I have 3 comments:
1) It is unlikely that 'every IC action was agreed to OOCly before the rp' to paraphrase. Role plays go where they go- sometimes far afield from what was agreed on before hand by players. Roled was in on three group conversations planning certain parts of the 'engagement role play' which suddenly turned into a mind poisoning, torture including, rape including in game happening. That was NEVER EVER EVER agreed on OOCly. You know that. And you know, I would never ever agree to that as a basis of any story line I was helping with.
2) I have sisters irl and this is for them, and for me, in order to live in the rl world with some kind of humanity and honor. And to mirror rl emotions of our virtual characters.
It is totally unacceptable to tell people you are going to do one thing OOC, then push the limits of that into cybering, rape, harassment, abuse, torture, cruelty, under the illusion of IC actions. How old is the partner? Are you sure? Have they really agreed to that? Where is personal responsibility? Would a healthy person or healthy community or healthy respectful society use holocaust death camp actions for one's own 'fun' in a 'game'? If not then why on earth would one use rape as fun in a game?
It's the 'blame the victim' defense that I find reprehensible. "They all knew it was happening" Bull. I am honored that I have female character friends in this game, and I assume some of them to actually be female. Tho' I don't know. But think about it , who are the demographic playing this game? What is the likelihood that you DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA who that person is really, how old they are really, whether they are young but think they are old enough to handle a role play that turns a blurred line between IC and OOC.
3) It is the Responsibiliy of each of us to protect players from predators. Simple as that.
It is the responsibility of the GMs to act when THEY ARE TOLD BY PLAYERS about unacceptable OOC behavior. It is the responsibility of us as players to not tolerate any form of hatred and disregard of humanity. One cannot go around spouting racial slurs and expect to get away with it, IC or OOC. Neither should one expect to go around using and abusing women characters as objects or property or playthings for enjoyment. Be aware that sexual slavery is a real problem world wide. What if your little sister thought she was going to have a romantic picnic with some hunky avatar and then gets there and is instructed to take of her clothes, or do the bidding of this disembodied thing? Go to an adult chat room with a consenting adult and do that. Don't do it here.
Roled is tired of being nice to slime buckets. Roled has skills and mechanics.
Act like human beings instead of sociopaths.
Roled Rolak
Well said Roled and i agree.
If i'm asked by Parents about their kids playing planeshift, i certainly can not recommend it...
Please let me add, that i really do not care what two adults are doing privately, as that is not my business.
I don't usually post on the forums very much, but I do have some thoughts I would like to make known on this subject. First and foremost, I am in complete agreement with Roled, both in his original post, and with a majority of the edits added in later posts.
1) I know for a fact certain events took place within the recent long form role play were NOT agreed upon nor discussed in advance. Heh, I was asked to do some things that I most definitely did not agree to, and ended up walking out on when it went too far for what I was willing to do. I participated only tangentially to a majority of the events, but saw and experienced a fair amount of confusion and angst brought about by people making choices for others. I saw many very kind people trying their best to make everyone happy, and becoming miserable in the process. It is impossible to please everyone in such a large group of people, and I watched some of my good friends get very upset and frustrated when they could not.
I may be new to the game, but I've been role-playing for some time, and it takes a bit of getting used to to be able to negotiate and work a situation to stay in character, while still meeting the needs of the overall role-play and those of the other players. I think a lot of the issues arose from people not realizing that it was ok to say no. You never HAVE to do what someone else wants you to. You never HAVE to be the way someone else wants you to be. No one else should ever have that level of control over you; that is simply another form of god-modding.
I would also like to add, I have heard a bit of rumoring with people trying to put blame upon certain people for how the long form role play proceeded. I find it infuriating that Roled and others were being blamed for other people's individual actions. Roled did nothing more than facilitate this, by introducing people and putting them in a position to make their own choices on how to proceed. We are all individuals, and we all made our own decisions on how to proceed. If someone acted in a way they were not happy about, they should at least accept that it was their own decision to do it, and not try to say "So and So made me do it." That is both ridiculous and incorrect. In future situations, it would be better to simply say "No, I don't want to make my character do that" than to do something and later look for someone else to blame for one's discontent.
2) Unless you have met someone face to face, you cannot be sure who they are across the internet. There is no way to know for sure how old someone is in this game, and the PG/PG-13 rules are in place to protect minors from being exposed to things that can be both too mature, and potentially disturbing to them. People may claim to be 18 or older, and in reality be very young. Does anyone want to risk emotionally disturbing an impressionable teenager or younger, simply because they think a scenario is "fun?" Do we all check the ages of everyone we RP with before writing anything? Of course we don't. We might check before doing anything violent or romantic, but as a rule, most people do not. Very few people have asked my age, and some have asked me to do very adult things without ever checking to see if I was 9, 19 or 90.
Some people do find rape and violence to be fantasies, and to be fun RP scenarios. It is not for me to judge them or their acts. I've written them myself, and while it is not something I particularly revel in, it can have a profound effect on one's character. Most people know that I play both Tessra and Teshia. Teshia is an emotionally scarred woman, and having been raped, she now has yet another reason to be slightly unhinged. If you've ever RPd with her, you've probably noticed a slight tendency for her to be nuttier than squirrel poo, and that was only one of the factors that led to her being so emotionally complex. I do not think it should ever become a common event, or used as "filler" when someone cannot think of anything better to do. Others in this thread have mentioned writing "events" without ever describing the details. I personally find this to be a wonderful way to give one's character development, without pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable to write in a game. There have been a few times when myself and those I was writing with have agreed to "not and say we did." It is entirely possible for two characters to be in a romantic relationship without ever writing intimate scenes. Part of that involves talking to the player of the character you are writing with, and deciding what you are both comfortable with, and what you both wish to gain from the RP. If both people are not happy, then it is not going to be a fun, productive RP.
3) I will not judge anyone for writing sex RP. I've done my fair share of it [wow, I'm just owning up to all my sins here :p ], but I do not think it should EVER be done lightly, and NEVER without making every possible attempt to ensure the person one is writing with is legal. And, it should NEVER be placed within main or any public channels where it is possible for children to be exposed to it. I'm with troyyer here, in that I really don't want to know what other people are doing in their whispers and groups. Of course, in a perfect RP world, no one would be breaking the PG/PG-13 rating, and no sexual RP would take place, but I think it would be very naive to assume that will ever happen. My biggest actual concern with the sex RP, is not that it happens, but more the focus that is placed upon it. The point of this game is not to come in and have intimate scenes every night, over and over again. So much of the actual fun of this game, and its RP possibilities are lost within a constant need and desire for sex RP.
I'm in my twenties, IRL, and I am more than willing to tell someone "No" if they ask me to do something I am uncomfortable doing. But, if I were younger, less experienced, and less jaded about certain things, I might very easily find myself playing along with certain RP situations simply because I wouldn't want to make the other people mad. I have seen people, adults older than myself, in the few months I've been here, doing things they were uncomfortable with, simply because they felt they had no choice. I might not worry for a grown man/woman, but I would have serious worries for a 9 year old, like one of the forum members I noticed. I've made a few people mad, and been yelled at, cursed at and harassed in game [IC and OOC] and out of the game [OOC, obviously]. I can take that, but there are people who play this game who should never be exposed to that manner of behavior. Children play here, and if I ever saw someone treating one of them the way I was treated, you bet your happy operating systems I would be reporting like crazy. Under NO circumstances should that be tolerated by us as players. The GMs don't see everything, and Roled is right. It is our responsibility to report such things.
Role playing with people, especially when it is on a consistent basis involves being true to one's character, as well as ensuring to the best of you ability that the other players are enjoying the role play. That doesn't mean violating your own sense of ethics to keep them happy, but compromising, and working together to keep all players satisfied with how the events proceed. If people are only concerned with their own characters, and their own desires, be they for sex, violence, rape, kidnappings, or even more innocuous things like dueling and training, there is no way that they can be a good role play partner. And if people are not willing to attempt to ensure the safety and well-being of others in this game, then they have no business playing here.
Finally, I would like to say, my thoughts are just my thoughts, and not directed at anyone specifically. In the 3.5 months I have been playing this game, I have seen some very good things, and some very bad things. I still believe the good things and good people outweigh the bad, but I do think that we need to become a bit more... vigilant... in our respect for others.
* Tessra tries to return to lurkdom
