Calyx of Isis

[quote name='dst' post='32579' date='Jun 2 2009, 07:30 PM']Actually the dojo is as a romanian saying says () with one foot in the grave meaning it will be gone pretty soon if someone doesn't start working for it. And to be honest I am sooo glad it will be gone. Really glad.[/quote] Actually, the Dojo is more likely a permanent fixture. In his announcement, Mur more or less acknowledged this just as he acknowledged the training ground at Golden Globe Gazebo. It has been my observation that since late February or early March, the Dojo has been one of the mostly heavily used locations in the game. I have seen it more densely populated than Willow's Shop and Later the Gazebo of Equilibrium. It continues to exist because most players value it. I am well aware of how hard you and others have campaigned to have the Dojo eliminated, but it is in the hands of the players now, and they desire it's survival. As Sage suggests, please do not post (in this or other Dojo threads) opinions likely to confuse players.

[quote name='tinylips' post='30433' date='May 6 2009, 12:46 PM']Greetings, I am willing to help in the Dojo in any position required. I am on quite a bit here of late and willing to learn. Contact me if interested. Thank you[/quote] I will look for you in game. I try to go idle in accessible locations so people can PM me.

[quote]From the [i]Dao De Jin (Tao Te Chig)[/i] Chapter 31, Goddard's first translation. Even successful arms, among all implements, are unblessed. All men come to detest them. Therefore the one who follows Dao does not rely on them. Arms are of all tools unblessed, they are not the implements of a wise man. Only as a last resort does he use them. In propitious affairs the place of honor is the left, but in unpropitious affairs we honor the right. Peace and quietude are esteemed by the wise man, and even when victorious he does not rejoice, because rejoicing over a victory is the same as rejoicing over the killing of men. If he rejoices over killing men, do you think he will ever really master the Empire? The strong man while at home esteems the left as the place of honor, but when armed for war it is as though he esteems the right hand, the place of less honor. Thus a funeral ceremony is so arranged. The place of a subordinate army officer is also on the left and the place of his superior officer is on the right. The killing of men fills multitudes with sorrow; we lament with tears because of it, and rightly honor the victor as if he was attending a funeral ceremony.[/quote] The existing king (Yrthilian) attacks a visible target (Raven) for his request to have similar status. He would hold the entire land, every player in the game, hostage to his narrow desire. In the process of attacking someone not an enemy of his land, he creates true enemies, Further he does not even target the right player(s). I once thought Yrthilian wise and temperate. Apparently I was mistaken, Let us prepare of the funerals required to slake Yrthilian's unquenchable thirst. Let the musicians rehearse the funeral dirge. Those old enough will remember a fellow who in 1939 said, "oh please, I only want this one tiny little country, you won't hardly notice and it's all I want." Only he wanted another and another and another... Regardless of Raven's deficiencies, will Raven and Loreroot simply giving in to Yr will truly stop this? And regardless of how the next leaders of Loreroot will be chosen, will they they not still be GG's hostages? Who will Yr target next. He will say none other, but so did that funny little man with the mustache in 1939. When will it be your homeland's leaders that Yr decides to depose? Think what you will of Raven, but examine Yrthilian as closely. I do not want this war, I have issues with the leaders the land I call home and which I have served, but the more I think of what Yr is doing the more I recall real world lessons. Appeasing bullies is a bad idea. It leads to long periods of appeasement and effective slavery to the bully. The bully wins because no one know what he wants or will attack next.

On this day I have promoted Sagewoman and Kragel to Honored Guide of the Dojo. Gremlin has been made Dojo Staff. Titles and or descriptions have been given or updated everyone Dojo Staff or higher.

Yes, Raven. Ive found you to be level headed and trustworthy. I voted for you.

[b]Staff training[/b] will be held at least twice a month. Each training will be held at at least two different times to enable more people to attend. Attendance of at least one session a month is [b]mandatory[/b]. If you cannot attend send a PM to Calyx or Jazira, or post here. Failure to attend one meeting a month will result in being reduced in rank or dropped from the dojo staff. These will be general meetings to to make sure we are handling things in a uniform manner, to discuss problems and offenders. In addition there will be sessions covering the principles which guided the creation and development of the Dojo. It may not always be visible, but there is an ulterior motive to the Dojo. Training fighters is less important than enriching souls, teaching compassion, charity, cooperation, self mastery, and self restraint. While I will be teaching the Dao in the university, what I teach here will be focused on issues that arise in the dojo and service roles. The first sessions will be on days 84 at 19:30 and day 85 at 07:00.

I truly appreciate all the ideas and suggestions coming forward. The technical issues of locking people out or simply preventing them from attacking are not so bad due to a change Mur has in mind that I am not permitted to speak of. I hope it is as beneficial as we thing it will be. Neither Mur's idea nor banning can be done so long as a dojo is in the middle of traffic as all three locations presently are. The dojo will be moved to a location with only one entrance, so it will not be in the path of traffic. This makes any number of things possible. Those of you who have been around for a long while know I hate punishing people. It's just not the right way to deal with things. And being the only one who can take real action is a terrible grind on me. I am no more anxious to be banning people than I am to be punishing them in some other way. But at least this will give staff a chance to deal with things as they happen, not wait for me to take action hours or days later. It is my belief that the ability to expel people for a brief time will give all involved time to rethink their positions.

[quote name='cryxus' post='27091' date='Mar 13 2009, 09:53 PM']banning people for breaking dojo rules is simply too excessive...[/quote] Please note, this is not a ban from the game, but a ban only from the dedicated Dojo location we will soon have. I asked for bans of 3 hr, 6 hr, 12 hr, 1 day, 3 days. I have asked for the spell to expel the person from the Dojo and keep them out for a period. Most bans will be brief. What Mur will do, I do not know. What is excessive are players that make repeated attacks in front of staff, are abusive to the staff, and go "nyah, nyah, you can't touch me." It is very hard on the staff and even harder on me and my second in command (presently Jazira). Many real world responses to such players and events are not possible in MD. We cannot see an attack before it happens, so we cannot prevent it. We cannot see a fight as it happens, so we cannot break it up. And we cannot even see the fight after the attack unless it is reported. Some, for instance, Renavoid, have suggested that when persistent offenders enter the dojo the be mass attacked by all present. However, this may not be possible given varying MP levels and alliance affiliation, and it is just not the right response — it amounts to vigilante justice which is quite error prone. So, just what are we supposed to do!? In the real world such people would be ejected and prevented entry until they had calmed down and shown they deserved another chance. We have no effective ways to post guards at the gates to the dojo. The eject/ban spell seems to be the most sensible way to handle the problem. It is also the only way that denies bullies the rewards they get when they attack without permission. Long term banning is excessive in almost all cases. In the seven months the dojo has been in existence, only one player has earned a spot on that list, JesusFaction. It's tempting to put Ledah and a few others there, but at this time they are not candidates for that list. And even there I want the option to take people off the list as well as put them on it. I am constantly trying to adapt to the evolving situation. I am looking for solutions that can be put in place at the time attacks occur, meaning spells that can be give to accredited staff member. Longer bans require staff at higher levels, and long term banning only in my hands or the hands of whoever succeeds me. Short terms bans are the first idea I've had that I think Mur will support. He has been quite responsive to this issue in the last few days.