I also find the snobbishness about who does and doesn't have alts (again, not talking about crossover alts or weird-ass players who smother/focus their 5 alts on one favored person, or assholes who feel like they need to dominate every scene/event they touch--those have nothing to do with alt ability but are problem /players/) to be like the clutching of pearls over who doesn't and doesn't TS. Kinda dumb, but I guess it's another thing to feel superior about or to get to say "Well, I NEVER!"
The workplace in the US heavily /relies/ on people not taking any time off, either by minimizing as much as possible paid leave, utilizing firing for missing more than 3 days or less for illness or other reason, and by having minimal staffing so that any loss is a major hardship for coworkers and people know it.
The only place I have ever been encouraged to use the (ample) time off provided in like 30 years of working has been when I worked at the bank, because it's a federal requirement that you're out of the system for 5 consecutive business days once ever year, and they grant a shitload of other leave too.
Everywhere else I've worked there was pressure internal and external to never miss a day. Especially in service and early childhood education.
I had a great time with my cop PC. By the time I played one there were not any metaplot things involving staff--the scenes (at least for beat cops) were nearly 100 percent player driven. (As in there was a cadre of us that took turns running beat cop scenes for the other beat cops). Occasionally we tried to involve the other police folks but aside from a really sweet ooc and enthusiastic detective I never got much nibbles outside of beat cops.
We never went after PCs. In fact, we often had to rebuff criminals wanting us to keystone cop for them (you guys will run a scene where I get to get away/defeat you with no risk right?) or to narc on other PCs (I want you guys to arrest this other PC but don't tell him I told you), because of the policy that cop pc vs. other pc had to be consentual in the sense that BOTH parties had to agree to the boundaries. Sometimes I was willing to let people get away in a scene, but after getting pouted and yelled at by a player because they wanted to not allow me to use any of my special abilities (my pc was a mortal+) to get a chance against them (it still wasn't a level playing field), I was pretty choosy about who I'd interact with in a "PvP" manner. (Read: only people whose RP I enjoyed and who were nice and respectful ooc, and weren't just using me as masturbation device and ignoring the fact that my PC was also a PC and I-player wanted to have some agency as well).
Law can be awesome. Maybe because of some of those restrictions (or I might have been lucky in time in that sphere), it tended to attract mainly mature players and low-drama (at least in-house) players in at least the beat cop sub-group. We played with each other a lot in scenarios and socially. It was really awesome, and we required absolutely nothing from staff other than reading logs.
So. I think law can work. I love law stories, especially of the beat cop variety and investigations. But because people can be very attitudinal (especially out of sphere, IME) it's probably a good idea to have a well-defined list of dos/don'ts and how PvP is to be worked out.
I found out today that I've been given a $1/hour raise, effective from March 1st. This is nice. I am also thinking it is partially because they may be hemorrhaging people (I'm not positive though, I only know of one person who's leaving from our campus--but I am the only assistant who's still in position from the start of the year and who has been fulfilling or exceeding their contract hours). Admittedly I'm pretty sure I'm jumping to public school employment next year (I can get more $$ and benefits for 1/3rd of the cost I'm paying now even at .5 FTE, vs. my full time right now), but I admit I'm considering staying IF I get my preferred shift and IF I get to work with the teacher that's staying that I like (and who likes me too) and IF they give my school year (not year round) contract. I will also probably get about another $1 raise at the end of the school year (it was specifically said this suprise raise wasn't part of that) My work bestie is retiring next year, otherwise it'd be a no brainer that I'd stay, and I thought that it was already a no-brainer I was going since she's not. But apparently, I might be more cheaply bought than I thought.
I personally have run many becomings for a variety of spheres and editions. As well as fixed ending scenes (PC death, removal of merit, ect). Sometimes my PC was a part of it, because of their relationship to the becomer. And everyone who showed up when invited understood that while there would be some things they could effect but that this was not a regular plot but a specific outcome/PC focused plot. If a player tried to fuck it up for the focused PC ( it happens unfortunately) I booted their ass out. If someone whined about it, I would ask them to stop (or they'd be booted, because what part of "X would like you to be part of his becoming scene" do you not understand, I have no patience for people trying to skew every scene towards themselves and getting butthurt or fretful if they don't.
But if you sell or promote something as a plot, then IMO it is unethical, staff or not, to make it all about your PC and your desires for them but you want other people to spectate without disclosing to them. If you want to do that, write it up as a short story and share it with them later. Other unwitting players are not your captive audience.
Finally getting a diagnosis and medication that already is helping in a huge way. The last two years have been pretty hellish for me healthwise, with a lot of non-answers from my doctors. I finally went outside of my HMO for a 2nd opinion and full lab work up, got a hypothyroid diagnosis for certain with some pretty strong indicators for Hashimoto's (more tests to see if that's actually the case soon, and at least now /those/ will be covered by insurance and supported by my HMO!) but I got to start treatment for the hypo and for the first time in almost 2 years I feel like I'm getting the old me back. So good when the medical professionals /listen/ and are willing to investigate without putting you into a box. Now I just need to find a doctor that will do that that's also fully covered by my insurance.
You are being sexually harassed by someone who uses the fact that his tactics were successful on another person. You only know that they SAY "oh she didn't say anything." For all you know he's been told hundreds of times and chooses not to hear. But no, the other woman is not responsible for his actions. Men are not uncontrollable animals incapable of self control. And predators will be predators.
Ugh. This just makes me feel ill. Yes people need to speak up always. No, even when they do it sometimes is brushed off or has no impact. But the responsively for the action is ALWAYS on the actor.
Y'all probably don't want to know what is on my staffing/oocly coordinating huge scenes like court "Keep me Happy/Upbeat OOCly" playlist then. 
I'm with ya, TJ!
You're not probably going to play with everyone on any given game anyway. In general I tried to treat folks as I'd like to be treated. Given a chance with an open mind, make allowances for someone having an off night, ect.
Most of my horrific ooc and ic experiences have been with people who write beautiful, detailed, what some might call overly long descs. But that is not why they were bad, it just reflects the nature of games and circles that I'm attracted to as a player. And since I stopped looking altogether my last year of play, I found myself experiencing the same range of quality as I always had, perhaps even improved a bit because I did not prescreen people on wiki or object description, so I didn't avoid as many people on that filter--I just culled people after 1-3 scenes depending.
If you're going to break the gym rules to bring your toddler up to the 2nd story track (8+ with supervision I believe) then for fuck's sake don't ignore them when they throw themselves down on the ground in the middle of the very narrow running space while you continue to walk around it like nothing's going on.
I get the need to not escalate tantrums. Really I do. I have done the walk of shame with 3 children under the age of 2 all screaming through the grocery store. I have been in a place with not being able to afford a night out or a babysitter when really I probably could have used one. But if you cannot put your child in the very nice, very appropriately staffed child care that you're already paying for if you're working out here (I had a clinger, so I know how difficult that can be do) then for fuck's sake, walk around the gym at the gym level where they are permitted to be and don't pose a hazard to anyone or themselves and they can run and play and maybe even chase a basketball or two!
Bonus points if you shoot me a dirty look when after I run a mile while you ignore this and do nothing to help your child work through their tantrum in this very inappropriate place where I've seen another less patient runner get to the point of almost clipping them a few times, I stop to talk to your child and get them to move off to the corner by offering to make a "fort" of the stretching mat leaned up against the wall. No really, fuck you. If you want your child to only be looked at/spoken to by you, then maybe you should...you know. Supervise them.
Honestly, I don't think narcissts who view other players as bit pieces to be manipulated and/or used for that person's enjoyment are a rare commodity on mushes--and there are a lot of game ruiners (even multiple times offenders) who never make the big time hit lists (and probably would reject that categorization of themselves and truly believe it).
I do think that the Arx folks have a good handle and spine about these things for what I know oocly. So I'd worry less in that environment than a more inattentive/erratic one (which also seems to be a common factor when games get ruined--though I'm not shy about my opinion that /no/ player ruins a game; it's staff's responsibility and usually is tied into not nipping things in the bud.)
The main downside is tying yourself to a historically problematic person is either wasting a lot of time and energy if you have staff that are on the ball and yoink them if problems crop up again, or getting caught in the echo chamber and buying into the ooc manipulations which then unintentionally hurt others and damage your own reputation.
We should be celebrating, Surr. If she's late teens that means there's folks playing that are old farts even more than us! 
Maybe it makes it more believable this is a creepy situation that my therapist/psychologist suitemate had her alarm bells triggered interacting with this guy without knowing the background? Though she is a woman. So probably just as incompetent as me at assessing threat levels.
Anyway. Wanna know why these situations are so stressful and why a lot of women don't trust their gut or feel like then should? Why reactions just like @Derp's. Hey he was nice and said he wasn't accessing me of /lying/ at least.
Most people who commit workplace violence or even rape actually are not perceived as "bad dudes" either. Many women are reluctant to tell men when attention is unwelcome or inappropriate because how dare they even consider making a guy rhink he's acting like a creep because what if he's "really not?" Be a good girl and enjoy the attention and him a chance.
It's just so important tha people who violate boundaries of behavior are given chances and the people who have to deal with them should just be careful to not make those folks feel bad.
One of the things I crave in roleplaying is being able to explore settings and themes that I would never in a million years want to experience RL and would actively campaign against in RL.
So, any given setting in a game in and of itself isn't that big of a deal to me as far as preventing me from playing there.
What I find problematic is if the theme is so draconian that it narrows the possibilities for dynamic character opportunities to a very shallow pool. This is, in my experience, often very unintentional.
I think that rigid socio-economic class (little to no mobility) is fine. Prejudice against certain races/gender/religions/other category is fine. But when you start locking down everything (As in, a game world where not only is there no social mobility but also no women can ever be anything other than broodmares or whores and can never be seen in public or make any decisions about themselves and also anyone who is not a native of <city/area> will be enslaved on sight) then while it may have a more "historical" or "different, no modern political correctness here!" feel, it also means that you are drastically reducing your capacity for interesting storytelling (IMO). Yes, there will always be some people who love playing outliers (I tend to be one of those myself) but no matter how good they are, it can be problematic (and chafing even to people who are in the able-to-do-things classes).
I think for a dynamic, vibrant RP environment, it's great to have some tension/restrictions--I wish more places did that. But when you put a choke hold on everything, it really bogs it down. Even if it doesn't attract some of the OOC problematic people who seem to love those environments because they think they're "alphas" or whatever the kids are calling it these days.
So, I would tend to favor a place that picks its restrictions carefully, and doesn't try to do everything.
Got the green light to look into programs so that I can get my esthetician's license. I already have a very good client base for that via my massage practice, and it will allow me to bring in some extra $$ in ways that will be sustainable longer, and are compatible with stuff I already do.
So I am program touring starting next week.
@icanbeyourmuse said in Culture Building:
@Ominous But that still gives them gender specific roles. Yes, they serve the same purpose but calling them 'valet' and 'lady's maid' still makes them gender specific roles.
Or is it more like gendered names for the same role. Prince/Princess. Mother/Father. Brother/Sister. Rather than Child of Regent, Parent, Sibling.
The hilarity that is a padded large (12 x 12 ish) cage filled with huge ass balloons, a handful of toddlers, and a series of fans that make the balloons whirl around the air in a perpetual vortex. :). Sometimes happy screams of delight are good for the observer's soul.
There are a handful of folks seemingly on any game that get a lot of enjoyment at disrupting others for their own amusement. I don't think it's about attention from other people in the usual sense, just satisfaction about getting to do it, or the sense that they have an audience (that they really don't want interaction from). I have seen it on Shadowrun/WoD/original theme/Battlestar/Fading Suns/you name it.
I am more like Sunny in this regard. While I believe that there are things currently unexplained I also think that there are explanations for them.
I am not a very woo woo person. And yet a lot of things like myofascial therapies were considered make believe or ignorant old fashioned remedies that are no longer needed now because of medical advances even 20 years ago (or even massage or hydrotherapy benefits) are now accepted and recommended and adopted as allopathic medical establishment practices.
I have experiences on a regular basis that aren't easily explainable, as a bodywork practioner. I never believed in transference of negative "energy" for lack of a better scientific term or that "spiritual" grounding before putting your hands on someone can help. I can detect, if I really make a connection with someone during a session, with pretty good reliability strong emotions and experiences. I've seen people have emotional releases when certain more eastern medicine hotspots are worked on/when it's where they are happening to hold their stress in their body.
I do think that there will be a scientific explanation more thoroughly eventually. I dislike "energy workers" with a passion because I think most are shysters and I especially hate fake Native American "I was adopted by a shaman spiritually and now I can heal people" cultural appropriators. But I have a far more open mind that it may very well be that there is something to electrical field sensitivity or other things that make me a little uncomfortable to hear my fellow body workers talk about; I do think that some people may be able to tap into that and produce effects or some other explanation.