Posts made by Ghost

@Runescryer Good on you, and best of luck to you. There's a certain amount of freedom in stepping away and leaving the whole "MU drama/community drama" baggage behind that really aids in the R&R process.

@faraday You are 100% right about HTTPS connections via the web portal. HTTPS uses TLS to encrypt that traffic, so it's better altogether than using a MU client from a work device (or arguably ANY form of connecting to a MU using Telnet). The IT Professional in me would say always use TLS/HTTP instead of telnet when available.

@Scissors said in WebMU still in use?:

Oh well, I spoke too soon. Even though I could connect via Mushclient on a USB stick, it's still constantly disconnecting me. It looks like the corporate firewall is set to periodically shutdown telnet connections everywhere, so I may be SOL.

IT guy here. PLEASE read this.

Telnet (port23) is a hideously insecure protocol that transmits everything in clear text. Most companies these days outright block all telnet traffic to ensure that private information isn't at risk of snooping. Nothing is encrypted in telnet. Everything (everything) is readable like a keylogger: transmission of userid/password, every incoming/outgoing message, your RP, etc.

WHY PEOPLE WHO MU FROM WORK SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS

• ALL of your transmissions via telnet are subject to capture and review by any modern information security software and/or firewalls
• If you're roleplaying stuff your tech-savvy spouse wouldn't want to see, it's easy to implement a firewall to log all traffic via telnet
• ITSecOps software often will flag or alert to attempts to circumvent security settings and most corporate acceptable use policies would consider connecting to a MU (or using an outside device like a thumb drive to use a company pc to connect to MUs) as a fireable offense. Using a thumb drive to get around security rules is technically in the same category as using a thumb drive to introduce a virus (intentionally or accidentally), which is why there are so many rules for connecting outside devices to company property.
• If you've TSed over a MU using telnet and using a company laptop/network? Best of luck to you. Your TS is readable by Information Security.

HOW TO GET AROUND THIS

• on your private device/laptop you could use a VPN to encrypt your traffic on the machine, but since it's telnet (and telnet cannot be encrypted) the telnet traffic from that endpoint to the MU is clear text
• While at work use a personal cell phone not connected to company WiFi (use your cellular connection) to MU.
• If your MU has paid a certificate authority for SSH encrypted communication, you should always use SSH. This is a bit of a stretch as I don't know of any games that have paid for this as an option. SSH is an upgrade from telnet that allows for encryption.

...in short. You're taking your life into your own hands when using company resources (internet connection, wifi, company issued device) to MU. You're making it even worse if you're TSing or doing anything that HR would frown upon.

I know of one person who was fired at my last job for attempting to MU from work. EVEN IF YOUR BOSS SAYS IT IS OKAY, your transmitted content (or attempts to circumvent existing security) are subject to company policies. It's kind of like if your boss says it's okay that you use YouTube during the day they're expecting music videos, audio books, and sports clips, but if you start watching sex scenes on YouTube with nudity you could still get in trouble.

Forcing "purity" (interesting term for the topic, isn't it?) in an RPG is a slippery slope.

Sure, Genre-wise you don't want Luke Skywalker using 2022 tiktok meme examples in RP (he's supposed to be from a galaxy far away in a long time ago), but there's a pretty big line between "Creative preference" and "tyrannical GM nonsense". In the case of BofD and these two mentioned in the topic, their angle is that they view themselves to be an authority on the setting and they're literally inviting people to play content they view themselves to be owners of. So I don't get why people even bother to play that game, because ultimately it comes down to playing "house" with a couple of kids in their backyard and they'll make you leave if you're "not doing it right".

Why bother trying to be creative or create ANYTHING in an environment with someone who will tell everyone what their characters are, what they think, what they would or wouldn't do, etc?

These people are all "No" and not "Yes, and". They're not even "maybe, so" or "No, but". At the risk of sounding snide, they're literally using someone else's literary work and reputation to build themselves as an authority on the content and gatekeeping the shit out of it...and one of their preferred gates to keep is that BIPOC aren't in the ruling caste, make racist jokes, and consider black characters in the setting to be a matter of "woke cancel culture".

So, constructively, this should all be a lesson on do's and don'ts when it comes to understanding a few key things.

1. if you don't want people to try to create their own things and having a stake in it, you should be solo-writing it and not running it as an RPG where you falsely promote the concept of logging in to have agency over...well...anything.
2. Yes, it's true that players/fans blur the concept behind a character's skin color as being indicative of support for ACTUAL people with that skin color. Is it a minefield? Yes. Is it 100% about the content? No. It's somewhat shades of politics, social issues, etc blurring it's way into content. Still, it's best to understand this and take at least a "maybe, but" approach.

You could create a setting where 1000 all-white families boarded a spaceship and colonized a planet, and after 200 years there are 10,000 people who have ONLY mated with people on that initial all-white spaceship, and people will STILL be like "...can I play a black character?" and your answer should always, ALWAYS be to question why the fuck you decided creatively that everyone in that ship was white to begin with. What's up with that?

@Ganymede said in MUers in the news?:

But if the fry cooks are the reason why my french fries suck, I'm not going to complain to the manager about the potatoes they've provided.

<take this in a humorous tone because I you>

But if the fry cooks forget to sprinkle Cajun seasoning on your fries and instead sprinkle racism seasoning on your fries, they're not likely to fire themselves if you complain to them. You gotta talk to people that can choose for them.

@Ganymede said in MUers in the news?:

@Ghost said in MUers in the news?:

At the risk of sounding derogatory, the reality is that if you're upset with your Big Mac, you'll get better results talking to the manager than you would screaming at the fry cooks.

Yes, but we're not yelling at fry cooks; we're yelling against racist takes.

Oh no I get that, but clearly yelling at the fry cooks in this case isn't going to yield any sort of result. Best to take it up with the manager whose legacy is on the line.

@hobos Right. At the risk of sounding derogatory, the reality is that if you're upset with your Big Mac, you'll get better results talking to the manager than you would screaming at the fry cooks.

But let's get to brass tacks, here.

House of the Dragon has GRRM's name on it. GRRM is an executive producer, writer, etc on it. GRRM has spoken positively about diversity of casting and has said he plans to introduce more BIPOC characters in upcoming novels...whenever those get finished. If GRRM felt it was so important that the Velaryons couldn't be black because of all of the reasons @Nymeria states that they simply cannot budge on non-white characters in their MUSH, he would have fought it tooth and nail.

It's not the ACTUAL CONTENT CREATOR who is taking a hard-line stance, crying about "woke SJW bullshit", saying racist things, or literally making the news for their toxicity. It's a pair of people who have decided more than once to gatekeep/act like the owners of someone else's actual work and do toxic things online in the name of someone who doesn't support their behavior.

With that in mind, I cannot say why I would allow those people to affect my legacy by remaining involved with them, why I would in any way support their MUSH, and hope that they get fired/cut loose to be left as a couple of MU hosts running a text-based chatty game in a world that they don't own.

I kind of "set-and-forget" this post I made and came back to all of this. I wrote a long, dumb post trying to explain something.

But there's really no explaining this to someone with a history of "lol'ing" using the term negerboll and posts stuff like this:

Tweet

This article pretty much spells out the futility in trying to convince someone to act appropriately.

Don't racelock your games, people. It's uncouth.

Yanno, I'm in the court that feels that when you're dealing with a product that is based on pure, factual Earth history (as in: Intended to be based on facts not fiction), it's best not to cast anyone of a skin color other than that of the historical figure.

However, when it comes to fiction, these days it just seems awkward that an entire universe could be envisioned where everyone except Lando Calrissian is white. I know there's a lot of news these days about people offended by black Valyrians or black dwarves, and many of them (looking at you, @Nymeria) like to cite stuff like "it's not canon!" and fail to understand that the greater questions by the populace are:

1. Why was this world envisioned to be so monochromatic to begin with?
2. Why so much resistance to expanding casting to nonwhite actors?

What's interesting to me is that the argument provided kind of parallels some of the issue BIPOC people face in America. That a person involved in producing fictional content is openly opposed to the casting of black actors, then is resistant to the existence of non-white characters on their MU because "that's how it was written, they're the majority, so sorry I can't make an exception!"

@Nymeria here is something you should consider. Many minorities have had to deal with exclusive behavior based on their minority status for a long while. They have a desire to see their inclusion in these exciting projects and see people who look like them fighting orcs and doing cool fantasy stuff. The reason why you are under the heat lamp of cancelation (which I feel is justified) is because your bigger concern seems to be clinging to this artistic accuracy (which, by canon means it's a whites-only club) and have very little empathy towards understanding why this makes people uncomfortable. There's no "let's see what we can do" or "I support this, let's try to find a way to make this work" but instead the stance is to openly decry the television show and double down on your stance that because the guy that wrote the content didn't say so...your hands are (airquotes) tied and cannot make exceptions.

Your MUSH is a fraction of a fraction of online roleplay related to Westeros, and in a dying medium, no less. I'm pretty sure the existence of GRRM's work isn't going to fall into absolute disarray because a damn brown person plays a knight. The whole world isn't going to gasp and say "OH MY GOD DO I EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WESTEROS ANYMORE!?!?"

That's why the cancelation is a thing. It's not the "but this is canon!" it's the outcry and empathy-lacking response that smells suspiciously like bias.

I know this may be expected because I'm a Clive Barker horror fan but...

...Hellraiser was fucking RAD and I think it sits right next to the best 2 Hellraiser movies (1 and 2). It breathes new life into the film franchise, leaves the mythology open for growth, and really plays into the feel of Barker's Damnation Game and Hellbound Heart feel.

Given that the last 2 Hellraiser movies were made super soulless, quick low budget bullshit to retain the movie rights, something about this movie really felt like a reclamation of the property by people who love the series.

It would appear that the people behind the Blood of Dragons MU (which IIRC are the same people who tried to get other Westeros/GameOfThrones MUs shut down citing their "insider" status with GRRM, and the same people who threatened lawsuit because a desc they wrote ended up on MSB?) are making the news at the moment.

According to this NY POST ARTICLE, the two helped put out a book that was like a dictionary of Westeros and are now receiving a press for 'Cultural Cancelation' due to making negative comments about characters depicted as white being cast with nonwhite actors. Fans are apparently begging GRRM to cut ties with them or risk boycott, as it appears their social media history was reviewed to find similar complaint-posts about racial recasting back in 2012.

@hobos said in The All-New Down With OPP Thread:

If a man plays a female character and notices how grossly people act towards women, that's personal growth through roleplay.

I've said it before on this site and I'll say it again. I am a male who doesn't consider writing female characters to be crossplaying but an exercise in becoming a better writer.

My experiences RPing a female character without declaring up-front that I was a male writer were eye opening in terms of what kind of pressure and harassment some women (or players believed to be women) get on these games, and it really helped define the way I treated others regardless of which gender I perceived them to be.

@Ganymede said in The All-New Down With OPP Thread:

No offense, bud, but where did the fuck did you used to play? Because I created and played a fuckbunny and still struggled to consistently drum up fuckfriends.
Seriously, I must give off some goddamned dread aura of unfuckability, but even praying mantises get more action than I do.

IIRC this mostly happened to me on WoD games and on Superhero MUs. I mean, it wasn't constant but it happened to me more when I was doing pickup RP outside of my regular RP crew. I also don't want to say it was rare that it happened, but downgrade it to uncommon perhaps? I sometimes feel like the players were players who forgot they weren't on Shang, but like the log in question where the dude nopes out suddenly when it's clear TS won't be achieved? That's kind of my baseline for what I consider this kind of event.

Look. I have told you that 60% of the time wearing Sex Panther cologne works 100% of the time, but that still means that 40% of the time people run away from you screaming and claiming you smell like a used diaper filled with Indian food. (Anchorman reference)Maybe stop wearing Sex Panther I DUNNO?!?!

Sidebar: I am honestly sometimes baffled that this stuff never happens to you, but be careful what you wish for lol

@hobos

"Not that I doubt for a second we would be able to find many ways in which to amuse ourselves, locked in a townhouse together, just the two of us."

Sometimes I'm witness to RP or read through logs, and I gotta be honest sometimes it just reads like some kind of process to determine if TS is on the table. Sure, its under the guise of roleplay, but feels like some sort of token, necessary evil the other player has to suffer because simply paging and asking for TS is considered unattractive. It's not just men who do this, too. I've been the target of scenes where a player felt like they were doing the following:

• HI, I'm so and so character that's sexy
• So we gonna TS? Sure, your character is interesting and you're trying to RP stuff but I wanna fuck your PC
• Seriously we should TS. Why aren't you hitting on my char?
• You did a bunch of RP chatty things, but seriously, I mean are you looking to TS?
• Your character isn't interested? ZOMGS electrical storm coming, I gotta pose out. KThxByeeee. Going to ignore you from now on!

All snark aside, I've had moments in RP where I'm getting pages asking what my RL kinks and fetishes are roughly 30 seconds into RP, and any attempt to roleplay something other than hardcore flirtation seemed to be a nuisance to whatever text-based mating call process the other player was up to. Which...really felt oddly negative in a personal way when the person entirely blew off the RP because I didn't put out.

Which, given what I feel is an uncomfortable reality about what TS actually is for some players, I'm not surprised to see people getting ditched because they won't put out.

@hobos Right. I think it's important to recognize that @Runescryer simply posted that the person (OPP) was potentially on an unnamed game, and would be looking into it. There is ZERO chance of damage to innocent people with that kind of announcement. It wasn't until Lithium showed up and outed themselves that really any of this couldn't have been recovered from.

It's also important to understand that there is no checklist of behaviors or RP themes that are specific to CreeperA vs CreeperB. There's a lot of overlap in terms of pushiness/harassment/issues that aren't truly singular to one particular usual suspect. So the best you can do is say either "person with this behaviors" or "I don't know it might be OPP?" and just keep an eye out.

On a lighter note, I'm rewatching the Office (US) for like the 6th time and am ironically on the episode where Michael, for "women's appreciation" takes all of the women into Victoria's Secret and offers to buy them all 1 item each, his treat. While he's in there, Angela won't buy anything, and Michael's all "You sure you dont want anything? A g-string? A thong? Perhaps something lacy? A nice bra? Padded bra? See through? You know i would just like to buy you a fresh set of underwear..."

@Selira said in The All-New Down With OPP Thread:

@Derp I'm not doing this again, there already are multiple threads, you've said what you're going to say on the subject and I've said what I'm going to say. I think you're complicit, you think you've done no wrong, that's not changing.

Sounds like a good reason to never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever bring it up again! #deadHorse

@Lithium said in The All-New Down With OPP Thread:

Just because you believe something happened in whatever delusional situation you're saying occurred, doesn't mean it actually occurred.
Accusing someone of being ultimate levels of toxic for saying something you don't agree with in a private 1 on 1 scene is actual gaslighting.

Accusing someone of being delusional when they say something occurred is actually gaslighting.

Someone accusing someone else for being toxic for saying something that they don't agree with is "having a disagreement on whether or not something said was proper."

Chiding a woman for not being responsive to your flirtations is a form of negging.

Skimming around and found this.

https://infiniteadventuresmush.com/scene/368

Basic idea snippets:

It's over towards Jeans that Warren pushes the food trays on their rolling carts and he knocks on the door, Jean? You decent?" He calls through the door, not even attempting to open it.
__
"Super decent, come on in!" Jean is walking out of her bedroom as Warren comes in, wearing a pair of leggings and a long sleep tee shirt.
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"That's a shame." Warren says as he walks in, "I was hoping to catch you in something naughty." He smiles at her, he's definitely gotten his mood back at least as he wheels the cart in and then takes his plate.
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"Honestly?" Jean blinks, glancing toward her bedroom, her voice dropping as if someone might be listening in. "I don't think I have any naughty clothes." Just a bunch of sweats, leggings, mom jeans and bunches of tee's and sweatshirts. Boring. She takes a seat, curling up with Warren as she digs into her food, eating like she might have been starving as well. Soup is not a filler!

"I can't blame it. I tried to get you to drink broth a few times and you just weren't having it. At least I got you to drink some water now and again." She shakes her head, bumping that shoulder briefly before she digs into her hash browns.
__
"If that's the case, then we have to go shopping and get you some." Warren says with a playful smile, "I can only imagine how good you'll look in some lingerie or even some nice comfortable lacy underwear." He isn't teasing though judging by his thoughtful expression as he continues eating more quickly than normal, he really was starving!
__
"Really?" Jean gives Warren a skeptical look, a light smirk on her face. "I have no clue how I would look in lingerie, but I never say no to new clothes. Too much opportunity there to have fun. I love shopping." She is likely the type to not wear anything skimpy though. Witnessing her trying on those clothes would probably be a little boring. She makes no excuses. That's just Jean.

"You don't have to repay me. I'm your friend, Warren. If you need me, I'm here."
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Warren chuckles softly, "You really make it tricky to flirt with you, you know." He bumps her shoulder lightly, "Pay you a compliment and you just ignore it."
__

Basically, my read of this scene it comes off as a scene about a bedsick person turning the heat to max to try to get clothes off, a lot of verbiage about her underwear, a lot of gentle pushing back from the Jean player, and then the very realistic manipulative response of "You're making it hard to flirt with you. I give you compliments and you just ignore them". Which, in terms of very real world predatory/manipulative behavior actual women tend to get pressured with, is akin to "You're in the wrong for not responding to my pushiness, and should react positively to me to make this right."

@Lithium here's a third party suggestion. After skimming a number of these logs there's definitely a pattern of pushiness that some of these players appear to be gently trying to deflect. Now, you could say "Angel is a super sexy rich playboy!", but super rich playboy does not really make it okay to take these kinds of approaches when writing with other players. I'd be mindful in the future about how some of that language can make people feel cornered, and not do that kind of stuff.

But that last quote?

Warren chuckles softly, "You really make it tricky to flirt with you, you know." He bumps her shoulder lightly, "Pay you a compliment and you just ignore it."

<Whistles>

When compliments are ignored that's usually a good sign that someone's uncomfortable.Of course I can't speak for the other player in this scene or their comfort levels, but I've been mushing a long, long time and I've seen patterns like this before.

Also: a staffer told you not to talk to a player who might be reaching out to you?

@Lithium I think you're missing the point that no one was saying for sure it was OPP, but there were adjacent behaviors. It was kept purposefully vague and without names just in case you weren't OPP.

So that anonymity just done flew right out the window.