Lewd and Crude /OOCFollow

I'm not really sure how to start this post off :) I'm not really trying to start a firey debate on whether lewd and crude /OOC chats are a good or bad thing, moreso just wondering why it seems to have taken off so much in EQ2.

Coming from 4 and a half years in EQ1, I can say without a doubt that at least on the Erollisi Marr server, such /ooc conversations were non existent. I played at all hours, and only in the last year did such chat start to surface, but not much of it.

Fast forward to EQ2. I really started to notice it in Thundering Steppes, after more people had hit 20. Especially late night, but prime time isnt spared either. People talking about gettin' drunk, drugs, all matters of graphic sex, and every swear word you can think of. In /OOC.

I'm 23 years old, and I'm no stranger to what they talk about. I say it all the time, infact. To my friends, in private tells. I do that for a couple reasons, the first being because such chat is supposedly against the rules. I also respect my fellow player, but as I said, I didn't want to turn this into a war :)

My question however is what do you guys think has made this become much more widespread? Does it happen on your server? My guess on its cause is that GM's don't really seem ta exist like they used to, and therefore it's a free-for-all. But what do you think?

I think you already nailed it on the head with the fact that there are no GM's around anymore. Plus, a lot of those 14 year old EQ1 players have grown up and discovered such humor.



I play on Highkeep, and the most spam I have ever seen would have to be in the Antonica zone, where everyone is trying to get into a group.

I've almost made it habit to turn off OOC in my chat windows...

it was so ridiculous one day I just rolled my eyes.. several people were actually having an arguement in OOC.. come on guys.. take it to a private channel or /tell.. honestly it didn't phase me it was just annoying trying to read things I *wanted* to read in the chat window and having it scroll away in less than 2 seconds.

OOC chat is for 'out of character' discussion, but it is not acceptable to use inappropriate language or topics. There are a lot of very young and immature people playing EQ2 right now and they need more monitoring than they are getting.

Use /report and /petition when you need to. There is no reason that /ooc banter should be something you have to turn off. The way EQ1 petition queues worked recently doesn't give instant response, but they do get to all petitions, including 'trivial' ones such as these. I assume that EQ2 uses the same kind of system. Use it and give it time to weed out those that need culling. Do your part to make Norrath a better place

why leave ooc turned on?

lets assume everyone decideds to turn ooc off as you recommend.... now you, that's right you find a quest that is not even listed online (yes the game is that new, so I'm certain there's more than one quest not known yet) and so you ask if anyone knows about it in ooc.. but alas..everyone has ooc turned off.. so, you're on your own.. go for it.

ahh you find out that quest needs a group.. so you ask in /ooc if anyone is willing to help you out with it.. oh, ooc is off.. no one hears you.. pity. Hope you're guilded.

this isn't like the examine filter in FFXI, ooc actually serves a good purpose.

...because some people actually ask good questions in OOC that they want answers to..

...and sometimes I have questions that more knowledgable people may know the answer to...

which are good reasons to keep OOC on.. with what little knowledge I have I've managed to help people who asked questions in ooc, however I *ALWAYS* reply to them in /tell.

Edited, Sun Nov 28 10:44:10 2004 by Iaini

Edited, Sun Nov 28 10:47:21 2004 by Iaini

No it's the same arguement because it's those people/kids who cause the problem in the first place. You know here or there a bad word won't destroy a kids life but when "people" talk about getting drunk or whatever in the /ooc then it becomes a problem.

I am hoping that after the free month runs out and the young ones have to go to their paretns to pay for the game this settles down . On my server it is nuts , I enjoy ooc to chat with others in zone , help with info and so on but lately I just want to turn it off it is so silly/rude/offensive. I find anytime something can be gotten for free you tend to get a very large population of kids, I saw this in beta and was hoping that it would end with the live product , I guess it hasnt .

Good conversation going here :) Most points I would of made already have been said, but I'll say em for myself for the heck of it too :)

First, turning off /OOC. Whereas it seems like a fix-all solution, as has already been stated /OOC can be quite useful. I personally attempt to answer every question pertaining to the game in OOC that I can. It's just something I've always done, and I enjoy it. Without /OOC on, I end up losing all of that, as well as any other chat related things.

I believe the *true* original purpose of the /ooc channel started in EQ1 as a means to ask non-roleplaying questions. IE truly out of character. Maybe Verant (at the time) thought that there would be more roleplayers, and they'd need a channel to ask questions without the roleplay.

Secondly, there was a point made about it being the parents jobs to keep their kids from seeing bad things. I couldn't agree more. However, EverQuest 2 is rated *T* for Teen. In the states, anywho. Though it doesn't say it anymore, it used to say (Ages 13+). If i were a parent I'd prolly let my kids play EQ2, but the only way for me to shield my child from all the filth-talk is either A.)turn off OOC, which robs him/her of an avenue to ask questions, B.)watch em play every second of every hour, which isn't feasible nor realistic. Tell me one teenage who'll let their parents watch over their shoulder forever and I'll give you a cookie. C.)Would be just flat out not letting them play. All three of those options are unneccessary.

I can't think of anymore now, and I'm hungry :) I'll edit me post if I can think of some more.

EDIT - Forgot one thing. Zotana mentioned this..



If I remember correctly from back in my day (which wasn't that long ago), adults spoil everything for kids :) Not the other way around. Yeah, we do have to watch what we say, because we are adults. Just because we became a certain age doesn't give us any right to start cussing like sailors, not in public anyways. If I heard a group of people talking about some of the stuff I've seen in EQ2 in a mall...heh...I'd call security on them, no doubt.

I do cuss like a sailor, there is no doubt. I'm sure there's things I can say that like the marine above in this post said, most have never heard. My parents knew from a point they couldn't stop me from sayin things like that. At a point, you just go your own path. But they did make dang sure that I knew it was NOT okay to say it in public. Thats a true responsible parent.

Edited, Sun Nov 28 17:06:12 2004 by Stashy

I have worked as a moderator for a gaming company for the past 4 years and I have noticed a slow but steady increase in acceptance and tollerance for public discussion of traditionally "taboo" topics: sex, drugs, alcohol, language. I see this as healthy and a blessing! We used to have a very strict policy about these topics, but now managers are more inclined to say, "If no one is upset by it then let it go."

My personal observation is that the vocal conservative minority have less sway on the Internet now than they used to. While my managers are more professional than ever I have noticed that the more... conservative employees have moved on.

I am personally looking forward to a time when someone can make a product as good as EQ2 that is intended for Adults only. Cybersex and other "mature" themes are too fun, in my humble opinion and it irritates me that online "adult" topics are generally depicted as "perverted" or "dirty". Give me a break!

ok I'm done. Shine on you crazy diamonds!

Cel

(edit: spelling)

Edited, Sun Nov 28 19:08:24 2004 by Celebration

as many of you know i used to play on bertoxxulous(defintly spelled wrong) and i last got on eq1 about 1 month ago and i port into PoK and first thing i hear is F$#K YOU @$$ HOLE!!!!! now i am only not all that old but i know that rude crude and foul launguage as that is not to be said in public. all it shows is that the person using it is imature and not able to use other words to express fealings/ideas. now as for the drink...... well theres nothing wrong with that as long as they dont use profain words. now as for sex........ i personly think if they wana talk about ******** some one then they need to take it into /tell or a private channel. i use /ooc to help others as much as i can. i play on faydark server and it is very very small. at a peak hour i see 20-50 people in antonica. and i have only once seen a second or even rarer third zone. my parents brought me up telling me that profanity is ok and fine to use in private. i was raised never to sware in public. it makes every one around you look stuiped. and it makes you look even worse. so for you zotana if you realy wana sware all that much in a video game go play d2 every one is 12 or so and they are all little @$$ holes.

Well those who hope for the day to come when any language or action is tolerated pay the same as we who abhor it. However, I don't believe we are a conservative minority, nor would it make a difference if it were a majority position.

Good business, and yes, ethics, would dictate that there be "adult" servers, where those who feel inclined could do or say as they please, while keeping "family safe" areas for the rest of us.

Just not saying anything anymore :) Yay

Edited, Mon Nov 29 00:03:20 2004 by Stashy

So far, I've been lucky to not have run into this yet in EQ2 (though I do remember it in EQ1 when I last played). I'm no prude, but it just doesn't belong for several reasons. A couple of those have already been mentioned (concern for kids, ruining /OOC as a useful tool for players), and there are a couple more that should be raised.

First off, any real, mature adult will use that kind of language as little as possible. There's no real need for it, and the more you use it, the more it makes you look like an immature idiot. You might hit some arbitrary age, but that doesn't automatically make you a mature adult. It's how you act that has more bearing on that.

Secondly, it really ruins the atmosphere because it just does not fit the setting at all. Some of us actually enjoy a bit of roleplay or even just being in a different world to begin with. That kind of language pulls us right back out and ruins our enjoyment of the game. I'm sure there are plenty of AOHell chat rooms where you can cuss to your crude heart's content, but it just doesn't belong on Norrath.