You're right - the fight really sucked for you, but I don't know what else you expected poking your head into Tar Valon, yelling out, and then standing outside with two Tribunals in sight. Should I have stopped to say "Excuse me Aiakalymn, please don't assist me, that might be hard on the criminal. Oh, and if you insist on assisting me, let's not trip or bash him too much, shall we? That would really make it really difficult for the criminal to escape, and we don't want that."

We all have fights that suck. I've had my lion's share of fights that suck for me. I'd say with very few exceptions, there was always *something* I could have done to avoid it even if there was nothing I could do once the fight was engaged. I hung around when I shouldn't have, I went someplace I knew I'd have a good chance of being hunted, I attacked someone I knew I didn't have a chance against. But whatever, it's fun, right? They don't ask "by what name do you wish to be mourned" for nothin.

I guess I just think that having a fight that sucks for you doesn't necessitate the label "cheap and shitty". I think it's "cheap and shitty" when people have little permagroups that go around killing the same people over and over again. I think it's "cheap and shitty" when people pick their fights soley because they are hung up on their pkratios. I think it's "cheap and shitty" when people use ooc knowledge to choose when to hop on the gang-bang flavor-of-the-hour, and I think it's "cheap and shitty" when some chump sits around at level 25 and mass playerkills easy pickings until he distends and then deletes. Basically, I think it's "cheap and shitty" when people playerkill for reasons completely unfounded by roleplaying. I do not think it's "cheap and shitty" when people hunt or kill based on their character's roles and motivations, based on interactions, and having fun with the game in an honest, by-the-rules manner. Though sometimes those roles and motivations will mean you get summoned and gangbanged and lagged into the ground and it sucks, I don't think it's "cheap and shitty". And believe you me, I've had it happen to me plenty.

I think a topic like this might be good for Shokai's "Uncle Floofi's" thread in his imm forum. I've seen people get *really* upset over dying. Of course, I think it's totally reasonable to roleplay depression or anger or whatever at your death, but I often sense people's level of upsetness is very REAL, and not just roleplayed, and not just normal "darn, I'm frusterated that I lost a game". I hear it a lot as a Magistrate, when people get wasted in a city and they are quite obviously upset in not just in an IC way. This isn't to say I havn't had my days where I've just been frusterated and said "You know, I think I've had enough of *this* for today", and log off, but a lot of the OOCish sentiment is furious and often directed at other players. I'm interested to know why people give up strong, established characters that are heroes, have made a name for themselves, that mortals and imms have invested time into as well, because of a rage incident? I can understand it with characters that really didn't have much going for them anyways, but with a character like Grubbin who has a lot going for him I don't understand.