Phantom Orchid

Player names are not ok to put in location sub-titles - I get that. But the ones that existed before that rule was put into place are allowed to remain?

It would seem fitting to have this ability available for mp3 players since they might inadvertently get lost/stuck in the labyrinth and/or Tribunals (and have a harder time getting out because of lower APs). But for an mp4+ player, it should be known by then that there are 'risks' that come along with venturing into harder to access places. Part of being an adventurer is taking risks. And risks have consequences (and benefits). And, having a free unlimited travel back to PC would make things (like the labyrinth) less risky, and probably have deleterious effects on the concept of viscosity. Just a few thoughts...

Chewy, I sent 4

A video of a [url="http://vimeo.com/31158841"]murmuration[/url]. Enjoy!

Okay, so lack of communication was the issue here - and I apologize for my presuming assumption. Thank you. Mods please close topic.

[quote name='Vicarious' timestamp='1320452300' post='95286'] Were you a fugitive? Or did someone rejail you? [/quote] Like I said - Mur released me. I was not a fugitive.

Seriously? Mur released me from prison today since my sentence was up. Now I am back in jail. Who do I have to thank for such a blatant abuse of power...? *cough cough*

[quote name='Sharazhad' timestamp='1320185087' post='95075'] [i][color=#008000]Does anyone listen to the message that was being conveyed or are we the players in the game, supposed to sit back and accept EVERYTHING that is dished out to us?! I tip my hat to those who have the balls to stand up and say: "Hey we have had enough of this! I want change" [/color][/i] [/quote] And I tip my hat to those who have the ovaries to stand up and say the same thing!

Quest is over. Mods please close thread - thank you!

You may; however, I will give no precise answer. Let's call it a mystery.

[center][center] [/center][/center] [center][center][size=5][b]Hallowed by thy Ground[/b][/size] [/center][/center] [center][center] [/center][/center] [center][center][i]To hallow is "to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate".[/i] [font=georgia,serif]Halloween is commonly associated with festivals of the dead, like, for instance, Samhain of Celtic lore. It is an occasion where the veil between the living and dead grows thin, allowing spirits to pass and mingle with the living. It is a time when departed souls are honored. Mystics see this as a time to commune with Gods and Goddesses.[/font] A letter from the desert: [quote][font=comic sans ms,cursive]The starry blanket draped over the sky in our realm is my Goddess - one of mine. Mother to some, crazy aunt (or even dangerous stranger) to others; she is a wild, wild woman. All have met her, and she watches over all with a thousand sparkly eyes. She is a auburn-haired skeleton woman, dancing in the land of dreams, planting seeds. At times known as Winter, and at others, Death. She is always known at night. She can be quite scary. The darkness of Necrovion grows colder and colder, and the Goddess of the Moon becomes apparently meaner - her lessons are hard, oh so hard, so much so that I pray for light. But her sharp and glorious teeth smile with a fierce embrace - a mighty love. And in return, I learn to do so with mine. In this land of forsaken Time, my thoughts are muddled, and so I am oft to avoid talking about the Goddess here. In a shroud of darkness, certain things come to light, and it would be facetious to speak of her nature here, her being, when her essence hides behind no shroud. Our Goddess of the Night, she cannot be pinned down. She cannot be talked to, imagined as if she were an invisible entity, or merely some archetype born from one's mind. The answer lies within the Wild Hunt, the trek under a darkening sky through a landscape wherein lives only dreams and uncharted sea. The realm of the Goddess. Powerful. Unimaginable. She is wind, rock, water, fire and aether. She is lunacy, dancing in a poem of blood. How does one know this? Through drink, through merriment, through madness. Through poems, offerings, and apples of discord. And most importantly, through dreams. She is mystery, wonder, and terror all-in-one. A power greater than the summation of her parts. Enrapturing. I met a traveler, in this dark land, with olive skin like sand and a thunderous voice which led me inside the Accursed Growth. I see her in the twist of this old tree, as in the pulse of rock, as my throat becomes dry and my knees begin to tremble as glowing eyes watch from within. What left is there to do, I wonder, but laugh? She is a mystery, so I laugh, and to her I open myself in prayer. Prayer to open other portals of possibility - for voices in the wind carry a cascade of dust that floats through sunlight and makes poetry in the air. Through dreams, I open doors. But I also close them. Singing shadows are cradled in the abode of dreams, and without names or faces, not many are ready to face them. It takes time to reign in the spirits of dreams. Oh but there are merely fragmented thoughts, fleeting memories... Now tell me, seeker of keys, of a place you find worthy of sacrament. Priestess Orchid of the Sanguine Moon Dream Weaver[/font][/quote] [font=georgia,serif]This quest requires participants to compose a letter with words and/or pictures and PM it to Phantom Orchid in-game.[/font] [/center][/center]

[b]:: Darkened mirror, lifeless plea;[/b] [b][font=comic sans ms,cursive]Lonely shadow, Accursed tree ::[/font][/b] [indent=1][font=comic sans ms,cursive][attachment=3277:SleepingDeath.jpg][/font] [/indent]

[quote name='Rumi' timestamp='1318508714' post='94021'] [cquote] There were some issues between Jester and Phantom, Both of who retaliated to each other, and therefore both were at fault. It was reviewed several times and decided that neither should receive punishment due to this reason. [/cquote] [/quote] Perpetrators and victims of sexual harassment do -not- share culpability. Period. Goodbye MD.

[quote name='Mya Celestia' timestamp='1318289266' post='93823'] [color=#008080][font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif]When it comes down to it, Grido can't make Mur do anything. He can't make the council do anything either.[/font][/color] [/quote] I agree. This was never, for me, an issue of Grido fixing the complaint I have about the other player, but about the trust I invested in him and the time squandered waiting for his proffered help. In all of that time, that player (who I shall not name because he still deserves a fair and due process, if that does indeed exist in this game) has been left unaccountable for their actions, which increases the likelihood that similar behavior may be occurring against others. But this thread is not about the issue, it is about how Grido has acted - or in this case, has not - as head LHO.

As further proof of Grido's ineptitude, I received a PM today from a player who states: [quote]I have spoken with Manu on several occasions since his return from his vacation. These conversations have been very short, about 20 minutes or so, to fairly long, lasting a couple of hours. I don't talk to him every time he is online, but I've seen him on there many times in the last month. This leads me to the conclusion that Grido isn't trying very hard to contact him - and, really, he's not that difficult to get a hold of - or he's lying about his attempts to contact him. After all, if I can strike up a random conversation with him, someone who is not part of the general administration of MD, then I'm positive that someone like Grido could get his attention far more easily.[/quote]

About a week ago Grido once again gave me the line "I will talk to Mur." A few days ago I wrote back, asking if anything was happening about this - no reply. Shem, if I thought that there were possibly valid reasons for this inaction, I would not have made this post.

[quote name='Yrthilian' timestamp='1318234563' post='93704'] I dont know why you waited that long and decided to use this as a fight agents Grido. [/quote] The point is that I -trusted- Grido to effectively handle matters, or point me in the right direction if it was not something he could not help me with. Given his position, I thought that's what would happen. Yrth, your post is full of assumptions about the reasons for my actions, and as with most assumptions, they are predicated on your judgment, what you -think- my reasoning was. If you have questions I'm happy to answer them in a PM, please don't publicly make assumptions about me or tell me what I -should- have done in your opinion. If I want your opinion I will ask for it. I thought you were better than that...

Thank you BFH. I did recently obtain the council's e-mail and submitted the information.

44 days ago I confided in Grido with a request for help with a situation regarding another player's sexual harassment towards me, along with using out-of-game judgments and prejudices to slander my character in-game, repeatedly. 44 days ago... All I heard from him, after repeated requests - was "I will talk to Mur about this." For the first month, I waited, and waited. I did not feel comfortable in-game because this situation has remained unresolved. As head LHO and Inquisitor, I expected more. There are clear rules/restrictions in place... yet, when evidence was presented to Grido, and I have not heard one word besides "I will talk to Mur" about this... no rush to the Council with this information. At least I could have been given the e-mail address for council ( I did not want to publicly post my proof in forums because of the explicit nature of the content). Contrasting the expediency with which he chose to act in regards to the 'exploit' with -this- situation... leaves me to question the legitimacy of the head LHO position. In fact, I have questioned whether or not I will continue to play this game. If the rules/regulations will only be -selectively- enforced (or evidence routed through the proper channels in a timely manner, especially for grave offenses), then I will more heavily consider leaving this game. Because it -should- be a safe place for everyone. I confided in Grido with a very serious grievance, but gave up on him after 44 days...

[quote name='Vicarious' timestamp='1317409828' post='92986'] I would like to see him learn from these mistakes, or at least admit to them. [/quote] Whether these two cases are mistakes or not can only be effectively judged by those who can see the entire picture. But the picture is cut like a jigsaw puzzle, and different people have different pieces - and clearly somewhere along the line communication broke down and judgments were made and expressed (or not), even though I seriously doubt there is any one person who doesn't have a puzzle piece (or seven) missing from their picture of these two situations. So in order for us to see the big picture, we must first take inventory of what we have, and then use our words to work together with others to fit the pieces together. And, as important, we should also be trying to figure out which pieces are missing and how those missing pieces might be influencing the whole. It does seem to me that the general conversation has shifted, and it seems perhaps that the vindictiveness is being replaced by a willingness to have an open dialogue, to flesh out one another's desires and needs to make MD as functional as possible. And the realm is not a democracy, as we all know, but hierarchical in structure. The issue of accountability for players who hold power is a difficult conversation to have because of inherit power inequities and a seemingly fluid structure which does apparently mold and adapt to new situations and/or players and the roles they play. A good example of this dynamic could be seen in how the rules are made and shaped by Mur, as the game continuously evolves. There's no exact blueprint (or if there is I presume only Mur knows it ) here, but a community of players who each have a powerful tool at their disposal, and that is the use of their words. It is -really- difficult in real life, at least in my culture, for most to set aside their judgments and prejudices to effectively listen, really listen, and try to understand what the other person is saying. Because first you must listen not just to hear words, but try to understanding where there are coming from and what led them to make the choices that they did. We all know that Grido has a rich history of making himself available to others in the realm and working to fulfill his role in it. As was mentioned earlier, much of this work has been transparent, behind the scenes, and has probably gone mostly unrewarded by others. With that said, I would like to thank him for his continual help he has offered to me, currently, despite the adverse situation that wedged itself between us (and for my part in creating that, I accept responsibility for). My ego is not thin enough to judge him for how he acted 'against me,' and I am confident that he will continue his unwavering stance of doing what he thinks is best for MD, despite how it may shift what others may think of him. The only thing I can ask of him, or anyone really, is to act with compassion both in-game and out.

Oh how much has transpired in my absence! I will speak directly to Grido, but this will also serve as a public response to my very public demotion. Grido, My trust and confidence in you has waned, and not because of the demotion. Specifically, it is because you did not show respect for me by speaking directly with me. You did not even bother to write a PM to me. I must say that anyone in the helping profession knows that, to retain someone else's confidence and maintain trust, it is -essential- to speak directly with them regarding any issues of behavior that comes up. And the quickest way to lose confidence and trust is to act without first speaking directly, and perhaps even daring to listen to what the other might have to say. Unless, of course, one no longer desires to maintain relational equity with the other. Had you asked, I would have told you what I thought - that the 'exploit' a) is old and very well known b) was shared with me by a current LHO c) has an inaccessible restricted section within it (which in and of itself led me to the conclusion that it was not a bug, because there was an inaccessible section contained within it). I did not view it as much of an exploit, but perhaps that is because my tech skills are -very- limited. I want you to know that if you would have spoken with me directly, I would have, if given an explanation, voluntarily resigned from the LHO position - without hesitation. I no longer have stars next to my name, which I accept, but I will not stop helping new players and providing what guidance I may. Nothing has changed for myself, except for a few less spells ( which I can mostly make up for by spending WPs) and less visibility (it will be harder for new players with questions to find me).

Thank you Tipu, KC Guards, judges, and sponsors for this quest. Ideally it would have set a spark for more people to work on their military papers... but I am grateful that it was enough incentive for me (even if I just barely missed a WP ) to rework mine.