Thank you both Alothia and Navisse. There are a lot of great points brought up here in both posts. I will try and briefly touch upon each in turn.
First, there was a lot of praise there Alothia, and I appreciate that. Your character is one of those I seem to hear about all the time but we have so few interactions. We'll have to find a way to remedy this.
What you mentioned about an "undeserved reputation" was really at the very core of the reasoning when we were trying to decide whether it would be beneficial to put together this thread. I have heard (mostly secondhand) that there is a certain stigma attached to the group, and I never really understood it myself. Personally, I always sort of chalked it off to Oskar's character attributes as being somewhat undesirable, and had really hoped that the entire group wouldn't be shaded by the leader's faults. From the posts here I'm beginning to wonder if this actually isn't the case and there is more to the stigma than just negative views about the leader.
Next to address a few points that were brought up in Navisse's post - I'm glad to hear that we were something of a frontrunner for you when looking around for a LS. There are a few things you mention that impacted your decision to apply.
First, I'm not sure how I feel about the phrase "RP elitist" - even though you took this for a positive thing. While we classify ourselves as a heavy immersion linkshell, I don't think any of us look down upon other LS's for their policies. As I said in another post, there are dividing lines between players, and some like more immersion where others like a little more freedom to break away from their character when they want. The thing I've always liked about Everwatch is that I can take a break from it for a day or two and participate with the OOC shell or with another RP group if I so desired. Usually I'm content to spend a good majority of my time in game on the pearl and in-character, but I know we have a number of members who jump around between other linkpearls. That's not really discouraged or anything either - we're just happy when we have a good turnout at events.
Secondly, I wanted to address the journals since I feel these are not the best reflection on the RP itself. These represent our characters' innermost thoughts and offer a glimpse into their own worlds. Valentione's Day is also not far behind us, and perhaps love is still in the air a bit. But for the RP itself I have seen this as something of a side-plot (as mentioned in an earlier post with regards to some more recent events), but I would hate to think that the content of the RP within the group itself is being gauged based upon these. In-character events happen nearly every night and cover all manner of things from training sessions in the woods, to contract work (often doing something OOC like AF quests with an IC spin), to crafting parties and guided meditation sessions. So yes, there is a romance element to many of the members' journals - this cannot be denied - but I have never really perceived this as being a central element to the linkshell's purpose.
Finally, what was really shocking to me was this:
First, there was a lot of praise there Alothia, and I appreciate that. Your character is one of those I seem to hear about all the time but we have so few interactions. We'll have to find a way to remedy this.
What you mentioned about an "undeserved reputation" was really at the very core of the reasoning when we were trying to decide whether it would be beneficial to put together this thread. I have heard (mostly secondhand) that there is a certain stigma attached to the group, and I never really understood it myself. Personally, I always sort of chalked it off to Oskar's character attributes as being somewhat undesirable, and had really hoped that the entire group wouldn't be shaded by the leader's faults. From the posts here I'm beginning to wonder if this actually isn't the case and there is more to the stigma than just negative views about the leader.
Next to address a few points that were brought up in Navisse's post - I'm glad to hear that we were something of a frontrunner for you when looking around for a LS. There are a few things you mention that impacted your decision to apply.
First, I'm not sure how I feel about the phrase "RP elitist" - even though you took this for a positive thing. While we classify ourselves as a heavy immersion linkshell, I don't think any of us look down upon other LS's for their policies. As I said in another post, there are dividing lines between players, and some like more immersion where others like a little more freedom to break away from their character when they want. The thing I've always liked about Everwatch is that I can take a break from it for a day or two and participate with the OOC shell or with another RP group if I so desired. Usually I'm content to spend a good majority of my time in game on the pearl and in-character, but I know we have a number of members who jump around between other linkpearls. That's not really discouraged or anything either - we're just happy when we have a good turnout at events.
Secondly, I wanted to address the journals since I feel these are not the best reflection on the RP itself. These represent our characters' innermost thoughts and offer a glimpse into their own worlds. Valentione's Day is also not far behind us, and perhaps love is still in the air a bit. But for the RP itself I have seen this as something of a side-plot (as mentioned in an earlier post with regards to some more recent events), but I would hate to think that the content of the RP within the group itself is being gauged based upon these. In-character events happen nearly every night and cover all manner of things from training sessions in the woods, to contract work (often doing something OOC like AF quests with an IC spin), to crafting parties and guided meditation sessions. So yes, there is a romance element to many of the members' journals - this cannot be denied - but I have never really perceived this as being a central element to the linkshell's purpose.
Finally, what was really shocking to me was this:
Quote:However, what kept me from applying was that more than one friend warned me of the level of ERP in Everwatch, going so far as to say it's "worn like a badge".This would probably put me off as well. And it's upsetting to read this. In my time with the linkshell - probably about half a year now - I have never seen anything remotely like this. Certainly not publicly in any way that would put me off on wanting to be a part of this group - and I'll admit something like that would give me serious pause were it true. There is the occasional flirtatious remark and whatnot, but never have I seen anything like what is being implied. Now I can't say that ERP doesn't happen. I've known a couple characters who do that sort of thing privately who belong to various LS's. I will come right out and say that I have never done anything like this in FF14 myself. I don't think it's wrong, but it's not for me. Eva is a classy girl and the one brief relationship she was involved in was conducted with an abundance of "fade to black." I find it rather offensive that it's being said in the first place to try and warn people away from us. I would like to know specifically who is making these claims, about whom specifically, and why. If you're not comfortable naming names, would you consider sending me a PM? It's false rumors like this that really hurt us, and I can absolutely understand why you wouldn't put in an application after hearing something like that...
"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
