@auspice Yeah, in my experience I LOVE the brief code syntax, but sometimes (especially as I'm learning Ares), I wish those snippets were fuller/better at pointing you to the rest of the related code syntax.
I never follow web links because I'm old and still using SimpleMU, but I can envision myself finally moving to Potato because of them. I DO use the web help frequently.
@faraday said in How much Code is too much Code?:
very little code is invisible. (Help being one example that is... but, well, it's not like you're going to do away with your help system even if nobody happens to be using it very often. I hope :))
No, but you might move it off game. I'd actually be super interested in how many people do help/detail on Ares to get the full file, for example, vs following the web link.
A tangent to the conversation in How much Code is too much Code?:
What pieces of code or code systems have you encountered that you feel really made it easier to tell good stories?
I like enough code to support my story-telling, but not so much that it gets in the way of my story-telling.
The amount that this is varies from game to game and theme to theme. If there's combat, it's nice to have code to support that. If it's super important to the theme to know exactly how much money I have, same.
On the other hand, if no one cares how much money I have outside of extremes, then I don't really want to be bothered with it. I don't want to have to remember to eat or drink or sleep or go to work, ICly. Get out of the way of my RP, code!
There have been times that lack of code has really hurt my RP too, though. Like the game I played where I had to manually jump in dozens of space ships and fly each and every one of them to a location to prep for a battle, because there was no 'fleet' code or similar.
Code should be a tool to make storytelling interesting and easy.
I've found this thread interesting because, although I have played with and played characters who have held varying degrees of discriminatory views, I've never really thought about the degree to which such might make someone uncomfortable, so it's been very educational in that respect.
There has long been a policy on games I've helped run about the way in which we expect our R-rated, limited consent games to deal with violence. It says:
The game is rated R for in-scene language and adult situations. Also, be aware of the general tone of the game. We do deal with some darker subject matters, however, we ask that you be sensitive to other players and be sure that violence and explicit situations are a part of character development through RP rather than incidental, gratuitous, or continuous.
Additionally, we ask that out of courtesy for your fellow players, you place a warning on any explicit scenes or text, particularly in issues of abuse.
We wrote this policy after we had some players RP violence and abuse sort of as an offhand 'I'm bored let's do something' type of situation - no follow-through, no character growth, no real consequences of any sort. That's not the sort of game we were, or wanted to be. But we also didn't want to say that you couldn't deal with those themes at all, so this policy grew.
For me, adding 'discrimination' to this list seems like a good start in terms of addressing how I'd expect to see it handled. Don't walk into a bar and start spouting off racist terms for shock value. Be sensitive to making other players uncomfortable, both in language and in content. Clearly label logs that deal heavily with this subject matter. Subtler forms of -isms should lend themselves to character and story growth and should have consequences (for both sides of the equation) and should not exist in a vacuum. And it shouldn't be something that comes up almost every time you RP a scene.
Some of this is easier for me because I don't run historical games, where the consequences or frequency might be murkier, but I think the people who have been saying that there's a clear difference between an asshole who insists on their right to use the n-word or refuses to off-cam scenes and the person who plays a character who wants to play off the tension and struggle and drama the presence of an -ism sometimes provides are in the right ball park.
I totally planned Mikhail for a short life, but I COULD NOT have planned a death as amazingly glorious as the one you gave me. Having a trusted mentor slip toward the dark side and actually KILL the kid he was trying to save was amazing.
@mietze Not gonna lie, super impressed with your ability to type while nursing. The best I ever managed was playing XCOM.
Almost always one of two reasons:
I have observed staff behaving in a manner that I find unethical. This is pretty much never 'unethical toward me', but if I've seen them be shitty or shifty to other players, it's not hard to see the writing on the wall. This includes, but is not limited to, not following their own rules, mocking players, taking advantage of the system for their own benefit, applying rules unevenly, spying on players without good reason, or just generally being mean to people.
There's no driving story and I can't get or stay interested in things.This is usually coupled with little interest in or freedom for player run things, or a general game-wide apathy for Things Happening in favor of more quiet, social RP. I can make my own fun for a good while, but if I'm playing on a game where most people want to have babies and drink beer, it's just not going to be a long-term fit for me.
I've also occasionally dabbled in PvP games despite the fact that I really don't like it much, and sometimes I run away because the competitive atmosphere creates more anxiety than fun for me, but that's rarer.
@ganymede said in Regarding administration on MSB:
@apos said in Regarding administration on MSB:
Right now I don't really notice which threads are where, frankly.
Do you think this is an issue?
Would it help if there were a separate "constructive criticism" area for game reviews?
I don't think 'constructive criticism' is quite right, but a 'reviews' section would be good. I don't think you should need to be constructive in your review, you just shouldn't be slinging Hog Pit level of vitriol. IE, I think it should allow for criticism without the constructive part.
Also: One thing that might help is if there were a way, design or skin-wise, to make Hog Pit posts MUCH CLEARER from the unread page. Yes, it's on us readers to notice, but... habits are hard to break, and I, too, have been guilty of not paying attention to where a thread is posted. I don't know if highlighting or bright tags or anything are possible, but I think it might help.
@ganymede said in Regarding administration on MSB:
@meg said in Regarding administration on MSB:
I have no way of knowing if she was speaking as just another poster or as a moderator.
We're working on making this clearer, and I'm not perfect on this either. It is safe to presume that unless I mark my comment clearly, I'm responding as a sour-old lawbot, and not as a moderator.
I don't think it's fair to ask people to make this presumption, at least not until there is a very long and clear history of clarity. And even then, I'm not sure. It sort of puts the onus on the people who are not moderators to not accidentally cross a line, and I really feel that it should go the opposite way. The burden should be on moderators to be clear, not on posters to interpret correctly.
I feel that it would be much safer to either not say things that sound moderatorish if you aren't in your mod suit, or label everything.
ETA: Whoa wait. @Auspice Not recognizing a voice that has been used inconsistently when not recognizing it means you might GET IN TROUBLE is not being /obtuse/.
I've had bosses like this. Bosses who were not clear about when they were joking around and when they were serious. I couldn't tell the difference. It was a nightmare. And they were not good bosses.
If you want to be a good moderator, be clear, and don't semi-insult people for not reading your mind. I mean. Man. We aren't in your brain, we cannot discern intent, even if we think we ought to be able to.
I think the biggest thing that would help is a clear separation of 'mod voice' and 'poster voice'. By which I mean, make it very clear when you are speaking as a mod, and when you are not.
In fact, it's probably best to kind of steer clear of things that /sound/ like moderation if they are not meant as moderation, at least until you have an established pattern of said clarity.
I don't know how to do this. Maybe separate accounts for modding. Maybe bright red text. But it's been a point of confusion several times now.
I'm kind of into this idea. I mean, it's not that far from running a small but long-term PRP, and I'd give XP for that.
Copyright law draws a line about where you're suggesting - copyright covers anything put into a tangible form. IE, write it down, record it, draw it.
Code is covered here (or at least, 'computer programs' are). Technically, using code that's not Creative Commons licensed or given with explicit permission is probably a violation of copyright law - though there may be a fair use argument regarding the AMOUNT of code used.
Not that I think M*ers are likely to take each other to court over using and being inspired by code, and most code repositories are labeled as freely shareable. And 'ethics' and 'copyright law' don't always align.
But I think the 'tangible form' line is still a useful one in terms of giving credit. Unless it is a spectacularly unique and complicated system, just having the idea doesn't really seem like enough for me.
@surreality said in Fallout MU*:
@admiral If Cybersphere, I think they had most of the same code (originally, at least), too.
Coding in MOO was actually easier, I always thought, than MUX. The built-in error checking and tracebacks helped a lot on that front.
User commands ended up more complex and wonky-feeling, though. The 'more natural speech' approach ended up more complicated rather than less. +attack <name> ends up being easier than attack <name> with axe for some reason.
Coding in MOO is a BILLION times easier than coding in PennMUSH, at least.
As for commands - I mean. You can make your command whatever you want? It doesn't have to be 'natural speech'.
Welcome to the small town of Callahan, Ohio. Everything is picturesque. Houses line the streets with their perfect lawns. Shops open at 8 and close at 5. People barbecue in their back yards while little league games carry own between festivals.
Pst. Do you mean 'carry on between festivals? Appears on your wiki homepage, too.
@tempest said in Book Recommendations:
@arkandel said in Book Recommendations:
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson is the third book in the [Stormlight Archive]
FUCK WHEN DID THIS COME OUT
It comes out in a couple weeks - Nov 17. Sanderson is a BEAST.
To add to this thread, if you haven't hit up Leigh Bardugo's Grisha books and, even better, her sequel series starting with Six of Crows, you are seriously missing out.
1.4. Are there tiaras involved in this contest? Sashes, maybe?
This is not about tone, but about accessibility to casual MSBers or perhaps (if they exist!) potential newcomers.
One of the most difficult things for me, as someone who swoops in and out of MSB as time and interest allows, is that threads are allowed to grow to GIGANTIC proportions - even when the topic has clearly changed. There is no start or end point, no point at which I can clearly jump in. I have to just click a page and hope I'm where something will make sense.
I know that there are threads where this makes more sense than others, but I think it's also really worthwhile to sort of 'reboot' a thread (you can always link to a previous one to preserve the history) if it's been idle awhile and you're coming back to it to re-start discussion, as on a game or about a person.
It is super intimidating to click on my unreads and see that threads are hundreds of pages - or even dozens, in some cases - deep.
"What's that? You want to pay for something online? No problem at all! We'll instantly debit your card so you won't have to endure the sight of that money on your balance a moment longer than necessary."
"Oh, you're getting a refund? Sorry, it'll be 3-5 business days before your funds are available. Maybe more! But usually 3-5. Have a nice day!"
UG.
I bought a new, not-at-all cheap fridge in May. After buying it, we discovered that our measurements were off by .25 inches, so we cancelled it and they 'initiated refund'.
I got the refund in AUGUST.
THREE MONTHS for a refund.
@Arkandel said in What even is 'Metaplot'?:
And that is correct, but notice TV shows also do it more intelligently than that (or do these days, after they've had some time to evolve their methods). For instance how much fun would Buffy have been if the entire run was about that one Big Bad? What if we had, I dunno, seven seasons of The Master plaguing the gang? That wouldn't stay fresh for too long, right?
Yes, you're totally right. A good metaplot knows when to end. If it doesn't have a beginning, middle, and end, then in my book it's not a plot - it's just your setting. And it's probably one of those things people are talking about that players can't affect much.
The length of a metaplot is often quite long - perhaps even years. Some games have experimented with (and I think had luck with) the idea of seasons, to help with metaplot staleness. But at some point things do have to /change/.