Portrayal Issues

[K0range4]

I think you bring up some fair points, and there can be multiple things true here at the same time. Poor portrayal is a nebulous and open term used to sort of “fill in the gaps” of the rules and try and keep some consistency across the player base. But like anything, it can and has been abused. For example - How many 14-year-olds commit capital murder on police officers weekly on this server, yet get to continue on with no interference from a faction leader or staff member reference this “portrayal?”

 

Also some factions or faction leadership can be incredibly insular and may use the “portrayal” card to remove you if they don’t like you or your character. This is where you need to protect yourself with screenshots, videos, or even explanations or stories relevant to your character portrayal.

 

Other games also have different standards as far as what portrayal is supposed to be. GTA: World is striving for as close to real world realism as you can get in a video game. While “joke” characters are tolerated to a certain extent, they must keep at least some level of realism to avoid punishment. Other mediums, like for example a tabletop RPG, might be more open to strange or humorous characters.  

 

Ultimately though, at least in my experience, I think the majority of the staff and a lot of players are like-minded when it comes to what realistic or “realistic enough” portrayal is. While it’s far from perfect, I feel like we’re still headed in a good direction.

[SpicyBandito]

12 minutes ago, K0range4 said:

I think you bring up some fair points, and there can be multiple things true here at the same time. Poor portrayal is a nebulous and open term used to sort of “fill in the gaps” of the rules and try and keep some consistency across the player base. But like anything, it can and has been abused. For example - How many 14-year-olds commit capital murder on police officers weekly on this server, yet get to continue on with no interference from a faction leader or staff member reference this “portrayal?”

 

Also some factions or faction leadership can be incredibly insular and may use the “portrayal” card to remove you if they don’t like you or your character. This is where you need to protect yourself with screenshots, videos, or even explanations or stories relevant to your character portrayal.

 

Other games also have different standards as far as what portrayal is supposed to be. GTA: World is striving for as close to real world realism as you can get in a video game. While “joke” characters are tolerated to a certain extent, they must keep at least some level of realism to avoid punishment. Other mediums, like for example a tabletop RPG, might be more open to strange or humorous characters.  

 

Ultimately though, at least in my experience, I think the majority of the staff and a lot of players are like-minded when it comes to what realistic or “realistic enough” portrayal is. While it’s far from perfect, I feel like we’re still headed in a good direction.

 

If they don't like your character and want to remove you, they're virtually allowed to. You can be OOC kicked for "poor portrayal" if the ooc leadership deem it necessary, even if it ruins IC continuity and such.

[K0range4]

20 minutes ago, SpicyBandito said:

 

If they don't like your character and want to remove you, they're virtually allowed to. You can be OOC kicked for "poor portrayal" if the ooc leadership deem it necessary, even if it ruins IC continuity and such.

 

Yeah that's true. And it's just an unfortunate reality. Do I think a faction leader should be able to kick someone for OOC reasons? Yes I do. But do I think it has and will likely continue to be abused? Also yes... I'm not sure what the solution is other than the player base collectively just trying to do better. And of course we do have IFM and LFM to go to with grievances but they're humans too and can mistakes.

 

So it can be tough like our original poster here who wants to do some Law Enforcement RP, but has been removed from one after the other. Maybe the poster is in the wrong, or maybe the faction leadership(s) are in the wrong... It's impossible for us to say. But the "portrayal" aspect is here to stay, and I think it's worth thinking through this process as we all get better at this game together.

[sribvlad]

13 minutes ago, K0range4 said:

 

Do I think a faction leader should be able to kick someone for OOC reasons? Yes I do. But do I think it has and will likely continue to be abused? Also yes...

Then don't give people you don't trust OOCly faction leadership positions in these very "important" factions. 

[K0range4]

4 minutes ago, sribvlad said:

Then don't give people you don't trust OOCly faction leadership positions in these very "important" factions. 

 

Well that's what I was saying with our original poster here. None of us know what he did. He certainly could have been removed for very valid reasons. Or there could have been no rule break and he was maybe removed for OOC reasons. Or it could have been simply no one was wrong and he just wasn't a fit for any of those groups with his characters... It's hard to say and this "realistic portrayal" is a big gray area that can be used for good or bad depending on who's wielding it or even which point of view one person is looking at it from.

[SpicyBandito]

10 minutes ago, K0range4 said:

 

Well that's what I was saying with our original poster here. None of us know what he did. He certainly could have been removed for very valid reasons. Or there could have been no rule break and he was maybe removed for OOC reasons. Or it could have been simply no one was wrong and he just wasn't a fit for any of those groups with his characters... It's hard to say and this "realistic portrayal" is a big gray area that can be used for good or bad depending on who's wielding it or even which point of view one person is looking at it from.

 

I think at the very least people should be ooc respectful when removing someone for "poor portrayal" from a fac, if they weren't actually breaking any rules and the faction simply doesn't like their character's theme. Like, there are ways to respectfully disagree with someone and have an adult conversation with them first before removing someone. Sadly too many people on GTAW simply do not bother with this and prefer to be completely cutthroat with the way they run factions or any group really.

Edited December 15, 2022 by SpicyBandito

[radreaper100]

1 hour ago, K0range4 said:

I think you bring up some fair points, and there can be multiple things true here at the same time. Poor portrayal is a nebulous and open term used to sort of “fill in the gaps” of the rules and try and keep some consistency across the player base. But like anything, it can and has been abused. For example - How many 14-year-olds commit capital murder on police officers weekly on this server, yet get to continue on with no interference from a faction leader or staff member reference this “portrayal?”

 

Also some factions or faction leadership can be incredibly insular and may use the “portrayal” card to remove you if they don’t like you or your character. This is where you need to protect yourself with screenshots, videos, or even explanations or stories relevant to your character portrayal.

 

Other games also have different standards as far as what portrayal is supposed to be. GTA: World is striving for as close to real world realism as you can get in a video game. While “joke” characters are tolerated to a certain extent, they must keep at least some level of realism to avoid punishment. Other mediums, like for example a tabletop RPG, might be more open to strange or humorous characters.  

 

Ultimately though, at least in my experience, I think the majority of the staff and a lot of players are like-minded when it comes to what realistic or “realistic enough” portrayal is. While it’s far from perfect, I feel like we’re still headed in a good direction.

hit the nail right on the head, I’ve been fighting a battle like this myself. It’s the cause following my most recent removal from SD and why I’m trying to appeal it. It’s weaponized far too much and can be destructive. LFM and RPQM should be the responsible parties for judging a character, you shouldn’t be denied internally or otherwise for a faction for “portrayal” especially when conclusive reasoning boils down to “you play x kind of character too much.” So what? It doesn’t hurt the faction, some people play Hispanic bangers exclusively and others women. If you like what you roleplay then you’ll typically do it better and have more effort in your storytelling.

[radreaper100]

12 minutes ago, SpicyBandito said:

 

I think at the very least people should be ooc respectful when removing someone for "poor portrayal" from a fac, if they weren't actually breaking any rules and the faction simply doesn't like their character's theme. Like, there are ways to respectfully disagree with someone and have an adult conversation with them first before removing someone. Sadly too many people on GTAW simply do not bother with this and prefer to be completely cutthroat with the way they run factions or any group really.

Not to mention the never ending feedback loop of stigma and denials that follow afterwards. One removal paved way for a lot of tooth pulling and misery trying to get into a virtual police department and it’s nothing short of demotivating. There’s faction standards and there’s being plain unreasonable. Something really needs to be done about the ability to lock people out of a HUGE chunk of the servers content aka law enforcement roleplay off heresay and “poor portrayal.” It’s extremely toxic.

[Late]

It's a contingency. We don't really like your character but you haven't broken any rules therefore we have "concerns" about your character :))))

[pateuvasiliu]

8 hours ago, Anders said:

A cop won't be able to afford a million dollar car or house.

Where do people get this idea that cops are poor? There was a site that showed how much cops around the LA county were being paid and many were making 200,000 - 300,000 $ a year. The average Los Angeles salary is about 70,000, so that's 3-4 times above average.

 

 

Edited December 15, 2022 by pateuvasiliu