Huzzah!

Or not.

 I hear much complaint about those who PK on this mud, and threaten it's very existence, but I argue that perhaps it is the heavy-handed admins who will be responsible for the demise of sindome.
 The forums here are reminiscent of slashdot, stale, outmoded, and vengeful towards dissenters.  Who dares post something out of sync with the admin's beleifs for fear of retribution, OOC, or even ICly.
Just days ago, one spoke out against this tyranny, suggesting that perhaps the rulers of sindome are becoming drunk with the power that they wield, and he was vilified.  Not one voice rose in support.
However, even more telling was that not one voice rose in disagreement either.  Sure, there was much shouting, and gnashing of teeth, but all that emerged was hateful spite from those, who more than anyone else, should be impartial.  
I am new here, and have yet to experience everything that this board has to offer, but in my experiences so far, the admins have taken to dealing with OOC problems as their IC counterparts, (The judges) would.
They shoot first, and ask questions later.
This is hardly the kind of environment which fosters a community of RP.  Rather, this behaviour fosters misgiving, and anger, which only alienates more potential players.  Many of them, before they even have a chance to get into the spirit of this world.
In order for this world to grow, and attract new players, the admins need to be far more impartial.  They argue with the hate and spite of little boys, where they are required to have the diplomacy of statesmen.  Perhaps a change of guard is in order, if the existing monarchy cannot curb their childish impulses.

May your responses prove me wrong;
-The Straight Dope.

Lessee now. You were kicked from the MOO and celled because you'd set up a series of triggers, one of which was clocked outputting 10lps (lines per second) to the MOO for over 8 hours. That's prolly enough to qualify as a DoS attack had we not given you the benefit of the doubt. Triggers are potentially dangerous things if mis-implemented and it's -very- easy to set up a trigger that responds to the output it generates, thus creating a loop, which is what I suspect you did. If this -isn't- what you did then the only other possibility is a malicious attack. Either way, for this reason we have MOO-side @macro support with coded safeguards that prevent loops.

Your previous run-in with admin was when you started a big fuss about how unhappy you were at losing a few hours char-gen work because you were killed while idle in SHI. Admittedly, you were unlucky, since you were killed by someone who walked out of char-gen for the first time and obviously thought he was playing a MUD, since he killed several NPC's before he found you. What -astounded- me was that you were unhappy about this 'waste of your time in char-gen' when in your first week on the MOO you killed at -LEAST- half-a-dozen sleeping newbies. Two points come to mind: Don't idle and be surprised when shit happens in your absence. @ooc or @quit, thems the choices. And DO UNTO FUCKING OTHERS...

I also find it mildly amusing you chose to create a 'new' BGBB account in purely to start this topic instead of using the account you already had... Got something to hide?

What prompted this outburst? The Chant discussion? Chant has previous form and is widely disliked here. He's never actually -actively- played Sindome, so really he just comes here to be inflamatory. He also applied to be a bit here, then applied to be a bit on another MOO, commenting on how shit both SD and CS were in his otherMOO application. Funny really, coz when he was applying to be a bit here he was always going on about how shit CS was...

If it wasn't the Chant discussion, was it the handling of Reptile, as posted in the 'CSer Files'? Again, previous form, read the -very- first post in the CSers Files topic, that would be Reptile. As ever, amusing that these people choose to tell us how much CS '0wnz' SD and yet they -still- keep coming back. Actually, while re-reading the CSer Files topic I was also most amused that almost -all- the subjects used very similar diction, grammar and comments. Not to mention the fact that they all finished with very similar closing outbursts followed by @quit.

Anyhows... I've suddenly realized that throughout this response I've made -very- little reference to the content of your opening post... Why is this? I'll tell ya, it's because I've dismissed pretty much every word of it as a worthless rant from someone out to stir up trouble. You chose to try and hide your identity, you've had no significant interaction or previous note-worthy complaint against any admin and, unless you're a returning someone, you've been here just a few weeks.

Oh crap, you know what, I will dissect your post, it's begging for it...

@newt/@toad - I've actually -never- used either. I can recall -one- instance of an @toad in the last year or so and perhaps less than 3 or 4 previous instances of -either- being used. We almost -never- @toad/@newt people.

Chant - No-one rose in support of him because the only people who know -anything- about him are admin. Why? Because he's never actually played the game enough to have any friends/supporters amidst the player base. Why didn't any players post to disagree with him, you ask? To be honest, why would anyone? It was already handled and anyhow, I refer to my previous comment, none of the players know anything about him aside from his mindless BGBB posts. He's a blank. If there were widespread disagreement with the way the admin handle things around here then frankly, we wouldn't have a player base... duh.

All this blabbering about 'mindless PKing', 'threat to the MOO' (note, MOO... christ, people are stupid) and such... - http://www.sindome.org. Read, inwardly digest, think for a moment… Anything dawning in the little mind yet? Any part of that -VERY FIRST INDEX PAGE- catch your eye? *shrugs*

No-one ever said PK was a threat to the MOO, I don't care if it's a threat to the MOO or not, we're RP enforced. We categorize ourselves as RP enforced on various search engines for a reason. My number one concern when I step in against a newbie PKer is the disappointment and frustration of the genuine RPers who connect -because- we're RP enforced only to find they've been PK'd for -no- reason. On top of that, Sindome isn't just a game, it's a community. Any competition and conflict generated in the IC world is supposed to be fun. We don't encourage players to sit in their own little IC worlds. The thing that has kept me with Sindome since the very first time I logged in is that very essence of OOC community. Newbies who come in and fail to embrace it will, quite frankly, not enjoy the full aspect of the game. I spend more time OOCly interacting with newbies than I do coding, GM'ing or building. Finding jobs for them, helping to shape their characters, finding out what they want from the game... *shrugs* There is no 'elitist' section in SD, I can say that with absolute confidence. I'm proud of the way our players embrace and welcome newbies where-ever possible and I'm proud of the way our admin handle themselves. That said, when a troublesome element enters the game and attempts to be reasonable fail with them, I will show no restraint in my response to their disruptive actions

And in closing... a final quote from your post:

the admins with such godly powers as @newt & @toad, and 'swear at others.'

In my defence, I have form of tourettes called, quite simply, tourettes of the fingers. It's a terrible affliction which makes it impossible for me to lead a nor… GET YOUR WHINING FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT RAT FUCK SON OF A STONE HOME MOTHER FUCKING CUNT ASS OFF THIS MOO..mal life.

First, I agree. The player-admin interaction here is very good in my opinion... (Except for the occasional 'bad day' *coughs*) I have seen one, maybe two people @newted in my time here, almost two years... One was an excessive spammer, the MOO lagged from him. The other was in the CSer files I believe...

Secondly, the admin work with the players, and IC is IC here. I have yet to see an OOC fight go IC among the admin. EVER. I personally value the admin as good friends, some better then others because I talk to them more. Damon and I have had our differences, but at the end of the day, he is one of my better friends here... him being gone is like a piece of the game being gone for me. Next, Stone and Ras. Awsome people those two, good at heart... one I will talk about later. Johnny, or as Nic calls him, Jman. He devotes tons of time to the game, much like everyone else. And its NON-PROFIT! (That means no one makes money.) I for one would love to have a bit here... unfortunatly, I now think that I lack the experience or time to do such, heh, I doubt they'd take me anyways. Moreso, I don't want to have anything influecnce Luc, maybe in the near future when Luc gets offed I may apply, maybe not...

Moving on... yes, this is the bad part... I have noticed that when someone does speak out, they get ranted on. Ras, I hate to use you as an example, but you seem to be in the front lines here. With Chant, this new one, and several in the past, you have been the first and most numerous to respond. Usually, the response attacks the person, and not just the idea. With such insults as 'GET YOUR WHINING FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT RAT FUCK SON OF A STONE HOME MOTHER FUCKING CUNT ASS OFF THIS MOO' from this one alone.

Now... the people here have an opinion... and your opinion is the insults... so in a retrospect, your being opinionative for them having an opinion that is not a postive one... in a way, I see it as bad. I do it myself though, I'm not saying its horrific and stupid to do it, I'm saying its getting to be on excess with you. Granted, I don't know the behind the scenes stuff. I don't see past references... but thats just it, no one does. We see what you post on the board, and what you say in the game... and thats about it.

Bottom line? I love Sindome. I don't think I'll leave ANYTIME soon, if ever. I don't know how many of you saw, but on September 11th, the first thing I saw when I got on was a dedication to everyone that died, and to those who fought to help others (namely, the police/firefighters). That makes me -DAMN- proud to be a part  of Sindome. Damn proud. I didn't see any of my other online games removing their opening screen to put a dedication on, not one.

I AM SINDOMIAN! And this... was my opinion. :P

The MooAholics anonymous croud says in unison: HI STONEMONK

Stonemonk: I am a MooAholic

The MooAholics clap and show support. Some say, "It's ok Stones" while others say, "We're here for you."

(tee hee)

Ok ok..I'll take things seriously.

1. Rastus is right. We go out of our way as admin to make this place fun for players. Now in my opinion, fun doesn't mean that we supply everyone with a good job and benefits etc. My opinion of fun is giving people RP.

     a. What I do as far as RP is interact using NPCs and act as I think those NPCs would react. I do my best to create the most realistic environment I can. Of course it can't be 100%, but the whole reason I became an admin is because as a player I loved this place so much that the chance to help this place on a higher level made me happy.

     b. I spend more time on here porting around, trying to find people to play with, puppeting NPCs and trying to think of plots for people to join in on, than anything else. I do it even when I know it may not get the most response because people are busy and sometimes don't want to take as big of risks.

Like i said: realism.  I don't believe PKing ruins a place. But I do believe that senseless PKing does.  But more importantly I believe IC actions deserve IC responses/consequences. ANd part of my job, when possible, is to help RP those consequences. That doesn't alway mean bad things. If someone does something great and intelligent I'll create a way to reward them ICly...etc. But if a newbie comes out of chargen and starts offing NPCs or sleeping players...I will use IC methods to 'show/teach' them about things around here.  No that does not mean I puppet a JUDGE and kill them. It means someone may shout over the SIC about it...it means someone might be stronger than them and beat them up...but that doesn't mean they're automatically killed.

2. Yes the admin up here sometimes get into bitchfests about how people can act sometimes....but you know what, I've never seen a group of people VOLUNTEER SO MUCH TIME to be able to give you players a place to have fun and play. And YES I believe that entitles us admin to a power of sorts. We have the last word on issues. We have the last word on what's done with code. We have the last word on how to proceed with RP and Plots in the IC world. And not one decision is made without imput from every other active admin.

I don't know about an elite group. I know there's players on here I know better than others. I know that there are those that over the years have been taught how best to get a response from admin. You wanna know how long Luc's been wanting help on TERRA?? Ask him how he got it...ask him how much he's paid for it...ask him if that payment is monitary...ask him how much he's bugged us and how much better he got results from RPing than whining.

We love to help. I love to help. I want you guys to have fun...and no that doesn't mean that I let you do whatever you want. You expect me and the other admin to help you, and I expect you all to play by the rules that have been set here. Because YES we are the admin and our responsibilty is to make the rules and enforce the rules, ICly and OOCly and not all rules have bad results. But we are also all here volunteering to give you a place to hang out.

We enjoy chatting as much as we like playing and even more so than we like coding or being rule enforcers.

Help me...help you!

-Stones

I won't apologise for the language I use in my posts, however, if the opinion is widely held that I'm unreasonably offensive, I will endeavour to curb my enthusiasm. But…

Wether I use offensive language, CAPS, -emphasis- and insults or not, the content of the posts in which I usually use it would remain the same. It's my style. I use it for humor, I use it in anger, I use it to get a point across and I use it because I believe it is part of my 'online personality'. If I removed the style from an angry post, the fact would remain that the post was made in anger, it would just lack oomphf! In addition to that, I don't believe I've -ever- posted unnecessarily offensive. When I do post like thus, it is always in response to an attack, a stupid statement or something that I believe has an ulterior motive. I don't believe I've ever posted like that in response to a question, even if it was something silly, or -any- reasonable post. On occasion there may be posts that seem without reason, but you can usually rest assured it's as a result of having dealt with the person via another medium. On the MOO, ICQ, email, whatever. When people call me out, I will not restrain my response. When people take me for a fool, I will throw it right back in their face. When people attack what I, and others, devote their time to building, I will defend it to the limit of my ability...

And if that means calling people names, then by God, that's what I'll do!

...and, when I am wrong, I will humbly apologise. (Yes, it does happen.)

This could tangent off into a whole knew topic about offensive language, inappropriate language, etc etc. I don't really want to go there. I firmly believe that language is nothing more than a tool and any word is only as offensive as the listener makes it. We -are- an adult MOO and we flag ourselves as mature content. If language is the only issue, deal or leave.

*shrugs*

You people tell me? Do I need a muzzle?

Ofcourse, we try and keep to ourselves when your 'getting intimate' :o