State of the Barge
Dearest barglings, this is just a small note to address all of you about the expectations that we have as far as behavior. Now, we realize that most of you, no, all of you, are good, decent, reasonable people. Good decent reasonable adults. But that is the detail that seems to be getting lost here. For the past few months, we have noticed an increasingly worrying trend towards the ugly when it comes to OOC behavior. And, while most people are following the rules, we, as mods, have noticed an undercurrent of hostility that just hasn’t seemed to go away. We also want to stress that this is not just about the HMD we just had, nor is it solely about the HMD we had in September. This is about behavior in general over the past few months that has caused us to take a good hard look at our players and this game to decide what exactly we can do.
And the answer is nothing. There are no punishments to give. Why? Because you guys are taking all of that into your own hands. We do encourage you to try and talk out your problems, but what we don’t want are players feeling like they’re being driven out of the game because of other players. And that is exactly what has happened lately. We’ve had players express wishes to leave for just this reason. And that is absolutely unacceptable. That is nothing more than schoolyard/high school politics coming into play. And what did I say before? That we are all good, decent, reasonable adults. There is a reason that we have an age minimum on players. Not just because of the content of the board (which, yes, is the main reason), but also because we want to maintain the maturity level of the players. And we understand that feelings will get hurt. We’re not asking for perfection. But we’re asking for you, as players, to be mature enough to get your feelings hurt and move on. Instead, what we’re seeing are people getting their feelings hurt and then instantly running around, trying to hurt the other person back. Grudges and feuds and people refusing to grow up and be adults. This is a game. The main point of all of this should be to have fun. And when you’re not having fun, then maybe it’s time to stop and reevaluate what you’re doing wrong. Because no one has control over you and how you feel. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t ever get upset or that you shouldn’t ever feel like you’re being attacked, bullied, whatever. We’re not victim blaming here and we’re certainly not dismissing triggers. What we’re referring to are people who get their feelings hurt over something that was accidental or unintentional or done in ignorance. ESPECIALLY when those people don’t know what they’re doing because you haven’t told them. You don’t need a full out HMD to say “hey, that really hurts my feelings when you say that” or “can we just assume this because I’m a little upset by it right now?” HMDs are for character crit. And they come only once every two months. Two months is a long, long time to sit and stew about something, so when it comes out, it really, really comes out.( And we are not at this time going to make them monthly.) And if you don’t feel safe saying something to that? Then come to a mod and we will help.
Basically, we just want you guys to all treat each other like adults. We know that you’re going to get upset and tell your friends. It’s just natural. But remember that everyone on here is an adult, too. And they are people, with feelings, that you have to respect. The childish behavior that we’ve seen lately does not need to become a trend. Childish behavior only breeds more childish behavior.
This does include running to rpanoncomm/rp!s/any other anon comm. I’m certain that most of you know that anon does not play at this game. And, from this point on, no one who works as a mod will respond to any post made on these forums regarding the game. We will not legitimize your complaints there. If they’re not important enough to take to the person themselves, or to take to a mod, then they’re not important enough for us to consider. We realize that this seems a bit harsh, but if you want to vent, then vent. Just don’t expect us to do anything about it unless you come to us, or the players, directly. We will try to extend this to all of our players, but there’s no way we can expect all of you to follow those rules. We just hope that you will.
We also have noticed a very obvious sway into negativity in this game that doesn’t just include anon comms. It’s very upsetting that we have come to this point- where we have to actually say these things. We have always tried to foster an environment at TLV that is welcoming, friendly and generally drama free. For years, we’ve been able to maintain that because of the quality of our players. Because we have had players who consistently were mature, welcoming and supportive of each other. What we have now noticed is a small batch of discontent. We have done everything in our power to correct this problem from our end. We’ve giving you outlets to express your ideas, we’ve tried to foster a sense of community, and we’ve certainly listened to you when you have come to us with issues. We’ve always maintained a sense of fairness between the four of us and that will always continue. But that’s where our part ends and yours begins.
So this is a challenge, TLV. This is a challenge to those who need to change their behavior. A challenge to those who have made some poor decisions in the past regarding their actions here. And it’s also a challenge for continuity, to those who have made this place somewhere that people want to stay at. And that they want to continue to be at. TLV is growing and that breeds change. But we have to make sure that the change is going in the right direction.
Please note that this is not a new rule change. This is just a little letter from the mods to the players, asking that we all remain adults. Because no one wants to be treated like a child. We do appreciate you guys and we love that most of you are and have always been mature, reasonable, fun people to play and interact with.
And the answer is nothing. There are no punishments to give. Why? Because you guys are taking all of that into your own hands. We do encourage you to try and talk out your problems, but what we don’t want are players feeling like they’re being driven out of the game because of other players. And that is exactly what has happened lately. We’ve had players express wishes to leave for just this reason. And that is absolutely unacceptable. That is nothing more than schoolyard/high school politics coming into play. And what did I say before? That we are all good, decent, reasonable adults. There is a reason that we have an age minimum on players. Not just because of the content of the board (which, yes, is the main reason), but also because we want to maintain the maturity level of the players. And we understand that feelings will get hurt. We’re not asking for perfection. But we’re asking for you, as players, to be mature enough to get your feelings hurt and move on. Instead, what we’re seeing are people getting their feelings hurt and then instantly running around, trying to hurt the other person back. Grudges and feuds and people refusing to grow up and be adults. This is a game. The main point of all of this should be to have fun. And when you’re not having fun, then maybe it’s time to stop and reevaluate what you’re doing wrong. Because no one has control over you and how you feel. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t ever get upset or that you shouldn’t ever feel like you’re being attacked, bullied, whatever. We’re not victim blaming here and we’re certainly not dismissing triggers. What we’re referring to are people who get their feelings hurt over something that was accidental or unintentional or done in ignorance. ESPECIALLY when those people don’t know what they’re doing because you haven’t told them. You don’t need a full out HMD to say “hey, that really hurts my feelings when you say that” or “can we just assume this because I’m a little upset by it right now?” HMDs are for character crit. And they come only once every two months. Two months is a long, long time to sit and stew about something, so when it comes out, it really, really comes out.( And we are not at this time going to make them monthly.) And if you don’t feel safe saying something to that? Then come to a mod and we will help.
Basically, we just want you guys to all treat each other like adults. We know that you’re going to get upset and tell your friends. It’s just natural. But remember that everyone on here is an adult, too. And they are people, with feelings, that you have to respect. The childish behavior that we’ve seen lately does not need to become a trend. Childish behavior only breeds more childish behavior.
This does include running to rpanoncomm/rp!s/any other anon comm. I’m certain that most of you know that anon does not play at this game. And, from this point on, no one who works as a mod will respond to any post made on these forums regarding the game. We will not legitimize your complaints there. If they’re not important enough to take to the person themselves, or to take to a mod, then they’re not important enough for us to consider. We realize that this seems a bit harsh, but if you want to vent, then vent. Just don’t expect us to do anything about it unless you come to us, or the players, directly. We will try to extend this to all of our players, but there’s no way we can expect all of you to follow those rules. We just hope that you will.
We also have noticed a very obvious sway into negativity in this game that doesn’t just include anon comms. It’s very upsetting that we have come to this point- where we have to actually say these things. We have always tried to foster an environment at TLV that is welcoming, friendly and generally drama free. For years, we’ve been able to maintain that because of the quality of our players. Because we have had players who consistently were mature, welcoming and supportive of each other. What we have now noticed is a small batch of discontent. We have done everything in our power to correct this problem from our end. We’ve giving you outlets to express your ideas, we’ve tried to foster a sense of community, and we’ve certainly listened to you when you have come to us with issues. We’ve always maintained a sense of fairness between the four of us and that will always continue. But that’s where our part ends and yours begins.
So this is a challenge, TLV. This is a challenge to those who need to change their behavior. A challenge to those who have made some poor decisions in the past regarding their actions here. And it’s also a challenge for continuity, to those who have made this place somewhere that people want to stay at. And that they want to continue to be at. TLV is growing and that breeds change. But we have to make sure that the change is going in the right direction.
Please note that this is not a new rule change. This is just a little letter from the mods to the players, asking that we all remain adults. Because no one wants to be treated like a child. We do appreciate you guys and we love that most of you are and have always been mature, reasonable, fun people to play and interact with.