A...How do I say this politely...

The following is an Iga-rant™ and may take hours to read. You have been warned.

Here are a list of complaints.

1) Players have become needy brats and spoiled punks, much like the baby boomers.

The coding staff of Sindome are -NOT- here to code you ways to RP, or to code you ways to cheat, or to code you ways to do anything really. They are here to -BUILD- the 'game'.

The GM staff of Sindome are -NOT- here to give you -ANYTHING-. They are not here to give you jobs. They are not here to give you money, equipment, NPC interactions, taxi cabs, or anything that you ask for. They are here to -BUILD- the 'atmosphere' for players to interact with.

I am really getting sick of bratty, spoiled little players bitching and moaning at the staff. We give you big dome wide activity, you flop it and do not respond. We give you lovely little bits of individual activity, you ignore it and do not respond. We give you new worlds, toys, environments, and more, you do not respond.

Correction, you do respond. You whine and moan and complain.

You get on AIM and treat the staff like fucking door mats. You page up to xhelp and act like complete jackasses. You rant and rave all across websites and forums and messangers. You treat the staff like -SHIT-.

2) Players miss use xhelp as a means to find out shit they shouldn't be asking in the first place.

xhelp is -NOT- a place for you the player to ask questions about the IN CHARACTER events of the game. It is there for code bug issues, IC/OOC issues, and for situations in which a staff member is needed to be contacted.

xhelp is -NOT- where you, and I quote here, ask:

'does <player> have D.C.D.?'
'can I get <npc> to activate?'
'can I get <this>?'

xhelp is for when you have trouble. If you -want- to talk to an admin, and you -want- to try to get something done in the IC world, GO ABOUT IT IN THE GOD DAMNED IC WORLD! If you need to talk to an admin about something special, try this (feel free to copy and paste this command!)

xhelp May I speak with <admin name here> about some stuff reguarding my character's developement?

Be warned, from this point on, if a player is asking for IC information over xhelp, and I see it, I will tell you lies. I will tell you misinformation. I will miss lead, miss direct, and miss inform you as I see fit and as I find entertaining. You will -NOT- get a straight answer. You will -NOT- get the whole truth, and some times you won't even get even a smidgen of the truth.

Just to make this interesting, I'll sometimes -TELL- you the truth. Sometimes I'll tell you exactly the IC info you want to hear. SOMETIMES.

And sometimes all I'll say is this: 'Go ask God.'

I repeat: DO NOT USE XHELP TO FIND OUT IC INFO! DO NOT ASK IC QUESTIONS!

If you are having difficulty determining what is an Incharacter question, and what is an Out Of Character question, please read the help on IC and OOC, and @newbie, and @rules. If that still doesn't help, ask a staff member to explain it too you. (copy and paste this command if needed: xhelp Can a GM please explain to me what IC and OOC are?)

I expect that a good 90% of the players will be sending that message, or they should at least.

3) Respect is a form of reciprocity, and apparently the players don't have a dictionary to look up either word.

Here, for your education, are the definitions:

Respect: re�spect �(r-spkt)  tr.v. re�spect�ed, re�spect�ing, re�spects
  1) To feel or show deferential regard for; esteem.
  2) To avoid violation of or interference with: respect the speed    
       limit.
  3) To relate or refer to; concern.

PLEASE NOTE THE FIRST DEFINITION!

Reciprocity: rec�i�proc�i�ty (rs-prs-t)  n. pl. rec�i�proc�i�ties
  1) A reciprocal condition or relationship.
  2) A mutual or cooperative interchange of favors or privileges, especially the exchange of rights or privileges of trade between nations.
  3) mutual exchange of commercial or other privileges.

Nut shell: You toss us tude, we toss you tude. Yes, of course, there are -COUNTLESS- occasions where a GM or Admin snaps and freaks out at a player. But for every -ONE- time an admin gets pissed at a player, there are -FIVE TO TEN- times where a player has acted like an utter jackass over xhelp or over AIM.

This. Is. Bullshit.

Someone like Johnny does not put in 40+ hours a week building you a playground to have you tell him to fuck off every time he asks you a question, or holds you to a standard of play, or holds you to the IN GAME RESPONSIBILITIES YOU HAVE TAKEN UP.

On that note, I do not come on Sindome to hear from an ungrateful brat that:  'I -HAVE- a life and don't spend all my waking hours on the MOO…so fuck you if I couldn't get my share of the <insert IC event here>.'

I do -NOT- like being told I am a looser for providing YOU PLAYERS a place to entertain yourselves. I do not like it at ALL. Do you go up to Elijah Wood and call him a god damned looser for spending all that time on Lord of the Rings? Do you go up to your local TV station and call the broadcasters 'loosers' and 'life-less hacks' because they spend hours researching events for the news? I don't think so.

So FUCK YOU if you think that you have the right to call myself, or any of the staff here a 'looser' because, HOLY SHIT, we've spent THOUSANDS of HOURS building Sindome.

Fuck you to hell nine ways.

4) Violating IC/OOC rules, but it's okay, cause I'm not here to Role play, I'm here to MUD and get as much money, stats, and gear as I can!

Players are showing a disturbing trend to use/seek/discover/ask for IC information through OOC channels, and then USE that information in an IC manner.

yeah. Boy. That must be fun. I can't think of anything more exciting than a group of players forming a plot against my character, and telling me all about it on aim, and then coming onto the MOO and using that info to avoid the plot.

Wheee…

5) You know what else is fun? Sitting in your cube, or even better, logging on for 30 seconds then logging off!

Oh boy. What fun. I logged on for 30 seconds. Then I logged off. Nobody was on. Why stay.

Well, of course nobody is on. Nobody is staying on for longer than 30 fucking seconds to type @who! Like, come on people, are you daft in the fucking head? How do you expect to run into someone on the MOO if you are not logged in? Like…give me a break here! It is quite possibly the most annoying and mentally retarded thought process I have ever observed.

And CUBE sitters. Oh boy, you all must -LOVE- Sindome. It must be -SO- exciting to sit in your cube/appartment all alone and look at the shit you've collected and never use, and count all the money you have and never spend. WHOOO! FUN TIMES TONIGHT! I sat on SINDOME for FIVE HOURS AND DID NOTHING!

WHEEEEEEE!

Pathetic really. Then, of course, there are the constant strings of complaints from cube sitters that 'oh whine whine, nothing ever happens here, oh whine whine, RP here sucks, oh whine whine, it's the Staff's fault, oh whine whine.'

So I go over to your house, bind you up to your bed, then log your character on Sindome, then walk out of your house cackling like a monster? On a regular basis? Daily?

Uh-huh. Yeah. To be sure.

I've got a bridge to sell in Manhattan, anyone interested?

6) The admin never do plots. It's lame. It sucks. SD is gay. SD staff are all lame.

Uh-huh. Well, I'm betting you are missing the plots because you are:

1) Blind. Deaf. Mute. and/or Unable to Type.
2) You logged on for 30 seconds then logged off again.
3) You were idling and left the room for 3 days.

Also, on this, when the hell did it become manditory for all IC events to involve staff? When the hell did WE have to DO ALL the plotting and cause ALL the events in the game?

If anyone likes, I'll gladly arrange it so that when you log on, I'll take over control of your character and I'll puppet them all about and do all sorts of fun stuff with them, and you can just sit there and watch the text scroll past.

Won't that be fun!

WHEEE!

(how about you take some efforts there players…we ain't handin it to you for nothing.)

So in conclusion, get a grip out there player base. Grow the hell up and stop acting like you are eight years old. This is a GAME. It is FUN. But only if you bloody PLAY it.

Respect your elders, and your superiors. And at least try to respect the staff here. We fight all day long to stay polite to you, even after we've had ungrateful brat after ungrateful brat tell us what loosers we are, or bitch about how x is wrong, and y is wrong, and z needs to be changed to x.

Finally, stop doing things to depress the staff, sap our moral, destroy our creativity, and make us feel about as wanted as explosive hemeroids.

You know that really convenient, well put together msg you get at the beginning, letting you know what and where the new posts are on the BgBB? Hmm..looks something like this:
[++] Modified forums since last check:
[++] 4 new posts on Theme
[++] 5 new posts on Cyberpunk Culture
[++] 1 new post on Hi-Tech
[++] 1 new post on Ideas

You consider that possibility? I know for a fact, that even sometimes when i dont feel like actually playing the game, i log on to get the word on whats going on over at the BgBB, then log off and go check up on posts.

I dont think any thing else is arguable, but id just like to point out that players dont necessarily do that just to see if someone is on.

Good to know things are happening even without me starting shit up.  ;P

Almost every night i've been on lately i've found other people in the Drome or other places.  I'm always there.  And we've had some great 'pose/covo' RP, meaning people get a chance to show eachother their characters and some neat and interesting nuances.  

As for plots of drama, suspense and adventure…well you either go find it, create it or wait for it to fall in your lap.   Creating it is the quickest...finding it next...and your lap will be empty a long time if you wait for it.

I log on for different ammounts of time and participate at different levels through the day or week.  I'm busy.  Sometimes I log on to grab stat points.  Sometimes I log in hopes that we'll get some XM chat going and it'll be a  good time like that.  And most of the time I'll venture out and interact with the game environment and PCs.  But I feel it's my right to do so.  It's a world where i need to participate, and it's also a game that while there is no Winner, there is definitely a ladder and stats are one way to advance yourself up that ladder and if i can only spare 5 minutes  to log on to SD and get a stat point then that's what I'll do.

I take from the game what I want to.  Part of the reason it's here after all is for me to enjoy and play.  And in return I give when I can. I don't whine and complain about others not being able to participate to the same degree that i am, nor do i think anyone's special for being able to participate more than I am.  

GMs aren't the main force that should be driving our RP.  But players need some direction.  GMs/Admin have a lot of keys to a lot of gates that PCs want through.  Admin are the end all say all, we can only go so high on our own without GM guidance or moments of assistance.  That could be puppeting an NPC, encouraging their RP sense, or slamming the IC door in their face.  And PCs look up to GMs and Admin and Want to Rp with you.  We're like freakin' kids waiting for dad to come home and play catch.  Cuz while we RP on our own, there's something official about RPing with GMs.  There's a higher sense of contribution to the game when there's GM 'concent'.  Well done Pig, well done.

There's two sides to this coin too.  I remember being a GM, I remember this conversation.  And if there are players whining then I agree with everything you said.  Cuz whiners suck.  And whiners are selfish.  

We all get frustrated.  And Admin do a lot to further the code and ambiance of the game.  But only for slightly less selfish reasons than Players do.  Sometimes I feel like before I became a Gm i did just as much as a player to add to the stew as I did after becoming a GM.  Just in different ways.  

I have no clue if your words were directed at myself or anything i did.  But the post did offend me cuz I feel like it's an Us/Them post.  I know Iga well, used to know him better, he's a great guy who in the same way does what he can when he can.  Yes if he's upset there's valid reason.  

People quit whinin' and play the game.  If you want to sit in your cube and do nothing, then that's what you'll get a cube with nothing to do. *shrugs* so be it.

-SM

If we dont have time to RP our chars, dont get into situations which will require more time than we have.

ok.

what about when a character tries to get a hold of someone that  is an NPC and is there only source of RP due to the nature of the character?  (not me this time, but it has happened in the past)  And an unidle GM is asked about it in a polite manner when the said character has been trying to reach that said NPC for nealry 3 weeks?  the gms always claim that there are IC reasons.

Bullshit.

If you can do that, so can we.

/end transmission

(Edited by Tool at 1:47 pm on Jan. 20, 2004)

I was talking to my sister and girlfriend the other night, and they pointed out something about me that I never really noticed but should have long ago.

I am for the most part very tacturn and blunt.

I have in the recent past made people cry in critiques because of it. Mainly because I just tend to come out and ask a question, and sometimes people just can't handle that sort of thing. (But really, how was I supposed to know that her mom almost died last summer? Like, come on! All I asked was if her work was about the mortality of her self and those around her….)

I have a thought process that doesn't like overly wasted dancing about the subject and taking hours to say things like 'I don't mean to insult you buts' or 'don't take this the wrong ways'. I belive that all those things are all ready stated even if I do not say them. If I want to insult you and make you feel like crap, I will come out and insult you and make you feel like crap. This is, for the most part, a community of peers, and just as in all situations with peers, the things I say are not said to insult, they are said to critique, to offer up weaknesses and bring to table issues that abound.

They are, I will admit, ways for me to vent out frustrations over reoccuring issues that have fairly simple and common sense solutions.

On that note, I also have a very dry, and odd sense of humour. A lot of my rants are, from my perspective, funny. Jokes. Stuff like that. A prime example was myself on New Years. Here I am sitting with my Mom and my girlfriend watching the ball dropping cerimonies at Time Square, everyone is cheering and happy, and yay, Dick Clark is talking and stuff. What is my one comment:

"You know, all a terrorist would have to do is walk around infected with Ebola..."

And I laughed. (mom and my girlfriend did not.)

To me it is a funny statement. I suppose it is that dark, cynic's wisdom and humor that one finds in Cyberpunk. It's part of the genre, and in my life, it's part of the way I talk and act. I was this way long before I was on Sindome, and long before last year when I read my first Gibson.

Now, as to NPC puppetings and things holding players back, Yeah. It happens. A lot. It is one of the things that the head GM struggles with. It is at times a case of resource allotment. At times it is a case of burnt out staff. At times it is a case of sheer lazyness.

It happens. It happens all over the bloody world. It would happen even if the staff here were paid.

Sometimes I really don't feel like puppeting some NPC for a bit.

But, that being said, there are also times where a particular GM has been dealing with the situation, and it is prefered that they continue to do so for continuity reasons. (We do have an extensive system for note taking that allows many GMs to deal with any situation, but even with that, there are subtlties that may be missed.)

*shrug*

We do as best as we can. And for the most part, the players do a fantastic job. But there are some individuals out there who are portraying this attitude that the staff 'owe' them something.

We really don't 'owe' the players a damned thing. This game is free to play, and guess what, it isn't -free- to keep it running. Johnny and Kevlar spend a lot of hours in which they could be doing billable work keeping SD up. They also donate a lot of personal funds to pay for server space, web hosting, ect.

Anyhow...ummm...what the hell was I doing? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone? ....Anyone? The Great Depression...

I MUST WIN!!!  ARUGARGAHGRUAGRHAGRUG!!!!!!!!

*shoots himself in the face*

-=THE END=-

This post brought to you by big spoons and bananas.

now then…
http://www.badgerbadgerbadger.com

/end

Quote: from Iga on 6:28 pm on Jan. 20, 2004

Now, as to NPC puppetings and things holding players back, Yeah. It happens. A lot. It is one of the things that the head GM struggles with. It is at times a case of resource allotment. At times it is a case of burnt out staff. At times it is a case of sheer lazyness.

It happens. It happens all over the bloody world. It would happen even if the staff here were paid.

Sometimes I really don't feel like puppeting some NPC for a bit.

But, that being said, there are also times where a particular GM has been dealing with the situation, and it is prefered that they continue to do so for continuity reasons. (We do have an extensive system for note taking that allows many GMs to deal with any situation, but even with that, there are subtlties that may be missed.)

To this, I will add that there are also -many- times when we're already puppeting an NPC or are otherwise occupied, like by composing one of these long-ass posts. �

Many of us, on staff, multi-task to an extreme in an effort to be here as much as we are. �You'd be surprised some of the things I'm doing IRL when I'm here. �Hell, if I had to devote 100% of my attention to the game when I was on, I'd be here about six hours a week, instead of the thirty or so I am on. �I think many on staff here would say the same thing. �

And yes, I do struggle with making sure that characters are not retarded in thier development because of a lack of direct GM attention. �It's a battle that can't be won. �We can't provide sufficient staff 24x7 to ensure that every time a player looks for GM interaction we give it to them. �Not having a crystal ball, we can't know when it's crucial to character development, and when it's not. �
We do the best we can.

Quote: from Iga on 6:28 pm on Jan. 20, 2004

We do as best as we can. And for the most part, the players do a fantastic job. But there are some individuals out there who are portraying this attitude that the staff 'owe' them something.

We really don't 'owe' the players a damned thing. This game is free to play, and guess what, it isn't -free- to keep it running. Johnny and Kevlar spend a lot of hours in which they could be doing billable work keeping SD up. They also donate a lot of personal funds to pay for server space, web hosting, ect.

Amen. �I'll even take this a step further. �We, and by we I mean everyone that does not financially support this moo, owes those who do.

My 2 chyen …

I will also register my disappointment. �While there are many things I could list, I'll focus on one - behavior.

How many of us act IRL as we do OOC here? �Johnny and I had an interesting conversation the other day that was could be summed up by Johnny saying '... that's just the way people are, on-line.'

What? �Because you have a keyboard and monitor between you and the person you're communicating with, you suddenly lose all manners and common courtesy? �Did common sense elude you when you connected? �Are you so blinded by the size you think your balls/ovaries grew to just because you can hide behind a data stream that you forgot that it's a -real person- you're communicating with?

Just because you're on-line does -not- mean you have the right to treat people any worse than you do IRL, and if you think it does, grow up.

For cryin out loud, my 15 year old -daughter- in the full throes of teenage 'I know everything' syndrome and general female moodiness that seems to happen at that age, knows better than to throw tantrums and act as disrespectful as some of the people here have.

Bottom line - treat others as you want to be treated and expect to receive what you dish. � As always, if you have a complaint about something, the way someone treated you, e-mail the log to [email protected]. �If you feel I've wronged you, mail it to johnny.

*climbs down from the soapbox*

I've heard from other players before on the 'Us vs. Them' issue. �I honestly say that I don't know where this comes from, because in the time before I was brought on as a bit I -never- had that sort of feeling. �And it's not as though I was a model player either, so don't get that impression. �Just ask Kevlar if you don't believe me. �He and I went round and round -many- times.

Now that I'm on the other side of the curtain, I don't see anything that the staff does as intentionally fostering that 'Us vs. Them' attitude. �If we're doing somthing, show me. �I can't fix what I don't understand.

Is there a seperation between players and staff? �Of course there is, and I think, we all understand why some seperation has to exist. �As long as it's not antagonistic (as it has been in several instances recently) I'm sure we can all realize what our OOC role is here.

More seperation of player and character would help here; and I could only -dream- that more characters had this very themely 'Us vs. Them' attitude toward other characters. �If they did, I dare say not one player would have a complaint about a lack of plots, because the characters would be so busy trying to affect the ruin of the enemies they created that they wouldn't have time to stop and complain about something that wouldn't be needed.

Pick two characters, hate them. �

Pick one character, like him/her. �

Spend your time getting you new found friend to lay it on the line (active players have the ability to keep themselves in clones so dying shouldn't be an issue) in order to help you make your new found enemy's life, and death (if warranted) as miserable as possible. �Fluffiness has been running rampant.

And lastly …

Quote: from Tool on 4:31 pm on Jan. 20, 2004

what about when a character tries to get a hold of someone that �is an NPC and is there only source of RP due to the nature of the character? �(not me this time, but it has happened in the past) �And an unidle GM is asked about it in a polite manner when the said character has been trying to reach that said NPC for nealry 3 weeks? �the gms always claim that there are IC reasons.

Bullshit.

%90 of the time, there are IC reasons. �The rest of the time, it's usually a missed grid mail, busy GM or some combination of events that happens.

Sending me an OOC mail about this situation would be a good way to resolve these incidents on a case by case basis.

Quote: from Tool on 4:31 pm on Jan. 20, 2004

If you can do that, so can we.

Just pointing out an 'Us vs. Them' type statement that is -not- attributed to the staff, and is not a statement by the staff responding to another 'Us vs. Them' statement.

Quote: from Kevlar on 3:43 pm on Jan. 20, 2004[br]I was going to reply but Iga summed it up nicely in his last paragraph, and I have nothing to add besides:

Kev, the great depression sums it up for you?

*cackles*

And Aikao, you are, by far, my favourite masochist.

YOU(the individual, the player) vs. EVERYONE (the PCs, NPCs, Corps, WJF, Crime, WHATEVER)

Yep. �It's you against whoever is standing in the way of getting what you want.

Quote: from Aikao on 9:39 pm on Jan. 20, 2004

Yeah the GMs are gonna fucking get some NPC or something to anally rape you any chance they get. �ITS CP! �It fucking happens!

No, we're not going to do that any chance we get. �If we did, no one would be alive.

We -do- try to make sure that characters are placed into themely situations that fit thier style of RP and thier ability, and that characters don't get comfortable.� �We do a better job the last part with some characters than others. �This is an area we are -actively- trying to improve upon.

Quote: from Aikao on 9:39 pm on Jan. 20, 2004

But I got over them. �And you know what else? �It was all the better because of that.

See? �Having your world turned upside down is not a bad thing. �It can be *gasp* fun!

And even little things...like (old IC info, hope it's koshier) a rather long time ago when after a bout with disease, my character completely lost his voice  for over a month. Yeah, it sucked for him....but for me, the controller, it was very interesting to RP.

Addictions, impairments, etc...can always make things more interesting.

I don't want to go into too much IC detail, even though it happened years ago... but I remember one series of RPs where Lucifer went from hero, to runaway, to known by everyone in the game...

Granted, it spanned several months... but it was all linked to ONE stupid little event... an event that ironically got Lucifer in some series spit with the law. Frankly, I don't know if anyone would remember. lol. But it was the BEST damn RP of my life...

aaw fuckit their opinions all of em, and everyone's entitled to theirs

*shrug*