07-08-2024, 05:20 PM
In light of certain things, both past and more recent, I feel like now is a good time to make this post and discuss a topic which I have had on my mind for a while.
My intention is not to call anyone out, make anyone feel offended, and so on. This is meant as an awareness check, and a discussion. I'm not sure if people are cognizant of these things when they happen, or have felt certain ways because of it, but have been unable to diagnose the cause; nor do I think some people are aware of its impact and long-term effects on the community as a whole.
Feedback, How To Give It, and How Not To Give It
Because an RP game is a community-focused environment, where much of the content is created for and by the members of that community, feedback is a very important tool used to gauge and communicate experiences we have within it. Experiences such as events, or player-based plot lines.
Honesty is an important aspect of giving feedback; your feelings should be clear when you express yourself. "I liked this, because this reason. I didn't like that, because that reason." Something equally important is Empathy; the delivery of your feedback determines how it is taken. You can be considerate of the receiver of your feedback while also being honest.
Both of these factors are important, because they are the basic building blocks for constructive feedback, which in turn is used for improvement. If your negative feedback is honest but lacks empathy, it is not much different from whining. Conversely, if your positive feedback is empathetic but lacks honesty, it stunts any chance to address your concerns effectively.
Negativity
One thing to keep in mind is that when people create event lines, they are often putting forth a good deal of effort. Part of it is, yes, that they have a story that they want to tell, but aside from the good feeling of player props, they don't get any tangible reward. While it is perfectly fine to point out flaws, there are times where negativity and emotion overflows more than is deserved.
It's important to try to stay objective and balanced when you are formulating opinions, doubly so when it's towards someone else's creative efforts. There is nothing that wilts motivation quicker for the average person than vitriol.
There is almost no scenario, even if an event is a poor experience, where one should be feeling angry. If you are in the event with others, and discussing it OOCly (in a voice chat, for example), you need to be careful about letting frustrations run wild. You don't want to have a group of people work each other up into a frenzy and then let loose on the person responsible for the event like they just keyed their car.
This isn't constructive. It's akin to getting pricked by a thorny branch and then burning the whole bush. It alienates you (and/or your group of players) from that person, or even a larger section of players who might want to follow in their footsteps creating plotlines. When people feel alienated from others, they do not engage with them. When people do not engage with others, nothing happens.
Nothing happening benefits absolutely no one.
Of course, it is understandable to feel frustrated if you feel your past feedback hasn't been taken into account in subsequent events. Event runners should keep an open mind when they parse feedback to try and see things from the player's perspective, and make adjustments appropriately.
Time & Place
Feedback given as something is going on is, at best, not very useful. That's not to say that you shouldn't say 'whoa that was cool!', and such, if something that wows you happens during an event. The person responsible for the event is going to want to hear that.
However, if you're having a bad experience, the worst thing you can do is express your discontent publicly as the event is going on. There are several reasons for this;
But if you groan in LOOC about 'this event sucks' or 'I'm just gonna leave, this is lame', that is not okay behavior. Don't do it. People who behave like this may find themselves being asked to sit out of events if they can't control themselves.
Silence
All of this applies when you're discussing things elsewhere, outside of proper feedback channels, by the way. It's understandable to be more candid when you're discussing things with your friends, but abject negativity has a way of flowing back.
If you dislike a happening, an event, or whatever, but you do not make that known to the subject, then you can't expect anything to change. Even worse, if they find out that you've said harsh things exclusively in private, it can have a greater negative impact than even poorly constructed feedback would.
Please be aware of that, as well.
I think that the majority of the community already lives by this without being told, but as this does crop up from time to time, I thought it would be worthwhile to put it to a post. Some of the contents of the post may be co-opted for an 'event etiquette' page on the wiki for easy reference.
Thank you for reading! Let me know your thoughts.
My intention is not to call anyone out, make anyone feel offended, and so on. This is meant as an awareness check, and a discussion. I'm not sure if people are cognizant of these things when they happen, or have felt certain ways because of it, but have been unable to diagnose the cause; nor do I think some people are aware of its impact and long-term effects on the community as a whole.
Feedback, How To Give It, and How Not To Give It
Because an RP game is a community-focused environment, where much of the content is created for and by the members of that community, feedback is a very important tool used to gauge and communicate experiences we have within it. Experiences such as events, or player-based plot lines.
Honesty is an important aspect of giving feedback; your feelings should be clear when you express yourself. "I liked this, because this reason. I didn't like that, because that reason." Something equally important is Empathy; the delivery of your feedback determines how it is taken. You can be considerate of the receiver of your feedback while also being honest.
Both of these factors are important, because they are the basic building blocks for constructive feedback, which in turn is used for improvement. If your negative feedback is honest but lacks empathy, it is not much different from whining. Conversely, if your positive feedback is empathetic but lacks honesty, it stunts any chance to address your concerns effectively.
Negativity
One thing to keep in mind is that when people create event lines, they are often putting forth a good deal of effort. Part of it is, yes, that they have a story that they want to tell, but aside from the good feeling of player props, they don't get any tangible reward. While it is perfectly fine to point out flaws, there are times where negativity and emotion overflows more than is deserved.
It's important to try to stay objective and balanced when you are formulating opinions, doubly so when it's towards someone else's creative efforts. There is nothing that wilts motivation quicker for the average person than vitriol.
There is almost no scenario, even if an event is a poor experience, where one should be feeling angry. If you are in the event with others, and discussing it OOCly (in a voice chat, for example), you need to be careful about letting frustrations run wild. You don't want to have a group of people work each other up into a frenzy and then let loose on the person responsible for the event like they just keyed their car.
This isn't constructive. It's akin to getting pricked by a thorny branch and then burning the whole bush. It alienates you (and/or your group of players) from that person, or even a larger section of players who might want to follow in their footsteps creating plotlines. When people feel alienated from others, they do not engage with them. When people do not engage with others, nothing happens.
Nothing happening benefits absolutely no one.
Of course, it is understandable to feel frustrated if you feel your past feedback hasn't been taken into account in subsequent events. Event runners should keep an open mind when they parse feedback to try and see things from the player's perspective, and make adjustments appropriately.
Time & Place
Feedback given as something is going on is, at best, not very useful. That's not to say that you shouldn't say 'whoa that was cool!', and such, if something that wows you happens during an event. The person responsible for the event is going to want to hear that.
However, if you're having a bad experience, the worst thing you can do is express your discontent publicly as the event is going on. There are several reasons for this;
- In all likelihood, the event runner isn't going to be able to address your concerns. They're busy running an event.
- Because they're running an event, it may slip their mind by the time it's over.
- Your negativity may cause other players to become annoyed with you for ruining their good vibes.
- It runs the risk of derailing the event with arguments, and puts focus on the OOC instead of the IC.
But if you groan in LOOC about 'this event sucks' or 'I'm just gonna leave, this is lame', that is not okay behavior. Don't do it. People who behave like this may find themselves being asked to sit out of events if they can't control themselves.
Silence
All of this applies when you're discussing things elsewhere, outside of proper feedback channels, by the way. It's understandable to be more candid when you're discussing things with your friends, but abject negativity has a way of flowing back.
If you dislike a happening, an event, or whatever, but you do not make that known to the subject, then you can't expect anything to change. Even worse, if they find out that you've said harsh things exclusively in private, it can have a greater negative impact than even poorly constructed feedback would.
Please be aware of that, as well.
I think that the majority of the community already lives by this without being told, but as this does crop up from time to time, I thought it would be worthwhile to put it to a post. Some of the contents of the post may be co-opted for an 'event etiquette' page on the wiki for easy reference.
Thank you for reading! Let me know your thoughts.
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