Player Attitudes

Xenthos

In reading some of the threads around the forums from last night, I encountered a sentiment that I wish to discuss-- somewhere other than Quotes.  It's something not limited to any specific individual, but which I have observed from many people (across all organizations) over the years.

When something happens that you (the player) do not like, you take it personally.  You take it so personally that you decide it is best to try to attack the other player.  You swear and curse at them, you call them b* or c* or whatever else you happen to think will get under their skin; not out of a sense of roleplay (though you justify it as "that's what my character would do too!") but instead because you, yourself, are feeling irritated.  Comments like the following: "I speak that way to people that annoy me. Simple as that. You want to annoy me, you get what you asked for. I can be quite polite when people don't give me a reason not to be." demonstrate that quite amply.

There are far better ways to "deal with" people who annoy you.  You can actually roleplay it out.  You can rise above your own pissed-off feelings and actually turn it into an interesting, engaging interaction.  Xenthos has had any number of these; sometimes they end with the two characters at each others' throats, bitter foes forever, and sometimes they actually end with one party or the other coming to the realization that they were in the wrong to do what they did / how they did it.  I can guarantee you that spewing vitriol at someone will not have a positive outcome, however.  There's no interesting engagement whatsoever.  It's essentially stating: "I am miserable, I want you to be too, let's be miserable together."  The other party is never given a chance to learn, grow, or anything else; you're just cementing them into the role of doing whatever they did (and continuing to piss you off on a regular basis).

If you're not capable of that, it would be better to just snub the person you're about to assault, and take a deep breath.  Remember that you're playing a game.  You don't need to be part of the problem.

Ayisdra

On the topic of swearing at them, no one plays the 'every sentence has a swear word in it'  type of character but this doesn't mean the player is not that type of person or the type of person that uses insults for everything.

Some people play their characters as if it were them (in some different race). Maybe their (player) reaction is the same as the character's reaction. This said, you say to roleplay it out, that it will turn into an interesting engaging interaction. However, to some, the violent griefing is what is most interesting to them, and perhaps more engaging for the combat-only type that is probably more likely to do something. Just because the interaction isn't combat or some form of non-talking doesn't mean it is not roleplay.  Just because the outcome isn't positive doesn't mean it is not interesting or engaging.

Kaimanahi

Piggybacking on this, there's an awful lot of whining going on lately, and maybe it's just a vocal minority... but it's the holidays. Cheer up.

Marcella

please, this. i try hard but it is too much to even bother trying to be polite sometimes.

Cadwyn

@Marcella I for one really appreciate your politeness, and apologies for killing me. Don't be discouraged!

Rialorm

We're all in this together, that's how I see it. If you have a go at someone to the point of them quitting the game, you are hurting yourself. Any online game needs its player-base, especially when there is conflict involved. What good are revolts or flares or what have you when there is no opposition?

That said, you can't please everyone. And that is ok. I sometimes full on disagree with some of you, but then we're in agreement on other things. It doesn't have to be black and white. So long as we can respectfully disagree, it's all good. And sometimes you think you're right and three weeks later you discover you were being a dunce. That's cool too, it happens. Just admit to it. You can be a flawed person in this game, because everyone is. I've found that sometimes showing that side can be loads better than pretending you're perfect.