Surprising Hostility

[pappou]

Surprising Hostility

The GoW did not seem like a closed shop last Fall when i came into it; thats why i gave it try, even though i know nothing about 'writing'.

I thought i perceived a desire in the group was to promote new playable, high quality exploration events in the tradition of Myst.

Now i see that any such group desire has been hijacked by a few energetic egotists. And i believe that my first assumption (of a desire for better work) must have been correct, because these energetic egos seem so threatened by the presence of quality – primarily as witnessed by the forum's hostile dismissal of the best artist (and also an able writer) they are likely to come across, D'eux.

I think there are still those behind the scenes who are chagrined by the hostility of the ego group, but for some reason those who know better are unwilling to step in to save the GoW from being permanently bogged down by aspirations toward mediocrity.

There is nothing wrong with mediocre work, in itself – it is one of the necessary plateaus before reaching a higher level. There is very much wrong with a rebellion of the mediocre types which so energetically and crudely drives out development of a higher sort.

Surely, I am not the only one who views these events with such sadness?

[Marten]

Shorah...

I have looked back at every post either by or referencing D'eux since April 9 on this forum, and the only hostility I observed was D'eux feeling that something Andy Legate said could have been phrased more nicely, and honestly, I don't see what was so wrong with Andy's comment. There must be more to the story that is not visible to the public eye.

Perhaps a few pointers to support the above claims would help, because I am missing the part where anyone is being driven away by "mediocre egotists."

I sincerely hope that nobody feels they are being driven away... if they are, hopefully it is just a misunderstanding.

[Lontahv]

This hostility isn't even about age building. It's about people vs. people. I feel that if someone is SO mad at someone else, take the argument elsewhere. But after all, I think this is really just a big misunderstanding.

When I had something kind of biting that I used to want to say about something (on the GoW forum), I would always seem to phrase it wrong--I got in some pretty bad situations because of this. Saying so called "bad" things about it isn't really negative--and who cares if it is, unless you're not localizing your view, the trick is to make your snide comments VERY opinionated sounding, such as "I think that the tree looks horrible, but that's just my view." rather than saying "That tree is awful.". Even if you try to do this, it never can be done enough when saying something turbulent. And if someone says "None of your business", because you said something was your view, you are entitled to your opinions and views just as much as they are.

Here's my general rule of thumb not to get in forum trouble: if you don't like what someone says (if not aimed directly at your personality etc.) just ignore them.

Speaking of turbulent post... I'm sure this one will have a few posts replying: "We know well enough how to get along with other people on forums--don't think we're stupid" .

All I can say is that, I mean well with this post and you can always pick up tips no matter how much you know. I don't mean to offer some kind of end-all in forum conflict-avoidance, all I'm doing here is conveying to you the info that would have be very useful to me before I learned the hard way. Remember, main function of the GoW is not to churn out ages, it's to have fun.

And, if someone thinks that they should try to keep the GoW on a steady keel--the pillars of the GoW's can take care of their community perfectly well.


~Lontahv

[Whilyam]

No one's been driven off, that I see. Andy commented that the MOUL Nexus project was apparently dropped for various reasons and D'eux took this as an inflammatory remark. What this really is, though, is a frankly trollish post. There's no "ego group" driving off D'eux and, even if there was, it's certainly not Andy. This is "surprising hostility" from pappou, trying to demonize Andy because he mentioned that other people didn't have the time or didn't want to have the time to finish a project.

Don't feed the trolls.

[andylegate]

Okay, let me interject here:

Peace people. Please.

Pappou is certainly entitled to his comments, remarks, ideas and beliefs. He also did not say my name, but others did for some reason. So he has not personally attacked me in any way, shape or form.

I welcome his different views and opinions on what this guild should be, how we should go about things. Diversity is needed many times more than not. Who knows? He could be right about many things in his views about group Writing. I dissagree with him on points and some of his ideas, and I'm sure Pappou knows that I hold no malice towards either him nor D'eux.

Yes, D'eux did post what I felt was a hostile remark in a thread of mine, but I chose to ignore it there, and instead I PM'ed both the mods about it and also D'eux himself, stating that I have no idea what brought that on, that my remark was not designed to attack anyone, was just a speculative observation. I also invited D'eux to please talk to the mods of this forum if he feels that I have in anyway, shape or form caused him grief or strife.

So at this point, I'm politely leaving it up to the mods. I hope that whatever the problem or grief may be, that it can be resolved in a peaceful manner and to the satisfaction of all.

If anyone here feels that I "drove" someone away from here, then I apologize and would like to know how it was that I did that, so that I can make sure in the future I don't repeat that mistake.
However, I would like to point out that, I am entitled to my opinions, ideas and beliefs to, so long as they don't attack someone in a personal or degrading manner. I've looked back at my post, and fail to see where I have done this. IF anyone else does see it, then please inform the moderators of this forum.

Again, lets keep it on a peaceful level. Anger never solved anything, and that type of energy should be more directed to Age Creation than anything.

[BAD]

I don't have time to properly respond, please hold off on tearing each other apart till I can at least offer some referee services.....

[andylegate]

I don't have time to properly respond, please hold off on tearing each other apart till I can at least offer some referee services.....

ROFLMBO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh man, I can't stop laughing.....Sorry, BAD. I know you're like really over worked here. Seems like we really pile it on you sometimes. I apologize. Still, I'm laughing at your comment though and can't stop!

[Chacal]

Methinks it refers to this thread, not the one mentioned above.

I think Pappou sees too much hidden content in innocent writings. Forum posts are not essays, they are more hastily-written, spur-of-the-moment notes, like text messages on a cell phone. Furthermore, they lack the non-verbal cues that face-to-face conversations provide.

Above all, it should be present in everuone's mind that anything posted at GoW is subject to review and critic, some of which can be frank and direct.

Also, any thread can be hijacked, this is the nature of forums. Once you've started a public thread, it doesn't belong to you anymore. This is unavoidable and even desirable, since it fosters creativity. However irritating this is to the original poster.

[Robert The Rebuilder]

It should be noted that the thread is entitled, "WIP: Age 2 Eh'ko". For those that don't know what that means, WIP stands for "work in progress", aka an unfinished product. D'eux was kind enough to give us a preview of his work - screenshots and even a movie. We shouldn't berate him or anyone else for not releasing an age before it is complete. Instead, we should enjoy what is shared and be patient for more.

Just my 2 cents.

[boblishman]

can you show us where he was barated for not releasing it ? ... damned if I can find it