@Evilgrayson Role players are bonkers. RPG players are bonkers. WoD fans are bonkers. Add the anonymity of nick names and you wind up with an abusers paradise.

Staff are simply blind to too much (the nature of MU*), and can only react, because nobody wants them proactively violating privacy. When there’s a proper shadow society being maintained OOC, more organized and longstanding than a game, good luck.

It took me about 15 years to figure out this mix is bad for me. I’m sorry for your experience, truly. I was gutted my last time MUSHing, and called it quits. The circumstances bore comical similarities to your tale. Hugs for y’all.

I quit! I am going to continue working on the WoD20th code on my own, and I might run a Mage ttrpg using it, but no more staff at DI.

My main focus will be finishing up my Cyberpunk Red game.

I don’t have anything against AI generated images for face claims, though these images aren’t art and shouldn’t be referred to as such. I generally prefer human-made digital art and have my own personal image folder of stuff I’ve collected over the years. Whenever I make a new character I just flip through and pick something.

Again though, I’m coming across less authentic art these nights and my cache isn’t growing as much as it once was. Annoying.

@catzilla said in Numetal/Retromux:

@ChaoticSin Pika ousted from their own game? What’s the story there?

Pika distanced herself from the game quite some time ago. So, when the domain lapsed, those of us who wanted to see the game succeed continued on without her. Hence the moving of the server

@Hobbie it’s the same story as serenitymush. There will be deaths and rebirths until it just ends up dead on someones VM server forgotten in time.

I was looking for something in my emails this morning, and came across one with the subject line “Oh, the drama” that was of course about RP drama and, also, 19 years old at this point.

It’s basically a TREASURE TROVE of nonsense, but I need to share my favorite line, from a player being extremely over-dramatic at me. Context is that he was VERY PARANOID that he was going to get banned, and I pointed out that Camden (my fellow co-admin at the time) had JUST told him he wasn’t in danger of being banned.

"Dylan…It’s insane not to plan for the ‘what ifs’. What if Camden gets hit by a bus?

I’m happy to say that Camden never did get hit by that bus.

@Arik No idea!

@scvm babbish

Just yesterday I said I was impressed that Liberation was going strong after its rough start.

The recent alarm seems like the general slowness that happens this time of year. To compare, I only ran about 3 events during the entire holiday season on Silent Heaven, when I usually do at least 2 per week. I suspect things will gradually pick up as the solstice grows further behind us.

https://armageddonmud.boards.net/thread/1246/armageddon-mud-crumples-ground

Game owners locked the official forum but kind of like WORA/SOAPBOX/This place there was an unofficial forum discussing issues with the game. Realistically they rebooted from 20 avg to 80 avg and then in 5 months fell back to 20 avg. With dwindling numbers and systemic community issues they likely just decided it was no longer worth the effort. They publicly blamed a staff member leaking stuff but that had been happening for decades in one form or another so pinch of salt. Thread here has former staff and producers posting their thoughts.

You can give r/characterdrawing a try, for free. https://www.reddit.com/r/characterdrawing/s/jbVxrw8lKk

I got some amazing pieces done for some dnd characters.

Theres some amazing artists that float around there and you probably reach out for a commission. And this instagram artist did an amazing job with one prompt. https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ1pbVVDCsb/?utm_source=ig_embed&img_index=1

Here is some art where artists responded to my requests.

by /u/SmawlGiant
by /u/Lonely_duckling

@Gashlycrumb said in Realism:

That deal where, of all the people who are involved in a situation, the one expected to do something is the one who is least empowered to be effective? Too realistic.

That PC who is rude as fuck, but also extremely touchy (eg. “How are you doing?” “How DARE you! Suggesting that I might be doing anything other than brilliantly is unforgivable insult!”) is also too damn realistic.

First of all, how dare you suggest I am extremely touchy.

so total shocker, Scott and Ruby reacted to these posts the way that like anyone who had to deal w them at literally any point as players or staffers would expect:

trying to figure out who posts under what name, smearing them to anybody who’ll listen, probably agitating to get ppl banned, and from what i’ve heard getting super paranoid about who i could be there

to keep some rando from getting sacrificed on the altar of their personality disorders, the last time i logged in to HAM except as a guest was when i claimed raven then got kicked off for a combination of making Chaucer mad and outing a sexual predator years ago, and the last time i logged in as a guest is in this thread

believe it or not it’s just that basically nobody likes either of you or enjoys tiptoeing around your explosive tempers and fragile egos, so shit gets around

@Kestrel said in How dangerous is VASpider?:

@Rinel

It’s not fun to be stalked/harassed by a mob of racist/queerphobic weirdos online, even if you feel no shame in your identity. Also the kinds of people who would do this needn’t actually say anything about you that’s remotely true in order for it to be potentially damaging, or at the very least upsetting.

Yeah, I know.

@Kestrel said in Elysium /MUSH:

@Artemis said in Elysium /MUSH:

“Those “Laws” state that if you feel the desire, physical and otherwise, to do something then you should be allowed to do it.”
bruh this the purge

it’s argentina

wow. that’s a potshot i’d expect from the writers at netflix. disappointing.

@dvoraen

Esme would have had to do so many composure checks. ❤

@moth pls be aware that matcha is delicious

@crawfish Or you can be an overachiever and do both!

laugh cry

Seriously though. Thank you for that reminder. It is very much appreciated.

On Silent Heaven, I’m open about the fact that everything is logged, and only I have access to logs. This is primarily so that I can zip up someone’s logs and send them to the player once their character has finished their time in Silent Heaven. I don’t look at logs unless there’s cause for concern raised by a player and I’ve received permission from that player. It’s been an invaluable resource when dealing with problem players.

When you launch a new game, your playerbase has little to no trust in you. They’ve been burned countless times in the past, so why would they? It’s only through repeated acts of goodwill on a near-daily basis that players can gradually begin to trust. And one wrong step can erode that trust. All you can do is apologize, take the loss, and focus on doing better.

Overall, my recommendation is to build in whatever security features you feel most comfortable with. While full logging can help in some instances, the most important thing is to be responsive to your community. When they first come to you with a problem, they’re taking a huge leap of faith that you’ll respond to their issues in a positive manner. And that’s what matters most. Even the most robust security features are pointless if you’re not out there caring for your players.