Bacon and RP

Ruth

Reminds me of the time Ruth tried to one-up her love interest and OOCly, we were trying to see who could produce the most ridiculously/laughably worded emote while keeping it realistic. I think we succeeded.  

I've also done a fade to black before, because both of us (the players) are more comfortable with that. I agree that mudsex can toe the IC/OOC line though, because it can stir up OOC feelings unintentionally due to the intimacy of the situation. Sometimes, that translates from character to the player.

Trevize

Ruth said:

Reminds me of the time Ruth tried to one-up her love interest and OOCly, we were trying to see who could produce the most ridiculously/laughably worded emote while keeping it realistic. I think we succeeded.  

Those short dinosaur arms do make things difficult, I imagine.

Tahquil

Trevize said:

Those short dinosaur arms do make things haaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwttttt, I imagine.

Grandue

When you mudsex it is with this guy. 100% of the time. 

Mishgul

Where do people keep getting pictures of me from

Sarapis

Krypton said:

Cynlael said:

If it's IC, then it's RP plain and simple.

99% of the time, mudsex isn't IC. So it's not RP, plain and simple.

Actual IC actions ("actual RP") have no OOC consequences. Our characters can murder, steal, torture, pillage from each other with no repercussion to our player lives, because our character's actions don't reflect our literal desires or intentions, as players.

If that were true, you'd not be playing Achaea as there'd be no reason to do it. People play Achaea entirely because of the OOC consequences. Feelings of satisfaction, achievement, thrill, intellectual satisfaction, and all the other things people get from playing RPGs.

When you make your character do something, it's a result of your OOC desire to get OOC fulfillment. Get happy that you just hit dragon? That's an OOC consequence. Happy that that ritual went over well? OOC consequence. Adrenaline rush from a raid? OOC consequence. Upset that your character just lost an election? OOC consequence. Get turned on via mudsex? OOC consequence. 

I think you'll have a -very- hard time explaining why being turned on from mudsex is somehow different as an OOC consequence from any of the other myriad feelings that playing a character in an RPG will cause you to experience. This is just standard, Western-style puritanism from where I sit, where somehow sexual feelings are 'wrong' or 'naughty' but others are fine. I'm not buying it.

It's precisely when people stop experiencing OOC consequences that they quit, because it means they literally don't care about Achaea any more..

Krypton

...

Legal consequences

Sarapis

There are no legal consequences to having mudsex, in the US at least. 

Atalkez

What I or anyone else does in private, that has nothing to do with you/your character, quite frankly is none of your business at all. If you don't want to see people doing it, then don't look for people doing it. We all know everyone datamines WHO so they can giggle about people being alone.

I don't see where anyone can say mudsex isn't RP. Anytime I'm logged into Atalkez, regardless of the why, is going to be RP. To say anything different is being disingenuous to what RP is, based on some other feelings on the matter, imo. To me there is no difference in emoting that your character is a fervent follower of Light, and then go "home" and emote your character having sex with his/her spouse and/or confidant. Whatever. It's all the same.

Aereidhna

I have played for over a decade, and my experiences have run the gamut from being the underage mudsexer to developing feelings and relationships OOC (some of which led to years-long committed RL relationships) to being celibate to having mudsex with a very clear IC/OOC boundary that was never once crossed. There are a lot of things I could say on this subject, but some of it has already been said and in better words. One thing I do want to address:

People act like OOC feelings are the worst possible thing (if I could embed a Rarity gif from my iPhone I totally would). While I'm at a place now where I love that I can enjoy romantic RP and the player behind the other character I RP with has no interest in getting with me irl and it is just fun for our characters - in the past, crossing that boundary has brought me years-long friendships and committed, long term relationships that I am eternally grateful for. Sometimes crossing the boundary can cause drama and heartache, but that is not the -default-, for many of us it is a wonderful thing.

Wanting a clear boundary is fine, and with my current situation IC I am grateful that the other player and I see eye to eye on that. But not wanting a clear boundary is also equally fine if everyone is a consenting adult.

The other thing I wanted to address is the issue of harassment - over the years I've seen the admins develop great ways of dealing with that. One of the things I still find frustrating is that I'm sometimes approached by people IC and on Skype who have trouble respecting that all I am interested in is friendship, and suddenly no longer want to talk to me after that, which is sad. But I also have a lot of friends IC and on Skype who are fine and all they want is friendship as well. For the most part I've found shutting people down fast and making expectations very clear to be an effective way of dealing both IC and OOC even if it means the person no longer wants to talk to you. But if all else fails, ignore/issue/block is there.

Aereidhna

Oh and...when you're data mining qwho and snickering at other people, be aware that people actually do things besides have sex in private spaces (seriously, cost of building giant house so not worth it just for having sex and not for RPing, say, practicing performances, crafting, etc.). People use ships for actual ship things, too, by the way. Aereidhna got a reputation early on for apparently being a slutty cheating ho (based on what her first boyfriend told me about tells he got about her from 'concerned' people). She didn't have mudsex til she was 28, well after they broke up, with someone I've never interacted with OOC in so much as a tell.  

So while people are busy spreading rumors and assuming things, sometimes two people on a ship are just fishing and sketching designs. Or whatever. Also, people seem to really like to get on their high horse about this subject, but I'd just like to posit something, take it or leave it. Not having mudsex doesn't make someone morally superior in the scheme of life anymore than not killing crying little children denizens or not doing extreme torture RP or anything else. Judging other people doesn't make you a better person, it just makes you judgmental.

Trevize

Aereidhna said:

Oh and...when you're data mining qwho and snickering at other people, be aware that people actually do things besides have sex in private spaces (seriously, cost of building giant house so not worth it just for having sex and not for RPing, say, practicing performances, crafting, etc.). People use ships for actual ship things, too, by the way. Aereidhna got a reputation early on for apparently being a slutty cheating ho (based on what her first boyfriend told me about tells he got about her from 'concerned' people). She didn't have mudsex til she was 28, well after they broke up, with someone I've never interacted with OOC in so much as a tell.  

So while people are busy spreading rumors and assuming things, sometimes two people on a ship are just fishing and sketching designs. Or whatever. Also, people seem to really like to get on their high horse about this subject, but I'd just like to posit something, take it or leave it. Not having mudsex doesn't make someone morally superior in the scheme of life anymore than not killing crying little children denizens or not doing extreme torture RP or anything else. Judging other people doesn't make you a better person, it just makes you judgmental.

Or you could take the reverse and assume any group in any location is used for such. 10+ in a city hangout? Clearly representative.

Siduri

Trevize said:

Aereidhna said:

Oh and...when you're data mining qwho and snickering at other people, be aware that people actually do things besides have sex in private spaces (seriously, cost of building giant house so not worth it just for having sex and not for RPing, say, practicing performances, crafting, etc.). People use ships for actual ship things, too, by the way. Aereidhna got a reputation early on for apparently being a slutty cheating ho (based on what her first boyfriend told me about tells he got about her from 'concerned' people). She didn't have mudsex til she was 28, well after they broke up, with someone I've never interacted with OOC in so much as a tell.  

So while people are busy spreading rumors and assuming things, sometimes two people on a ship are just fishing and sketching designs. Or whatever. Also, people seem to really like to get on their high horse about this subject, but I'd just like to posit something, take it or leave it. Not having mudsex doesn't make someone morally superior in the scheme of life anymore than not killing crying little children denizens or not doing extreme torture RP or anything else. Judging other people doesn't make you a better person, it just makes you judgmental.

Or you could take the reverse and assume any group in any location is used for such. 10+ in a city hangout? Clearly representative.

I miss the orgies at Fish Street.
(Those at Rally Point are rather dull)

Saeva

Mhaldor torture Scenes can be really ick.

i have walked into some weird shit at the brass lantern before. That's when I really find it distasteful. When you go to public places and do your rape rp. You do you, creepy. But keep it off the beaten path (no pun intended!).

Sobriquet

Mudsex is a decent credit builder for phased serpents. Infidelity can be lucrative.

Siduri

Sobriquet said:

Mudsex is a decent credit builder for phased serpents. Infidelity can be lucrative.

QFT, I used to make a load of money as a private investigator in 2005-2008.
The Cyrene baths now have an increased security level, coincidentally.

Razzlo

Honestly, I think there is a little blurring whenever a character of mine experiences high emotion, that is why I am playing though. I like feeling the feels.

I curse when I die. My heart beats faster when I combat. I blush with Razz when he gets embarrassed. I feel accomplished when he does something awesome. So I don't see why Mudsex is any different than that. 

So let consenting adults have their fun. Every group of people are going to have their creepers, and we have an Administration to help with that when it gets too bad. When creepers start creeping too much, they disappear without a trace. I am totally fine with that.

Valkyn

Mudsex between consenting adults? Fine. I do think it can be RP, but it an also just be smut. Whatever, really don't care as long as it's in private.

The harassment of newbies seems to have reduced over the years. When I first started playing I was 15 (this was over a decade ago), and there were guys trying to get into my characters pants left right and centre, though I didn't realise it at the time (hey people are so friendly in this game! Thought 15 year old me) then there was one who was trying to get me to let him call me for phone sex. I think he was only 17 too. There was also another character who along with his IC father tried to lock my newbie character in a room and 'rape' her. I got out, so I don't know if they would actually have gone ahead with it, but that shit... needs to get out of the game, and I think for the most part it's improved from the rampant nature it was in those days.

Our legal age for sex is 16 here, but adults don't typically pursue girls under 18 (and even rarer guys), unless they're teenagers or close in age themselves (like 21 or under).

Ognog

I'm not at all comfortable with roleplaying "adult themes" given the possibility the player I'm roleplaying with might be a minor, which is why the furthest my character goes is light Disney level romance. It's enough fun for me

Ognog

Gotta tell ya, this one time (at band camp) this novice in the Arcanists Teleportation Chamber started doing the "suck" emote on me. That was a tad off putting. She got a "staredown".

Ralae

Kayeil said:

I don't care what adults do. I have often wondered about how often minors get engaged in this kind of thing. Have met plenty of players who talk about wanting to let their children (when they're old enough to play) and younger siblings to join Achaea, which I've always been concerned about knowing different areas of this game might be inappropriate. Is age of consent age 18 in most countries? Are there some where it's higher? I imagine there might be some where it's lower. Then there's the thing where a person of a certain age might be of age to consent in their country, but not in the country of the other player. I don't know about other people, but I always feel uncomfortable RPing with people that I found out to be quite a bit younger than me in any circumstance. There's usually already a difference in maturity in how they handle themselves. Not to mention, though they're entitled to their issues and problems of their age group, I always feel weird when they try to come to me with them because I just don't really relate. I'd like to say most people I know in Achaea RP differently with the players of younger age groups than they do with the ones of older age groups.

Just to clarify for you Kayeil. In the United States, where IRE's hub is located, the age of consent varies by which state you live. For example someone who is sixteen in Georgia is at the age of consent. Whereas someone in Tennessee must be 18 to be considered a consenting adult.

I personally think that this game is much too adult themed for people underaged even without the MUDSEX capabilities. I don't however think it should be punishable for engaging in Mudsex. It is a vital part of a -lot- of Achaean RP. There are a few who believe mudsex is the devil and choose not to participate and it's very possible to play a very well made, immersive character and never let anyone in your underthings. Though there is an age requirement to play for a reason and if you do not want to play a game where people are able to 'pretend have sex' then you really shouldn't play the game in the first place. Perhaps a simple disclaimer is all that is needed. I would be more than willing to have my children play Achaea. I would however be wary of their roleplays but I'm not going to be one of those parents that teaches their child the world is a basket of roses and candycanes and render them completely unprepared for the reality of things.

The fact is that if parents paid more attention to the things their children do on the internet instead of blaming the internet for what their children do on it, then we'd have a significantly less lazy and self righteous population.

Not really sure where all this came from but hey! That's just my opinion.

Tharvis

it mostly seems to originate from how much of a social stigma the very concept of sexuality in general was made to seem by the environment you grew up in, this branding with a social stigma occasionally carries into the game, causing drama, which in turn gives the people having to hear the drama a headache, which either makes them dislike the person complaining about it (for intolerancy), or the concept of mudsex.
This drama was also not really helped with those name-and-shame pastebins or the (seemingly more rare now) permanent newbies that are/were very.. descriptive and/or pushy.

Sarapis

Just a note: age of consent in the US doesn't apply to chat sex/mud sex (similarly, it's perfectly legal for a 6 year old to walk into a bookstore and buy 50 Shades of Grey). Where you can really get into legal trouble is doing anything that might be interpreted as attempting, suggesting, luring, etc a minor into real life contact in the context of anything that even might be sexual in nature.

Personally, given the potential legal consequences, I'd stay the hell away from any sort of activity that even hints at mudsex with anyone that I wasn't positive was not a minor. It's way too easy for someone to misinterpret something you say and nobody is really looking to cut the person having mudsex with a minor a break or give them the benefit of the doubt.

The under-13 ban is a result of the Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) which makes it burdensome to allow under 13s to play. You need to get a signature from their parents, etc. Plus, it's just super unlikely that most under 13s could handle Achaea for all sorts of reasons (too much reading, community looks down on people who write like most 12 year olds write, etc). 

Boosteya

Sarapis said:

It's just super unlikely that most under 13s could handle Achaea for all sorts of reasons (too much reading, community looks down on people who write like most 12 year olds write, etc).

The outside few who can, I worry Achaea does a disservice to, simply by the playerbase (including me) being ourselves. Not that any one of us can do anything about that, but if we were motivated enough, collectively we could.

I know, highly unlikely. Fair enough; just wanted to mention this.

Athelas

Anyone else find it interesting how mature this thread has been conducted thus far?

@Sarapis See dad, the kids are all grown up

Tharvis

Athelas said:

Anyone else find it interesting how mature this thread has been conducted thus far?

Sarapis See dad, the kids are all grown up

you jinxed it

Athelas

Tharvis said:

Athelas said:

Anyone else find it interesting how mature this thread has been conducted thus far?

Sarapis See dad, the kids are all grown up

you jinxed it

I had to! We were in serious danger of looking like a group of adults!

Synbios

For some reason, this message comes to mind in most online games I see: Online interactions not rated by the ESRB. I think this also applies to Achaea.

Gamden

I heard the next big update to the game will include "Std's"

Just saying..

Trevize

Gamden said:

I heard the next big update to the game will include "Std's"

Just saying..

That spread via registration and IP!