X-Men: Discussion Topic

[25K Now!]

Constructman, I felt like breaking the monotony of deluge of mini-essays.

 

Besides, we can easily sum up what everybody is saying in a few words.

 

Flex is a corrupt and inflexible GM.

Edited June 13, 2013 by Content with Life

[shadow pridak money gang]

"And now it's MY turn to talk." - Brick Tamlan, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

 

These opening paragraphs are not to address Flex Fiction. Enough has been said on Flex Fiction as I write these words and more will probably be written on him by the time I'm done. His time is going to come. But I'm not going to waste mine talking about his conduct since this game's inception. Rest assured, that will come later. But, to me personally, as a player, and as a (regrettably former) staff member, he is microscopic - indeed, borderline amoebic - when it comes to XMDD. That's where I'd like to start: the game itself.

 

This has never been a perfect game; arguably it's never been a great one. It's been a rare instance where I've seen lightning bottled from the getgo, with well-known players and a diverse opening cast of characters that made the game interesting for the first dozen or so players who joined in. Over the course of the next few weeks and months the floodgates opened, until eventually a lull in schooltimes for many of us and high interest cumulated in an actual loss of activity in the BZPRPG itself. We attracted players famous and not-so-famous, built ourselves quite the little coalition, and this game became a success story for both the RPG system in general and for a fledgling new forum. For this, Flex deserves credit; it was his concept and he rolled with it, however rocky it appeared to be at times IC and OOC, until we had ourselves a game that was riding high. Over the course of the last page and over the course of today I've heard this game referred to as a Cinderella story and as a massive critical success. For this, however, Flex deserves neither accolades nor any special attention; rather, after the first several weeks of the game, his role in this continued and profound success over the game's tenure should be treated with the same facetiousness and insignificance with which he treated his most loyal and veteran players outside the confines of the game.

 

I'd like to make it clear that I've always had faith in this game. As I've said before, it has never arguably been a great RPG despite its high activity and praise. The plot has always been a bit thin. The characters from the source material themselves have been edited and maligned like Play-Doh (Warren Worthington included, in some ways) until there is nothing visible of the comic incarnation because all we can see are the imprints of our own fingers all over them. The settings have been flipfloppy, at times the timestream can get a bit wonky, and we've tackled a lot of topics in this RPG I wouldn't have dreamed possible in most others. These things are all blessings and curses, both because they allowed many players like myself from the BZPRPG - a game known, if nothing else, for its at least attempted ability to stay rigid to canon - and many other COT gamers to push ourselves out of molds we'd grown accustomed to, to experiment with characters, and to tackle challenges many of us hadn't seen before in games. To all who may read this, I encourage you, if you do not have a character involved in this game, do so. The community is (largely) friendly as can be and we will do our best to try and incorporate you. Again, though, I'd like to state something that I'm sure many of you reading this topic (and a few of you who aren't, but will soon enough) can testify to with ease: this is not Flex's doing.

 

Over the past ten months I and many others have listened to Flex go on about how he made the game what it is. How he made this game one of the most popular topics on BZP. How we were simply trying to railroad his vision into ours when in actuality he was picking up the train and throwing it at us. How we could just vanish and his game would still do fine. Not only were these statements as myopic and arrogant one-on-one as they sound here, they are also some of the most patently false, braggadocio-laden, backhanded insults I have ever heard directed at me and my peers - my friends - alike. People I considered personal friends - people who I regularly text, converse with, and voice chat with - have all been the victim's of an almost Cro-Magnon level brutality in words and demeanor, sometimes with Draconian punishment thrown in to enhance flavor. This is what we've dealt with behind the scenes. But we've dealt with it for the good of the game, and for the good of the players, who we hoped - and, indeed, presumed - would never have to see this kind of diatribe and undeserved vitriol in such a public setting.

 

Sadly, we were wrong. And thanks to Flex's hormonal desire to prove us wrong, he may well have detonated his own prize possession: his power.

 

I've known Flex for almost a year now, and I'm going to take the time to say that Flex is, if nothing else, a curious little specimen. Sometimes laid back, oftentimes demanding, he's mercurial if nothing else, with a temperament like an EMP that will fizzle and buzz away just as quickly as it sparked. This is not the first time he has blown up at Alex and I. It is not the worst. This does not make it into the Top 20 list for either criteria. Grochi gets it worse than us; Snelly, considered the best of all of us no matter who you ask, was subject to a hundred times more undeserved and uninspired verbal lashing than he merited. Flex's confrontations with the players of XMDD on Skype have been universal, and they are legend; oftentimes he will quit the game entirely or try to get the other person to leave. After thirty minutes sulking alone on Skype he will deliver a slight, insincere public apology to the person he blew up on before taking it to private chat and doing his best to defecate on them through the computer screen in a manner I have not seen anywhere else besides the darkest corners of Internet trolling Meccas.

 

No one has been safe from his ire; no one ever was.

 

Six months ago today, it all came to a head, and one by one the four aforementioned players - me and three other players who started RPing together, have been RPing together since and probably always will RP together in some capacity, three other people who I consider some of my best friends from this website - quit this game within hours of each other, having come to a conclusion that this game was irreparable even back then and that as long as this game continued to operate under Flex's leadership, our efforts would be as useful as trying to grow a community garden from concrete, or make points count on Who's Line is it, Anyway?

 

Two hours later, after a series of negotiations and talks with the others, I agreed that we would come back, and we would revitalize the game. And we did so in spades, bringing back almost everyone who had ever left the game because of his poor attitude and mongoloid level communication skills with those who disagree with him. But apparently that was not enough for Flex, as we always figured on some level that it wouldn't be.

 

Fast forward through six months of poor plot ideas, attempts to reclaim some semblance of the power and "authority" he once held over this game, and several more slur filled, hateful, unwarranted tirades that would make even Kanye West drop the mic and walk backwards off stage with his hands raised. It's June 10th, 2013, and I see a PM from Basilisk sent late at night asking me what the deal was with the lack of activity in XMDD, and telling me of Flex's renewed interest in GMing, his promises that he'd changed and his ability to run the game as it could be run. Naturally, I was less skeptical than I should have been - summer had just started, and what time I did want to devote to BZP I wanted to devote to the BZPRPG, which I have a substantially larger role in than I did this time last year. So I agreed, and I made Flex GM with a graciousness, easygoingness, and congratulatory manner than he would not have given to any of us - indeed, a manner that nobody else who's posted in this topic lately would grant him. And what did he do?

 

Act like a troglodyte about it.

 

Snelly had foresight I wish I could have possessed: within hours he was gone, and announced he wasn't coming back again, even for us. One day later, every plan Krayzikk and I were working on (plans that would have been kicked into motion today, the day that he got off school) was scrapped and replaced with what I can only describe as the absolute worst attempt at a Rule of Cool plane crash since the series premiere of The Event. Naturally, we argued about it, because this isn't even the first time such a thing has happened - this is not the first time we've had to contest the unnatural and unfair survival of one of Flex's characters when another, regular character would have been encouraged to be killed.

 

By the way, Constructman? When we killed the Loki kid you created, up until the moment you and Advent actually complained loud enough about it, he encouraged Grochi and Krayzikk to maim and shoot your character just to prolong your irritation. Then he turned on us. What a guy, huh.

 

So, naturally, you know the rest of the story. It can all be read and pored over through the last page or so, if you so desire. Except you don't know the story. You don't know that, even now, Flex is desperately calling us "rude, bossy, and abusive" even while he scrambles like an infant across a buttered floor to find someone willing to tolerate his abuse. He has effectively cut his player base in half over both his tenures, which is surprising to me because up until this point I had my doubts that he knew which end of the knife you cut things with. You don't know that he's trying to hire our own friends, bribe them with staff positions, so that he can figure out what we're saying about him and sabotage us. You do not know your own GM.

 

So, to the players I've socialized with, the friends I've whined with, and even the people I've argued with, why is he what this game needs?

 

If you want to talk to me, Skype me: bzdurden. I can add you to the XMDD chat. They'll back me up.

 

Think about it.

 

-Tyler

Edited June 14, 2013 by Dallas Winston

[Havelock Vetinari]

So, naturally, you know the rest of the story. It can all be read and pored over through the last page or so, if you so desire. Except you don't know the story. You don't know that, even now, Flex is desperately calling us "rude, bossy, and abusive" even while he scrambles like an infant across a buttered floor to find someone willing to tolerate his abuse. He has effectively cut his player base in half over both his tenures, which is surprising to me because up until this point I had my doubts that he knew which end of the knife you cut things with. You don't know that he's trying to hire our own friends, bribe them with staff positions, so that he can figure out what we're saying about him and sabotage us. You do not know your own GM.

 

Really. Well, I'm sure that behavior violates a rule. Somewhere.

 

Pardon while I go look.

[Advent Child]

....Wow. What. Did. I. Miss?

[Havelock Vetinari]

....Wow. What. Did. I. Miss?

 

Uh, Flex told me he changed, I decided it might be a good idea to put him back in charge because the other GMs were busy. Contacted Dallas about it. Flex was put back in charge....

 

The results speak for themselves.

Edited June 14, 2013 by Basilisk

[Advent Child]

Just wanted to make sure I read everything correctly... I am... Really amazed at what a turn things have taken.

[Snelly]

Well, I knew putting Flex in charge again was going to be bad. I didn't realise it was gonna get bad this quickly.

 

I highly recommend to anyone with the shreddist bit of sanity to just quit this RPG till Flex is no longer GM, even if that means forever.

 

Flex, whether he realises it or not, is a bulling control freak who throws tantrums whenever things don't go his way. Like several people have already testified he has blatantly broken his own rules whenever he sees fit, calls people out when they try to do the same thing, and never lets a character of his die no matter how impossible it is for them to survive.

 

At least that's what I've observed and suffered through for the majority of this RPG's life. Kind of why I quit.

[Flex Lord Splash]

Some things that have been said are true. I do have some anger issues. A lot of other nasty and over exaggerated things have also been said. A lot of them personal and which had nothing to do with this game.

 

It was a rash decision to boot the staff over an argument such as this. One that I regret. I also regret all of this negativity and bashing that has been going on, the RP did not need this and I'm sorry for it.

 

If they are willing Dallas and Snark may have their positions back. Once things have cooled off I will try to talk to them about the plot ideas I have and the ones they have and hopefully we can work together. Though before my ideas were usually shot down by them.

 

As I said I wasn't trying to break my own rules. I thought what my character was doing would be in the realm of something he could survive through. In the future I'll be sure to speak with the staff (if there is any at this point) before I try something as rash. I really don't want John to be dead though. Can we just retcon the whole plane crash thing? I will allow that his healing factor shouldn't be as powerful and OP as Wolverine's and that in this game he should of not survived the ordeal. I'll even retcon the Hydra base being blown up if you still have use for it for whatever plot you have planned.

 

Though the last thing Snelly said is completely untrue. I've killed off a good deal of my own characters or allowed them to die. Probably more then anyone else in this RP so far. Especially when I just killed off another character of mine yesterday. It may be too late to patch things up, but this is my attempt.

Edited June 14, 2013 by Flex Fiction

[otter]

And it will prove to be the same as last time, only without you losing your power. You'll act contrite, you'll get everybody back, and then what? All back to normal. The same vitriolic man will show himself yet again, doing the exact same as he always has.

 

I can't speak for Tyler or Krayzikk, but I can speak for myself when I say that, after this post, I'm well and truly done with you. Good luck getting anybody to come back after this debacle.

[Snelly]

Though the last thing Snelly said is completely untrue. I've killed off a good deal of my own characters or allowed them to die. Probably more than anyone else in this RP so far. Especially when I just killed off another character of mine yesterday. It may be too late to patch things up, but this is my attempt.

 

Let me clarify. You've had characters killed off because you wanted them to die or were convinced that they should die sure. But if you really didn't want a character to die, it wouldn't matter how fatal a injury they'd sustain, you wouldn't allow it. I'm thinking of Novocain here mostly, and I guess John now too. Sure Novocain is dead now, but he honestly should have died ages ago. The fact that he could survive falling hundreds and hundreds of feet at climbing speeds is ridiculous, the impact would have splattered his remains in every direction, but naturally his healing factor allowed him to survive that instance.

Edited June 14, 2013 by A billion cats

[25K Now!]

So who's up for creating the super fragile guy who should die but his powers just keep bringing him back to life to die again?

[otter]

So who's up for creating the super fragile guy who should die but his powers just keep bringing him back to life to die again?

Okay, I can't resist this...

Kenny?

[Krayzikk]

Some things that have been said are true. I do have some anger issues. A lot of other nasty and over exaggerated things have also been said. A lot of them personal and which had nothing to do with this game.

 

It was a rash decision to boot the staff over an argument such as this. One that I regret. I also regret all of this negativity and bashing that has been going on, the RP did not need this and I'm sorry for it.

 

If they are willing Dallas and Snark may have their positions back. Once things have cooled off I will try to talk to them about the plot ideas I have and the ones they have and hopefully we can work together. Though before my ideas were usually shot down by them.

 

As I said I wasn't trying to break my own rules. I thought what my character was doing would be in the realm of something he could survive through. In the future I'll be sure to speak with the staff (if there is any at this point) before I try something as rash. I really don't want John to be dead though. Can we just retcon the whole plane crash thing? I will allow that his healing factor shouldn't be as powerful and OP as Wolverine's and that in this game he should of not survived the ordeal. I'll even retcon the Hydra base being blown up if you still have use for it for whatever plot you have planned.

 

Though the last thing Snelly said is completely untrue. I've killed off a good deal of my own characters or allowed them to die. Probably more then anyone else in this RP so far. Especially when I just killed off another character of mine yesterday. It may be too late to patch things up, but this is my attempt.

 

 

No.

 

No, I will not be coming back as staff. At this point, I am still deciding whether or not I will come back as a player. And I'll take a minute to explain why. First and foremost, even this post is loaded with subtle digs not only at myself and Tyler, but also at other people, former game staff included. And I happen to know for a fact that only one character of yours was explicitly killed despite your personal opinion, and that death required excessive conversation between you and Tyler just to allow a death that could, and would, legally occur under the rules. And the rest were all you willingly killing off your own characters.

 

But the comment that most solidified my opinion was the unnecessary comment about your previous attempts at suggesting plots. Were they shot down? Yes. But unlike how your statement would imply, they were not shot down without reason. One involved mass PC death and then resurrection, and then placing the entire power of the Phoenix in one of your character's hands for the duration of the plot. And then elevating that character's significant other to equally god-tier status just so they could duke it out on the ruins of the world. The other involved freezing half the world by waking up some kind of Norse god. We always had a reason when we said "no", and we always let you speak your piece before saying it.

 

And further, this argument didn't have to go this way. Tyler and I made perfectly civil points, points that were backed up by another player. You could have listened, and suggested a retcon, or you could have simply gone along with your own actions. Instead, you chose to escalate the conflict by threatening to fire us. And that is where it truly went bad.

 

I could have overlooked and worked past the extreme lack of communication when you took over again. I could have moved past the fact that you utterly destroyed a plot I was working on since before my finals started by stepping in yourself without even bothering to ask me what I had had planned. I could even have looked past the beginnings of this argument, but you insisted on escalating it. And that's not something I can overlook. Especially seeing as you saw fit to remove us as contacts on our primary means of communication the instant this all went south for you (And I know that's when it happened, because when we spoke about Novocain the day before, you were still a contact).

 

I will not be returning as staff. I cannot speak for Tyler, but I doubt he will be either.Might see you around the game. But it's not very likely.

[shadow pridak money gang]

Wait...after all this, you want us back as staff? So we can go through this again, but less publicly this time, and so that any say we do have will be diluted and tempered to the point of near-nonexistence?

 

Hm.

 

 

-Tyler

[Flex Lord Splash]

 

Some things that have been said are true. I do have some anger issues. A lot of other nasty and over exaggerated things have also been said. A lot of them personal and which had nothing to do with this game.

 

It was a rash decision to boot the staff over an argument such as this. One that I regret. I also regret all of this negativity and bashing that has been going on, the RP did not need this and I'm sorry for it.

 

If they are willing Dallas and Snark may have their positions back. Once things have cooled off I will try to talk to them about the plot ideas I have and the ones they have and hopefully we can work together. Though before my ideas were usually shot down by them.

 

As I said I wasn't trying to break my own rules. I thought what my character was doing would be in the realm of something he could survive through. In the future I'll be sure to speak with the staff (if there is any at this point) before I try something as rash. I really don't want John to be dead though. Can we just retcon the whole plane crash thing? I will allow that his healing factor shouldn't be as powerful and OP as Wolverine's and that in this game he should of not survived the ordeal. I'll even retcon the Hydra base being blown up if you still have use for it for whatever plot you have planned.

 

Though the last thing Snelly said is completely untrue. I've killed off a good deal of my own characters or allowed them to die. Probably more then anyone else in this RP so far. Especially when I just killed off another character of mine yesterday. It may be too late to patch things up, but this is my attempt.

 

 

No.

 

No, I will not be coming back as staff. At this point, I am still deciding whether or not I will come back as a player. And I'll take a minute to explain why. First and foremost, even this post is loaded with subtle digs not only at myself and Tyler, but also at other people, former game staff included. And I happen to know for a fact that only one character of yours was explicitly killed despite your personal opinion, and that death required excessive conversation between you and Tyler just to allow a death that could, and would, legally occur under the rules. And the rest were all you willingly killing off your own characters.

 

But the comment that most solidified my opinion was the unnecessary comment about your previous attempts at suggesting plots. Were they shot down? Yes. But unlike how your statement would imply, they were not shot down without reason. One involved mass PC death and then resurrection, and then placing the entire power of the Phoenix in one of your character's hands for the duration of the plot. And then elevating that character's significant other to equally god-tier status just so they could duke it out on the ruins of the world. The other involved freezing half the world by waking up some kind of Norse god. We always had a reason when we said "no", and we always let you speak your piece before saying it.

 

And further, this argument didn't have to go this way. Tyler and I made perfectly civil points, points that were backed up by another player. You could have listened, and suggested a retcon, or you could have simply gone along with your own actions. Instead, you chose to escalate the conflict by threatening to fire us. And that is where it truly went bad.

 

I could have overlooked and worked past the extreme lack of communication when you took over again. I could have moved past the fact that you utterly destroyed a plot I was working on since before my finals started by stepping in yourself without even bothering to ask me what I had had planned. I could even have looked past the beginnings of this argument, but you insisted on escalating it. And that's not something I can overlook. Especially seeing as you saw fit to remove us as contacts on our primary means of communication the instant this all went south for you (And I know that's when it happened, because when we spoke about Novocain the day before, you were still a contact).

 

I will not be returning as staff. I cannot speak for Tyler, but I doubt he will be either.Might see you around the game. But it's not very likely.

 

 

Ah, yes those plots did have those features at first but you seem to forget that I was willing to alter them heavily. I was willing to remove the resurrection idea. Willing to remove the two Phoenixes duking it out. HeII at one point I even offered for you or Tyler to control her when she went Phoenix mode as an NPC. As for the Fenris plot I even said that the world didn't have to be frozen over. You guys could of and should of worked with me.

 

We could of fleshed out those plots and made them pretty awesome. So yeah I did try to communicate and it got the same result every time. I apologize for attempting to destroy one of your plots but honestly I thought it was Snelly's plot. I thought he was in charge of the Hydra stuff and when he left I thought it was time to end it since he was gone. It also seemed to me that people were leaving due to it. I know Lonewander did. And I remember Adders speaking out about the plot earlier.

 

If that is your choice then so be it. I tried to fix things.

Edited June 14, 2013 by Flex Fiction

[Havelock Vetinari]

Flex, nuking something, then salting the earth and then burning said earth, followed up by planting a single seed is not "trying to fix things".

[EmperorWhenua]

Kenny, you still suck at this.

[Relapse]

So...the possibility of it being Snelly's plot makes it okay to mess with?

[otter]

So, wait, since it was Snelly's plot you were okay with ruining it?

 

THIS JUST IN: FLEX CONTINUES TO DIG HIS OWN GRAVE.

[Constructelf]

I can literally sense the ill will flying around here. Like psychic empathy sense.While I won't defend either side in this conversation, I will say something: the usage of sarcastic images and comments that do nothing to resolve the issue do not help. Please make usage of good conversation skills.

[Havelock Vetinari]

When the issue is entirely of Flex's making*, well, then those comments become entirely justified.

 

*Also mine, for suggesting putting him back in command in the first place....

Edited June 14, 2013 by Basilisk

[Constructelf]

Nevertheless, please try to keep one-liners to a minimum. A peaceful resolution to the problem can only be reached through intelligent discussion, not meaningless one liners.

[otter]

Kiddo, you don't even know the half of this. Just stay neutral somewhere else.

 

Like Switzerland.

[Flex Lord Splash]

No.... But if the player is not around to finish the plot. I'm done responding to this. Have fun posting here if you want but I'm going to only respond to things that actually have to do with the game.

Edited June 14, 2013 by Flex Fiction

[Snelly]

I apologize for attempting to destroy one of your plots but honestly I thought it was Snelly's plot.

 

Well, if that isn't a slap in the face I don't know what is. Not only are you so incompetent that you didn't even bother to find out whose plot is whose, but you figured it was okay to ruin a plot as long as it was one of mine.

 

You're just dead to me now. Dead.

[Veeks]

I don't know much about all of you, and as a result my opinions of you as people hold little to no weight, because I have no frame of reference, since I have no judge of character. Reading this, however, there's something I feel should be said.

 

I've known Flex for about three years, now. I participated in an several RPs with him, all of which he made, some X-Men RPs and others original ideas he created himself. Throughout these three years, I've had no problems whatsoever with how he lead things. Everyone was always satisfied with the way the story was playing out, and if we disagreed on something, we'd discuss it and reach a middle ground. Am I saying Flex is perfect? No. Nobody's perfect, but I've never had a dispute with him over an RP like this, nor has anyone else he's RP'd with, and we've had groups as large as this one.

 

I joined this X-Men forum a while back, but quickly left because I wasn't a fan of the style. I have no issues with any of you personally. Again, I don't know any of you, so I can't be a judge of character, but I can say that a good portion of you are guilty of a few of the things you're giving Flex heat for. We're trying to write a story here, with believable, compelling characters and a solid plot. While most of you would agree with this, I'm sure, that's not what I saw in the RP thread. What I saw was a spotlight contest. Nobody seemed to work with each other, majority of the time, you were all trying to make your characters look cool and do cool things, as opposed to writing a story. This is a very poor format for a group of writers claiming to want to write a solid plot. I can't judge any of your writing skills based solely off of one RP, therefore I am not insulting your skills as a writer, it would be impossible for me to do such, I'm simply stating an observation.

 

I've also been in a few skype chats, even if I was relatively quiet in them, and I've noticed that you all claim Flex s the reason this RP is going downhill, that he's an unfair GM and you've all done nothing to deserve it. I don't remember which member it was, or if said member is even still posting here, but a certain member posted a colossal essay as to why Flex was an unfit GM. Several comments had to do with examples that were relevant to the topic of his being a poor GM, but there was also a number of personal insults, including a jab about an ex-girlfriend of his. That was entirely unnecessary. It is not that serous. I hope you're all aware that this is supposed to be for fun. You are in no way obligated to stay here. If you truly have a problem with the way Flex is running things, you can leave. You do not have to exert this much effort into something you both don't want to do and are not required to do.

 

You're all acting as though you want to be over this issue and "save" the RP, to continue doing what you're doing and having fun, yet none of you are making an effort to do so. Instead, you are continuing to feed into the confrontation, laying into Flex, insulting him, going on rants about what wasn't fair and threatening to leave. You don't have to make the threat, you can just leave. I didn't particularly care for the way things were going in this RP, so I just left. It really isn't that difficult. It appears that you're all more concerned with making your points, threats, and demands seem more serious than they actually are, instead of actually trying to resolve the conflict. Majority of you are just insulting Flex for the sake of insulting him, instead of coming up with suggestions or actions you can to that would save the RP, something you claim that you want to do. It doesn't seem all that convincing. From the looks of things, it seems like you've had problems with Flex, and this one event pushed a few members over the edge, and the rest saw this as an opportunity to vent out their frustration on the GM and have it be justified at the same time.

 

Flex said he was willing to help and retcon the things you have a problem with. Even if you don't trust him because a similar event happened in the past, you always have the option of leaving and starting an RP of your own. There is absolutely no need to make all this drama over something as trivial as a communal fanfiction. It really isn't as big a deal as you're all making it.

 

I did not come here to try and "save" Flex. I came here to see how the RP was doing so far, and stumbled upon this spat. You all have valid points. Flex included. But if you seriously want to work past this conflict, then do it. Don't drag on with unnecessary drama. You have a problem? Try and change it. That doesn't work? Leave. You've got no obligation, this is supposed to be a recreational, fun activity. If it isn't, fun anymore like you claim, why are you still here?

 

You all claim to want to be done with this issue

[otter]

Several comments had to do with examples that were relevant to the topic of his being a poor GM, but there was also a number of personal insults, including a jab about an ex-girlfriend of his.

 

My finest hour.

 

*sheds a nostalgic tear*

[Veeks]

Personally insulting a member doesn't help fix the RP. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's against the rules, isn't it?

[Havelock Vetinari]

Considering we have a large number of sources saying Flex is a bad GM.....and two? who say he isn't..

 

Notably, we've had people who have no reason to be biased and in fact, helped Flex in the past, turning against him. The evidence is pretty...well, evident.

Edited June 15, 2013 by Basilisk

[shadow pridak money gang]

 

We're trying to write a story here, with believable, compelling characters and a solid plot. While most of you would agree with this, I'm sure, that's not what I saw in the RP thread. What I saw was a spotlight contest. Nobody seemed to work with each other, majority of the time, you were all trying to make your characters look cool and do cool things, as opposed to writing a story.

 

Funny you should mention this when it was actually Flex who ran the RPG and the plot development at this point in time.

 

 

Even if you don't trust him because a similar event happened in the past, you always have the option of leaving and starting an RP of your own.

 

As for this, rules against it as long as this RPG is active. Believe me when I say we've checked.

 

-Tyler

[Krayzikk]

Personally insulting a member doesn't help fix the RP. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's against the rules, isn't it?

 

I would also point out that that conversation occurred offsite, and as such, it isn't directly linked to BZP. Doesn't make it any better, depending on your standpoint, but if BZP rules were applied to offsite conduct, every member I know save one (Hai Kaithas) would be banned for bypassing the censor.

 

Second, to counter that, I can testify that Ilya was a frequent subject of Flex's ire. So if there was anyone that I wouldn't blame for being annoyed with him, it's Ilya.

 

And let's leave the offsite out of this, shall we? Because it mostly amounts to lots of accusations that no one can really prove, and further, it is not directly governed by BZP related rules. And bringing it up really doesn't help Flex's case.

[Veeks]

I brougth up the rules because he seemed to take pride in the fact that he insulted Flex, and claimed such on the site, which has rules against insulting members. Regardless, if you're truly trying to save this RP, conflict won't get you there.

[Krayzikk]

Veeks.I'm going to let you in on a little secret.

 

I'm done working to save this game. Because I saved it once, and I really don't intend to do it again for a GM that fires me just for expressing a view against his own. He can solve the game's problems himself, because as he put it,

 

 

 

Hate me if you want. I'm not here to be liked. I'm here to be what this RP needs.

Since he's clearly what the game needs, and not the two guys that ran it for six months and dragged it back from the brink the first time, he can clearly do this by himself. Right?

[Snelly]

No offense Veeks, but we've tried to work with Flex since the beginning of this RPG, and for a while it was okay. But the moment things starting going the way he didn't want them to, or if players started to do their own thing/plot or whatever and it didn't fit his plot, well then he'd take issue with that.

 

It's not like we haven't try to compromise, we have a billion times over. But whenever the rest of us found something that Flex was doing that was against his RPG's own rules, making his characters way overpowered, having more characters than the allowed number, or just trying to railroad everyone through his plot whether we wished it or not, we'd point it out to him and he'd immediately take offense and fight us on every turn.

 

We're not all out to get Flex because we dislike him or anything, he's just a terrible GM. And it's frankly quite obvious if you just look at his posts from this week alone.

 

And for the record, I did quit, and ain't coming back.

Edited June 15, 2013 by A billion cats

[Veeks]

If you're done trying to save this RP, and if you quit the RP, then why do you continue to post here?

Edited June 15, 2013 by Veeks

[Snelly]

If you're done trying to save this RP, and if you quit the RP, then why do you continue to post here?

 

 

Why are you posting here?

Edited June 15, 2013 by A billion cats

[Krayzikk]

Why do I still post here?Because this is very much my business, seeing as I'm the one that helped run that game for six months. And I'm going to make it very, very clear why I decided not to come back. That, and staff or not, I still play this game.

 

So here's my counter question; If you haven't played this game since Tyler took over, AKA six months ago, and you don't play it now, and everyone is rebuffing the points you try to make in discussion, why are you still posting here?

[otter]

Because, Veeks, people like you keep coming in who have no understanding of the situation at hand. We wouldn't continue to post if y'all didn't make us have to.

[-Windrider-]

BZPower cannot enforce transgressions of its rules that occur offsite unless it is an extreme circumstance (threats come to mind). Only the staff members are expected to handle themselves professionally when interacting with BZPower members elsewhere. There is, however, a rule in the Reference Desk - the first in the rules topic, actually: "Respect your fellow members. Time to be cliche: treat others as you wish to be treated. You should not degrade, insult, or make fun of anyone on this site." This applies to interactions on BZPower, of course, and while the posts on the two most recent pages of this topic have not crossed this line, a few have come dangerously close.

 

I can't tell you to put the yoke on your emotions and to steer them in the direction of absolute respect; I understand that you all have been very invested in this RPG. I will ask you all, however, to mind what you choose to post, because if this devolves into flaming, I will take action. I don't want to see things here turn into an argument over Flex's leadership. Critique is okay. Discussion is okay. Even anger is okay if expressed appropriately. Lashing out, however, is not - nor is inciting these responses, however pure your intentions may be. Please be mindful.

[Relapse]

Veeks.I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I'm done working to save this game. Because I saved it once, and I really don't intend to do it again for a GM that fires me just for expressing a view against his own. He can solve the game's problems himself, because as he put it,

Hate me if you want. I'm not here to be liked. I'm here to be what this RP needs.

Since he's clearly what the game needs, and not the two guys that ran it for six months and dragged it back from the brink the first time, he can clearly do this by himself. Right?

"I saw our sad messiah, He was bored and tired of my laments. Said, 'I died for you one time, but never again." -Limousine, Brand NewI think the point here is that the mods are done. Game over. No more heroes. Alex is one of the most mature members I know, but even he can only take so much. Tyler is just here for fun, most of the time, but when the kid with the baseball takes because he only gets three strikes, he's done.