I vent a lot. I rant a lot. Sometimes I can be a volatile person. More often than not (a lot more often, in fact) though, I keep it private. Something irks at me, I rant a little about it to a friend, then I’m over it. It’s a process I’m not alone in. I state with the utmost confidence I’m sure the majority of the people posting here now do the same. At least a little bit. Vent, get things off your chest. Kink tends to get thrown in the works when ventee makes venter’s words public knowledge though.

When I, or anyone, vent, usually we don’t do so with a clear head. We don’t form articulate thoughts and happy words and sugar coat. We don’t always communicate in the way we want to, and our words are all wtf-ified.

OMG, L SAID BAD THINGS ABOUT X!

Really?? I’m not even going to allow anyone to try to drive that nail in my proverbial coffin, because you (and I mean that not as general, but everyone) do it too. Privately, publicly- whatever. Even about our friends, if they do something stupid or upsetting, we vent. I’m not happy about that aspect of myself, but you know, it’s a very *human* aspect, and *not* one I’m going to apologize to the public at large for. Tara, I have apologized to for it.

All that said, there are certain aspects of slavery SLs that I find icky and yucky. A very vast majority of the time, said yuck (to me) is played on the forums. Which I have no problem with- I just don’t read it there. Sometimes I see certain things in the room that are oiafdhadfs (to me) and vent about it elsewhere. I’m not actually going to go into the details of everything SLwise I’ve vented about, or everything that makes me uncomfortable, because quite frankly? It’s no one’s business but mine and anyone I choose to talk to about it. I can assure though, it’s not all about slavery or Tara or me being out to get/attack/roflcopter someone. There’s numerous things that go on that make me eeeeeh on DM.

So I asked how do people deal with that (the issue of being ‘uncomfortable’ ((God, I hate I chose that word)) not ‘let’s ban this and that and make DM full of unicorns and rainbows).

…hahaha.

More clarification for those who have had this concern… There’s no need to choose sides. Tara herself has told me she doesn’t expect anyone to (I’m assuming she’s okay with me saying that here). And I don’t expect anyone to choose sides. There’s no need. Just play and have fun, okay? Don’t worry about BS.

Semi-related to that; I’m not in a war. I’m not in a battle. I’m not in any of that nonsense. So if people want to keep fighting, perceiving things in a skewed way, attacking people.. you have fun with that. I’m gonna *not* be there when you do that, thanks.

And to ‘Bad Juju’, while I appreciate your sentiments, it’s not necessary. I don’t want you or anyone else jumping into all this nonsense to try and defend me. I don’t want anyone else catching crap, I just want people to move on and do their online happy gaming thing. I’m pretty sure everyone’s mind is set anyways, and I’m okay with that. I don’t care what strangers on the internet think.

So much for keeping this brief… sorry Eve. :\

One last thing though. To anyone who addressed the issue of the topic, in regards to how to handle things that make you uncomfortable, thanks! Even differing views have made me think about things in a new perspective .

The person who asked that question in the chat lives in Australia. They logged in at a time where there were only a very scant few players in the room. Yes, things like this shouldn’t be done in the Lobby or in the chat. But this one occurence does not speak volumes about some secret conspiracy occuring behind the scenes.

There are healthy levels of paranoia. But I don’t think this is one of those cases.

Feeding into an attitude of the existence of secret internet plots really serves no purpose, as 9 times out of 10, there aren’t any plots.

What makes me uncomfortable with that whole thread is the fact that there are individuals who think there was some huge behind the scenes plot to gather a faction to oust a certain group from the site. If this is the truth, then provide concrete evidence. And I mean, concrete evidence of the OP telling someone in a log “I dislike this specific slaving SL group, lets plot their complete and utter online annihilation.” Yet this is how the OP, and others who have responded to the thread, are being treated.

What evidence is there of this “behind the scenes attack”? Are people reading too much into the preceived “attack”? What is the purpose of fostering paranoia on the DM over something that could have been so easily overlooked?

Most times, the simplest explanation for something is the truth.

What’s got Tara riled up about that thread is the behind the scenes stuff that happened with certain participants in that thread. I cite the Public Chat log for RDI Main dated 5/19/08 at the times of 9:00 – 9:59 and 10:00 – 10:59 as one piece of evidence.

That is also an example of inappropriately handling an uncomfortable situation. For me, I try to make an attempt to keep my more controversial stuff out of the main chat rooms. With the different service out there it is easy enough to do.

As for when it is in my face, then there are a few tools at everyone’s disposal, including the ignore function and changing the color or the offending player’s text.

However, the thread did upset people because there was behind the scenes attacks and inappropriate handling of the discomfort level. Plus I still do have the question on why it is a big deal now. That’s what got me thinking that it was an attack, considering the way the OP does tend to participate with another slaver on the site. (See The Chained Inn)

I am curious, though. How do you suggest dealing with an uncomfortable scene? Referring back to your original post in the locked thread at Dragon’s Mark, is there a way to put “being considerate” into practice in live RP? Assuming your RP falls within the site guidelines, how do you judge when it’s time to take something to IMs?

As regards the original blog post, how do you deal with controversial roleplay?

misunderstandings.