As I responded to the second locked thread yesterday, I waited for an official response which has been posted by Eonwind and Talad. I have perhaps four relevant points to add, if I may?
1) If responses are from the "same" 3 or 4 "trolls" than I supposed Roled is included in that category- a discounting name-calling technique I personally find offensive. Beside that , even "trolls" get to talk... In game I use the "block feature" for people I don't want to speak with- in the forums, I often but not always simply skip reading posts from people whose opinions don't interest me. Feel free to discontinue reading my posts if you think I fit into your exclusionary category.
2)
http://www.newnownext.com/gamers-threaten-to-pull-50-convention-if-indiana-gov-signs-anti-gay-bill-into-law/03/2015/This is why this issue is important . It is not JUST PS, it is what one is willing to defend in the world at large. How can we tell our friends, "I play this game but it's homophobic, but I play it anyway?"
This game is NOT a representation of "medieval" times- as several have pointed out, we do not have open sewage to contend with, orphaned children do not fill the streets, nor so far have I heard of female avatars being burned at the stake for learning herbalism. The reference to "historic realism" represents a specious argument.
3) In answer to Cairn's comments, and Eonwind's comments, and others, this is the post I entered on the first of the locked threads. Please consider I wrote this 3 days ago
{from 3-23-2015
} "Since I play a gay elf, married and widowed in PS, and have for 8 years, I offer my tiny opinions. First, from a rp level, events like marriages are useful in a social role playing game, as occasions to gather without gore. Birthdays are understated in the Dome since PS does not have and perhaps discourages child characters. Deaths, true deaths, are governmental and the result of major crimes, so perhaps not as festive as an occasion. Guilds are so slim, there are hardly any Guild based parties.
Second, from a "realism" level, tho' Ebon's cynicism is evident, the point is that from a settings standpoint there is no ethical morality in PS- we murder and hack and eviscerate to our hearts and stats content. Since there is no moral underpinning to the settings, beyond requirements of PG legalities, there is no settings reason to have marriage at all as a mechanics option. Rp can be rp. Just don't do it in the streets and scare the horses.
Third, a paradigm of inclusiveness. Were this game being played 150 years ago to 75 years ago in the USA, there would be slaves of color and indentured laborers and female models would have no jobs nor any social status, and older characters or poor characters would be limited to poor farms, and mounts would be ridden to death then slaughtered for glue, since those were the social norms. Social norms change. In our global reality now, more and more nations, religions, laws, sects and peoples have determined that gender identity is not a factor that limits one's humanity nor one's rights to full human status. As our society advances, as theology and philosophy advance, the definitions of sentient beings and equality become more inclusive. So on a global evolutionary level, marriages become agreements to partnerships that are lasting and binding and carry both emotional and social status and recognition.
So by all means let's get rid of the marriage button and simply rp the stories, realities and fantasies of equality in this experimental world view.
Thanks for listening."4) Finally for this comment from me. I told some player friends last night ig that
this is the first time I've felt unwelcome in PS. I now feel quite unwelcome by the organizing powers. However, in game, some suggestions arose.... May I suggest you look in game in the next week or so for IC response to this issue. I do have a pm here in the forums -" Roled"- feel free to pm me if you're interested.
This is not an inconsequential issue- it is not an issue of "a few trolls." If we replace the words "same sex" marriage with "interracial" marriage or "inter religious" marriage, I would hope people of good conscious would continue to press for open discussion and resist discriminaton. Some people vote with their feet, but that strategy in my opinion does not actually solve problems nor create change. As the Zen koan states, "In order to break the mold, first you must fit it."
I am trying to be civil.
Respectfully submitted,
Roled Rolak
