I appreciate the candid responses, and the opportunity to provide a puzzle for the would-be predators to identify who I might or might not be. It’s interesting to see a community that lifts up victims of alleged transgressions, then go on a witch hunt in an attempt to identify any of those who would disagree with the narrative and go against the grain.

Oh, it’s because they get stuff from the admins.
Oh, it’s because they stand to benefit from receiving fake currency.
Oh, it’s because they get political capital in a game.
Oh, it’s because they stand to benefit from the friendship of a person they’re never likely to meet.

@IoleRae Thank you for providing this. I’ll give it a read, and I appreciate the summary you provided as well.

@Meg I appreciate you including me in this discussion and probing me for meaningful response.

I’m not willing to provide who I am on the game as it stands to reason I will gain no benefit from my comments. I’m not vigorously defending the alleged actions of those mentioned, only saying that I have not seen it from my perspective, which is strongly opposed here, but heard at least, and I appreciate the opportunity to say so.

I will comment that I interact often with those accused, but only in that they provide content or direction of many of stories players can participate in. My own personal situation has left me incapable of participating lately, though. I recently experienced the loss of someone very dear to me, and grief has certainly weighed upon my conscience as of late.

I suppose my own motivation in posting here, after I saw it, was to convey that the story/game is not bad. I can count many wonderful experiences I’ve had there, and genuine good people I’ve met. I just want more positivity in the world, and in place of lamenting a problem, finding more meaningful solutions. I saw where people were saying that they were going to leave, and I just felt responsible for the game because I play there, and in essence, it’s a reflection of me as a person, too. Or so it may be perceived. My nature is to be a fixer, but in this particular scenario, I have no power to fix things and make it function better.

@IoleRae Is that a book or an article? I’d love to read it, regardless.

@GoodInnit Thank you for this comment.

My question is this. Was it really a promotion? People who serve on staff are subjected to a lot of abuse by players who don’t get their way. Passive aggressiveness, hatefulness, bitterness, etc. I’m not shielding the action of those named, but my perspective of staff being a promotion is slightly different. I think there’s more liberty in being able to just show up, rp, and have a good time.

@Meg That’s totally fair. I acknowledge people are incorporating their own experiences in this. My experience just differs, and I appreciate that there might be a side of it I haven’t witnessed. My own testimony is that it’s not something I’ve seen in the game regarding those named.

@Meg I think it’s a good point you’re making, but the other side is I can’t provide you proof that this is the case. I’m not implying anything about anyone by asking this, but what if the possibility exists that none of this is true? As an innocent bystander playing in the game under the purview of these people, I can’t make an informed decision without a measure of risk of it being true or false.

@Meg But on the other side of the coin, it’s not the game that’s the problem. It’s people. Some people take issue with those named, others take issue with other players (like I had), and if everyone was just cast out, no one would rp anywhere! I’m sorry that others have had a negative experience there, I do think there’s an opportunity for growth, and I hope that through meaningful conversation, that happens.

@mietze I think this is really well written and conveys some of my own experience regarding things in other games. I won’t detract from the point of this discussion to elaborate, but to your point I’ve been where you are, too

Regarding the two named in this discussion however, from my own experience, I’ve not seen this behavior. I think admin have a tendency to come across aloof sometimes, but I also don’t know what bigger picture they’re seeing, either. Or agenda, etc.

I came into the conversation here because no one spoke about what was good about AoA, as it all seemed oriented toward the bad. I agree my approach was was not the best, but who is perfect in our world. I don’t think AoA fosters this environment the others are referencing. I don’t think the staff are intentionally malicious either. That’s just my perspective. I think there are people who certainly abuse the system though, (not just in AoA, but wholly).

@Meg I appreciate your comment, thank you.

@Meg Why would I out myself to a group of people who would like to target and victimize me? Well, hold that thought! Thank you for engaging with me, and I think that is a very constructive question, genuinely.

Truth of the matter is I am the victim of a number of different instances of manipulation and sexual misconduct. Not just on that game, but a number of other venues. Was it by the alleged you named? No. There are other players though who do.

I was mislead into believing that my rp would equate to something of a strong story between one character and my own, for instance, and devoted a lot of time and effort into the development of that narrative. That included in-game currency, assets you have to travel around, find and buy, and modifications to make those assets function more efficiently when they are used.

I invested those things into the person I was playing opposite of only to have them pit me against another player to compete for their attention. Not just the intimate rp, but story we had spent hours developing and writing out. It all got thrown away in an instant, and the assets I invested with walked away with no ROI because I refused to compete, on an OOC level, with another player for something I felt I had earned and put the time into to warrant.

I was manipulated and used, then thrown away like trash from an OOC perspective.

I had another instance where I played with another player that I made clear I do not impart aspects about myself into the intimate rp that they engage in. It is a matter of comfort for me to not allow predators to cling to things like that. Despite my best attempts at keeping this separate, this married man continued to tell me things in OOC about how these scenes and actions were intended for me OOC, and how he hoped I ‘got something from it.’

Unwanted, and unwarranted, and I felt targeted as a victim. I assume in those regards, how would I feel comfortable levying complaints to staff that I had been duped, and manipulated?

Regarding AoA, I think there’s a nuanced community within the community itself that are not all that bad. That’s not dismissing the issues that came up in this topic, but it’s more to the fact that everywhere has issues. Concerning those alleged in this topic, they were not contributors to my own experience. I certainly think there could be a quicker process to out predators much like I experienced, but the question comes in how to negotiate that, or present in a manner much like those presented in this topic. ‘Things can be doctored’, ‘images can be altered’.

So I never outed them because there was no sure way to say, this happened to me. My own experiences aren’t just based out of the aforementioned venue though, I could certainly share more. I think open commentary like this does help in a therapeutic way, airing and such.

@GF So is not providing proof that anything happened.

@GF But you told me my perspective was useless, and that I had no control! I gave you control to dictate how I proceed, and now I’m at fault again. Then accuse me of a false claim that implies I’m the one being a sex pest and harassing people. Do you have any evidence to substantiate the claim that I do any of that, or is it just your opinion? I feel victimized by a bully who is saying things that just aren’t true.

@GF I asked you how you wanted me to proceed. I’m not avoiding your points.

@Meg Lol! Yeah, you’re right. So I guess I should ask, where’s the proof that the accused are guilty? I took from your post that they are willing to share.

@GF What a wonderful post, thank you for your reply.

As you stated though, my perspective is useless, but then inquire I provide it, so I’m not sure which I should do in this scenario! Since I have no control, as you informed me as well, please dictate how I should respond!

@mietze You make a great point in this, thank you for that! I firmly believe in a due process myself when I staff different ventures. While, not to the point that something heinous has transpired and I’m reacting to it after the fact, but I think that being proactive and addressing a situation, or confronting the accused to provide their side of the story is certainly warranted! Sometimes, that judgment call must be made regarding their tenure with a group.

Returning back to the content of this forum, I appreciate you accepting the fact it is an echo chamber. I also appreciate that I have an option to respond in kind. I don’t think echo chambers would be the sole source of inspiration to make adjustments, or even supplement experience, but it’s a spirited debate regardless.

@Meg You may be right, but how many people would persecute them for their perspective much like mine has been up till this point? Every comment is about discrediting me because of <insert reason> while not addressing the main point I’ve been asking them to prove.

Correct, but I am also a person of principle who takes issue with the victimizing of individuals who are not in a capacity to defend themselves until proven innocent. I am all for protecting victims, but not at the cost of creating more victims to satiate the blood thirst of popular opinion and conjecture. People want justice, and the only way to deliver that is by proving without a doubt you are right and they are wrong. What’s the old saying? Perception is reality (I hate that saying personally), but it applies in most cases until more context and information is provided.

The irony of commenting about how new I am to the site is also turning a blind eye to the fact that the original poster of these alleged circumstances is only ten days older than my account is. They came out of ‘no where’ placing themselves as the sole arbiter of what’s true and what is not.

I arrive, reading the disgusting commentary about people who are not here to defend themselves and pose a different perspective. However, I am the pariah for calling a spade a spade.

Even in a court of law, a victim must prove to a jury of their peers that they are innocent and the accused is guilty. A community is wrongfully passing judgment without seeing anything more than conjecture. Am I being an infant for asking for more than opinion, belief, or alleged conjecture? If there is wrong doing, how do we go about correcting the issue? That starts with defining the irrefutable facts.