In-game Titles: Questions

[Feco]

Cool.  Sounds settled to me!

[Reiloth]

Yes, thank you.

[Malifaxis]

How is this even a fucking problem? How is this even a discussion?

Staff said don't do it, so don't fucking do it. Leave the freaking out about incredibly minor shit to me, you're all a bunch of amateurs.

Blaze, I will do 2 things when the game administrators make a bad change to game docs:

1. I will abide by the docs. That's how you play this game.
2. I will object and discuss until no one has anything left to say.

Especially in a community in which many of us flip-flop between staffer and player, in which some of the past and current administration can't combine enough of their years of play to equal that of many current players, it's important to make our opinions heard. Sorry, I don't subscribe to this "it's the staff's sandbox" point of view. Factually true but the mentality is unhealthy for a small mud.

That's how it's even a discussion.

I get that.  But here's the thing.  This is so, so, so absurdly minor.  This literally does not matter.  To put it in perspective:

Sandwiches.

Anyone remember sandwiches?  WAAAY back in the past?  Most of them were buried, and they're turning slowly to lamp oil.  Sandwiches were another minor thing that staff said "Uh, nope.  Sorry guys."  And man, people lost their shit.

Lost.
Their.
Shit.

But in the end, sandwiches were removed.  Too anachronistic.  But the nuggets remained.  Katanas do not exist... but rapiers made of BONE do? 

How many of us have thrown rocks?  Show of hands?
Alright, most of you.  Great.
Anyone ever had one come back?  Show of hands?

Yet a fucking mantis can pick up a palm sized chunk of crystal and carve it into a multi-armed death spinnythingy and hurl it hundreds of feet and have it return?!

The truth is we win some, we lose some.  Bones made of rapier are cool.  Sandwiches?  Also cool.  Katanas?  Fucking RAD!  But nope.  Can't have them.  I can live with that, because my character can throw a multi-armed death spinnythingy hundreds of feet and have it return.

And since I've already typed all this other bullshit, I'll go all AngelaChristine and bust out some fucking facts:
Mister was a term that was only invented in the 1600s.  1600s, guys.  1600s had like, cannons and fucking astronomy, and all sorts of crazy learned monks all over.  Miss?  Same thing.  1600s. 

The terms are derived from Master and Mistress.  You want to use something, those aren't on the list.  Use them.  But make sure the fuckers are important.

Now.... because I *always* love arming both sides of the fight, here's another tidbit:

Lord?  Started coming into heavy use in the 1300s.  Also not that ancient. 

300 years is a lot, but it's an interesting point at which year we want to truly draw the anachronistic line.

Personally... fuck this discussion.  I've got other shit to worry about, like how to make a mastercrafter so good he can take scrab shit and make it into flower scented hairgel.  If this is the kind of thing you want to spend your night getting spun up over, bully to you.

[Malken]

On another RPI's forum that I will not name because it's not cool to do so, there's a whole thread against the use of "Hello" in game, so all things considered, this isn't so bad heheh.

[BadSkeelz]

I'm still mad that Cayuga called us kittens (an Old Norse euphemism for the receiving partner in a homosexual relationship). I don't know what they're trying to imply.

[Reiloth]

Malifaxis saying some stuff.

I respect you Mal. I'd read Fathi's post a couple pages back, (http://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,52091.msg973920.html#msg973920) it's illuminating as to why it is (maybe) frustrating for players to find out their RP is considered in this way by Staff in this forum of discussion.

It's not a big deal, no. Cayuga apologized and got the gist of why some people were rankled at the way this was announced. It's remained mostly civil, and it's a discussion board for a reason -- People discuss.

[zztri]

I'm not sure how I could possibly be clearer. Once you do something in-game it's been witnessed by other players. It has the potential to spread. We can't contact you AND everyone you've ever interacted with in the time it would take to write an announcement and helpfile.

I haven't read past page 2, sorry, there's a database waiting for me out there and I'll have to brave the rain outside and resist my urge to stay in and play the game/with my kids and not let my husband down. He picked me to make the fixes and forced me into the project in the end. (They pay incredibly well, too, I confess)..

Sorry I'm a new player and I'm playing my first character. I must be one of the people who used "miss" and "sir" and "ma'am" a lot. I just saw this post now. But there's one problem, what else should we use?

If there's person 'X' out there for whom I'm willing to show a little respect and I was German, I'd use 'Sie' instead of 'Du'. If I were Turkish, I'd say 'efendim/üstadım/azizim', which are gender-neutral identifications similar to 'sir/miss'.. If I were American, I'd call them 'sir/miss/ma'am/mister'.. Even in a modern world, with no nobility ranks, we'd use these. Those mean "you're more respectable than that dung-grebber stinking 'rinthi half-elf and I'm aware of it", not "you are a higher rank than ordinary commoners and should be given a title/priveledges".

What's the Zalanthan equivalent? What does a non-Bynner call a Byn Sergeant, or a non-military person call a military Corporal, or a merchant house member/agent/merchant? Or an aide to a noble?

[boog]

I usually use their name. Or their title. Regardless of how familiar or unfamiliar they are, as a show of respect. If you're friendly with them, I imagine just their name would do.

Runner Amos.
Merchant Talia.
Sergeant Malik of the Mekillot Dicks.

[Malifaxis]

Malifaxis saying some stuff.

I respect you Mal. I'd read Fathi's post a couple pages back, (http://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,52091.msg973920.html#msg973920) it's illuminating as to why it is (maybe) frustrating for players to find out their RP is considered in this way by Staff in this forum of discussion.

It's not a big deal, no. Cayuga apologized and got the gist of why some people were rankled at the way this was announced. It's remained mostly civil, and it's a discussion board for a reason -- People discuss.

I was inebriatred when I made that post.  I was not as eloquent as was possible.

I'm more inebriated now so I'm just going to say I could have said that better and yeah discuss guys.

[Reiloth]

Malifaxis saying some stuff.

I respect you Mal. I'd read Fathi's post a couple pages back, (http://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,52091.msg973920.html#msg973920) it's illuminating as to why it is (maybe) frustrating for players to find out their RP is considered in this way by Staff in this forum of discussion.

It's not a big deal, no. Cayuga apologized and got the gist of why some people were rankled at the way this was announced. It's remained mostly civil, and it's a discussion board for a reason -- People discuss.

I was inebriatred when I made that post.  I was not as eloquent as was possible.

I'm more inebriated now so I'm just going to say I could have said that better and yeah discuss guys.

[Kalden]

I'm not sure how I could possibly be clearer. Once you do something in-game it's been witnessed by other players. It has the potential to spread. We can't contact you AND everyone you've ever interacted with in the time it would take to write an announcement and helpfile.

I haven't read past page 2, sorry, there's a database waiting for me out there and I'll have to brave the rain outside and resist my urge to stay in and play the game/with my kids and not let my husband down. He picked me to make the fixes and forced me into the project in the end. (They pay incredibly well, too, I confess)..

Sorry I'm a new player and I'm playing my first character. I must be one of the people who used "miss" and "sir" and "ma'am" a lot. I just saw this post now. But there's one problem, what else should we use?

If there's person 'X' out there for whom I'm willing to show a little respect and I was German, I'd use 'Sie' instead of 'Du'. If I were Turkish, I'd say 'efendim/üstadım/azizim', which are gender-neutral identifications similar to 'sir/miss'.. If I were American, I'd call them 'sir/miss/ma'am/mister'.. Even in a modern world, with no nobility ranks, we'd use these. Those mean "you're more respectable than that dung-grebber stinking 'rinthi half-elf and I'm aware of it", not "you are a higher rank than ordinary commoners and should be given a title/priveledges".

What's the Zalanthan equivalent? What does a non-Bynner call a Byn Sergeant, or a non-military person call a military Corporal, or a merchant house member/agent/merchant? Or an aide to a noble?

Yes, I think it's pretty weird to act as if Zalanthas would not have general honorifics, which long predate modern times and exist in a variety of disparate civilizations. I suggest the staff read up about it at honorifics (linguistics). If we were trying to adapt English to some particular time period, perhaps we should start using thou and ye.

[Lizzie]

In other languages, there are different extensions of words to reflect "your vs. their" place and their gender. In English, it's limited.

Sure there's Master and Mistress but you won't ever see me using it, because -that- offends -me- (but no one's asked me about it, or forbidden it, or determined it was anachronistic in a game where PCs can't play slaves, and that this isn't a BDSM game, etc. etc. etc.)

In spanish, there's tu vs. usted. In french it's tu vs. vous. There's nosotros vs. vosotros (though the latter is somewhat archaic and not used very commonly anymore). In English there's sir/miss/ma'am.

They all mean "you" (and "we") but one is the familiar and the other is the formal, when one is NOT using actual formal titles (such as with people you are only meeting for the first time ever and have no idea if they even have a title, let alone what that title might be).

We don't have that familiar-vs-formal vernacular in Armageddon. Well, we did - except the staff has decreed that it is now suddenly against the rules. And the *reason* it's against the rules is "anachronistic." This is a really ridiculous reason. It's a really ridiculous reason because there are SO many other anachronisms in the game that have been around for so long, and have cropped up fairly recently, and are SO COMMON - and yet staff isn't attempting to put the kibosh on any of that. Instead, they're picking out something that doesn't get all that much use, and when it does, it is USUALLY used as intended (as a formal unfamiliar pronoun).

So here's my suggestion, filled with my obligatory snark of the month:

From now on, whenever you come across a situation where in real life you'd normally say "Oh miss..." or "Hey mister.." instead, call out "Oh shitheel" and "Hey fuckhead..."

See how that goes over.

[The Lonely Hunter]

I think that it is ridiculous that there are 7 pages (and counting) of this topic. Really, people?

[Qzzrbl]

I think that it is ridiculous that there are 7 pages (and counting) of this topic. Really, people?

If there's anything to be learned from the large discussion threads on losing sdesc keywords, sandwiches, classes, clans, cities, etc., it's that this community doesn't like things being taken from them without good reason.

[Reiloth]

I think that it is ridiculous that there are 7 pages (and counting) of this topic. Really, people?

Yes. Read the thread if you want, or skip to page 7 and be dismissive.