Over-authorative players

[papayatoot]

Okay, this is a rant and a shoutout to any players out there who are like this to STOP.

So, I'm sure we've all been in a situation where someone in a group, staff or not, is unnecessarily rude and/or over-authorative.I think this should be considered as harassment or bullying, because it's not fair to anyone.

I recently joined the group Clans of New Beginnings (a WC group) and in the chat i said "heehee" and one of the staff calls me out and says, "can you not say heehee? It's kinda rude, or it sounds like you're spying..." Okay, first of all, who are you to tell me what I can and can't say? I have freedom of speech and saying "heehee" Is not breaking any feral heart rules.
Next, I get called out for trying to start a semi-circle. lol, let me explain. We were in a WC group and there was a meeting called, and we were waiting for everyone to arrive. Everyone was really bunched up and I thought, 'I bet we could make this pretty.' So i'm like, "guys lets form a semicircle, it'll look super cool" And the staff jumps on me (the same one) and says,
"Dapple."
"No."
And I was like.....excuse me? What...what am I even doing wrong? Are you KIDDING ME? I swear, types of people like this just love to wallow in their little staff title and boss people around and it is not cool.

What happened next is probably the most controversial point i'll make in this rant.
I was sitting in the camp for my WC clan, and I realized, whah, this is a pretty big map with loads of portals and places to explore! I totally want to see it all! And so I say, "i'm gonna go explore the map, brb"
(this was a private map, owned by the group leader.)
Now, the SAME STAFF MEMBER says "You can't do that, you're risking a WAR between the clans"
And i say, "no, like, OOC. Just to look around for a bit."
And she responds, "Still, you need permission from the admins to see anything outside our territory. And If we have a war, we know who to blame."
....woah, woah woah, hold up. Hold up. I just wanna see the map, dude. And thats how I respond: "What? I can't even look OOC? #lame"
And then she goes OFF on me. "No, you need to respect me because I'm staff and you need to read the ruled hun. So stop being an @ss and respect the staff, please. You need to take a look at our rules, hun."
ALSO another thing that bothers me: People start jumping in and repeating what she says, trying to be relevant, ganging up on me! Like, YOU WERENT EVEN IN THE ORIGINAL DISCUSSION, YOURE JUST KISSING UP. YOU BARELY EVEN KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, SAVE THAT YOU SEE THE STAFF BOSSING SOMEONE AROUND AND YOU JUST /HAVE/ TO JUMP IN, THINK YOURE IMPORTANT, HUH?
UGH.
And pretty soon, everyone is mad, telling everyone to shut up so that the staff can talk.
And if i retort in any way, I'm rude and disrespectful. I'm not even allowed to DEFEND MYSELF? That's not fair. And everyone thinks theyre so great because they side with the staff, echo the staff. Well, it's not okay.

needless to say, I got them back pretty well...

But what do you guys think? Have you been in situations like this? Do you think the staff has the right to do this, or are they harassing? What should be done about this? This is a very real problem, because i've seen it in multiple groups, and i want to know what you guys think should be done about it.

[WolfQueen]

leave the roleplay

problem solved

[greenart6]

I'm assuming you mean 'staff' as in the leaders in a group. The actual staff in the game would never care about forming a semi circle or something like that.

I agree with OhKelseyYou, just leave the roleplay. They shouldn't treat you like that, and people like that are going to prevent you from having any fun in the rp.

[LordSuragaha]

Indeed I can relate to some of the things you've mentioned here. It's a big reason why I don't join anyone's roleplays anymore unless they are close friends or the roleplay is of my own creation.

Some users really let their position of authority go to their heads. The whole part about you not being able to explore the map out of character is ridiculous. Some people get too into their Roleplay to the point where they can't seperate themself from it to clearly distinguish the difference between roleplaying and out of character behavior & conversation. I strongly believe that you should have been able to explore the map. Perhaps this group was going for realism but they were wrong when they addressed you so rudely about it. I believe that the group leader(s) you were dealing with are probably just really immature.

I can relate to the semi circle thing as well since I've given group leaders suggestions in the past only to have my face bitten off. It really all comes down to the maturity level of these group leaders xD There's nothing wrong with making and taking suggestions that may improve the roleplay experience. In cases like these I just leave the group and don't even bother to waste my time arguing with them. It's really unfortunate when the roleplay group's plot seems interesting but those in charge are total jerks. I've ended up leaving numerous awesome roleplays just because the group leaders are rude and immature.

I'm sorry that you had to have such a terrible experience but we've all been there at one time or another.

I shall be moving this thread to the Game Discussion board by the way.

[papayatoot]

Ok, thanks. This is the first post I've ever made on the forums so I'm not quite sure how the whole thing works yet XD

[Vespian]

Indeed I can relate to some of the things you've mentioned here. It's a big reason why I don't join anyone's roleplays anymore unless they are close friends or the roleplay is of my own creation.

Vespian seconds this. T'is actually the main reason for I why I scarcely allow myself to partake in another's role-play group.

I've been in a lot of role-plays and have given many organizations a try to becomin' a faction I can settle with for a long while. Some succeeded, but obviously are not around anymore, while most have not. In some groups that Vespian has joined, I too have encountered these "over-authoritative" figures ye' vent about.

For instance, while I shall name no groups here, I one joined an establishment with my character, Creedance. I was speakin' to one of the other members of the same group OOC-wise usin' brackets [Like this.] when the Alpha/creator of the role-play approached. He questioned why I was usin' brackets and when I told he, he chortled and replied to me that OOC does not exist in his role-play. Que a wad of confusion as his remark came as a bit of a shock. Grateful was I that I joined with a mellow tempered character. I still don't quite get what's to gain actin' constantly as yer character. T'is like an actor/actress who's role is never endin' and who's always wearin' the mask of someone they are not but hey, everyone has their different preferences. What bugged I the most was since there was no OOC and this group was set up on the realistic scale, yer character's legit actions could affect the atmosphere. Meanin' that if yer pixels so happened to look a higher up in the eye, ye' were bound to get a mouthful. If ye' did not meander with a low gaze when around the Alpha/Beta, ye' were askin' for punishment. Truth be told, I would have found this bodily language intriguin' if it were kept solely to IC. Unfortunately, that was not the case as I have witnessed newcomers get gnarled at just for appearing to be challengin' a higher up when they meant no harm nor did they quite catch on to this "OOC doesn't exist here" law.

I shall restrict myself to just one example but I have witnessed a plenty. Even caught a couple whispers/glances of stricter groups who would meander around the public maps in single file and should a user step out of place, they'd end up scolded.
As Ms. Suragaha stated, it generally depends on the maturity level of the role-play's crafters. Little do they realize that their actions affect the overall group's reputation so even one bad apple with that much privilege can ruin one's perspective.
Really, if I were in yer paws, I'd just leave the group without another word. Ye' deserve not such treatment and I'm a bit surprised ye' put up with that individual as long as ye' have. I'd have left the second time they called I out.

[Kerriki]

What the others have said, I would leave the group and go find another. You shouldn't have to put up with immature users like this

[Mewwn]

I see where you are coming from. Most WC RPs usually say that you need to ask leaders before exploring the territories OOC, with my group, the case is that you're risking bothering someone Rping on another territory. However, if you ask, we will usually say yes o-o
As for semi circle, I allow that in my Clan xD We did it at the gathering (Well it was more of a line and semi circle)
I like groups who take responsibility with their staff ranks, but when they get too strict like this? Oi. I'd leave. Some roleplays get too strict, and that's never fun. It's always nice to goof around once in a while!

[Pferdegesicht]

One time I was in a Lion RP that allowed Hyenas. I happen to have a rather silly, and immature Hyena character who I like to role play with because, frankly, he's really fun! So I guess the head Lion there had a stick up his but andeventually started flinging insults at other characters. When I tried to call intervention, he told me to back off because I was 'an immature idiot'. And I told the guy, "Hey, you know the derpiness is actually part of Jeckle's (My hyena) character, and I'm not really that weird?" to which he replied, "No, you act immature Out Of Character, therefore you need to shut the hell up." Then, he proceeded to swear at the other group members about how they had no authority in the group. I understand where he's coming from, sometimes I like to mess around with other group members when I'm bored, but there was no reason for him to act like that.

[Nemena]

Some people really, really do let power get to their heads. Unfortunately, it's prevalent in many communities that allow guilds and groups. Even over at Warcraft, it happens at quite an astronomical scale! One of the groups I'm in completely forbids those with a 'low' rank from speaking/emoting during roleplaying sessions and events. You're basically left to sit there and meander about while the higher ups chat amongst themselves for a solid hour or two. I'm honestly still surprised by the group's staggering size and activity; it's still going!

I admit my own group (a hyena clan) is fairly strict, but there's a definite line between a polite request and utter nonsense. We generally forbid exploration of the map during our co-group's roleplaying hours because it's so distracting to have a hyena sprinting left right, up and down when you're in the midst of an especially dramatic session. Out-of-hours-- run about to your heart's content! It's a rule I've seen a few times-- but it's usually handled in a friendlier manner.

It's completely a-ok, and encouraged, to have rules and guidelines-- but when they, or the overly-authoritative 'staff',  begin to impose upon your members' enjoyment it's going a little too far for comfort. No one's going to respect a group's leader if they, in turn, do not respect their peers; a group needs members to thrive and grow, after all! Leaving really is the best option when faced with such behaviour.