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On the subject of someone and his effect on HoP, and this is my official position:
There is a distinct difference between being elitist, and having standards for behavior on the board. Sure the line is a bit fuzzy, especially when the standards are set pretty high. Up to now, just about all of the people on HoP were good writers. All of us typed our responses in English, not netspeak. And we all treated each other with respect, either because we all felt that everyone else deserved it, or because we all formed a loose web of connections. Everyone knew and was accounted to at least one other person on that board. All was all nice and fuzzy, the way things are when a small group of people with similar standards and interests come together and start talking.
But as HoP grows bigger, we're going to be expanding outside of our usual circles. We're going to get people who don't know how to RP, or who "OMG!!!11one1111eleven tlk lik dis" because they think that using proper spelling and grammar on the web is useless. Not to mention that there are going to be people who don't meld well, and who are going to need to be kept in check if flame wars are not going to break out. If nothing else, I've learned this from Gaia, which is completely different from HoP, but subject to the same forum laws.
The only problem with Todd, besides the fact that he's not as mature as we are both socially and writerly, is that he is the first person outside of our circle that we've had to deal with. We're finding that the things that he does push our buttons, not only because they don't fit our standards but because he came here with a bad impression. Honestly, I was ambivalent about him joining, and I wonder if some other people were as well. This is not an excuse for treating him poorly, and yes, it would be extremely inappropriate to take strict action against him, especially because everything that we're irritated at aren't even official rules. They're unspoken, and while they were universal for a brief moment, they aren't anymore. So, we make allowances for Todd if he wants them, although we make sure that he's aware of our expectations.
For the sake of both us 'veterans' and the 'newbies' HoP needs some spoken guidelines for what is good conduct. If directly stating that double posting in an RP, insulting people, and using netspeak or blue text on blue background is unacceptable, then setting up a list of reminders, guidlelines, or suggestions explaining that people need to be patient, respectful, and make sure that their posts are readable should not be. A place where everyone can get along without explicit rules is nice, but it's not something that happens in reality. Naela, if you're worried about posting definite rules starting a flame war, then ask for feedback from everyone, and make sure that people know that it's in an effort to make everything better in the long run and not an attack on a specific person/group of people.
As for the chats, I know that it's probably wrong for us to leave him out, but at the same time, it's sort of a place for relaxation for everyone (except for Megumi who has to witness the mutilation of her characters). Really, they help keep me sane and give me my current dose of belly laughs. Honestly, to say that I don't think he should be invited until we feel comfortable enough with him on the board that a chat with him wouldn't bring in an heavy amount of strife is, I hope, fairly reasonable.
I hope that I'm making a bigger deal of this than it needs to be. And I hope that this rant is too late to even be relevant. ^_^
Outside of that, there's life. And we all know how that goes: on. ^_^
Over and out.
There is a distinct difference between being elitist, and having standards for behavior on the board. Sure the line is a bit fuzzy, especially when the standards are set pretty high. Up to now, just about all of the people on HoP were good writers. All of us typed our responses in English, not netspeak. And we all treated each other with respect, either because we all felt that everyone else deserved it, or because we all formed a loose web of connections. Everyone knew and was accounted to at least one other person on that board. All was all nice and fuzzy, the way things are when a small group of people with similar standards and interests come together and start talking.
But as HoP grows bigger, we're going to be expanding outside of our usual circles. We're going to get people who don't know how to RP, or who "OMG!!!11one1111eleven tlk lik dis" because they think that using proper spelling and grammar on the web is useless. Not to mention that there are going to be people who don't meld well, and who are going to need to be kept in check if flame wars are not going to break out. If nothing else, I've learned this from Gaia, which is completely different from HoP, but subject to the same forum laws.
The only problem with Todd, besides the fact that he's not as mature as we are both socially and writerly, is that he is the first person outside of our circle that we've had to deal with. We're finding that the things that he does push our buttons, not only because they don't fit our standards but because he came here with a bad impression. Honestly, I was ambivalent about him joining, and I wonder if some other people were as well. This is not an excuse for treating him poorly, and yes, it would be extremely inappropriate to take strict action against him, especially because everything that we're irritated at aren't even official rules. They're unspoken, and while they were universal for a brief moment, they aren't anymore. So, we make allowances for Todd if he wants them, although we make sure that he's aware of our expectations.
For the sake of both us 'veterans' and the 'newbies' HoP needs some spoken guidelines for what is good conduct. If directly stating that double posting in an RP, insulting people, and using netspeak or blue text on blue background is unacceptable, then setting up a list of reminders, guidlelines, or suggestions explaining that people need to be patient, respectful, and make sure that their posts are readable should not be. A place where everyone can get along without explicit rules is nice, but it's not something that happens in reality. Naela, if you're worried about posting definite rules starting a flame war, then ask for feedback from everyone, and make sure that people know that it's in an effort to make everything better in the long run and not an attack on a specific person/group of people.
As for the chats, I know that it's probably wrong for us to leave him out, but at the same time, it's sort of a place for relaxation for everyone (except for Megumi who has to witness the mutilation of her characters). Really, they help keep me sane and give me my current dose of belly laughs. Honestly, to say that I don't think he should be invited until we feel comfortable enough with him on the board that a chat with him wouldn't bring in an heavy amount of strife is, I hope, fairly reasonable.
I hope that I'm making a bigger deal of this than it needs to be. And I hope that this rant is too late to even be relevant. ^_^
Outside of that, there's life. And we all know how that goes: on. ^_^
Over and out.
