Kudos for this thread. I cannot add much more than others have already expressed (major kudos to Bryn for allowing me to keep this response briefer than it otherwise would have been, since my background is similar and my views nearly identical to his post above).
Our own company has endured some growing pains early on when I didn't want to be the "bad guy" and tried to be a sort of glue holding two groups with opposing ideals together. It was rough, and the efforts in the end were somewhat wasted. I may have forfeit some friendships (though I hope not!) but it did boil down to certain standards in RP and what was fun for our members. Now that all that smoke has cleared and we have a good group of officers at the helm of the company and a solid group of members, I think my enjoyment of RP in this game has skyrocketed to new heights. I don't mind the 'RP elitist' label. It's not wrong, but the connotation given with it usually is unnecessarily negative, possibly due to misunderstanding. We are people who have certain standards, ideals, and preferences. Like some of the other companies mentioned above, we are discerning in our selection process and after umpteen years of doing this it's become much easier to identify potentially problematic prospective personnel (yay for alliteration).
Incidentally, being RPers with certain standards makes it tough sometimes with fitting in with the greater RP community. (what does one say to that winged catgirl who pours her entire life story out to you before you've finished your first pint of ale?) The fault of that isolation likely rests more on our shoulders. If anyone on Balmung would be interested in any sort of cross-company RP, we're certainly open and available.
Our own company has endured some growing pains early on when I didn't want to be the "bad guy" and tried to be a sort of glue holding two groups with opposing ideals together. It was rough, and the efforts in the end were somewhat wasted. I may have forfeit some friendships (though I hope not!) but it did boil down to certain standards in RP and what was fun for our members. Now that all that smoke has cleared and we have a good group of officers at the helm of the company and a solid group of members, I think my enjoyment of RP in this game has skyrocketed to new heights. I don't mind the 'RP elitist' label. It's not wrong, but the connotation given with it usually is unnecessarily negative, possibly due to misunderstanding. We are people who have certain standards, ideals, and preferences. Like some of the other companies mentioned above, we are discerning in our selection process and after umpteen years of doing this it's become much easier to identify potentially problematic prospective personnel (yay for alliteration).
Incidentally, being RPers with certain standards makes it tough sometimes with fitting in with the greater RP community. (what does one say to that winged catgirl who pours her entire life story out to you before you've finished your first pint of ale?) The fault of that isolation likely rests more on our shoulders. If anyone on Balmung would be interested in any sort of cross-company RP, we're certainly open and available.
"One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others." Â ~ Lewis Carol
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook