@Miss-Demeanor said:
@Coin said:
I just don't see having inside information or more things to mine for plots as a reason why they shouldn't get XP. It just don't work that way in my head. But hey, if it works, good!
It isn't even completely about the XP. I wouldn't want staff running the -major plots- for the sphere/game from the character bit that they absolutely should -never- attempt to make staff-level decisions from. Separation of church and state, man. Use your character bit for YOU, use your staff bit for the GAME.
Edit: Though I still feel giving a staff storyteller xp for running a plot, the thing that is what they signed on to DO, is jank. If you aren't going to hand out xp to all staff for doing their job, then don't make staff storytellers an exception. They signed on to do something specific, just like every other staffer. Why should they be special in getting xp for doing their job when no other staffer gets the same bonus? Every staffer accepts the responsibility of taking time away from their character(s) to help the game as a whole. Whether by running a sphere, doing jobs, mediating between players, storytelling, whatever. If every other staffer that is taking time away from their character to help the game as a whole isn't getting xp for their character bits, Staff ST's should be no different. Players CHOOSE to run plot. They aren't required to. They never accepted storytelling as one of their responsibilities by joining the game as a player. THAT is why they originally got xp for it. As a way of saying 'thank you for taking time to fill up the space between huge sphere/game plots to keep everyone interested while we cook up the next round of insanity'. Staff ST's accept that as a responsibility, a requirement of their position. Not a choice, not a perk, a -requirement-. That is their sole responsibility as Staff. They can still CHOOSE to run other things from their player bit to get xp. But they are by no means -required to do it-. And if they choose to take that time away from their character? They get xp for it, same as every other player.
Separation of church and state is a bad comparison to make; it's not the same thing thing at all, even a little. But further, I find it dumb to drive storytelling on a game down into bureaucratic "which bit are you running this scene from" nonsense; it's irrelevant. Also, the idea that players "choose" to run plots and storytelling staff don't is bullshit, because no one is forcing anyone to do anything here, and storytelling staff chose to sign up for plot running, and separating these two as if one is different from the other in any sense other than which or what type of plot the person gets to run is pretty silly. Converting a choice into a requirement and changing its meaning just because of when the choice was made doesn't lend credence to your argument.
Honestly, maybe it's just the roleplaying culture I originally come from, and the one I moved on to afterwards that shaped the way I storytell. Before I came to MUs, I played in places where it was perfectly fine to have your character in plots you ran, use them as plot hooks, ways to further the story along, and hell, I played entire families before, posing siblings, parents, etc., some of which were fully fleshed characters in their own right. And everything was copacetic, because there was enough trust that it wasn't an issue. I understand why it's an issue in MUs, but that doesn't change the fact that skewing hard in the opposite direction to the point of saying "staff storytellers can't get xp for staff plots because they're staff and staff is staff" sounds like utter crock to me. And it's what it essentially boils down to. Staff having access to metaplot information doesn't actually give them an advantage, it gives them added responsibilities, and if you take away a reward or incentive when someone takes up added responsibilities, you're doing the opposite of what common sense dictates.
In any case, like I said, there's a values difference here that I'm perfectly happy to accept, because I'm for doing it my way, but not against doing it the way @Sunny wants to, because on her game, she does it her way and that's perfectly fine. But that's not the sensation I'm getting from the other side of this debate. I'm getting a little tired of the topic being treated like doing it any other way is ethically problematic. It's not. At most, it needles at some people's ideas of what's "fair" because they've been knee-deep in abusive staff before and are easily riled about that shit. Not everyone's experiences, desires, and enjoyment of the game are the same, which I think we all know, so why we can't have a discussion keeping that in mind boggles my brain.
you, but telling me you think it's unethical and then saying you're not going to judge people for it is an oxymoron. If you think something someone is doing is unethical, you are judging them as acting unethically. I mean, I get what you meant; but the way you expressed it is entirely contradictory.