Forums Home" Starmourn.com Lore Wiki IronRealms.com
Home› The Commsphere

Letting newly arrived players know about roleplaying...nicely.

MoggieMoggie Member Posts: 2 ✭
in The Commsphere
I recently joined with no knowledge of MUDs so I'm feeling around, trying to make sense of things. I discovered how to talk on Scatterhome and introduced myself not knowing it was a roleplay channel. Needless to say, a lot of people in that channel got really upset. I felt pretty bad because I do roleplay but on WoW so I know how it feels when my immersion is ruined. I felt so bad in fact I suicided my character. I won't tell you his name. It doesn't matter. I didn't want to be associated with a character that messed up people's RP.

I'm starting over but now I'm gunshy to talk, and really, that is a state no new player should be. I'm asking you all in roleplay to please realize not everyone has played a MUD before, or have but do not understand how things work in Starmourne. In fact, I suggest someone write some HELP text on roleplaying so new players won't do what I did. 

Comments

  • RkansasRkansas Member Posts: 136 ✭✭
    There are help files on it. HELP ROLEPLAY I think even states what channels are required to be IC and which are not. Now I do understand how that can be missed and I am sorry that people got upset. Though I am sure some, if not most had already forgot about it. They do understand that you are new, but they might not sound it on faction channel. Though it could have been handled a lot better.

    When I was playing my first MUD, RP was not inforced at all, but I joined a city that did enforce it themselves. Instead of berating me on the channel about it, I was kindly sent a tell letting me know how to talk on channels and even how to talk OOC in tells by using //. I think that was probably the best way things like this should have been handled. In my opinion.
    (Scatterhome): Cal says, "We're called Scatterhome after what everybody does at the end of the night when it's time for someone to pay the bar tab."
    (Scatterhome): You say, "Which by my calculations, it's your turn to pay."
    (Scatterhome): Brantar says, "That's what my calculations have come to."
    (Scatterhome): Paavo says, "My math adds up to that, yeah."
    (Scatterhome): Cal says, "Bastards."
  • MoggieMoggie Member Posts: 2 ✭
    It most definitely could have been handled in a better way. The only positive I've gotten out of this is that I'm spending more time reading all the HELP files than asking in NEWBIE or any other channel that I don;t know anything about. As I said, no newcomer should ever feel gunshy about asking a question

  • SyltSylt Member Posts: 14 ✭✭
    I'm sorry you had that experience, @Moggie and I'm glad you stuck it out! Please don't judge folks, too hard! Everyone is passionate and finding that happy balance together, but I definitely agree that, with new players especially, an extra delicate touch to encourage a constructive play-space (geddit, space?!) is the better toute. Like a kind tell.

    I hope you find a happy home here in the SM community. Welcome aboard. 
  • CubeyCubey Member Posts: 333 ✭✭✭
    Newbie is an OOC channel so you can ask whatever there. FT is an ic channel, but what too many monocle-dropping wannabe members of the rp police forget is that the game's definition of what counts as IC/roleplaying is much more lenient than what they believe. And so what if someone screws up and dares ask an OOC question - every single IRE game I played before had laws that, once you strip the IC fluff away, basically said "newbies will screw up because they're newbies, forgive them and don't be a dick about it".
    Sounds like Scatterhome needs such a law too. Except, y'know, Scatterhome and laws.
  • ZackZack Member Posts: 24 ✭
    edited January 2019
    I think I know who you are -- many of us were encouraging you to not commit suicide over this, and I could tell that everyone involved (at least on FT) was only joking about you being insane (even Solus), though it doesn't seem to have come across well as a joke; I saw no outright hostility myself. If someone was harassing you in a TELL over it, that's another matter for an ISSUE on the player or players in question.
    It's a shame that you had a bad experience because of that and hopefully you'll have a better one this next time
    EDIT: I do agree that I'm very likely used to the 'norm' of Scatterhome and did not view this as toxic behavior as Minion pointed out
    wandering star punk


  • AureliusAurelius Administrator Posts: 467 Starmourn staff
    That sucks. People harassing newbies over that is toxic behavior that needs to stop now.
  • MinionMinion Member Posts: 162 ✭✭✭
    edited January 2019
    Zack said:
    I think I know who you are -- many of us were encouraging you to not commit suicide over this, and I could tell that everyone involved (at least on FT) was only joking about you being insane (even Solus), though it doesn't seem to have come across well as a joke; I saw no outright hostility myself. If someone was harassing you in a TELL over it, that's another matter for an ISSUE on the player or players in question.

    It's a shame that you had a bad experience because of that and hopefully you'll have a better one this next time
    You may have been able to tell because you know how people have been acting in Scatterhome but it sure as hell comes across as toxic to someone who doesn't know. Just because you thought it would be funny, doesn't justify talking to a newbie like that. This sort of garbage pushes new players away. There's a good way to handle it that doesn't include "joking".

    EDIT TO ADD: Just want to mention, I'm not pointing fingers at you specifically.
  • AnnesaniAnnesani Member Posts: 21 ✭
    Honestly, the moment Scatterhome was mentioned I feel no other explanation was needed. I know people there think Scatterhome's roleplay is some kind of flaming dive of a 24/7 happy hour bar and it can occasionally be fun, but it is pretty obnoxious the majority of the time. There are times when everyone there is friendly and kind, but there's a reason why people were ignoring faction comms during the first month of opening. 

    It is getting better, but there are still remnants. I just hope this example helps people tone it down a little bit when it matters. 
  • SagexSagex Member Posts: 167 ✭✭✭
    @Moggie I'm sorry you had deal with that, I actually spoke with a few people from scatterhome in an ooc tells kind of letting them know hey no one should ever feel they need to suicide and start over for a simple mistake, i'm glad you giving it a second chance 
  • SecosSecos Member Posts: 28 ✭
    Yeah some people take a game too seriously.
  • SolusSolus Member Posts: 72 ✭✭✭
    Oof. I think I remember this. Said one sentence and left. If this is what I think it was someone said it was their first time playing a MUD. I tried to divert the conversation as IC as possible and qq'd to handle life.

    If I remember correctly I said something along the lines of "You should head to Marle and play in the mud with rockhoppers.".  Dunno if that came off wrongly or it escalated past that but I do humbly apologize if I came off wrongly.

    I honestly 100% wish there were emojis in faction comms. Nearly 90% of everything I say would have a :p at the end of it otherwise. 
    (Scatterhome): You say, "Do you like things up your ass? Is your record clean? Are you looking for a job in the near future but not right now? Smuggle drugs for Solus and get stuffed across the galaxy."

Sign In or Register to comment.