Quote:It will probably handle disputes about as well as the real United Nations handles disputes between countries. The internet being what it is, I predict copious amounts of wank. If you want to stop fights on the internet you may as well attempt to teach Kafka to dolphins for all the good it will do you. I think the real success of a project like this will be more along the lines of a registry for role players to get information about events, guilds, and general in-game goings on. If the purpose of this project is to get all of the RPer ducks in a row and walking happily in step, I just don't see it working out. Ducks tend to fly away.
Event organization is definately one of our primary concerns, since that's what will make a vibrant community in the long run. However, political disputes could actually be handled quite well if we handle it properly. For instance, let's say one particular guild is causing other guilds unnecessary OOC drama. It wouldn't be too hard to come together and hold a vote about removing said guild from the RPC. By doing so, they will no longer be advertised on these forums or the main site nor will they be invited to any major cross-guild events. As a result, recruitment for the problem guild would become increasingly difficult. After all, if you're a new RPer looking to join a RP group, would you join a "rogue" guild that doesn't have the support of the rest of the community? It's unlikely. You'd be more inclined to join a group that's actively involved with the greater community. As such, the problem guild will eventually dwindle away more than likely unless they clean up their act. Unlike the real UN, RP groups are much smaller than countries and rely heavily on an active member base to survive. Thus, I suspect the RPC could be very effective in handling this kind of thing.
Now if it's more of a guild vs. guild dispute where there's clearly no group in the "wrong," that's a different story. That's something to discuss later I suppose. This would probably be the more likely scenario sadly. While we can hope for it to never happen, we've also got to remain realistic since it very well could happen.