Greetings,
I haven't been available to field this (or even read it thoroughly, so my apologies for that off the bat) because I've started a new project irl while I'm still working at client site.
From my skimming, some emails I've received, and staff commentary when I've logged in, I'd like to ask any player carrying a metaphorical pitchfork to please calm down. I have the impression this topic has carried on and wound up with plenty of misinformation and/or miscommunication going around, not to mention people riling one another up behind the scenes. I haven't had the time to correct misassumptions, but some of what I've heard from afar is pretty wild.
On that... this is a game. No one's life is going to be destroyed, rent go unpaid, or a real life dead body found in a basement over any of this. For those of you pissed off at me personally, I don't have a basement.
Macabre humor aside, one reason I did bother to pop on and post here is to clarify a few rumours/things I've seen go around unchecked that probably need correction so we're all on the same page and have the same context, particularly prior to the OOC Chat:
Is it heresy to kill a mage by any other means than the pyre?
Not according to any help file, that's a player interpretation. Criminals are buried on unsanctified ground, and arguing jurisdiction with the Reeves for a criminal mage seems an IC thing to do. In the staff view, the Order is ICly free to decide what is heresy and what isn't... provided they don't bite off more than they can chew.
On that, staff have made it quite clear on multiple occasions that the Queen and Holy Synod are behind the scene stop gaps and system mechanisms in place to provide a framework and, if necessary, a failsafe for extreme PC behavior in the Seneschal, Justiciar, or Grand Inquisitor. This stopgap will not be removed, so take that as you will, but please don't waste anyone's time being pissed off and angry about the game structure. We're open about it and it's there for a reason.
If you have questions or concerns about this, please chat with me in game.
Exile in its current form has no place on an RP Mud, and TI isn't PvP.
That's subjective and thus a matter of opinion. I respect people's opinions even when they are counter to my own, and would appreciate the same respect in return. People who cannot provide that respect cannot participate in discussions because my role and that of my staff isn't to be anyone's punching bag. I request everyone please keep this in mind when raising issues that upset them. It's okay to be upset, but please draw the line at becoming abusive towards staff or other players. This will also go a long way to making sure we hear you rather than having to shut the conversation down for anyone's sanity, be it that of others or our own.
Isn't exile the equivalent of a closed emote?
No. A closed emote is using the open flexibility of the emote system to improperly force an action on someone and is against policy.
TI is a non-consensual game, and people can do things to other people that those people don't like, provided the RP and system supports it. There are multiple "proper" closed system actions that players can use to execute attacks against one another, from casting spells on one another to walloping one another with swords, to complaining to the Cardinal. There are also multiple places where vNPCs and NPCs take action against players, sometimes influenced by players, sometimes not: mobs attacking, levies being collected from assets, vNPCs broadcasting alarms on guild channels, shops refusing to serve players, calling characters names, the blacklist, the redlist, and even stripping characters of guild office when the the situation calls for it.
Some people feel exile is "without RP" (or enough RP, or the right kind of RP that they themselves would sanction or whatever), or they believe it is an inappropriate way to bring vNPCs to life. That is an opinion to be respected, but it remains an opinion. Meanwhile, the closed emote comparison, whilst evocative to the RPI community and great for persuasion purposes, is fundamentally flawed.
I've heard some heinous thing staff did! Player X is telling me this is all a staff conspiracy! How dare you?!
Oh for- really? Well, that sounds awful, but whereas we can sometimes do dumb things like implement a system with issues and fail to address people's concerns for a week because our real life and paying jobs have to take precedence... it's a pretty big jump from that to conspiracy. Then again, conspiracy theories always seem to come up time and time again, so I've long ago come to the conclusion staff are a convenient scape goat. So, if people don't trust us, that sucks, particularly because correcting these accusations is next to impossible without releasing IC information that staff have no business sharing. So, with no other solution, I have to reiterate that we're not being paid to wade through bile, so whatever people think of us, please be mature and respectful.
What does this exile room actually say?
The exile command transports the character to an IC "saferoom" similar to the travelling room. It has a description that informs them their character has been exiled, but has reached an undefined place of safety. From there, they have three options: 1) liquidate for 100% RP XP return regardless of rec_level, 2) remain in their safe space and use the courier to attempt to influence a change of heart or otherwise meddle from afar, or 3) spend an equal amount of QP to what the Seneschal spent in IP to return to the grid.
I gather the above doesn't make some people happy, and as mentioned several times, we're happy to look at and adjust the system to make it better.
Thank you for your time in reading this long post that may be slightly off-beat to what's been said thus far - I will read this thread thoroughly tomorrow when I have free time.