December 6th, 2001

Roleplay Workshop?

Steerpike says, 'you need to do some RP workshops again sometime soon too'

Steerpike nods to himself - he must be getting senile.

LadyAce says, 'I posted on to the news board after your post, take a look :0'

Steerpike says, 'i would love to attend some, as we both know im not the best at remaining IC'

Steerpike says, 'it wont lemme read it'

Steerpike frowns.

Steerpike says, 'or the 3 after mine for that matter'

Steerpike says, 'it does that to me a lot'

LadyAce says, 'in general what I was saying is that having run them so many times, it's not always clear when we should run more'

LadyAce says, 'it ate my append'

LadyAce has created a small piece of paper!

Steerpike says, 'it does that to me all the time hehe'

LadyAce starts writing on a small piece of paper from LadyAce.

Steerpike says, 'yeah i understand that though, take a poll on login or something about it once in awhile, to get a vague Yes i would attend, No I dont need it, No I cant make it kinda response'

Boreas says, 'syndicate is a cool clan. We need more of those that have a solid rp, and somethingother that generic evil or generic good'

Sandman nods solemnly.

Sandman says, 'yeah im kinda sick of good evil hehe'

Boreas nods solemnly.

Boreas says, 'there are lots of worthy topics, just not enough experts.'

LadyAce says to Boreas, 'isn't that always the trouble? Many questions, not enough answers? :)'

Sandman snickers softly.

Boreas nods her agreement with LadyAce.

PK Clan Member Limit Too High?

Sandman says, 'anyway, was wondering if we really need 20 members max for pk clans.. i think 15 was plenty =p'

LadyAce says, 'well, my position is that 20 isn't a problem :)'

LadyAce says, 'it's not up to me personally or anything'

Sandman says, 'bah 20 is huge!'

LadyAce says, 'but it seems like a larger size enables you to do a lot of things you might not otherwise'

Lira says, 'I have pro's and con's'

LadyAce says, 'more likely to have 5 or 6 of you on at once'

Lira nods her agreement with LadyAce.

Sandman nods solemnly.

Sandman says, 'true..'

LadyAce says, 'we only have one clan over 15 anyway'

Sandman says, 'yeah i know =p'

Lira giggles at Sandman.

LadyAce says, 'seems like if they're being bullies, the other clans can get together and kick them around a bit more'

Dude says to LadyAce, 'institute?'

Dude says, 'or IRA?'

Flay says, 'IRA'

LadyAce says, 'of the pk clans'

Dude says, 'oh'

Sandman just is thinking if too many evil clans get buuuufffed and all the rest get scared!

Lira says, 'IRA'

Lira nods her agreement with Sandman.

LadyAce says, 'If too many evil clans get huge, they're likely to burn themselves out with boredom, chopping each other to bits.'

Lira says to Sandman, 'there are more active evil then good around here'

Sandman snickers softly.

Sandman nods his agreement with Lira.

Flay nods his agreement with LadyAce.

LadyAce says, 'it's in everyone's best interest to have people worth killing'

Boreas says, 'that's because evil is easier to rp'

Flay says, 'there needs to be more good clans .. i wanna see the knights in full swing again'

Flay says, 'but only the plaers can make that happen'

LadyAce says to Flay, 'go make a knight? :)'

Lira says to Boreas, 'jerk is not evil, and most people tend to rp jerks and call it evil'

Flay shrugs helplessly.

Dude says, 'there are like 16 knights...'

Boreas nods her agreement with Lira.

Dude says, 'just divided into 2 clans'

Dude says, 'heh'

LadyAce says, 'well, 14 if they weren't split'

Flay says to LadyAce, 'i did but you wouldn't let me have a knight's desc for him '

Flay giggles.

LadyAce says to Flay, 'I don't think that was the only problem :P'

Preventing Multi-killing?

Sandman says, 'another quick spin off pk question.. can we make it so its not possible to multi someone at all until a certain ammount of ticks?'

Sandman says, 'i know we cant accept someone when they have just died.. but it seems multies are increasing..'

LadyAce says, 'well, I'm willing to do some statistics on multis and see how we're doing'

Sandman says, 'specially with suicidal ppl..'

LadyAce says, 'is that fair? I'll report back as soon as I can.'

Sandman says, 'they just wont stop trying to perma to you!'

Sandman nods solemnly.

Lira says to LadyAce, 'is it possible, to code it so you cant be accepted by others for say 5 or 10 ticks after you've died?'

Flay says, 'no you can't take out multis'

Lira says to LadyAce, 'so someone cant watch you die, accept you, and backstab you right away as you re-enter?'

LadyAce says, 'hrm...making someone unacceptable ...'

Sandman says, 'oh that is already affective'

Sandman says, 'you cant accept someone after they have just died.. i tried to with zaba when he was fightin everyone =p'

Dude says, 'what about making it so you can't be attacked say 2 ticks after you die? that would cut multies down'

Lira says to LadyAce, 'it wouldnt stop the people you've already accepted, or have already accepted you, or affect AA's..but it would affect a few others'

Grendal nods his agreement with Dude.

LadyAce nods her agreement with Sandman.

Dude says, 'prevent the spamming backstab at the inn as you come into the game, ya know?'

LadyAce says to Sandman, 'I'm not sure how many ticks that's for.'

Lira nods her agreement with Dude.

Sandman says to LadyAce, 'me either..'

Sandman looks up into the sky and ponders.

LadyAce says, 'the unkillableness thing is something that comes up every so often'

LadyAce says, 'our reluctance to put it in comes from a few things'

Sandman says, 'but maybe the overall thing on making it a 2-4 tick timer before you can get pk'd again once you die would be nice'

Dude says, 'like make it so you couldn't attack either... so its not like immunity just protection'

LadyAce says, 'we've seen some really nasty scenes where someone died and then abused their situation'

Lira nods her agreement with LadyAce.

Sandman says, 'stops not only multies but also when you die to a mob and someone comes and ganks ya'

LadyAce says, 'people die, sometimes they're mad and not thinking straight'

Grendal smirks.

Flay says, 'The immorts have told me once " that some players ill doings are to be sorted out by other players "eg.krillin(how ever he/she spelt her name)* we need to be able to perma treaten people'

LadyAce says, 'heck, after I die to a mob I'm not always in my very best brain'

Dude says, 'well... make it so they can't jump either'

Dude says, 'cut the player off from pkill 2-4 ticks after they die'

Lira nods her agreement with LadyAce.

LadyAce says, 'even if they can't attack, they can make some pretty big messes -- casting spells, chatting and such, etcetc'

LadyAce says, 'spitting on people...'

LadyAce says, 'I've seen some bad stuff'

Boreas wonders if she's the only one who realizes this is a game...

LadyAce says, 'keeping some risk does help people curb their tempers'

Dude says, 'yeah... but getting killed 12 times really sucks'

Dude says, 'bad'

LadyAce says, 'I'll see how we're doing as far as multis go, and that way we can at least say if it's an epidemic or just a bad streak'

LadyAce says, 'well, there's a level where if you die more than 2 or 3 times, you should just stay gone until your friends can help you out'

LadyAce says, 'let me pick up what Flay said a moment ago'

LadyAce says, 'about player regulation and such'

Flay ducks to the ground.

LadyAce says, 'on the one hand we want players to be able to act as they think wise or necessary, and we also want them to see the consequences of that'

Flay nods his agreement with LadyAce.

LadyAce says, 'so if you are too much of a jerk, you might well get rejected by everyone and their dad, or you might get multi'd at every turn'

LadyAce says, 'on the other hand, player vigilantee'ism is not extremely reliable'

Lira nods her agreement with LadyAce.

Dude says, 'or just gather your jerk friends and multi ppl more'

LadyAce says, 'you guys put up with a lot of bad treatment from each other'

Dude says, 'jerks move in middle to large sized groups nowadays'

LadyAce says, 'you go on runs with people who abuse and cheat you'

Lira says to LadyAce, 'far from it, because NO ONE is without friends, and friends fight back, ect ect ect'

LadyAce says, 'you help re-eq people who have done terrible things to you'

Flay nods his agreement with Lira.

LadyAce says, 'you tolerate more than you really have to, and there's a level where imms have to set a certain group of rules.'

Dude says to Lira, 'hey... i dont have any friends'

Dude says, 'so stop making fun of me...'

Isam begins to twitch nervously.

LadyAce says, 'we're not worried about getting kicked out of your social circles :) we're free.'

Boreas says, 'nobody's been THAT mean to me'

Lira says to LadyAce, 'I have tried not helping, and not tolerating..and I ended up the one outcasted for it'

Lira tickles Dude.

Sandman nods his agreement with Lira.

LadyAce says, 'it's a balance we have to strike, between acting and letting things develop'

Lira says to LadyAce, '-=I=- was the bitch because I wouldnt help someone who had wronged me in the past.'

Flay says, 'i still think multi's are good and pk has been messed with enuff'

LadyAce says, 'multis are an example of that -- we've got a reject command and ways for you to avoid someone, and we won't let you harass people into accepting them, but we also won't give you 100% safety from multis or people just not liking you for taking a stand'

Arafelle cackles gleefully to herself for no apparent reason.

LadyAce says, 'I know it's rough to feel ostracized for standing up for your rights, but you're never as alone as it feels'

LadyAce says, 'chances are the person has hurt others, and you're just braver than they are at the time :)'

Dude says, 'this therapy session on the abuses of pkill has been brought to you by...'

Lira says to LadyAce, 'easier said then done, when people you've considered close friends wont even speak to you because you stood up for yourself.'

LadyAce pats Dude on the head.

Lira giggles at Dude.

Boreas goes EEK! at Lira in distress - isn't Lira an awful person for teasing?

LadyAce says to Lira, 'I do know how it goes...and I know it's easy to say, hard to do -- but that doesn't make it any less worthy of an attitude.'

Lira says to LadyAce, 'because they are afraid of the fall out coming back on them from that persons friends'

Flay says, 'the multis i hate are when you beat someone and they mutli themselfs of you cos you beat them..'

LadyAce says to Lira, 'the only approach I can think of is to just stay really calm and reasonable, not lose your temper'

Lira says to LadyAce, 'I've been trying'

LadyAce says, 'often it's the "extreme" comments that'll turn people aside, not the facts of the case'

LadyAce says, 'yelling to everyone that you won't be in the group if so and so is going to come is sort of a hard spot socially, for everyone'

Boreas says to Lira, 'person in question have imm friends or something?'

LadyAce says, 'a small comment of "Oh, I think that this isn't sounding like the group I was looking for. I hope to see you guys later, though" ... something calmer, less confrontational'

LadyAce says, 'if you know what I mean'

Lira says to Boreas, 'a few friends'

Lira nods her agreement with LadyAce.

LadyAce says, 'IRL, I know people who only have "friends" because their "friends" are afraid of them :P'

Lira says to LadyAce, 'I'm honest, if I have a problem with a group, I tell them the problem..but usually just to the leader of the group'

LadyAce nods her agreement with Lira.

Lira says to LadyAce, 'I will send a tell to the leader of the group telling them why I cant stay.'

LadyAce says, 'It's a problem IRL too, and I'm not sure the solutions there are any different.'

LadyAce nods solemnly.

LadyAce says, 'might help them think otherwise next time :)'

Lira just feels like crap when the group falls apart because she walks out.

LadyAce says, 'at any rate, I want to get to Boreas cuz she raised her hand, I could talk about this for ages and ages.'

Lira nods her agreement with LadyAce.

Boreas says, 'sometimes it is really hard, if you're in a group for sl or something, people will take it hard if you leave, even if you do it politely.'

LadyAce nods her agreement with Boreas.

Lira nods her agreement with Boreas.

Boreas nods solemnly.

LadyAce says to Lira, 'one solution there can be to try to form groups by invitation rather than by chatting'

Lira doesnt form groups, she refuses to lead anymore.

Boreas says, 'it seems like not many people are using the new library (kudos to kae or whoever did it btw), can you put a message about it on the motd?'

LadyAce says to Lira, 'put together a core group of "good people" and take recommendations about who might "be a good addition"'

LadyAce says, 'don't just invite anybody and their dog :)'

Sandman laughs with amusement.

LadyAce says to Boreas, 'it's been in the LT and on welcome a few times -- it was in the motd but got bumped'

Sandman says to LadyAce, 'i happen to like broeknspring thank you!'

Fairfax says to LadyAce, 'but sometimes there aren't enough quality people about'

LadyAce says, 'when you invite anybody and their dog, you might well just end up with the dog :)'

Lira giggles at Sandman.

Sandman says, 'hey that dog rules!'

Sandman peers around the room intently.

Boreas says, 'but I think still not everybody knows about it'

Lira nods her agreement with Fairfax.

Fairfax nods his agreement with Sandman.

Fairfax says, 'the hardest hitting surgeon I have ever met'

LadyAce says to Fairfax, 'invite a few quality types, ask them if they recognize any quality types? Send tells to likely-looking/likely-acting people who you don't know, but who could well be "ok"?'

LadyAce says to Boreas, 'maybe not -- it may well just take some time for people to wander in, too'

LadyAce says to Boreas, 'when there's more room in the motd, I'll put it back in'

Boreas nods solemnly.

Lira says to Boreas, 'I've been in there often, check it everytime I check the other boards OOC'

Boreas says to Lira, 'me too, but there hasn't been anything new in a week'

More on RP Workshop

LadyAce says, 'Steerpike mentioned that he thought an RP lecture would be reasonable soon'

LadyAce says, 'any thoughts on that matter?'

Fairfax says, 'I always thought RP as being caught, not taught'

LadyAce says to Fairfax, 'sometimes there are tips and tricks that can be learned'

LadyAce says, 'pitfalls to avoid, frameworks on how one might get started ...'

Boreas says, 'I don't think an rp lecture would go over very well right now. the mud is so divided, people would just be saying, "well,that's YOUR style..."'

Fairfax nods solemnly.

Fairfax says, 'I still have trouble RPing.. virtually all my characters behave the same eventually, despite a good start =)'

Lira says to Fairfax, 'one trick I found..if you have two opposite rp type characters, I mean FAAAAAAR ends of the spectrum..dont mix with the same people on both alts, dont hang around with friends you know well on both'

Flay says, 'he i'm new to RP and keen but ever time i tried to rp i the past i got kicked in the butt for it a RP lectre that might teach me some helpful. tips and suck would be good there are lots of new pplayer on legend now as well'

Boreas nods her agreement with Lira.

Fairfax grins evilly at Lira.. wonder what he's thinking...

Flay says, 'and such even'

Fairfax says to Lira, 'but people I enjoy the company of on this mud are not that many, to split them would be gaaaah! =)'

Desc/String Helpfile Updates

LadyAce says, 'another topic I'd like to introduce is descriptions and stringing rules -- things that are unclear, things that are clear but bad'

Isam says, 'there are rules?'

Isam giggles.

LadyAce says, 'truly'

LadyAce says, 'a new version of all the stringing and desc-doing helpfiles just went in after much imm discussion'

LadyAce says, 'the desc rules file has been revised and reorganized'

LadyAce says, 'the mundane and slot rules have been clarified.'

Isam says, 'you mean desc as in what people see in room, or look at people?'

Lira says to LadyAce, 'so the help files have been updated?'

LadyAce says, 'if anyone is interested in those and wants to take a peek, and tell me what you think'

LadyAce nods her agreement with Lira.

LadyAce says to Isam, 'see in room, which is imm-set. Look-at is player set.'

Sandman says to LadyAce, 'what about strings already allowed that are vulgar'

Isam nods his agreement with Lira.

Sandman snorts derisively.

Isam had his re-written by cheyla, hehe.

LadyAce says to Sandman, 'can you be more specific?'

Sandman says to LadyAce, 'someone's probe.. wad etc =p'

Sandman ducks to the ground.

Isam poke jade.

Isam grins evilly.

LadyAce says, 'well, what's wrong with the probe one? Wad ... was a mistake :)'

LadyAce says, 'Jade's strings were done SO long ago ...'

Isam shrugs helplessly.

Sandman nods his agreement with LadyAce.

Sandman says, 'her strings are just.. slutty =p'

Isam says, 'just always amazed that they exist'

LadyAce says, 'in general we let old bad stuff stick around for as long as that lasts.'

Isam nods solemnly.

Sandman says to LadyAce, 'when someone sticks their probe in my back and tells me to suck it.. ya know'

Sandman nods his agreement with Isam.

LadyAce says, 'well, honestly, we're not going to prevent a string just because someone might think up an ugly way to use it'

Sandman says to Isam, 'amongst other things =p'

Isam says to Sandman, 'bah'

London Progress?

Fairfax says, 'Does the recent addition to Indus London mean that Leila's update will be installed bit by bit rather than all at once?'

Fairfax says, 'Or was it done by someone completely separate?'

LadyAce says, 'I wouldn't interpret that London addition to mean anything new about Leila's work'

Fairfax says, 'Oh'

LadyAce says, 'I don't even know which London change you mean.'

Fairfax says, 'the new whois and the supposed new quest which no one I know has figured out'

LadyAce says, 'oh, those were small refreshes by Kaige'

Fairfax says, 'ah'

LadyAce says, 'to the part of London she & Ptah did'

LadyAce says, 'Leila's London is not really even the same area'

Fairfax says, 'About that whois, I still don't think I poisoned the British, though =)'

Lira says to LadyAce, 'two Londons??'

LadyAce says, 'It'll be connected and all, but that's like saying a Sherwood update and a Tudor update are the same'

Fairfax says, 'Ah'

Lira says, 'whookies'

LadyAce says, 'not two Londons, just not the same area'

LadyAce says, 'different themes'

Lira says, 'so it's all London, just seperate area files'

Fairfax says, 'So it'll be Inner London and Greater London, like in the telephone zones?'

LadyAce says, 'like Ptah's has all this stuff about colonialism and the industrialists'

Fairfax says, 'London Port and London City'

Lira says, 'well, the current one does seem more of a docks type London'

LadyAce says, 'Leila's has like, lots of literature references'

Boreas says, 'jack the ripper?'

LadyAce says, 'they won't overlap in any way -- not geographically or thematically. I don't expect them to clash or anything, but they're independent.'

Fairfax says, 'The port strictly speaking shouldn't be London, should it? I mean London doesn't connect to the Atlantic, does it?'

LadyAce says, 'you'll have to wait and see what's there when it's there :)'

LadyAce says, 'it's not right on the sea, at least I don't think so'

LadyAce says, 'that's why you have to go to Dover and such'

Fairfax nods solemnly.

Klein Update?

Sandman says, 'klein when?!!?'

LadyAce says, 'when I finish it?'

Sandman drools contentedly.

Sandman says, 'dooh!'

Lira says to LadyAce, 'are you adding in housing yet?'

LadyAce says, 'I haven't had much time lately -- and what time I have goes straight to PR stuff.'

Sandman says to LadyAce, 'finish already i want housing there!'

Sandman scuffles his feet around in the dirt.

LadyAce says, 'the housing I added long long ago -- I'm testing the quests right now'

Lira shows her approval by clapping her hands together.

Sandman drools contentedly.

LadyAce says, 'it's all written and stuff, I just need to stop tweaking it'

Sandman says, 'i love your area housing =p'

LadyAce giggles.

Sandman drools contentedly.

LadyAce says, 'well, none of us love how long I take.'

Lira says to LadyAce, 'STOP THAT! It'll never go in'

Sandman snickers at Lira nastily.

Boreas says, 'I love your mob descs ;)'

LadyAce says, 'yea, I know :/ and the longer I take, the more I tell myself that I have to make it even better and extra gooder because everyone had to wait.'

Lira says to LadyAce, 'the areas look wonderful, and you still take 2 or 3 more months to tweak 'em'

Sandman says, 'heheh gooder'

LadyAce says, 'at least my tendencies are all self feeding, no maintenance from me :)'

Sandman says, 'tweaks em later!'

Sandman nods to himself - he must be getting senile.

Sandman says, 'so i can take over klein!'

Sandman nods to himself - he must be getting senile.

Lira bonks Sandman on the head!

LadyAce says to Sandman, 'you should take over pittsburgh'

Sandman says to LadyAce, 'been there done that =p'

How Ancient Does Ancient Go?

Fairfax says, 'How far back does the timeline for Ancient stretch? If I wanted to build an area depicting the wars between Israel and Canaan, would that be too Ancient?'

LadyAce says to Fairfax, 'dreamtime is what, 4,000 BC?'

Boreas says, 'stretches back to aboriginal dreamtime'

Fairfax says, 'It is?'

Fairfax says, 'Ooh'

LadyAce says, 'I dunno how long ago it was, but....LONG time.'

Boreas says, 'I think dreamtime was about 60 mya'

Alignment?

Fairfax says, 'and another more personal question.... =)'

Fairfax says, 'Do you realy feel that all those Islamic warriors under Saladin were such angels to deserve such HIGH alignments? It's a great place, but the effect on alignment is oooh'

Fairfax smiles happily.

Boreas nods her agreement with Fairfax.

Fairfax says, 'I mean I whap Fadil, and even the pardoner cannot restore the loss'

LadyAce says, 'what makes you say that high align equals angels?'

Fairfax says, 'Well, they're all nice people, not at all the sort of person I'd want to hurt'

LadyAce says, 'Here's the principle I used to set alignment:'

LadyAce says, 'how did the general native populace view the person?'

Fairfax says, 'hmmm...'

LadyAce says, 'How did the people of Belgium feel about the Allies who marched in to kick out the Germans?'

LadyAce says, 'How do we view our own soldiers when they're at war? They're heroes.'

Fairfax nods solemnly.

LadyAce says, 'when they die, it's for everything we believe in.'

LadyAce says, 'even if they're jerks to their dogs and don't call their moms on Sundays.'

Fairfax says, 'So I have to limit my counter-jihad to carting roast pigs and dropping them all over the camp? =)'

Boreas says, 'but don't you think that many of the people who march off to war don't care so much about the cause?'

LadyAce says to Boreas, 'in the case of invasions, I think it's different'

Fairfax says, 'Well, it's just Fadil in particular. He's a good source of cash, but I'm surprised that someone like that could be more heroic than the pardoner is devilish'

Boreas says to LadyAce, 'but even still, you are making fanatacism equal to goodness'

LadyAce says to Boreas, 'but the motivations of a particular soldier are less an issue to me'

LadyAce says to Boreas, 'when I do alignment, I do it in terms of how others would see them'

Boreas says, 'so...the Christian soldiers saw them as pure evil'

Fairfax says, 'I always felt that there was an Islamic conspiracy about in the building camp, with Crusades and Romania being rather pro-Islam. =)'

LadyAce says, 'I think that external perception is the only place I can be really definitive and choose an arbitrary number'

Fairfax says, 'I tried and tried and tried to get someone, anyone or group to kill the janissaries and no one would.'

LadyAce says to Boreas, 'absolutely. but they're in the wrong land for the people who lived there to see them as such'

Boreas looks up into the sky and ponders.

LadyAce says to Boreas, 'in their own lands, the knights can have angelic align and be loved by all. but in the middle east, they are ugly, cruel invaders.'

Fairfax says, 'So basically alignment is a home-advantage factor'

Fairfax says, 'But surely the general populace of France would have thought that the pardoner was absolutely holy?'

LadyAce says to Boreas, 'they're barbaric, they eat children, they rape women. They're like any other invading army, on foreign soil.'

LadyAce says, 'well, I can't really speak for Charity on how she tried to make the alignment consistent in her area'

LadyAce says, 'but I do think that her area represents a certain kind of realism'

LadyAce says, 'not taking the church as equivalent to goodness'

Fairfax says, 'Actually, that explanation would answer why there are so few evil-aligned mobs which give really nice substantial alignment increases as compared to good guys with big alignment decreases.'

Boreas nods her agreement with Fairfax.

Fairfax says, 'Getting to -1000 is easy, even with the quest. Getting to 1000 at level 50 is quite a nightmare'

Boreas says, 'you'll get your align going up in pd/sl pretty fast tho'

Fairfax says, 'at lower levels it's not so bad'

Fairfax says, 'but SL and Pd are not options for someone not in a group. It seems unnecessary to have to group just to boost alignment'

Boreas nods her agreement with Fairfax.

LadyAce says, 'the balance of good/evil align is a mudwide issue...and I've certainly had trouble with my own chars, trying to stay a certain align'

LadyAce says, 'it may be just a matter of a lack of extremes, too many neutrals or barely-good/barely-bad mobs'

LadyAce says, 'I'm really glad about the "new" align quests I've seen'

Fairfax says, 'new?'

LadyAce says, 'well, I would guess that Q & A isn't quite the place for us to talk about that particular topic'

Fairfax nods his agreement with LadyAce.

LadyAce says, 'I don't mind talking to you about it sometime, I'm interested in your perspective.'

LadyAce smiles at Fairfax.

Fairfax says, 'yah, but consider it a question on good/bad balance of mobs'

Fairfax says, 'I always found it REALLY hard to move alignment back up after I let it slip for a while in a bloodied frenzy in Crusades =)'

LadyAce giggles at Fairfax.

LadyAce says to Fairfax, 'my templar has the same trouble.'

LadyAce shrugs helplessly.

During cleaning up the log, Kaige adds that moving away from the extremes will always be easier than moving toward them. Which is why killing two mobs of equally opposite alignments don't have the same affect on yours.

Buying Directly from Bank Account?

Boreas says, 'speaking of align quests, would it be possible to make those that require you to buy something costly be bankers?'

Fairfax nods solemnly.

LadyAce says to Boreas, 'I think they all do -- maybe they're low on triggering keywords though'

Fairfax says, 'They are?'

LadyAce says to Boreas, 'use idea to suggest it, or poke a bit more at the mob just to be sure it hasn't been added'

LadyAce says, 'I think so :/'

Fairfax says, 'not just alignment quests - a certain word quest also requires some cash expenditure, and mages aren't normally known for str =)'

LadyAce says, 'I think all of those have direct debit options too :)'

Boreas nods her agreement with Fairfax.

LadyAce says, 'poke and see :)'

Boreas says, 'I've never found how to use the direct debit'

LadyAce says, 'if you don't see it despite poking, use idea.'

Boreas says, 'you have to poke them?'

LadyAce says, 'no....'

LadyAce says, 'I mean try stuff'

LadyAce says, 'mess around with them, try to make them do what you want'

Boreas sighs loudly.

LadyAce says, 'use idea if your twiddling about with them doesn't yield any results'

Boreas says, 'I find it rather difficult sometimes to think like a builder'

LadyAce says, 'well, liberal use of idea is the only way they can learn how you think :)'

Boreas says, 'well, I thought that direct withdrawal was supposed to be automatic'

LadyAce says to Boreas, 'you usually have to ask for it'

Boreas looks up into the sky and ponders.

PR and Admin Roles

Fairfax says, 'I notice that new PR immorts are getting fewer, and even existing ones are defecting to building! Is this retribution for a rude and unreasonable playerbase?'

LadyAce says, 'well, I haven't gotten any new people in a while....not in a long while'

Fairfax nods solemnly.

LadyAce says, 'some attrition and moving around is natural'

LadyAce says, 'but when you don't get any replacements, that does start to decrease your numbers'

Fairfax says, 'I miss immort trivias'

Fairfax nods solemnly.

LadyAce says, 'PR has the misfortune of being very hard to get any rewards from'

LadyAce says, 'there's always another string to be done, anger to be calmed, rp to be encouraged, game to be run...'

Fairfax says, 'But I can understand the problem. I can probably say that I would never immort to PR in my right mind.'

LadyAce says, 'coders can point at code, builders point at areas.'

LadyAce says, 'it's not an easy dept to be in, easy to burn out'

Fairfax says, 'admins can just look fierce?'

LadyAce says, 'admins have the same troubles as PR, really'

Fairfax nods solemnly.

LadyAce says, 'recently some people in other depts have added admin bits to help fill in there'

LadyAce says, 'for a while it was way worse off than PR'

Fairfax says, 'but I guess they have no obligation to cater to every player's whim and fancy'

Fairfax says, 'unlike PRs'

LadyAce says, 'well, they're "on-demand" in the sense of "you do something bad, there they are"'

Fairfax laughs with amusement.

LadyAce says, 'but they're not "on-demand" by whatever pops into player heads :)'

LadyAce says, 'then again, I think that's what makes pr fun'

LadyAce says, 'always different'

LadyAce says, 'even if it's a drain to do your millionth bong zip :P'

Boreas says, 'well, PRs aren't really on demand either. They can just hide invis'

Fairfax says, 'I think the lack of PR imms has contributed to some lack of communication between the imms and mortals'

Boreas nods her agreement with Fairfax.

LadyAce says, 'well, I hope that some will apply next round.'

Fairfax says, 'Admins keep getting a reputation for acting but not communicating. Not saying that it's true, that's just the general feel I get from whiners on chat'

LadyAce says, 'this and boards are our primary ways to talk to players, running into people online can be really scattered'

LadyAce says, 'I know that the imms in other depts are trying to fill these gaps you mention'

LadyAce says, 'I'm starting to get more and more "I noticed this on chat" mails -- and that's a good sign'

LadyAce says, 'all the changes to helpfiles are based on player comments/difficulties recently'

Fairfax says, 'Things like 'I was warned/sitebanned/forcearchived but I don't know why" and "Imm said this but pshrug"'

Fairfax nods solemnly.

LadyAce says, 'well, the first is admin for sure -- the immediate answer is write to Zandy'

Sandman sighs loudly.

LadyAce says, 'not sure what the 2nd one is about tho.'

Fairfax says, 'Poor zandy'

LadyAce says, 'there are plenty of people who say they don't know why they're locked when they know quite well why :) they just don't like it'

Fairfax says, 'second is like Imms warn mortals, or enforce certain rules, but don't quite explain the rules'

Boreas is completely boggled.

LadyAce says, 'any rules in particular? The one I see in particular people having trouble with is language rules'

Fairfax says, 'I know players should read it, but most of them dont'

LadyAce says, 'in terms of it being a bit hard to explain'

Fairfax says, 'language, and multiplay or crossplay'

Fairfax says, 'Someone was screaming on chat about being busted for crossplay, and about 3 people chimed in about why the rule made no sense, and the imms just gave up and kept silent'

LadyAce says, 'well, without being here, I couldn't say why in particular that went down as it did'

Fairfax says, 'I know it must be hard on the imms to have to explain something as obvious as that, but keeping silent can't have been the most comunicating thing to do?'

Boreas says, 'when somebody is whining on chat, you are only getting their side of the story, and it is generally quite biased'

LadyAce says, 'well ... I wasn't here, so I don't know what happened. I can think of lots of reasons why imms might fall silent. Explaining stuff over tells, getting dragged out of window by other concerns, lag, link. frustration....'

Fairfax nods solemnly.

LadyAce says, 'but if you see something dropped, a polite mention isn't out of line'

Fairfax says, 'dropped?'

Fairfax says, 'Oh no, the chap was silly'

Fairfax says, 'he asked for someone to kill conductor for ages, no one helped'

LadyAce says, '"Hey, could you guys explain this rule on chat? After that big discussion, I think observers might be unclear on the rule."'

LadyAce says, 'well...that one I do know a bit about'

LadyAce says, 'and I know that there were many massive "private" explosions'

Fairfax says, 'so he said he would just alt out, and he DID, and killed the conductor, and alted again, and picked the item, and got busted =)'

LadyAce says, 'lots of talking in person and over tells'

Boreas says, 'that's blatant crossplay. Nothing ambiguous about it.'

Fairfax nods solemnly.

LadyAce says, 'sometimes we get dragged into discussions locally/privately that are heated, and we drop the more public/spammy stuff'

LadyAce says, 'we go into silent rooms and go into crisis-management mode'

Fairfax says, 'But he immediately got two or three people's support in saying why they thought crossplay should be allowed.'

LadyAce says, 'anyone who has tried to get me to do a desc while I was running a tinyplot or a Q & A or busting a cheater knows that I may well drop tells without meaning to'

LadyAce says, 'it's the same with chat -- we're only handling N mental threads at a time, and stuff gets lost in the hubbub, those chats might well have not been noticed'

Boreas says to LadyAce, 'you need more ram'

LadyAce says, 'well, I'm a pretty good multitasker :) but I don't have infinite capacity'

Fairfax says, 'Oh ya, and someone said something about you too.. something about running a game 8 months ago but too lazy to announce the results.. probably an exaggeration'

Fairfax smiles happily.

LadyAce says, 'Probably the t-shirt contest, which is a bit of a mess in terms of picking a winner.'

Fairfax chuckles politely.

Fairfax says, 'I thought it was the Halloween hunt'

LadyAce says, 'oh, that was posted within a few days of the hunt'

Boreas says, 'no, that was announced'

Fairfax says, 'It was?'

LadyAce says, 'yup. In the LT and who knows where else'

Fairfax never looked.. too many jack-o-lanterns already from past years

Fairfax sighs at himself. What a sorry sight.

LadyAce giggles.

LadyAce hugs Fairfax.

Can Tarans get Entrance?

Fairfax says, 'Oh ya.. any chance that Tarans might be able to entrance?'

Fairfax says, 'They do have the strongest bardic heritage of the 5 hometowns after all'

LadyAce says, 'entrance is considered a skill which is linked to civilization'

Boreas looks up into the sky and ponders.

Fairfax says, 'But there's a mob in Tara who can entrance you'

LadyAce says, 'tara's civilization rating isn't so high'

LadyAce says, 'yeah, but I'd call that mob an exception, rather than a sign of the sort of society they had'

Boreas says, 'it seems to me to be less civilized. People more closely linked to magic would be more likely to have ideas of people being caught by music and dance'

Fairfax says, 'We always have these classic stories of bards of Eire and so forth.. while Victorian London was hardly known for entrancing music'

LadyAce says, 'I think that the only person who might be able to explain how we envisioned that skill is Kaige'

Fairfax says, 'I always thought it was more of a magical thing too'

LadyAce says, 'it's obviously not like fairies and snake-charmers'

Boreas says, 'unless you see entrance more like mesmerize or hypnotize'

LadyAce says, 'maybe it's more like trance music, yea'

LadyAce says, 'complex and mind-bending rhythms rather than a spiritual quality'

Fairfax chuckles politely.

Fairfax nods solemnly.

Fairfax says, 'Well, just an idea'

Fairfax says, 'although Tarans would probably be grossly overpowered'

LadyAce says to Fairfax, 'yea, like Tarans need more stuff :)'

Fairfax tries in vain to think of anything else to say....

LadyAce giggles at Fairfax.

Fairfax looks up into the sky and ponders.

Fairfax says, 'problem is I didn't expect this Q&A =)'

LadyAce says, 'well, we've been at this almost an hour and a half'

LadyAce says, 'so it's a good length to end things :)'

Fairfax says, 'I never make it for Q&A for time reasons'

Fairfax nods solemnly.

LadyAce says, 'we do 'em all at 6 now, so maybe you can make 'em more often'

Fairfax says, 'don't log everything?'

LadyAce smiles at Fairfax.

Fairfax says, '6?'

LadyAce says, 'we do'

LadyAce says, 'yeah, time moved 2 months ago'

LadyAce says, 'amazing break with tradition, I know :)'

Fairfax says, '6 is 8am for me.. have to wake up =)'

Fairfax yawns.

LadyAce giggles at Fairfax.

LadyAce says, 'maybe we should do weekend ones again'

LadyAce says, 'I wonder if people would come'

Fairfax says, 'even worse - like to sleep in during weekends =)'

LadyAce giggles.

LadyAce says, 'me too!'

LadyAce scuffles her feet around in the dirt.

Fairfax says, 'all of us do!'

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