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Old 10-07-2010, 08:18 AM   #171
prof1515
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Re: Veterans of Roleplay Intensive MUDs

RPIs have no global OOC channels. EXTERNAL chat channels are no different than AIM, Skype or what have-you. None are a part of the game itself. When in the game, you have no distractions via such lines of communication.

No, that's what happens when new players show up and don't read the help files or website documentation first. Players are just as responsible as staff in making sure that they're prepared to enter any RP game be it RPI or not.

Websites and email don't require a player to leave the game, just to post their questions in a manner which doesn't intrude into the game itself. Staff (and plenty of players as well) can thus answer their questions without distracting players in-game.

As most veteran RPI players are on RPIs because they DO NOT WANT OOC chatter in-game and such channels can be tuned out who's going to see them and respond? They just serve as an irritant to players who haven't yet turned them off, end up being used by players who don't have any more answers than those asking the questions or worse end up being used for non-help related OOC.

Back in 2006 I recall a RPE that called itself RPI claiming that global OOC channels were not abused on their game and an asset, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. When I checked their game out for a potential review for the old RPIMUD.com I saw a forum post mentioning that the in-game OOC help channel had been turned off "again" because of abuse. Not only was the very thing they were claiming impossible happening, it was happening repeatedly during the same time they were arguing that it didn't happen! Hence I take most claims of "it isn't abused" with a grain of salt. The sad reality is that there are always players who will abuse any option they can if they feel it's to their advantage. My philosophy, shared by the RPIs as one reason for the lack of global OOC channels, is why give such players another means of abuse/twinkery?

The characteristics of RPIs whether it's permadeath or the lack of global OOC channels aren't the problems with veterans dropping out. By definition they wouldn't be veterans if they hadn't been playing for a while and thus those characteristics would not only be familiar to them but probably desired if they continued to play for as long as many in question have.

It seems some of the arguments in this thread have been by non-RPI people complaining about the features of RPI MUDs. These arguments don't hold water because these features are not new; they've been a part of RPIs since RPIs have existed, ie. nearly two decades now. To find the reason for veterans leaving besides life dragging them away, you have to look at conditions or behavior or trends which have surfaced or been introduced in the last decade that might have precipitated such disgruntlement.

As I cited for myself, the lack of enforcing the setting and gameworld in order to placate newbies who while new to RPIs are not new to MUDs has been one of the things that has irritated me. The increased attention and emphasis paid to playerbase figures instead of role-play capabilities is another. Additionally, lazy or incompetant staff who sometimes show favoritism has been a factor as well. While this last one is not unique to RPIs, RPI players are often very discriminating in what they expect out of a game and when given a choice between putting up with something or going somewhere else, some will choose the latter. However, the RPI community being comprised of very few games (throughout its entire two-decade history there have never been more than six open RPIs at any time and most of the time no more than four), if the others didn't meet their taste setting-wise or were equally plagued by such problems the only remaining option for veterans was to simply quit MUDding altogether. That has been what I've seen from numerous veterans recently (by recently, I mean in the last three to four years).

If you don't like RPIs, that's your business but insults and name calling are hardly necessary. If they're not to your taste, move on along to another thread instead of simply attempting to provoke flames.
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