@GF said in MU Peeves Thread:
@Prototart I can think of two off the top of my head. One is a hero, and one is Batgirl’s normie roommate, so I’ll assume no one is knocking players down in a rush to play her.
the only trans char either of us had ever seen played is Sera, Angela’s girlfriend who hasn’t appeared in, like, a decade
the entire thing is dumb and the whole “we hear you. you are valid. here are the six characters you can play.” makes it even dumber
@renaveleigh said in MU Peeves Thread:
I don’t want to ascribe malice, and, I don’t, but this is not a well-reasoned policy at all.
in the posts people made about ~continuity~ and rosters and inherited characters what i think maybe got missed about the place in question is that it’s literally a superhero fuck MUX that when i looked at it had a continuity that was literally “someone’s continuity is what they say it is, batman can be 20 and Nightwing can be 30”
it’s hard not to ascribe malice when it’s a place literally built on fucking and then sharing logs of your fucking that decided one particular kind of body was unacceptable for fucking unless it was completely hidden and unacknowledged
@Pavel said in MU Peeves Thread:
If you go back ten or so years ago, there were definitely places wherein if they discovered you had posted on WORA (or wherever), they would flay you alive, tar you, feather you, fire you into the sea, and then ban you.
it isn’t that this changed it’s just that nobody ever comes to dump things anymore
everybody either silently deals with it until they can’t or just leaves bc they know exposing like even the absolute worst behaviors won’t accomplish anything and literally no one will care who didn’t already
@schrodingerscig said in Bannings:
What I don’t understand is why we keep hearing again and again about how certain people did a thing to someone five years ago or ten years ago and how that makes them an awful person today.
if somebody shit on your couch you’d remember it, and you’d probably bring it up when somebody else talked about how that person’s going around shitting on couches
oh, hi there. i will be using big girl grammar and even capitalization for this one!
Before we begin, I’ll recount a bit of history. HAM - Heroes Assembled - is a splinter, or more appropriately a revenge game, derived from UH, United Heroes.
United Heroes was originally run by Claremont, a serial sex pest, had a wizard named Ditko who was an incredibly aggressive sexual harasser, and was filled with staff who knew that these things happened but actively gaslight, attacked, or outright banned anyone who brought them up.
This status quo persisted for several years, interrupted only when Ruby, Claremont’s chief attack dog and TS partner, decided she didn’t want to TS with him anymore. Claremont responded by undoing all the things he had let her get away with because of her position, which was a step too for. Sexually harassing players was one thing, but a friend? That won’t do, sir! THAT is unethical!
And, so, much of UH’s staff, until now not simply fine with how the game was run but willing to viciously attack anyone who aired their dirty laundry, their morals at last outraged, quit en masse and created a new game - Heroes Assembled.
HAM was in all but name run by Chaucer, someone who actively despises comic books and was never shy about letting everyone on this comic book game know if, God forbid, they wanted to do something from a comic book. He was demeaning and insulting to the vast majority of the player base, and complaints were routinely filed against him only to be ignored or for the person who filed them to be quietly kicked from the game for vague reasons.
Recently, HAM reached the same breaking point UH did. It’s fun when it’s done to players, but it’s unconscionable when it’s done to someone else. And, so, Chaucer was fired. Which triggered this series of posts:
I have been dismissed from Staff.
I want to make it very clear, to everyone, that I am not leaving staff because of you players. I love working with you. I love getting to help tell your story. I am greatly fulfilled when I help someone turn a rough idea into a diamond of a character. Or discover deeper connections to our lore than they knew their character had. You have been there for me through rough times, and I am truly grateful to have been there for you. Coming up with our IC lore and theme has been one of my proudest accomplishments as a writer. We have taken this game and built it into something totally unique. Not just a sandbox, but a coherentworld* where your character’s actions leave a permanent set of footprints in the sand.
Shakespeare has informed me that we simply do not have ‘compatible visions’ for how to run a game. And to be honest, I have run out of gas. The last four years on staff have been a constant struggle. There have been too many times where I have seen her unapologetically lash out at players and staff because she is tired or upset or angry. I am tired of enforcing and explaining policies that don’t make sense to me. Of watching standards be inequitably applied, with Shakespeare’s buddies getting preferential treatment. I keep proposing ways to address the problems players bring to my attention but I have learned that changing anything, anything at all, starts an immediate uphill battle. Whether it is recognizing that policy can’t cover 100% of all concepts, or even something as simple as opening Space! up to you players, the biggest obstacle to change is always Shakespeare’s stubborn insistence that her policy is above criticism.
[6:26 PM]
At a recent sit-down, I (rather flatly) told Shakespeare my problem with her is how she hurts players in her fits of pique or anger. How stubborn she is and how hard she clings to policies that the players themselves disagree with. I came to that discussion in good faith, wanting to find a way we can work together. I realized right away that she came to that ‘talk’ not with the intention of finding a way forward, but to get me to resign from my position. I learned her problem with me is that I don’t just roll over when she insists her policies are inviolable and sacrosanct. That my sense of fairness, my judgement, has no impact on what she feels like doing in the moment; that there are no exceptions to her rules except the ones she allows. In years previous she has promised to change, to grow up, to share the load and work with me than against me. I have concluded that she never really intended to stick with those promises. I tried to tell her that she can’t just rule this game by executive fiat. To quote Shakespeare: “I do have final say. I have always had it. It is my game, and invited others to come help and be part if they wished to. That that hasn’t been accepted by you has been one of the biggest sources of friction.”
I feel like I am letting you all down, and I am very sorry for it. I feel defeated. That my ideas aren’t welcome as a staffer. Shakespeare says I am the problem, that I’m causing her too much stress and frustration. Still, I don’t intend to give up my characters. At the end of the day, I am a player here, too. This post is to ensure you folks understand that you aren’t the cause of my disaffection. I wish you all the best of luck, and I’m still here to help you with lore, chargen and storytelling to the best of my ability-- staff bit or no.
Yours,
-The Player Formerly Known as Chaucer.
Hey folks. I asked Chaucer to take a leave from staff tonight. We’re not going to ax grind about it, so I’ll give you as neutral an explanation as I can.
There has been ongoing friction for a very long time, over different views on the game. It is only getting worse. And it finally hit a point that it wasn’t healthy for anyone involved to continue.
I asked him to take a leave. He responded poorly. And that’s where it is. The game will continue.
I have a lot of respect for what Chaucer’s done even as we’ve had major disagreements. I wish it hadn’t ended up like this, but this is where it’s at. Thank you for patience.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm< End +bbread 1/171 >mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Hello HAMmers, It's your friendly neighborhood staffer Coleridge here, saying goodbye. No, I'm not leaving the game, but I am stepping down as a staffer. Some of you are no doubt wondering if this is connected to Chaucer being removed from staff, and I'll get to that. First I want to say it has been fun. I've worked to help a lot of you on details of plots, or applications for new characters or +sheet updates, and seeing the ideas and imagination out there is great. I've tried to treat the staffing job as if I was an editor on a comic title, helping writers to integrate their ideas into the greater comics universe they are writing in and providing them a sounding board. We've got a fun bunch of writers here.
So on to the elephant in the room. Chaucer and Shakespeare have been the two biggest driving forces for what made HAM such a fantastic place to RP. As is so often the case, they complemented each other's strengths, and balanced out each other's weaknesses. Removing Chaucer from the equation was in my opinion a poor decision. It was also one that was done without consulting staff as a whole, and that was the worse decision.
Had Chaucer been removed by majority vote of staff, or just resigned (which was very likely) I might not have felt the need to resign myself, but I'd still be discontented with the situation. Since I started as staff a year and a half ago I have been pushing for improvements to policy, and it has been a struggle to get any traction. On top of that there have been a number of decisions lately that I have been unhappy about, but I won't go into details. Stepping down seems to me the best way to make it clear how I feel, in the hope that improvements will be made.
I'll still be around as Donna and Colette, and on Discord as Colette_1. I don't intend on airing any dirty laundry, but if you want to talk, I'm around. More importantly, I'm here for that lovely RP!
Lastly I'd like to remind everyone that this is all just creative differences. In this community we've seen all seen games go horribly wrong, and many of you will remember older games with problems that were far deeper and nastier than these. In this situation there are no villains; just good people who disagree how things should be done.
--------------------< Comment 1 - Added Mar 24 10:59PM EDT >--------------------
Shakespeare Commented:
I’d like to thank Coleridge for all she’s done for the game. She’s been a good voice in our discussions, and frequently made good recommendations on feedback on characters, events and theme issues. Staffing is never easy and brings on stress and extra work. I’m very grateful for Coleridge’s contributions, and appreciate the honest discussions we’ve had including today around her choice to leave staff. Thank you, Coleridge.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm< End +bbread 1/172 >mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Hey Folks,
Rejoice!
For I am going to be stepping down from staff. I know that I have not been the greatest and if I ever did anything that upset you, please accept my apologies or hold a mush career long grudge, your choice!
I was really hoping that I could get myself to stay for the players and I just can’t.
I am nothing but stressed when I log into Stoker and it has been that way for the last couple of months. I come from a different style of staffing and I’ve felt like the odd person out at times on situations. Completely my hangup.
There have been a lot of missteps the last few months and those are also effecting my decision. There also seems to be no change on the horizon, so before I pull all of my beautiful hair out of my head, I will resign and focus on my characters here.
I will leave you with some parting wisdom:
https://i.imgur.com/N2gdXlZ.jpeg
Protect Your Mental Health,
Stoker (Wendigo)
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm< End +bbread 1/175 >mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
We can't +bbcomment on board 1 posts, so in the wake of her resignation (+bbread 1/175) I'm posting here to thank Stoker for all the hard work she put in over the years as a staffer.
Stoker had been helping the game from the start by running Happy Harbor, so she was a great choice to invite onto staff. She always more than pulled her weight in staffing duties, and if you've ever put in a +request for an app, a vacation or pretty much anything else there's a high chance she contributed. Even if you never saw the contribution she would often add informative and helpful staff comments to jobs other staffers were handling, and was active in the staff discord channel, trying to help steer HAM in better directions when it needed it.
Regret nothing, Stoker. Your hair is worth more than the frustration of trying to roll that boulder uphill.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm< End +bbread 2/541 >mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Just as HAM began, Chaucer and his friends are busy making a revenge game of their very own, one that will even allow plagiarized apps from HAM and use the same, 500-plus page theme/timeline Chaucer has spent years writing to grind everything recognizable about Marvel and DC into a homogenous grey paste that appeals to no one but him and his friends who are written into it. Several of them remain staff on HAM for the moment, the better to recruit players and undermine Shakespeare.
Now, I was one of a number of people banned for filing a complaint against Chaucer. With all the right people seeming to be outraged, I figured - why not ask? (Okay, you know why, but I wanted to prove it to my friends.)
Well, here’s why:
You paged Shakespeare with ‘Hi, this is Prototart. I was, to directly quote your page, kicked for “past acrimony, including issues from games that predate HAM.” This happened after I filed a complaint against Chaucer for insulting me and telling me I was not worth his time over the last character I applied for prior to briefly claiming Raven, a character that had until then been played by a friend of his, an action I have been told enraged both of them as well as several others. Given that the people who have not been fired or resigned are explicitly remaining here to insult you to anyone who will listen and steal players for the revenge game they’re making during occasional breaks from non-stop badmouthing you, your character, and your intelligence in a Discord that isn’t nearly as private as they think it is, does that judgement still stand?’
Shakespeare (S) pages: I don’t have all the details of the incidents fresh in my head. But I think I recall that there I didn’t sense a willingness to work out a resolution, to where I didn’t expect there would be future problems. That’s a hard thing for me to overcome. Definitely for now where I am not fresh up on events anymore, I think the judgment would have to stand, yes.
You paged Shakespeare with ‘I mean, the ‘incident’ was me pushing back on Chaucer when he started to demean me in an app and him telling me he wasn’t worth anyone’s time and to never apply again. I can literally cut/paste the exact statement you made to me, if you’d like. There was a problem that couldn’t be resolved only only because of someone you fired for being abusive.’
Shakespeare (S) pages: It wasn’t a good situation from any angle I agree. But the resolution was as much about how it was handled. People have to be able to resolve conflicts and coexist and sometimes it’s necessary to just sever connections when that doesn’t seem likely to happen. And the way it went, that was the feeling I was left with that any future conflicts would not be resolved either. I’m sorry, but going to be sticking with the decision for the time being.
It might be worth mentioning, at this point, that they DID welcome back someone who was banned for sexually harassing female players, someone banned with a bbpost and all - one that simply vanished one night not long before that player’s OC returned to the grid.
So, remember: being a predator might be bad, but it’s way worse to follow the recommend steps for resolving conflict with staff.
A link to the last thread on HAM, which I didn’t bump because it’s been dead for over a year:
https://brandmuday.mythicus.net/topic/114/comic-games-are-fun
@allthecookies said in MU Peeves Thread:
Jill guest still making the rounds!
Annoying? Yes. Impressive?
… in a way, yes. It’s been fucking 20 years.
wake up, feed the birds, make sure your social security check was deposited, thank the grandkids for the birthday cards, then settle down to log into a random game as a guest and pretend to be a lifeguard to the first female name you see not idle
as someone who once upon a time tried to get rl friends into MUSHing my experience was that the problem is less, like, accessibility and the programs used or whatever and more just that most games are pretty bad and most people on them are pretty weird and off putting to people who aren’t from their very specific subcultures
@somasatori said in Underage Players:
For a long time I’ve wondered how people didn’t figure out that I was a 14 year old masquerading as a 19 year old when I starting MUSHing.
People didn’t notice I was a 9-year-old masquerading as a 17-year-old, people are dumb as fuck.
@dvoraen said in I need an adult:
Saw this while shopping for replacement stuff because my curette of choice broke.
My initial reaction: “lol what type of experience is that supposed to be?”
those spoons are for stirring up 70-year-old nail polish and also maybe sometimes cocaine but they are not for putting in your ears
banning trans characters in the year of our lord 2024 is beyond insane, but doing it on a superhero fuck mush is truly something special
no in this Caesar returns from the dead as the reborn Dracula and fights a Praetorian vampire by turning into a werewolf-werebat-weresnake and stakes him by throwing a crucified prisoner, it’s definitely oWoD
I have no idea, I was like 9. Probably Dark Metal or CrackMUX or some superhero place I don’t remember the name of.
i miss superhero games that were, like, actually using comics and the Marvel or DC or, whatever universe and not just a really vague idea of comics but mostly movies plus thirty different cartoons from 40 years ago and maybe this book i read and what about this one video game and and and and
anyway there’s a dumb comic i love called IDES OF BLOOD and it’s about Julius Caesar conquering Dacia because vampires are real and then there are openly vampires everywhere in Rome and that should be a WoD game
I hate basically everything about nWoD, and absolutely everything about 5th. But I seem to be in a minority.
@Pavel said in Multisphere pressure:
And the intensity of their desire is usually inversely proportional to how common the sphere is in other games.
it isn’t that I “desire” to play Ananasi it’s that I deserve to
@MisterBoring said in Character Death:
@somasatori said in Character Death:
I feel like there can be this push to misery-porn WoD games
I want a push to a different kind of WoD game. I want a WoD game that focuses very deeply on the struggle to maintain basic utilities when you’re a walking reality bending monster.
all i want is to run up the side of a building while wearing ten inch heels and then cut off an angel’s head with a gigantic praying mantis arm and nobody will let you do that anymore
oh he DEFINITELY needled at her, but i don’t think I saw him do it over anything that wasn’t a really obvious glaring issue that had already been brought up and ignored a dozen times.
@Popes said in Re: Dies Irae:
Then there was Scylla’s complete inability to, you know, understand Werewolf at all. Jesus christ her philodox npc made me cry at how bad at it she was. Though I’m pretty sure half of it was just how conflict averse the whole thing was. Especially since a scene with my pack, where we clearly were in the right, devolved into an ooc discussion that made me just quit the fucking game because of how badly she ran that shit.
She was even worse with Fera. Like, she didn’t get any of it at all and was totally uninterested in learning OR in working with anyone who DID know and was willing to help her
Like by the time I stopped paying attention the only thing she wanted for the Wyrm sphere was exclusively the narrow, totally unworkable as PCs one-page write up “corrupt fera” from Wyrm 20th. Except Ananasi, where she wanted the insanely racist Sinister Asians Kumo.
my char was a Hatar and was always meant to join Pentex IC - like, I’m 90% sure I mentioned this in my app notes - and someone was even going to make a character to facilitate it. either distributing Siren cosmetics through her club, or staging private Black Dog events.
but Scylla abruptly and for some reason angrily decided you couldn’t do that. why? “well, conflict!” ok, but i fastidiously avoided literally any interaction with shifters, there is no conflict. “YOU WOULD NEED TO MAKE A NEW CHARACTER.”
anyway by pure coincidence this change in her willingness to have me hook up with Pentex happened after some guy playing a BSD started hitting on me
