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DonathinFrye · 02-22-2016, 12:00 PM

For what it's worth, the situation that happened at ARM is similar to situations that happened on Atonement that led to me inserting the same no tolerance, no rape roleplay rule. ARM and Atonement were about as gritty of games as you can get, but being gritty doesn't mean that your game has to have a complete lack of social and moral awareness.

Actually, there are games out there like all of the above -- one, even, that I'd loosely consider to be in the RPI Family Tree. It touts rape, consent or no, as a coded action and feature -- and its system is something that the staff have proven to be very proud of. Unless numbers have changed, you actually gain more experience points through rape roleplay than you would through general combat in that game.

It's their game, their system, they can do what they'd like. It's a primary reason why I'll never play that game, though -- in my mind, it suggests a series of priorities on behalf of the staff that are just at odds with what I personally want out of a fantastical roleplaying game.

I could start talking about the dangers of disassociated rape role play (what happens in MUDs) vs the boons of self-associated coercion role play (what happens, more frequently and less dangerously, in real life) ... I could talk about the impact disassociated fetish role play can have (particularly on young people) that might cause them to struggle to enjoy non-fetish sex, or experience guilt during consenting sex in real life ... I could talk about the potential legal issues in many countries, and how angering protective parents can destroy your game even if they don't have true legal ground to stand on. I could talk about a hundred different reasons to not allow rape role play on your MUD.

And I have, many times before. Unfortunately, in all of the conversations regarding this issue that I've been a part, I've never seen anyone's opinion change one way or the other. So I'll bow out of the crux of the argument here, before I start circling and repeating myself.

If you've never considered policy in regards to this for your game at all, then this thread is for you. Consider it, so that it's not an issue of a situation sneaking up on you and you not having any idea on how to handle it.

02-22-2016, 12:00 PM	#25
DonathinFrye Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Name: Donathin Frye Location: Columbus, OH Home MUD: Optional Realities Home MUD: Atonement RPI Home MUD: Project Redshift Posts: 510	Re: Why is rape acceptable in some MUDs? For what it's worth, the situation that happened at ARM is similar to situations that happened on Atonement that led to me inserting the same no tolerance, no rape roleplay rule. ARM and Atonement were about as gritty of games as you can get, but being gritty doesn't mean that your game has to have a complete lack of social and moral awareness. Actually, there are games out there like all of the above -- one, even, that I'd loosely consider to be in the RPI Family Tree. It touts rape, consent or no, as a coded action and feature -- and its system is something that the staff have proven to be very proud of. Unless numbers have changed, you actually gain more experience points through rape roleplay than you would through general combat in that game. It's their game, their system, they can do what they'd like. It's a primary reason why I'll never play that game, though -- in my mind, it suggests a series of priorities on behalf of the staff that are just at odds with what I personally want out of a fantastical roleplaying game. I could start talking about the dangers of disassociated rape role play (what happens in MUDs) vs the boons of self-associated coercion role play (what happens, more frequently and less dangerously, in real life) ... I could talk about the impact disassociated fetish role play can have (particularly on young people) that might cause them to struggle to enjoy non-fetish sex, or experience guilt during consenting sex in real life ... I could talk about the potential legal issues in many countries, and how angering protective parents can destroy your game even if they don't have true legal ground to stand on. I could talk about a hundred different reasons to not allow rape role play on your MUD. And I have, many times before. Unfortunately, in all of the conversations regarding this issue that I've been a part, I've never seen anyone's opinion change one way or the other. So I'll bow out of the crux of the argument here, before I start circling and repeating myself. If you've never considered policy in regards to this for your game at all, then this thread is for you. Consider it, so that it's not an issue of a situation sneaking up on you and you not having any idea on how to handle it.