Community Discussion: Toxic Behavior & Game Play

[sXs]

I started in a so-called "training guild". Leaders were mostly absent and offered no advice when asked. Even the current so-called "training guild" does little more than post a few guides.

This is exactly where PG lacks, and it has always lacked in this area, at least as long as I have been around.

You say they are targeted, but you are disregarding the actions of these guilds in the past. Maybe because the players were new, maybe because they didn't know better, but no one I know, play with, communicate with, targets new players simply because they are new.

[Most Lee Harmless]

Then I am wrong and my five or more years here accounts for my total lack of knowledge or insight. Thank-you for putting me right. Good night.

[sXs]

Well your 5 or more years no more valuable than my 3 or more years.

See the difference here is I tend to ask someone why they are attacking someone when this subject comes up. Hell I did it last week with Deluge. I have asked dman, pro and others the same question. Never once did I get the response, "because they are new and an easy target". There is almost always a valid reason.

But then that would require you to take off the tin-foil cap and actually get involved instead of speculating and jumping to conclusions.

[William one eye]

Just some general thoughts on gameplay.

The only things i truly dislike are

verbal abuse above and beyond flaming. Disrepecting your game play ability ok. Disrepecting someones IRL deceased game mate, or someone mom, siblings, personal life preferences. Not ok

Foul language for all to see. I am an adult a bit of crude languague does not offend me. Foul language in a humerous context i often enjoy. It is not acceptable or age appropirate to some, There is always a way to make the same point by implication or using more generally accepted words.

Crying.
This is a game, you dont have to play it.
If things are not working for you, you need to figure out why.
Perhaphs it is you. Perhaps it is your friends. Perphaps the advice you are getting is garbage. Maybe you are making really un intelligent or uniforned choices. Maybe you are angering the wrong people. Even the most toxic of players have thier reasons or motives. I bet they did not pick you at random.

Otherwise

A single player is no match for a well organized group.
A small organized group is no match for a larger well organized group.

Don't help people that don't want your help,
Don't help people that don't deserve your help,
Don't sail anything that you arn't willing to lose.
Don't pick fights you are not willing to take the retalliation for.
Don't yeild, unless you wan't to.

If you merchant, expect losses to pirates,
If you want less losses
Either sail strong enough ships in a careful setup and be online a lot to defend yourself
or join a guild that actually defends its members.
Or both
Know when to take it and when to fight. Same goes for a whole merchant guild.

Politics is a hole.
I recommend you do it for your amusement only.
Expect people to feed off you, shelter behind you, or to try and take your spot.
If you manage to be succesfull at it, others will try to destroy it.
Expect even greater losses than a merchant will likely ever see.
Don't assume the treasury will alway pay you back.
Don't assume any nation will not fall at any time from internal or external events.


If you pirate, choose glory or stability.
Stability.
Lots of skirmish and light raids that are spread out will sustain your prey. Never over raid a player or guild and try to be civil even when stealing.

Glory / Evil
Take what you can, give nothing back. Fly solo and be relentless. Don't say sorry, dont feel bad, dont expect to end up with a lot of friends. If you want fame and glory always stop before you ruin someone or make them quit and try to be civil if and when possible. You may not always want to be a pirate. Dont burn all your bridges.
If you are evil and want no friends / want to be hated just keep going, do as much damage as you want and don't worry about civility.

If you just want to be hated be a witch doctor.

Always remember this is a game
Always remember everyone plays differently and enjoys the game in their own way. Incremental builder, socialite, combatant, pirate, politician, troublemakers and even those that just seeing how much they can irritate others.

Don't assume all actions are as they appear. Deeper motives and alliances are often at play. You make be getting vengence from your transgressions made 2 years ago or 2 days ago. the random player who hates you may only dislike you based upon things they were told by others and not from personal experience. The player harrasing you may be doing so on behalf of someone else for a reason to pick a fight, for reason to get involved, or maybe even to draw you into a fight.
There are no absolutes in pirates glory.

Your enemy today, may be your friend tomorrow. I have been on opposing sides to almost everyone who is currently in my guild.

Likewise your friend today may be your enemy tomorrow.

Toxic is in the eye of the beholder. I would bet that almost everyone here can be tied to a toxic player in some way. That player probably does not seem as toxic to you as the one who it is more convient to call toxic.

Don't beat up new players. Unless they are not actually new players. New is relative to your age. At a certain point you are no longer new even if you are a newer id than someone else.
Some times also new players are old players that have come back and for various reasons may have started a new account.

Don't use foul language especially where it is permanent and or highly visible.

Don't descriminate, everyone is playing with the same tools.
Except for a credit card swipe everyone starts on equal ground.
Credit card swipe is only really usefull to get you a fast start. It will never match a well built in game econmy.

.....unless its pirate vs merchant guild vs guild or nation vs nation discrimination. Discrimination on these matters well Thats part of the game.

Know when you have become unaware.
The longer you play the more disconnected from the life of a new player you become. What it takes to get started, and what their economy looks like.

Likewise the longer you play the less likey you may interact with new joining players. Every new player has the ability to become the most generous, best teacher, most inspiring politician, vilest pirate, or most toxic.
Meet as many as you can and make up your own mind who you think they will be.

To be clear, i have made a few edits to fix typos i noticed and correct a few things that were worded poorly.

[Noffin]

+100

[Getsum]

+1000

[Argo]

Well said..

[Most Lee Harmless]

So, to be clear. There is no toxic gameplay : only whining veterans who have forgotten how to play. No doubt because their tinfoil hats have caused their brains to overheat. But hang on. There is toxic play when its a witchdoctor. But no, its not really toxic, just expressing themselves differently which we vets just totally dont understand. Damn tinfoil hats again, no doubt.

Tinfoil hats. Interesting concept. Funny how a guarded non-personal statement draws a rather personalised attack in response. Who is the paranoid one here? Did I name your friends? Did I name you? No, I spoke of general forms of behaviour in general terms which apply to all of us. Did I speak of specific incidents regarding specific players? No, I did not but the sense of these responses is that I am aiming jibes at specific individuals. Decry my point of view, fair enough. But dont put unspoken words in my mouth and damn me for speaking them.

This is supposed to be a general discussion amongst the entire community of players as to what forms of behaviour we deem unacceptable in our community. Not a lynching or a trial of any one individual. Thus my guarded statements specifically avoiding naming any individual and referencing only generalised forms of behaviour I consider detrimental to our community.

Maybe I'm not the only one wearing a tinfoil hat? Or is that a toxic statement cos its coming at you not from you?

[Most Lee Harmless]

And on an extremely personal note : Feniks : you have no idea how many players I speak to, offer advice to, assist, give funds to or just generally shoot the breeze with. I dont shout about it, or ask for plaudits. I just do it and dont give much of a damn if it never gets mentioned. Just cos you dont see it dont mean it aint happening.

[The Lamb]

Plaudits, great word!
We all have our own echo chambers, these places where we see and hear what we want to see and hear. However, this is supposed to be a non specific discussion on what players feel is toxic behavior and how players see game play if im not mistaken.

1. So far it seems we all agree that vulgar abusive verbal attacks are not good for the forum or the game
2. Personal attacks beyond game digs, not appropriate

And as far as I can tailor down:
-we have some that think over farming, witch doctors and abusive voodoo casting can lead to a toxic atmosphere and be detrimental to game numbers.
-some who feel crying about being over farmed, witch doctor(ed), and ferociously casted upon means your doing something wrong yourself and if you cant handle it this might not be the game for you.

Both views are right for this conversation whether or not they are right for the game is a different subject. We all get our views from the group think of our peers, we can rattle off many examples of this from history. People were talked into believing killing others was ok and that hairspray would kill the planet. (Just to give two far ended examples.) You dont think all the Germans were sociopaths do ya? No, They just bought what a few sociopaths were saying.

Like I said we all have echo chambers, and we all need to discuss our points of view here. Now its not my place to say which statement above will help the game and which one wont, but at least we get to talk about it.

The truth usually lands somewhere in the middle. Anyone else want to chime in?

Arrrrrrrrggggg

Im El Duffus and I approve this message