Wow this got overblown fast. All of you, please relax. My point was very simple and still stands: I want everyone to play nice and get along. Suggestions go, commands don't. I'm sorry if you got offended, but I had to warn you because your words seemed too aggressive and presumptuous for my liking. I'm glad you didn't mean it that way and so everything's sorted, you get your changes and I get my warning.
I'm glad Osieippo didn’t get offended by any of this as players' happiness takes priority for me over accuracy. Like Tracin said, we're here to play and I want to see a team spirit and not battles of wit or anyone being beaten down for not being perfect. Neither of us is.
Now, to avoid debates like this sounding like arguments in the future, I'll ask you to consider your words better in the future, Medusa. I'll be honest when I say I do not like your manner of criticism beyond the very first remark you made, and I'll tell you why. This is not real life, true, but some rules should be transferred from there and basic social grace is something I want to see on my threads. I have had to work with extremely stubborn individuals in the past and you strike me as one of them. I won't go into details because you don't seem to be able to take the same criticism you dish out so easily, but please try your best to be a good team player. I know it's not easy for everyone, the forum seems to be divided into "people you can work with" and "people you can't". Now, I like your character and I like that you have the initiative to clear things up when misunderstandings arise. I value those. But I value Osieippo's ability to listen and accept criticism and his creativity also. This should not be a matter of who is RIGHT and who is WRONG in depicting a certain person.
If we're to talk accuracy let me tell you this: what I HATE more than anything is people judging others by gross generalisation. "All religious people should behave like this, all mental patients are like this" are statements that irk me more than anything, because they reveal the prevailing part of society that thinks they know better than anyone. People who like to impose themselves on others exist everywhere and the forum seems to be an especially rich soil for people to fuel their ego with imaginary achievements. Now, this is the personal side of it that you're welcome to ignore but it's not something I say in vain and it does stem from a university degree in anthropology that I'm NOT going to rub in your face, claiming to know better than anyone what cross-cultural interaction looks like. But I know what the lack of self-reflection and generalisation are. By the way, RisenDead has a minor in Medieval history he's also not going to wave around and beat people over the head with.
Now, the more important point is this. Neither of us, me included, know exactly what mental illness is like. We all seem to know bits and pieces and that's good but please understand that neither of us is in a position to judge based on that knowledge. Again, we can suggest, question and ask for clarifications but not JUDGE. Saying someone isn't believable based on the image you have in your head and using exclamation marks and an aggressive language is judging and if you fail to realise that, Medusa, I suggest you re-evaluate your behaviour and try to look at your self from another person's perspectives. Ultimately it's not my job to teach you how to get along with others but it IS my duty as a GM to try and make sure everyone is on an equal footing.
Lastly, on the matter of personal criticism I want to point out the character is modelled on myself and is thus as accurate as it gets unless you're calling me unbelievable. In which case, fair enough, I'm an imaginary creature, I can live with that. The anorexia remark is something I have heard in the past and thus a product of my own life experience. Do I think it's an accurate description of my figure? No. Do I think there are people out there who think it is and throw the term around lightly? No, I know there are. As for my position as a GM, I see we have different opinions on what that entails. For you it seems to be about ensuring the quality of the text produced is as great as possible and throwing people out if they don't fit the idea I have in my mind about how the story should go. For me it's about ensuring no players are bullied, resolving misunderstandings and trying to ensure we have fun writing. I do not have the authority to kick anyone out but I do have the authority to tell you off or praise you when you're doing something right or wrong.
In the future I'd like to avoid such conflicts. I'm worried that some might not play nicely with others and that criticism might lurk around every corner and about everything we write. Let me say it again: this is fiction, this isn't a book, this will be imperfect and this is not your thread. If any of you have a problem with any of those, then the door is that way. But it's a warning because I don't want you to be here expecting something that's not going to happen. I don't want you to waste your time and I don't want you to waste mine. All that said, play nice and we'll have no problem. Hopefully we've cleared things up and I'll never have to spend an hour writing ridiculous posts like this again. Obviously if you don't change your attitude it means this isn't the right place for you because I don't take kindly to people beating people into submission and pretending that's being "helpful".
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