Posts made by Ganymede

@Arkandel said in The ethics of IC romance, TS, etc:

Privacy is a right. It doesn't require justification, but taking it away does.

I disagree.

You have no right to privacy on a MUSH. You have no right to be on a MUSH. The only right to privacy on a MUSH that may exists is a code of conduct which staff informs the players that they shall adhere to. I therefore concur that, generally, staff can spy on RP.

That said, within the hobby I think there is a valid presumption that staff will not spy on RP unless there is good cause for it. Whether that is enshrined in rainbow letters is largely irrelevant. If players discover that staff is spying on RP willy-nilly they will likely report it to someone, and that report will make it to some place public. As a result of the breach of the social agreement, there is a substantially likelihood that a lot of people are going to be pissed off.

I think it is well-advised that staff should probably post some sort of policy regarding privacy, and make it clear that, if there are to be circumstances wherein staff will watch RP, such circumstances are evident and socially acceptable. For example, I think that staff are justified to spying on RP if they have reason to believe there is a violation of game policy.

@Auspice

I think it is a stupid position to take. The first sign of an abusive relationship of any kind is isolation.

@Auspice

Perhaps a jealous RL partner? I’ve heard of that kind of bullshittery.

Frankly, any person that asks me to dump a long term friend for sex is probably not worth the trouble or the sex.

@insomniac7809

I may have misread your post. I thought you meant that the players agreed to play out the link on Discord, and then played it out on game in violation of staff policy. I concur that if the activity occurred off-game, then there would be no need to police it unless the incest happened to make it into play somehow.

@Tinuviel said in Recent banning:

Might I recommend, in cases such as these, that an "Inactive" or "Retired" group is created for these such cases? Seeing "banned" with a bright red background does cause one's mind to wander.

Making us work is, in itself, a bannable offense.

We'll discuss, though.

@insomniac7809 said in The ethics of IC romance, TS, etc:

If two players work out, IDK, an incest kink on Discord in violation of game policy, that falls into 'who knows who cares.'

If some third party brings this to Staff attention... my personal inclination and preference would be for staff and tattletale to mind their damn biznez.

I respectfully dissent.

The integrity of rules is dependent upon consistent enforcement because the only fair and reasonable alternative thereto is complete abandonment. If we presume that staff had an intent when promulgating the rule at issue, then that intent should be respected by players and staff. The punishment may be tempered based on whether the involved parties knew or should have known of the policy (e.g., what if the rule is buried in some random non-germane house rule?) or gained some sort of IC advantage for their players in doing so; however, this does not mean the rule should not be enforced and the violation recognized.

If the rule is truly arbitrary, then it should be stricken, not ignored.

@surreality said in TS - Danger zone:

"Of course I'm typing one-handed. I am a clove-smoking artist cliche. Where else am I supposed to put the damn cigarette?"

In the eye of your lover.

God, you've played on Shang, jeez, you should know this, n00b.

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

The idea that a person being abused isn't worth the energy protecting makes you look utterly reprehensible. Who cares that they broke the rules? If you're going to ignore them, or punish them for reporting it to you, you're tacitly silencing people that need help.

Herein lies the crux of the problem.

Setting up a rule in the first place is to set a boundary of behavior. Violating that rule is a violation, regardless that the consequences of the transgression leaves a player vulnerable to harassment and possibly blackmail. Having a rule that is ignored circumstantially leads to infinite exceptions that eventually erase any efficacy the rule was intended to create.

In the absence of that rule, there is no transgression and therefore no risk of this situation. This weighs in favor of addressing particular behaviors as they arise in a manner that befits the situation. While some may decry the absence of any violation, it simultaneously recognizes the power of staff to address particular problems and the seeming-arbitrariness of decisions arising therefrom.

That said, harassment and abuse is a separate problem that can and should be addressed, regardless.

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

In the vague example I gave, I'd treat it more like... well, prostitution as it is depicted on television. Yes, you're doing wrong. But this big thing you're reporting is way more important to deal with right now.

ETA: I wouldn't want anyone to feel that they would be punished for reporting a serious incident, under almost any circumstances.

In my little area of the world there is an active campaign promoting the public shaming of johns in an effort to stave off prostitution. Perhaps surprisingly I am a strong opponent of this movement.

Anti-prostitution laws do not address the underlying problem. Whereas there are some prostitutes that are actually slaves, by drugs or intimidation, to men, the majority of them are adults who have entered the business to get money. Usually, this is because these adults, for their personal reasons, cannot hold a "regular" job or have no marketable skills. Prostitution isn't the safest of adult professions, but it has a flexible schedule and does not require devoting hours of time, as exotic dancing might.

Shaming the customers will cut off the demand. Cutting off the demand puts financial pressure on the prostitutes, which forces them into riskier situations to make money. That will push them to the pimps, which only allows them to profit more.

Anyhow.

I guess what I'm saying here is that there are unintended consequences to some of staff rules. Stigmatizing TS and other adult situations in games makes it easier for stalkers and abusers to get their way. Being open about what we do in our spare time allows us to make connections, spot the bad people, and ostracize them.

@Ghost said in TS - Danger zone:

It sucks to have to get all staffy, but unfortunately there are ooc pressures and some pretty extreme behaviors that happen surrounding TS that it's important for staff to enforce those sorts of things as policy.

For everyone that would rather not have to get staffy on others, I open my availability. I will gladly and insistently enforce the rules of a game.

It is not unreasonable to expect other people to do the same when asked.

@Ghost said in TS - Danger zone:

Are there any more games left that prohibit TS? Sounds like a bad investment idea on the part of the people who took the time to stand the game up.

I think there are some games with child PCs that have an interest in implementing the policy and enforcing it.

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

I save that for you these days, lover.

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

Talking with you chucklefucks about while typefucking.

FTFY.

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

I'm already in my room, of course. That's where all my stuff is.

The problem is not that he is in his room; it's what he's doing in his room that's the problem.

@Ghost said in TS - Danger zone:

I heard similar about that place. Ive also run into players that don't stick around unless there's TS so I figured that would be likely there.

To be honest, I don't think I've engaged in TS any more than a couple of times with my noblewoman, but I have had some great RP with others. If either of you want to dip a toe in, I can probably help out a bit. The staff there are really great, and a lot of the players can be very engaging.

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

Well sure, but we're not just talking about the characters. Do your attitudes and 'desires' form the foundation for your TS (not just IC sex) or are your attitudes and 'desires' find their form from the game itself?

The latter. It should always be the latter.

Because my attitudes and personal desires are as follows:

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

To expand on this further, does the TS... libido, for lack of a better term, change or just the approach?

Everything.

When Erin did her thing, it was out of a desperate need to feel like part of a family again. Her family had been killed in the initial Cylon attacks. She had a history of engaging in risky, suicidal behavior that was on her service record, but her surviving it was the reason she got into the PC squad. Also, she was a science student and nerd who grew up in an isolated camp on an arctic world. The sex was fast, frantic, not very satisfying, but it filled a void in her.

Clarice is a self-deluded evolved Mouse Beast Changeling who is probably more deadly than anyone realizes. She buries her sorrow and feelings in her. When she was younger, she had a thing with a partner that meant the world to her. Sadly, in her history, that spouse died, living her bitter and singular-focused. Recently, she killed 20+ people just to do what she thought was right. The sex with her is more languid and drawn-out, but her reaction thereafter is one of cold indifference. Hot and cold, that sort of thing.

Cai was a family man out of time who had the unfortunate fate of being made into a Ventrue that couldn't rule anything (a Fisher King). He tried to make his own "families," but each would turn on him in time. Every time he tried to claim something, something went wrong. One sexy-time session resulted in a sink falling on his head, crushing his face. So, the sex is always somewhat tragic: either beautiful with the knowledge that everything will fail later or tragically comical as a reminder that nothing lasts forever, even for an immortal.

Approaches? Varieties? They change with each character I make. They all have their stories. And, of course, those characters are attached strongly to whatever theme and setting is available.

I'm not sure where Salty is going, but chances are that it'll involve booty, swearing, and a great deal of piracy.

@Arkandel said in TS - Danger zone:

How much do your TS habits change based on the MU*'s themes?

Entirely. A WoD game allows for different play than a BSG game, for example.

@Tinuviel said in TS - Danger zone:

@Ghost said in TS - Danger zone:

What is the definition of a SAFE TS partner, and if TS is just creative writing why is safety an important factor?

A person that sees TS in the same light as you do. The fact that we've had several reasonably reliable reports of stalkers, crossing games and crossing into RL, indicates that just because X-person believes that TS is only creative writing, Y-person isn't guaranteed to share the same opinion.

I concur.

@Aria said in RL Anger:

In the case of one married couple, it gave the husband a limit 5-6 times larger than the limit they gave the wife, despite the fact that she had a higher credit score than he did.

Whether a company gives credit is a decision largely based on factors outside from their credit score. Credit scores are mostly pointless evaluations of whether a person will repay their obligations.

If the algorithm is to be evaluated, so be it; however, to say that there is actual discrimination is something which requires more than the squawking of a couple of successful entrepreneurs.

I concur other the decision.