Serverwide Pally Channel Question?

[Remdayen]

Okay so I quit the pally serverwide chat channel once, however Knytul was very gracious and talked me into giving all the yokels there another chance. I do not actually chat in there a whole bunch, that's just not me. I do learn a lot from the other Knights though, by the discussions and question asked there. I do ask for or give input on occasion.

Recently though I have become pretty digusted by the chatter in there, its like the 24/7 pothead convention. Talking about your illegal use of a controlled substance puts me throught the roof. Please do not give me the arguments about it being a natural thing, it should be legal and all that. If you are wondering about me outside EQ I am a Alcohol and Drug Counselor in a Men's Prison. I see every day what this "harmless" natural substance has done to men, their familes and the communites in the State of Oregon. And yes it is a gateway drug. I will not be joining this channel again. Yes every one is entitled to their own opinon, however I am exercising my free right to say how I feel and to leave this channel. I will not listen to people glorifying their drug use and where the best pot is at. So of course the last thing I want to see after work, on days off or on vacation is this garbage. Flame away if you like. Of course I also feel strongly about playing my toon as he should be, a Paladin pure in mind, body and spirit. You can play your toons as you wish also.

[Normy]

If that gets your goat I bet you'd really have a heart attack over the political debates in my guild chat.

[Remdayen]

Politics, way cool, enjoy those trype of challenging discussions.

[Normy]

I'd rather discuss drugs than talk with idiots about what they read in a chain email that must be perfect truth.

[Remdayen]

Chain emails when I get them, get one key, DELETE. Hate them.

[varutia]

Politics are fun to discuss with, however with some people it is like banging your head againist a wall

[Genadinee]

Have to agree with the OP, this channel has gone from being somewhere you could ask questions, get advice, and be treated in a civil manner, now it is the home of 3 or 4 idiots who are as OP said trash talking all the time.

What is worse is one of the Mods is activly participating in this behaviour, so those Mods that are left have a hard to impossible time controlling what is going on.

[Zanador]

After that crap last night after 4 years in there I will no longer be joining that channel. You have a couple stoners 24/7 blabbering about getting high and little to no useful information coming out of the channel anymore.

[Saintsaens]

That actually is the main reason I only join the channel when I have a question, then immediately quit it once I get a (partial or somewhat thorough) answer. Honestly, can it PLEASE be moderated a bit better? Serverwide channels can be a wonderful resource for those pallies who actually have serious questions, but it needs to be at least partially moderated. I'm not saying politics/religion/other contentious issues should never be talked about, but there are plenty of other places to discuss it, it needs to be kept out of EQ. This is, after all, supposedly an escape from RL, not an extension of it.

Either that, or can we make a new channel for those who actually want serious EQ discussion?

[knytul]

After hoping that our 2 mods in question could fix things among themselves unsuccessfully, i looked into the situation and temporarily removed mod rights from both of them. I told them why and some things that needed to be changed. I like to allow for a free chat on whatever subject WITHIN REASON. There are some subjects that are not allowed in ANY Conversation, this channel, guild chats, or in real life. Now im not going to go down and make a list and name them, but there is a thing that i recall saying back when i became op leader called Respecting Each Other. Last nite that did not happen so i took action.

Yes alot of people do talk about drugs. To Each Their Own there. Believe it or not drugs are more popular in the US than some people realize, most just dont talk about it. Sex, Alcohol, god who knows what, all things most people do. One subject we ALL love to talk about is Uhaens Sister. That respect was made Before it became a formal subject to talk about. I talked to Uhaen and made sure he was cool with it before it went big. If he wasnt cool with it, it woulda been a dead joke a LONG time ago. Having said that, i dont care whats talked about in channel as long as a few criteria are made: 1st and foremost) EQ Game questions are addressed first and properly. 2nd) If someones offended, dont blow up at them, Chill out. More than likely you are offending a many of others. 3rd) If one of the moderators Mods the channel and says chill out, OBVIOUSLY your offending WAY too many people and your the issue, not them.

Now im not saying make SW paladins pg13, but im saying that something like Sodomizing a baby or some shit isnt good conversation. Keep it civil.

[Joejo]

Well Im kinda new to the palli channel, not so new to crucible but am to posting, not new at all to the palli class, been my main since april of 2000, but what I just saw in palli channel kinda made me laugh at Freezahx and kinda made me feel old as hell

In 8 years of playing and that much in great guilds and chat channels, honestly, have never seen the disregard for what another might percieve or feel about what another types, kinda sad, that being said, have to agree with OP, 2 moths ago or so, channel seemed great, no not so much, kinda sad, was a great place to go to see cutting edge, great great pallis talk about the game with maturity.

Used to go to Bonz's all the time and learned tons there, but as was said earlier in chat channel about peeps popping in and out, lol seems pretty easy to figure out why someone would pop in and ask a question and then pop back out.

Yea, I said something about JC Penneys, kinda extreme, but if peeps would have just took 5 seconds and gave their mind a minute to work ( the mind is a wonderful thing) they would have realized and saw thru what was said and saw the meaning behind it, but seems most have forgot they have the ability to think thru things instead of jumping at the first chance they get.

Good luck with the palli channel, I wont be joining it again, prob not many care but just felt I wanted to put my 2 cents in.

[Uhaen]

Alright, I registered just for this topic.

I'm not new to anything here. I've trolled Samanna for years, hung out in paladin channel for just as long, and been a paladin in EQ since '02. As well, I've been a paladin channel mod for six months. I know many regulars in the channel, and discuss end-game strats with them on a consistent basis. As well, I talk to many low-tiered people. In the channel range from bleeding edge content to level 50 alts to level 30 newbies. I've suffered through people who are terribly irritating (Mafferr) and hang out with many prominent members (Jace and his hotkeys). There is no demographic here other than paladins who want to talk to other paladins.

Here's my issue:

Many people come in the channel to ask questions. Sometimes, they ask, leave, and never come back. Some people ask, leave, and come back when they have another question. Others join in, decide they like it here, and stay. As far as I'm concerned, everyone who wants to join is welcome, and as long as they respect that we are our own community I will respect that they are a new member, for any length of time they wish to stay. Every new person who joins usually has a question to us of some sort, even if it's a small one just as a sort of introduction, and if I notice it I will most likely go out of my way to answer the query. Last night I did the very thing; we had a level 57 paladin join in who said she had no haste item, and mentioned she wanted to earn her gear herself. Checking gear level and allak, I did what I could to point her to a haste item she could farm herself. So, great; I've established I can be helpful. Right after I was done looking up and conveying my information, though, I went right back to the conversation I was having. I don't even remember what it was at the time, it might've been about video games with Steave or asking Freezahx the correct dosage of marijuana to injest to find the world a little brighter, or discussing with Ende the proper way to please a woman.

I would not expect to come into your picnic in the park and demand you stop your conversation just so you can answer my questions. I understand the difference between serverwide channel's legacy of being a place you can look to to find information and a day off with your family, but let's be honest; you're not doing us any favors by asking us to look up your problems. When I talk with my friends, I talk very crudely, and if anyone is polite enough to me for me to interrupt my discussion with my friend, then they can expect when I'm finished that I'm going right back to name-calling and pointing out my best friend's flaws and short-comings. That's just how I act with my friends; we both think it's funny, productive, and most of all entertaining in a depressing real-life society. *That* is our escape from the world.

So, Joejo, I challenge you to do the same thing you ask of us: look past what we say. Often, crudely written and curse-laced sentences are simply metaphors for our true intentions. Rem, I challenge you to find an escape from the world better suited to myself and my friends. Zana, I miss you, come back and play with us. Saint, I haven't actually seen you ask anything but were I to have I would have addressed you personally as I do all people who ask us questions (that I see, mind you -- I am a busy guy, after all).

You have to remember. serverwide.paladins is already an established community. It is not our job to impress you, nor is it your place to tell us we are wrong, or judge us against your own personal feelings. It is rather you who should be trying to impress us; we're not the ones going to you to ask questions we can otherwise look up online in minutes.

~Uhaen

[Remdayen]

Everquest is a great escape for many of us, a way to unwind from work, from the stresses of real life and for some I know medical concerns that limit what they can do in life. I think EQ is great for many reasons most because it is fun and enjoyable for those of us that play.

I joined the channel more to become aware of the greater pally community around me. I know that people in EQ may not have the same standard in RL that I have. I accept that regulary when playing the game. I have no problem with that. My concern is that the drug talk has gone over the top in the channel recently and was sharing my conern about it. Yes its the choice of those that are regulars in there and moderators to set the tone. If I disagree then I can leave, which I have done. However I did want to put my 2 cents in a constructive way to say hey is this what this place is about. At one time when I first joined the channel, was it crude at times, sure, but I got over that. The drug refrences happening more frequently, that I have a major conern about. So I made my choice and left. And to answer a question earlier, I do know that drugs are very prevelant in our country. However I am basing my decision off of my morals and my professional knoweldge that is based off day in and day out work in the real world. And yes this is one area I do feel strongly about as I am sure others feel strongly about there morals and choices.

I do see lots of positives in the channel, lots of pallys being helped and supported, that I love. Just wanting to have a healthy discussion about this issue and seeing what others think about it. Thank you Uhaen and Knytul for responding tothis topic as both of you are known out there and are respected in the pally community.

[shiftie]

We only like uhaen because of his sister. Although i hear knytul likes him because he wears a dress.

[Remdayen]

Thats bad, but funny. Lol.

[Uhaen]

That's fair enough, Rem; and the discussions about drugs are pretty common, and a few members are known for being stoners. It's just something we accept and I don't think bothers many of us; I understand that it can bother you, as you've been exposed to experiences that display their negative aftereffects. I can only say that I haven't seen anything that sets off my moral alerts (might be slightly effected by the fact that I have none!) from the people I know who use weed recreationally. But I also don't know anyone who uses anything else regularly, so the three-four I know of are not a good sample size for judging; but, from what I've seen, nothing bad really happens. That's where my judgment for talking about drugs in channel comes from -- it just doesn't bother me very much.

For the record, I've never done any drugs illegally. The closest I've come was percocet for my appendectomy. Other than that, I had some cough drops one time in elementary school.........

I understand why you wouldn't want to join, as that's a fairly legitimate reason. And if you wanted to join if you had questions about the class or the game, a few of us in there know almost everything there is to know about EQ and in some cases other games or other RL aspects, and we'd be glad to answer. Kinda like the ending of Lethal Weapon 4... we're not better than the other high end paladins, we're just different.

Dude Shiftie we miss you! And I see a working computer log your ass in so I don't have to tank all the trash, sloth! Plus just cuz I look good in a dress doesn't mean you need to get all uppity with me; if you don't tone it down I'll not hesitate to descend upon a bitch and deliver some flaming justice upon your jelly-doughnut ass.

Also my sister says hi and you owe her $12

[Abazzagorath]

How about people grow up, get their panties unbunched, and move on with their lives.

Seriously. As pointless, juvenile, and dumb thatcrude talk, drug talk, trash talk, etc is to some people, its even more childish to start whining about it. I would assume that most of us are adults. Act like one, and stop being so overly sensitive.

If you aren't an adult, then too bad, because you're not supposed to be there anyway (this game requires you to be 18 to register, children are not "officially" allowed to have accounts in everquest).

If something is offending you so much, then leave. I do it sometimes myself. Why exactly should I start grandstanding, start trying to proselytize or advertise my own *subjective* morality to other people who have just as much right to their own opinions as me? You can not participate, you can start your own conversation with others to drown out the "dumb" or just leave. Start your own channel and make your own rules about what is or isn't proper decorum.

Respect is a two way street people. I think some people either have forgotten that, or never understood it in the first place.

This entire argument in serverwide, and this boil over thread here, is so full of ignorant stupidity and oversensitive sandy vaginas it makes me want to puke. Grow the f*** up and deal with it.

[frocus]

Why oh why does everyone know about Sandy's Vagina.

[Joejo]

[Tuathadendannan]

I've never joined the server wide channel but after seeing Rem's post on this and his complaints about drug usage I am glad I didnt. This is a game where ppl come to escape real life, if you wanna hear drug talk walk out your door I'm sure your homies getting high on your steps would be willing to discuss the current price and effect of the lastest one hit shit with you. I was an addict for alot of years and having to hear a bunch of drug talk knowing where it lead me would just drive me over the wall. I play a pally because its the opposite of the life I lead and its a great fanasty, thats whats this game is all about after all, why not just leave the sw channel as a place to gather info and discuss all the other Rl bs in a seperate one and let those who like to immerse themselves in the game a channel to ask important questions from their fellow pallys. It seems to me that some pallys see this channel as an important tool for asking questions and gaining advice....

[Uhaen]

[shiftie]

I think from now on all drug conversations in pally channel should be done in l33t speak that way only the elite can join in and the others can ignore it. I find it amusing that people continue to feel as though public forums should be moderated. It is even more amusing when people flame others for auctioning in general chat or ooc, people wish to dictate what the entire community of eq should or should not be using the channels for. I respect the opinions of others and if they choose not to participate in conversations more power to them, but nothing is making people read the text. If I happen to over-hear a conversation irl that I find offensive, I simply leave the area or ignore it. No one is forcing me to subject myself to any behavior or language.

with no disrespect to anyone in game or out of game..

This thread is full of lulZ.

cheer up people its just a game
shiftie

[Hulkling]

Pally channel is not a private channel, nor is it a public channel per sey. But, it is a community channel that is advertised at the top of this forum. I got /gu and guild knight chat for all the nasty fun topics, so keeping Pally channel PG13 isn't going to rain on my parade.

[knytul]

oh jesus christ people. SW paladins isnt all Drug chat. To even try to clarify us as just that is mentally retarted. We talk about Sex, Drugs, alcohol, Uhaens sister, games, gaming systems, Paladin stuff, other servers, politics sometimes, whatevers in the news, whole 9 yards. Just today we had discussions on who would win in boxing between a few fighters. I still say Ali in his prime would take Tyson in his prime.

Point is, we all are a bunch of characters. If it gets to heavy just tell freezah to stfu and pimpsmack em. Either that or tell em to go play Wii Fit while smokin a blunt. that works too. But if you want the conversation to change, Try inputting something. Joining the channel and remaining DEAD Silent aint gonna do a damn thing.

[Occam]

I agree that when some of the more vocal members start going off about a given topic (hay guyz I smoke lots of pot hur hur) it gets a little annoying, but that's life. People aren't always going to force themselves to conform to your imposed standards. It's not like there's nothing else to do on EQ besides watch serverwide.paladins chat. Just talk in a different channel, or /gu, or /g, or /fs, or /tell, or whatever else. It doesn't mean you have to leave the channel. It would be to your benefit to learn how to put up with people who are not doing exactly as you think they should. It will serve you well in life.

[Jace]

[Hulkling]

lies! at least once a week when I remember :p

[knytul]

a true Loyal paladin would have it on autojoin

[Hulkling]

good point...but I do have a window solely dedicated to pal channel! now I just need to remember all my other channels and passwords to reset autojoin lol.

[frocus]

Don't need to remember them all if you edit it outside the game.

[Uhaen]

[Jace]

So like Uhaen quit or temporary LoA?

[Uhaen]

School, my pre-pubescent cracker homie. =(

My RN degree won't earn itself, so I gotta do it; unfortunately that's gonna cut into my slaughter time, so as of now I'm on hiatus =(