VTT/online-play Etiquette and Horror Stories

[MNblockhead]

There have been a lot of threads about gaming etiquette and bad GM/player horror stories in EN World, but I don't recall any specific to VTTs.

I'll be interested in how my fellow EN Worlder's feel about some of these occasionally divisive online play etiquette rules.

Also, if you have any good horror stories about players or DMs not being on their best behavior during online games, especially any that would have been unlikely to have occurred in an in-person game, please share.

 

[payn]

No real horror stories from me so far. The worst thing is ghosting games. No, "thanks but im gonna drop" just gone.

Im a little surprised to see so much "on camera" items. I have yet to be in a game where being on camera was mandatory and none so far have even seldomly activated it.

 

[Deset Gled]

Some of these are very situational for me. The eating one, for example. 99% of the time, I really don't care. But if you're excessively loud or gross, that's a problem both on VTT and IRL.

Multitasking is another. Sometimes, it's just not a problem. I normally keep a second window with the SRD open, for example. IRL, people have all kinds of socially acceptable fidgets (included game books). But obviously, when people stop paying attention to the game, it crosses a line.

During a recent game that fell apart, the DM got super annoyed at one player who would openly crochet on screen, but there was another player that got away with playing something (solitaire or similar) on their second monitor. Obviously, it was a DM pet situation that escalated from there. I don't think the rest of us were supposed to know, but we knew. I wouldn't have cared too much about the background gaming as long as the guy was still attentive, but the fact that the DM had a problem with crochet but not that should have been a bigger red flag for other eventual problems.

 

[MNblockhead]

No real horror stories from me so far. The worst thing is ghosting games. No, "thanks but im gonna drop" just gone.

Im a little surprised to see so much "on camera" items. I have yet to be in a game where being on camera was mandatory and none so far have even seldomly activated it.

In my monthly game that I GM we go off camera. I actually think it is more immersive. But nearly all games I've joined as a player have expected cameras to be on. Some people feel very strongly about it. Not much different than work video calls. In my current and prior job, it would be considered weird and unprofessional to have the camera off. My wife, however, says that for her job at least half the people in meetings don't turn on their cameras.

For online gaming, I can't say I have a strong preference either way.

 

[MNblockhead]

Some of these are very situational for me. The eating one, for example. 99% of the time, I really don't care. But if you're excessively loud or gross, that's a problem both on VTT and IRL.

This. I don't mind if I can't hear it. A lot depends on what you are using for the microphone. But generally, if you are eating while gaming, push-to-talk is your (and your fellow player's) friend. Same for when you have a noisy background and are not using a high-quality background-noise-suppressing mic.

Multitasking is another. Sometimes, it's just not a problem. I normally keep a second window with the SRD open, for example. IRL, people have all kinds of socially acceptable fidgets (included game books). But obviously, when people stop paying attention to the game, it crosses a line.

During a recent game that fell apart, the DM got super annoyed at one player who would openly crochet on screen, but there was another player that got away with playing something (solitaire or similar) on their second monitor. Obviously, it was a DM pet situation that escalated from there. I don't think the rest of us were supposed to know, but we knew. I wouldn't have cared too much about the background gaming as long as the guy was still attentive, but the fact that the DM had a problem with crochet but not that should have been a bigger red flag for other eventual problems.

The crochet example is crazy to me. I think that is the kind of thing that helps people pay attention. I'm more concerned with anything that distracts listening or people reading or watching content not related to the game. Crocheting seems to be a fairly common activity that people do while gaming, I've seen it a number of times at convention games and it has never been distracting and the people doing it have always seemed focused on the game.

 

[payn]

In my monthly game that I GM we go off camera. I actually think it is more immersive. But nearly all games I've joined as a player have expected cameras to be on. Some people feel very strongly about it. Not much different than work video calls. In my current and prior job, it would be considered weird and unprofessional to have the camera off. My wife, however, says that for her job at least half the people in meetings don't turn on their cameras.

For online gaming, I can't say I have a strong preference either way.

Work has been interesting. If my call is internal, cameras usually off. With external partners usually on.

I do think camera off can be more immersive for types that Like to act out their characters and scenes. I could see wanting camera on if folks had attention issues.

 

[overgeeked]

It comes down to whether it disrupts the game or would be considered cheating regardless of the format. If you're preventing others from having fun, that's a problem. If you're cheating, that's a problem.

You left off one of my biggest pet peeves. People feeling the need to police others' behavior when it doesn't effect them or their enjoyment of the game. Is the person cheating or preventing others from having a good time? No, then it's none of your business what they're doing. Taking too many breaks? Get over yourself. I got a wife, a kid, and half-a-dozen cats. This is a game. It's not more important than real life.

The absolute worst are the weirdly controlling people who insist that everyone be staring at their screen and pretending to be "paying perfect attention at all times" while the game is happening. Get over yourself. It's a game. Not a job. You want me to make you feel better by pretending I'm 100% engaged while you and one of the other players RP yet another shopping trip? You literally couldn't pay me enough. Not even Matt Mercer is that engaging.

 

[Thomas Shey]

No real horror stories from me so far. The worst thing is ghosting games. No, "thanks but im gonna drop" just gone.

Im a little surprised to see so much "on camera" items. I have yet to be in a game where being on camera was mandatory and none so far have even seldomly activated it.

Yeah, none of the remote games I've been involved with use the camera. I consider it just an extra distraction.

Also, it seems a little odd to call some of the technical problems "Bad etiquette". Nobody chooses to have those happen, and often they have limited control over it. That doesn't mean they can't be a problem, but they're not an etiquette issue.

 

[Deset Gled]

Also, it seems a little odd to call some of the technical problems "Bad etiquette". Nobody chooses to have those happen, and often they have limited control over it. That doesn't mean they can't be a problem, but they're not an etiquette issue.

Like so many things in the list, it's not a problem until someone abuses what's reasonable and it becomes one.

Let's say you have a bad mic, you know you have a problem, but you commit to playing a game where it's understood that the tech is crucial to participation. The first time it's a problem, people understand. Three months later, people have asked every week and you can't be bothered to get a $10 headset that would fix the problem, or log on with a different device? As time goes on and you don't solve the problem, eventually it crosses the line from an understable issue to an etiquette problem.

 

[aramis erak]

Posts inappropriate text/images in the chat
I keep a separate off-topic channel. My players use it.

Slows down game due to refusal to learn how to use the software
This is a "goodbye" level offense

Insists on rolling physical dice when everyone else rolls in the VTT
Also a "goodbye" level offense.

Overly "comfortable" dress when on camera
not an issue in my current online group... mostly because we do voice only. One of the players has VERY limited upload.

Engaged in other activities on the computer not related to the game
Only a problem if they're not able to pay attention to the game at the same time. Some do.