Post by Mongo the Destroyer on Jun 21, 2021 19:22:12 GMT -5
Hey guys
So this is a topic that is a little tricky to grab a hold of so I'm going to try to help split hairs in an effort to make things clear from a Network Administrative position- more specifically, a Network Owner (mine) position.
There is a tradition in some circles of covertly inserting OOC elements into rps in order to throw your opponent off kilter a little. There's an art to it that some are able to master in which their gimmick or character can cover over a potential plot hole OR there's been enough relevant information presented by their opponent/around on which to draw these sorts of things from. If you can do them well and such things last for the extent of a match or a mutually-involved feud I don't see a problem with them.
Likewise, if one is wanting to vent about an issue or some management decision and they can do so in character without exposing the business or sounding like some kind of crazy person it can be justified- just don't expect the people you're bashing to reward you for it- duh. Seriously, I don't know why somebody would think they could trash their company for months in rps and then still wonder why they're losing matches. That's incredibly stupid. Just go to a different company.
However, if for example you're in a situation completely outside of say, the company you're taking a shot at or the person you want to go after- then you're not doing yourself any favors. Like say you spent about a year singularly focused on a single guy who doesn't want to have anything to do with you; but like an obsessive stalker try to run him and his friends down any chance you get behind IC walls WHILE thinking you're sneaky and trying to convince people OOC in pms that said person is the devil? Nah brah, that's called being a terrible a human being.
And, just for example... Say that you have left the company you were trashing and the character that you've had this singular focus on is now nowhere near you and you STILL are taking thinly veiled OOC shots at them in character? Are you a good heel? No, you're a bad person with a weird obsession. And you wanna know why you're losing matches? Because people don't wanna read your weird stalkery stuff.
AND JUST FOR EXAMPLE... Say that you've decided to ignore people who legitimately enjoyed your writing outside of wanting to ruining one person's efedding experience and instead decided to complain about them advising you "in character"? Bro, you're not gonna win matches with that attitude. If you know a fed that'll give you a blowjob for being a dickhead to members OOC and for going after the *checks notes* people who judge your matches? GO THERE.
There's a lot of great rpers here and if you're losing it's likely because they did better than you in some aspect- but it could also be that your insistence on taking OOC frustrations towards the bookers and members who aren't related to you and don't like your attention are ruining the quality of your rps. If say, FOR EXAMPLE, you spend your first 2-3 Rumble rps not talking about the Rumble at all but instead how much you hate a certain member and a certain fed THEN act like you were printing gold the whole time? Guess what? You brought your own average down because of your bad attitude.
Again, if you're in a match or a feud and can carefully craft in a vaguely OOC reference that maybe not everyone will catch but very well might throw them off their game? Sure. I did it vs Dane. I knew he felt like a weak champion and I played up in-character how weak of a champ he was. But I kept it confined to that match. I don't for example make a fake twitter solely to rip on Dane because why would I focus on a guy who's not even in my company any more?
Likewise, LD and Timeless started their rivalry because of an OOC issue brought into our characters- but we've always been in on it- Soutter and I talk extremely frequently and the LD/Timeless jabs are pretty darn IC because we're just living an ongoing rivalry that will one day have a really big pay off. But AGAIN: both of us are in on this and are happy participants. If you just keep taking pot-shots at somebody who doesn't want to feud then you're just coming off as desperate for attention and sort of a creeper.
We're working really hard to find a balance here. But the art of OOC in character is just that, it's a fine art. And if you're getting advised to stop doing it- you should listen to it as you would any other feedback because ultimately we want people to have a fun time together and hopefully wins get spread around. Making yourself a jobber because you won't listen to feedback or even use feedback as a weapon against the bookers in your promos is...your...problem. You understand that, right? Like nobody is under compulsion to give you a win just because you use a lot of words. If your promo sucks, it still sucks. I feel like I shouldn't have to say it, but here we are.
"But that's my style!" Well then go find a place where it'll work. Fine a place that really hates the Network and just trash the heck out of us and go be a big fish in a small pond like you always wanted. There's a lot of feds out there who'd love to get more dedicated rpers and I'm sure would love you (until you ultimately turned on them too). I personally am working to root out toxic elements and either bring them to a point where they wake up and change or just leave- and I can assure you the administrators both on the board and the discord feel the same way.
Efedding is a team sport. People who are solely about themselves or them and their friends will meet resistance, especially at the global booking level. For real, we can see when people message us to put over their friends or themselves AND we can see when people are being straight up douchebags to other members both OOC and IC and in what they think are secret PMs. Our communication is really good, is what I'm saying. And guess what? Those things don't get you wins. Good writing, original ideas, and being a chill person are all things that help you. I'm not saying we book based on OOC behavior- we don't. But I've noticed that people who are generally hard to work with OOC tend to make a lot of the same mistakes IC and they think that because it's behind the in-character curtain that somehow makes it a good rp? It does not. If you think that's unfair, gtfo. What do you want me to say? I'm not some backwater fed owner who'll blow you for any participation at all. You don't like the way we do things? Go somewhere else. Period. You wanna have fun here? Then DON'T BE A DICK AND DON'T BE A DICK WHEN YOU'RE CALLED OUT FOR BEING A DICK. I don't understand why some people find this so hard to understand.
In conclusion. Efedding is about having fun. If your version of fun is continually harping on a fed you're not in or a member you're not facing or are even near and absolutely doesn't want your attention? Then you're a bully and are an unwelcome presence here. Shape up or ship out.
So this is a topic that is a little tricky to grab a hold of so I'm going to try to help split hairs in an effort to make things clear from a Network Administrative position- more specifically, a Network Owner (mine) position.
There is a tradition in some circles of covertly inserting OOC elements into rps in order to throw your opponent off kilter a little. There's an art to it that some are able to master in which their gimmick or character can cover over a potential plot hole OR there's been enough relevant information presented by their opponent/around on which to draw these sorts of things from. If you can do them well and such things last for the extent of a match or a mutually-involved feud I don't see a problem with them.
Likewise, if one is wanting to vent about an issue or some management decision and they can do so in character without exposing the business or sounding like some kind of crazy person it can be justified- just don't expect the people you're bashing to reward you for it- duh. Seriously, I don't know why somebody would think they could trash their company for months in rps and then still wonder why they're losing matches. That's incredibly stupid. Just go to a different company.
However, if for example you're in a situation completely outside of say, the company you're taking a shot at or the person you want to go after- then you're not doing yourself any favors. Like say you spent about a year singularly focused on a single guy who doesn't want to have anything to do with you; but like an obsessive stalker try to run him and his friends down any chance you get behind IC walls WHILE thinking you're sneaky and trying to convince people OOC in pms that said person is the devil? Nah brah, that's called being a terrible a human being.
And, just for example... Say that you have left the company you were trashing and the character that you've had this singular focus on is now nowhere near you and you STILL are taking thinly veiled OOC shots at them in character? Are you a good heel? No, you're a bad person with a weird obsession. And you wanna know why you're losing matches? Because people don't wanna read your weird stalkery stuff.
AND JUST FOR EXAMPLE... Say that you've decided to ignore people who legitimately enjoyed your writing outside of wanting to ruining one person's efedding experience and instead decided to complain about them advising you "in character"? Bro, you're not gonna win matches with that attitude. If you know a fed that'll give you a blowjob for being a dickhead to members OOC and for going after the *checks notes* people who judge your matches? GO THERE.
There's a lot of great rpers here and if you're losing it's likely because they did better than you in some aspect- but it could also be that your insistence on taking OOC frustrations towards the bookers and members who aren't related to you and don't like your attention are ruining the quality of your rps. If say, FOR EXAMPLE, you spend your first 2-3 Rumble rps not talking about the Rumble at all but instead how much you hate a certain member and a certain fed THEN act like you were printing gold the whole time? Guess what? You brought your own average down because of your bad attitude.
Again, if you're in a match or a feud and can carefully craft in a vaguely OOC reference that maybe not everyone will catch but very well might throw them off their game? Sure. I did it vs Dane. I knew he felt like a weak champion and I played up in-character how weak of a champ he was. But I kept it confined to that match. I don't for example make a fake twitter solely to rip on Dane because why would I focus on a guy who's not even in my company any more?
Likewise, LD and Timeless started their rivalry because of an OOC issue brought into our characters- but we've always been in on it- Soutter and I talk extremely frequently and the LD/Timeless jabs are pretty darn IC because we're just living an ongoing rivalry that will one day have a really big pay off. But AGAIN: both of us are in on this and are happy participants. If you just keep taking pot-shots at somebody who doesn't want to feud then you're just coming off as desperate for attention and sort of a creeper.
We're working really hard to find a balance here. But the art of OOC in character is just that, it's a fine art. And if you're getting advised to stop doing it- you should listen to it as you would any other feedback because ultimately we want people to have a fun time together and hopefully wins get spread around. Making yourself a jobber because you won't listen to feedback or even use feedback as a weapon against the bookers in your promos is...your...problem. You understand that, right? Like nobody is under compulsion to give you a win just because you use a lot of words. If your promo sucks, it still sucks. I feel like I shouldn't have to say it, but here we are.
"But that's my style!" Well then go find a place where it'll work. Fine a place that really hates the Network and just trash the heck out of us and go be a big fish in a small pond like you always wanted. There's a lot of feds out there who'd love to get more dedicated rpers and I'm sure would love you (until you ultimately turned on them too). I personally am working to root out toxic elements and either bring them to a point where they wake up and change or just leave- and I can assure you the administrators both on the board and the discord feel the same way.
Efedding is a team sport. People who are solely about themselves or them and their friends will meet resistance, especially at the global booking level. For real, we can see when people message us to put over their friends or themselves AND we can see when people are being straight up douchebags to other members both OOC and IC and in what they think are secret PMs. Our communication is really good, is what I'm saying. And guess what? Those things don't get you wins. Good writing, original ideas, and being a chill person are all things that help you. I'm not saying we book based on OOC behavior- we don't. But I've noticed that people who are generally hard to work with OOC tend to make a lot of the same mistakes IC and they think that because it's behind the in-character curtain that somehow makes it a good rp? It does not. If you think that's unfair, gtfo. What do you want me to say? I'm not some backwater fed owner who'll blow you for any participation at all. You don't like the way we do things? Go somewhere else. Period. You wanna have fun here? Then DON'T BE A DICK AND DON'T BE A DICK WHEN YOU'RE CALLED OUT FOR BEING A DICK. I don't understand why some people find this so hard to understand.
In conclusion. Efedding is about having fun. If your version of fun is continually harping on a fed you're not in or a member you're not facing or are even near and absolutely doesn't want your attention? Then you're a bully and are an unwelcome presence here. Shape up or ship out.