Best posts made by Ghost

Unexpected Lita Ford Ass-Whoopin.

@Tinuviel I dont think everything meaningful has to happen on screen, but I do think it should be referenced on screen, so to speak.

Example: You don't need a 3 hour scene of some angry person in charge making angry sounds. You, could, however have a brief mention of a closed door with sounds of a man shouting behind it, and then the PC poses coming out of the door, looking frustrated.

The "in charge" PC or NPC could leave a journal entry if they want to fill it in more: "...I told her that if she pulls that kind of stunt again, I'll take her wings from her. Only...there was a moment while my finger was pointed in her face that I could see in her eyes that she doesnt think I'd go through with it. She may be right. Gods damn me."

With something like that, you set aside the tiring need to do everything in some 3-5 hour long-form scene and side with creativity, and the end result is (IMO) more rewarding.

Edit:

I think logs on a games wiki should be linear to some degree. A player should be able to read the logs and follow story arcs and enjoy the writing other people do. If things are hand-waved but not referenced "on screen", these weird time lapse blackouts will occur that make little sense. One moment a Viper crew is approaching the Basestar. The next everything is on fire. The next they're chatting about some stuff that never got logged. It's somewhat epileptic on a mental television level when that happens.

I just had the derpiest thought today...

Firefighters do not fight fire. They fight inanimate objects which have chosen fire as their preferred weapon.

@Staricide said in Cyberrun:

@Ghost Those ages are the ages of the Idents, not characters. Basically the sleeve if you want to think about it in altered-carbon terms. Profiles are Ident based, so one character could have multiple profiles for the multiple Ident/Sleeves they run around in. Idents/Sleeves absolutely can be under 18, just the character controlling them isn't, which I'm pretty sure is exactly what I said?

Oh so I misunderstood your very clearly stated explanation the first time.

So, it's not that the character is a minor, but that the character is taking the appearance of a minor, and (using the fifteen year old appearing character as an example) specialize in "carnality" and (sic) "any freedom or vice".

That totally doesnt make it pedophilia roleplay and totally doesnt make the person getting off on it a pedo-yes it does.

Let's be real.

It doesnt matter if you bend and twist concepts like "the character is an adult but they exist as minor, so the character then isn't a minor". Clever! The end result is still the same: someone is role-playing an adult getting their kinks off on someone role-playing in the form of a minor. It's still a focused depiction of pedophilia based on sexual interaction. Which makes it potentially illegal if some court deems it doesn't pass the Miller test.

"Oh, I'm sorry your Honor, perhaps you weren't listening the first time. It isn't pedophilia. The CHARACTER is over the age of 18, they're just spending a large percentage of their time in the online environment role-playing as or engaging in sexual situations in the SHELL of someone who isn't a legal adult, thus making it totally okay then to have sex with a minor."

Don't act like this is the same thing as a 20something wearing a schoolgirl outfit or those pornstars who look 16 but are really 19. Dont act like some caveat that their mind needs to be 18 but they can shell into a FUCKING FIFTEEN YEAR OLD BODY to engage in TS makes it something that it's not.

It's still a place that is hosting TS/Kink RP with characters depicted as legal minors. It's questionably legal and it's trash. And if the players who engage in that (banging the minor-appearing characters) happen to be reading this? You are engaging in pedophilia. Pedophiles do that. That's you. You're a pedophile.

@Aria I love Volbeat, too.

It's a shame they ended their leg of their tour with Metallica a few weeks ago, because I'm going to see Metallica and A7X next week

Wait, its not a humblebrag, yet.

Eh, this'll be my fifth time seeing Metallica

Now it's a humblebrag.

A few unofficial truths about CGen most GMs need to keep in mind:

1. You dont need to worry so much about the players who go by the book, do their own math, and try to paint within the lines, but you will always have players that look at Cgen systems and try to min-max to their advantage (and potentially to the disadvantage of the game as a whole)
2. You will always want players who want to make weird or super rare shit. Always keep in mind what you're looking for so that you can identify what isnt good for the game more quickly
3. Make sure everyone is playing the same game.
4. CGen is the gatekeeping process to making sure the game will be cohesive and have the right characters. Always pay attention during CGen. Watch for exploits and previews of weird behavior. Players who want to be super rare/special over other players will show it here; the same goes for min-maxer dicelords.

So, with this in mind, I'm fine with staff oversight on CGen. I'd rather my app take longer and end up in a cohesive game than to have all apps rushed through and find myself roleplaying with twinks.

The problem is that usually the reasons apps take so long is because of the number of people who submit complex apps.

@Auspice said in Things We Should Have Learned Sooner:

@Tinuviel said in Things We Should Have Learned Sooner:

@Auspice True, I don't deal with kindergarteners.

Not since the restraining orders, no.

Damn, the last time I saw such a sick burn it was...

@Thenomain said in How can everyone play the same game?:

@insomniac7809

I am slightly curious about this "TS Mystery" genre.

... Oh, wait, there's the comma. Hahahaha, my bad.

@Wretched hahahaha TS mystery...

...at night I laid beside her, and from the corner of my eye I saw she had left her phone on its 'photos' page. Which brought me to question...

Why is there a picture of my Uncle Steve on her Phone?

Another quick note, which I think is constructive and fair.

Right now, in America, you do not see the following:

1. Jews lobbying through political parties to enforce the Sabbath be recognized on a political level
2. Hindus lobbying against the cattle industry and the killing of cows
3. Buddhists lobbying to require 1 hour of guided meditation on the cycle of Samsara
4. Followers of Islam lobbying to require multiple sessions of prayer towards Mecca, per day, in schools.
5. Shinto followers lobbying for mandatory days off of work on death holidays to honor passed ancestors.

I could go on, but my point is this:

American Christians and Mormons are on the move. They're claiming eminent domain, using tax-free donations to run profit empires, and actively lobbying for the promotion of their own faith as a social standard above the views and beliefs of other cultures and religions. This is nowhere near something other religions are attempting to do in American society, and when it comes to questioning whether or not Christians are oppressed in America, it's important to ask why.

This is why.

AFTERTHOUGHT: Perhaps the American Christian community should be asking themselves why, despite their message being about love, so many Americans feel as if they need to protect themselves from Christians?

@Trix Good approach, and I'm glad to see a term applied to the behavior you're mentioning.

I think a lot happens in these communities under the guise of trying to keep away "problem players", but there arent actually a large number of problem players. The greater number is "people I dont like" or "people who inconvenience me" or "people who annoy me", and I think that this kind of harassment is absolutely in play to try to bully people out of sharing the same space.

Having said that I think you're going to find a number of people throwing bricks at you or this idea, despite how maturely and inoffensibly posted, in a way that may fail the self awareness check required to realize that by doing so they are proving the existence of said form of harassment.

In answer to your question: I think games need to better enforce off-server bullying taken to MSB or other venues, and policies promoting good behavior in solving disagreements and watch-dogging of slander/hyperbole. I think that sensationalism and exaggeration of issues are often plied as ways to attack others, and these kinds of behaviors arent discussed nearly enough.

Good luck.

@Lain said in RL Anger:

What is your religion political ideology (definitely NOT religion)?

Myself, personally? I'm my own, subjective life experience. If there's god(s), then I'm an ant incapable of choosing what their name is, and am comfortable with the idea of their being gods every bit as I am there being not. I'm the star of my own limited, mortal experience. I'm hesitant to claim what a GOD wants and more comfortable claiming what I want, which is usually fish tacos on Tuesday.

I was raised Catholic to the point of Confirmation, but then dispersed from the Catholic church for personal reasons mostly stemming towards the philosophical. I believe that people need to live up to their facades and the concept that if you do something you claim to not believe in, then you cannot claim to not believe in it.

So when I say the things I've said, it's not to attack ONE ideology. I've read plenty of history and even with religions predating Judaism, it's fairly constant that every era of our human society has included religious domination trying to enforce itself, politically, on the masses.

I don't see any really good reason why we shouldn't assume we're immune to this in 2017.

@Trix said in Mobbing in Text Games:

How can we not join 'mobs' and better pinpoint the actual person(s) being an issue? What other things can we think of here?

Been giving this some more thought.

I think the first step is to really understand the concept that drives a lot of this. I personally think it's: "I need an escape, I want to have fun, and I don't want people to negatively impact my efforts to find it."

We tend to see a lot of sleuthing to determine intent, and that's based on a culture of dishonesty and lack of communication. Some people overshare their personal details, which ironically then becomes the very information that leads to accusations of sanity and assumptions of mental status. There's a whole lot of judgment being flung about, and in many cases the most judgmental of others are also the most thin-skinned to judgment of themselves.

Not everyone is ethical about their approach to this, but in the end a lot of the finger-pointing about intent and who is or isn't a bad actor seems to come down to "I have identified this person as a roadblock to my enjoyment of the hobby, and thus they are a problem". Some players whisper and make up stories to result in others being shunned to their benefit, but in my experience very few are actually deserving of that kind of treatment. Lots of people share other people's personal information. Ive been told by 3rd parties of 1 or 2 regular posters on this site who have dogfucking fetishes. Pretty sure that was petty bullshit.

So, I've said it before, but I think acknowledging the reason for this negative behavior is one of the first steps, as is identifying where you have partaken in it. Also, as @surreality said (shes right) that the majority of dogpiling actually takes place against people of differing opinions who really aren't bad people, but some just seem to love attacking others for not being a walking automaton copy of their own personalities. Cliques love clones, and I think some people feel a little threatened when they come across people who disagree with their outlook on things because it could impact their ability to enjoy the hobby. It's turf is some cases that is fought over, and in a lot of cases it's really unnecessary or trite stuff.

Honestly, I think the best thing people can do is just fucking let go. The iron grip some people have on aversion to differences of opinion or differences on story content is squeezing the blood out of the social collective in the hobby. The social climate isn't going to get better until some of the more brutal personalities stop assuming their intentions are so noble when the "justified" behavior is anything but.

This is why my stance for some time has been "Talk here all you want, but dont carry who you are here to your game. The animal farm is in effect."

@Meg said in RL Anger:

@Ghost I don't think you were trying to make a jab at her, by asking about what kind of tequila the woman was given. I do think you were making light of something that affects a lot of people on this forum, in a way that lightens it, when it doesn't directly affect you. So, yeah, that is offensive and hurtful, to me. Hence why I posted.

Absolutely. It was inappropriate and I'm sorry that I offended you. I don't believe that subject matter truly is funny, and it was beneath my character to make a joke around it.

Something to think about.

Rarely when I've been told by someone "how horrible" someone is, it's rarely in the third person. I've heard a lot of stuff from bestiality fetishes to who is a cuckold to who fucked who in RL. Is it necessary to share details like those? No. It's often in the "I saw this" or "the bad person said this to me, but I don't have a log". When mean people share other people's personal business or use the guise of being a gatekeeper to keep bad actors out of the hobby to be spiteful, they rarely speak in terms of 3rd party evidence.

That's why the social commodity in play has always been reputation. Most people paying attention are well aware that most of these cases don't involve evidence, but often involve reliability. Which is why most of these attacks are personality or reputational in nature. If you attack someone's ability to plead their own case, you can effectively bully them out of finding roleplay or defending themselves.

Which routes back to the OPs point.

The hunt for the "bad actor" is constant and there's a lot of personal information (true or not), assumptions of intent (true or not), and accusations (true or not) that some people simply wield out of good faith. The task at hand is to break down these behaviors to minimize damage to innocent people and maintain neutrality. You gotta see it for what it is when it comes down the line. The hunt for the 'bad actor' is often the exact tactic used to try to force innocent people out of the hobby. I've seen it happen. Plenty of times.

So back to OP, this kind of fuckery is a problem. What's the right answer? Whistleblow on people whispering "so and so does this in rl and fucked so and so and once asked me to roleplay as a dog fucking them" stuff to halt the bullying at its root?

It all comes down to being a good person. Pledge to it. Be cool with others. That constant sense of being on guard and ready to preemptively attack someone's reputation to protect your own is something this hobby needs less of.

Today, as a corporate event, my company is hosting a showing of: STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE

My Indian buddy, Anil, has never seen Star Wars.

He's excited.

I'm excited.

This might end up better than the time I assisted him in his first LASER TAG experience.

ADDITION: Because WHAT DO YOU DO when two coworkers from India (who have only been in America two years) walk up to you at a corporate event at an entertainment complex (bowling, laser tag, billiards) and are damn near giggling and chittery with excitement, saying: "We want to do the laser tag! We saw it on HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER" but dont know how to do it! Can you do it with us?"

I just cant get past how the language and social dynamics of what is supposed to be "writing stories about relationships that are entirely IC" fall in line with people's RL views on dating.

I would expect more language about story/plot continuation and less about how polyamory is approached in RL.

@Cupcake God this sounds like a great pilgrimage trip for you for so many good reasons. I'll keep an eye out and please keep us updated. I really hope that this happens.

@Derp You.

YAAAAAAAY THE NOT-PATRIOTS WIN!!!!

<<Looks at @Aria >>

YAAAAAY SOMETHING AWESOME HAPPENED TO A PHILLY TEAM!!!!

@Auspice said in TS - Danger zone:

@Sunny said in TS - Danger zone:

Some people are crazy so you should feel bad having fun ever again.

I do feel bad.
please, tell me what a bad, bad girl I am.

gurrrrrrrl if you half of what Casey Anthony is, it's gonna get on.