@Arkandel said in Emotional separation from fictional content:
Where is the correct balance point between the players' responsibility to maintain the separation between the fictional content and their real life trigger points, and the game/plot runners' responsibility to flag such material?
What is the correct response by the latter to the former after such a triggered response? Even assuming the best of intentions such things are bound to happen, so how should staff handle an upset player?
How do we achieve both (1) and (2) without discouraging people from running things which aren't either inoffensive or completely black and white? Or is it better in certain games that controversial themes are never ran, and staff plots/public PrPs are always 'safe'? If so, when?
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I think the term reasonable applies. With so many content policies, the only real responsibility a game/scene runner has is to keep scenes within acceptable use. Easily, 90% of the responsibility of a player to maintain separation. These games are not lives and these characters are not themselves. People should not be subject to someone else's inability to cope with creative playspace. But, reasonably, the game runner/gm needs to stay within the (key word here) agreed upon lines. If a player cannot maintain their level of separation, they should not play these games. Period.
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The triggered needs to behave reasonably. Its not everyone's responsibility to cater to every trigger that exists. People need to understand that a virtual minefield of triggers will not sustain, and if there were any content allowance concerns because of some all important trigger, then the triggered should review with staff as part of their decision making process before applying. Once in, understand that in very few situations is an action designed to trigger you, and if it is within bounds of policy, the gm/runner may not be doing anything wrong at all. So the triggered has a responsibility to behave. They may excuse themselves from the scene, discuss with staff if certain content is within acceptable use, but very rarely is a personal-attack response warranted. On the same hand, a reasonable GM should include details of potential content or themes as a favor to players. Many games allow for rating, but never, ever should being triggered result in an attack. We are all adults. We need to maintain order and ensure said triggering isn't being used as an offensive weapon against staff or other players.
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We must all strive to encourage in others the ethic to separate IC from OOC. We can post content warnings on events, which is no different from an MPAA or ESRB rating for other content. We can watch for predatory players, both triggered or people pushing fucked up rp on others, and we can remember the term reasonable when making staffing decisions when it comes to players who have lost their objectivity or use a minefield of triggers as a means to control others. In the end, we can be reasonable, set reasonable content warnings and policies, respond to things we don't like in a reasonable manner, and handle any issues with an eyeball on what should be reasonably expected from any given player.
