Copy from the general board to centralize discussion:
[ #21 ] General Board
A note has been posted by: Orlando
From room : 3002
In subject of: OOC? (Edited by Orlando) (Edited by Silrie) (Edited by Toroni) (Edited by Basil) (Edited by Aios) (Edited by Temi)
Date : Sun Feb 14 03:19:24 2016
Expires : Sat Mar 5 03:19:30 2016
To : all
_________________________________________________________________________
A friend just told me there was actually a debate concerning removing
the OOC channel from this game. So, I'd like to offer my sentiments --
because, like the majority of players here, I simply don't use forums. Let
me offer the bottom line up front: please don't kill what's left of the
deteriorating aspect of community here, because the "game" isn't compelling
enough to robustly stand alone (and, for sure, no MUD is).
Forgive the allusion to GOP presidential candidates, but: I remember 9/11
acutely, and how the previous implementor talked everyone, myself included,
through it. I remember making connections with countless people throughout
the past decade; one still plays here, and countless others don't. But
still, they exist: and one connection, galvanized through OOC contact, got
me through my time in Afghanistan.
Anyway, I'm troubled by the *lack* of OOC participation rather than its
inclusion. This is, at its core, a frivolous game where we pretend to
fight wizards. But we're all like-minded enough to enjoy it. Just today,
I had a scintillating conversation about -- wait for it -- cooking steak.
It felt, for a moment there, like old TI. Not the TI that exists now,
where I log in, type whererp, and see a string of 1s and 2s, and where
there's 4 people on OOC out of the 25 logged in. That may be healthy for
the game, but it's not healthy for the community.
Over the years, I've made several friends on TI. And, honestly, I hope you
can too! Please don't kill your chances by destroying the opportunity to
get to know each other as people.
-Chris
Silrie: I agree with Lando here. I think that instead of removing ooc
communication completely, a command other than whoinvis should be
implemented for those who just don't want any ooc contact with their fellow
players whatsoever. But I have made several dear friends here, and I feel
that ooc communication is helping me make yet another. I had a long ooc
conversation with a fellow player the other day which really helped me
hammer out a character concept, and I've found ooc communication can also
be used to inquire if someone is available to rp as well as to speak about
tensions ooc players might be having with one another.
On a level of pure assistance, relationships aside, as a blind player, I
have often used tells to send color strings to my sighted friends for their
visual advice. I've also sent them to myself to make certain they've been
formatted properly. Tells, when used right, can be useful. And on a game
where, depending on the character, it sometimes feels like half the
characters want you dead and half just think you're trash, having that ooc
feeling of comradery, for those who do not mind extending that through
tells, can be a real comfort.
Removing tells also removes a newbie's ability to quickly and privately ask
older players for support. I've been guided through a lot via tells. And
before you guys say, just use personal boards, here's the truth of the
matter. The problem isn't having the channels. It's those who abuse them,
and if people are abusing them, they're going to abuse the personal board
if tells are removed, so the problem isn't being fixed, it's merely being
shifted. And if personal boards are removed, well, that's just a whole
other level of issue. But as I doubt that would happen since it's so
integral to passing information at times, my former words still stand. The
problem does not generate with the channels, but their abusers.
If you guys haven't voted, please, vote for your opinion here. This
discussion, I think, is just us trying to support our own opinions on the
subject, and, well, I've spoken mine.
viewtopic.php? F=8&t=1204&p=7675
toroni. Honestly, I don't have a forum account, but I did want to put my
two sense in here. No, I do not believe removing ooc chanals are a good
thing. I can understand why some might consider it, but I have not only
found ti to be a solid place for rp, but I have made some genuin friends,
and yes, at times, have received help trying to work out the commands for
this, that, or the other. Are their risks in keeping it open, sure. Have
I at times said things I didn't mean, yep. But you know what, ti is more
than just a game, its a family I've met some honest people here, and I
agree with silrie, and lando here. Thanks, tor
TI is a very immersive experience, yes, and I love that. It's part of why
I came and and stayed and got involved. I can see why some people would
want to ignore the other humans behind the characters they play with,
especially if they are afraid it will only lead to tension. But as someone
who loves collaborative storytelling, and who has done a lot of it, I know
that such *REQUIRES* OOC communication. The OOC channel helps people not
only communicate as players, but as individuals and friends, so that people
feel comfortable asking for help and advice, as well as being able to
discuss plot and character development. So, I entirely agree with Lando.
Communication is key! Chuckabeth
Aios: So I was not at the OOC chat, but the actual poll on this topic says
that players suggested this, not imms. Kinaed's whole point of putting up
the poll (again, according to the actual words in the forums post) are that
the pbase in general is probably against it, but she wanted to poll to see.
I know not everyone has a forums account, but you don't need one to read
the thread. So even if you want to reply here instead of there, I strongly
suggest that you catch up on the actual discussion rather than assume that
imms are trying to murder all of humanity or whatever, especially since it
seems that it's the player community who brought up the topic in the first
place. Also note I'm not even weighing in on one side or the other, I just
hate to see such sudden anger arise from people simply not being in the
right discussion. Peace.
Temi - We appreciate everyone having opinions and that this is important to
you, but I would like to ask that we have these discussions on the forum
post so that all of the arguments are centralized. I will copy-paste these
comments over there, and will request that people don't keep responding
here. If anyone needs help with forum access, please let us know and we
will see what we can do to address your issues.