My grandpa died recently (which is a bummer), and he had a sailboat that I've been doing all the maintenance work for the last decade and a half. Its a real beauty, this glorious teak deck and interior, and it sails like nothing. These days it's a bit small compared to the others around (33' when everywhere they're rocking 40' and 50's these days), but its built like they don't quite do anymore (unless you're paying in the millions) so its fairly roomy anyway. Its stable, designed for ocean sailing.

Anyway, while I just don't have the time to use it enough to justify keeping it, I took a 'farewell' trip, a week long sail down the coast of Norway with a friend, picking up my cousin on the way. It was just so freaking glorious. First day they promised lots of wind in our back and sunshine. Got out on the water? No wind. But we were bobbing along, and then in front of us we see this big black wall. A massive thunderstorm coming in. But we got the wind, suddenly! Even if was a headwind, but that's fine, the lady sails really well even close against it. And the storm just blew right next to us, so we got 15 minutes of downpour, then it was bright and sunny again. Off the the rainclothes, back to shorts and no t-shirts. Behind us it was this gorgeous display of awesome lightning, shooting down like an orbital bombardment. The rest of the week, all kinds of weather, all kinds of winds. When you sail along a broken coast like Norway, the wind is really unpredictable like that, but that just added to the fun of it. We had sunshine, we had downpour, but it always broke up so it didn't become a drag.

We sailed the whole week, barely using the engine when we had to get into some tricky ports. One beer for lunch (don't drink and drive, kids, even on the sea), but every evening we had a few. The food was great (friend's a great cook, even in the tiny galley he did wonders), and thankfully my cousin became the cabin boy, so he did the dishes. As captain, I could just have my beer outside and grin!

It was just a wonderful farewell with my gramps, and to the boat that I am now debating if I'm going to keep anyway. Though between it, and the dingy, and the boathouse, and helping keep grandma's house in order, my own place, I just.. bah! We'll see.

The trip took us past glaciers, inbetween fjords, and across a couple of really rough ocean stretches. The latter became our bane on the way back. The weather was nice, and we thought we'd be good.. but the massive swells and the headwind.. and then knowing 30 minutes behind us lay a safe port and all the beer we wanted, sort of killed our adventuring spirit. We took it the next day instead.

Anyway, life can be great.

Haven't played in a year I think, not since I was on Savage Skies. Which was a real good game with great people that I thoroughly enjoyed, but I fell out due to a work overload and never managed to get myself back into. Anyway, I had some real enjoyable RP the other night, and I just reminded me about why I fell for the hobby in the first place. Just letting the imagination go, and tossing ideas back and forth, building on each others' writing to craft something fun and engaging. Good times!

Perhaps it wont be a year until I do it again.

I wasn’t really planning on saying more for a while, but hell.

I can’t claim I’m entirely without fault here. It takes two to tango. Without going into the details right now, I put in a Crisis action that channeled some of my recent frustrations with the game. Rereading it, I can’t say I would’ve written it quite that way again, as Hellfrog wasn’t wrong when she detected passive aggressive frustration there and a distinct lack of enthusiasm for her story. Whatever justifications or context I might provide doesn't really matter, because it was quite obviously a mistake that I own.

I was asked to leave when I explained what prompted it. I realized that I should probably just say ‘okay’ and left it at that, but I didn’t. It would be disingenuous of me to then protest on some level I didn’t walk myself right into the ‘if you feel that way, it’s best you should leave’ ending. With the should not being optional. The cat was out of the bag, regardless of any willingness to keep any frustrations in check in the future. It was clear Hellfrog thinks I am a toxic and antagonistic player, and this has been her opinion of me for quite some time.

I don’t walk away with a hate-boner for Arx. They didn’t think I was a good fit, and that’s their prerogative. When there is no trust left between player and staff, what's the point? While I have a lot of thoughts about Arx and its state, I’m going to take a break from it all before I write anything more about it, if I ever do.

Mostly I’m just a bit disappointed with the ending after a year on the game. I liked Victus, the character becoming something different than originally designed through a lot of great interactions and organic roleplay. As he kept complaining: Arx will corrupt anyone if given enough time. So again, to those of you I rped with, thanks. I would’ve kept playing if I’d been allowed, but I suspect some of my enthusiasm was already dead. My joy came from my interactions with players, not the game world or its story.

@Sunny said in The 100: The Mush:

Hold up. Let me say something here very clearly, because I have put forth firmly worded negative opinions. You are not a bad staffer. You are an incredible storyteller, you have good intentions, you treat people with respect, and you're reasonable. I could probably think of a dozen other things that you excel at, where staffing is concerned.

I'd agree with that.

It'd be a shame if @GirlCalledBlu stopped making games. Because, unlike what @ghost seems believe, people not making games is way worse than a game not being up to everybody's standards of perfection.

The idea that everybody'd been better off without @GirlCalledBlu and @Seraphim73 making the 100 is patently false. Because people had fun. Because whatever disappointments were had, including that it shut down, is vastly outweighed by all the tons of fun people had on the game.

Things could've been done better. But lets keep that in perspective.

I think the most constructive path forward would've been to just cancel every last ban that happened. They were an unhelpful over-reaction to a situation that would've burned itself out if the response hadn't been so pointlessly heavy-handed.

That they didn't follow Gany's request for silence was utterly predictable. This forum, along with its predecessors (and now successor forum), was based on the idea of a place to voice the community's opinions without being beholden to the powers-that-be on the various different games we play on. It was somewhere you could stand on your soap-box and decry abuses of power, and ridicule the small tyrants that make themselves large in insulated communities. And yeah, it was a place to meet, chat, have fun, and also revel in the positive aspects of our hobby.

But the foundation was always a pretty big fuck you to the man. There was simply no way your call for silence could've engendered any response but what it did, and when you decided to enforce your authority with bans, well, that enforced the idea that you were that petty tyrant. And the righteous thing was to tell you off.

Gany, you dealt with this like you were an arbiter in a court, aloof and above the rest. You're not and you never were. You were a custodian in a town square, and while your authority here on this site is absolute, it only really matters as long as the village thinks you're good.

There's now a new forum. There's a split in the community, and the community part of this forum is honestly the only reason I pay much attention to it, so I find that a real shame. A large part of the blame for that has to be on you mods. If we're now stuck with two paralell forums, and two town squares, the least you can do is throw an olive branch out and clean the slate on your part of this mess.

Sure, there were two sides. Frankly I found the initial Derp situation went way beyond what was reasonable. That Farfalla is back suggests the second situation wasn't. Either way, it was handled horribly.

So unban everybody. What does it cost? Nothing. If they asked to be banned in the heat of the moment, or threw out some angry words while angry, well, shit happens. People say and do things when angry and full of emotions. Making them have to come and ask to return is just petty, though. If you unban, perhaps they will. Perhaps they wont. But its one less divisive wound in the community, even if everybody continues to stay on their side of the new lines.

Just my thoughts.

I'm the kind of RPer who really doesn't talk to people all that much OOC about what I want from my scenes, or my relationships, or the direction I'm looking to take my character in. My general philosophy is what happens, happens, and part of the fun is the mystery of it. Its not to say I can't be coaxed into talking about these things, its just that I never initiate them myself. The only exception is re-made relationships in which you need to have a common ground of understanding to portray said relationship accurately going forward (whether that relationship is romantic or sibling of parent or friendship or hated enemies).

As an extension, I don't really think I've ever discussed what I want out of a TS scene. I've never asked anyone if they want to bump the uglies in text. Often what I write isn't even what would actually get my knockers off properly, which is not to say I'll not get aroused. Its just, you know, personally I don't find blood spraying everywhere to be particularly sexy, but if I'm playing a vampire they rarely get all that interested unless you offer them blood, too. And if my character has gotten drunk as part of the foreplay, it should shock nobody if he (occasionally she) falls asleep, or abruptly has to run (stumble and fall on the way) to the toilet.

Anyway, I do know I like certain styles. I like sharp descriptions (as opposed to the vague 'she got naked'), I like it blunt and to the point action. I don't like endless flowery rants or internal monologues of this is the best and its love and wow lets go to heaven together. I'm very okay with temporary awkwardness and things getting derailed.

I can count on one hand the amount of times I've actually TSed over the last year, though. That by itself keeps things a bit fresh, I suppose. I will quickly use FTB and one-post summaries, or make it all about the sexposition (thank you GoT for that word!) if the sexytimes come in too rapid succession. If I portray a relationship often a scene set will be post coital, so the sex is part of the background, but you know, its already done so lets get our clothes back on and focus on the story going forward.

@Ghost said in The 100: The Mush:

To 100 staff: Stop running games and opening mushes unless you are willing to let others craft the story and affect the metaplot. No one wants to hang around a railroad to support your characters in fulfilling your stories. This kind of behavior will contribute to souring an already dying and difficult hobby.

I think telling people not to make games is a sure fire way to bring your doomgloom about. Seriously, its perfectly fine to criticize people for the mistakes they make. I think these staffers made quite a few, and though I'll blame RL for me fading out initially, a lot of those choices probably contributed to me not returning.

But I have to say, it seems like an epic fucking lack of perspective if you think that just because you feel (and I even concur to a certain extent, though nearly as far as you and others have said) they hogged a bit too much of the lime light, they shouldn't have made the game in the first place. Seriously? Its not like anyone has been accusing them of being the kind of crazy malicious mean people that sometimes do end up in charge of MUs. They make games they want to play, and then lose a bit of perspective as to just how inclusive they're being. I didn't see once that they tried to shut people out. In fact, even as some seriously negative players were bitching, those players still got to rise up as far as I saw.

They made a game that for the most part, a lot of people enjoyed. They added something to the community, however short lived. I hope they make more games, hopefully better games. Perhaps I'll even play one of them. But its not a crime to want to play the labor of love you've put together.

Frankly most crazy I saw on this game, were the people who playing there, yet went on and on about how this was just like the last game and how they were still hogging everything. At which point I had to wonder what pathology would make anyone who seriously thought this couple was the worst, would still come and play on their game and keep playing there, all the while paging people about how bad it was. (My response was pretty much 'you should probably leave, then'.) That's dysfunction.

@Arkandel I have to admit I just hate the you, and slap that on to a TS scene and it will make me run for the hills.

That feeling you get when you finished something, and it was good work, and you can actually feel a bit proud of yourself.

Honestly, I don't see why the game needs male channelers. The setting is pretty specific, and the contrast between how a small segment of females wield awesome world-changing power (and are either revered or vilified - and always feared - for it) while much of the lower-rung society is male dominated is one of the more interesting aspects. Or course it's not universal - in Andor women seem pretty darn independent, and the sea folk are ruled by women.

I used to love the setting when I was younger. And though the world itself is still pretty awesome, occasionally Jordan's writing and characterization (especially of some of the female characters) was pretty cringe-worthy when I reread all the books in an adult age in preparation for the Sanderson conclusion.

Anyway, I'd certainly give a WoT game a gander.

@Taika Crafting system, huh? I sympathize.

@Derp I read it, liked it. I don't think that it's his best novel, mind. But if you're into the geeky side of space travel and its difficulties, and find the idea of how weird life could be out in the cosmos, it's certainly worth the investment.

@Derp said in Book suggestions:

But the characters in it are absolutely adorable.

One of them is, anyway. I wasn't entirely on board with the development of the main character. Basically he knows all the science, and can apply it, but also has amnesia? He wasn't bad, mind, not enough to ruin the story for me. But I did find him a little bit lacking, and occasionally how he got to his solutions a bit contrieved.

I'm perfectly fine with people playing into wish fulfilment - I think everybody does it to a greater or lesser extent. The only time it becomes a problem is if your wish fulfilment has to come at the expense of someone else. You're not entitled to be the special one.

So you get to be super pretty, but you don't get to unequivically say you're the prettiest. You might be, but someone else might feel differently about it (and if you're running a stat game they might even be 'objectively' correct as far as the game's system and world is concerned.) The same goes for being smart, or badass or whatever. The moment you start getting possessive about your character's specialness, and find it annoying that others are stealing your shine, it's time to consider why you feel that way.

@arkandel It's pretty intuitive. You don't need to go down every rabbit hole of information. There's layers of complexity you don't need to understand immediately. That said, a lot of people who pick it up think of it as a map-painting game. Which it can be, sure, but as a newbie trying to paint the world a single color you're probably going to run into a whole host of troubles. It's a much more rewarding game if you just go with the flow. Do the best you can with one character after another, and accept that shit's gonna happen. You'll have good rulers, bad rulers, utterly incomptent rulers. Your grand plans are gonna fall apart. More powerful Kingdoms/Empires are gonna declare war on you, or on your liege, and you'll lose territory, but as long as you have an heir and at least one title, you'll be fine in the long run.

I really love it, I've got a campaign I play a few hours here and there. Leave it, come back to it, enjoy it again.

I play it on Steam, rather'n console, tho.

@ganymede said in Positivity Going Forward...:

@lordbelh said in Positivity Going Forward...:

If all you want is to be right, and meme-flame and feel righteous in your fury, then ok. ... It's easy to forget that the other person is a person, with their own fully realized internal life and experiences. Even if you're championing views that I share, the way you're doing it makes you part of the problem in my eyes.

I do not know what it is you're objecting to here, and I'd like to know. In what way am I part of the problem, if the problem you are referring to is public shaming?

Sorry, I'll have to edit my post as it isn't as clear as I'd liked. I agreed with your point. The 'you' in the quote applied to someone engaging in public shaming for its own sake. Not you as in you, @Ganymede

@ganymede said in Review of Recent Bans:

I think a substantial part of the community does not care for, and never cared for, the sort of public-shaming of the Hog Pit. And I now believe, after 20 years, that the idea that public shaming will cause a change in behavior is pretty vain, if not a pretext to simply being a shitty person.

I'm going to reply to this here, because it feels like the better thread for it.

If we're talking about the general public shaming that's involved in issuing a warning against a player, or a game, for shitty behavior, I like at least having an idea of the issues at hand. Even if it sometimes goes too far and becomes a dogpile just for its own sake.

But when it comes to the public shaming of opinions exchanged on these boards, then I'm in full agreement. I don't, and I've never liked it. If you want to change someone's mind, or even just have a semi-reasonable discussion, then the only way to do that is through two-way empathy. If you want someone to listen to your points, you have to be willing to listen in good faith to theirs. (Edit: Listening does not equal agreeing with, condoning or anything of the type. It just means listening, and acknowledging them as an actual person rather than a devil.)

Sure, they might not return the favor, but if you don't try then why would you ever expect them to either?

If all someone want is to be right, and meme-flame and feel righteous in their fury, then ok. But how does it help anyone? Anger can be a powerful motivator to take the fight against wrongs, and it's often warranted. But it's also a dangerous and seductive feeling. It's easy to get addicted to it. It turns discussions into just short-term euphoria opportunities where you can get your little shot of dopamine by pwning the other side, and then getting a second shot when notifications tell you others joined in. It's easy to forget that the other person is a person, with their own fully realized internal life and experiences. Even if you're championing views that I share, the way you're doing it makes you part of the problem in my eyes. I've seen plenty of it on these forums.

I can't say I'll miss all of that, if it lessen a little.

@faraday said in Positivity Going Forward...:

I applaud the shift to a more positive environment, but I'm skeptical as to whether the community has the bandwidth to really support multiple forums.

I share this concern. I've seen other hobby communities split, and devolve into little tribes bickering over pointless ancient scores, reducing the whole community as neither has enough members to actually foster a healthy group.

That said, I won't assume it'll go that way. It might. Or perhaps it'll be for the better. I honestly don't know, and since I'm not in a position of authority either way, I'll just go with the flow and keep up with lurking on two forums rather than just one.

@ganymede said in Review of Recent Bans:

I respect your opinion and follow your logic, but I disagree with a number of premises and ultimately your conclusion.

Fair enough, @Ganymede . I got no problem believing you're trying to do what you think is best. I see no evidence of malice. Just a lot of mistakes, and then doubling down on those mistakes. I suppose we'll see how it shakes out in the end. I sorta-kinda like this community, even with all its flaws, so ultimately I'm rooting for you.

I think the most constructive path forward would've been to just cancel every last ban that happened. They were an unhelpful over-reaction to a situation that would've burned itself out if the response hadn't been so pointlessly heavy-handed.

That they didn't follow Gany's request for silence was utterly predictable. This forum, along with its predecessors (and now successor forum), was based on the idea of a place to voice the community's opinions without being beholden to the powers-that-be on the various different games we play on. It was somewhere you could stand on your soap-box and decry abuses of power, and ridicule the small tyrants that make themselves large in insulated communities. And yeah, it was a place to meet, chat, have fun, and also revel in the positive aspects of our hobby.

But the foundation was always a pretty big fuck you to the man. There was simply no way your call for silence could've engendered any response but what it did, and when you decided to enforce your authority with bans, well, that enforced the idea that you were that petty tyrant. And the righteous thing was to tell you off.

Gany, you dealt with this like you were an arbiter in a court, aloof and above the rest. You're not and you never were. You were a custodian in a town square, and while your authority here on this site is absolute, it only really matters as long as the village thinks you're good.

There's now a new forum. There's a split in the community, and the community part of this forum is honestly the only reason I pay much attention to it, so I find that a real shame. A large part of the blame for that has to be on you mods. If we're now stuck with two paralell forums, and two town squares, the least you can do is throw an olive branch out and clean the slate on your part of this mess.

Sure, there were two sides. Frankly I found the initial Derp situation went way beyond what was reasonable. That Farfalla is back suggests the second situation wasn't. Either way, it was handled horribly.

So unban everybody. What does it cost? Nothing. If they asked to be banned in the heat of the moment, or threw out some angry words while angry, well, shit happens. People say and do things when angry and full of emotions. Making them have to come and ask to return is just petty, though. If you unban, perhaps they will. Perhaps they wont. But its one less divisive wound in the community, even if everybody continues to stay on their side of the new lines.

Just my thoughts.

@mietze Feel better. Take care of yourself.

Just finished Kuang's Poppy War. Really enjoyed it, and looking forward to Dragon Republic, which I've got on my shelf.