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Author Topic: The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'  (Read 21684 times)

Katrina Oniseki

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The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'
« on: 04 Jul 2014, 12:10 »

There are 5431 star systems in New Eden.

There are 38833 reasonably habitable planets, including 7200 Temperate and 19715 Barren.

There are at least 100,000,000,000,000 people in New Eden.

Consider the vastness of those numbers when you try to tell somebody else they are roleplaying their character incorrectly. There's a reason "urdoinitrong" is not allowed on this forum. It doesn't matter if you're a Quafe obsessed blonde. It doesn't matter if you're a jingoistic Provist, or a womanizing Amarr preacher, or a synthetic bio-android, or a rogue drone, or a blood sucking baby eating vampire lesbian.

In a world as vast as New Eden, neither you nor I have any right to tell somebody their character is implausible. The moment you do, you disregard the concept of science fiction. You discard suspension of disbelief. You close your mind off to any possibility but what CCP has the (limited) time to write, or what you have the (limited) capability to imagine.

I have seen annoying players and characters. I've seen attention whores (like myself), and trolls. I've seen cliche tropes, too-edgy hipsters, and other sorts of eye-rolling RP. No matter what I think of it, it is beyond ignorant for me to declare that whatever character or group I dislike is not possible in EVE.

It's a player built world. So unless you plan to systematically write out what's going on with all hundreds trillion of those New Eden Denizens, take a happy step back and let your fellow players build their own little corner of it with you.

Louella Dougans

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Re: The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'
« Reply #1 on: 04 Jul 2014, 13:16 »

some might say that's condoning a blizzard of special snowflakes, Katrina, but:

for characters which are a bit out-there, like bio-androids, then with the numbers given in eve:source, for populations, then, when you look at the megacorporation stations, and how many people probably live or purchase services from those stations, then I think it's fairly reasonable, for there to be a lot of one-off special projects.

Trillions of people in the general population. Billions of scientists, and thus, thousands, or tens of thousands, or more, of mad scientists hell-bent on their research, disregarding societal norms and conventional morality.

as long as there's some kind of explanation for what happens if the character is podded, then there's a lot of scope for a substantial array of strange people.



People seem a lot more jaded and bitter than they used to be :S
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Lyn Farel

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Re: The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'
« Reply #2 on: 04 Jul 2014, 13:31 »

Maybe they are jaded because they are fed up becoming a minority in a flurry of special snowflakes.

There are 5431 star systems in New Eden.

There are 38833 reasonably habitable planets, including 7200 Temperate and 19715 Barren.

There are at least 100,000,000,000,000 people in New Eden.

Consider the vastness of those numbers when you try to tell somebody else they are roleplaying their character incorrectly. There's a reason "urdoinitrong" is not allowed on this forum. It doesn't matter if you're a Quafe obsessed blonde. It doesn't matter if you're a jingoistic Provist, or a womanizing Amarr preacher, or a synthetic bio-android, or a rogue drone, or a blood sucking baby eating vampire lesbian.

In a world as vast as New Eden, neither you nor I have any right to tell somebody their character is implausible. The moment you do, you disregard the concept of science fiction. You discard suspension of disbelief. You close your mind off to any possibility but what CCP has the (limited) time to write, or what you have the (limited) capability to imagine.

I have seen annoying players and characters. I've seen attention whores (like myself), and trolls. I've seen cliche tropes, too-edgy hipsters, and other sorts of eye-rolling RP. No matter what I think of it, it is beyond ignorant for me to declare that whatever character or group I dislike is not possible in EVE.

It's a player built world. So unless you plan to systematically write out what's going on with all hundreds trillion of those New Eden Denizens, take a happy step back and let your fellow players build their own little corner of it with you.

You are telling people acting that way that they are doing it wrong doing too :smartassery:  8)

Well nah, I kinda agree. But I can understand that for some people it's an eternal war consisting in systematically burning what they see as weed, in a dog eat dog pragmatic world. I know some do.
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Desiderya

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Re: The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'
« Reply #3 on: 04 Jul 2014, 14:48 »

You're right. But given an inbred population of 5 in the roleplaying community, this leads to this effect:


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Esna Pitoojee

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Re: The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'
« Reply #4 on: 04 Jul 2014, 15:42 »

There are two different things you're talking about here, and they have to be dealt with seperately.

OOC urdoinitwrong

For the most part, I agree (hell, I recently saw someone literally try to tell another player - not character - that it was forbidden by IC rules to disagree  with them).

On the other hand, you have people who introduce concepts which are so wildly out of sync with the EVE universe that there is no feasible way to interact with them except this, and then insist that their ideas are as legitimate as anyone else and we have to accept them at face value. No, we don't, and we shouldn't.

IC

Is this even a problem? If you don't like something, don't react to it - or if you prefer, react accordingly. Be dismissive, have your characters treat them like madmen, or just plain out ignore them. They may choose to ignore your reaction, or present their own proof (which you can then rebut).
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I like the implications of Gallentians being punched in the face by walking up to a Minmatar as they so freely use another person's culture as a fad.

Katrina Oniseki

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Re: The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'
« Reply #5 on: 04 Jul 2014, 15:57 »

On the other hand, you have people who introduce concepts which are so wildly out of sync with the EVE universe that there is no feasible way to interact with them except this, and then insist that their ideas are as legitimate as anyone else and we have to accept them at face value. No, we don't, and we shouldn't.

Can you give me an actual example of a character so wildly out of sync with the EVE universe that they could not be reconciled with the setting? Think carefully.

Silver Night

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Re: The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'
« Reply #6 on: 04 Jul 2014, 16:22 »

On the other hand, you have people who introduce concepts which are so wildly out of sync with the EVE universe that there is no feasible way to interact with them except this, and then insist that their ideas are as legitimate as anyone else and we have to accept them at face value. No, we don't, and we shouldn't.


Can you give me an actual example of a character so wildly out of sync with the EVE universe that they could not be reconciled with the setting? Think carefully.

There was, years ago, someone who tried to start a full on BSG RP corp. Cylons etc. That's probably the closest I've seen. And yes, that could theoretically be reconciled, but this was before Rogue Drones, even, so it would be rather tough.

Also, this is not a new issue! I started a rant (and ended up offering up a bunch of money) on a very similar subject about 4 years ago: http://backstage.eve-inspiracy.com/index.php?topic=345.0 after I found myself taking the position - over and over - that space is really big, and Eve is big enough to contain a great many things.

Jandice Ymladris

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Re: The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'
« Reply #7 on: 04 Jul 2014, 16:47 »

On the other hand, you have people who introduce concepts which are so wildly out of sync with the EVE universe that there is no feasible way to interact with them except this, and then insist that their ideas are as legitimate as anyone else and we have to accept them at face value. No, we don't, and we shouldn't.

Can you give me an actual example of a character so wildly out of sync with the EVE universe that they could not be reconciled with the setting? Think carefully.

 I remember one in my early days, the Sol Defense Force. A corp RP'ing that they had a stable connection to earth, and so believed they had the right to 'godmod' because earth technology > EVE tech. Also, all comments on *Earth doesn't exists* were rebuked with *travel with us through the EvE gate that only we can use*

Dunno if they were active in the summit, but they were very active around the Caldari starter systems when I started out (2008)

However, to your main point, I do agree for the most part, the vast expanse of EVE allows for alot of weird characters to exist lore-wise, many of those might not be what we like, but offer them a chance and perhaps they make something out of it when they learn & progress in RP.

Silver Night

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Re: The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'
« Reply #8 on: 04 Jul 2014, 17:10 »

Well, the answer both with them and with my Cylon example is pretty much the same: Space madness.

kalaratiri

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Re: The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'
« Reply #9 on: 04 Jul 2014, 20:11 »

I have no issue with people's original characters (assuming they are original). What tends to bug me is when they are done over and over again by different people, and they always make the same mistakes.

By all means, play as a baby eating space vampire lesbian. Just make it good. Make it believable.

Please don't make it laughable, unless that is your intent from the start. And even then, do it right.

Haha, I know that's hypocritical considering the thread title. But I can't fully express how much I mean this. Characters who are just... bad? They annoy me, and put me off wanting any IC interaction with them. A character can "fit" with the setting of Eve, but I find it much more important that a character be reconcilable with the style of Eve.

Rarr grimdark and all that. I don't know. I'm not good at putting my thoughts into writing.

I'm all for jokes and humor, originality and fun things. But if you're going to expect to be taken seriously, please create a character that can be. At least most of the time.

Playing another person is weird. Kala hates badly played characters more than I do.

It's also 03:10am and my thoughts aren't entirely coherent. Heh.
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Silver Night

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Re: The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'
« Reply #10 on: 04 Jul 2014, 20:17 »

I would say that you have two options in that situation, Kala:

1) Use the block function. Certainly this is the simplest solution, and I've used it here and there myself

2) Try and give them some pointers. Sometimes people are new to the game, or to RP, or to fiction creation. Of course, it takes quite a bit of tact, but most people, if you get in touch privately and offer constructive observations, are open to advice. Of course, there are always going to be some people who aren't, in which case, see option 1. However, I've seen a number of characters who would have been largely unworkable due to their - for lack of a better word - style who managed to turn it around or avoid situations that would have made their play experience unfun. This goes for content too - sometimes someone is choosing to ignore common wisdom about a faction (and, as covered earlier, this is fine) but sometimes they just don't know. If you tell them, and they still choose to go their own way, that's okay. But at the very least they will have more context for where their character fits in.

Nissui

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Re: The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'
« Reply #11 on: 04 Jul 2014, 21:42 »

I would say that you have two options in that situation, Kala:

1) Use the block function. Certainly this is the simplest solution, and I've used it here and there myself.

What bugs me is that I have done this not for OOC reasons, but because there are personalities (read: playstyles) that Nis just wants nothing to do with. I need a feature to make blocks specific to the channel, because I may actually want to interact with a player somewhere OOC even if my character can't abide their character's behavior.
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V. Gesakaarin

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Re: The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'
« Reply #12 on: 04 Jul 2014, 21:54 »

I've never found anyone in Eve that I'd say RP wrong, but rather I've met many characters and players that I'd say I find terribly stupid, obnoxious, and laughable either through their behaviour or their opinions.

I don't think this is a bad thing, but rather adds a degree of realism for me because a great deal of human behaviour in general I'd consider terribly stupid, obnoxious, and laughable.
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Lyn Farel

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Re: The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'
« Reply #13 on: 05 Jul 2014, 01:59 »

Honestly, this boils down to a larger issue that we see everywhere. It's cultural education and appreciation, as well as personal preferences.

It's exactly the same thing between me watching some obscure hipster shit korean movie telling to someone that their taste sucks hard because they are enjoying the hell out of Twilight 5.

Think about that.



On the other hand, you have people who introduce concepts which are so wildly out of sync with the EVE universe that there is no feasible way to interact with them except this, and then insist that their ideas are as legitimate as anyone else and we have to accept them at face value. No, we don't, and we shouldn't.

Can you give me an actual example of a character so wildly out of sync with the EVE universe that they could not be reconciled with the setting? Think carefully.

 I remember one in my early days, the Sol Defense Force. A corp RP'ing that they had a stable connection to earth, and so believed they had the right to 'godmod' because earth technology > EVE tech. Also, all comments on *Earth doesn't exists* were rebuked with *travel with us through the EvE gate that only we can use*

Dunno if they were active in the summit, but they were very active around the Caldari starter systems when I started out (2008)

However, to your main point, I do agree for the most part, the vast expanse of EVE allows for alot of weird characters to exist lore-wise, many of those might not be what we like, but offer them a chance and perhaps they make something out of it when they learn & progress in RP.

Ah yes, there was a fad in these days with RPers being obsessed with Earth related stuff. Thankfully I have not seen it since eons.

I would say that you have two options in that situation, Kala:

1) Use the block function. Certainly this is the simplest solution, and I've used it here and there myself

2) Try and give them some pointers. Sometimes people are new to the game, or to RP, or to fiction creation. Of course, it takes quite a bit of tact, but most people, if you get in touch privately and offer constructive observations, are open to advice. Of course, there are always going to be some people who aren't, in which case, see option 1. However, I've seen a number of characters who would have been largely unworkable due to their - for lack of a better word - style who managed to turn it around or avoid situations that would have made their play experience unfun. This goes for content too - sometimes someone is choosing to ignore common wisdom about a faction (and, as covered earlier, this is fine) but sometimes they just don't know. If you tell them, and they still choose to go their own way, that's okay. But at the very least they will have more context for where their character fits in.

I have always been open to help people, but actually never bothered to make it known after what I saw on Eve, but it even started on SWG for the most part. At first I wanted to try giving pointers and reaching players to help, but when you see how some react (and there is a lot of them), as seen on those very forums, besides a few of them these conversations with that kind of people tend to end like that



However, some bear fruit, like what happened between players and Nauplius, for example. Well, kudos for those that can bear with all the negative reactions to find the few good ones in the process...
« Last Edit: 05 Jul 2014, 02:01 by Lyn Farel »
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Katrina Oniseki

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Re: The Hubris of 'Doing It Right'
« Reply #14 on: 05 Jul 2014, 08:39 »

To answer some of the replies while I'm here without any more quoting, since nobody else has the testicular fortitude to call me a little bitch. Love you Vince.  :cube:

I fully get that there are always some hard limits to what can happen in New Eden. Of course there are things like direct crossovers (Jedi DUST Bunny, Hogwarts Capsuleer, Joffrey Baratheon in space) that are an automatic disqualifier. There are some things that CCP has explicitly said cannot and do not happen, because not even the NPCs can do it - like crossing the EVE Gate, which isn't even a gate anymore. There are things that are against the basic 'rules' of roleplay, like godmodding other characters.

But then people seem to confuse that sort of category with things that can plausibly happen. Capsuleers who don't use a crew. People who fly using a standard bridge, instead of a capsule. People who have invented or trained some form of telekinesis. Things that can be reasoned into plausibility, even if they aren't believable IC or OOC.
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