Posts made by Ghost

@Auspice said in Personal Agency for Personal Boundaries:

@Ghost
How would you propose to handle situations wherein someone was uncomfortable and too scared to even use the command, but once they finally do, they express that they want to retcon the entire scene?

Add into the policy that the +xcard has to be pressed during the scene. The xcard is designed to stop content going-forward, not retroactively. All ret-conning has to go through staff, anyway, so it should not be used as an unmoderated retcon device.

By the time a player wants to retcon the whole scene, staff are gonna have to get involved anyway. +xcard is a tool designed to give players agency DURING those scenes and it should be reinforced during said retcon request that the xcard is their tool for doing so when the content presents itself.

Proceed with likely exhausting retcon conversation as normal. Which is why in my policy suggestion I wrote it as a PRESENT TENSE PRESS tool

Honestly. I dont see why this is so difficult.

Implement +xcard=<string>, a command that anonymously states (but informs staff with identity) that "A player in this scene has pressed the X-Card. Please either FTB, end the scene, or continue without the following element(s): <string>"

Then pair it with the following policy.

X-CARD POLICY: The +xcard command can be used to anonymously flag specific content as uncomfortable. We at SOANDSO-BY-NIGHT support the X-Card system and expect all players to adhere to the following rules when presented with the press of an X-Card.

1. Asking players to explain their personal reasons for why they ran the +xcard command is prohibited.
   If the player feels the need to discuss their reasons, they are encouraged to so, but they must initiate the conversation. If you feel that it was improper, staff are available to discuss, but are not to be expected to disclose or negotiate any personal reasons why it was pressed. Staff will oversee fair play, but not personal differences.
2. If presented with an +xcard situation, players may choose to Fade To Black (FTB), change the content of the scene based on the reason for the press, end the scene, or pose their own characters out of the scene. We would love to see players working together, but if a player chooses for their character to exit a scene after an +xcard is pressed and does so politely it will not be held against them.
3. Personal jabs, gossip, or other forms of negativity held against players who pressed the +xcard will not be tolerated.
4. We encourage players to use existing staff kudos, @mailed praise, or other forms of communication to share instances of where the +xcard helped in a scene, as well as acknowledge players who made you feel comfortable when you chose to press the +xcard
5. Have fun, and play fair!

Edit: My gut tells me that a system like this would help staff keep an eye on how prevalent specific triggers are xcarded on their games. It would SUGGEST an environment of cooperation. It could preempt explosions to a degree. It would also help curb the pushy motherfuckers who try to force scenes on uncomfortable players by making it a matter of game policy not to try to force players into something they're not comfortable with. It would also anonymously allow players with fears of confrontation a way to speak up.

I think a big part of the problem here is that there's no real right of way. The person who wants to opt-out of specific content often still wants the scene to progress; they dont want to STOP roleplaying, but instead want the content to fit within their guidelines. However, for people wanting specific content, there's an unspoken line where that's reasonable, but they dont feel like they should be forced to alter their preferred content to the whims of other okayers.

In short, there's a reasonable factor that someone playing vampires wants sex, blood, and rock and roll isnt truly required to alter their content because some player doesn't want to do that, but doesn't want to be left out of roleplay.

Opt-in is a great idea, but it only works under the assumption that players will accept being left out of scenes that they dont opt-into. RP on a MU isnt an entitlement. You can make the argument that in a perfect world everyone is welcoming and wants everyone' input, but the reality is that some games/scenes just aren't what a particular player is looking for and it isnt everyone else's responsibility to change for them.

This is why I dont play on Shang and avoided some other games.

@Macha said in The Work Thread:

@Arkandel At first I read Jenkins/Ansible as Jensen Ackles and wondered wtf that was doing in a tech conversation

He works with SAML

That's some high quality nerd meta humor there.

I would post an image but I dont want to look at a busta dressed like Pennywise the clown

@Darren Is this duplicating on other systems? (OS, etc)? What is the 'time' on the game server and does it match the incorrect time?

I find it unlikely that the MUHost isnt using NTP or is off by that much, so it could be that this setting is repeating the MU time, something stored in the registry for the app, or something in the app's settings.

I also find it unlikely that any sort of TOC/TOU attack or Race Condition attack would leave so obvious a hint that something is that off.

So...

...Silver Kanye.

The fuck?

Am I not the only one that's really sick and tired of how pretentious this guy is? He's not nearly as talented as he thinks he is.

When you log in to see the Arx Peeve thread in the Hog Pit's last post in your feed is 16 hours old and there are five more pages to read...

@Selerik Feedback. Great idea.

Using coordinated efforts (such as those provided by Git) other open source software has been shown to vastly improve and address known flaws/vulnerabilities. A coordinated approach towards MU code as Open Source Software (which it is, mostly) could result in better standards, cleaner code, and churn out better administration (as well as swappable talent).

Using the concept that "more eyes can see more flaws" (or whatever that security principle was. Kerchoff?) the code being out in the open for review and coordination makes it more likely that anything malicious will be spotted. A lot of MU code hasn't updated at the base level in decades, too, so continued development will do it well.

I've always thought these silo'd efforts between Devs has been great for specific code based, but ultimately using up good time that could have been spent building as a community.

@Pandora In my experience, asking "hey could we not" is often an opening to things that are bothersome, like guilting or negotiating or shaming.

When I say "could we not?" I'm not really saying "hey let's talk about this" but instead "I dont like this". So, I guess it would be better to just say: "I dont like where this is going and need to bow out".

One of the benefits explained in the whole X-Card thing is that it's a contract to not require explanation as to why the card was pressed. It's a contract that says "all you have to do is press the XCard and I'll just flow with it in a different directions, no questions asked."

Because who wants to explain to strangers personal past traumatic experiences or personal fears?

IMO the best part about the XCard is that if you contract to not pestering or requiring explanation going in, then everyone involved may be more likely to go "alright, cool, moving to something else" rather than taking it to an OOC pressure level.

@Ganymede +warn was good stuff.

10 points if the command is called:

+OhFuckNo

Marina Sirtis' (Star Trek) husband just passed away at 61.

Bad time for Trek.

What the fuck. That is a child on that police car.

You know what pisses me off about this conversation? It's that I've been in the hobby long enough to know there's probably at minimum ONE player reading this right now, where I'm telling them that they're a pedophile, who has KNOWINGLY TSed with a minor, who is like:

Man, go fuck yourself, Ghost. Mind your own business.

But they won't likely post that because it would provide a potential paper/audit trail that could result in them being branded a pedophile or being investigated as one.

@tek said in The Dark Side of online Role-Playing:

@Ghost Also, if your 13-year-old is RPing some seriously fucked up sexual shit, that's a sign that they might have been traumatized or victimized already, not a sign that they're "just not as innocent as you think". @Carex has this weird fucking hangup on innocence, which is a major fucking red flag. It's not about innocence. It's about what is developmentally appropriate.

EXACTLY

And if it's possible that they were previously abused and are continuing a cycle of sexual abuse with adults online, then stepping in could actually mean helping them end a cycle of self harm.

These are not "roleplay preferences", people. These are someone else's kids.

If you have knowingly TSed with a minor, shrugging it off with "Hey, this is their freedom of expression. It's their right to choose; who am I to intervene?" then fucking shame on you. You're a pedophile who chose TS and their own kink over worry about sexually exploiting a child.

If you're reading this and you know this pertains to you? You are a pedophile who committed a felony. I hope you rot in jail.

@tek said in The Dark Side of online Role-Playing:

@Ghost This is where you have a discussion with your kid about boundaries. We all like to find ways to get our rocks off. Talk to them about the difference between reading a dirty story in a book or on a fanfiction site and creating interactive sexual content with an adult. Explain that even if they don't know you are a minor, the adult involved is committing a crime. Talk about safe ways to explore the things they want to explore.

Exactly.

Kids are obviously gonna be curious. It's totally normal to be curious, to have hormones, puberty, etc. This doesn't mean that partaking in sexual simulations online with adults is some victimless sandbox and that it's part of their development that you just need to respect.

It is highly illegal to partake in simulated sexual behavior with a minor, even in text-based roleplay, and this is something this community should be able to depend on GOOD PEOPLE keeping an eye out for.

I have a hard time not being incredulous about believing that "finding out why your child is having fun roleplaying blood slut sexual TS with adults on the internet" may be taking a front seat to "immediately finding out if this is a case where they KNOW your child is a minor, are still doing it anyway, and your child is the subject of a predator's online behavior."

Even if your child is like "Oh fuck no. I tell them I'm a 22 year old law student" that needs to stop IMMEDIATELY, because it is also ethically wrong to hand wave allowing another adult to unknowingly exploit a minor

@Kestrel said in The Dark Side of online Role-Playing:

@Ghost said in The Dark Side of online Role-Playing:

@Derp said in The Dark Side of online Role-Playing:

Ultimately it probably won't change anything. But there are two distinct lines of thought in this particular thread, and that's probably at least worth discussing.

Or a spin-off thread about snooping on your kids.

This one really was supposed to be about online dangers to minors and not about the politics of monitoring your child's online behavior in a way that is healthy for them.

Except there is an argument to be made that spying on your children to the degree that they feel unsafe and unable to trust or talk to you will do the exact opposite of protecting them from predators, and instead send them running straight into their arms. So it's directly relevant to the topic at hand.

Sure, that's a parenting tactic.

But once you've established that they are a minor playing a "blood slut" online with legal adults who are sexually exploiting your child it's not a matter of "Hey is that fun? Wanna do it together?" Because JOINING IN ON THAT IS A PARENT ASSISTING IN THE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF THEIR OWN CHILD WHAT THE FUCK.

It's sexual exploitation of a minor.

I will die on this hill.

Edit: I will gladly die on this hill

@Carex said in The Dark Side of online Role-Playing:

Instead, if you find out your kid is playing a blood-slut for some vampire on a MUSH or a werewolf or whatever you could show interest, ask them why they play that. Why is it fun. Hell, you could even (And I know this may be shocking to some parents) join them in their hobby!

So...

...ask them why it's fun.
...ask them why they're playing a blood slut.
...JOIN the minor in playing a blood slut, TSing online with legal adults.

I got a suggestion on what to ask.

"Do these people know that you're a minor?"
"Where are your logs located? I need to provide these to the police."