Ask an OTTer

[Zombie_Babies]

Hello all!

Recently a discussion I had with a member got me thinking about a few things. You see, I'm an OTTer and there's more people like me running around here, too. Apparently we've rubbed some folks the wrong way and I think that may be due to some simple misunderstanding. We were so used to talking to each other and others where we previously posted that we popped in here not thinking about our ... unique approach to civil internet discourse. Many of us had quite a few posts (I had over 35k, for example) and didn't really stop to think about the fact that very few people here had seen any of them. And since we can come off as sort of ... abrasive even though that's not the intent, well, maybe it's a decent idea to give any interested Enworlders the opportunity to ask any questions about us they may have. So here's a thread for that if there's anyone interested. If not, meh.

 

[Kramodlog]

I have a question!

Is it true that you're a sanitation engineer?

 

[JamesonCourage]

I appreciate the civility of this post, but I don't have any questions. I just won't engage you guys as long as you continue to come off as abrasive. I'll generally just speak out against you guys as posters, when other people bring it up. I might also occasionally report posts, too, if they come off as trolling (teasing "teehees" at mods, etc.), as I feel that it detracts from the quality of this site.

If you've got questions for us, feel free to ask.

 

[Kramodlog]

Why so serious? It is just the internet. No kittens will esplode and no butt will split open causing terrible pain if people aren't serious. Honestly, people seem too sensitive about inconsequential stuff. For serious stuff I have my job, for everything else there is he interwebz.

 

[Zombie_Babies]

I have a question!

Is it true that you're a sanitation engineer?

No.

/shifty

I appreciate the civility of this post, but I don't have any questions. I just won't engage you guys as long as you continue to come off as abrasive. I'll generally just speak out against you guys as posters, when other people bring it up. I might also occasionally report posts, too, if they come off as trolling (teasing "teehees" at mods, etc.), as I feel that it detracts from the quality of this site.

If you've got questions for us, feel free to ask.

I do have a question: Why the need to speak out against us if you've decided not to engage us? That hardly seems fair.

 

[JamesonCourage]

Why so serious?

I've quite enjoyed the civil discourse that this site offers most of the time. I can get not-so-serious stuff anywhere else. EN World has made this place unique in that regard among RPG sites, as far as I can tell, considering how many posters it has. I'd like to keep that atmosphere.

I do have a question: Why the need to speak out against us if you've decided not to engage us? That hardly seems fair.

Well, I speak out against a lot of things that I have a problem with, even if I don't engage with the problem. People do this all the time. Speaking to a boss, the police, a manager, etc. I don't think that's unfair.

And, to be fair, I did offer to answer your questions, if you had any, and I did reply to your OP.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

I do have a question: Why the need to speak out against us if you've decided not to engage us? That hardly seems fair.

Or why not just ignore this thread instead of making a list that can be taken as inflammatory?

 

[Kramodlog]

I've quite enjoyed the civil discourse that this site offers most of the time. I can get not-so-serious stuff anywhere else. EN World has made this place unique in that regard among RPG sites, as far as I can tell, considering how many posters it has. I'd like to keep that atmosphere.

Civil=serious? How amusing. Was it intentional?

 

[Zombie_Babies]

Well, I speak out against a lot of things that I have a problem with, even if I don't engage with the problem. People do this all the time. Speaking to a boss, the police, a manager, etc. I don't think that's unfair.

It is unfair whether you like it or not. You've decided to actively try and get us in trouble rather than communicate your issues to us in an effort to either understand us or get us to conform more closely to what you're used to. That's not fair and it's unfair to us both.

And, to be fair, I did offer to answer your questions, if you had any, and I did reply to your OP.

You did. However, this thread was about questions people on your end may have because it seems there's no small amount of issue taken with us that's gone largely unaddressed. It seems ya'all would appreciate some change or other and I've offered an open ear. I'm simply trying to get this into the open air and outside of the playground politics it's currently relegated to. If we're all truly adults looking for real civil conversation then it's high time we had some, don't you think? Lurking in the shadows offering only the occasional 'tut' and press of the report button isn't going to solve anything.

 

[JamesonCourage]

Civil=serious? How amusing. Was it intentional?

The amusement wasn't. I was more answering the spirit of the question. "Why so serious?" didn't strike me as a particularly useful question, so I basically answered "why do you act the way you do?" instead.

Or why not just ignore this thread instead of making a list that can be taken as inflammatory?

To answer the OP's civil question, with honesty and civility of my own.

It is unfair whether you like it or not. You've decided to actively try and get us in trouble rather than communicate your issues to us in an effort to either understand us or get us to conform more closely to what you're used to. That's not fair and it's unfair to us both.

If I see people I think are misbehaving in a store, I don't feel it's unfair to tell an employee, rather than talk to the people myself. I'll let the store handle how to proceed. I'm taking that same mindset to this site: if I think posters are out of line, I just report them to the mods, rather than try to self-police. I've been admonished once (years ago) for playing moderator; I now avoid doing that.

Also, most posters aren't up for any sort of criticism of their posts. The OP was pretty civil, and expressed that you guys might come off as abrasive. In the spirit of civil discourse, I thought I'd give my thoughts on it. The OP seemed more receptive to this sort of thing than normal. If that's not the case, I'll likely bow out of the thread soon enough.

You did. However, this thread was about questions people on your end may have because it seems there's no small amount of issue taken with us that's gone largely unaddressed. It seems ya'all would appreciate some change or other and I've offered an open ear. I'm simply trying to get this into the open air and outside of the playground politics it's currently relegated to. If we're all truly adults looking for real civil conversation then it's high time we had some, don't you think? Lurking in the shadows offering only the occasional 'tut' and press of the report button isn't going to solve anything.

Well, I was kind of hoping it would solve something, but I'd definitely prefer civil discourse, yes. Which probably means questions for posters going both ways, like what will hopefully be happening in this thread.