Would Lusternia be better or worse without OOC?

Versalean

A thought experiment: Imagine you could wave a magic wand and make it impossible for anybody to discuss Lusternia OOC. No OOC clans. No forums. No discord (still no clue wtf discord is, but I understand it's meta-tastic). No nothing. (Now let's not get pedantic about helpfiles - let's assume that mechanical information can be conveyed in some way - so magic is the wand. Ya'll know damned well what I'm talking about.)

Would your experience of Lusternia be better or worse?

Ayisdra

As much as I would like to say better, I know it just wouldn't be true. With how PvP is a focal point and how RP is in Lusternia (mostly dialogue based, as opposed to action based via emote, along with most of the magic a character is able to do being limited to mechanical ends), removing ooc nature just probably would hurt the game and may even kill it.

Riluna

Even in way more super intensive RP games, OOC remains necessary. Perhaps paradoxically, the more intense the RP gets the more it fundamentally relies on OOC communication.

Some of the best RP sessions I've ever had (in text games) were prefaced by and relied on a 5-10 minute OOC chat about character bios, histories, motivations, and the like. Especially when playing IC hostile interactions between OOC friends.

If all we had to base our feelings about our other players on was IC (in a conflict game no less), we probably would have spent the past few years wanting to murder each other IRL as badly as our characters do.

Deichtine

"Why is mm spamming me out with (insert thing here)"
"Why isnt this syntax letting me kill this fink"


Even ignoring everything else its just the sheer practical need to help newbies fix stuff is one of the big reasons why we need OOC stuff.

Versalean

Versalean said:

 let's assume that mechanical information can be conveyed in some way - so magic is the wand. Ya'll know damned well what I'm talking about.

Ordassa

OOC is the safety valve that lets us vent steam and ask for consent.

Aeldra

A lot of non-mechanical things can often only be conveyed through an ooc channel, even mechanical stuff aside, sometimes, being able to reach out and make sure that it's understood that your characters motivations are very unlike what the person behind the character is thinking, is sometimes gravely important.

That being said, in more then one situation I would've loved it if people would've sticked in character... so if that were vote whether -less- ooc would good, I would've probably given this a tentative yes, but completely without I think would be a recipe for disaster.

Xenthos

I think that the "less" comment is a good observation.  I try to get new Glomfolk into an OOC clan early on so they have a decent support network, but I also make sure to tell them that they are welcome to just turn it off too if it is overwhelming / distracting / etc.  It is important to have available by choice, but nobody should feel forced to have OOC contacts / conversations, either.

Arix

If there were no OOC references to Lusternia, how would we get new players?

Versalean

Arix said:

If there were no OOC references to Lusternia, how would we get new players?

This is one of the magic wand's powers.

Arix

I would still say some degree of OOC is helpful, and I also agree with Xenthos

Makaela

There is too much in combat outside of just mechanics that relies on OOC chatter,  Curing systems also go beyond mechanics.  I honestly would not have come back to Lusternia at all If I had not gotten to know a few of the people I did on an OOC level.   I feel that there are at times too much OOC but that is not overly often.

Achaea thrives and has considerably more ooc chatter in game, on the forums over third party programs than i have witnessed in Lusternia.  All Lusternia needs to be thriving is for us as players to bring in our friends, be active and for those of us who can hide ourselves on Who lists perhaps not doing so until the population has grown. Nothing more disheartening than doing qw and seeing only 8 people on. 

Just my two cents.

Tremula

These are all good points. However, I'm going to look at the question asked: Would your experience of Lusternia be better or worse? (bold for emphasis)

Maybe I didn't have a system and maybe I was progressing super slowly through everything, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time when the only OOC contact I had with any players was the one other person in my school who played the game with me and introduced me to Lusternia.

Versalean

Tremula said:

These are all good points. However, I'm going to look at the question asked: Would your experience of Lusternia be better or worse? (bold for emphasis)

Maybe I didn't have a system and maybe I was progressing super slowly through everything, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time when the only OOC contact I had with any players was the one other person in my school who played the game with me and introduced me to Lusternia.

You know, I think this kinda nails it for me.

Now, there's a certain satisfaction to be had when pressing my (OOCly acquired) F1 macro unleashes a series of WSCs on whichever illithoid is unfortunate enough to be strolling by the prison, or clearing out kephera hives, or racing the other stripharvesters across Astral, or getting two tri-breaks when my mount realises - all by itself - that it's time to trample because my northern playmates are having a widdle liedown (WHUT! WHUT!), or just being able to bitch to my Wyrdbros about what a shite day I've had at work. In summary: OOC has given me a good deal of pleasure in Lusty.

But I remember the early days of logging in and fully subscribing to the internal, IC magic of iron realms that I experienced as a fresh-faced noob with no system juggling between aliases I'd made in the browser and never more than a 2-second lagspike away from death. The days when I could truly buy into each character I came across in the realms rather than remembering that this is the asshole that's been trollflagging me for six weeks (yes, I'm not above a bit of good-natured flag abuse. save your keystrokes, my friend), or the person I'm simultaneously sharing lulcats with on Kindred. To a large extent, OOC channels and forums have removed that wonder. In summary: OOC has removed a good deal of pleasure from Lusty for me.

ETA: I do take very seriously, and agree with, the points that people have made about how a well-timed OOC message/tell can be useful given the various arcs of conflict. I know I frequently send a quick tell after a 'terse' interaction to let the other player know that I am not, in fact, a tree with its head crammed up its ass, yet I always feel a little guilty after doing so in case they totally got that and I've just ruined their immersion. #lusternianlife

Tristanna

It's a tough question. But ultimately, it's for me. I've started playing other muds. I don't read the forums, and I have limited OOC contact with them, and next to none outside the games. 
It's also limited how much time I spend doing things like reading forums and using ooc in Lusty. 
I focus on the games more. and worry less about what others think and spend more time doing what I like with people who want to spend time with me. 

I agree there's a place for OOC, and especially when games are down it's easy, and nice, to get drawn back to OOC things. 

Arix

another thing is, while I do have OOC clans that I sometimes chat in, the bulk of my OOC is when I'm helping novices

Cyndarin

I played Lusternia for so long because of the OOC conversations I had with my gaggle of Gloms. Sure, there was RP and PK and all that stuff, but there's a lot of down time between goings ons. 

Rideta

Lusternia's amazing and I've always been infatuated with the stories that can be told within the framework of this game. It's always just appealed to me and, yeah, some of the magic goes away once you enable OOC discussions. It's sort of like peeking behind the veil or having a magic trick explained. The initial bewilderment is gone, replaced with an appreciation of the mechanical aspect and skill of what's taking place. That's sort of how I felt once introduced to the people behind some of the most intimidating characters I'd ever had to deal with.

That said, those same people became amazing friends and one of the enduring reasons I've meddled in Lusternia for as long as I have. If I didn't have access to the community behind the story, if I hadn't met some of you guys, I sincerely doubt that Lusty would have kept me so engaged for as long as it has. I appreciate that more than anything.