Before I even write anything else, this is not meant to belittle the other IRE games, the players, etc. So, let's please not turn this into a thread overflown with insults or the like. Course, I don't much think I have to worry about that sort of thing here.

It's been a while since I've last posted here. Though, I have been trying to keep up to date on some of the forum stuff. Anyways, I've noticed a HUGE difference between how the players in these forums treat one another than in other IRE forums. Now, I can't say much about Imperium as I've not really played that one much. I'm mostly talking about Achaea and to a much lesser extent Aetolia.

Even in some of the worse flamed threads here, they're still nowhere near as bad as most of the regular threads in Achaea.

I've never much been interested in being in player-run organizations, which is what has kept me in Achaea for so long. The freedom of being a rogue. However, I find myself wondering if that alone is worth all the immaturity I've seen with the player base there.

I guess I should get to my actual point, aside from rambling. My question is, what's the difference? It has to be the player base. But, what is soooo different about this player base than Achaea's? I wonder if the age difference for the players is somehow responsible.

The freedom to ruthlessly drive characters into the ground. We don't need to harass each other OOC.

More seriously...it's that the game started high-stress, and we realized through changes in the playerbase that we have to treat each other like human beings or bad things happen at all levels.

(But we're still going to grind your nose against the millstone. )

Well, I've dabbled in the other games ( ) making a character to see what they're like and so on. One thing I noticed in all of them is that I didn't experience anywhere NEAR the sense of community that I've always felt in Lusternia.

Achaea being the worst. I was totally adrift there, even when I was a member of several orgs. And it was the same to a lessor extent in the other games as well. Perhaps I was around at bad times, perhaps not. All I know is that in Lusternia I've always felt my character was part of something. That we were all struggling for a common goal and we were in it together kind of feeling. Perhaps it's all the conflict that everyone at turns laments and celebrates that causes it...

But me? I can't be hateful to people who help create that sort of a sense of belonging, even if it's the folks on the 'other side' cause they play their part in it too. After all, without the 'other side' that goal your side is striving for wouldn't be that much fun striving, would it?

Plus, I'm able to differentiate between a character and a player. That helps a lot.

Everyone in Lusternia is just really bad at insulting and flaming people and making baseless generalizations.

One of my biggest problems (and the reason I wont play other IRE games for long) is being alone. In Lusternia, I rarely feel it because as you engross yourself if your guild and Commune/City more, -someone- is always there for you. To talk, whether it be just for social or for work, to host an Arena event, the Gods actively interact with us, etc. The people make it worthwhile here, while in the other IRE games, interacting with people seemed less...wanted.

I decry your baseless generalization, you foul .

I've wandered the Achaean boards a little and never much liked what I've seen. Things do get flamey here, there's no doubt about it. Usually though, with some notable exceptions, arguments aren't so much about genuine out of character spite, they're either born of sudden intense frustration or they're relatively polite. I really like the Lusternian community.. Is there a definite difference in terms of player base? Maybe... I wonder if on average we're all slightly older..

Edit: I seem to have lost the ability to write in coherent sentences.

You've been infected with a case of the ellipsis!

You just made me snort when I laughed! The guy in the next cube made fun of me.

I really do think the difference is that here, there's a large sense of us against them, whereas in other places, it's everyone fend for themselves. In other words, the exact thing you dislike about Lusternia is what makes the forums so relatively calm.

Some people don't say horrendously inflamatory things (relatively speaking) because it reflects badly on their entire org. "Hey, look, Celest is full of griefers - this post by this guy is proof," and so on. People here love the moral high ground, which is surprisingly a good thing.

Though I strongly dislike the concept of OOC solidarity for IC groupings, it DOES happen, and perhaps it's not as bad of a thing as it seems. Though it creates ridiculous bias, it does tend to focus the attacks not on people, but on IC groups. It's not "Thoros griefed me" so much as "Celest griefed me" or "Seren's being jerks to random people for no reason" instead of "Shorlen just murdered me because he could."

People get OOCly angry at the IC organizations, rage against them OOCly, then get told they need to calm down and seperate IC from OOC and stop getting so OOCly worked up about a fictional org.

Shorlen, you could be right and it does make perfect sense. Yet, what about Aetolia? I will admit that it's nowhere near as bad as Achaea. The atmosphere in the forums are not as friendly here and they seem to attack each other's opinions. I personally think the only difference is that Aetolia doesn't have as many players as Achaea, which makes it...not so widely spread. Aetolia doesn't have autoclass and seems to be as built around organizations like Lusternia.

I don't guess it much matters why there's a difference...I'm just thrilled there is. When I stop reading Achaea's forums and begin reading these, it's like taking a breath of fresh air. And yes, I'm as corney as they come!

Edit: Because I can't spell, type, or think properly!

Offended! Darn sailor stereotypes.

True! I know I don't hate anyone because of their character on the forums, all though I disagree with a lot of their opinions. But ocassionally my posts are a bit edgy because I'm annoyed or agitated, mainly at people complaining they died, as if they should never ever die. But besides that, most people get along. There are even a few clans were Mags and Celestians (whoa!) are both in, and they like each other!

Lusternia's forums have to much Gaia online.

I hate Gaia online.

So Lusternia's forums seem to me like Achaea's forums but with more "snuggly, fluffy, lets all be friends!" people

I offend you right back!

Hey, what's the point of stereotype -except- to make fun of them? They're not true, after all.

Well, there's absolutely nothing wrong with disagreeing with someone's opinion. There is always a right and a wrong way to do anything though.

Perfect example: I don't agree with you, so I'm going to call you any name the mods allow, hunt you in game because of our OOC disagreement in the forums, then, kill your dog irl.

Or, I don't agree with you so I'm gunna NICELY give my own opinion!

Oh my, wonder which would be better?

Shh, your not supposed to say that!! That is Lusty's biggest secret

The thing I love most about Lusternia is the people and the sense of community. Maybe it's just that we're still relatively small, and I've been here since beta, but knowing people and being comfortable with them really helps.

And I entirely agree with Shorlen. I hate Celest as an org, I think Glomdoring needs to stop feeling superior when they don't actually do anything, and I think Magnagora really needs to drop the hardass facade sometimes, but none of that translates to individual players, outside of a few extreme cases.

We have a lower density of retarded people over here. Even our bastards are relatively intelligent, with the downside that they justify their heinous actions far more cleverely. Be vigiliant.

This is true, and highly annoying. It's so much easier to bash idiots who are blatantly moronic. When they mask it with actually knowing what they're doing most of the time, and pair being an asshole with not totally sucking, it's a pain in the ass.