[dev1289] Job Adjustments

[Alhanelem]

There is a benefit where it can lead to civil discussion. "hey, I saw your post on the forums! I don't post there but I thought I should let you know I really liked your comment about adding michael jackson to the game."

I can't say there's zero risk of hassle, but I can tell you nearly everyone tends to behave better ingame than they would on the forums. If they do something stupid from the forums, they just get banned from the forums. People are more worried about getting banned from the game, so the behavior standard is higher.

You have never been harassed in-game therefore it's impossible for it to happen to anyone else. Falling back on the GM is useless and illogical when confrontation can be avoided in the first place. They have a personal preference to remain anonymous, leave it at that.

No, I'm not saying I've never been harassed ingame, I'm saying i've never been harassed ingame because of posting on the forums. I don't understand why people are worried about being harassed in an online game, because it is much, much easier to deal with in the game than it is in person. you just /blacklist Jerkface, and you never have to deal with them again. If they do something stupid like follow you around or something because they have no life, you call a GM and get them suspended.

One of the biggest problems for me with people posting behind a mule is I have no way to know (for instance) if they actually have / play the job they're making comments on. e.g. people who have no experience playing a job declaring it's overpowered for example. If you can see that's not their main class then you know you don't have to take them as seriously. Additionally, if you hide behind a mule, people might just assume you're talking out your behind when you're really not.

If people didn't have to subscribe to the game to make an account and post on these forums, I could sort of understand it, because then every internet troll could come in here and this place would be much more toxic. But the forums are only a subset of the playerbase.

Finally, With updates for the game winding down, I see a lot more camaraderie with the playerbase. People are helping each other out more and being nicer because they don't want to make someone else quit and shrink the population. If you come clean with your main, you really shouldn't have anything to worry about. I think you're getting concerned about something that pretty much isn't going to happen, but that's your choice.

And there's really no benefit to showing my character. I've never had anyone bring it up in any context other than "Oh, I can't prove you wrong, so I will attack you for hiding your info!"

The thing is, if you weren't hiding your info, they couldn't have that discussion >.> Being honest with who you are and having nothing to hide gives your argument more weight vs. the more anonymous person saying the same thing. There is a much greater risk in being a jerkwad when people know who you are, so it is less likely to happen. And as I've said above, I've had positive conversations with others from posting on the forums (such as someone who doesn't post asking follow up questions about a job I play because they were seeking advice, for instance.)

Is it 100% risk free? No, nothing ever is. But there are benefits and the risk is miniscule.