Being idle.

[Gaare]

I personally do not like seeing PCs standing idle in common places like taverns.. You speak but get no reply etc.

but...

I wonder your opinion about being idle in sparring halls, clan mess halls or in gemmer temples... like you are the only PC in the room and probably no PC will join you for some more time.. (Many European players would understand what I mean more clearly I guess..  OOC hours of noone and you have a schedule to obey..)

I sometimes make SoloRP but.. usually I prefer changing ldesc and being idle, checking my client every minute.. Do you think this is twinky or not suitable for ARM?

Thanks in advance.

[Marauder Moe]

I, personally, have no problem when people are idle (in any situation) but still at their computer to react to things.  I don't care for when people go completely unresponsive, though.  Nor do I think leaving your PC online and alone in a "safe" place as a Way answering-machine is a good either either.

[Incognito]

http://www.zalanthas.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9648

[Armaddict]

Idling for long periods of time is horrible, in my opinion.

I may leave for five minutes and come back, in order to smoke or some such, but otherwise, take your character somewhere where they won't be role-played with.

If I'm idling in a public place, I have to be doing a -short- task that I can return from to still see what they said to me, so that I can interact back before they lose interest.

[JollyGreenGiant]

As a frequent idler, there are two reasons for it.  First, I tend to idle when I play from work.  I still respond to people however (although sometimes a bit more slowly than I know people like... patience is a virtue.)  Second, I'll idle when I'm waiting on something or someone, but again, I'm still responsive.

So uh... yeah, I agree with Marauder Moe.  Idling is fine unless you go completely unresponsive.

[Ayashah]

Then you get those idlers that sit hour upon hour on end in taverns with a ldesc showing them interacting with vpcs whom never react to anything. They might, once in awhile, look at someone but for the most part they are just sitting and watching/listening in the tavern like a mock npc.

But to each their own. Maybe their bg has them VERY shy and so they just sit and watch. Maybe no emotions so they dont react. I guess I cant really just those people as to each their own.

[JollyGreenGiant]

Then you get those idlers that sit hour upon hour on end in taverns with a ldesc showing them interacting with vpcs whom never react to anything. They might, once in awhile, look at someone but for the most part they are just sitting and watching/listening in the tavern like a mock npc.

Massive Way usage can occasionally be mistaken for idling (unless you're a mindbender  :shock: ) Many is the time I forget where I am and what I'm doing, occasionally leaving non-Way conversations dangling... and even though I don't do it on purpose, I figure it's somewhat 'realistic'.  That's supposed to require a lot of concentration.  I know, throwing an emote out once in a while to let people know you're alive is helpful, I just don't always have the presence of mind to do it.

[sjanimal]

I don't think I have a definitive opinion on this, but I do have an idea.

How about if you deliberatley go afk for a while, then you get what you get.

In other words, if someone comes up to you and offers to sell you some weapons at a good price but you're afk and miss the bargain, then that's what you deserve for being afk.  In other words, you're taking a calculated risk that you could miss something important.

That's sort of been my personal modus operandi and I'm interested to see what other peeps think.

[Hicksville Hoochie]

To me, being idle on occasion is fine, we all do it. To the original poster's point, when he talks about being in a sparring room/mess hall, ect, I also have no problem with such.

I've been on both sides of the coin in these situations, as a clan member having to obey a schedule when no one else is around, as well as being a clan leader who gets -so- tied up on meetings and so many other distractions that kept me from tending to a lone PC the best I could, that I couldn't possibly be mad at them for being idle because I know it isn't their fault. Solo emoting can be cool and fun, but you can only be so creative before it starts to suck. So go have a beer and catch some news while you wait if it's so bad, just check in every few minutes to see if some interaction has reared it's bashful head.

Career idlers though...  :x  I've seen some characters in the past that are just... There. No emotes, no interaction, they just walk in, have a seat(some don't) and go idle for hours on end. Try to talk to them? Nope... Toss a mug of ale in their direction to see if you get an emote back... Maybe in a few hours. Why even be logged in?

Well I know that sometimes I play for hours, but a lot of the time is solo.
So I am not really watching the screen very close sometimes, and don't give
instant responses, it may take 15-30 seconds.

I'v seen people come in look emote and leave before I can respond, as if I am idling
because they don't get an instant response. You know I have been playing for an hour,
waiting for interaction, and you can't wait 15 seconds. &^%%# you.

[Rhyden]

This applies to those who generally don't -have- hours of playing time to stick around 15-30 seconds for your character to respond, Dead Newbie. It's simple...don't take it as an offence, they just have something else in mind!  :wink:

-Rhyden

[cyberpatrol_735]

Code Select Expand


help gone
GONE                                                        (Communication)

  When a message is attached to this command, all incoming communication
requests will be replied to with that message. It is useful for instances
when no one is aware that you have left your terminal. You will not be able
to do anything with your character while he/she is in a 'gone' state. When
you return to your terminal, type "gone" by itself to return the character
to his/her normal state.

Syntax:
  gone <message>


[MORE]
  gone

Example:
  > gone afk a while, back soon
  > gone

Notes:
  The command automatically appends a period to your message, whether you
  have one there already. Thus, "gone for coffee." will give other players
  the message "<your character's sdesc> is gone for coffee.."


[MORE]

  While you are gone, your character can still be robbed or killed. If you
  are going to be gone for a while, it might be a good idea to just log
  out (see "help quit").


I really don't like the idea of idling, I log on the mud to interact with people on my time, if they're idling on my time I'll just simply pass them up.

[Olafson]

I happen to have a very confortable chair in my office.
I happen to have a habit of falling asleep in my office chair.
I tend to wake up at 2 am with a space bar impression upon my forehead.

I have been known to leave my characters idling.

[moab]

hrm.  i just went idle for about 30 minutes and came back to find my character dead.  This is after setting my ldesc to AFK back in thirty.
Thanks!  *pissed*

edit to add:
i was working on his personality for a quite a while, put a lot of thought into it - thanks for denying me the chance to take part in his death.
meh.

[Agent_137]

hrm.  i just went idle for about 30 minutes and came back to find my character dead.  This is after setting my ldesc to AFK back in thirty.
Thanks!  *pissed*

edit to add:
i was working on his personality for a quite a while, put a lot of thought into it - thanks for denying me the chance to take part in his death.
meh.

That fucking sucks, man. But that's also a damn good reason to log out instead. At least, it's my reason.

[moab]

yeah, i woulda but i was like an hour (i was oocly lost) to get back to a logout place and and had to leave my RL location.  *sigh*

[Agent_137]

you were linkdead too, huh, so no log?

[moab]

yeah, well, i mailed the mud, i'm sure they can figure out how the character died if they care.  guess we'll see.  who knows, maybe he caught a raging case of herpies when i left him alone.

[Agent_137]

Grrr! That's pretty shitty.

No respect. Ah well. Mailing the mud is all you really can do. Maybe they'll get a nasty account note or something, like they deserve.

Good luck on your next character!

[John]

If you're link-dead/gone I'm going to quite possibly kill or steal from you. I might have been thinking about doing so before I realised you were gone/link-dead, I may have been planning it for a while. I may have thought you were an NPC.

Them's the breaks with going afk and/or link-dead. It sucks, I've had quite a few chars die because of it, but I've never felt like mailing the mud over it.

[moab]

true, john, but if someone changes their ldesc to say "gone AFK 30 minutes" the only reason you don't wait is cause yer a cheese ball.

it occurs to me that an npc might kill a link-dead character because i don't think you fight back - but maybe you do?

[Dracul]

true, john, but if someone changes their ldesc to say "gone AFK 30 minutes" the only reason you don't wait is cause yer a cheese ball.

it occurs to me that an npc might kill a link-dead character because i don't think you fight back - but maybe you do?

You do of course, but you dont auto-draw both weapons....disarm...kick....or flee.

You codely fight until you die.

[John]

the only reason you don't wait is cause yer a cheese ball.

If someone were to be so jarring as to have that in their ldesc (an ldesc which is supposed to convey IC info) I'd be inclined to ignore it and act as I would without it.

Having said that, I'm unlikely to personally attack a link-dead person (although I'd be very unhappy about misusing change ldesc). But if I did I would expect no repercussions unless it could be shown I was targetting that person merely because they were link-dead. If I RP looking through various VNPCs to steal from and I come across you, this is the one time I would steal from a link-dead person and I will steal from you regardless of your ldesc. Changing your ldesc to "back in 30mins" doesn't give you a get out of jail free pass.

[moab]

John,
I wouldn't call it "misusing" ldesc.  I've seen it used by people before - in taverns and whatnot.

I call it a "fix for the broken gone command."

[Anonymous]

It's supposed to convey what your CHARACTER is doing. If your CHARACTER is gone afk for 30 minutes, then be my guest; but, it seems you just fucked up (and that happens and its okay). Just because others display poor roleplay, doesn't mean you have to.... or do you?

[Zharal]

Well it's not call Armageddon for nothing.  Way I see it, if you go afk and you die, well them the brakes..  Id get over it and start thinking of a new concept.  And if you go afk outside the city wall, well your just asking for it.  Sands, whos to say it wasn't a Mob that got ya, not that I know the details or even want to.  Last but least..  It is a harsh world and death come quickly to us all.. :cry:

[moab]

yeah, well it was a damn mob!  :-)
*grumble*

You bastards!!

[Cenghiz]

To confess, I use change ldesc gone urgent telephone talk... But only when I'm magickally hidden (not invisibility or darkness) possibly visible to only imms. I just don't want them to watch my idle char for minutes for action when I was trying to persuade my boss to send me a good amount of money to my account on the phone