I'm just going to come right out and say it. We as a playerbase are defective people. And I say that with the full intention of also including people in general as being flawed, of course. But for one reason or another, text games seem to have a higher percentage of players that are mentally imbalanced in some way, shape, or form. It may have something to do with some of us having never moved on from an earlier time in life, as most of us have played for 20+ years, on and off. I don't know. I'm not a psychologist, and that's just a wild guess.
But it should be said that we have one of the most absolutely toxic communities of people short of 4chan on the internet. It should be said because we as players need to be the ones who address it. If the company would like to encourage and help that process, all the better, but it's not their job.
And no, "It's the internet" is not the correct response, nor an accurate one. I've been on the internet, like all of you, for many years. Having come back to Gemstone in 2015, I can say that a large number of people here seem desensitized to just how toxic an atmosphere Gemstone has compared to the internet at large. Having come back from a decade long hiatus or so, I was able to look in from the outside, and I was floored.
Harassment is not only accepted, but encouraged in certain large, loud circles (The other forums, Lnet, these forums in a more rule-skirting way, the wiki. Yes, the wiki.). It's applauded by those who find it entertaining. Egged on by those who find it boring to not be participating in or watching people spew bile at each other. We're adults. Interacting with other adults. What the hell?
The first step to rectifying the situation is acknowledging it. We are, on the whole, horrible to one another, and it needs to stop. You may find it entertaining to watch or egg on people fighting about nonsense, but it only serves to give you fewer people to play with, one at a time. It lowers new player retention. It drives old players away. And yes, I know a good number of people don't participate in any of that, but it's the loud minority that has become accepted over time. Celebrated even. If we just keep ignoring it, only bad can come of it.
Flimbo Meltdown (We're Toxic)
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Originally Posted by Taernath
