In your letter on RDM subbing you mentioned your support for unconventional character classes. I have to applaud you for publicly backing the idea that different job pairings work, and can be fun. The main character I play is a Tarutaru DRG/WAR. I have several characters on the side that I’m building as well. a Hume RDM/WAR, and a Taru BRD/THF. They’re fun to play because they’re challenging, but because I’m not a cookie cutter class I get guff at times, and as far as roleplaying… I personally love roleplaying, but never get a chance thanks to the grind that other players enforce. Its sad the this beautiful MMORPG has lost its roots thanks to players who see the game as a job, or mix their idocy in my fantasy with rediculous and sometimes offensive names. Yes they pay the same as I do, but do they have to abuse their right to make a unique name to the point where I sigh and slap my own forehead? Anyhow, I just wanted to get your views on roleplaying in Vana’diel, should it be encouraged more, or kept in the small pockets of RP’ers it has evolved into?
Jon
Dear Jon,
I thank you for your kind and generous comments about my reply. We as adventures should respect versatility in our ranks. I have and always will encourage those starting out to dabble in everything if they are unsure of themselves. There is a place for everyone in our world; it is just a matter of finding out where we all fit. Everyone would to well to remember that.
I am familiar with the offensive nom de plumes of which you speak. I had at first thought they were merely from a distant land, and adopted the names of certain unmentionable body parts as a sort of rite of passage. Later I learned that these were, in fact, my own neighbors, merely adopting these monikers for adventuring in an attempt to injure the tender sensibilities of their enemies, and coincidentally, innocent bystanders as well. It is a trend spreading like wildfire, I’m afraid. As new generations enter our world, they will inevitably bring with them their own form of rebellion, and their own fads and colloquialisms. We can either choose to adapt, or ignore them all together.
I have done a short personal study into some of this group’s codewords, and I am compiling a reference list which I feel may help bridge the communication gap. For instance, I have learned that their word “n00b” translates to “inexperienced person”, and “joo sux0r” means “your actions are/were deplorable”. It is a fascinating language, particularly well-suited to those with small vocabularies and short attention spans, as ideas can be expeditiously expressed with a minimum of words, letters, or grammar.
As to my opinion of this group’s insistence to belittle those of us who have not lost our identities to the silicon god they worship, I say this: Those bloody buggers, bloody-well buggering up the spirit of the adventure, I have half a mind to give them a taste of my shoe! *pants* Find your happy place, deep breaths… count to ten. Ah, where were we then?
I fully endorse expressing oneself and staying true to your beliefs in whatever guise you may take, but in civilized company, “roleplaying” is something best kept in the privacy of one’s home.
Maintaining my integrity,
-Sir Digimus
