One piece of advice I've gotten regarding writing cultures or identities that I am not is: Write the characters, but not the stories. That is to say, write about a black guy, but don't write about being black.
I feel that I could roleplay any kind of character, but I could not reasonably roleplay out a story about their identity or their race (or whatever else) as I don't have their experience.
The crux of this conversation has been: poor people aren't allowed to have XYZ technology and if they do they don't deserve my help.
If you're flashing a brand new smartphone in my face asking for money, I'm definitely less inclined to give it to you over the other dude at the corner with a cardboard sign and no shoes. It's not about the tech itself, it's about the fact that it's expensive.
ETA: Make that a "brand new high end smart phone."
@Ghost said in Getting Young Blood Into MU*'ing:
And I think the reason why this topic has gone into subtangents about MUCKMOOMUDMUX and into talking about Ruby/Perl etc is because the people in this conversation know that trying to get people to knock it off with obsessive/ego behavior isnt a task, it's a war that will be more difficult and trying than it's worth; it would likely result in the community at each other's throats.
No, the reason why this topic has gone into subtangents is because: 1) Literally every topic on this board does, that's basically our remit, and 2) We like discussing the minutiae of our hobby because we have a vested interest in it. It's not that complicated.
MSB, as a unit, isn't going to solve any problems. Some of our membership might well do, be it with technology or cultral shifting, but MSB isn't. There are too many incredibly smart people here, and too many smart people gathered in one place don't make decisions, they make arguments.
@Rinel Doesn't matter who or what you are. We'll lambast what you do and say, nothing more.
@wahoo said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:
What is wrong with you? Why is this a fucking production? Just swallow.
For some of us, there are several things wrong that stop us swallowing pills "normally."
@Ghost said in The Work Thread:
I imagine most people in the IT world have about 30-45% of those "number and acronym salad" terms memorized and use other resources for the stuff they forget
Absolutely. I can't speak for high-end IT, but academics of all stripes use every available resource they have to avoid having to rely on their memory. Not that we don't memorise things, we just know that it's far better to remember how to find a whole bunch of things than remembering a single thing.
The skilful use of search engines should be an integral part of school computing exams.
@Ghost While I agree with both you and @Wretched in personal views on the meaning of RP, I disagree with the idea that absolutely everything that happens must happen on screen or it isn't as meaningful.
If I play a criminal, and you play a judge, and you want to run a trial and I really don't want to sit for hours posing "he sits quietly" over and over again... I don't think I should be compelled to. There are some parts of a story that can be glossed over. It's not that I don't want to play out consequences, it's that sometimes part of those consequences are so unutterably boring to sit through - even if we assume the trial, in my example, is played with the Hollywood dial turned to eleven. It's going to be fuckin' boring after a while.
ETA: Sure, this might appear selfish. But at the same time I'd argue that it's selfish of anyone else to compel another person to roleplay something they're uninterested in. It's one person, I'm almost certain you can find another person that will be excited by the idea of sitting through the minutiae of a criminal prosecution if that's what you really want to do.
@Ghost This is exactly the kind of thing I prefer. Chat OOC about what you want to happen off-screen, and then write it up as a few journal entries or reports (if you're that kind of person) or whatever. I don't have the time to invest in the "old school" three hour meetings where everyone types eight paragraphs and I don't actually get to do anything other than sit there.
So sure if, as @faraday says, you can keep it short and sweet and get it done in an hour? That's fine. If you can't, I can definitely agree that it needs to FTB and a resolution posted on a bboard somewhere. It seems, at least in my experience, that those with that sort of power (judge, CO, primogen w/e) like dragging things out, so that is from where my "it's selfish for them too" comes.
ETA: To sum up, it's not necessarily what one is roleplaying but how it is roleplayed. Which is an important distinction.
@Ghost said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:
Like a murderer very loudly and very adamantly pushing for someone suffer for shoplifting.
There's a Total Fire Ban happening... pretty much all over Australia at the moment. Because it's hot, dry, and on fire.
SO STOP LAUNCHING FIRE AND EXPLOSIVES INTO THE FUCKING SKY.
I don't have an awesome car or dont own the new Atari system. I know some people might not think that I'm cool because I'm not down with the kids and own the new Steely Dan album.
Jesus can you stop describing my youth so accurately?
@Auspice said in The Work Thread:
Isn't that basically how most posts in the Hog Pit go, without the last two lines?
So all the arguments about 'Being attracted to anyone under the age of 18 makes you the devil' are null and void.
I mean... no. Just because something is legal doesn't mean it's right.
But that's also not the point, at all. It has nothing to do with legal consent.
It does have to do with producing written pornographic work featuring characters indistinguishable from children, though, if you want to talk legal talk.
Depression manifests differently for different people. For me, for instance, it's me running on fumes. I can think just fine, I just cannot do. At all.
What works for one won't work for another.
@Tinuviel Oh, so if a player decides to perform a scene of simulated pedophilia on an adult-themed game, it's the character doing it?
Unless and until a player is seeking out fellow players that are actually children, it's not real.
Do I think this particular expression of the kink is horrid? Absolutely.
Would I rather such places not be advertised here? Yes.
Is it entirely possible that some folks that engage in this activity are paedophiles? Sure.
But what do you think the outcome is, honestly? We're not the MU Police. You're not some guardian angel. You want to report this to a watchdog service? Do so. I support that effort. But going on and on and on about it just makes you look like a child.
What consenting adult players do with other consenting adult players in an adult-only environment is their business, no matter how depraved we might think it. Unless someone is actually being harmed by this, there's no reason for anyone to care.
@Ghost said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:
@Auspice said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:
@Ghost said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:
If any of our forum members are in Australia and are anywhere near those fires, my heart goes out to you. Speak up if you need anything.
unless your name is @Tinuviel
Yanno, I was gonna make a tasteless joke, but I would hate for something bad to happen and then feel horrible if that joke kinda called it.
So yeah, I'm even wishing @Tinuviel well; that fuck.
I'm pretty far from the fires, except when we're driving supplies down.
If you're of a mind, and have the resources, please consider donating to the Country Fire Authority, Fire Relief Fund for First Nations Communities, Australian Red Cross, or the NSW Rural Fire Service.
If you are interested in donating, triple check to whom you're giving your money. Crises offer higher chances for scammers to operate.
