[ For the purposes of this post, I will make the distinction between what I refer to as 'cybering' and what I refer to as 'RP sex' and 'RP violence'. RP sex is sex that happens within the confines of the dome and is done completely ICly between two or more
characters. RP violence is violent acts, including rape within the confines of the dome and is done completely ICly between two or more
characters. Cybering is sex that happens OOCly between two or more
players. Whether or not these definitions are widely accepted and/or held by you, the reader, is irrelevant. The intention is simply to clearly differentiate the two for this post ]
I have thoughts I'd like to share regarding the Stonehead banning, but will do so in a different post. I'd like to address the issue of RP sex and cybering in PS that have been raised by Troyyer and commented on by others, and I will try to do it with a logical flow, top down.
The first thing we all need to remember is that PS is not a public MMORPG. It is a private MMORPG offering public access. What does this mean? Simply that whatever the authorities say is law, becomes law. They don't have to follow any common civil liberties practices. Talad's law is the final word. That said, it is in their best interest to try and accomodate the public masses, if they desire players to flock and enjoy their MMORPG. So talking about these issues becomes a vital step in their discussions of rules and regulations, and this thread is a good place to let your voice be heard, regardless of your stand on the issues. I believe they are paying attention.
Next and OOCly, we all must realize that one person's ideology regarding sex and violence is likely to be quite different than the next person's. We cannot impose our own beliefs on a population simply because it's what we believe. We must allow each other our own thoughts and opinions, even if they are drastically different from ours. That is the fundamental principle of individuality. We may choose not to befriend or participate with someone who is diametrically opposed to our thinking, but we don't have the right to pass judgement on them.
I am of the opinion that RP sex and RP violence should be allowed without restraint, under the following conditions: 1] It is performed by two consenting adults (Definition varies widely but is commonly accepted as 18 or older in the US), and 2] It is kept completely in private channels and absolutely nothing that could be considered offensive in any way is done in any public channels. Now, the term offensive is inherently subjective in nature. So for my purposes, I will limit this to sexually offensive.
My character, Eelin, is a male Diaboli who plays as very sexually active. Not only is it completely within the 'settings' of the game, it is quite fun to RP him that way. So in the normal course of RP, Eelin may find himself attracted to a female character (or 3 female characters) and choose to act on his instincts. If he does, these acts are done entirely ICly and shouldn't be a problem for anyone as long as the basic assumptions for RP sex are followed. After all, Eelin is a character on an RP server and encouraged to 'immerse' into his role.
And too there is a great difference between sex (healthy) and rape (not to be tolerated). If one cannot figure out the difference they should refrain from it all.
Assuming this opinion is spoken about RP sex, I mean no offense nor anything personal here. I know Qata and we have RP'd together as well as spoken OOCly, and I have no issues with him. But this illustrates something that I think is important we stop and consider. Both sex and rape are very common fantasies played out on RP servers and RP forums, both done between consenting adults with the same interests, and further...both done in often valid RP situations. The statement concerns me for two reasons: 1] We cannot impose our own beliefs on each other by saying that one's choice of RPing a rape scenario is 'not to be tolerated' or 'If one cannot figure out the difference they should refrain from it all'. We have a right to take offense to anything we want, we don't have a right to see everyone through our own filters and paint them all to look like us with a broad sweeping brush. 2] This can easily be misconstrued as a bit self-serving in that we justify what 'We' do ingame (eg. healthy sex), making anything else unacceptable because we choose not to do it. Again, no offense intended to Qata, just and opportunity to illustrate what I feel are common traps we all tend to fall into.
Most everyone who knows Eelin also knows that I play Ahriman as well. He has been talked about a lot on the forums recently. For the record, Ahriman was created for the sole purpose of participating in a major RP. Every one of Ahriman's victims were volunteers and every one of them was given full reign to control the boundaries of the RP (eg. sex, rape, torture). There was never one incidence involving Ahriman's participation that was not discussed and agreed upon OOCly before it took place ICly.
And as Sarva pointed out, Ahriman did pay for one of his crimes, and he made a rather remarkable self-atonement for another. The point, RP crime has consequences and Ahriman is facing them.
As far as 'cybering', I believe that is the choice of the players. I do not condone nor condemn it, I simply feel it's irrelevant as it's done OOCly and usually outside PS itself.
We, as players in PS, are from a plethora of locations and cultures. This is one of the most diverse RP communities I have participated in. If we always have respect for each other, and open our minds to the fact that our opinion isn't always right for someone else, all of these issues will become moot. Let's make the choices that work for us personally, and allow others to do the same.
