Ask the Editors
By,
The Editors
Episode 9
Welcome back faithful readers. We really appreciate all five of you joining us again this week.
This weeks questions comes to us via email, once again:
“What's the 'worst' thing that the Realms (the game and/or its community) has taught you? I figure the older the editor, the more cynical the response. ;)”
~Anonymous
First up, Diana 'Kiira' LaPierre:
“The Realms has taught me that they are people out there who would pretend to have scruples and morals, but would ignore bad happenings in favor of not putting themselves in uncomfortable positions. So many people in roles of authority and power have been confronted with very blatant wrongdoings, law breaking even, and have ignored it in favor of letting it go so as not to make any waves. My advice is don't expect other people to resolve issues for you. Take action yourself, no matter who you would go up against. Don't expect any noble knights to have your back, because they won't.”
Thank you, Diana!
Next up, Alex 'Lucas' Newbold
“I’ll admit, I struggled a lot with this question. Because, I’ve seen a lot of really rotten crap in the Realms in my time. Some bad stuff back in the day (“Ow, cloth!”) and some blatantly illegal stuff going uncontested these days. In fact, this question has really hung out in my head longer than I wanted it to. This one really made me THINK about the Realms as an entity, and it made me sad, angry, and not in an old man curmudgeonly way. So, I’m going to take a page from Zarine, and Can’t Even for a moment.
Event Specific Rules… I Can’t Even
Let’s talk about the rules. Rules are simple things, written down and often using proper grammatical structure (and if not, we have a committee for that).
There are two types of people in the Realms.
People who read the Event Specific Rules. These are considerate people who like to be informed, understand what is going on, and like the flow of the game to be uninterrupted. These are the kind of people you want in your life. They show up to parties on time, they save seats for you at the movie, and they don’t order breakfast sandwiches at the coffee shop drive through window.
People who don’t read the ESR. These people suck. I’ll tell you why they suck. They force the flow of the game to be interrupted, they are inconsiderate and are denying you and your community the ability to have fun at this game. These people you don’t need in your life, they order multiple breakfast sandwiches at the drive through window, they spill their drinks at the movie theater, and they don’t bother to RSVP to the party.
If you can’t be bothered to read the event specific rules, you are in effect, cheating. You are also showing the members of this community that we so pride ourselves on being, that you don’t value them, their input or their place in the game.”
We can't even either, Alex. Thank you.
Speaking of Can't Even, next up is Sara 'Zarine' Jessop:
“This is a tough question because it forces me to think of the larger question of 'what has the Realms taught me', and then break it down into which of those things is the worst. Surprisingly none of them are nearly as bad as I was expecting them to be. In fact, most of them are things that I learned elsewhere in life that the Realms has just reinforced as truth.
The worst? Nerds are just like everyone else. I hear constant put downs of people who like things that they don't, disgust in their voices when you aren't interested in something that they enjoy, sideways glances at people who they think are more attractive than them so therefore they must be terrible people, or put down people that they think are unattractive. People who are into tournament fighting and the competitive aspects of the game are looked at as 'ruining roleplaying' and are shunned by questers as being too competitive and taking fighting to seriously. Questers are called 'paste eaters' and are laughed at by the more fighting oriented for taking the story too seriously. We give crap to the people who aren't garbed or garbed poorly while rolling our eyes at the people who are putting in an effort to dress up the game. We talk about how much we hate the popular nation because they are all a bunch of bullies and don't deserve what they have, but if asked to join them most would in a heartbeat and become exactly like them.
Sounds like a high school cafeteria, doesn't it?
When I was in high school I didn't belong to a clique. I was one of those people who was friendly with a lot of people because I had varied interests. I never really let a whole lot bother me because I knew that eventually we would all grow up and become more mature in how we handle interpersonal relationships. I often imagined how each little social group would end up. I always assumed that the nerds (who I probably knew the best since I was dating one) would grow to be more compassionate since they spent so much of their formative years being picked on and tortured by others. Unfortunately I was wrong. The nerds didn't become better people at all. They are just like everyone else. Unfortunately they don't seem to think so. They still think that both they and their culture are somehow better than 'mainstream' people and culture. Well, we're not. So stop.”
Very interesting...
Last, but not least we hear from Lani 'Gwen' Grayson:
“So, I’ll preface this response with the idea that Realms has had a very positive impact on my life. I’ve built many skills through this game, some small, some great, but the Realms has helped to shape me into who I am today. But one thing that I’ve learned from the Realms, which I really wish I hadn’t, was that aspects of our game bring out the worst in people. Specifically, that certain types of events bring out a very competitive nature in people, which can turn ugly really quickly. This isn’t specifically a tournament behavior, but rather, when competition is a key aspect of the event, some people regress into behaviors which are unbecoming of them. I’ve seen people escalate situations, throw tantrums, and whine, and ultimately it makes me sad to see, because on the whole, the Realms is a strong community of people who get along well and work together for a common purpose, which is to have fun. Using this platform, I’ll challenge you, the reader, today to consider how you respond when you are frustrated or upset? These situations can be trying for everyone, but instead of assuming the worst of the person you are upset with, try assuming the best. Maybe that person across the field who seems not to be taking any of your shots doesn’t really need to be hit harder to feel them, consider that maybe there is more to the situation. Perhaps they are overwhelmed, maybe they are new to calling shots, or maybe there is an in-game reason they are not taking your shots. Swinging harder is probably not going to solve any of those problems. In any case, the only actions you can control in a frustrating situation are your own. Make sure you are playing by the golden rule, even if it appears that others are not. Your honor is more important than the fight. “
Thank you Lani!
We have all learned different things, both good and bad though our little community. We all spend so much time here that we are bound to see the world through our experiences within the Realms. Let's all try to make more positive than negative experiences, shall we?
Thanks for joining us. Next week, bring a friend, and see what we have to say when we address “What's your opinion on bullying in the Realms, IG and OOG?”
Questions can be sent to Sara “Zarine” Jessop via email (Sarajjesop@gmail.com), facebook messenger, or in person. The question box will also be making the rounds at various events. Please note if you'd like your question to remain anonymous and/or if you would like to address specific editors
Last, but not least we hear from Lani 'Gwen' Grayson:
“So, I’ll preface this response with the idea that Realms has had a very positive impact on my life. I’ve built many skills through this game, some small, some great, but the Realms has helped to shape me into who I am today. But one thing that I’ve learned from the Realms, which I really wish I hadn’t, was that aspects of our game bring out the worst in people. Specifically, that certain types of events bring out a very competitive nature in people, which can turn ugly really quickly. This isn’t specifically a tournament behavior, but rather, when competition is a key aspect of the event, some people regress into behaviors which are unbecoming of them. I’ve seen people escalate situations, throw tantrums, and whine, and ultimately it makes me sad to see, because on the whole, the Realms is a strong community of people who get along well and work together for a common purpose, which is to have fun. Using this platform, I’ll challenge you, the reader, today to consider how you respond when you are frustrated or upset? These situations can be trying for everyone, but instead of assuming the worst of the person you are upset with, try assuming the best. Maybe that person across the field who seems not to be taking any of your shots doesn’t really need to be hit harder to feel them, consider that maybe there is more to the situation. Perhaps they are overwhelmed, maybe they are new to calling shots, or maybe there is an in-game reason they are not taking your shots. Swinging harder is probably not going to solve any of those problems. In any case, the only actions you can control in a frustrating situation are your own. Make sure you are playing by the golden rule, even if it appears that others are not. Your honor is more important than the fight. “
Thank you Lani!
We have all learned different things, both good and bad though our little community. We all spend so much time here that we are bound to see the world through our experiences within the Realms. Let's all try to make more positive than negative experiences, shall we?
Thanks for joining us. Next week, bring a friend, and see what we have to say when we address “What's your opinion on bullying in the Realms, IG and OOG?”
Questions can be sent to Sara “Zarine” Jessop via email (Sarajjesop@gmail.com), facebook messenger, or in person. The question box will also be making the rounds at various events. Please note if you'd like your question to remain anonymous and/or if you would like to address specific editors
