About Me and My History

My handle is mothman47- has been since I created my first e-mail on Yahoo! back in 2000. I've been roleplaying for over 20 years. No joke about that- I'm an old man. The reason I mention my age and experience is because I believe that caveat carries with it the understanding that I've been around awhile and frankly, I know what I'm talking about (mostly).

I've been on the internet as far back as '97. I still remember MTV playing actual music videos, when Burger King sold cheeseburgers for an actual dollar, and I've been around long enough to see every kind of hooplah occur through online roleplaying. Lately these days however, it seems like the roleplaying environment, while abundant with players, worlds, and ideas, has a problem with their philosophy, or more accurately, how the sausage is made, and how to apply quality control to the environment. Unfortunately, literally every other server I've had the privilege of visiting in the past 5 or 6 years has been ran by either children, or adults pretending to be children, or adults who don't have the emotional and mental maturity to actually handle those positions; devolving into nothing more than a drama/clout server and it annoys me- to the point of nausea, almost: Late teens and early 20-somethings who want to keep a foot in high school gossip circles and promote excessively reductive behavior to the detriment of the hobby they are participating in- I weep for those who have suffered in those circles.

From age 12 onwards, I made writing my hobby. Growing up poor will force your imagination to work in interesting ways to ignore being hungry, or broke, or bored while living my best life as a Latch-key Kid. Each story I made was better than the last, and after years of writing pages in a myriad of notebooks in between classes and assignments, I wrote a novel- my own story. But even then, I had managed to learn how to roleplay with other people- honing both my writing and my story-telling skills in my adolescence. Not even a stint in the military or starting a family deterred me from my hobby. Much like Dungeons and Dragons stuck with me, so did text roleplaying. I had the fortunate blessing of meeting some fantastic people across the internet with a creative spark that was alight with the fire of inspiration, adding to my own smoldering intuition and curiosity as a child, and as I grew older, my own flame grew, and it created wonderful worlds and communities in its own right. But even all this happiness is overshadowed by the truth of these kinds of games...

The sad fact of the matter is this: No matter how well you design a server, curate a form, or moderate a RP chat, almost all of them are doomed to fail at some point. Most tend to fall apart after a year or two because there's no stability in either the design of the social architecture, or the implementation of mechanics, a lack of maturity of the staff, or sometimes life just gets in the way and QoL is never applied because the time needed to implement it is not there. The worst part is that I've seen it happen to places that showed actual promise; unique in their world building, lore and character demographic- to have it fall apart because of some flimsy Casus Belli waged against the administration from the users, or from the admin to the userbase. I've seen garbage roleplay, terrible GM/Mod/Admin behavior, and I've seen administration done in a fair, impartial, clear-eyed fashion, and everything in between. I've been part of huge roleplaying forums with almost one hundred active players, Moderately-sized parties on mIRC, complete with our own character sheets and conversing over Ventrilo or Teamspeak, as well as small private one-on-one adventures on both mIRC and Yahoo! Chat. I've been a player and a GM, a Loremaster and a narrator- and I suppose now, as the hairs on my head start to turn gray, and my eyes start to fail me, that I take the next step in my life and take up the mantle as an Advisor to you, whoever you are.

Philosophy of Roleplaying

Players

In the roleplaying world, I tend to call players 'Mun'. A 'Mun' is a term used to refer to the real-life person who is controlling a character in the game. The term 'Mun' is short for 'mundane'. In a text roleplaying game, players create and control fictional characters, also known as 'mus', shorthand for 'muse'. Each 'mun' is responsible for creating and controlling their own 'mu', and conveying their character's actions and dialogue in the game. The use of the term 'Mun' helps to maintain a clear distinction between the real-life person and the fictional character they are playing, and helps to prevent confusion and misunderstandings in the game. It also helps to reinforce the idea that text roleplaying games are a collaborative and creative endeavor, with each player contributing to the development of the game's story and characters. I prefer this term over whatever nonsense mouth noise you have for yourself, because ultimately, it isn't about you, the mun. It's about your character- Their design, their history, mannerisms, attitudes- everything that creates them, supersedes your personal and no doubt selfish wants from RP. The character is in the RP to aid in creating depth to, and sometimes be the driving force behind the storyline created by the GM.

Players- Bad behavior and Toxic ideations

In over 20 years of gaming, I can say with no exaggeration that you will always come across bad and toxic players. That's just how this goes. This hobby is filled with antagonistic individuals looking to exert some kind of influence on others for their own personal gain. Mind you, that gain is more often than not, psychological in nature than physical. Good roleplayers don't have to make five paragraphs per post, detailing every moment. They simply have to create a captivating atmosphere to the hobby. Even if you do this, it's a rule of thumb to always exercise a moderate amount of consideration for your other players to a certain extent to incorporate positive culture within the community. Too often, I've seen skilled roleplayers act like they're a gift to the server they're in, simply because they're entirely capable of carrying a story on their own- but this attitude defeats the purpose of what the roleplay is designed for- collaboration. Unfortunately, this attitude has only grown in its intensity in recent years, primarily because of the next point- Degeneracy.

Degeneracy in this hobby is rampant, because much like any other hobby, once it becomes popular, it becomes populated with people from all walks of life, both good and bad. The unique becomes the mundane, and the degenerate becomes normalized. I suppose it's attention-seeeking, immaturity, or a desire to push the boundaries, but I find that the degeneracy is simply just the same old toxic behavior with a different flavor, and I count them part and parcel of the same problem. Some years ago, if one were to stumble upon a toxic player like that in the wild, one could simply leave a conversation. Or, if they were in a public chat and someone of the same degenerate stripe appeared, then they'd no doubt be ridiculed and pushed out because of their incompatibility to other players, and their potential to harming others. However, in today's Roleplaying scene, these individuals are either celebrated or given some measure of control over the localized server by which they reside in, effectively bringing down the collective quality of the roleplay server with their behavior. Even more relevant is that these individuals are often in positions of power, and abuse said power over the regular denizens of their servers, much to the dismay of others.

Because of this development of toxic and poor behavior from not only users, but administrators and staff, the responsibility of curation of users in a server becomes the sole responsibility of the user and not the staff. This is a double-edged sword as it forces the user to exercise a measure of discrimination towards their servermates in who they wish to interact with, and if the aforementioned attitudes and degeneracy is never checked by the staff, or worse, is encouraged, then that user will eventually leave, and will tell others about the behavior they witnessed, which is detrimental to the hobby and users therein.

Muns- you have the right to better server ownership and collaboration with other muns, free from lechers and power-tripping staff. But do not conflate this with the staff performing their jobs and being stiff-handed about it. Not every staff member will be friendly; it should not be considered out of place for the staff to be diligent in their duties- after all, they're the ones keeping the riff-raff out, and keeping the server operating as usual. The exercise of basic respect is necessary to maintain order in a server, and it's your responsibility, as it is the staff's to exercise it.

Game Masters (GMs) and Admins

In the same manner, the GM/DM/Admin has their own responsibility- to create a Roleplaying world that is dynamic for the characters in the RP to develop in, and intriguing enough to encourage the Muns to stay, while providing an environment for the Muns to enjoy each other's company, and establish a quiet area to plan and interact, without the disruptions of day-to-day life. The users are not there to be your proxy punching bag, venting wall, passengers on a train, or stockade of carnal conquests. They are there to help you build a story, and you do them a diservice by neglecting that and serving only yourself. In the same manner that the players are not main characters, the World setting you have created does not revolve around you; your existence is primarily to provide the world, the lore, and the system, and maintain it to ensure entertainment for others. Your actions should speak far louder than your opinions, which if you have any that aren't pertinent to the development of the story, then keep them to yourself. I personally have a far greater bias against GMs/Admins than I do Muns, however I make it a point to be as fair and impartial as one can humanly perform in that regard, because Administrators should only exercise the least amount of force to encourage positive behaviors.

In that same regard for Admins, your responsibility is to the users, particularly when it comes to the quality of members in your server. You should exercise a modicum of inherent respect to new users, and expect that they can accomplish the prerequisites to joining, and offer help whenever possible. Do not involve personal friends in the server if they aren't willing to offer the same effort to developing your story as you are, and if you do involve your friends, make it explicitly clear that your relationship with them within the server should be professional first, and friendly second- neglecting this disclaimer will only lead to pronounced difficulty in the future. The same applies to romantic interests- do not involve yourself in the lives of others in a manner that isn't befitting of the relationship you have established with them as an administrator. Entanglements oftentimes create rifts in the leadership because favoritism soon becomes the norm between you and the other person, negating any barrier of respect and cordiality you have with other users. Ask yourself this question: "If my significant other is having a hard time with another user, is it in my right to punish the other user, even if they did something wrong?"

The answer, of course, is no. Even if you do everything in your power to neutralize the issue that doesn't involve punishment, that other user will always harbor a personal bias against both you and your S.O., which will eventually cause a rift, and particularly so if the other user has a good tongue- they could very well foment even more mistrust against you and your staff, as well as the S.O.- so don't engage in it. HOWEVER- if you and your S.O. created the server, then the two of you should have to come to the mutual understanding that you will always have a wary eye cast upon your actions, and you should do your best to never bring your relationship to the public sphere within the server, as the more it's visible, the greater the chance that your users will have a bone to pick about it.

Player/GM Symbiosis

The one thing that has become a sticking point in the multitude of discussions relating to a Roleplaying group's identity and culture is the relationship between GM and Mun. Ideally, there's a relationship established between player and GM: One that encourages the player to perform better than the last time. So, sometimes there's an antagonistic vibe that comes from that- but it's purely from the perspective of a professional relationship- I want to turn you into a better writer, to inspire your creativity, and to give you an understanding of what the term 'mutual respect' means. The relationship between the GM and the players is one of collaboration and communication. The GM must be able to listen to the players' ideas, concerns, and feedback, and incorporate them into the game's narrative in a way that compliments your intent and vision for creating your universe. At the same time, the GM has the responsibility to ensure that the game remains balanced, fair, and enjoyable for everyone involved without compromising the agency of the players. I don't care if you have this 'badass' fight you're planning after you force everyone into a railroad travel section- if the users aren't having fun, then you have to find a way to make the mundane fun. If that is somehow difficult for you to achieve on your own, host a small conversation with your players and ask what they would like to see. Spitballing ideas and crafting adventures for everyone is the cornerstone of collaborative RP, and it is within this process of communication that ideas come to life.

One of the potential benefits of a strong relationship between the GM and the players is the creation of a rich and engaging story. The GM can help to create a compelling narrative that engages the players and keeps them invested in the game as well as providing lore By providing interesting and challenging scenarios; the GM can help the players to develop their characters and create memorable moments that drive the story forward. While that seems like I'm discouraging challenge for the players, the opposite is true A GM who believes in the ability of the players to write strong compelling narrative within the confines of the world will often naturally give them challenges to overcome, plot-related or otherwise. It makes for good food when the team can speak candidly about their experiences and build deeper connection with each other after a challenging but rewarding session of gameplay.

To build a better community, it is important for the GM to establish clear rules and guidelines that promote respect, communication, and collaboration. The GM should foster an environment where players feel safe to express their ideas and concerns and where conflicts can be resolved through dialogue and compromise. The GM should also be transparent and open about their decisions and the reasons behind them, and be willing to listen to feedback and make adjustments as needed.

Server Rule Establishment and Enforcement

Rules for the server should cover two aspects of the server's operation- Serverwide rules, and Roleplaying rules.

Server rules are designed to create regulations by which every user, including administrators are expected to follow. Guidelines relating to behavior, what users can expect from the staff in regards to character creation and enforcement of rules, allowed topics of dicussion in general chats, and other extracurricular behaviors expected of the users should be emphasized as important to the server's architecture. In turn, the RP rules apply specifically to character creation and character behavior within the RP. Do not tax the user with useless nit-pick. Do not over-complicate the rules in order to suit every user's need. Do not curate rules to suit your perception of 'comfortable'- your comfort isn't the focal point for the roleplay. Your comfort is a personal endeavor that you have to strive to maintain on your own time- not the server's. Demanding that users use 'pronouns', "trigger warnings" or some other useless fluff in regards to the user identity detracts from the whole reason you're roleplaying in the first place. Escapism. You are not yourself on the internet. You are a perception of data, pushed into a stream of consciousness that nobody but you cares about. Never expect to be offered any respect when you apply your own personal moral compass to a stranger on the internet; it's an irrelevant detail. In recent years, it appears to me that there has been a spike in users advocating against, or reacting in an antagonistic manner for gatekeeping. Perhaps I should digress into what the established definition of gatekeeping is, then illustrate my position, then explain my argument.

The context of Gatekeeping in the modern dictionary has unfortunately been obfuscated by new-think and frankly, usless generalization.Terms like "Control", "Unreasonable Standards" or "Restriction" is flagrantly applied, hoping to color the perception of a person's understanding of the word from what it initially meant- to maintain the status quo of a particular hobby or activity to facilitate meaningful interactions and minimize distraction. In the 2000s, this particular definition of the term was favored by older internet users, as it kept newer, oftentimes younger users from accessing subject material they would have had a limited understanding of. As is often the case, people conflate the act of safeguarding the status quo and a higher quality of a hobby or event with "Snobbery" or "Elitism", when in fact, including these users with their limited knowledge and unrealistic concepts of a hugbox would undermine the integrity of the hobby itself, which would cause its dissolution. Recent examples include the recent debacle with Warhammer40K or the entire videogame industry, for that matter.

If you are a GM, you'd do well to avoid engaging in this conversation, as nothing good comes of attempting to reason with fools; alternately, if you're advocating for the unrestricted inclusion of other players, you should be very mindful of biting the hand that fed you in the first place, as turnabout is fair play. If you are a player arguing against the practice, congratulations, you're the precise reason why Gatekeeping exists. Your arguments are psychologically flawed, and frankly, reductive and distracting. Play the game or leave and start your own. If you can, by your own efforts in starting a server, maintain a creative and exciting world in RP where there are no guardrails, I'd love to hear it (not).

Similarly, rules for roleplaying should follow the same trajectory in their application- avoiding useless fluff and overcomplication. Guardrails are established to maximize the creative energies of the playerbase. As a GM, It's of the utmost importance to maintain order; not authoritarian issuance, but being the judicator for fairness, where cooperation and collaboration are encouraged.

On Bad servers, bad players, bad mentalities.

For the sake of frankness, this topic is going to be a general ramble about the aforementioned, and I will base my opinion on my experiences. I will jump from topic to topic, so apologies in advance. That said, I'm going to begin this section with a simple idea about the current 'en vogue' standard of roleplaying servers, namely, grimdark settings.

Most RP servers that advertise a "Grimdark" or "Morally Gray" world don't have the ability to properly convey what those terms actually mean. They generally believe that if there's a lot of death, then its Grimdark. Nobody's allowed to be happy, because to be happy is to be contradictory to grimdark, and any bit of happiness is snuffed out before it has a chance to blossom. Naturally, neither of these descriptions really embodies what Grimdark in a server setting is. It's not just gore, violence, and horrible conditions- though those are prominent features in a grimdark setting. In spite of all the doom and gloom, there should always be the reiteration of the indomitable will of the players via the characters they portray. Without doubt, there is a bleak outlook in the world. The planet the players inhabit may be dying, or dead. The government is both so massive and so ineffectual that any help in the world is miniscule, if even present. The charm comes from the espousing of hope against fate- the little joy that happens between individuals in that world should be as miniscule and fleeting as a shooting star. The glory that comes with victory is often given at a steep price, and generally combat is fast and intense. A good GM can impart the illusion that every battle will be the last one- that failure is near, only for the players to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

As for bad players, there are a myriad of different types, but I will focus on some of the most prevalent and annoying types of players, starting with the murderhobos, and the Tumblr-spooki types. I will extrapolate on these and others as I go.

First, the Murderhobos. If you've even sniffed a forum for roleplaying, you know the type. Players who disregard the storyline, the nuanced lore of the world, as well as the expected and established social norms in any functioning society, and instead choose violence to solve their problems. Now, there's nothing wrong with solving a problem with force now and again. That said, when you're part of an adventuring party, especially one that appreciates those things eschewed by the hobo, it can create a disruptive environment and play session. All of their solutions to complex problems boil down to one answer:

Mysterious Stranger sitting in the corner of the tavern? Stab him.

Walking along a road searching for a lost child, and you come across an old woman offering assistance? Stab her.

Merchant in town doesn't think you're strong enough to handle his magical elixirs? Stab him.

Trying to sneak into a dungeon and you stumble across a sleeping Orc keeping watch at the entrance? Stab him twice.

Clearly, there's an issue with this approach to problems. It's one thing when done ironically, and when the group you're playing with are into the funny break from the ordinary, but when it occurs consistently, it makes zero sense to continue playing with this person when they refuse to adhere to the basic rules and expectations of the game.

-"Let people enjoy things."

How about play the game properly? If you want a place where you can do that without repercussions, then make it yourself. Funnily enough, I've seen servers situated on the murderhobo aspect, and while it's engaging at first, there is much to be desired in the way of collaborative storytelling, worldbuilding, or anything other than the thril of the kill. Which, if you're just looking for a bit of senseless mayhem, that should be right up your alley, but don't take for granted that while a server based on this premise might convey some semblance of a story, it is only surface deep, and nothing more would come of attempting to improve it.

Tumblr-Spookis: A starter guide

Look there! An academy tucked away in the (insert chic/hipster rural nature area) for (boys/girls/monsters/etc.), and you're the new student. The building was originally built as a (insert spooky preface that creates the idea of spooks and scares), etc, etc.

Boring.

Loathsome.

Would rather drink bleach than join a server like that, honestly. It's really just geared towards teenagers with no relationship with their father, exercising a meta-narrative playing a student at a haunted academy; uncovering a mystery which turns out that someone's undead and their soul is bound to the building because blah blah hallowed ground blah blah horcrux blah blah bisexual witches with 'pick-me' energy, etc.

Now don't get me wrong, this kind of server isn't really oriented towards action or adventure, but intrigue and discovery. They can be a wonderful platform for narrative creativity, but too often I find that the GM is more interested in making friends than presenting a unique world for people interact with, which leads to people creating their own miniature narratives that stray from the intended purpose of the server-They inject themselves into the story and fill it with their own creative energy as a replacement for the lack of the GM's ability. Moreoften than not, the GM gets annoyed and begins to take these narrative diversions personally. Then, as it usually comes to be, the server collapses. My advice to players is to stay away from places like this, as they're nothing but wellsprings of adolescent drama, even if the owners are 20-somethings...Especially if the owners are in their 20s- they have an emotional immaturity that will bleed into everything they do. If you're the owner of a server like this and you believe that you're not this way, I hate to be the one to tell you, but you are.

Creating an RP based on an established IP- It is a delicate tightrope someone has to walk in order to emulate the feel and mood of the original basis for the story. A good rule of thumb is: If you're using established characters and worlds in your Roleplay, as well as NPCs, then you owe it to the original creators of that IP to create worlds and character facsimiles that fit the character's intent, personality and the world's motifs and themes. Diverting from the canon is perfectly acceptable, provided it maintains the charm to continue the suspension of disbelief.

On Bad Players, Continued

Rules Lawyers, in the same vein, are just as annoying as the murderhobo. Their behavior attempts to gain leverage in their favor at the expense of the other players' suspension of disbelief and their experience- oftentimes halting play to impose their opinion on the rules, and how they apply to both the GM and other players, regardless of what the GM is presenting to the table/server. This in itself, is highly disruptive to gameplay. There's no place for a rules lawyer in a game where the concept of storytelling and adventure is promoted. If you're at a table running a game, and you have a rules-lawyer problem, your best solution is to take the offending player aside and explain to them that while their input is appreciated, they are disrupting the flow of play with the others and taking everyone out of the world you're trying to create. If they continue, then you must remove them from the session(more on that later.) If you are the offending player, then understand that while your input may be appreciated out of session, it has no place at the table, and to continue doing it presents the idea that you not only don't care, but that you're incapable of letting others think for themselves. This sets an awful precedent for you and how you appear to others.

Powergamers and Metagamers are part and parcel the same problem. The only difference is that the Powergamer prioritises winning at any cost, often to the detriment of the spirit of the game, whereas metagamers impose the knowledge the mun knows into knowledge the mu knows, thereby removing the natural progression of the story. If a character knows the same things the player does, including storybeats and damage statistics for weapons that would otherwise be unattainable in universe. Sometimes, a player doesn't realize that they're doing either of these, and it's important to make it known to a user who may be walking that fine line; this is usually a new player problem, as their issue stems from being unable to separate the thoughts of themselves from the thoughts of the players they're portraying in a game. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself: If I know this information, does my character know this? Oftentimes, that's good enough, but for some folks, they can mask their powergaming behind new pieces of kit for other players to use, knowing full well they're breaking the understanding of how the game works. An example was a former administrator I worked alongside in a server had developed a new weapon for the players to use in combat; leagues above any conventional weapon used today, and was designed for the express purpose of killing the enemy before they initated contact. This contextual allegory illustrates what powergaming can look like if its in the hands of a staff member looking to increase the kill count of their player by proxy. An example of a metagamer is a user joining a server, seeing the context of the game they're about to play, and joining in with the exact solution the party needs to defeat an enemy or solve a puzzle, having learned of the solution in OOC chat with the rest of the group. This is a definitive example of metagaming, and it was corrected by having the admin step in and quickly advising the player in question that he shouldn't know of these things, and to keep what he knows separate from what the character knows.

Parasites are a different kind of player, in which everything they do requires the immediate approval and consent of the group, both in-game and out of character. If they do something, everyone needs to know about it. They derail exposition with their actions, often causing distractions that are generally unwanted, either by causing a fight at the inn the characters are staying at while listening to exposition from the bartender about a quest, or by deliberately wandering off in the forest while everyone is walking on the trail. This isn't even limited to in-game issues. OOC, they may be complaining about their personal lives to an excessive degree, creating an unwelcoming atmosphere to the conversation. If someone else says their feet hurt from a long day of work, they'll quickly chime in about their grandfather's cancer diagnosis unprompted, in order to elicit sympathy.

A different kind of parasite is the one I call the 'crybully'- that is, someone who proclaims victimhood over perceived slights, and uses the sympathy to coax, harass, threaten, or gaslight others to doing things. An offshoot of a Crybully is the 'Exploiter'- who forgoes the 'victim' aspect and simply tries to push their way into an RP with their own niche demands and requirements from the staff. Both types can be dangerous to the health of a server if they're allowed to remain within- since you could come across someone who is very adept at manipulation, they could very quickly turn the perceptions of others against you and attempt to impose their will in the server. I've seen it happen more often than not over the last two decades and I am telling you, from experience, they are the epitome of why modern day Roleplay sucks, because once they gain control in some way, shape, or form, they will proceed to destroy the server with a near infinite variety of ideas and concepts, both in and out of RP.

These kinds of players are generally, loathesome, and I have no stomach for them, myself. It goes without saying that these users should be quickly removed. Period.

'Twinkies' are the catch-all term I use to describe players that are not playing in the spirit of the game. They exude irrational player behavior that is unbelievable or incongruous to the current game setup. They play characters that easily come unglued at the first hint of stress, or are generally angsty and sad, more than what would be considered normal; alternately, they're incapable of making decisions without another player guiding them, despite having other characters come up to them in and out of character and telling them that what they're doing is damaging. It makes the gaming experience so much more difficult as a result. Can you imagine taking an extra 30 minutes to encourage someone to play their character, to get them to make an action, and they immediately demand someone guide them? A headache, for sure. This is a form of game sabotage, and should be treated as such.

That said, don't conflate this kind of behavior with the development of a character arc within the RP. I'm sure you, the user, are capable of discerning when that kind of behavior would make sense for a character in your party- an example being a rookie fighter pilot hesitating because they've never experienced the emotional turmoil of being in a combat zone, and maybe once or twice after, with a bit more intermittent hesitations following that. This kind of action makes sense, and it would be a faithful character depiction if another player came up to them and told them to snap out of it- And they make an effort! That's not being a Twinkie, that's being a good roleplayer. That's contributing to the collaborative narrative, and it's playing faithfully.