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  • Bring IC names back to town hall!
  • A humble proposal

Bring IC names back to town hall!
A humble proposal

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This post is inspired by batko’s suggestion in the town hall topic thread. I think that the use of IC names make town halls super special. It allows for the curtain to be pulled back just a tiny bit twice a year so we can discuss issues affecting the game in a more personal way. We don’t have to be as vague about IC issues as we are obligated to be on the BGBB boards or the guided discussion. Town Hall is a time where the fourth wall becomes more translucent - not all the way transparent, mind you - and it helps remind us that even our biggest IC enemies are just characters in a game, controlled by players just like us, and helps to humanize the player base.
By svetlana at Mar 22, 2024 12:02 PM
I agree, IC names at town hall gave the Town Hall a certain enjoyable vibe to it that was completely different from the forums. IC names gave a chance for people to let the mask down and goof off, and for other players to see that their enemies are just players behind the screen in the end.

I think just about every Town Hall in my memory had mortal nemeses say hi to eachother before or after the main event took place, compliment eachother on their roleplay, etcetera.

Without IC names, I think Town Hall just feels like a forced forum discussion, or another guided discussion. Which I don't hate, I just think it diminishes the unique experience and community feeling of the whole thing.

By batko at Mar 22, 2024 7:01 PM
Town Hall definitely lost something when the change was made to use OOC names instead, it was always a really wholesome experience prior for all the reasons already touched on by svetlana and batko and I think only beneficial to the health of the community.

Can count me as a +1 to this idea!

By Nymphali at Mar 22, 2024 7:25 PM
I don't necessarily agree that having character bits in the Town Hall was always a full positive, there were occasional problems with players being reluctant to continue discussions, spin off into threads, or break off topics, because they felt they were inevitably linking their two IDs, and players not wanting to put targets on their characters.

Clearly I have no issue with shared idents, but I do know it came up more than a few times when a senior staffer said 'great topic, put up a post about it'.

Is there some way to accommodate both preferences in one I wonder?

By 0x1mm at Mar 22, 2024 8:13 PM
"Put up a post about it" - what if staff offer an option like for the anonymous art postings, just for post-town hall discussions, where you can email staff what you want to say and they can post it for you?
By svetlana at Mar 22, 2024 8:15 PM
I suspect most players would sooner turn into ash than directly email senior staff.

I still think there is a chilling effect of players not speaking out, or not speaking on some topic, if they thought doing so might bring their character under scrutiny or put them in danger of retaliation for it. If someone's faction leader, or a feared and violent solo, or their ace kool, or just a powerful and respected character, gets up at the Town Hall and says one thing, there is a considerable social pressure on others to self-censor or silence themselves or even change their opinions where there might not otherwise be.

My subjective experience was the old Town Halls were often very sanitized and couched in their language compared to what players actually thought about one another or the subject at hand, I suppose that contributes to a lighter atmosphere but it doesn't always facilitate much real growth.

Mind you, I don't actually know if OOC bits actually changes that all that much, since there's only been the short time with them! But I feel like whatever makes other people feel that can get their bugbears out without feeling they have to play politics and cater to one other, or defer to staff, is the correct approach to take.

By 0x1mm at Mar 22, 2024 8:49 PM
It would be a big change and I can already feel Slither recoiling, but there is technically already @invis... would being able to anonymously post on the boards and the Town Hall be absolutely insane? Assuming staff could still see players' IDs.
By 0x1mm at Mar 22, 2024 8:57 PM
I like the idea and all, but I feel like newer players could very easily get a bit confused and start like talking about IC stuff with people if everyone has their IC names.
By Emily at Mar 25, 2024 2:25 AM
That didn't seem to be a very big issue for the twenty years leading up to IC names being replaced with OOC names.
By batko at Mar 25, 2024 7:56 AM
If it was changed after 20 years, i bet something happened.
By SmokePotion at Mar 25, 2024 8:00 AM
I remember plenty of issues in general, really. IC romantic partners spamming lick on one another was an all-timer (how's that for bleed), players discovering they could expose themselves at Town Halls was a trend for a while, also people trying to spread diseases and causing that outbreak...

Really there was a lot of metagaming going on with gear and what players might be up to, players had to be locked from looking at one another's bits, disguised characters or characters in secret roles had to skip Town Halls or risk being revealed, characters being found out for going corpo ('I didn't know you were still playing!'), conspicuous character absences could give plots away.

It wasn't end of the world type stuff but I definitely preferred player bits coming in compared to how things were before, myself.

By 0x1mm at Mar 25, 2024 9:48 AM
Most of those issues were also a problem with OOC bits in @ooc, I recall a lot of staff shouts about not doing certain things in @ooc, not spreading diseases in @ooc, etcetera. These aren't really specific to IC names, that's just how bits work in general, OOC rooms need safeguards and the use of the IC or OOC name doesn't really affect that, I don't think.
By batko at Mar 25, 2024 10:10 AM
Yeah true enough, that's fair. I also recognize the disguise/identity metagaming thing only really ever effected a very small minority of players as well.
By 0x1mm at Mar 25, 2024 10:25 AM
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