Mariana et. al, first, nothing personal since I met you in game both ic and ooc (on gossip) and you were awesome, but you and people similar to you should try to tone down the psychological manipulation/punishment, it's bloody weird and also totally unproductive. If you thought this post was forum bashing - first, it seems you were wrong - and second, how does getting into this dark counter-bashing stuff make your point? It doesn't, it just makes people feel bad and makes them want to leave, as you mention.
It was the case. Your statement that it wasn't is rather invalid. As the forum post was written in such an unproductive and aggressive fashion, I responded to point out the hypocrisy of the situation. As stated, repeatedly, a post with such a title is, in fact, bashing. Whether it was unintentional or not, it's still the case. While I appreciate Waesed's clarification that no rudeness was intended, it still read as rude. I make apologies if he was deeply wounded for a proverbial "shame on you" and a finger wag, but somehow I doubt his life is crumbling to pieces over it, and it certainly wasn't any more hateful than creating an entire post to accuse someone of driving people out of the game. I certainly would never encourage him to leave, as he seems to be a potent force in helping new players on the side of game mechanics, and his wedding Role Play.
As for your former statement, I force no one into the role plays I do, nor do "others like me." If people join, they do so because they get enjoyment out of it, presumably. So no, there is no particular reason for me to do other sorts of role play, or "tone it down." If you actually believe it is all blood and gore and nothing else, you clearly oversimplified it and don't really understand what is going on in such a role play. Some people like Stephen King (whose works are dark, yet typically an interesting exploration of the psyche, and by no means useless), some people like Nicholas Sparks (I'm not a fan personally, but I don't run around bashing people that are, and what can I say, stories of love are powerful things.) That doesn't mean it is "bloody weird and also totally unproductive." As a matter of fact, completely the opposite; characters who do role play with zombies and violence often attract more people because of the friction. Because it's like being in an action novel. The people that get cited repeatedly for good role play that included a lot of people are those like Duraza, Jacula, Marsuveus, and Rigwyn, because it is interesting and engaging to a wider audience. It gives people the chance to play the proverbial roles they always wanted to as a kid for a few moments; the hero or the mustache-twisting villain. Besides, this is the internet. Trust me. They've encountered far worse.
Also, calling someone's hard work and effort, on the part of myself and others who tend towards darker role play, totally unproductive, is bashing. I would have preferred the proverbial finger-wagging shame-on-you.
