2008-01-22 - Staff/Player Meeting

==Staff/Player Meeting==
Mostly in response to +Episode. The Staff decided to have a Q&A about a number of issues occurring on the Mush. Many of these issues revolve around communication.
==Log==
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "First of all.. Welcome to the Player-Staff Q&A of 1/21. :) With the recent surge of new players, combat action of Episode I, and the changing atmosphere of the MUSH, I imagine you all might have some concerns, or questions."
[OOC] Artus raises his hand for first question
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "Please pipe down everyone. Before we start, I want to begin by stating some ground rules. The way this meeting will work is that we're going to start off with several topics that are going to play a major role OOCly and ICly as Episode I kicks off (and already has). During the course of this, we'll of course, accept questions and concerns regarding the particular topic at hand."
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "And at the end of the session, we'll accept misc. questions and any that have not been answered yet."
Tarkin drops Sceptor.
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "With the large number of players we have already, it's impertinent that only one person speaks at a time. So... We're going to have a 'Sceptor' object that we pass around. Whoever has it has the stage, at the moment."
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "Now, if you want to speak and address any concerns/questions at the topic at hand, please page me. We'll have an order that we go in. Please keep quiet and respect your peers when they have the Sceptor."
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "Any questions? Before we begin?"
[OOC] Artus says, "No."
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "About the ground rules, anyway. :P"
 
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "I'll take that as a no. Just to add: This meeting is is no way an opportunity to point fingers, or accuse of past doings. We're here to discuss in a civilized manner about what we should work out."
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "Okay. First topic, I realize that with the recent hustle and bustle of Space/Combat RP, that OOC/IC friction has occured. It's juat a matter of fact. We're not here to discuss who's at fault, but how to better initiate RP conflict and fun between both sides with the least amount of friction as possible."
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "We really need to stop the mud-slinging, everyone included. Myself included."
[OOC] Tarkin says, "As far as 'reasons to attack' somebody go here are a few things to keep in mind:"
[OOC] Tarkin says, "If you are a Jedi, Pirate, Hutt, Planet Leader, or Political Figure dont bother asking if somebody has reasons to attack you when they do. If you have to ask then ask in RP"
[OOC] Tarkin says, "Many character types are walking targets so dont be surprised if you find yourself targeted"
[OOC] Menglor says, "Meeting still happening?"
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "Okay. Witout further ado, I'm going to open this up for discussion. I'd like to hear from you players what you think can be changed of the OOC/IC guidelines and policies to make your stay here a funner experience."
[OOC] Vaal Hirah says, "That accepted, what we truly desire is any attacks/encounters to be as satisfying OOCly to both parties as possible. :)"
[OOC] Ral Nare'la nods. Please page me if you want to talk. We'll have an order.
[OOC] Tarkin says, "Very true. The point is fun RP for all. Feel free to work out the best time for it if one person cant stay on long enough to RP."
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "Grip, Fear, and then J."
[OOC] Gean says, "Hey all."
[OOC] Menglor doesn't wana chat. Hoping for a Summary. ;)
Artus takes Sceptre.
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "Grip?"
[OOC] Artus says, "I'm typing"
[OOC] Ral Nare'la nods.
Artus says, "I think it's pretty easy to understand. The problem comes when you care more about your character than the story. It broke my heart to kill Agrippa. It really did. It was my choice, of course. I could continue using +escapes and circumstances to avoid almost ANY IC situation that might trap me. Agrippa was slippery, and that was IC for him. But it reached the point where I felt that while he was contributing to the story, he might be a good casualty. All stories have to have death. We can't have everyone surviving in the story! Then the bad guys can't lose, the good guys can't win, the good guys can't even LOSE before winning! Yoda said all this alreayd. the Original Yoda. He told us all that we need to care more about the story of star wars than our own personal development. We are supposed to be actors. We are supposed to play out a roll and win or lose. Agrippa's death was one of the most amazing RPs that I ever had. Second only to the Tarkin-Death-Grant-Wortho thing.
These type of events are what make me love this MUSH. Amazing STAR WARS like scenes that make me go "That could've been in the movie..." and I think that's what people need to realize is the best thing to accomplish."
Artus drops Sceptre.
[OOC] Artus says, "that's it for me"
[OOC] Ral Nare'la nods. After all comments are made, we can make a final address on the topic. Next up, J?
[OOC] Tarkin says, "I agree with every word of that. Any questions on Grip's speech?"
[OOC] Ral Nare'la nods.
[OOC] Mina Vairde agrees also. Very nicely put :)
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "Jana, you're up next."
Jana takes a deep sweettarts induced breath and starts. "Ok, first I'm going to preface omg, I have the staff, I am tehpowerz. WHOOOO!!! Ahem. Anyway, Going to try and say all I got to say in this big text thing broken down into topic points."
A) Springboarding off what Grip said. So often we get stories and characters mixed up. Remember that story comes first. Everyone is trying to tell their story in the whole of the SW Story we are all telling. Sometimes I think prespective gets lost in what is going on and we focus in on our own stories. So person A gets upset that the story they want to tell about their character is jammed up by person B and bad mojo happens. The key, in Jana's world, is through communication. Like Grip said, death is part of life. I mean, hi, I'm going to die ICly, Duh ;) To go with what I was getting to though, Be respectful of all the stories going on by communicating with people. If a char dies, if someone is in a bad situation Icly, make sure to work with them so that as Lo said, everyone has a good OOC time (More coming)
B) This goes into my next sub-rant about conflict aka battles/fights. Communication, communication, communicatoin. During the whole Ship cruise thing I talked to Phelan who was the 'bad guy' and worked out a situation that totally revitalized my prespective about the game. I had reached the point where I felt I couldn't even talk to anyone OOCly because all it was, was stress, angst and tension. It totally rejuiced me to realize that people can work together and I really want to encourage everyone to do that in order to tell the best story possible. (More to come)
You paged Gean with 'Stout right now.'
C) Still in the vein of combat. I really think that when we're dealing with Army combat, people need to communicate distances and realities of auto-attacking armies in retaliation to player instigation. The biggest thing I've drawn out of a lot of conflicts so far, is that armies are really rampant and very eager to shoot at everyone at once. When you really step back and think about it, an Army is taking twice the combat turns of any one person, which grows to 3x or 4x depending on the numbers involved. I would heaviliy encourage the folks that be to really sit down and maybe look at the retaliation aspect of Armies just so it is a bit more representative at times. That's kind of a personal thing and I know that talking to people works through these challenges. But I guess I'm trying to encourage people to really be open to such talks.
D) Last but not least. I'd like to encourage people to keep the bickering IC and not OOC. I won't go into the amount of times I've had rants thrown at me, about me, about someone else, it's just ridiculous at times. I know there's tensions, we all do. But we should be keeping those tensions IC. ICly I'd love to kick Lo right in the junk. But that is how I feel /IC/. OOC we've worked together on a couple different good little stories. I just want to encourage everyone (you know who you are) to focus on being more OOC loose and let the IC dictate there. I know it gets tough and there's cross over but we can minimalize it. IN summation, I <3 you all (even you, you dirty little bastard).
OH! One last thing. Just cause I act like a psycho on public doens't mean I'm one IC, wtf people :P
Jana says, "Done."
[OOC] Meena Tills says, "I'd like to speak if there's time, but I want to keep it short. I'd really really like to get some RP in tonight ..."
[OOC] Artus says, "I just have to say, out of turn, Jana is lying about that IC thing. She is."
Tarkin nods and adds, "The best combat RPs I have had have involved considerable OOC communication. Our coded systems allow for immense creativity if used /with/ the other player. For example: A Jedi and a Sith want to do something neat? Both come to an agreement via pages and +forcethrow at the same time. Pose it as a battle between the force powers of the two. The Sith gets hit? The Jedi won. They both get hit? The target object broke in half under the strain. It hits nobody? It shattered. You can pull off some very cool stuff and make a great story."
[OOC] Ral Nare'la woos. I agree to all you've said, Jana. I think really, to have the best fun as possible, as this is a game, the key to it is communication. If you talk to the person beforehand or at least clarify of what your general plan is, or a simple notification saying 'Hey, if you're in the area to defend X and Y, I'm going to be attacking. If not.. Well, ;)'.
[OOC] Vaal Hirah says, "Drama is the chocolate mousse of RP... and is best prepared by OOC handshakes :)"
[OOC] Obi-Wan Kenobi nods.
[OOC] Meena Tills must break in ... the problem is that logic leads straight to scripting, which is the death of why I like this MUSH, taken too far
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "If you want to talk, please wait your turn via Sceptre. ;D. Next up, is Haraldur."
[OOC] Haraldur says, "I appologize for text wall."
[OOC] Haraldur says, "I have 4 issues. 1) The 2 jump rule which allows any ship within 2 jumps to engage in a battle is out of the spirit of star wars. A fleet based in coruscant can defend almost any system in the Republic and much of the Outer Rim, including Hoth and Nar Shaddaa. Does it really seem from the movie that the main fleet from Coruscant could deploy to Hoth within seconds? How is the Rebel Alliance supposed to raid the Empire when the Empire can react to any raid in 1 round. It also means that there is no decision to be made about deploying Republic forces in the current war as having their main fleet at Corus means they can defend the whole Republic.
2) +hide is broken. There is no counter to a character with good hide skill and you can't keep any secrets from them. It is lame RP when someone can learn any secret without any RP at all and nothing the person being spied on can do to stop them. Scanners -need- to be coded to allow people to scan for hidden people or people with hide need to stop twinking their skill all the time. Is it really fun that no one can keep a secret from you? Does that really add to the story of the game?
3) Because Nash is never online the Blacks have been complaining to me about their issues with the Republic and one name came up all the time. This person brings RPs to a halt with tempertantrums, insults people, makes constant snide comments, whines ooc without end, and constantly whines if things don't go their way. However, they never break any rules as the rules are so vague. I personally avoid RP with this person at all costs and I have told the newbies in the Blacks to do the same thing. I would suggest that there be some way to bring problem players who stop just short of breaking the rules to the attention of the staff and that there be some kind of 3 strike rule instituted where they get 3 warnings and are then banned."
[OOC] Haraldur says, "Sorry, 3 issues. I removed 4"
[OOC] Tarkin says, "Issue 1) The 2 jump rule is temporary. We are trying to figure out an alternative"
[OOC] Tarkin says, "Issue 2) There /are/ counters to good hide skill. Several of them in fact."
[OOC] Haraldur says, "Such as?"
[OOC] Tarkin says, "Tracking skill is the first and best counter. Scanners also give you a detection boost"
[OOC] Artus says, "blockade yourself into a room and allow just you and your guest to pass."
[OOC] Haraldur says, "I had track and force sense and 2 scanners and I couldn't see phelan when he hid in a room with 2 clutter with no hide skill."
[OOC] Artus says, "Nash could see me and I had a higher level of hide"
[OOC] Tarkin says, "That would just be bad luck. Multiple scanners dont stack the effect. One scanner is all you need."
[OOC] Haraldur says, "It doesn't seem unbalanced that that happened?"
[OOC] Tarkin says, "Just like having multiple droids and ship tools. You will only get the bonus from one"
[OOC] Darlana the Hutt says, "that still makes no sense in Rp though, how can you hide in certain situations and places without being spotted aka hangerbay, or small rooms"
[OOC] Vaal Hirah says, "+sneak does not bypass army blocks, too"
[OOC] Tarkin says, "I have 0 track skill and have been able to detect people of some skill"
[OOC] Artus says, "You can't. Small rooms are not easy to hide in"
[OOC] Artus says, "Bulba the Hutt can hide all over the place!"
[OOC] Tarkin says, "Small rooms are very hard. It is almost impossible to hide on the bridge of a ship for example"
[OOC] Darlana the Hutt says, "I was able to hide on a landing pad on NS how in the world could I hide?"
[OOC] Artus says, "How many scenes do you see in the OT where someone is hiding and spying on the heroes and they have NO idea? I remember the elephant man who ratted them out to the stormtroopers"
[OOC] A'den says, "large crates in a Spaceport Dar"
[OOC] A'den says, "and numerous?"
[OOC] Darlana the Hutt says, "it was hutt pad, there is nothing there it even says so"
[OOC] Haraldur says, "All I know is that I had someone following me hidden for a week with a scanner, levels of track, and force sense and I -never- once saw them. Hide should fail more often."
[OOC] Tarkin says, "As Haraldur or your last character?"
[OOC] Haraldur says, "Last char."
[OOC] Tarkin gets paged about it: The person who was following you is an expert thief
[OOC] Haraldur says, "So they never fail? Does that seem balanced?"
[OOC] Tarkin says, "Right now #3 in the game as far as stealth goes."
[OOC] Tarkin says, "It does fail"
[OOC] Artus has failed
[OOC] Tarkin says, "I have seen it fail often"
[OOC] Mina Vairde says, "Oh trust me, it fails."
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "If these are +code issues, I'd like to say to stem them off for now. It's a cause for concern, but not in this particular topic. If it's a OOC/IC policy issue, such as the two jump rule, that's perfectly fine."
[OOC] Meena Tills says, "peoples, I would like to get some RP tonight ... :( ... this seems small details not things that'll really help improve the atmosphere of play"
[OOC] Tarkin nods. Moving along..
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "Obi da Wan Kenobi is next."
[OOC] Amelia grins..Juan is up.
[OOC] Jana Coughs, "It is actually Obi Dawnrunner. He's taking my name.
[OOC] Obi-Wan Kenobi says, "Alright,its long, but its not specific, more of how we should deal with each other"
So far we have had some amazing suggestions, words and idea. I think each one should be taken into account and digested by us all
I am going to go off a bit here and just say a generalization that we all need to take into account. Communication is key. It's key in your everyday life and even more key here where we can't view each other's reactions. It's hard to judge how someone takes something purely based on Text. You have to be certain you know how you are coming across as well. ((Emotes FTW))And from personal experience, always go into an OOC discussion with the standpoint of a peaeckeeper, not the aggressor or defender.
 
 I think what I am trying to say is not so much an example of what to do with it oocly, but has how to react to it. We are all living breathing people on this MUSH. You can hurt someone with as something as simple as not saying Hello to them when they say hi to you. That's how fragile we are, well some of us.
Respect: That is where I am taking this. We all live, we all breathe, eat, work, go to school, etc. We all have FEELINGS and we all react differently. There is not set pattern to how someone is going to take your sarcasm or lack there of and we all have to be willing to cut each other some slack. Major slack.
I will make one recent example: The Falcon was stolen with the owner still aboard. This could have been handled poorly, but instead after some communication, an rp ensued. I have to say that being the owner of the Falcon I was quite impressed with how the scene was handled and the other player reacted. I didn't log on and start digging into him, instead we took care of it, rped it out to our satisfaction and both are on VERY good terms OOC now, at least I feel so. Kudos! Even when mistakes our made, there are solutions and that is THROUGH communication and respect. Remember, everyone here is trying to do something with their character, whether they be your ally or not, respect that. This is -everyone's- story, not just Anakin or Obi-wan. This is Star Wars written by us. We should remember that, because that person you despise OOCly for not letting things work out for you could actually enrich your rp ten-fold if you just talked to them.
In affect, thank you all for listening to me, thanks for you time and I hope you enjoy the game. Just remember, we are all working together on this. Staff is here to help as well if you ever need us. I personally would like to say that I am glad to have rped with everyone I have, and will continue to do so. I look forward to more amazing scenes!
[OOC] Obi-Wan Kenobi says, "No questions from me, a statement is all"
[OOC] Obi-Wan Kenobi says, "Once read, lets move on"
Zilana says, "I am not sure how to best organize this, but I will say that I've played a lot of games -- Tolkien, Trek, and World of Darkness -- and seem various space systems, etc. Anyway -- with that said my main irritation with WoD MUSH is that anytime somebody figures out you are a feature (or special char -- i'll equate mages with jedi) etc, they try to kill you. That is just plain idiotic. I think that we shouldn't turn overly towards an embrace of death and killing of chars either.
With that said, I think that every effort should be made to avoid killing players. If you want to die its your decision -- but its not 'embracing' the story because the characters are the story. I've only PK once (a Ranger on Elendor asked me to kill him and he wanted the RP -- so I did it in but he was a friend and became one of my best friends for years) over 10 years of MUSHing and am proud of that fact. It's not my goal to kill characters but to find ways for them to live. The villians always escaped in StarWars up until their final conclusion -- but they are plot devices. Players just need to be friends OOC and realize without a yin there is no yang... you can let people live. You don't HAVE to kill a player. They can get spun off in a tie fighter when their cruiser blows up, etc."
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "Please have your statements ready before it's your turn."
Zilana says, "So I disagree with the embrace of death -- and instead support an embrace of life. Both sides should preserve life. And its fine to be friends with the enemy. It makes it fun. OOC work and communication is key. If both sides sit on their bases it becomes a boring stalemate and loses the element of conflict. You shouldn't have to kill anybody unless they want to die. (Or are being twinkish and irresponsible. But thats a staff issue not a player issue. Staff can root out people who are out of control. That's their job IMHO.)"
[OOC] Zilana says, "Ok. Done. But yeah. Don't kill people. No need. :-P"
[OOC] Artus says, "we DO have +escapes for a reason ;)"
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "As I'm getting confused with this order, I'm going to ask you to direct your pages to Eluriel if you want to talk. The current order is: Zilana, Amelia, Menglor, Vaal, Haquien, MT, Pesiro. I hope I didn't miss anybody? :)"
[OOC] Eluriel says, "If people twink like that staff -needs- a log. We need some proof not just a complaint. Then we can handle it."
[OOC] Tarkin notes that El's comment goes back to Har's point 3.
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "Amelia up next."
Amelia says, "Ok..well everyone keeps hitting on points I might make so I'm left with not much to add, I'll pass. I am new, I enjoy this game, even though every experience hasn't been fabulous, it's a zillion times better than past ones I've had elsewhere. Keep up whatever it is that makes this kind of meeting possible and productive."
[OOC] Ral Nare'la nods. :) Menglor's up.
Menglor says, "Alright. I am Menglor. I'm a Cancer. I like long walks on the beach. I am that bastard that controls the Republic Guard. I hate command and conquer. That's what this game feels like to me these days. It feels like a big text game of command and conquer with very little story. I hate that I can't OOCly plan to fight a battle without something insane being done IC. I'm upset that I can't fight just a raid against the bad guys without it turning into a running battle across the grid. I like that there is a war on, but I'd like it to go a little slower, and feel more personal.
My favorite moment thus far on the MU has been the battle on Ord Mantell. I told Hara dude we're going to land on Ord Mantell, and we're going to have it out. We had done some scouting, we planned our battle, and then we landed on OM and duked it out. It was great because each of us knew the other was coming, and we agreed on the ground rules before hand. In that scene we ruled that the leaders were off limit, since they were basically surrounded by THOUSANDS of soldiers, and that PC's who wanted to be at the front fighting could take on each other. (In short sort of like the old fashioned Elendor battles). It turned into a great scene. It was such a fun scene I let all the Blacks escape, for free. Just so I could fight them again.
I'd like a chance to develop a rivalry with Hara, but we can't usually fight without some sort of massive battle happening, or people needing to run fleets every which way. I vote that this game slows down, and concentrates more on story and less on all the damnable code. Because, I hate feeling like I have to be teh CODE MASTER ooc, and sneaky both OOC and IC just to Rp.""
[OOC] Artus says, "is someone logging all this?"
[OOC] Artus says, "because I'm leaving"
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "Yup."
[OOC] Mina Vairde says, "Yes."
[OOC] Artus says, "ok, I voted for all and logged up until now, at least."
[OOC] Mina Vairde says, "Thanks for coming, Grip :)"
[OOC] Menglor votes for everyone.
[OOC] Menglor says, "And that's all from me."
[OOC] Ral Nare'la nods. Gotcha, Fear. Lo's up.
[OOC] Artus leaves before Lo can speak!
[OOC] Tarkin notes, "If you want to do a raid then just plan a raid."
[OOC] Menglor says, "Which heavily shielded planet can I land on to raid? ;)"
[OOC] Eluriel says, "Nash and I are in really good communication. He's open to working with us. Oh, and please attack Shili."
[OOC] Obi-Wan Kenobi says, "We are"
[OOC] Tarkin says, "Shili for one"
[OOC] Obi-Wan Kenobi says, "We are"
[OOC] Obi-Wan Kenobi laughs evilly.
[OOC] Jana whines and wants to go.
[OOC] Tarkin says, "But some new toys are coming out to make Endor-style commando raids much easier. Gulp just needs a break to finish the code.."
[OOC] Meena Tills says, "Our choice of targets is wide open. Shili's one, sure. :)"
[OOC] Mina Vairde says, "Off you go dear."
[OOC] Tarkin says, "And the fleet can help you take down shields"
[OOC] Eluriel nods.
[OOC] Tarkin says, "Work with the people on your side as well as people on the other side. I'd like to see more RPed scouting"
Vaal Hirah says, "Er, okay, well, like Amelia, most of what I would say has already been said. However, I would like to add somethign to Jana and Obi-Wan's especially. ;)
Essentially, guys, we really -are- here to have fun with each other, and I reckon respect is paramount among the players here. Like Z and Jana said, respecting each others' stories needs to happen, or else OOC competition sets in. With the code intensive nature of the economy and the combat especially, as Fear just mentioned, it can be very easy and tempting to sit there and make your IC intentions fit your code options, when I truly think it should be the other way around. Go with what your IC tells you to do.. and let the code represent the result. The main focus of creativity should revolve around you and your foe, or friend, or suspicious acquaintence making a memorable scene, not scoring an OOC victory.
In addition, I would like to see a great deal of effort made by the more powerful and influential characters to give the newer players stuff to do. IC resources are there not just to wage war on your big rival, but to share the wealth and get a real sense of IC property etc going -- ships changing hands, wages paying for new armour, technicians charging for their services... all that good stuff. If you spot someone trying to achieve something ICly who is struggling because they simply have nothing to work with... help em out. It'll further their story, add a facet to yours, and the Big Story becomes that little bit richer. Dont hold out or hoard stuff just because you can... that's no fun ;P
Last point... +escape IS a little rampant. ;)"
[OOC] Eluriel says, "PLZ to what T says."
[OOC] Frrash would be good at scouting. :)
[OOC] Frrash says, "FYI. :)"
[OOC] Obi-Wan Kenobi claps.
[OOC] Ral Nare'la grins. I second that. Haquen's up next.
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "Haquien*"
Menglor glances up from the voting. "The Fleet? Ha. ;) We need players in the fleet. ;)"
[OOC] Haquien says, "Still typing, but nearly done."
Haquien says, "Being new, I see this MU* from the perspective of a new player. I think I've figured out about 1/8th of what there is to discover, which is something I like. I love the mystery of wondering. Anyway, that's not what this is about: I've been on other MU*'s where there have been few FCs and many powerful, regular old PCs who had RPed their way to the top. On those MU*'s, though, the Staff had all of the FC slots, all of the awesome PCs, and somehow knew everything about everyone and had, seemingly, all the resources. I'm not pointing a finger because I know this is natural. Staff has to make sure the game is canon; staff usually are the people who work the hardest and thus get the IC rewards; staff are usually the people you can trust to not be twinky; in short, Staff is badass and needs to be rewarded. However, if you are staff, or have many resources, or if somehow what I described above applies to you, do not forget to NOT step over the little guys. Games usually suck when the story becomes about a power struggle between staff players, which I haven't seen yet, and at this point I'm echoing Lo's comments.
Also, I'd like to point at the "the game should be about stories" arguments. Look, I know my PC is going to die. Your's probably will someday too, but when you're writing a story do you just up and up say "ok, time to kill this guy. *haha*" No. You work it out, plan it, wait for the right time, whatever. I hope this MU* takes that philosophy, because it's one I enjoy; I really loathe ninja-type "we pop out of the bushes and kill you" ending to stories."
[OOC] Haquien says, "That's all."
Tarkin grins at Haquien, "We need Nominations! Staff does not see and know all so we need help! Also, if you see a powerful character stepping on the little guy please point it out."
[OOC] Meena Tills says, "me next?"
[OOC] Eluriel nods
[OOC] Haquien says, "Oh, I take the sceptre back."
[OOC] Eluriel says, "Go ahead Haquien."
[OOC] Bozlo says, "But stepping on the little guys is what makes life worth living."
Tarkin adds, "Most Feature characters are added to staff when they are featured."
Haquien says, "I know, T. That is on the right track, from my standpoint. I plan on a nomination soon. -- I will. I have not seen this yet, per se, but then again I am also quite new."
Tarkin nods. Just stressing that we need info from players :)
Haquien says, "I plan on /making/ a nomination."
[OOC] Meena Tills says, "ok, me now?"
[OOC] Tarkin nods.
[OOC] Haquien says, "Ok, now I am done. *passes sceptre to the esteemed Meena Tills*."
Meena Tills says, "The most important thing I have to say is that what makes this MUSH different, first and foremost, is that our IC actions MATTER. They're not so snarled up in OOC gentleman's agreements, that we have to negotiate OOC before we RP. It's like that on other MUSHes I've been on, and that kills RP. Let's keep this place spontaneous, whatever else we do, which means leaving things open for IC surprises, which often means, OOC surprises too. It can be unpleasant. But if we cultivate a good attitude, and roll with the punches, it'll be a better game in the end. Please, please, please, no attempt to force a script ... the code is our only arb here, for a lot of things. Let's roll with them. All sides are vulnerable to smart strategy, if people actually RP and create plans and strategies.
Second, what I'd like to see is some way for us to be better at keeping IC and OOC separate. Fact is that we tend to blur them. Least that's my experience: the only IC secret is an OOC secret, which is the biggest problem here. :P It breeds mistrust. We need a kind of hardboiled attitude where we accept that some things IC will happen we don't know about OOCly, while being willing to talk OOCly even when rolling with a nasty punch that hits us unexpectedly. That takes some willingness to have other people do things for us, some willingness to admit, well, maybe my character couldn't be everywhere at once, maybe my char could not have anticipated something. At the same time, the fact that people do exploit the code so hard means that I have to lock things down totally, even if it will hurt RP, because I know I'll get shafted if I don't, or so it seems. That's what we have to find a way around.
Third, I'll be the first to admit that the pressures and tensions have gotten in my way of RP here some. I've done things focused too much on the code, and I'm trying to improve that. Let's try to give each other the benefit of the doubt. This game makes us all really get invested, and we have to remember that we're all RPing in each other's dreams. That's what MUSHing is, so we have to be gentle with each other. Hope that's something we can manage as a society.
P.S. If this meeting gets over soon, we should have some kind of action tonight. Please stick around? :) And can we please wrap up soon so I can get some RP tonight? :)"
[OOC] Meena Tills says, "eh, that is bigger than I expected"
[OOC] Ral Nare'la notes to MT, after the next person, we're going to wrap up. ;)
[OOC] Tanzuil says, "sorry I'm late. did I miss anything important?"
[OOC] Tarkin says, "It is all being logged so you will be able to see what you missed"
[OOC] Santher says, "oops, had the wrong name set.... and there goes my alternate identity"
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "It's being logged, and will be posted on wikia, I believe."
[OOC] Eluriel nods.
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "Next up, is Pesiro. After him, we'll have a concluding statement."
[OOC] Rem says, "Yey. I missed the beginning."
[OOC] Tarkin says, "Also: Feel free to mail or page questions to staff members at any time. Even if we cant answer it right away we will kick the question around for a day or two and find an answer."
Pes- I have spoken about this before and there technically is a rule on place. Players should not attempt to capture/attack/bomb planets/ships/vehicles without the player owning/controlling those items being online. In the case of bombing, there are a lot of problems, since you might set a bomb when someone is on and it goes off when they are not. That is perfectly acceptable in my opinion. However, the rule is if this becomes a habitual habit, that the player should be punished. In my opinion, this isn't a strong enough measure because people still go about stealing ships or attacking planets when people aren't around. I have even made a mistake of this to a degree and have apologized a great deal for my mistake. However, I believe any occurance such as this must be punished immediately. It is time to make sure people follow the rules for the fairness of the game.
You cannot build a story if the other person is not on. If you see their ship/planet as a target, send an @mail telling them you want to do so. Work out the attempt before going about what the code will let you do. It is a matter of being fair to both sides. Obviously, if someone is no longer on, it makes it a bit more difficult to do this and a bit more permissible. However, one should always strive to go about their IC actions with everyone able to act ICly.
[OOC] Eluriel says, "Was that all you T?"
[OOC] Vaal Hirah says, "Pes, I think."
[OOC] Ral Nare'la thinks that was Pez.
[OOC] Pesiro says, "Yep"
[OOC] Eluriel says, "Okay. Thanks."
Tarkin says, "First a reply to Pesiro: The bomb code will probably be modified in the future. We are looking at a chance of an inept bomber having his cover blown if he bombs a public (non-wilderness) area. This should help spur some RP from bombings but players going out of their way to generate RP for bombing campaigns is always preferred. If you have any ideas for ways to generate RP from bombings please let me know."
Tarkin says, "Second Dash (death) asked me to make his point since he had to idle: His point is that this is a game and character death is ok by him. He embraces life that way by creating another opportunity for it."
[OOC] Ral Nare'la nods. Okay. Kudos to all the statements we've heard so far. I'd like to open it up now for Staff commenting.
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "Ending comments, anyhow."
From afar, Meena Tills (MT) is sorry to hear that. Eveyryone's been having that emotion at times here it seems :P
[OOC] Obi-Wan Kenobi meeps,"Well I was out of order"
[OOC] Obi-Wan Kenobi hehs.
[OOC] Ral Nare'la says, "After concluding statements, we'll address the @mail questions that were sent, and we can send you all on your merry way to RP. ;D"
[OOC] Bozlo perches on Obi's head and looms.
[OOC] Mina Vairde snipes Bosley dead.
[OOC] Obi-Wan Kenobi is bloodied.
[OOC] Eluriel says, "Okay, here are my ending comments. The stuff about communication is great. We all can improve on that. But remember to communicate with staff too. I know some people who dont want to bother the staff but we need to be involved. Something bad happening? Tell us! We are really approachable (except Lo, hes mean j/k). Also, there is a difference between communication and scripting like MT says. Just be open to whats going on and talking. 
Please be careful to draw the line between OOC/IC knowledge. I hear about that a lot. If you are in a ship without a galatic comsys, dont page for help outside your range! If you ever do anything that might be questionable get staff approval and have a really good IC reason for what you do. This is about respect and fairness. It sucks when you are out numbered but the game is still fun, even if you happen to lose one. 
I also want to bring up a issue that might be hard to deal with. When people keep exploiting code, or insulting people OOC (proven with logs), how should we handle them? What are the consequences for breaking a code of honor? 
Tarkin says, "Case by case basis is what we have been working with so far"
Tarkin says, "And so far we have been able to correct nearly all issues through communications"
Tarkin says, "Sorry for all my typos. Anyway, anyone who is found to be exploiting code is closely watched. We do have many ways to track for possible exploitation and we do use them. As far as OOC conduct goes we have no easy way of tracking this. We need logs from players."
Mina Vairde says, "My two cents: Thank you. To everyone in this room. Be you Player or Wiz, Judge or Helper. Thank you. This place only thrives because of the players that commit to building it up. You're all a part of that, and this should be reiterated to those who aren't here tonight. It's a big effort from everyone that has made this place such a success, which is why I think it's safe to say we're all a little passionate, no?
Remember the person you're playing with. Be -nice- to eachother. It's an age-old thing that I'm sure you were told when you were growing up. The only way we can continue to have the plethora of RP opportunities and continued building on this MUSH is to respect one another. It pains me as a Judge to have to hear people torn up about things. It's sad to watch friendships disappate due to something that is IC and has been taken badly OOC. We're not perfect entities, and as AK said-- human beings.
Treat eachother well, respect one another. If it gets bad, do what Y told me once: say you need to do something and you'll be right back. Get up, take a walk away from your screen for a bit, and then return with a level head to try to figure it out with tact and poise. Maintain your appreciation for eachother-- we're all awesome people, we know it. Maintain that which you've forged through hard work ICly and through laughs and jokes OOCly.
The Unspeakable pours forth from my virtual lips: Before coming here, I had absolutely no love for Star Wars. ;) Every single person on here, has destroyed that and helped forge a -great- love of it. This is our story, people. I'm fortunate to have RPed with you all, and those I'm yet to meet-- look out ;) But please, for the sake of your enjoyment, and the sanity of everyone-- have a care for eachother. Text is -not- a condusive forum for being able to put forth what you intended to with words that are bereft of tone. Talk to eachother, be aware of yourself as well as others. Respect eachother.
We're all here for the same thing. Enjoy yourselves and enjoy eachother.
wtfpwnzninjakicksTahandBosleyintheface</3
[OOC] Tarkin nods. @mail me if I'm not around
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Category:OOC Logs