Filter Intrusion Ground Rules

[powersthatbe]

Hey, Fellow Travelers! Since Filter Intrusion is now a fairly common skill and there are a lot of people using it and using it fairly frequently, we thought we should set some ground rules for it from an OOC perspective. First of all, please remember to check with the players involved before eavesdropping! While your character does not ICly need permission, we prefer OOC permission be secured. Second, a logistical thing - just to track who is listening in on what thread, when your character is monitoring a conversation, please make a single blank comment on the thread with [Filter Intrusion] in the subject line. That way, there is no confusion later about who can possibly know what. (Blank comments of this type will not count towards AC).

There will be no penalty for violating these guidelines, but you will be poked and prodded at by mods asking you to please do the thing. Do not make us poke and prod. It tickles.

Please comment below or email us with any questions or concerns.

Comments

[theanguissette]

Two things:

One, how does this new rule work with combining Filter Intrusion with Network Archive Retrieval, or can they not be used in conjunction?

Secondly, I find it problematic that my skill can be shut down by someone oocly deciding that they don't want me to use it. The concept has never sat well with me, becuase I believe that players should work together to enable each other to have fun, not shut each other down. However, I am an adult and can abide. I just want to vocally lodge my concern.

[professorwolf]

That's kind of how it is for all abilities, though. You have to have OOC permission from the other person to use them on them. Right? So this is just like if your character has, say, the ability to control minds or freeze somebody in ice. You generally ask first before you do it. This is just formalizing that "ask first so we're all on the same page" for network abilities, too.

[theanguissette]

See, that's the thing. I personally don't feel like we should have to ask permission to use skills that we earned in-game. Because playing the game should be blanket permission, and we should all be adult enough to say "hey, I have a problem with this" if there's a hangup, rather than everyone having to tiptoe around literally everything for fear of slighting someone else.

I suppose it's just part of the culture of the journal-based games, and it's something that I will abide by, but it doesn't sit well with me.

[powersthatare]

No-one needs to tiptoe, or fear. Asking permission is just as adult as voicing objection.

[theanguissette]

Except when you get shut down and told that you shouldn't be doing something, period, that sometime else doesn't like, despite the fact that it doesn't have to involve their character at all. Which has happened to me in this game. I'm extremely wary that something like this is going to happen again, becuase last time, it really, really damaged my enjoyment of the game and was a major contributing factor of my leaving, and it wasn't even about a skill. My personal experience is, in actually, that I have to tiptoe with all but literally five players.

I'm not trying to throw a fit or even asking for things to change. This is a contentious objection. I try to keep open lines of communication with everyone that I thread with, and I will abide by the rules even if I don't personally like them.

(Also, this comment came off as really condescending, btw, and I'm rather upset that I can't offer a differing opinion even when I blatantly said that even if I didn't like it, I would abide by it.)

[powersthatare]

This comment received the response it did because it came off as very dismissive and judgmental of other player concerns. We welcome difference of opinion, but implying that players who prefer open communication are childish is not acceptable.

If you have been harrassed or deliberately ostracized by other players in this game, we encourage you to bring your specific complaints to the mod team, as we do not tolerate bullying, and would be ready to investigate such behavior.

[theanguissette]

The response was unprofessional. Even if I was being dismissive or judgemental (neither of which was my intent, and I apologize to any that may have taken offense), a moderator should be able to respond in a manner that is not insulting.

A simple "Thank you for your input" would have done. Or, of you thought I was being insulting, perhaps a "The phrasing of your post can be construed in an insulting manner."

I have addressed my concerns to the moderators before. I made clear the reasons why I left after giving it much thought. I have confided privately to two moderators at length.

That is neither here, nor there.

Please comment below or email us with any questions or concerns. I commented with my concern. And then I was told that my opinion was wrong. And then I was insulted by a moderator.

[powersthatare]

We are moving further discussion to a private venue in order to cover your concerns while respecting your confidentiality.

[theanguissette]

There were some misunderstandings on both sides, and while I still have my objections, I feel that they are understood and that the matter is resolved. There are no hard feelings.

[oftoomuchfaith]

I have to say, I find the way the mods are responding to this to be kind of condescending and really inappropriate? While Hana (I think it's Hana?) may not have voiced her concerns in a perfectly polite and non-confrontational manner or whatever, I have to say, I agree with her concern.

The thing is that there is the possibility for abuse on either side, but it's much easier to prove "I asked someone not to do this bc it made me uncomfortable and they did it anyway" to the mods than "I am being intentionally roadblocked/kept away from plot things by someone refusing to let me use filter intrusion".

Like... I just feel like if it's really important that someone not be listened in on, they can put that in the title. And if they don't but realize they're uncomfortable with it, then they can just ask that the other person not do that.

I do think that the empty comment is good, if only for everyone's reference purposes, but I just...

The way this is being handled makes me uncomfortable, as a player, with bringing my concerns to the mods, because how do I know I won't be talked down to?

[powersthatare]

We absolutely acknowledge the validity of the concern itself (and we thank you for standing up for another player you feel isn't receiving a fair hearing). The problem which lead to this comment thread was rooted in the implication we saw that players who disagreed were not as adult, and our response was intended only as a defense of the validity of dissent.

We understand that, to Hana and other concerned players, it appeared not to be a defense of our playerbase in general but an attack. To Hana, and to anyone else who saw our comment in that way: we are sorry, and the fault in the wording is our responsibility. We will do our best to respond with more clarity in the future, because the discussions we have are better when everyone feels safe to share their opinion, and we deeply regret doing something which may have discouraged that.

We believe we have addressed this misunderstanding with Hana via private message, and we believe that her concern, and yours, is a valid one.

[powersthatare]

1) They can be used in conjunction, we'll just still ask people to leave a comment!

2) We've only very rarely had people use permissions to shut down others, and when they do, it's in matters of acute personal discomfort, where we want to be as generous to people as possible in order to create a welcoming game environment. In practice, permissions simply allow people to enable one another knowingly and mutually - something that cannot happen without player communications.