Invasions and Quests

[Ben]

This is a bit of a rant, but more of an informational diary entry so you can understand, and hopefully maybe appreciate a bit, some of what we do around here...

Invasions and quests are there for people to enjoy in-character. Due to the busy busy busy schedules that all the admins have, we like our invasions to go smoothly and effectively when we get the chance to run one. Sometimes they don't... sometimes we forget to create an item we will need, and we have to scramble. Sometimes we accidentally kill off a monster that we were going to use, and we have to try to spawn another before people notice. Sometimes we say something as the wrong character, and we have to go and fix it really quick. Sometimes mispellings or weird sentence things happen that have to be fixed.

This all happens because, at least for me, the running of a typical invasion or quest requires about 6 different screens to be open at a time. I usually have one for where I am walking around as my character, another where I am controlling what monsters are where, and a third where I have the invasion toggles up. Then I have a few open with direct access to the database so I can make quick edits and stuff. Its a very complicated affair, involving switching back and forth and typing multiple things in, and trying to hit buttons on different screens almost simultaneously to create a desired effect.

The one thing us admins do not need when we are trying to do this service for you is people complaining about it, or breaking character and ruining the mood we are STRAINING to create. Today I had the misfortune of mispelling one word in one sentence I had typed in one of my five windows while running a Balthazar kidnapping.

Out of the about 40 players who were on, 37 chose to ignore the slight mistype and continue with the mood. I saw several people mocking Balthy, telling him that he was the one that was weak, and yelling toward the sky, hoping he would come down for a fight. Others cowered in fear, worried about what the evil guy would do next. A few others sent PMs to Balthy (which he almost never answers, BTW), trying to goad him into a one-on-one fight.

The remaining three or so, however, did not act this way. (Who they are is not important... I will not name them, as the point I am trying to get across does not require it. If they have named themselves by declaring what they did to others, then that is their own business.) They sent OOC messages to Balthy, as well as area chat messages to their friends, about Balthazar's poor spelling.

So... the demon lord is calling people weak and miserable, and had just killed the much-love Mylor Clearspring, and these people are trying to correct a seven-foot tall Demon Lord's spelling.

This is not acceptable to me. It was not necessary to ruin MY mood as somebody who is trying to stay in character while switching back and forth between five screens. Nor was it necessary to ruin the mood of the 37 other people who were cowering or asking for fights or otherwise carrying on with the situation as their characters.

Staying in-character is more than just acting like a different person... it involves immersing yourself in a world so that you act like you are actually in it. Balthazar is not typing messages to you... his voice is booming out of the walls and the ground around you. There is no mispelling... if you see one, just get the gist of the situation and freaking move on with the roleplaying.

Some people may say I'm being anal. Maybe I am. Whatever. But if I am going to skip doing homework I should be doing or pass on hanging out with my friends to try to create atmosphere for the game, I am darn well going to mute or jail people who ruin the mood I am trying hard to set. I hope this little thread helps you understand "why", even if you don't entirely agree with it.

thanks,