Hello, back again, with a question

[Schone23666]

Not sure if some here remember me, I posted here a while back. I've been away on personal matters, mom had to undergo surgery, and some other things have come up.

Anyway, I'm back, and it's good to see most of the guys still here. I did have a question though, slightly off-topic...and it may seem a bit silly at first, but the member here appear to be a much more mature group than you would find at some other sites (and I mean that as a complement, btw).

Do you think there is a fine line with harassment/bullying/intimidation/hostility/etc. in some RP groups? I mean, at the risk of sounding vague, do a sizable number of RP groups claim to welcome role players, but then harass them once they start playing? Granted if you're playing characters that may oppose each other in some regard during an RP, certain behavior might be expected, but do you think a fine line exists? Can it go overboard to the point where RP groups may have a tendency to be rather hostile to new players as part of their typical modus operandi?

I guess I'm asking this as I had been for a while up until recently RP'ed with a certain sci fi roleplaying group, but the group is split into two parts, or subgroups. The one part where I conducted RP was fine, but once I attempted to start RP'ing on the other half of the group...sheesh, talk about attack dogs. I was thinking it was just the way the players were operating, but the vehemence I've been getting is making me reconsider if I should just stick to the other half of the group and not even interact with this half.

Anyway, pardon if the answer to this topic seems pretty obvious, or perhaps instead vague, but I guess I just wanted to get it off my head.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

I had a toxic gaming relationship with a friend for about 22 years and I just gave up. In short: everything you said about people bullying others at the table is true. Yes it happens, yes it can go on.

I could crash the server here with the amount of "war stories" I could tell you about gaming with "Bob".

[Schone23666]

Well, I suppose I should have clarified, this is/was an online group, where all have the privilege of throwing abuse behind the veil of anonymity.

I'm sure you get the idea now, lol. Sad how the internet's veil of anonymity only seems to encourage certain behaviors a thousand-fold. I know, no surprise...but there it is.

[Legbreaker]

Unfortunately yes, there's some real trolls around on the net who like nothing more than to hide behind their computer screen and abuse others for their own enjoyment.
There's also those who try to pretend they're more than they really are - 20 year combat vets who in reality are lucky to have been refused service due to some mental or physical disorder. Disagree with anything they say and watch out!

Best thing to do is raise your concerns with the GM and if they won't lift a finger to deal with the issues, walk away.
It may take all types to make a world wide community, but that doesn't mean we have to associate with all of them....

[Schone23666]

I wonder if it may have partly to do with the game in question...perhaps some games attract a more different crowd than others?

The gaming group I'm referring to in particular is based off of a computer sci-fi RPG called Mass Effect. Apparently due to storyline issues the group broke into two halves. The one where I RP'ed is/was for the most part quite fun, and most of the players very polite. Of course...that was the one half, or front page of the group.

Then I tried a crack at the more in-depth RP'ing on the forums of the group and...well, hardly five minutes passed before all the players appeared to just descend like attack dogs it seems. I don't know...I get it that the players want to play various sorts ranging from psychopathic mercs to drugrunners and slavers, pirates, etc....but looking at the responses, I wonder if maybe they're all getting into their role play a little too much. Even the "good guys" that were RP'ing had a less than enthusiastic response. I wonder if perhaps this was because technically I was considered the FNG over on this part of the group...I don't know.

Anyway, I'm playing this by ear for now. I may or may not walk away from the group in question, I guess we'll see but yeah...it's disappointing and other times disturbing when RP'ers A: Go off on their juvenile fantasies through their characters and insult everyone else, especially new players and B: appear to want to create their own personal fiefdoms along with a "No Dogs Allowed" policy sign hanging over the door.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by Schone23666

...it's disappointing and other times disturbing when RP'ers A: Go off on their juvenile fantasies through their characters and insult everyone else, especially new players and B: appear to want to create their own personal fiefdoms along with a "No Dogs Allowed" policy sign hanging over the door.

Happens more often than any of us care to admit unfortunately. Some people throw out all the social graces and go all out to be nasty and justify it as roleplaying. IRL, if those characters were to do that, they'd very quickly find themselves taken behind the bike shed and given a good hard "talking to" with a sock full of doorknobs. Bad manners and worse attitudes simply don't fly, especially when there's weaponry laying about and the knowledge of how to use it!

To me the situation is a failure by the GM to implement consequences on the players/characters in question. If somebody kicks a dog, they should expect to be bitten by it, not have it wag it's tail and beg for more.

[Schone23666]

I totally agree with you Legbreaker. I really don't understand why people love to go off on their juvenile fantasies and bully others on the net, especially when it's supposed to be a gaming group. Granted, most games you play where you may be interacting with game characters that have different agendas, racist beliefs, grudges, vendettas, etc. won't be all wine and roses, but I still think there's a fine line. You really want to make it an environment where it draws in new players....not drive them off.

What's even worse though is that I just found there's no less than SEVERAL moderators at this game group I mentioned...and not all of them may be on the same level, yikes.