Right, this has been bothering me and a few others for quite a while now. The Summit these days feels nothing more than an IC version of the OOC channel. No one actually wants to debate anything about the PF, mundane cultural tropes, and so forth.
Anyone who has interacted with me both IC and OOC knows full well that I have an interest in how all four factions interact with each other, and approach different matters. I wrote an entire piece about
the Caldari Navy a while ago, and how a
Caldari family goes shopping, despite being a Gallente RPer.
So, in the Summit, I seek to use Seriphyn to explore these mundane things with other characters. He might be abrasive, but if my OOC interest in the EVE fiction is anything to go by, he is also IC interested in his own off-hand fashion. The problem is, is that the vibe I get is that people are generally quite oversensitive, and always shout down Seriphyn for his abrasive nature etc etc. I mean, come across as a dick, it's not surprising, but the thing that stuck out to me today was when a character actually asked Seriphyn to be banned from the channel without breaking any rules, while the same character actually broke the rules by swearing and namecalling. This happens all the time; Seriphyn never swears at others or namecalls, yet other people do it all the time (And to each other).
From how I see things, I'm just using the channel as it is (the Summit, after all). But maybe I should just accept how it is these days. To give you an example of how it sometimes can be an RP'd version of OOC...
aaa > I just agreed to a 1v1
aaa > And the blob.
bbb > It was still 1v1.
bbb > 1blobv1notblob.
Character bbb in this instance, having asked them on the aside, actually mistook the Summit for the OOC channel. But yeah, point is, where did the PF debates go? Why is trying to stimulate an in-universe discussion not done anymore? I appreciate that Seriphyn comes across as jerky, but then that's rendered moot when other characters directly insult him with curse words and names, when he's never done any of the sort himself.
Putting my character on the aside completely, the problem still remains. Might be that whole "no new content from CCP" thing going on, but that's no excuse for players to not generate their own material through RP. That's what I'm trying to push for.
Of note on the general state of the Summit...someone said to me that the 11-year old Anette often outclasses a lot of the Summit inhabitants while still realistically acting like an 11-year old. Go figure.