I have not had to cite off game info on the few occasions I have involved staff in someone else's assholery or unwelcome behavior. It always comes out in game eventually. Now there may have been and often is many off game incidents as well, that I can cite as background info.
But assholes determined to be assholes can't help but be themselves. And really some people just are bound and determined to prove without a doubt they're an ass.
I can happily RP even with players I don't particularly care for, so usually I defer to my PC's personality/motivations.
However, if the player in question is behaving destructively or is actively mean to me ooc, then I will distance myself if an attempt to talk through it fails.
Ultimately if it makes me feel extremely stressed or unable to join the game I politely decline and keep it to myself (so I don't ruin it for others). It's very rare I have to make the call oocly.
I have no problem with the concept of a metaplot.
But on a pragmatic level, I think most of the time it is not implemented well, for a variety of reasons unique to each MU*, with a few exceptions (like smaller tightly themed games--run by organized and talented people. By no means does smaller or tightly themed mean that the metaplot doesn't suck. There's a lot of moving parts.)
*Staff turnover with no staff documentation--especially AWOL staff who don't leave any notes for incoming.
*Staff burnout--which leads to the above OR the natural inclination to run primarily for those they enjoy the most/who are the the most doggedly annoying or in their face (to shut them up) while directing their anger to people who "don't do anything" but who in fact have multiple months of +jobs and the like ignored/unanswered or who can't make the very limited time slots.
*Many times the same people who are great at administration (or who are willing to step up into that role) are not necessarily great STs by default, either in scenes or providing non-scene snippets (ic clues, job responses, ect.)
I don't really count player response to metaplot here, because I'm not sure it's that important. You'll always have some people respond, no matter how crappy the storytelling or how great it is. And I don't think, if you're going to roll out a metaplot, it's a great excuse to use--simply because I can think of at least 4-5 MUSHes I've been part of where staff used "players aren't responding to me" to deflect from the real issue--burnout and/or disinterest in STing for people. There were many players waiting on unanswered jobs (or mails), who would try to attend everything they could, ect--but obviously weren't reacting the way they were supposed to to the ST's "obvious" clues (protip--if "nobody" is getting what you want out of the scene the problem may be your clues aren't as "obvious" as you think!).
Metaplot is a bitch to keep track of and keep relevant. You have to have a plan. I've staffed many places and really most of the time there IS no documentation or pragmatic controls to keep track of the plan. It's not fun, it's paperwork, but not having anything leads to a lot of problems once the new shiny has worn off.
The last time I participated and really chased a metaplot on a large multiple-sphere inclusive metaplot where the people involved were not good documentarians led to me being IC penalized and screamed at ooc by a staffer for my "lack of response" over many months--until I started forwarding the many unanswered @mails I'd sent to her (this was in the era prior to +jobs) showing that I had tried weekly at first and then checked in monthly, despite no response, for over a RL year. After that, with the exception of TR's apoc-plot (which I was very judicious through whom I participated and had a lot of fun as a result), I've been extremely EXTREMELY reluctant to get involved in anything if I don't get a response. What happened to me is not at all uncommon. Usually the people who have been trying to do things in the face of staff burnout, who wait patiently and just keep paddling, tend to ultimately be the receivers of staff lashing out because of their frustrations/burnout/overwhelmedness--and usually in the context of public staff complaining of lack of player response to it.
I think if you can't be bothered to set up documentation rules and follow them for metaplot, staffside, and you are not a one-person show, then probably you should think twice about weaving in a metaplot. Sure you can blame the players, but ultimately they have no control if the implementation is half-assed, declines over time, and becomes confused and byzantine because of so much turnover with nobody keeping track of what's been done/what the direction is/what's left to do.
@saosmash said in The Metaplot:
@mietze Proactive players who actually run with things immediately get branded as part of the staffers' pets' clique, though, so I mean, it's just kind of the nature of the hobby at this point.
That's not what I'm talking about. But sure, if it makes you feel better to lay metaplot "failure" not on disorganization or other flaws but people not as good/on top of things as you, sure. It's just that in my observation things are usually more complicated. And it's almost always dismissed as "well, if you people just cared or did anything you'd be just as involved as me!"
Not so simple. Even for proactive, good, quality players.
@Ghost see, I don't necessarily have a problem with delegation (though having been a delegation/tasked with sharing PC, it's often a fool's errand, and even more frustrating than being plotstaff, which I have also been).
If things are kept moving, then no problems for me, unless that player is oocly nasty or something, which IME is rare. (annoying != nasty).
But without outside documentation at least for staff sometimes it is really hard to track who was told what when, what scenes have impacted what and how info should change, etc. it's understandable to lose the thread if it's all mostly in one or two people's heads. I think it's simple to set up a (not always joyfully fun, it's paperwork!) info tracking/synopsis system. It is just rarely done when staff is excited about the plots, and only becomes an oh shit remedy when things have devolved and it's overwhelming to think of setting it up.
Further complicating things: for better or worse we have moved into mushes not wanting restrictions or coi protections for staffer's PCs. So staff folks may want that fun of discovery and so they don't want to be part of metaplot processing.
I think for multi-cultural/sphere places you really do need a large team for helping metaplot along, answering jobs and mails, weaving people in, running scenes large and small, etc. but that really won't help if you don't have some way to organize your information/activities/timeline/synopsis of what's been done and to what impact outside of the mush (like a website board or trello, etc.)
That's not really what I meant by player response not mattering. If you do not have a staff that is proactively willing to ping players and pay attention when the group of responders is getting smaller and smaller, or who will automatically file any mention of not feeling hooked in or being able to participate as "oh, well, if they were good, proactive players then they wouldn't have a problem. Activity must be falling off because they suck/only want to fuck each other," then that's already an insurmountable problem.
I think basics should always be available in game. But wikis are a nice supplement to add more depth if desired.
It's very frustrating to be in a household with teens (it means my bandwidth slows to a crawl) and all I want to know is someone's fucking last name that I forgot, so I can address them properly, and instead of everything being available in +finger or +info I have to wait for everything on a wiki page to load.
Or, alternatively, don't give a shit about appearances (perfectly fine too), but don't also not expect perhaps getting a reaction or people not worrying or questioning. It's not an unfair reaction for them to have.
I have modded in both environments (sole responsibility for a board or only mod on duty from a certain time zone) as well as multiple people to assign to a task after discussion, and with stuff like that happening you will always have some raised brows. It's part and parcel of a modded/admined board, even if it's not transitioning to a more hands on admin from a very hands off one.
I have not seen a decline in writing quality, it seems to have greatly improved over 20 years.
Probably because things have opened up and there's less of a novel-for-bg and useless 6 paragraph description barrier to entry and things are more focused on play with each other, than people getting more fixated on indiviudal only, static things like descs.
There's nothing wrong with them, but they don't contribute to mutual storytelling. I think that perhaps the over focus on stuff like that as signifying "great rp" is one of the reasons why the quality wasn't as good. People can be wonderful individual writers where they don't have to pay attention to anything but themselves and what they want, but still suck ass at roleplaying and being a player.
I think the thread went off the rails when opp started challenging people who disagreed or who challenged what were kind of half truths of his.
By the time I read it he had already shared pms (and yeah they were referenced, I realize that) that apparently he though made him look good but instead reinforced the same sort of pattern that had happened before.
Well, here’s another quandary. People cannot post challenging or negative items on ad threads, fine.
But what happens when a person decides to go public with an apology that kind of puts others on the spot and may indeed be a way to get around not being able to communicate with them otherwise? Now if someone brags about playing with someone who they’ve made intensely uncomfortable in the past but hid who they were, who gets belligerent when confronted about their statements that aren’t completely truthy, etc...now it’s off limits to comment on behavior shown on display in that thread as well as prior experience?
I don’t think so.
This is also a person with known, bannable history of sexual harassment and creeping on games. Including circumventing a ban but being unable to keep the act together. I don’t think that person should get a pass because they try putting their thread in MC but their own behavior in it belies it.
Same thing for lesser punishments, if the effect is visible (like sudden removal from a position).
Jane has been removed from x position due to inactivity/being AWOL. Once we have resolved an ic solution, it will be given. Please see news faction head for our guidelines.
Joe has been asked to take a 2 week break from the game due to being rude/condescending/argumentative/abusive on the ooc channel after being asked to stop . Please review our behavior expectations, and if you have questions or concerns about your own behavior and aren’t clear then please feel free to reach out.
Holy shit, someone tricking others oocly into participating in rape play is pretty yuck! I hope the boyfriend or whoever was oocly aware/fine with that path! If not, that would rise to the level of a bannable offense (banning the possessed person), at least for me.
Maybe I’ve just encountered too many Surpise! Rape and Rescue! So Dark and Gritty! “plots” on WoD and fantasy games. 
I think /community members/ are responding to perceived disrespect to /the community/.
Nobody cares what the staff of that place think because when people go off the “we shall punish you for posting elsewhere!” deep end, you’re showing your unwashed ass.
We do really ask a lot of non-staff scene and/or plot runners.
*if they don’t want to be overwhelmed with a large scene that rapidly turns into an observational rather that active one, we ask them to have to say no to people who want to join in, and have to deal with belligerence.
*we ask them to mediate for players that may be inattentive/belligerent towards them or other people in the scene.
*they’re often at the mercy of staff attention/involvement for any physical/monetary reward for the participants.
*many times they don’t have access to a job like thing to keep tabs on who’s done what/asked for what/at-a-glance info showing what’s been said to each participant in a way that allows them to keep individual responses blind to other members of the group.
*there are often very few runners, so they don’t have the same opportunity to play their pc, and they’re competing against the rest of the mush for signups that they might want to participate in.
*rarely have I seen thanks given publicly or any kind of specific positive feedback given (I really liked x about the story. Boy, y sure was a twist I didn’t see coming? I felt like my pc really got to use their strengths/things I rarely get to use but have always wanted to, I really appreciated that! Wow, thanks for keeping everyone organized and enforcing timeliness, I know it’s extra work on your part but I felt like my time was really respected. Etc.)
I honestly think that the last one, player to runner and runner to player can make a huge impression. I try to do both (unless I am the runner of a huge impersonal scene) feedback wise and it’s been well received. I know that I always felt a little glow if a ST noted to me privately something they appreciated as a player, so I try to do the same for others.
I do think that if the posts were filtered out for being positive/just gifs/off-topic rambling, that the skewing of "omg you people are so negative!" would be lessened considerably. But the venting is always going to be higher than the yippyskippy, I'm sure.
I feel like Arx in Space would be Fading Sunsish.
Gany's pose queuing technique has allowed me to still be in the hobby and not feel that I am dragging anyone down or excessively annoying them by long posing intervals. I am sure I still do at times but it is a lot better than it could be. I find also that cognitively it assists in being attentive and responsive to what people are writing with less skimming. Which I am certain sounds counterintuitive but I have found especially with cognitive issues it is a great way to make sure that you are not forgetting people very often.
This is a tough one.
I think most people look for "needed" PCs but what they want truly is inclusion and importance for their PC individually.
I don't know that this is something that the vast majority of games can deliver on, regardless of intent of staff or frankly even working hard as a player. (We like to blame staff favoritism or players sitting on their asses, which can happen but it's a lot more complicated than that.)
This expectation/desire of "if I make this PC that looks like they have a niche and work hard to put myself out there, rp with a lot of people, be cooperative oocly, ect then of course I will be included by others too" has led to a lot of frustration and hurt and burnout. Almost everyone I know has experienced this, across a wide spectrum of games, compounded by people often saying "work harder like me."
I do not know that this is a solvable problem without adjusting individual expectations/desires or seeking staff or storytelling structures that support that truly (that often leads to things that people also do not like, like player or PC caps, high levels of staff involvement, sandboxing, ect).
I don't think CoD games as a genre are dead, and honestly I think if you put one up there would be plenty of interest.
I think maybe some of the old fogeys might be a little burnt out on them (I put myself in that category), but i dont think that is even a majority, and I know of at least one game in development.
I concur with know your audience. 1 on 1? Whatever you want, including rolling/code out the gills, negotiating ooc and hamming it up, whatever! If it's a group of other enthusiasts, go for whatever. If you are trying to liven up a scene in progress that you find boring, maybe keep a finger on whether or not it is welcome or if you might have just disrupted the flow of the scene which is now boring to everyone else. (Reverse is true, too, please for the love of god do not stroll into a sparring/combat area and then pout and oocly give people a hard time for "being boring" as they RP...combat.)
I personally prefer some dice rolling, though unless I know I'm around other dice enthusiasts I will often suggest that we keep it to private rolls so as to not clutter up people's RP with a shitload of combat/dice code spam if there is other RP going on, or people want to see the dice spam (some people do!)