EmilyAriel
Posts: 124
12/16/2013
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Intriguing idea. I asked Dr. Schlomo about it, and he told me this: "We must be still and still moving for a deeper communion with the dark cold and the empty desolation. Three dreams cross, here."
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varinn
Posts: 53
12/16/2013
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I've tried reading the OP a couple times now, and it's still just like climbing up vaseline, not gonna lie.
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Varinner
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Flyte
Administrator
Posts: 671
12/17/2013
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Xaphedo, you evidently put time and thought into this, and I wouldn't want to leave you puzzled by the levity of our responses, or for you to think them mean-spirited. So here is a serious explanation of why this doesn't strike me as a good idea.
- Fallen London has an established player base in the low five figures, built up over a number of years. These people are presumably interested in a relaxed, slow-paced game which can be spread out over a number of short sessions. There's no particular reason to expect them to be interested in a play-by-chat mechanic, which is relatively demanding and only suited to relatively long play sessions. Moreover, Fallen London is a text game, and many of us play it on the strength of its setting and prose. This passage is for Fallen London quite ordinary:
You jog round the park, the ruffians wheezing and groaning in your wake. Fat, dejected waterfowl watch you pass. A sorrow-spider squats in a clump of rushes. Evil laughter rings out from a pallid fungal thicket. The ruffians are left behind, but your mood is quite spoilt. And you have a snail in your shoe. Not many people can produce prose that evocative in the moments IRC allows them. Still fewer can maintain a comic rhythm. So this probably won't appeal to the game's literary constituency, either.
- FBG have very limited resources, and the vast majority of their user base would prefer that these be devoted to a) adding more content to Fallen London, b) delivering Sunless Sea in a polished state and more or less on time, and even c) adding new Storynexus functionality and improving its performance.
- There are already a number of options for people interested in engaging more creatively with the setting: role-playing threads on the forum, the LiveJournal community, and social actions. Many players are happy to receive in character messages; some will reciprocate, or even like them enough to want to share them here or on IRC.
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babelfishwars
Administrator
Posts: 1152
12/19/2013
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Xaphedo wrote:
What I don't get is why Jitbit (the software this server is using) thinks it's a good idea to use this kind of rating to sift through posts and declare what's the most relevant content and what it's the least.
Goodness. I had no idea upvoting or downvoting had any such use. I've never even noticed the 'show rated messages only' thing before. Interesting. If the majority of people are as unobservant as me, it won't impact on whether people see your posts. I suspect people use it more as a 'yey I like this' than a 'others should see this' thing. Hey ho. I wouldn't waste energy on it. If you really want to pursue it, contact JitBit. Don't dwell on it here.
You're sounding grumpy. That's the kind of thing I'd previously downvote. Not because I thought it had any impact on visibility, but because grumpy is bad.
Anyway - I'm willing to bet a vast number of rats that almost no one regularly uses it as a filter (it's not such a big/fast board that it's needed), and most people use it as a way of communicating just their feelings about a post. So the only end impact is some red at the bottom of your post. Finding out that votes may impact visibility makes me want to never use them again. But because I doubt people do use the filter, I'm going to continue to use them in a 'yey this made me happy' and 'boo this make me less happy' sense.
(Seriously though - this is a mightily chilled forum on the whole. There are brief glitches which tend to resolve fast, but these are so rare that it means any tone adopted that would merely seem efficient on other places, seems overly brusque. Consider mock-Victorian role-playing demeanour (but not the language, for gods' sakes), and you'll be adopting approximately the right level of calmness to blend in.)
Edit: What the ocelot said, but more wordily.
edited by babelfishwars on 12/19/2013
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Mars, God of Fish; Leaning Tower of Fish
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Kade Carrion (an_ocelot)
Posts: 1372
12/19/2013
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You know what? I'm not a mod, I have no authority here whatsoever, and I don't care about this topic, but as an long-time observer of, and participant in, Internet conversations:
Xaphedo, now is a good time to take a break from this conversation.
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Social Actions: send them to Kade Carrion (she/her; no Tournament of Lilies, please). an_ocelot has gone NORTH and cannot benefit from social actions!
Possibly-Useful Things: Spreadsheets and hints and link collections, oh my.
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MidnightVoyager
Posts: 858
12/16/2013
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Thirdly be grimmer as fond brevities. Eider with alders. And erethism safer.
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Midnight Voyager - A blood-cousin to predators. Collector of beasts. Affably mad.
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Nathanael S. Wells
Posts: 80
12/17/2013
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MidnightVoyager wrote:
Thirdly be grimmer as fond brevities. Eider with alders. And erethism safer.
Goden? Furred capering the walkskies?
--
Nathanael S. Wells, the Epicurean Polymath.
Founder and Patron of the Damnation Army, a philanthropic society devoted towards bringing food and clothes to the destitute and impoverished Seekers! Consider donating food (no Rubbery Lumps, please!) or clothes (no Veils-Velvet, please! We don't need another incident.)
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Lady Red
Posts: 517
12/19/2013
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Xaphedo - this is a friendly internet forum, not a fight club. Take a deep breath, and perhaps think how your words will be taken before you post.
If the point of this thread was to say: "I'd like to set up a Fallen London play-by-chat roleplay game, would anyone be interested?" you might think about asking the mods to delete this thread and starting again, just asking that question simply and answering any questions that come up.
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Lady~Red
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Leraika
Posts: 56
12/19/2013
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Ehh, rule-based roleplaying is entirely possible in a chat with a dicebot. Seems a lot simpler than most other options.
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Leraika - Smoldering Academic and occasional woman-about-town
Feel free to send me requests!
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Alexis Kennedy
Posts: 1374
12/17/2013
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Xaphedo: folks reacted in a baffled and slightly grumpy way, but please don't be incivil. If this thread stays prickly, I'll lock it.
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MidnightVoyager
Posts: 858
12/17/2013
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Xaphedo wrote:
No profit involved, no blood shed. Easy.
PS: Let's be real: your opinion, the players', is actually more important than their permission. I'm not spending a minute on this project until I know whether or not it can be done and will be used, of course.
edited by Xaphedo on 12/17/2013
I would say the creators' opinion is extremely important, as it is their game and setting. I think more important would be understanding what you are talking about.
You made this sound like a really big, crazy sweeping dramatic thing, but then you say it's not that and it doesn't officially involve the game at all and... I'm afraid I don't understand what on earth you're saying still.
People RP in various places all the time, it's no big deal. I'm doing it right now, even. There's a chatroom and a Tumblr thing and the forums and a Livejournal community. I don't understand why you have a lengthy, complicated, dramatic proposal for what seems to be just that? I mean, I surely must be missing something, and there must be more to it considering how much... much you have written on it.
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Midnight Voyager - A blood-cousin to predators. Collector of beasts. Affably mad.
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Flyte
Administrator
Posts: 671
12/16/2013
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For those puzzled by Dr Schlomo's willingness to pronounce on this subject, which admittedly lies somewhat outside his acknowledged expertise, I should perhaps mention that he recently achieved digital apotheosis on #fallenlondon, where he dispenses terse advice and occasional demands for beetles. He offered me this epigram:
Hidden under coral islands where worried bodies of drowned men drift down in the green silence. I was neither living nor dead, and I knew nothing. I confess that, in my ignorance, I am sometimes compelled to solicit interpretations of his interpretations. But if I pursue this procedure long enough, I am invariably assured of his robust good sense.
edited by Flyte on 12/17/2013
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EmilyAriel
Posts: 124
12/16/2013
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Consider whether there is an end to the prayer of the bone upon the beach. Perhaps the sky will open for you.
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babelfishwars
Administrator
Posts: 1152
12/17/2013
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Xaphedo wrote:
Babelfishwars: Google is your ally, my friend. Bloody Google. Learn to use it well (Wikipedia is a key word you shouldn't underuse) and you will succeed. In the internet, at least.
Good lord, man! If my first google didn't produce instantaneous results, I wasn't going to exert myself further. I know that Google does a filter bubble based on our previous stuff, but nevertheless most of the info was things like this:
"Vorrei sapere in modo dettagliato come funziona perchè io non ci ho capito niente. Premetto che ho giocato poche volte a D&D in real però qualcosina la so. Mi basta anche solo un sito dove danno delle spiegazioni. Per capirci meglio....sono registrato ad un gdr online play by chat...sono entrato in una taverna...CHE DEVO FARE??? COSA DEVO SCRIVERE??? AIUTO!!!"
and
http://www.gdr-online.com/gdr_online_play_by_chat.asp
And due to my ignorance, I couldn't tell more than 'Italian'.
Your updated post is far clearer. I can see how it would appeal to some. I know for me, much of the appeal of FL is that it can be nibbled in miniscule chunks of time - while waiting for a large document to open on a slow computer, while fetching water from the fridge. Anything that required continuous attendance for more than ten minutes would certainly be difficult for sippers of game play like me - but perhaps not all.
You might have IP issues. Not just FB protecting copyright, but FB would need to show that it wasn't an offshoot of their work in case it wasn't the same standard, or in case there were quarrels in game, and it risked reflecting back badly on them.
edited by babelfishwars on 12/17/2013
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Mars, God of Fish; Leaning Tower of Fish
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Allanon Kisigar
Posts: 164
12/17/2013
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After much tilting of head, and turning the OP around and reading it sideways and upside-down and inside out (and then eating some of it), I think I MAY understand? Due to the way it's written, it READS an awful lot like a response to something, but I believe it's their offering of the idea (my uncertainty is that I have NO idea what "play-by-chat" is), and them offering their own knowledge of the subject to see if anyone may be interested in it.
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A Gentleman of distinct and peculiar interests.
Invites for social actions are most welcome, except for Boxed Cats, SMEN, and Affluent Photographer
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Alexis Kennedy
Posts: 1374
12/17/2013
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to confirm what folk said upthread- our attitude to play-by-chat would be the same as to all the other FL RPing going on in various contexts. This means that we wouldn't object to it, and would regard it as fair use of our copyright if players acknowledge the source material, but we wouldn't, I'm afraid, link to it or give any kind of access to our systems or data.
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Snowskeeper
Posts: 575
12/17/2013
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Xaphedo wrote:
Snowkeeper: Your lack of elementary deduction leaves me aghast. Well, maybe a little less offended that that, but regardless: I did say I was tired, and that I was Italian. Given the timezone Italy is in, I published my last comment roughly around 11 pm, probably goin got bed afterwards. If I was tired, I ought to do something, during the day, which is time-consuming or simply jarring. Most people work, go to school and take care of general business in the morning, and so do I. Only 7 hours after my disappearance, how come you're surprised I did not show myself again?
We'd recommend not writing a post about a 'big, scary change' late at night in the future. We apologize if our response came off as irate; we were rather tired ourselves at the time. We did try to make it clear we found the post interesting (our exact words were, "There is a truly glorious response in its place,").
Again, we're sorry the tone of our post was what it was. It was inappropriate, whatever our feelings. Again, though, if you feel that you are presenting an idea which might not be taken very well, it's best to wait until you're sure you can present it in as bright a light as you can. We were not the only person that felt the post was confusing. The new OP is far better; we'll edit our post to reflect that.
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S.F., a midnight midnighter and invisible eminence. Impossible to locate them, personally, but there are dead drops and agents.
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Snowskeeper
Posts: 575
12/17/2013
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We feel like this thread is missing an OP. There is a truly glorious response in its place, however. If only we knew what it was talking about.
EDIT: Our concerns have since been addressed.
edited by Snowskeeper on 12/17/2013
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S.F., a midnight midnighter and invisible eminence. Impossible to locate them, personally, but there are dead drops and agents.
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babelfishwars
Administrator
Posts: 1152
12/19/2013
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Xaphedo wrote:
I won't question once again the usefulness of the downvoting system
edited by Xaphedo on 12/18/2013
Don't think it serves much of a purpose. Highly plussed people tend to have contributed a lot to the community. If someone suddenly developed a lot of red, might be interesting to moderators (or you should check and see if you'd been ... abrasive in your language) - but only a few red, I wouldn't worry about it. Meh.
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Mars, God of Fish; Leaning Tower of Fish
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Saharan
Posts: 247
12/17/2013
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I dare to say I'm very fairly certain that if any people express a desire to freeform RP, they are most capable of finding a variety of places where they could do so, on their own, and that no special service needs to be made in order to accommodate them. Perhaps I'm wrong, perhaps not.
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My Saint - My Twitter - My Seeker
"To light one candle to God and another to the Devils is the principle of wisdom."
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Aspeon
Posts: 311
12/17/2013
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If you're just looking for interested players, I'd start with the existing Fallen London RP communities. Obviously they're all play-by-post rather than play-by-chat, but you're more likely to get interest from people already predisposed to roleplaying than the playerbase in general. There's the Mr Pages' Fabularities forum here, and some blog-centered ones on Tumblr and Livejournal.
You might also take a look at the IRC channel some folks have already set up. It may be possible to just set up a new channel on the same network to both have the infrastructure work done for you and use something that some people would already be familiar with.
(If I were doing this, the way I'd start the conversation would be "Hey, here's this thing I want to do; who'd be interested?" You don't need the approval of the playerbase, and assuming this falls under the fan project policy you don't need any additional approval from Failbetter either.)
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A raccooning will not be postponed indefinitely.
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Aspeon
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MidnightVoyager
Posts: 858
12/17/2013
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Xaphedo wrote:
I was not looking for approval, but opinion and advice. And you gave me plenty! Really, delicious eggs - I mean - friends, thank you 
One last thing, MidnightVoyager: being able to interact via randomized ability checks using your own items in a way which is integrated in the mechanics of the roleplay themselves feels incredibly lively and it's no comparison to plain interpretation. Only once you try you'll understand how different it is, whether you'll like the difference or not.
edited by Xaphedo on 12/17/2013
Oh. Well, I think I understand now, and I'm afraid I'm not interested, sorry. I play a character who is fairly inept in society/social situations, yet her stats are maxed in Persuasive. I play the game quite differently from how I'd play a character.
Now that I think about it, that would potentially require a lot of awkward-to-get-permission-for hooking in to the game. You would DEFINITELY need permission for something like that. Their rules don't even allow for scripts that let you have an outfit-change shortcut.
edited by MidnightVoyager on 12/17/2013
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Midnight Voyager - A blood-cousin to predators. Collector of beasts. Affably mad.
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Sara Hysaro
Moderator
Posts: 4514
12/17/2013
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Well, it'd be a lot of work but you can confirm stats. If a player is brought into question you can have them display their stats one at a time on their mantelpiece.
edited by Sara Hysaro on 12/17/2013
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Sara%20Hysaro
Please do not send SMEN, cat boxes, or Affluent Reporter requests. All other social actions are welcome.
Are you a Scarlet Saint? Send a message my way to be added to the list.
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deadcrystal
Posts: 125
12/16/2013
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For my measure I believe they are suggesting replacing Fallen London as it exists with essentially a FBG moderated play-by-post forum RP with more classical RPG mechanics.
When asked for clarity Schlomo responded
"Other withered stumps of time were told upon the walls. Waves wash over the ragged rock in the restless waters."
edited by deadcrystal on 12/16/2013
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Alice~Darkmoor
A determined Dolphin - Alexis
Great Grind Empress, and Knife and Candle Queen
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OPG
Posts: 387
12/16/2013
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Wasn't someone already working on a Fallen London P&P RPG?
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overpoweredginger, an irresistible, magnificent, midnight and sagacious gentleman.
A Fallen London Roleplay Community exists. Contrary to popular belief, Richard Nixon is not involved.
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deadcrystal
Posts: 125
12/16/2013
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If they were just suggesting that I don't think they'd call it a Big and Scary change. Especially given their comments on Server usage.
See? Schlomo agrees with me... I think.
"Renounce the voice; you cannot hope to turn again. Your shadow at morning striding behind you, or your shadow at evening rising to meet you."
edited by deadcrystal on 12/16/2013
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Alice~Darkmoor
A determined Dolphin - Alexis
Great Grind Empress, and Knife and Candle Queen
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babelfishwars
Administrator
Posts: 1152
12/16/2013
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varinn wrote:
I've tried reading the OP a couple times now, and it's still just like climbing up vaseline, not gonna lie.
... I genuinely cackled out loud.
Edit: I've never heard of play by chat? It sounds like ... you know when you *accidentally* get taken to sites with moving images on repeat of women in their smalls looking bored and apparently wanting nothing more than to talk to you ... oh ... that's just me? Anyway - that's the only thing I could think of. Rubbery Man, remove your hat. Oh god. No! Put it back. My eyes!
edited by babelfishwars on 12/16/2013
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Mars, God of Fish; Leaning Tower of Fish
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Xaphedo
Posts: 44
12/16/2013
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I indeed sunk, beyond the pitchest dark sheets of solitude, and found silence. I stared, then vanished, as soon as I remained thoughtless. I crave light, still death tides me tight.
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Betrothal To Prosody
«He knows. Why of course, there's no other way. Unless...»
A comfortably unpredictable individual
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