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Esteemed Denizens of the Donut,
It is time once again for everyone's least favorite refresher course. Did I
say everyone? Actually, I meant *my* least favorite. So ... lets just get
right to it:
N-TELL LINE 101:
Q: Why do we have the ntell line?
A: So that new players who are crippled by lack of familiarity with a MUD
environment may benefit from a responsible and helpful community via
brief and carefully-tailored guidance, and sense that they are not
alone or uncared for.
Q: Why are you even posting this? What's the problem?
A: The ntell line is distasteful to many people who value full-immersion
in a roleplaying environment. There is no thematic justification for
the ntell line as there are with other guild-tell abilities, which are
thematically immersive via magical artifacts, spells that must be cast,
etcetera. The newbie pin is an artifact, yes, but it is by its very
nature non-immersive as a necessary evil that says, "Oh, you're new
to Genesis, so have a pin, wear it, and use it to give you help while
you are young." Those of us who are hardcore roleplayers can stomach
this for the good of the order, so long as the thing does not violate
its own charter by allowing the culture and the community to stray into
the realm of the dreaded GLOBAL-CHAT!
Q: Dreaded global chat? Why is that dreaded? I like it!!
A: Oh, you mean other than because it totally sucks? Ah, well ... did you
get enough sleep last night? Yes? Okay ... well, lets see. Because it
sucks. No, seriously. It sucks. Genesis, despite what many will claim,
has its roots in immersion, and a global chat absolutely destroys that.
I will die on this hill. There will never be a global chat so long as
I am in any way connected to decisionmaking in Genesis. Did I mention
it sucks?
Q: Okay, so no global chat. What does that mean for ntell useage?
A: It means this. Newbies will be newbies, and they will say whatever they
will say on the line. The established users who are helpers on the line
need to respond appropriately. So, if a newbie asks a question about
something they don't understand in the game, you give polite and
friendly help, but you do not do this in a way that invites
conversation. If conversation begins, you (again, politely) say
something like, "I am sorry, but this is not a chatline, and we are
not allowed to use it as such. If you'd like to converse, I'd be happy
to meet up with you for a chat, or we can mail. Lets stop chatting
here now, though. Please mail me if you like." ... but ... wait ...
HEYYYYYY! I already did all this! Just type <nrules> to see what the
pin says about it. Sheesh ... you've known this all along! You DID
read about <nrules> before now, right?? Oh, and I changed one thing
on it, so you can now discuss quests so long as they are quests in
the tutorial. After the tutorial, the ntell line is not for quest
talk! So ... go reread <nrules>.
Q: But people can just take the pin off and not listen! Why don't you
just let those who want a chat room enjoy it, and those who don't can
take off the pin??
A: Genesis is not a chat room! If you want a chat room, go to a chat room
and by all means enjoy yourself. The entire point of the pin is to allow
experienced players to listen for new players who need help, and offer
them that help. Many of these experienced players specifically *hate*
chat-room behavior and are likely to remove their pin so that they do
not have to listen to it if it occurs. If the line is polluted by
chat-room behavior, then we have ruined the whole purpose of the line
in the first place.
Q: So, what, you would rather remove ntell help than let us have a
chat line?
A: Yes, and I'd pour myself a drink while doing it and sip luxuriously.
But instead of that, I'll just ban people who can't use it properly. I've
decided its time for me to be listening regularly. And ... I will be.
Hopefully people can correct the culture that has developed on the line
rather swiftly. I do think the line is a necessary evil, and I do think
it is good for new players to benefit as outlined in the very first
Q/A above. We've strayed, people ... we've strayed.
So, there we are. Let's get this back on track. If you are one of the chat-
line apologists who feels everything I've written above is wrong-headed,
then please prepare yourself for a mighty Keeper-Slap. And be sure to listen
for the light slosh of my martini as it hits.
G.