Discovery, on the other hand, continues to engage me.
Has the crew stopped taking stupid pills yet? I completely checked out when the first officer tried to take on the waterbear with a knife.
I mean, the stupid pills are kind of a Trek staple. 
'THIS PLANET IS SUPER DANGEROUS SO I, THE CAPTAIN, WILL GO!'
@Pyrephox said in Engaging the Whole Scene:
Smaller scenes are, I think, very important when it comes to really engaging everyone. Even the best GM and players can struggle with giving everyone something meaningful when there are 10 PCs, and several of them overlap specialties.
The only place I'll run scenes with more than 6 people are FS3 combat. And I make it clear from the outset that it's a combat scene. Because the combat code helps give people those shining moments. Maybe they treat someone mid-fight, maybe they throw the grenade that turns the tide...
But that's exception to the rule. Smaller groups means being better able to focus on everyone.
@rnmissionrun said in Good TV:
Discovery, on the other hand, continues to engage me.
Has the crew stopped taking stupid pills yet? I completely checked out when the first officer tried to take on the waterbear with a knife.
I mean, the stupid pills are kind of a Trek staple.
lol!
You made me spray Red Bull all over my Chromebook >.<
@AeriaNyx said in Engaging the Whole Scene:
and it can end up meandering if I am not careful,
This is a different issue, but it's one that I think is vital for people wanting to ST to learn.
Start in media res for example. Spending an hour or two just posing preparation! planning! walking to the place! is tedious and largely unfun. I'm sure there's people who enjoy it, but in my experience: most people mentally check out if it drags on. Put players into the thick of things ("After a day's travel, the PCs find themselves...") and if any rolls are needed to decide how things in that day go, have people roll them beforehand and fold the results into the set.
But where this has overlap is in that 'taking the reins' concept. If people are kicking their heels in one spot too long, force them to continue on. Tell them they get one more round of poses/actions before moving on.
@sunny said in RL things I love:
@auspice I am sincerely glad to hear that. Congratulations! I'm happy for you!
Thank you! I'm sure it won't be a massive raise, but if it gets me back to where I was before my old project cut me hours, I'll be doing just fine. 
@Derp said in Engaging the Whole Scene:
Even in systems without init orders, though, pose orders are a thing. I don't think I've ever played on a game without one,. If there is NOT an order of some kind -- then the ST should probably enforce one anyway, for the sake of sanity.
But we come around again to 'whoever can type fastest, wins.' I enforce a 3PR pose order outside of initiative. Because it means everyone has a chance as opposed to Mike Speedyfingers tossing out a 2 line entrance pose to secure his spot as 'first' so that every round, he's still 'first.'
3PR means, a) there's a slowdown in effect (the 3 poses between), and b) other people will have a chance to step up and pose things.
There's no perfect method and it does come back to the ST, but that's why I'm asking here: what methods do people use to organically encourage people to share? How do you ensure everyone is involved?
If you're relying on a set, strict pose order, how do you make sure the people who are last in the order get to remain involved and not feel steamrolled every round?
@zobi said in RL things I love:
@auspice I wanted a Midori, but then I decided I wanted to be able to have even more control over my TN. I'm still narrowing down some covers on Etsy, but I might get more than one because of moods, but money is a factor as some of them are soooooo expensive. And I keep changing my mind about how I want to handle inserts and what other bells and whistles and frills I need. Ugh, damn you options.
I want to start hand binding books and making things myself, but again, money and time. ;-;
I've done a bit of hand-binding, but it's so hard to actually use the thing afterward. >.>
I do love my MTN. And Clairefontaine makes a notebook (https://www.jetpens.com/Clairefontaine-Basics-Life-Unplugged-Staplebound-Notebooks-Duo-5.75-x-8.25-Red-Green/pd/15156) that fits perfectly. The paper they use is lovely for fountain pens.
@Derp said in Firefly - Still Flyin':
I mean, realistically this has been an unspoken policy on every game, thus far. We all know that staff can do this, and we know that staff have done this. Yet we still keep playing.
This wouldn't give me pause. I say kudos to them for being willing to put it on the table in the first place and talk about what steps they are willing to take in a transparent way.
Yes, but. There's no marker on what they will sit in on your scenes for or which scenes.
This goes back to the 'Yes Staff can do this, but I play on games where I can trust that Staff won't lurk in Dark on all my RP.'
If they're outright saying 'yeah we might sit and watch your private scenes whenever we feel like' - that's their prerogative, but it also means I won't be playing there. I've been on a game where ALL RP echoed to Staff and the Staff channel often devolved into making fun of players. I don't wanna be the player being made fun of because someone thought my TS was mock-worthy.
More potential good news jobwise...
I'm still applying out to places because my job will, even once this promotion goes in, never pay me what I'm worth. Remotely. And it's always good to try to improve one's place, right?
Anyhow. Call today on a resume I'd sent out.
Lady: "This is a difficult question, but we want to make sure we aren't wasting your time and that this would be an acceptable step up. How much do you currently make?'
What I heard was 'How much do you want to make?'
So the number I gave was... not wildly higher than what I am making (I've been conservative, but in line with regional averages), but still a fair chunk higher.
Lady: "Okay! Good, this is definitely over that."
WELL THEN. HIRE ME NOW PLZ.
@Seamus said in Firefly - Still Flyin':
@Auspice said in Firefly - Still Flyin':
@Derp said in Firefly - Still Flyin':
I mean, realistically this has been an unspoken policy on every game, thus far. We all know that staff can do this, and we know that staff have done this. Yet we still keep playing.
This wouldn't give me pause. I say kudos to them for being willing to put it on the table in the first place and talk about what steps they are willing to take in a transparent way.Yes, but. There's no marker on what they will sit in on your scenes for or which scenes.
This goes back to the 'Yes Staff can do this, but I play on games where I can trust that Staff won't lurk in Dark on all my RP.'
If they're outright saying 'yeah we might sit and watch your private scenes whenever we feel like' - that's their prerogative, but it also means I won't be playing there. I've been on a game where ALL RP echoed to Staff and the Staff channel often devolved into making fun of players. I don't wanna be the player being made fun of because someone thought my TS was mock-worthy.
I make fun of you all the time though.
Yes, but to my face.
That's sort of what I'm getting at. Yes, they're being honest that they'll spy on RP... But what's the limit there?
Mockery in private (oof, RPing and fearing the whole time that I'm being snickered about by Staff)?
Lurking in scenes because someone they like/are possessive of/jealous of is RPing in private with someone else?
It's easy to fabricate a complaint. I'd feel more comfortable if, at the least, there was a line of 'You can request details of any complaint filed about you, but we reserve the right to withhold names' or similar.
@roz said in RL things I love:
@auspice FOR THE RECORD, what you currently make is not the business of anyone but you and your employer. What you're looking to make is already the acceptable answer for that.
(I'm glad your mishearing worked out in your favor.)
Oh yeah. If I'd heard clearly I would've just gone 'I'm looking to make at least...'
But in this case I thought that's what she was asking to begin with!
I am totally fine answering what I want to make. Not so much what I do make.
@Browncoat It does make sense and thank you.
I think some form of clarification would be helpful. As I'd said, there's no indication of at what point you would take that step. And if it'd happen over a single offense or similar: that's worrying.
I guess my follow-up question is: are you using a system to track/log complaints? That way if, say, Janet is concerned a Staffer is lurking in her scenes for selfish reasons, she can go to Other Staffer and inquire about it and they would be able to follow up and verify that it's for a valid reason. Not 'Well, he's observing because he says he received three complaints this week'
I'm not saying y'all will/would do that, but I know I'm not the only one here who has had a Staffer act against them for personal reasons and it'd be nice to know the oversight is in place just in case.
even if it isn't the most stellar writing?
Or acting.
Or plotlines that aren't painfully predictable.
Or...
I don't hate Orville, but I don't get why it's so popular.
@Derp said in Firefly - Still Flyin':
I don't try, any more, to document every possible violation in some sort of legal codex because it's more trouble than it's worth and just invites people to try and lawyer.
The reason I recommend documenting is you don't want a situation where you warn J against a certain behavior, say if it happens again they're out... then have another Staffer come along, witness the behavior, and give a slap on the wrist. Because that can lead a player to think Staff isn't serious about warnings.
Does it need to be super detailed? Nah. But just a note to the rest of staff in an area future staffers can access (like a jobs board, a gdoc, w/e) of 'J has been warned not to creep-page. Ban on future offense.'
It protects, IMO, Staff AND players. Now, if you're gonna run a game solo forever? nbd. If you run it with someone (like I do with Paradox on SGM) that you trust and talk to regularly and have no plans to add extra staff? Again, nbd. But if you have it in your game that you might add more staff someday? It might be a good idea to plan for.
Additionally, because I feel like people are painting me as some naysayer trying to paint these guys as terrible: in one of my initial posts I pointed out that the concern was due to vague language and that it left the door open to some issues on all ends. Even you, Derp, are saying that you 'try to be clear about explicitly' what you're shooting for. That was all I was getting at and why I had a big concern over a very vague (in their initial policy writeup) 'we'll monitor RP on complaints.' Something more specific (I think a prev post by the staff said they won't monitor/observe TS for example) would assuage a lot of concerns on many peoples' parts.
@auspice I think it's the tone. People need a scifi show that isn't depressing AF.
But dark and gritty and SUFFERING make the best scifi. 
I mean, Discovery isn't even on the level of what pleases my soul.
@Tyche said in Learning Ruby for Ares:
@HelloProject This is deliciously fun
The guys I game with (who are developers) are loving this.
Well, one spoke up and went 'Oh hey! It's the book I learned Ruby from.'
@Kestrel said in Well, this sums up why I RP:
Good Omens was written by two very talented authors and is largely from the perspective of two very enjoyable characters. I don't know how exactly they sat down and wrote it together, if they took turns giving each character a voice or what, but the finished project, which was collaborative, is spectacular and fun, and definitely feels like it contains elements of each author's usual flair and style.
I once worked with a guy who is a good friend of Gaiman's. Coraline was written, largely, at this guy's house. Gaiman mentioned him a few times on his blog back before he switched primarily to Twitter.
Aaaaaaaanwyay. Good Omens was one of the only times, from what I gathered, those two got to actually sit down and collaborate on something. They were very good friends, but their lives kept them from seeing one another very often. This guy told me a story once about a con (back in the days when nerdy conventions were still a very niche thing and authors didn't always have 'handlers' and very strict schedules and...) where he found out both of them were there. He said he grabbed Pratchett and led him over to Gaiman and just... sat back.
He told me seeing those two together was one of the most inspiring, enjoyable things for him.
