Best posts made by Nein

@Alzie said:

I did not expect that from a thread about a yes-first game we would delve into such philosophical questions as:

• Is man born with a set of universal understandings
• Is human nature evil by design
• What is winning?
• The sociopolitical ramifications of not being a hard ass
• How humans react to authority
• Is trust innate or earned
• Learning the phrase 'Pon Farr'

I am glad to know that I subscribe to this forum, just so that I might see these conversations pan out. I suggest that @Glitch change the name of this topic to 'Deep Philosophical Ramblings' post haste, we're sorting out mad fucking truths in here.

Well, when you ask the question of how to run a mush, you're effectively asking the question "How do I best rule the tiny nation of Roleplayistan". Philosophers have been chasing the governing question for millennia.

EDIT:
Groth asked what I consider qualifications for leadership, and that's what I answered. I'm not quite grokking what you're asking for some reason. Derp.

Because nothing says "Marvel 1963' like a game set in 1964 that includes Batman, Superman and Wonderwoman.

Have we just hit a point in the hobby where we've whittled down to 50-80% people with cluster-b personality disorders who keep things going by swapping games/abuse circles? Because I keep seeing a steady drop in an already long out-dated medium, and it seems like the majority of people holding on are either doing so to maintain social connections with friends, or are just too entrenched in malfunctioning behavior to stop beating a dead horse.

@Arkandel said:

When a thread like this essentially says 'hey, we've been doing things one way for a while, is there a different approach maybe that could work to improve things?' and some responses come down to 'no, we are all horrible people barely kept in check by the iron fist of empowered dictators who'll smack us back in line if we don't toe it and we'll turn on each other the moment that stops happening' it's... disheartening. Not because I think that's the case - I don't - but because that makes me wonder what their own view of the hobby is. If it's that bleak what are they doing here? If they're that burned out... why?

I'm out of the hobby right now and just sitting on a server and tinkering with code here and there, uncertain what to do with it. Your post got me thinking about that space, and while things do look pretty bleak, I'm still dumb enough that hope springs eternal for another game (something something insanity doing something over and over again and expecting different results, etc.).

Here's why I'm burned out right now: I'd join a game, make a character, enthusiasm was high. Within one to three months, the following would happen:

• Chargen takes a month and is filled with needless busywork that serves no real purpose.
• Chargen design is poor. I'm underpowered or the entire game is overpowered. I can't figure out what is expected of me, or I'm immediately pounded for being underpowered.
• Theme is scattered, inconsistent or missing entirely.
• Policies are either so open to interpretation as to be useless/abuseable, or are so restrictive and ideologically heavy-handed that I dare not speak or move the wrong way, either IC or OOC.
• One or more staff members is suffering from some manipulative, maladaptive behavior and hamstrings plot, fun, character approval, etc., and starts making drama for me or others.
• The game is an idle-fest for old friends to hang out and chat with each other over lunch and maybe RP once every 2-3 weeks in a rushed clustermess of scenes clearly intended for their characters only. If you're new, screw you.
• Someone starts a simmering rumorfest that explodes weeks later like a popped zit, causing everyone to leave or someone to start a new game, or people I was trying to RP with to get banned.
• New game starts somewhere else, everyone leaves.
• Code is confusing, broken, badly documented, used for spying, all-consuming, or nonexistent.
• Game is based on an RPG I have to download, buy, research, and spend hours of time I don't have reading just to know what the hell is going on.
• People RP as if they are on twitter or facebook. Nonsensical disjointed posts in 140 characters or less plox
• YOU WANNA HAVE SEX WITH MY CHARACTER RIGHT WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T DO THAT CAN'T YOU MAKE AN EXCEPTION
• A Queen Bee and her flying monkeys descend on me like plague rats.
• Can't find anything to do after a couple of weeks. No one wants to RP unless someone has a planned scene/event/plot run by an ST.
• Some toxic person begins to grind me down over a course of months until I can't stomach logging onto the game anymore.

It could just be me, but there's a laundry list of burn-out reasons you can autopsy and mull over at your leisure. I still have moments of hope for making a new game, but right now, it seems like it's not worth the risk.

It sounds like what is going to be needed for a yes-first game is staff training in 'how to spot the behavior of narcissistic abusers'. Even professional therapists and lawyers can miss these guys if they don't realize what they're looking at. Read up on overt/covert narcissistic behavior and if you are prepared to spot the red flags and usher these people off the game before they can start the manipulation fests, you'll probably weed out 99.9% of ongoing unreported abuse/explosions.

@Apu

I haven't been playing Superhero-themed games for a long time, but something I've noticed as a recurring theme along the several I've dinked about on is that all of the major villains, or indeed anyone of any real import or leadership role, are all locked in a dust-gathering gun safe that only staff has the combination for. Some games won't allow you to play a villain at all, which seems to me like shooting yourself in the foot, especially if the game is in any way shape or form faction-based.

Does anyone know the reasoning behind this, or when this became popular? I'm assuming it's to prevent people from forming Mr. Sinister's Harem of Mutant Wives or General Zod's plot for the longest possible character squatting in internet history, but that's almost along the lines of "cutting off the hands of the musicians".

I've seen some games do this because they actively want to prevent PVP roleplay of any kind, but that's at the very extreme end, so I'm assuming that's the exception rather than the rule.

Eventually on these 'No Badguys Allowed' treehouses the game degenerates quickly into The Real Housewives Of Westchester County for lack of anything else to do: the street-level villains cluster together and the heroes cluster together and never the twain shall meet.

Trying superhero games and after 2 months I'm ready to abandon them as a lost cause. Between try-hard poses crammed with more NPCs than Skyrim and 90's Matrix Bullet Time 'Look at how badass I am' along with a 30-45 minute wait time between poses, not being able to do more than four 'turns' in an entire session, people who don't read what you wrote, horny lesbian superheroines slug-trailing up my leg, ridiculous TPS Report applications/corrections, the "I Have A Main Character And Will Not Touch The Peasants Beneath Me" friend circles, and now random rule 63 genderswaps of major characters (not canon) for no discernible reason, I'm ready to either retire or look at some other genre/theme.

But not WoD. I've heard too much.

I've found it helpful to treat staffing and headwizzing as if you are in an office environment. I know there are those that decry this, but establishing a hierarchical level of respect and authority, and a well defined set of jobs for everyone down the chain of command really helps. If your staff know what is expected of them, both in behavior and game function, there will be less stress all around, and you will know where things are getting fouled up. This also eliminates issues I've seen among staff where 2 people do 90% of the work and burn out very quickly while the other ten staffers are faffing about on social media all day and then doing staff work really fast for one of their friends.

All rules and policies should be written towards moderation. Too lax and people will take advantage of you, too tight and people will find loopholes.

Keep some professional distance between you and your staffers. NEVER hire on someone you are in a relationship with. Only bring friends into staff if they are friends you are 200% sure can handle being disciplined, corrected, demoted or even fired without destroying your friendship.

Make to-do lists. They are super helpful.

Have staff meetings, if only so you can touch base with each other, address new game needs, brainstorm ideas, or go over problems together.

Don't be afraid to shutter the game if there are more bad players than good.

It's actually better to approach candidates for staff and ask them rather than make people staff who are seeking the position. While you will sometimes get the genuine person who wants to help you, almost every other time it's someone who is seeking power for power's sake.

Make sure your theme isn't so niche no one will actually play it but you.

About to have an ex. There's only so much narcissistic abuse I can live with.

My attempts to get back into gaming have come to a screeching halt largely due to the themes I'm interested in being run by control-freak PC Principle staff, or the game being 20-40 idlers who use it as a 'chat with friends from work' venue, then try to cram in a late night session amongst themselves. Newcomers are greeted with a long hoop-jumping justification process only to be turned out into the desolate idler wasteland where their cries of "Anyone want to scene?" echo into the void.

I think the hobby's about done. It had a good run while it lasted.

@Ghost

YES.

The problem with the 'play whatever' multiverse superhero games is that it's a pain to figure out how everyone fits in with everyone else. Limited focus (even to just one comic book company) allows for coherency, which creates continuity, which means players can have characters jump straight off of existing canonical relationships, events and conflicts. It makes finding and generating scenes a lot easier that way, and gives new people a chance to find their RP niche more rapidly.

Namor = Weak vs blondes. And cousins.

@Rook I built one of those some time ago. Unfortunately, 'If you build it, they will come' proved to be false.

Wiki should be optional. I guess I'm an old fart in that I prefer to have everything you need on the MU*. You're there to play a game, not fill out a TPS report for the privilege of pretend adventures.

@Apos Oh I've hit that wall of outdated fandoms. I understand and empathize. You're right about generational divide, I just keep forgetting what an old fart I am (yet another sign of aging, I suppose).

Because I want to be productive in this conversation/game development jam, I found that this website's descriptions of "workplace bullying' works almost interchangeably with MUSH abuse and harassment.

Some red flags to watch out for:

http://bullyonline.org/index.php/bullying/bullies/5-serial-bully
http://timfieldfoundation.org/wiki/index.php?title=Types_of_Serial_Bully

@Apos said:

The most problematic players that want to assign blame for their own faults to others are probably the most likely to go, 'Finally a game without ridiculous staff where I can do what I want, about time' and gravitate towards it, so unfortunately the game type most dependent on players to create their own constructive environment are likely the ones to be the most toxic.

So much this. I ran into this a lot. I love the idea of providing an open playground for people to come and enjoy themselves in an harassment-free environment, but every time I opened my doors with good intention, the crazy moved in. Cue the downward spiral.

@Arkandel So far your methods are all the methods I'd embrace barring XP/sheets, but I don't know what theme you're trying to set up, so I assume it's going to be something based off an existing RPG that requires them.

@Ghost

In my time I've had characters straight up harass me for TS no matter what I play. Less so if I play a straight male that isn't a feature character - then it's like you don't exist. Interest exponentially decreases if you're an OC straight male.

My biggest problem with this is that, if you are playing a faction-based game, you need to have the bosses around on a daily basis, both to connect and direct with your IC underlings, and to establish OOC morale. If you're having fun RPing together because the boss is there scaring you sh*tless (or inspiring you if you're a hero) and making sure you have your orders, you're more likely to want to stay. Villain bosses in particular need to be around for their team/faction - not necessarily for just schlepping on down to Moe's. Leader characters often end up being the energizing factor for faction. Staff locking them up 'for plot only' means that the underlings are waiting for orders that never come, and since they're villains and their options for slice-of-life garbage RP are a little limited by their status as villains, you end up with villain factions withering to death and the hero factions milling around in a vain search for people to beat up.

At that point, Nova's neghole looks pretty interesting.

@Roz That seems like they missed the entire point of Superhero themes then.