Goonhub
10-09-2022, 09:40 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-09-2022, 09:41 PM by SirSwagmeyer. Edited 1 time in total.
Edit Reason: Clarity.
)
I know I am VERY late to the discussion, but I thought I'd give my two cents on it.
This is a really long post, so just read the first two paragraphs below if you want the TLDR.
My biggest gripe with having a metaclique is that it sometimes seriously disrupts the round's workflow and general functionality of the station sometimes if they prioritize RPing with their metaclique instead of doing their job.
Now, I'm not saying you should never deviate from the job you signed up for - RP can be done outside of your department - but I don't think you should neglect urgent and core aspects of your job to RP with someone just because you're familiar with them and know you'll have a good time.
This is especially awful on lowpop. I could give a few examples here.
I remember a round where the Chief Engineer had completely disappeared to do Adventure Zones with a friend, never returning for the entire round. They left behind a new, latejoining engineer to fumble around to try and figure out how to set up the engine by themselves. I had to bring together myself, the AI, and a miner to try and help this Engineer figure it out. They never responded. Not a damn word on the radio. I only realized post-round that they were off doing Azones.
I've also had a group of doctors completely ignore my dying body, heart exposed, on an operating table just to RP with a monkey they were familiar with who was having an allergic reaction. I died, and they left my corpse on that operating table for so long that it started rotting. When I respawned, the corpse was still there, and they were still RPing with the monkey.
I could go on and on, but here's the TLDR of it: In a situation where we need all the capable hands that we can get to keep the station functional, prioritizing a metafriend is nothing if not detrimental to the integrity of the station.
Now, how can we fix this?
If I were to answer this personally? We can't. Not naturally. It's basic psychology for people to favor their ingroups as compared to unfamiliar outgroups. It's already been said in this forum by others - people can expect a positive outcome when RPing with people that they know.
Personally speaking, I've accepted my fate. I know that I'm going to be alienated by veteran RPers who don't want people to interject into their own personal and overarching RP storylines, and just go off to RP with other people that are also being excluded. Is this right? I dunno, you tell me. Is this inevitable? Maybe.
If I were to answer this as a rule-abiding, upstanding member of Goonstation? Ahelp any metaclique situations and try and include people as much as you can. When I first started playing on Goon RP, I was very alienated and excluded until a security officer decided to pick me out of the blue and just... started to RP with me. We boxed, talked, had drinks and a smoke and shared a box of donk pockets together. It was one of the most fun rounds I've ever had, and probably the best way to introduce me to Goon RP.
It was a phenomenal feeling to finally be included in something like that after being alienated, and I firmly believe that if there were more people like that SecOff out there on RP, it'd be a much more inclusive and fun place. The last thing we want is to drive new people out.
This is a really long post, so just read the first two paragraphs below if you want the TLDR.
My biggest gripe with having a metaclique is that it sometimes seriously disrupts the round's workflow and general functionality of the station sometimes if they prioritize RPing with their metaclique instead of doing their job.
Now, I'm not saying you should never deviate from the job you signed up for - RP can be done outside of your department - but I don't think you should neglect urgent and core aspects of your job to RP with someone just because you're familiar with them and know you'll have a good time.
This is especially awful on lowpop. I could give a few examples here.
I remember a round where the Chief Engineer had completely disappeared to do Adventure Zones with a friend, never returning for the entire round. They left behind a new, latejoining engineer to fumble around to try and figure out how to set up the engine by themselves. I had to bring together myself, the AI, and a miner to try and help this Engineer figure it out. They never responded. Not a damn word on the radio. I only realized post-round that they were off doing Azones.
I've also had a group of doctors completely ignore my dying body, heart exposed, on an operating table just to RP with a monkey they were familiar with who was having an allergic reaction. I died, and they left my corpse on that operating table for so long that it started rotting. When I respawned, the corpse was still there, and they were still RPing with the monkey.
I could go on and on, but here's the TLDR of it: In a situation where we need all the capable hands that we can get to keep the station functional, prioritizing a metafriend is nothing if not detrimental to the integrity of the station.
Now, how can we fix this?
If I were to answer this personally? We can't. Not naturally. It's basic psychology for people to favor their ingroups as compared to unfamiliar outgroups. It's already been said in this forum by others - people can expect a positive outcome when RPing with people that they know.
Personally speaking, I've accepted my fate. I know that I'm going to be alienated by veteran RPers who don't want people to interject into their own personal and overarching RP storylines, and just go off to RP with other people that are also being excluded. Is this right? I dunno, you tell me. Is this inevitable? Maybe.
If I were to answer this as a rule-abiding, upstanding member of Goonstation? Ahelp any metaclique situations and try and include people as much as you can. When I first started playing on Goon RP, I was very alienated and excluded until a security officer decided to pick me out of the blue and just... started to RP with me. We boxed, talked, had drinks and a smoke and shared a box of donk pockets together. It was one of the most fun rounds I've ever had, and probably the best way to introduce me to Goon RP.
It was a phenomenal feeling to finally be included in something like that after being alienated, and I firmly believe that if there were more people like that SecOff out there on RP, it'd be a much more inclusive and fun place. The last thing we want is to drive new people out.