EVE-Online RP Discussion and Resources > EVE OOC Summit

Thebeka and the Danger of "Real Roleplayers"

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kalaratiri:
Hello everyone.

I've decided to write this post because I've been noticing a disturbing trend in the Out Of Character discussions around Thebeka. There seems to be a rising opinion that certain groups shouldn't be involved because they're "not real roleplayers". I believe that this is an extremely dangerous attitude to hold for the continued health and security of RP and the RP community in Eve.

Every character present in Thebeka for the Cail Avetatu Astrahus structure timer has an In Character reason to be there. Every single one. Even if it's just "My FC told me too". It does not matter if the character hangs out in The Summit every day, it doesn't matter if they're in "an RP corp" or not, and it doesn't matter if their players consider themselves to be roleplayers. The characters exist in universe, and their actions apply to the continued narrative of Thebeka.

Attempting to de-legitimise and discredit people's involvement as being "out of character", or "not having a stake", or even labelling them "non-RP uninvolved third parties" is, in my opinion, deeply unfair. The events taking place in Thebeka are open to all; They are not a personalised playground for specific Minmatar/Amarr RP corps. As a story heavily involving the actions of independent capsuleers, both on the ground and in space, it makes perfect sense that independent capsuleers would be there.

This then, leads to my main point. Events like these, which show better than almost anything else how RP is not all about speaking in Shakespearean English over a healthy mug of /sip, are some of the best possible ways to introduce and include new roleplayers in the game's living story. The fight in Thebeka was an incredible display of force from all sides and an exceptional example of how an In Character conflict can escalate to a battle that would have been a respectable skirmish in nullsec. This kind of event should be lauded as a wonderful success for RP in Eve as a whole. It is the kind of thing that generates interest and invites new roleplayers to try their hands at the game.

Pushing people away for being the wrong kind of players is an enourmous error. It can only lead to a 'No true Scotsman' state of bad feeling. There isn't a side in the conflict that doesn't have a few players allied to them that "aren't real roleplayers". This does not matter. Many of those who showed up were not active roleplayers themselves but were led by those who are. This does not matter. Everybody is as justified in choosing to be present (or not) as anyone else.

Thanks for reading. Please think about it.

Mizhir:
You are pretty spot on.

Also worth mentioning that the more people who get involved = higher chance that CCP will do something similar again.

Maira Blackfire:
I agree fully on it, even though I may raise the question to the involvement of some people, but excluding them from content is just rude, be it the hobo or CVA. it's a mmo after all and we play it with many other people after all

Samira Kernher:
I admit to having had and shared some reservations of my own. For me, though, it comes down to this: I greatly enjoy playing with and against people I know, who I know have similar interests as I do, who I can trade thoughts with when it's all over and done. I don't really have fun when it's against strangers (especially ones that start putting disgusting crap in local, that's an instant turnoff no matter whether it's over RP stuff or not). This is a reason why I really dislike FW, null, and all of the random matchmaking systems in most multiplayer games these days. Most big fights in general, really. The bigger it gets, with more names I don't know, the more stressful it gets for me. When a bunch of people come in who have had no prior involvement in any way with the things going on, and then by their involvement become the key players in the fight, well, eh. Then it becomes like any other fight in EVE to me. I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a little deflating.

Obviously, everyone had an IC reason to be there. This is EVE, everything is IC. Everyone in EVE is a roleplayer, no matter how much or how little they engage with the playstyle. But there are people who take it seriously, and those who won't. And I can't deny that I don't find much enjoyment playing with people who don't. But people can do what they want, and if they had fun, that's wonderful, I'm glad. I, for one, am not trying to gatekeep anything. I do not want to keep anyone out. But I do have my own feelings on what is fun for me and what isn't. And my issues would have mostly stayed that way, I try not to share them so much outside of private talks because I don't want to offend anyone, but if we're going to be putting this center stage (since I assume this thread was posted in part over me being one of the people who mentioned this to Kala after the fight), well, okay.

I'm sorry to anyone who feels upset over anything I have said over this issue.

Teinyhr:
Well, I was supposed to write a long-ish post here but I'll just +1 Samira's post, because she said what I was going to and very respectfully at that.

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