I want to start this out by saying that I acknowledge I come from a biased point of view. However, I think that the addition of a venting text channel on discord for structured and constructive communication could help with some of arguments.
Let's start with the tl;dr. If you have had arguments with other players this should not be the only thing you read. I'm proposing the addition of a venting channel to the Loka discord. Whenever an argument sprouts up in any moderated Loka chat platform (basically forums, public chat, and discord) the people arguing will be told to continue in the venting channel or be muted/some other punishment. The venting channel would be a place for Lokans to talk to each other about heated issues, but their communication is constrained by a series of rules that should discourage anger and bitterness while encouraging understanding and solutions. Breaking the #venting structure rules would result in a more serious punishment.
Alright, here is the philosophy, goals, and methods of the venting channel.
Philosophy (Why this solution?): I'm don't have a major in de-escalation (or whatever the heck is similar, High School Teacher maybe?), and the reality is I don't really know if this will work, but I can try to explain my reasoning. One of my favorite things about Loka is that Crypt doesn't always create content for us: he gives us the tools to create content. Not only does this free up time for him, but it also means that a lot more content can be created. Instead of creating a bunch of questlines, he gave us the tools to create quests. Instead of maintaining/creating a bunch of lore books, he lets players write the lore and has librarians maintain the awesome spawn library. So, here's another content problem: "bad" players. People on the server are doing stuff in the game that bothers other people. That's not even content normally created by the server. That's a player-player issue. And yet, we constantly bug Crypt to fix it. And he has tried: Attack windows, banning ender crystals, no airship during conquest, the only time people from other towns can fight is as reinforcements. Now, some of those are technically balance issues, but they still wouldn't have been needed if everyone was considerate of everyone else. So the #venting channel will hopefully be a player-driven solution to the issue of a player-driven content problem (Just like the quest creation system is a player-driven solution to a "server-driver" content problem).
Goal (What should the result be?): So, then please do tell... what magical solutions will the #venting channel provide? I hope that the venting channel will allow players to be heard without feeling that their problems are being straw-manned or ignored. However, I know that not every complaint holds real weight, and there are certain things that are being complained about that are simply due to the way the game works. This is why the solutions are not enforced by admins, because it's unreasonable to say something like "Vantis is just getting world cap from a dead town, they shouldn't be allowed to get world cap from just eating a dead town." Not every complaint needs to be catered to, but every complaint does deserve respect and an explanation. So the goal of this system is to remove animosity and bitterness but retain competitive spirit.
Methods (So how is this actually going to work?): (quick tidbit before I go into chat rules) I think issues between players are inherent on Loka; it's a competitive system where the winner gets a definite advantage. However, some arguments on Loka are appearing pretty repetitively, with each side accusing each other of the same issues. This is partially a good thing, because it would be the sign of a really bad community if new things were being argued every day, so it means this is salvageable. As long as new issues aren't consistently unsurfaced, the community of Loka should strengthen if the problems are solved and everyone feels understood.
Here is my suggested starting point for the rules of #venting. They are meant to encourage positive discussion and prevent unconstructive attacks. The reasons these rules exist is to force players to make thoughtful, honest complaints, and to force those complaining to offer a solution (to end that portion of the argument)
So I know that was probably unnecessarily long, but I think it is worth a try, because everyone on Loka has been kind to me in one way or another, and I appreciate that and hope it can be spread around.
Cheers, ~fugu
Let's start with the tl;dr. If you have had arguments with other players this should not be the only thing you read. I'm proposing the addition of a venting channel to the Loka discord. Whenever an argument sprouts up in any moderated Loka chat platform (basically forums, public chat, and discord) the people arguing will be told to continue in the venting channel or be muted/some other punishment. The venting channel would be a place for Lokans to talk to each other about heated issues, but their communication is constrained by a series of rules that should discourage anger and bitterness while encouraging understanding and solutions. Breaking the #venting structure rules would result in a more serious punishment.
Alright, here is the philosophy, goals, and methods of the venting channel.
Philosophy (Why this solution?): I'm don't have a major in de-escalation (or whatever the heck is similar, High School Teacher maybe?), and the reality is I don't really know if this will work, but I can try to explain my reasoning. One of my favorite things about Loka is that Crypt doesn't always create content for us: he gives us the tools to create content. Not only does this free up time for him, but it also means that a lot more content can be created. Instead of creating a bunch of questlines, he gave us the tools to create quests. Instead of maintaining/creating a bunch of lore books, he lets players write the lore and has librarians maintain the awesome spawn library. So, here's another content problem: "bad" players. People on the server are doing stuff in the game that bothers other people. That's not even content normally created by the server. That's a player-player issue. And yet, we constantly bug Crypt to fix it. And he has tried: Attack windows, banning ender crystals, no airship during conquest, the only time people from other towns can fight is as reinforcements. Now, some of those are technically balance issues, but they still wouldn't have been needed if everyone was considerate of everyone else. So the #venting channel will hopefully be a player-driven solution to the issue of a player-driven content problem (Just like the quest creation system is a player-driven solution to a "server-driver" content problem).
Goal (What should the result be?): So, then please do tell... what magical solutions will the #venting channel provide? I hope that the venting channel will allow players to be heard without feeling that their problems are being straw-manned or ignored. However, I know that not every complaint holds real weight, and there are certain things that are being complained about that are simply due to the way the game works. This is why the solutions are not enforced by admins, because it's unreasonable to say something like "Vantis is just getting world cap from a dead town, they shouldn't be allowed to get world cap from just eating a dead town." Not every complaint needs to be catered to, but every complaint does deserve respect and an explanation. So the goal of this system is to remove animosity and bitterness but retain competitive spirit.
Methods (So how is this actually going to work?): (quick tidbit before I go into chat rules) I think issues between players are inherent on Loka; it's a competitive system where the winner gets a definite advantage. However, some arguments on Loka are appearing pretty repetitively, with each side accusing each other of the same issues. This is partially a good thing, because it would be the sign of a really bad community if new things were being argued every day, so it means this is salvageable. As long as new issues aren't consistently unsurfaced, the community of Loka should strengthen if the problems are solved and everyone feels understood.
Here is my suggested starting point for the rules of #venting. They are meant to encourage positive discussion and prevent unconstructive attacks. The reasons these rules exist is to force players to make thoughtful, honest complaints, and to force those complaining to offer a solution (to end that portion of the argument)
- Every post must start out with a single username mention. That is the person you wish to start a discussion with or it is the person you are replying to.
- No interruptions. If someone else is having a discussion, the only person allowed to respond or contribute is the username mentioned at the beginning. Another way to think about this is a "no dog-piling rule." You are allowed to start your own "thread" though, as long as it involves a different person and a completely different issue.
- No labeling or blaming. This includes forcing a motive onto someone else, e.g. "Skuhoo kills new players in the wilds all the time because he doesn't want to be challenged in conquest." is forcing a motive onto Skuhoo. Allow the person you're talking to to explain themselves, even if you think they're lying (You're also not allowed to accuse someone of lying, if they won't admit to fault there's nothing that can be done on a player to player level).
- Everything must be self-reflective, e.g. "I feel frustrated that Skuhoo kills new players in the wilds all the time."
- Even if you don't believe or agree with what someone says, you must accept that they feel that way. Understanding and admitting to fault is the basis of this system, and it will be obvious if you don't respect it.
- No generalizations. All complaints must be specific, recent and relevant to you, e.g. "I feel frustrated that Skuhoo kills new players all the time" is wrong, because you are not a new player, and "all the time" is a generalization. This also includes condescending trivializations such as "It's just a game" or "It's just an eggplant."
- All complaints must open to a solution, even if the first solution given isn't what you want (SELF REFLECTIVE). To use another example, it would be like me asking gabrosen "What could I have done to make sure you didn't disband our alliance last month?"
- Responses must offer a solution and take responsibility. Additional discussion can be included, but every single response must offer a solution, not just a motive. So Skuhoo responding with "No you weren't exploring, you wanted to set up an inhib" is wrong because Skuhoo is shifting the blame, forcing a motive, and not offering a solution. Skuhoo git banned. Instead, Skuhoo could say "I'm sorry, I thought that you were attempting to destroy radar/set up beachhead. In the future, I won't attack you if you send me a message telling me what you're doing first." Even if you can't provide a simple solution, you need to respect the discomfort you have caused and ask how you can alleviate it.
So I know that was probably unnecessarily long, but I think it is worth a try, because everyone on Loka has been kind to me in one way or another, and I appreciate that and hope it can be spread around.
Cheers, ~fugu
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