nt

"New payment options w/ Iron Realms"

We call this 'outreach'. It works in several ways, allowing us to reach out and nicely address your concerns/issues/questions. The nice part is, it does not have to be CF related!

Eshval's email
BlackMarquessa@gmail.com

Eshval's slightly off-center (unofficial) blog.
http://blackmarquessa.blogspot.com/
Carnivàle
http://cirquecarnivale.wordpress.com/

Careful what you ask for, people may start asking for advice on how to deal with those burning rashes.

"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." - Jimi Hendrix

nt

Have essentially been met with catagorical "no"s in the past. I can link to previous forum threads if you like.

I'll see it as an olive branch to the pbase in general. That is a positive, not a negative!

"New payment options w/ Iron Realms"

You can take it in whatever form causes you pleasure. If it makes you feel good, I have no problem with it...it's all yours. Make a note, however, there is no reason on this board (at least on this thread) to 'link' to other forum responses. Here, we are not as serious, nor are the responses 'cf law'. Simply put, when we address something, it is because we want to do so. Consider this a venue to have fun and not be 'right or wrong'.

Eshval's email
BlackMarquessa@gmail.com

Eshval's slightly off-center (unofficial) blog.
http://blackmarquessa.blogspot.com/
Carnivàle
http://cirquecarnivale.wordpress.com/

Out of game, the staff has been downright antagonistic to the pbase at large more often than not over the course of the last 4-5 years. You can take that in whatever form trips your hedonistic side. If it makes you feel good that there is a band aid on top of it, I have no problem with it... It is all yours. Make a note, however, that there is no reason for many players to think that a "conspiracy theory contest" and an official OOC board is anything more than too little too late in terms of ####ing outreach. Simply put, when you alientate your players, they might like the game while they might not like you, and they play because, as of yet, you haven't become too obtrusive inso far as bashing level 15 mages is concerned. Consider this an even keel response to a completely out of touch view point concerning imm/player relations.

"New payment options w/ Iron Realms"

>Out of game, the staff has been downright antagonistic to the
>pbase at large more often than not over the course of the last
>4-5 years.

You think? I wasn't playing for about half of that period.

There absolutely are players I'm personally antagonistic towards.

But antagonistic to the playerbase at large? What would be the point?

>Make a note, however, that there is no reason for many
>players to think that a "conspiracy theory contest" and an
>official OOC board is anything more than too little too late
>in terms of ####ing outreach.

I'll only speak to the contest. That's not a player outreach attempt at all. It's something Sebeok and I started kicking around a month or so ago. We both tend to be relative magnets for that kind of #### -- why not talk about some of it, tell our side of some things to the "public" for the first time, and have a few laughs, mostly over #### that happened or didn't happen years ago but people are still talking about?

There're a couple people in the CF community who tend to take one or two true but inoffensive facts about something an imm did at some point, make up a huge #### sordid story from it, and tell and retell it until it's accepted as true. (Hi Vlad!) I stopped giving a #### what people say about me a long time ago, but a lot of those stories are about people I worked with, liked, and who are no longer around to defend themselves.

So, yeah, I got a wild hair up my ass to lay out the E! True Hollywood Story on a few of those things. That's sort of good for the players because it puts information in their hands, but it's more the interests of the defamed that I'm intending to serve.

>Simply put, when you alientate
>your players, they might like the game while they might not
>like you, and they play because, as of yet, you haven't become
>too obtrusive inso far as bashing level 15 mages is concerned.
>Consider this an even keel response to a completely out of
>touch view point concerning imm/player relations.

God damn, man, who pissed in your lunchbox this morning?

The staff isn't a monolithic entity. We didn't plot how to make you suffer for 5 years and we're not plotting out how to win back your love with flowers and a serenade now. At least, if we are, no one told me.

Sorry, honestly I will tell you what pissed in my lunch box.

Three player-friendly IMMs deleting over the course of a month or so. I'm a little worried about CF, and I pointlessly over reacted to an IMM telling me that player-outreach is something that the staff (monolithic entity or not) has been a proponent of for a long time.

I shouldn't have been an asshole, I try not to flame on the officials much, sorry for breaking my own personal rule.

I'm just sort of worried about one of my two main hobbies up and disappearing, and was expressive of that in a pointless, frothing way. Apologies.

As an aside I don't think there is some plot or anything of that nature. Your contest and this OOC forum seem to be an essential about face on the general out look concerning staff openness. It is a good thing, and thanks for it.

-Larcat

"New payment options w/ Iron Realms"

I think you have to liken CF (and the gaming/mudding community at large really) to a soap opera. There's always mad drama, someone cheating on someone else, gossip, lies, hurt feelings and a lot of over sensitivity. But above all, long lived soap operas have some change. Their cast of characters revolve, sometimes old characters taking breaks and coming back, sometimes old characters dying, and a lot of new characters keeping the plot fresh. (Think Khas getting hit by a car, Aarn getting cheated on and leaving the plot to go date his sister, and Ordasen slowly dying of a rather painful cancer!)

I think in a way you over dramatize what's going on, it's just a life cycle thing and a part of the game. With imms that have been around as long as most of the ones around here have, interest in the game fades, it becomes easier to remember the bad instead of the good when it's no longer fresh, new and exciting. Yes, it's really unfortunate that we lost three valuable imms in the last few months. Look back at how many imms have faded away throughout the game years and I think you'll see this is pretty much just the way things go.

Try and focus on the good - you'll get a lot more positive response then. If you don't see any good...well, I'm sorry.

You can't really ever count anyone out for good. There's always faked deaths, human cloning, and evil twin brothers.

####, we lost Aarn (god bless him) four times!

Make it four go-to player friendly imms.

"New payment options w/ Iron Realms"

It's unfortunate this is happening, but we'll move forward as we always have, and who knows what's in store... you might be surprised!

Been thinking about it for years, and I finally have a regular schedule and no (well fewer) intoxicating habits to damage my playing.

Our policy has always been:

1) If an applicant passes muster, take them on, even if we have lots of heroimms. It's not like our list of things to do is ever empty.
2) If a staff member is cheating, fire them even if they otherwise fulfill a useful niche. Having one extra member who you can't trust is worse than being one person short.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

I haven't had a hero char that I've been able to stand being long enough to imm yet anyways, so you're safe for now. For now. . .

There's less discussion from the players when a new member joins the staff, moves up a tier, etc. Those usually rate a small post and a couple congratulations. If some people are leaving, but others are entering and gaining experience, the staff can survive just fine, yet people choose to focus on the negatives (or just invent them, if none exist) because it offers more chance for drama.

I'll also reiterate what Nep said that a lot of people who leave come back in time. (Both Aarn and Ordasen went through multiple and nonconsecutive incarnations, to use recent examples. And who knows how many Amaranthes we've gone through!) You never know!

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

Acidic sure, but Larcat has a point about the alienating the players. There is a community outside cf and imms have tended to "look down" on it is my feeling. Everything should be handled IC and very little knowledge should come from outside.

I really really respect when you answer questions like "Is that based on dexterity" etc. But it was not long ago people were freaking afraid to ask things like that because imms have struck the fear of God in everyone

I think every outreach and attempt of communication is a good thing. We also need a Khaso in his prime in every cabal, fix that

Since I had to check it out for myself and post it somewhere to actually see what the minimal font in the Dictionary.com page said:


olive branch 

1. a branch of the olive tree as an emblem of peace.
2. any token of peace.


out¡Ereach  /v. ˌaʊtˈritʃ; n., adj. ˈaʊtˌritʃ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

¡Vverb (used with object) 1. to reach beyond; exceed: The demand has outreached our supply.
2. Archaic. to reach out; extend.
¡Vverb (used without object) 3. to reach out.
¡Vnoun 4. an act or instance of reaching out.
5. length or extent of reach.
6. the act of extending services, benefits, etc., to a wider section of the population, as in community work.
¡Vadjective 7. concerned with extending community services, benefits, etc.: an educational outreach program.


So, it's token of peace versus extending services, depending on how you view things.