June EMP Meme

[enablemeplz]

ENABLEMEPLZ meme goes up on the Second Saturday of every month FOR GAME ADS: ➤ Put an ad up with the characters / crew / pairings / fetish you want for your game under the correct game header. This meme is primarily going to be focused on DWRP games but IJ and LJ games are allowed. ➤ PLEASE NOTE A RULE CHANGE HERE. ABSOLUTELY NO obnoxious coding (no font size > size 4 or 3 "big" tags, no oversized banners (they must be 250px in height or less), no blinking text, no obnoxious table html that doesn't collapse easily, no sparklies, no large pictures). Use all the colors you like, but please remember 3 "big" tags is the limit and that's only for headers or title text rather than for all the text in an ad. FOR GAME QUESTIONS: ➤ RPers interested in a game can create a header for the game and ask questions about that game that aren't easy to find on faqs, such as the actual pace vs. what's listed/what kind of plots are run/if the game leans more towards plotty or slice of life/if a game leans more towards network or logs, etc. Both anon questions and anon answers are welcome in this section just like in the rest of the meme. ➤ This thread is not for speaking about wank or drama in a game. There are anoncomms that exist for that. This thread is specifically for general questions about a game that rpers want to get perspective on from players already in the game. Answers can be slightly negative (such as saying app response is slow or that the plots are repetitive or similar things) but this should at least be worded politely. Unnecessary vitriol, any mention of personal drama or wank, or mod teams/individual mods/players being singled out, will be either frozen or screened (based on what seems right based on the content). FOR CHARACTER ADS: ➤ Put up an ad about the characters you are offering. For PSL ads, there is a separate subthread but for character ads for games, post directly to the meme post. Others will comment to you with the games/casts they want you to join. ➤ There is a "Find a Castmate" section, where you can talk about a cast you play in at a game, and try to lure people to join it. Not all games post to the meme or have a "wanted" section, so players that want to tempt people to their cast on their own can use this section for it. Please format this the same as the PSL section, where you post your character's canons in your subject. For the actual text of the ad you must use the "Find a Castmate" form provided at the bottom of this post so that these ads don't get huge. When listing who's currently in a cast, please do this in sentence form (with commas) rather than in list form. ➤ There is a "Find Crosscanon" section, where you can talk about a character you play and and desired crosscanon for that character. Please make sure this is not too generalized a search, because just wanting general crosscanon can be accomplished with the other sections of the meme. This is for specific characters or character types you're looking for. In the subject, please list the "Looking for [canon you're looking for]" rather than your character's canon. If looking for a character type, list the character type in as few words as possible. Do not make the subject huge or I'll screen your comment. For the actual text of the ad you must use the "Find Crosscanon" form provided at the bottom of this post so that these ads don't get huge. This section is only for game crosscanon as in the psl section people can list their preferences. ➤ Examples of crosscanon you can search for: You play The Flash from DC Comics and your dream CR is fellow speedster Quicksilver from Marvel. Or you might play a witch and want cr with other witches in general. Or maybe you play a good character messed up by evil parents and want to play against a villain character you know has evil parents, because you know it'd lead to some interesting negative CR. ➤ ABSOLUTELY NO obnoxious coding, with the same rules as the Game Ads Section above. ➤ If you're recommending a game to someone, try to match your suggestion to their needs. It's okay if part of your game rec is copy-pasted (such as what the game's about), but at least some part of the rec must be personalized to their ad. Try not to recommend the same game to every single ad, either. Ad spam that isn't individualized in some way will also be frozen or screened. Keep in mind this needs to be more specific than "this game has easy AC like you're asking for but meets none of your other requirements." Make sure you're advertising games that might click with that specific character, where a few elements fit what they're looking for. You should be thinking about the story reasons of how the character might click with the game. IN GENERAL: ➤ Don't be a dick. This isn't one of the anoncomms, so any snide comments or unnecessary commentary on the RP plans of others will be frozen or screened. MOD CONTACT: If there's trouble, tell me HERE, please! RESOURCES: enablemeplz - The plurk for Enable Me Plz. Follow for monthly, replurkable EMP reminders DWRP Masterlist - A regularly updated basic list of public DWRP games. dedoralive - A more detailed listing of DWRP Games. GAME/AD LINKS: General Game/Dressing Room Ads Link - New Games - Small Games - Medium/Large Games - Museboxes/Memes/Dressing Rooms/Misc. - Game Questions - Game Start Discussions/Questions PSL Offerings Find a Castmate Find Crosscanon Latest Page Textbox for Character Ads (Optional): <b>[character offered]:</b> <B>[fandom]:</b> <B>[rp you're offering for / rp type you'd wanna play in]:</b> <b>[preferences]:</b> Textbox for "Find a Castmate" Ads (Required): <b>[game]:</b> <B>[fandom]:</b> <B>[game's current cast]:</b> (Please list this in sentence form with commas. Ex: "Bucky, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Thor.") <b>[who I play]:</b> (Who you play in the game you're advertising for) <b>[wanted]:</b> (Who you'd like to see) <b>[game info]:</b> (You can list some info about the game or what's been going on for the cast you're trying to lure people into). For "Find Crosscanon" Ads (Required): <b>[game]:</b> <b>[who I play]:</b> Character / Fandom (Who you play in the game you're advertising for) <b>[wanted]:</b> Character / Fandom (if it's a specific character. You may list more than one character if you have a few specific ones in mind character types you'd like to see.) <b>[why]:</b> (Maybe explain the dynamics you're interested in and how you think the characters would mesh interestingly. Explain what they have in common or how they might clash if you're looking for something more negative.) <b>[game info]:</b> (You can list some info about the game itself and why it'd be a good place to app to). ➤ Important note: IP logging has turned on due to multiple instances past and present of problem players trying to return to the dwrp community via emp after being banned other places, so I'll be IP logging from now on, and will compare notes with the rpa and wg mods (as well as game mods) where appropriate if it seems like someone that has been mass banned. I will not pay attention to IPs otherwise. I don't care what people like playing or who's who. So please feel comfortable to keep doing your thing, anon or otherwise. The knowledge will only be used for really egregious problem cases.

Comments

GAME START DISCUSSIONS/QUESTIONS

[enablemeplz]

Want to do an interest check to see if people would be interested in a game idea you want to run? Looking for comods to help you start a game? Or do you have questions about possible game mechanics?

Ask questions regarding starting a new game here. Please put the topic of your post (i.e. "looking for comods," or "interest check for a steampunk sci fi game") in the subject of your comment.

Looking for Co-mods

[everland_mods]

Hello! I am looking to start a game set in the world of Everland! I don't want to say too much about the game itself in a public space yet, because I want any co-mods to be able to have a say in what information is made public to start and what the players must uncover over time.

Of the things I can say, are the following:

Everland will be a game of second chances. I mean this on the meta level. I would ask all co-mods to be willing to review every potential player as if they had never heard anything bad about them or had any bad interactions with them. I want Everland to be a game that welcomes anyone who truly wishes to be part of the community in a positive way, even if their history isn't flawless in the larger Dreamwidth community. We all mess up sometimes, and we all need to know that there is a place for us if we grow up and learn from our mistakes, and we all need a safe space. I want to make the OOC community of Everland a space where all feel safe and welcomed, and that no one is pre-judged harshly. That is my biggest requirement for co-mods. Being willing to treat everyone freshly and fairly.

Everland will be very CRAU welcoming. One of the things that drove me to create Everland is how hard it can be to find a came that allows for CRAU, OCs, and canon OCs. Once people feel they are welcome, I want them to feel their characters are welcome too.

That said, Everland will be a game that is not intended to ever go past PG-13 and the aim is to keep it pretty steadily at G or PG. Anything beyond PG-13 should be fade to black or taken to private threads. I am therefore, hoping to not be asking co-mods to read anything that would make them uncomfortable.

My plan is for Everland to be a check-in game with optional bonus AC.

One big thing I am planning that Co-mods would need to know in advance is that the intention behind the game is to be very NPC interactive. Not all NPCs will be run by the mods, but quite a few will, so any co-mods would have to be willing to RP with the players.


Anyway, yeah. Willing to talk more with potential co-mods. My ideal is one mod who can code and at least 4 of us on plot and npcs before we open, though a smaller but strong team would also be good.

Most of the game info is already written, though on Scrivener, and I would need another set of eyes on it to proof everything and bounce ideas off of, as well as to help me format the actual posts. We already have a WIP map and some icons and a bunch of the NPCs are set. I didn't want to set them all, again, to leave room for other mods to have fun and express themselves creatively.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I appreciate it!

Re: Looking for Co-mods

[(Anonymous)]

Just a heads up, there are a lot of red flags in this text. I think at minimum we would want you to be open with your identity before just pitching into some blind deal. Forgiveness is fine but if you want people to trust your platform for forgiveness, anon modding might not be the route to go.

Re: Looking for Co-mods

[everland_mods]

Hello, and thank you for responding! I didn't omit my identity intentionally, but I was so excited/nervous about posting this I forgot the mod account isn't directly linked to me. I will make an over all reply addressing issues from the various comments, but will reply individually as well.

I am Chicklet. Given the size of the community, not sure that helps to narrow down who I am much, though. I am currently RPing in VT as Xion, Najaran, Spark, and Clef. I've played in a number of other games including X-institute, Wake, and SMK, as well as a number of in person and over Discord LARPs and table tops. Hope that helps!

[(Anonymous)]

I'm not nearly as paranoid as the anon above but I would think that if you were looking for a mod team you might need to tell us more about your game. Everland is from a book series? Would we need to be familiar with that series in order to play or mod the game? If the game is meant to be PG or G will there be any fighting, battles, or injuries? How many NPCs would you need a mod to play or would that vary based on the event?

[everland_mods]

Hello, and thank you for responding! I will make an over all reply addressing issues from the various comments, but will reply individually as well.

Everland currently has one short story out, and one novel in beta draft, which I have been given access to. The author has given permission for this game to run and is an approachable resource for world building. (There are limits on the canon characters and a few smaller locations, but nothing restrictive for DWRP) Knowledge of the source story is not required to play or to mod, especially not the unpublished novel! I only put that in so that there was transparency over the ownership of the base world.

As to PG and G ratings, I see multiple questions on that topic and will do a catchall response in addition to this as I said above. This is all addressed/will be addressed in the still WIP FAQ/Rules section. In the areas where the border between PG and PG-13 is grey and unclear, it will mostly fall to player consent. If all players in the scene are okay with a little more violence that would be fine. The restrictions, as spelled out in the rules are basically: swearing should be censored. Romantic scenes that include getting undressed or anything not PG acceptable should be FTB. Violence is okay so long as all players are okay with it, but extreme violence is not. (So someone gets stabbed, fine if all players are fine with it, someone getting mutilated slowly/tortured is not), bloodshed and death will be allowable as long as there are CW or TWs in the subject line, but graphic descriptions of the wounds would not be.

I am willing to take on the lions share of the NPCing, and will set the co-mods requirements for it based on their comfort level. At least one or two is what I would like, but if that is a hard no for someone who otherwise wants to help then we can work around that and I'll just shoulder more of the NPCing. A lot of this is vague because it comes down to the comfort levels of my fellow mods. I don't want to set anything in stone that would turn away someone who would have a fantastic time helping with this setting!

Thank you again for your reply and questions, I look forward to hearing from you again if you respond!

Re: Looking for Co-mods

[(Anonymous)]

I dunno how much draw you're going to get with this because this sounds really kiddie game with it being G or PG-13. What are the stakes? Why should anyone want to play here if there isn't going to be sex or death that isn't fade to black and then not able to be discussed because they're adult topics? This eliminates a lot of canons because characters can't even touch on themes from their canons if they're too mature? How does that work? This whole clandestine premise thing on top of the sketchy bit about second chances in dwrp is not really doing it, You should convince people of that first before you start looking for people to mod this thing because right now I wouldn't even want to play in it let alone consider modding it.

Re: Looking for Co-mods

[(Anonymous)]

I agree with this comment. There isn't any information about the setting for us to know if we want to spend time investing in it. It's an island? Well then, what sets it apart from every other generic jamjar island? Why this game and not a premise of our own?

Talking about the plot isn't a spoiler, nor would marking it with a genre beyond "sol". Are there adventures? Factions? What sets this beyond a bakerstreet meme?

Re: Looking for Co-mods

[everland_mods]

Thank you for responding! I was being vague mostly because I want any co-mods to get to have a say in what is and is not shared when we market this out. As to stakes, while there will be individual events and a meta-plot, my aim is for the game to have a lot of slice of life to it, meaning the stakes often come from PC interaction. If a co-mod has other ideas, I am willing to consider them for sure!

Re: Looking for Co-mods

[(Anonymous)]

While I'm always happy to see new games open here, the lack of info on setting, what kind of plots/events/stakes there will be, or what you mean by "PG13" are making me less enthused and more confused. What people view as G or PG or PG13 vary, and what those terms mean in practice vary. The Dark Knight was rated PG13 - does that mean crime and violence on that level is allowed in game in small doses? If not, then where is the line? Are players going to get more details, maybe a FAQ about what is and isn't allowed?

I personally would not want to be in a game or mod a game that 1. has heavy restrictions but 2. has never specified what they are. That just sounds like you'll be banning people for things you personally feel violates the spirit of the game, which is a surefire recipe for drama that I want to avoid.

+1

[(Anonymous)]

It's a bit strange to say "I want this to be welcome to everyone (and also their characters)" when what little of the premise IS being mentioned is heavily restrictive and unwelcoming to begin with since it sounds like only children's shows and disney characters will thrive here.

Re: Looking for Co-mods

[everland_mods]

Thank you so much for responding! I will make an over all reply addressing issues from the various comments, but will reply individually as well.

Yes, the specifics of what is and is not allowed from a PG/PG-13 standard is in the WIP FAQ/Rules. I want to go over specifics with co-mod before anything is public. But having not seen Dark Knight, going off your reply, that seems like a good way to explain it. Some violence and crime so long as all players are okay with it. I will go into more detail in the over all reply.

I have no intention of banning anyone if I can avoid it, but I intend to make things very clear so that no one feels targeted or has to be afraid that they will be targeted. Part of what is taking me so long to finish the rules/FAQs is trying to be clear while trying not to bog people down with a wall of text. Part of what I really want a co-mod for is another set of eyes on things like that to help me balance giving enough info with not overwhelming people with restrictions and rules.

Thank you so much for the response, once again! I hope this has cleared up some of your concerns.

Re: Looking for Co-mods

[(Anonymous)]

So what about adult themes and topics? What about homosexuality? Drug use? Getting wasted? Mild nudity?

How much has to be faded on to not get in trouble with the mods?

Also what about if there's issues with other players? What rules will be in place for these second chances? How many chances will be given? Is opting out by players an option or not allowed because second chances? Will mods be hiding player identities to protect those seeking a second chance?

Re: Looking for Co-mods

[everland_mods]

Thank you for responding! I will make an over all reply addressing issues from the various comments, but will reply individually as well.

On themes and topics: Orientation and gender identity are, to my mind, not adult themes or topics. Players will be asked to take romantic scenes to private journals or FTB them no matter the gender or genders or lack of genders involved. The same rules will apply for a male female couple, male male, female female, NBs in the mix, poly, pan... all orientations are welcome, and all fall under the same rules.

Drug use... I would have to discuss that with Co-mods, I had not given drug use much thought, I will fully admit. Same with getting wasted/drunk. I suspect that will wind up under the "If all players consent OOC and it does not violate other rules" it is okay, but I don't want to make a firm decision on that either way without co-mod discussion.

Mild nudity will be FTB requested as it can be a trigger for many people (me among them, I openly and honestly admit.)

Details on where the lines are will, as best as possible, be spelled out in Rules/FAQs.

The questions about other players are super important and I thank you for inviting me to discuss my thoughts on the matter. Again, all is pending co-mod input. My plan, however is that there will be a strike system. Everyone coming in starts with the same clean slate even if they were kicked from other games. The goal is that people will be judged by the mods only by what they do while in this game. That involves IC and OOC actions. Harassing other players will not be tolerated, neither will things like hate speech. This will all also be spelled out in rules. The number of strikes will be discussed amongst the mods in advance and will be stated clearly. As well as what actions are so unacceptable they will negate the strike system. I want us to do as much as possible to be clear to all potential players.

While opting out is an option, I would like the mod team to strongly encourage people to not unless there is an issue in this game specifically. I have no plans in place for how we could, or even should, enforce players giving each other another chance. All I can do is ask people, encourage it, and make it clear that behavior is judged based on actions while in this game. "But they started it!" isn't acceptable to excuse someone's behavior, and that should be true no matter when the "started it" was. Basically we are going to try to encourage everyone to give each other a try. Opting out will not be forbidden or punished, but harassment will be. I really want players to talk to the mods before things ever get to that point.

Mods will not be hiding players identity according to my current plans. Again, I am open to be swayed of co-mods feel strongly. But that is not my intent. I like to think that people are genuinely and generally good. I want to give people the chance to make that part of their personalities shine.

Once again, thank you for the questions. I hope I addressed your concerns!

Re: Looking for Co-mods

[(Anonymous)]

All that this post tells us about the game is that it's an island SOL rated G. I think you need to spend a lot more time working out details before you try to get this off the ground. We don't know anything about the premise, the rules, the setting, really anything at all, so I don't think most people will want to sign on to co-mod with this little to work with.

Re: Looking for Co-mods

[everland_mods]

Thank you for the response. I will make an over all reply addressing issues from the various comments, but will reply individually as well.

I have a lot of the details roughed out, but am trying to leave things vague so that co-mods would get to be heard and have a say. I don't want to be a "my way or the highway" mod, I want this to be a team that knows that they are all valued and appreciated and heard. I want us to work together. Maybe that is naive, but it is my hope.

Addressing all comments so far. Thank you for them!

[everland_mods]

Hello! I am so overwhelmed with how many people replied, thank you! I appreciate it so much.

While I responded to each comment individually and intend to keep doing so, I want to address somethings here where everyone who is interested can see the answers without having to scroll through each thread individually.

First: It was brought up that I had failed to identify myself. I appologize, it was not intentional nor was it an attempt to fool or deceive anyone. I was excited/nervous and just forgot that my name isn't on the journal anywhere.

Not sure if having my name will help, but here it is, I am Chicklet. I currently play 4 characters in VT (Xion, Spark, Clef, Najaran). I have played in a number of other games including X-institute, Wake, and SMK. I am a LARPer and LARP GM, as well as having a history in tabletop RP.

Second: Everland is based off a short story (published) and novel (unpublished) that I have permission from the author to use for the game, with some restrictions. Knowledge of the limited canon is not needed to play or mod.

Third: The exact lines of what is and is not allowable in terms of rating will be spelled out clearly in the Rules/FAQ. I was trying not to bury people in wall of text here on EMP, but I will address some of the specific issues raised. (please note that some of these may slide based on co-mod input) Nudity is FTB or take to journals and cannot be used for bonus AC. Romance threads, no matter the gender or number involved will need to FTB or go to journals if it gets to removed clothing or reaching into/under clothing levels. Crime and violence has a wide range. Lower end will be based on OOC player consent. For example, if all involved players are okay with a fist fight or even a stabbing, that is perfectly fine. playing out torture or mutilation would not be, even if all players are okay with it. Death and dying are acceptable so long as they are not the butt of jokes or otherwise done in a way that is clearly intended to upset players OOC. But detailing the death would not be. I hope that clears things up. CWs and TWs on topics that require player consent should be used.

As an addendum to this, because it was asked: GENDER IDENTITY AND ORIENTATION ARE NOT CONSIDERED TABOO IN THIS GAME. The same rules on romantic scenes and nudity apply no matter the gender, genders, or lack there of, of those involved. I am LGBTQ+ and even if I was not, I want this game to be welcoming. So anyone who has issues with the game accepting queer or ace or NB characters or players or anything along those lines, I thank you for your interest to this point. Have a nice day.

Fourth: I have no intention at current of hiding player identities or forcing anyone to thread with people they do not want to thread with. If the issue you have is with a character not a player, that is 100% understandable. If the issue you have is with a player not a character, I would like to think the whole mod team would be encouraging of you to communicate and/or give that player another chance. But this will not be enforced. Opt-outs will be allowed, though again, I would hope that if it is for OOC reasons, you would be open to considering trying to thread with them again and/or discussing your issues in a mature way. We are all people. We've all made mistakes. We've all had a point of veiw or style at some point that has since changed. We all have had a chance to grow up, to evolve. And this is easiest when one has feedback to work from. I, myself, am a huge believer in communication and feedback.

Basically, in summary, I will be encouraging second chances, but the only people who will be enforced to give people a clean slate would be fellow mods. I do not want any player or players to feel targeted by the mod team, or unwelcome because one of the mods is someone who had an issue with them in the past.

Fifth: I am aware that I have not given much detail about the settings and am hesitating to put certain things down as set in stone. This is because I want all mods to have a voice, to feel welcomed and heard because they are welcomed and heard. I want everyone to have a chance to have a say. In the rules. In the settings in the NPCs. If a mod wants to come in but doesn't want to do NPCs or only wants to do NPCs and not admin stuff... I hope to build a team that each mod is doing things they love doing, and all needed jobs are done fairly, well, and in a timely manner.



I hope all of this helps to clarify things. Thank you all so much for your feedback and engagement. I am very excited, and even if I get no new co-mods from this post, I still have a lot of things to think about and ways to improve the game, so I thank you all!

Have a wonderful day!

Re: Addressing all comments so far. Thank you for them!

[(Anonymous)]

"Crime and violence has a wide range. Lower end will be based on OOC player consent. For example, if all involved players are okay with a fist fight or even a stabbing, that is perfectly fine."

Does this mean that every in single time someone wants to RP a fight, they have to first ask the entirety of the game if they can thread it. Then they have to wait for that answer from the whole game. By the time everyone has weighed in, the opportunity for that CR and thread will have long since passed. It sounds a lot more like talking about RPing than actually playing if you are going to require every player to weigh in on every single thread where violence of any kind might be played. (Assuming that it was plotted out before hand. This is discounting CR that changes during threads due to character actions in that thread.)

And if even one person says "no", they can't play it.

Or is this just a case of player one and player two have a fight. They both want to do it. They thread warn for cw: fist fight and the rest of the game can just scroll past.

Basically, what constitutes an "involved player". Just the people threading or anyone and everyone who might happen to click and read?

Re: Addressing all comments so far. Thank you for them!

[(Anonymous)]

I want to repeat this again though I doubt you're going to listen. Your abuser supporting attitude is not just sick, it's dangerous. You're shaming people for wanting nothing to do with people that hurt them and guilting those not willing to give someone a second, third, tenth chance.

That you don't see that as a problem says a lot about you as a person and a mod.

You're setting people up to have to drop out rather than be shamed for not wanting something to do with someone that has caused them trauma.

It's abusive behavior on your part and sets an overall tone for how damaging this game and mod team will be.

Re: Looking for Co-mods

[(Anonymous)]

Based on your responses, I'd really recommend against trying to proceed with this idea. I don't think you understand why a "second chances" game is going to raise a lot of eyebrows nor do you seem to grasp why many of your ideas are confusing, contradictory, or even downright offensive. To put it bluntly, it is unlikely anyone will want to co-mod with this game with you and it is extremely unlikely anyone will join it. You are basically opening your players up to potential harassment and exposure to abusers by letting anyone walk through your doors, no questions asked. It is your responsibility as a mod to protect your players and you simply cannot do so in that sort of environment.

I'm not trying to be mean, I'm sure your intent was good, but I think someone needs to tell you and tell you directly this isn't going to work. You keep mentioning co-mods and assuming you'll have a team, when again, I think you're going to have trouble attracting any real interest.

Re: Looking for Co-mods

[everland_mods]

I appreciate the feedback, and always prefer blunt honesty to pretty much anything else. You are right that I do not understand why this is coming across as confusing and/or contradictory and am trying to address questions as they come up. As for offensive I never thought that this could be in any way offensive, nor was this intended to be. May I ask in what way I have offended people so I can fix things and make amends?

I hadn't really thought about abusers, and you are right that I should have. I am not sure how to find a balance between giving people a chance to show they have changed and protecting people. I will need to think on that and am open and welcoming to any advice on the topic. I do want people to feel safe here. But I also want people to have a chance to grow and change and become more who they want to be, and to show that of themselves to others.

I get that you are not trying to be mean and appreciate the feedback! I keep mentioning co-mods not because I am assuming I will find a team, but because I know that I cannot do this on my own. I've been trying to figure things out on the back end for this for a while now. I cannot run this game the way I want to run it on my own. So it is not presumption of having a team interested in the game, more it is presumption that without a team, there will be no game. I am hopping that I will attract interest. Even if I first have to take this feedback and revamp my approach - both in my pitch and the base of the game myself - before that happens.

I believe in a lot of the core concepts of this game, and do want to see it flourish and do well. But I am also aware that the timing may be off. And more, that I myself may not be right for this right now. But a lot of people have been encouraging me to come to EMP to look for co-mods, so I took their advice and tried it. And even if I gain no co-mods this round, I am learning a lot and seeing a lot of places that I need to improve.

I may even need to try starting a far less ambitious game first to get some experience under my belt. That is a possibility I am willing to consider. And maybe that experience will convince me that Everland would never have worked. Or maybe I will use that to try again in a different way, one that takes into account all that has been brought up here and will come up between now and then.

Sorry for babbling at you. Thank you for the feedback, and if you are comfortable telling me how this came across as offensive I would appreciate it. It has never been my intent to offend or hurt the people of this community.

Thank you.

[(Anonymous)]

Honestly I think there's some misunderstanding here about the reasons people choose not to interact with certain other players/why some mods refuse certain people access to their game. In my experience in DWRP, the vast majority of the time, when this kind of thing happens it's because an individual has personally had bad experiences with the person they're trying to avoid, and knows from past experience that they don't enjoy playing with them (or modding for them).

DWRP is smaller now than it used to be, but it's not all one contiguous community that everyone knows what's going on in. It's not too hard for people who have found themselves alienated from one social circle due to bad behavior to find a foothold elsewhere to try again, unless the bad behavior is real nightmare shit. If there really are people out there who can't get into any game and are shunned by everyone in DWRP, I sure haven't heard of them.

I understand the appeal of the idea of a game where people who have acted badly can have a second chance to prove they've changed, I don't think this is really... like... generally those people are already doing that, just in different games and social spheres from the individual people they've hurt. Nobody is out here religiously consulting lists of total strangers to avoid based on hearsay from other strangers. Or at least nobody I know is!

This just sounds like you'd be deterring anyone who's experiencing harassment by someone else in RP from apping to your game because of the knowledge that by playing there, they'd be making themselves a target for their harassers to app in too, knowing their victim would have to either drop or deal with being encouraged to make nice with them.

[everland_mods]

Thank you for the response!

I edited a lot of what I had intended to say here, so I appologize if the resultant response is incomplete. The short (and less self-righteous) version is this:

I know people who have been chased out of new games or not given a chance because their names are on something like WG, or because of something somewhat problematic years ago that they have since realized is problematic and have stopped doing. I know that there are a lot of games out there, and that the community is wide and diverse. But I also know that I have friends who have confided in me that they have anxiety apping new games because they are afraid the mods will judge them based on WG or other second and third hand accounts. If those players can app to a game I run with less anxiety, and prove themselves there that they are not what people say they are, or even not who they used to be... then hopefully they can have less anxiety, and less cause for anxiety, in other games.

I also do not think that a lot of the people with this anxiety are people who have actually hurt anyone with their play. I think that anyone actively malicious will prove themselves out before they get terribly far. Not just in my game, but in any game. But people get reputations in this hobby based on the ship they like (not a shipper myself so that just seems... odd) or daring to be open about their real life struggles online. In some cases it is because they have played a child of a gender not their own and some people got upset about it. I am not looking to shelter people who actively have a will to do harm. We will have strike and ban system in place. But that will be based on actions undertaken while in this game, not based on something heard third hand five years go.

I hope that clarifies my intent, if nothing else.

As to active abusers, someone else had brought that up, and I admit I had not considered that. I had not thought about people who hadn't changed apping specifically to harass or bully someone else. While I can as a mod step in if they do something while in the game, you and the other poster are correct that it could cause problems before it gets to that point. And I don't want someone to be hurt at all. So I do have to consider that and try to figure out the best way to proceed.

Thank you for giving me something to think about, something I do want to resolve before I open this (or any game) to the public. I do want to make any game I run a safe space, and I need to consider that from all angles. Thank you.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't understand that you are all about protecting yourself and others who have made people uncomfortable so they can have a "safe space" and yet discourage opt outs and blame those that would rather have them for not talking it out with those that have already hurt them.

Doesn't seem like a safe space or a game but private sandbox and maybe it should stay that way.

A quick update!

[everland_mods]

I want to start by thanking everyone who has responded. I appreciate the feedback and am giving serious thoughts to the important points raised. I am taking a step back from all of this as I try to work through a lot of what has been said. I hope to grow as a person from this into someone who is more capable and able to create a space that brings happiness and a feeling of safety to people, in whatever form that winds up taking.

To anyone that might have been hurt, offended, triggered, or stressed by anything I have said, I am sorry. Deeply and immensely. It was never my intention to cause anyone grief or harm in any way shape or form. I extend deep and serious apologies. I am going to try to learn from this and do better.

I have been doing my best to reply to each post as it comes in. I appreciate the time people take to respond, and I want to make sure I make that appreciation clear. Even when the subject matter is particularly difficult. Or perhaps especially then. So thank you.

The next few days are possibly going to be busy ones for me, depending on how health issues go. So I may not get to respond as often or as well. So if you comment and I do not reply immediately, I appologize, and it is not an indicator that I am ignoring you.

As of right now, after all that has been said, I no longer intend to work on getting my game started any time soon. There is a lot that I have discovered here that I still need to learn and understand before I can truly create any of the things I wanted to create. If and when I do try this again, it will be in full mindfulness of the feedback I received here. And I thank you all for that. Everyone who commented, and everyone who is reading this, has been reading this. Attention, time, and thought are valuable commodities, and I appreciate you spending your time and attention to what I had thought was a small run of the mill request for help. I thank you for the deep thoughtful replies that have shown me that there is nothing small about the help I need before I can even consider trying again.

This doesn't mean I am giving up. This isn't me saying "I can't cope so I am out" or "it is too hard". This is me honestly and fully wanting to give what has been said the proper thought and consideration. Some very serious issues are raised. I don't have answers for a number of them. I am not sure I will have answers later. In at least one case, I am not sure there is an answer that works for everyone. But I can spend the time looking at how others handle these same issues, and learn from them. Someday, I intend to try this again. With better understanding, and better ideas about how to handle these issues. I still want to make a safe and happy place, but I need to reconsider what exactly that safety looks like, and how to make sure I'm not unintentionally doing the opposite.

So once again, thank you all so very much. I appreciate it, and look forward to the future.

No matter who you are, please know that you are loved. You are valuable. You matter. You are important. And you are appreciated and wanted. Thank you.


P.S. Quick edit: as I was getting ready to shut down and go to bed, I spotted two replies that never made it to my inbox. So if anyone has commented, and I have not replied, I appologize. As far as I know I have now replied to everyone. If anyone is lacking a reply it is accidental. Feel free to repost the reply if you want, and hopefully this time the notification will show up in my inbox.

Once again, thank you.