[Suggestion] Command to create a private instance of current room

Bugs & Features
#1

There’s been a bunch of observer characters going around recently and that propped this old idea of mine back to life. Let’s say you’re doing something fun at the lake for example and then things get heated. Nobody’s around so you don’t mind getting spicy. Then, out of nowhere someone comes in to just hover around you without interacting at all. Even worse, you might be just about to press enter to send a message that wasn’t intended for anyone other than your current partner.

Now, I hear you all yelling that already… just use whispers or go to a private room. Well, whispers yeah you have to start every pose with w Partner =: (or tippytap around the context menu to reply) and that gets really irksome quite fast especially if you’re on a mobile keyboard. Then, you could go to a private room, but there’s probably a reason why you chose to go to the lake to do your RP in the first place…

We already have the technology of instanced rooms, so I think it should not be too difficult to add a command like instance or something like that to move you and your followers to an instanced copy of the room you are currently in. Make it a supporter perk if you want, would be great.

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#2

I am ALL for this idea, honestly.
The public rooms and settings are what makes Wolfery so damned good compared to the other options out there. Being able to build off other writer’s ideas, and use their settings for out actions? :Chef’s Kiss:

But ho-lee hell am I scared away from writing. I won’t name users, but I know of at least three ‘writers’ that never seem to roleplay, but they have multiple characters going around, just seeing who is in a room.

Folks who stop by and ask what’s going on or if there’s room to join? Great! That’s activity and I love to see it!

Folks who enter a room once or twice a week, and then immediately leave? Fine, no worries, I understand looking for somewhere to write.

Folks who enter every single room in the entire damn realm once every few hours? Sure, you’re ‘looking for partners’, sure. Definitely not stalking folk (I’ve now had two separate friendships develop, only to find out that there’s a character/account stalking the individual.)

Folk who enter a room and then hang out, or drop an ooc message like ‘damn, that’s hot’? You go, voyeur. That’s why the dicks and cunts are out in public.

There definitely needs to be an instancing system. Whispering every message is a pain in the ass, but what really bites is when you forget that little bit of formatting and a w Partner =: turns into the much more common pose//me. Then the stalker/creep/account literally named observer knows you’re actively writing, and sticks around longer.

Even if there was a crackdown on the profiles that just visit every occupied room in quick succession, I’d be happy. But this needs to be dealt with in some way, it’s very quickly burning me out as well.

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#3

You ever reported it to the mod team?

#4

I agree this is an issue.

A while ago there was a similar issue where players created object characters (like inanimate objects) that acted as observers, which led to mods deciding not to allow them. Non-inanimate character just acting as observers are quite similar, I’d say.

A command to teleport you (and anyone following you) into an instance of the same room, would be possible to create. I can look into what effort it would require to make one.
Doesn’t FurryMUCK have something similar as well?

As for how to deal with such behaviour from a moderation point of view, I will leave to our lovely mods to decide (Thanks for all the work you guys are doing!).

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#5

On a side note; we also need an overhaul for the mobile layout, making it easier to do commands. I agree.

#6

The last time I brought this up to mods in the park ooc chat, the consensus seemed to be “take it to whispers or go private” and that “observers are fine if they interact around people”, though one can question how much interaction going say "beep boop" really can be (especially with a borderline inanimate character)… hence the post on here.

Same. Weird…

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#7

Absolutely. I reported a user to the mod team after they had entered the same room as me and left for the fifteenth or so time, since I logged into wolfery.

At the time I was running four separate characters, in wildly different interactions. It was less than three hours from the first time they jumped in and out of one room, to the time I reported them.

The moderation stance seemed to be ‘we can’t/won’t take action against someone who’s simply traveling or looking for a partner.’

As to the stalking of a couple of my friends, no. It’s not my place to report someone else’s victimization, if they’re not willing to report it themselves.

This is news to me, but it also doesn’t seem to be followed. I’ve only outright noticed two separate observer accounts in the last month, but neither of them says anything unless I outright mention them or their behaviour.

#8

Roaming users are a thing and I wouldn’t really consider that particular behaviour as stalking myself.

There’s an explicit rule in help rules that says: “Characters representing objects or props without personality are not allowed. Bot scripts are exempted from this rule.” So if a character just follows you without any interaction whatsoever (I’d say ten to fifteen minutes in the same room with you, repeatedly, with no interactions) then they fit under the no object characters. If it’s a floating spy cam that also gives you salacious jokes, you should feel free to interact with it as it is a character.

There’s no expectation of privacy in public rooms, but there’s also a common expectation of not being harassed. It often sucks to be on both sides of the observer gang. I was asked to leave a room that I own on a couple occasions when someone decided to get snuggly there, which is also inappropriate. Some people float around because they want to have a peek at the action and there’s nothing really wrong in that.

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#9

I think the idea is neat. Conversation has quite strayed away from the topic at hand.

On the nature of online interactions. People naturally want to lurk and I think lurking is healthy for a community. The ‘visibility’ of lurking on a muck like this is a touch bothersome for roleplay and vibes in general. There’s two solutions I really like from tapestries:

  1. Idle sweep: I know that people like to hang out on their workday and idle for hours on end with their friends. I think these kind of interactions should be limited to more designated areas that don’t contain an idle sweep and keep most public areas for people actively playing.
  2. Flags: There’s a list of flags (IC, OOC, VIC, PF, etc.) You can set a flag for the kind of interactions you’re looking for, be it in character, out of character, whatever. Then you get a sense of what people are looking for and aren’t so dissapointed when RP attempts get left on deaf ears.

As for people who lurk multiple rooms. It kinda bothers me too. I’d think it’d be courtesy not to do such things? Bleh.

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#10

I agree that lurking in a room full of people is not really much of an issue.
But to go to a seek out rooms where there are only two people roleplaying with each other, simply to idle and watch? That is probably more of the issue at hand.

VIC? PF?

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#11

If I’m wandering around and find a public room with something to watch, why is it a problem for me to watch silently? Would it be better if I commented? Absolutely not! So what this means is that the room now becomes a spot where nobody else can be.

Again, this is a problem with starting and continuing something in public when you want something private. If you go to a bar and things get heated but you don’t want all the bar patrons to watch, you go to a room. If you’re in the alley behind the bar and folks stop to gawk, it’s your own damn fault. Don’t make somebody watching you do something in public into a weirdo when you started it.

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#12

I think there’s a little bit of strawmanning here that doesn’t really warrant a response, other than clarifying and reiterating the issue being about some people specifically (and repeatedly) seeking (out of the way) places where two people are having a good time and the practical difficulty in the ergonomy of actually taking things into private. The suggestion in the OP is literally the opposite of claiming a public space.

It’s good to keep in mind that this is a virtual space with rules and practicalities that differ from the real world for everyone’s enjoyment. Blaming people for being uncomfortable with the status quo is not helpful at best.

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