What is the current policy on talking about your old characters?

[Erythil]

Is it still a one-year moratorium or is it nowadays considered bad form to do so at all?

There's a few people I'd kind of like to reminisce with but I have no idea how to go about it.

(Not a new player, but a newbie-ish question)

[valeria]

Staff were looking at revising the rule a while ago and there was some discussion about it.  The general feeling I have is, don't talk about it if: it's recent, it involves PCs that are still alive, or it involves sensitive IC things.  And don't do it on the forums.  But that's not like the official word or anything.

[Erythil]

I figure enough time has passed that it no longer affects current affairs, but I guess the larger problem is I actually don't know who played the people that interacted with me regularly.  Sometimes the absolute anonymity thing bums me out.  I want to know who I was having fun with!

I guess it'll have to remain a mystery.

[RogueGunslinger]

It shouldn't have to. These sort of vague policies are what force people to communicate through other means in unsupervised fashion.

[Reiloth]

It doesn't force anyone to do anything. You choose to blab about past characters to people. I've always been an arbiter for not needing to discuss past PCs unless it serves a point in a discussion. I like the anonymity. It prevents cliques from forming.

[RogueGunslinger]

Except that anonymity is a farce. Take a look at any clan board and see. IC information is spread through rumors and everyone knows who plays who.

People have an inherent desire to share fun times, and other people enjoy reading about those times to get into game. They like to know who they're playing with so they can.

What does limiting people from talking about their past characters actually accomplish? I don't think it stops people from talking about things, I think it just forces them to do it where it can't be monitored and kept from spilling IC secrets.

[Reiloth]

It depends how connected you are to the OOC community, which I think you are more connected than myself. I don't think anonymity is a farce, because I don't feel a desire to share my past PC's exploits. Sure, if I meet up with someone in person who plays Armageddon, we reminisce about the good old days and PC's long since perished, but I don't look at my clock and set a date 1 year in the future so I can talk about soandso who I played on the boards.

I think it's just ego-stroking and wanting to feel accomplished when people say 'I remember Soandso! S/he was awesome.' Really doesn't serve a purpose, in my book.

[RogueGunslinger]

A purpose? It makes people happy, and increases their desire to play. It gives the game a sense of community. Reminiscing about awesome past events is probably 90% of my motivation for playing. I want to create new awesome memories.

And so what if it didn't serve a purpose. Just because it doesn't serve a function doesn't mean it has to be censored.

Sure, if I meet up with someone in person who plays Armageddon, we reminisce about the good old days and PC's long since perished,

What distinction makes this is okay to do in real life but suddenly is taboo over the GDB?

[Reiloth]

It's more private and personal (because it is in person), and not something I need to write about on a public forum in order to gain attention/notoriety.

[RogueGunslinger]

You have a very low opinion of other people here, don't you?

[Reiloth]

Not at all! I just don't think we need to air our clean or dirty laundry on the GDB. I know that I am a vocal minority, but that's just my opinion.

[RogueGunslinger]

Well, staff tend to agree with you so I'm not sure if you're in the minority. I argue this side of ooc-communication every couple years when the topic comes around mostly out of principal.

[Yseulte]

Not at all! I just don't think we need to air our clean or dirty laundry on the GDB. I know that I am a vocal minority, but that's just my opinion.

I agree with you, Reilth. I also think Valeria has it right.

I don't want to know who I play with. I don't want people to know who I play. I play the game to play the game, not make OOC friends. If I am having fun with this PC and that PC, its not the player. It is the PC.

I will say I never much enjoyed the IC rumor boards being in Clan Forums. I think Clan Forums should solely be about RPT times and documentation, that is me, though.

[Rahnevyn]

In general, you should always err towards revealing less (or no) info about your prior characters, even if they've been dead over a year. You can't ever really be certain if a plot you were involved in is truly dead, especially if you were tangled up in deep dark secrets or played a noteable PC whose actions might influence other characters who are still alive.

On the other hand, threads like this one from the good ol' GDB Wayback Machine remain some of my personal favorites. Also, there are more relaxed rules about discussion of IC events over in the Original Submissions forum, so if you happened to be involved in a log or event highlighted there, go for it!

There's nothing wrong with a desire to share your Armageddon experiences with the community, and there's also nothing wrong with not wanting to discuss them on the GDB. The important thing is to make sure you respect the IC/OOC barriers around the game, not just for yourself, but for other players as well.

[IntuitiveApathy]

Not at all! I just don't think we need to air our clean or dirty laundry on the GDB. I know that I am a vocal minority, but that's just my opinion.

I agree with you, Reilth. I also think Valeria has it right.

I don't want to know who I play with. I don't want people to know who I play. I play the game to play the game, not make OOC friends. If I am having fun with this PC and that PC, its not the player. It is the PC.

I will say I never much enjoyed the IC rumor boards being in Clan Forums. I think Clan Forums should solely be about RPT times and documentation, that is me, though.

I'm also of the same mind as you Reiloth - I don't think you're really that alone here.

My main reasoning though is I would really feel badly if in some off-handed blabbing about something, I inadvertently ruined some plotline that other players were involved in.  I'd never want that to happen to me, and I'd never wish it on anyone else, either.  If I didn't feel things like clan boards were so useful for doing things like arranging playtimes, I'd never even post on them (thus revealing who I played).