Course Corrections:

So... what's the PK Stance of the game?

Which one?

[ZekeTheG33k]

@Ganymede The one where the offender is present? If it is an option, maybe that might be the best thing for her and the game.

[Ganymede]

@Seamus said in Course Corrections:

The one where the offender is present? If it is an option, maybe that might be the best thing for her and the game.

My responses were to @Ghost's comments, and it appears that it was a past experience on a Battlestar Galactica game.

[Arkandel]

@Cupcake said in Course Corrections:

So if you see another player doing something - well, not WRONG, but maybe not so right? Do you offer corrections? Do you go through staff?

• A player uses past tense in poses, when the general consensus is present tense. Do you say something?

Going through staff for this is a massive overreaction. They're not doing anything against the rules or immoral, it's just a slightly different style of writing. If it bothers you simply don't play with them.

• A player ICly says something or poses an unthemely reaction. Do you say something?

How unthemely are we talking about? An actual example to set the frame of reference is needed, since this is one of those things that can go on a scale from 1 to 10.

What's the best way to approach this kind of thing without coming off like a dick? Or is the not-dickish thing to do is try to ignore it?

Well, that depends on the circumstances. If it's someone you feel kinda comfortable around you can approach the issue in a roundabout way ("I rarely meet people who pose in the present tense, that sounds weird to me!") sort of passing it as a joke-but-not-really, for instance. Or you could scrap it as a case of playing styles being incompatible and just avoiding them in the future if it irks you too much.

But again if the 'unthemely' parts are particularly aggravating then you might need to escalate the reaction, depending on what they are.

[Rook]

Agree with @Arkandel - someone posing purely past tense when everyone else is using present tense is someone being either precocious or outright snotty. I've paged people in the past pointing it out, and after a few more poses, simply ignore them.

RP that doesn't mesh in a scene is something that is disruptive. Disruptive players are best dealt with (by other players) by ignoring them and their impact, after explaining OOCly what they are doing to be disruptive.

[ThatGuyThere]

@Roz said in Course Corrections:

Also, like, just make up plastic block toys that aren't called Legos?

But why not then call them Legos? Yes i know they would not be called such in character but if that is the simplest way to communicate what they are why not? I am sure I am in the minority but if I read plastic block toys I would think something closer to Lincoln Logs or just the blacks with letters and nubers on them a la pre school before i thought Legos so while the name night be out of theme I would rather have the clear communication of what is happening then worry about the use of a brand name, unless they also want to police all such things like say Aspirin (also a brand name though one that has lost trademark protection) instead of whatever the hell drug would be to proper name for Aspirin.