Do you feel safe on these forums?

Wyrmrest Accord
21

Yes and no??? On WRA, I think it’s one of the better communities and is really the only one I actually talk in. Everything else I lurk because WHEW it’s bad!!

Otherwise, the heated topics about RP and WoW lore and whatever, if someone gets heated at me I honestly forget after a couple of days. Sometimes I don’t even read it as heated because I’m bad at reading social tone over the internet and read everything in monotone. I also don’t have the time or energy to stay constantly active and participating in some heated discussions, usually I say my words and then I move on and forget about it.

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23

eh, 6/10

/10chars

24

Yes there is nothing anyone here can do to me that has the power to do more then inspire a mild annoyance.

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25

I’ve been stalking since… Oh, I don’t know. Around MoP consistently. I only started posting as a social thing since Legion. What I have experienced is that Wyrmrest Accord’s forum is the most welcoming and kind, compared to General and Story. I’d argue maaaybe WET is the safest, but at the same time at least 50% of the people posting there are from here too anyways.

I’ve seen countless people show up to say hi or ask for help or advice, and I’ve seen them receive it mostly without incident. Of course, there are a few taboos, but generally speaking they’re the kind of taboos you see in most decent social interactions.

I know we had/have a reputation among the role playing servers for elitism, but honestly, I think it’s all but vanished here. I see frequent posts that encourage creativity and above all fun, contrary to the “elitist” mindset I’ve heard we have.

As for myself? I feel safe here. I feel like I can post anything, within reason*, and receive constructive feedback, positive affirmation, or a much needed kick in the pants.

The Cabal seems chill too, so that’s never really bugged me.

*Obviously there’s some stuff that should never be said, be it in a real life conversation or an online forum thread. But that’s more of a “being an unpleasant person” problem rather than an acceptance one.

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26

In my experience, “elitist” is in the same category as “passive aggressive” in being something people intend as an insult for people who insist on a standard of conversation.

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27

People like having a nice, easy tag to put on anyone who isn’t exactly who they are. It’s one of the things I learned quickest, living out in a small Kansas town. Especially since I went to said small, Kansas town’s high school.

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28

Those are both fair points. I usually just joke that they’re jealous anyways. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

Because we’re so great.

29

I don’t care what people on the internet think about me so I’m not concerned about ‘safety’ when it comes to a gaming forum.

To answer your question though, the WrA forum is pretty tame. It’s typically full of inane nonsense and the same tired ‘debates’ regurgitated by the usual suspects so I don’t spend a lot of time here, but it’s not what I would call a toxic environment. I’ve seen toxic environments, and they ruin people.

Then again, I’m remembering that big ‘apology thread’ involving the Kul Tiran RP community and Violet Tap. Every community has its moments, I suppose.

30

It’s full of people who actually are pleasant for the most part, and whenever nonsense rears its ugly head, it tends to get shouted down. I feel pretty safe in this forum at least.

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31

I can say I feel pretty safe, personally. I often talk about things on the forums these days, but then I also stick to threads I know are going to have a lot of familiar posters around, only occasionally offering my input in other threads/forums on the WoW website.

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32

I feel safe, yes. I wonder at what you mean by “safe”, though. From your post, I get the impression you mean not facing any disagreement, dislike, or having to defend your opinion.

If I’m right about that impression, I can only say these things will always happen when you put your opinion out there for everyone to see. On the other side of the equation, it’s good to keep in mind you are under no obligation to agree or go along with anyone else, either.

Enekie mentioned stalkers and harassment. I’m not surprised this happened. The appearance of popularity (and therefore, status and power) and some people’s “How dare you disagree with me!” narcissism makes those behaviors way too common. I’m glad Blizzard has finally gotten off its butt about their seriousness.

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33

Safe/Unsafe aren’t the words I’d use.

But I have had a mixed experience thus far. Some fun and interesting topics to be sure… but it also seems like there’s a case of folks that seem very easily bothered by different opinions - or at the very least deciding a post had a wildly different tone to it than was intended.

Not everyone has to agree about RP, or their opinion of Blizzard’s writing, or their opinion of a game mechanic, and it is possible to have a discussion without psychoanalyzing the way someone made their point… the latter part being what baffles me. Just have a conversation.

That said, lots of good stuff here too! I love the RP guides and people putting together the directories and even supporting players who feel the need to get things off their chests at times.

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34

I had a lot more that I wrote out to go into more detail, but I’m second guessing it quite a bit. I don’t know if I’m… fully comfortable sharing it all. I don’t know.

Do I feel safe here?

I do, and I don’t. I do because there’s a lot of regulars that I trust, and I really do enjoy this community. I don’t because being moderately well-known, if you want to call it that, has led to some severe issues. I do because visiting the forums every day gives me a semblance of satisfaction when I get to help someone out. I don’t because one negative interaction just makes me wonder if it’ll spiral into another similar situation.

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35

My meaning isn’t quite so simplistic, actually.

I believe that an intelligent and mentally stable human being can and should be able to disagree with someone, defend their opinion, or even be disliked, and still feel safe and content overall.

What I mean by ‘safe’ I suppose, is deeper than that. To be unsafe would brook stronger words. To have your opinion disagreed with is nothing, but if that disagreement takes place in a way that involves personal attacks, there’s a bigger problem. It’s normal to defend your opinion, but if by doing so you are called out for being anything from a bigot to an elitist to whatever, then it’s not as ‘safe’. It’s normal to be disliked, but to face hatred and harassment would be a step up, and so on.

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36

I feel sorry for anyone who decides that they want to stalk me.

I imagine watching paint dry would be more entertaining.

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37

I should probably explain why I made this post in the first place, in case anyone else gets the idea that I’m somehow afraid of people disagreeing with me. :rofl:

First of all, I want to clarify that I greatly enjoy these forums. I enjoy talking to you all, and I respect the opinions of a number of people here who I regularly disagree with, but who I know to be good people. And to be honest, there’s nobody I hold a grudge against here. I can think of two big disagreements I’ve had with folks, but I get over them easily. I feel very safe here, and enjoy the community.

However, the reason I made this post is that I was recently involved in a conversation with a friend who I RP with semi-regularly, and we somehow got talking about the forums. This friend went on a bit of a tirade about what a toxic environment the forums is, how the regular suspects hate the game so much that they’re all trying to make everyone else hate it as well, and generally felt as though an elite group of malicious villains are trying to drown out all positive feeling about the game, and replace it with hate. Anyone who disagrees was to be driven off the server for being . My friend really felt that the realm forums are not a safe place for someone who likes World of Warcraft to go.

After talking to said friend about this, I thought “Nah, that’s not what the forums are like. Sure, folks are often negative, but… I don’t feel persecuted for being an optimist.”

The reason I made this post though, is that I AM one of the regulars. Or at least a semi regular. I’m used to you guys. Some people aren’t.

I guess I wanted to see if anyone else felt as my friend did. If, by dismissing it as dramatic nonsense on their part, I was accidentally perpetuating a cycle of borderline abuse. I didn’t think i was, but I wanted to know. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt.

What I’ve seen instead is a solid community who are by and large really happy with one another. The issue was indeed with my friend, it would seem, and not with anyone here being secret forum-cabal-meanie-butts. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at just how much people are generally positive with each other, and… I feel quite proud to be a part of Wyrmrest Accord, and this particular forum community! :grinning:

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38

I have seen that argument before in game a lot - that the forums are toxic. And to a degree they are. But to a degree any MMO’s forums are toxic. There are people on the forums for ESO, or BDO, or GW2, or any other game that basically make it their mission to stand on a pulpit and be miserable. That’s just par for the course - people spend their fifteen bucks a month to complain about it.

I’d say these (and most) forums are actually a downright nice place to visit having once been a regular on the Age of Conan forums back in the day, when people regularly leveled personal attacks on people with disabilities and promoted threads that celebrated some pretty disgusting stuff.

Though I do wonder on these forums - does one feel that maybe because you can identify who a person plays here, does it make folks a little more sensitive and/or wary because then they can be spotted out and singled out in game?

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39

Off-topic slightly but i’m getting very tired of the “Oh they just hate the game rhetoric.”

I’d bet a hefty stack of gold that most people who complain and gripe and whimper and moan and squirm and cream over how unhappy they are about the game actually love it quite a lot.

We all tend to be quite hard and critical of the things we adore.

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40

Wait, you mean that people who constantly complain about something might be doing so because they want it to be better, and because it has potential to be better? That’s not possible!

Sarcasm.

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41

Well…
There is a far cry from “Hey I’m unhappy with THIS aspect of the game and here’s why…” and say “GG Blizzard YOU SUCK this game is HORRIBLE.”

One actually presents feedback. It’s the latter that makes me roll my eyes personally :stuck_out_tongue:

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