Hide character name in /b if masked

[Taunky]

6 minutes ago, Blu Moonlight said:

Finding out about this kind of metagaming is nearly impossible unless the other person does it blatantly, which isn't the case most of the time. Having the name blocked in OOC doesn't affect reporting or other kinds of OOC punishments. Admins will always have full access to the identity behind the mask and players can easily copy the mask ID from chat and report that. It has no downsides and would stop any forms of metagaming that happens through /b.

Perhaps the need for wanting people's names blocked on an out-of-character medium wouldn't be such an issue if players focused on roleplaying rather than speaking through /b.

[Blu Moonlight]

8 minutes ago, Taunky said:

Perhaps the need for wanting people's names blocked on an out-of-character medium wouldn't be such an issue if players focused on roleplaying rather than speaking through /b. 

Sometimes you need to say things OOC and your name being visible deters masked people from saying anything OOC and promotes bad RP (using /do to speak OOC) because they know there's always that, hard to prove, chance of someone using that OOC information a few days later to bust you for something. If that happens, it's almost impossible to prove and your RP experience might be ruined. If people should focus on RP like you said, then that means we don't need the OOC names readily available on our screens because they pull you out of the roleplay and disturb that focus.

Edited August 18, 2019 by Blu Moonlight

[Taunky]

5 minutes ago, Blu Moonlight said:

Sometimes you need to say things OOC and your name being visible deters masked people from saying anything OOC and promotes bad RP (using /do to speak OOC) because they know there's always that, hard to prove, chance of someone using that OOC information a few days later to bust you for something. If that happens, it's almost impossible to prove and your RP experience might be ruined. If people should focus on RP like you said, then that means we don't need the OOC names readily available on our screens because they pull you out of the roleplay and disturb that focus.

I understand your point of view, however I stand by with in-character purchasable items covering your character's identity and the name floating above your head. If there are things that need to be said OOC'ly (like what?) then perhaps you aren't doing it right. In my opinion, as long as you are smart about it (i.e change your character's clothing prior to doing whatever you're doing that requires a mask) then there should be no altercation in the future unless you've done something IC'ly that can allow them to put the pieces together. Ensure that evidence is provided with you changing your attire before and after, proving proof to the administration that there is no way that said party could retaliate. If the only piece to put together is you're killed later that day/week due to you speaking in /b then a forum report will allow the administration to investigate and question the reported party. Because quite frankly, if they did Metagame through a nametag, then their defensive statement is going to be really piss-poor. Those who break the rules to get what they want (i.e revenge) are not welcome on this server and as long as you make sure you've provided sufficient proof on your side, then the reported party will be punished accordingly. I understand that masking the name could solve the issue, but it's also a case of sniffing out those who prefer to break the rules and removing them in the process.

[Blu Moonlight]

13 minutes ago, Taunky said:

I understand your point of view, however I stand by with in-character purchasable items covering your character's identity and the name floating above your head. If there are things that need to be said OOC'ly (like what?) then perhaps you aren't doing it right. In my opinion, as long as you are smart about it (i.e change your character's clothing prior to doing whatever you're doing that requires a mask) then there should be no altercation in the future unless you've done something IC'ly that can allow them to put the pieces together. Ensure that evidence is provided with you changing your attire before and after, proving proof to the administration that there is no way that said party could retaliate. If the only piece to put together is you're killed later that day/week due to you speaking in /b then a forum report will allow the administration to investigate and question the reported party. Because quite frankly, if they did Metagame through a nametag, then their defensive statement is going to be really piss-poor. Those who break the rules to get what they want (i.e revenge) are not welcome on this server and as long as you make sure you've provided sufficient proof on your side, then the reported party will be punished accordingly. I understand that masking the name could solve the issue, but it's also a case of sniffing out those who prefer to break the rules and removing them in the process.

I understand but my philosophy is that if there is reasonable in-game way of fixing something, it should be done, after all that's why were roleplaying in a video game. You shouldn't be required to log and record everything in that way. If you do, you know there's something wrong about the system. And about things that need to be said OOC: there are plenty of bugs or gameplay aspects that you might have to explain in OOC. An example from my own experience: the server crashes, you quickly rejoin and put your mask on, now you have still have to use /b to talk with the others you were RP:ing with about continuing the RP from where it was left off. Maybe your game crashed and you have to tell that OOC so they don't think you avoided RP. In the end this is a game and sometimes you have to say things OOC and that shouldn't affect your IC experience.

 

Right now it clearly does if criminals are scared of using /b and you have to record everything just in case. People will always consciously and sub-consciously metagame, this would be a simple in-game fix for both, no admins going through reports of supposed metagaming or abuse, if it can be fixed cleanly in game, it should. This is the amazing advantage of video games compared to other roleplay forms. That is always the better option compared to letting the admins handle all of this. There wouldn't be any metagaming with masks and /b, no reports, nothing, you wouldn't need admins nearly as much which would free them for other things.

Edited August 18, 2019 by Blu Moonlight

[Faiz]

big +1, metagaming is notoriously hard to prove. How are you gonna prove the revenge of a robbery done 1 week before purely because you talked in /b

[rp_anon]

I'd argue that there's no reason for it to hide your name ICly if, being reasonable, you cannot deny someone a conversation OOCly if they want or need it. BUT, having your name hidden is a foolproof way of allowing you to roleplay anonymity WITHOUT the variable of someone elses etiquette getting in the way. It should mask your name OOCly as well. Masks have a warning every single time you wear them, they're clearly a sensitive and privileged responsibility bearing on the self same etiquette of the user. Involve an admin if you must but there's no reason to decide outside parties must all uphold etiquette to not metagame when we know they simply will if they feel they want or need to.

 

Plus some people just don't have the same standards for metagame and will do things completely unknowingly because of a lack of those standards.