(04-22-2015, 08:47 AM)Alothia Wrote: The problem is when people who are new or trying to drum up connections in the connections forum get passed over. Or when new people say hello, and people ignore their threads. It's not even a matter of those people saying that they're being ignored. It's a general sense of seeing that they're being ignored.
Trust me, I'm an advocate for people getting out there and finding RP, starting it up with people randomly. It's how I met some of the best friends I have in this game. It's how I met my current RP partner.Â
But pretending like it's not happening is just as bad as people who don't advocate for themselves. It does happen. You may not have experienced it, but it doesn't lessen the fact that it does happen to other people.
It reminds me of a camp that I went to for the school I teach at. It was a diversity camp thingy, and one of the things that they taught us was that "We are the owner of our own story." We cannot invalidate someone else's experience simply because it's an experience that we have never had. Count yourself lucky that you don't feel that way, and make a point of ensuring that others don't have that experience. That's how we're going to fix it. Not by telling people that it's their own fault for feeling ignored.
I understand wholeheartedly what you're saying and am even on the same page. I'm very much an advocate as you are and regularly try and promote other groups' RP activities within my own small circle of friends. In fact, I resonate quite a lot with Erik here on the RPC in that I dream of a much, much more "open access/open possibilities" roleplay culture. However, it's just as folly to assume that the people who do complain of being ignored, especially in a public channel such as LS or FC isn't being passive-aggressive and contributes to a negative environment. I see:
"Siiiigh. Nobody wants to RP with me! I must be invisible" instead of "Hey guys. Things are a little quiet. Anyone up for RP?"
"I can't get anything done because nobody wants to run content with me" instead of, "If anyone's up for a Soldiery bonus, I could use some help with Thornmarch" or "Anyone else have content they need done, too? We could schedule one big group run."
Between the former and the latter? I'm fully comfortable in saying that yes, it is the former's own fault for feeling ignored with that attitude.
