lewiselder1 wrote:Obviously it’s becoming clear that RP rules are confusing and not fit for purpose.
This is progress and an important admission.
House Spencer wrote:Noone spoke to me ANYTHING AT ALL a single word what they were doing to Jelbania until after 10 days and that was because I was noticing things and ASKED, not because they could be bothered to go out of there way to tell me
Not a single pm from C7779, not "hello" not nothing. Wasnt until over a week before I even knew what his party name was which he gave no transl for & was in a totally madeup language. & that was only because I ASKED not because he bothered to go out of his way to tell me.
He fixed the system to block me out of seats for 2 weeks to try to make me leave but I was strong.
Okay, so I purposely delayed replying to this because I wanted to allow cm9997 a fair chance to respond. But since he has not disputed this account, and since there has been no sign so far of of him wanting to address this at all...
That cm deployed seat-blocking tactics against Spencer is indisputable; we can see that for ourselves in the game. These tactics fall into the category of "legal-but-controversial". It is inevitable that players are sometimes antagonised when they come against this, as it can seem selfish and ungentlemanly. The specific devices cm used were nevertheless legal under the rules. Whether they were wise or considerate for him to use in this situation is another matter.
Without wanting to suggest Spencer is not telling the truth, obviously I do not have access to see whatever private communication (if there was any) went on between Spencer, cm and others, or exactly when it happened and what was said etc. However, along with CCP, I would say on the basis of what we have seen that it rather
looks very much like there was a serious lack of communication with Spencer, going on for at least a week or two weeks after he joined Jelbania. I have certainly not noticed either cm or anyone else seeking to deny this interpretation of events.
Given the complex situation in Jelbania, obviously this was not great. Clearly, on joining Jelbania, Spencer needed to be fully engaged with at the earliest possible opportunity. It may have been he would have come properly on board with the RP. It may be he would have weighed up his options and joined one of the other nations instead. I don't know. But there should have been an attempt at proper dialogue with him. He really should
not have been simply ignored, deliberately seat-blocked and left waiting in a frustrated and under-informed limbo for all that time. As it was, there was not so much as an OOC information bill in Jelbania to tell him what the situation was there.
If you seat-block an unfamiliar player for two whole weeks whilst telling them nothing about the major and complex RP that is going on, you can hardly reasonably be massively surprised if they react negatively once their patience finally pays off and they win power, and then are coming to the sudden and unexpected revelation that the intuitive game mechanics they trusted have been turned upside down, with two-fifths of their country controlled by foreign powers and their government only setting domestic laws for a fifth of the country. You can hardly be too surprised, either, when they are disconcerted to find they are unable to easily reverse this game mechanics breaking situation, despite the fact they have won the election and are the only party in the nation. This is particularly so given that, as Spencer himself pointed out, the text of the Game Rules suggests "as a general rule, the game mechanics always come first" (6a) and that "An RP Law must not contradict game mechanics" (6eiii).
cm9997, I feel some accountability and transparency would he helpful here. Are
you happy with all of the aspects to how you handled this situation as a player-Moderator? Is there anything which, in retrospect, you wish you had done differently? Is there anything for which you feel you could reasonably offer Spencer an apology - or at least offer a degree of empathy?
Unfortunately there are a few people who enjoy misrepresentation, so I want to make doubly clear these questions are not "personal attacks" or an "anti-Moderation crusade". They are simply reasonable, legitimate questions I am asking because I genuinely feel they deserve to be asked.
To be clear as well, I am not taking sides in the dispute between Moderation and Spencer about Spencer's eventual nation ban and whether or not that was ultimately justified. Not least of all, because I do not have access to all of the details. One cannot help but note, though, that the rules which Spencer was disputing over and which were apparently used against him have now been officially declared by Moderation to be "confusing and not fit for purpose". Whatever the exact details of Spencer's actions were, they were surely not the only element to this situation that was at fault.