EDIT: Well, it IS easy to press a choice button on the poll, but is it too much to ask for a brief piece of constructive criticism explaining WHY you disagree/dont apreciate/hate my essay? Its easy, you just press REPLY and type in the box, I'm sure we can all manage it.
Good Behaviour in Online Gaming
Some would state that a game based around killing and maiming other players will inherently breed a negative atmosphere, and in a certain sense this IS the truth. Also the violence represented on screen is obviously going to have a different affect on the games players, related to their personal outlook, upbringing, and age. Unfortunately, this particular game is rated Teen, which in this society of most mothers believing they know what is best for their children (even though this is obviously not true, as media objects such as The Jeremy Kyle Show, Jersey Shore, current musical and stylistic trends unintentionally show us) means that children of all ages are allowed access to this game, and therefore any modifications to it.
Combine this with dramatical decrease in intelligence in the current generations of young people, directly linked to passive entertainment, the lack of societal templates of moral and ethical stances and standards, and the very worrying trends of most governments in the so called developed states to lean more and more towards big brother fascistic tendencies in upholding the law, good behaviour has become more and more What can I get away with? and less What is the RIGHT thing to do.
I currently am writing this due to a case of misjudgement: I saw a player break the rules of the server we were on, and instead of reporting this breach I reacted in kind. Specifically I saw a teamkill take place with a player I was on on the 'phone with get teamkilled, and the teamkiller then stole his horse: the victim has never had any run ins with any players, has never drawn attention to themselves, and is one of Great Unnoticed mass of players. I felt pretty bad this player, he did not deserve this treatment. But instead of reporting the issue, I misjudged what I should do, I went above and beyond the rules:
I killed the horse: As I saw this, the player cheated for a horse, I took the horse from him, he had broken the rules but since he gained nothing from it, we were back at square one and all was fair. I then turned away and continued to attempt to win the round. I had not considered that the horse thief would be SO enraged that he would run up behind me and slay me. My fault ultimately, if you leave children temptation, they often misbehave, it is in the nature of children to test the limits of their society.
At THIS point, AGAIN I had the opportunity to do the Right Thing and simply take a couple of screenshots, post them on the forum, and leave it to an admin: I failed to do this, instead I gave the teamkiller my opinion of him in public chat: I'm not a child, and I don't automatically sensor my language. This again is my fault. So my comments may be judged as obscene or disgusting. I blame myself but partly my upbringing: I was taught to speak my mind, not to give in to bullies or small minds, and I was also taught Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
I never thought that my words were worse than his actions, but apparently they have been judged so. Since I learnt long ago that you can not change people, only yourself, I wont attempt to argue my point as RIGHT and the Victim of my crime (flaming in chat) as Wrong. In my mind that is the way it is, but it isn't my place to judge or attempt to change the values of others.
Since my actions (flaming in chat) could not have ANY possible reaction BUT negativity, I have to come clean and say that a much better solution would be to have called in an authoritative figure and had the teamkiller removed, and since did not do this, I did not exhibit good behaviour.
Since all mammals learn by imitation, humans being no exception, any and all bad behaviour will only ever cause MORE bad behaviour, until the point we all run around hitting each other. Since the default state or warband IS everyone running around hitting each other, bad behaviour is only one argument away, thus behaving in a mature way is all the more important. Nobody likes to be called mean names, I think, and if they do that's an issue for them to keep to their analysts or their bedroom partners. Since my negativity adversely affected the community, NOTHING positive can be taken from my actions at all, except as the perfect example of how NOT to behave in future, to myself and all the crpg community:
In future, I will take the Right actions, even though they seem morally reprehensible, and simply screenshot the actions of others and post them here, and let others decide the correct reaction. Taking justice into my own hands as a player is not the right way to go, and although I have personal qualms about bringing anyone before the Ultimate Justice of the game admins, who make CAN decisions without worry to the consequences, I understand that any other action is only going to create ill feeling, since the feeling What can I get away with? that pervades the victims of our societies slide away from moral standards CANNOT co-exist with the acceptance of judgement by peers.
It is essential to always behave in a measured and tempered way in games, since the majority of people playing games are the product of passive entertainment and passive education, few will seek to understand the underlying causes of any action, and will simply take the route their upbringing has preconditioned them to, accepting the passive information they are being given, rather than seeking to understand the motives behind the end result they see.
To close: The importance of good behaviour in games cannot be underestimated, since it's only our own actions we can control, and any action we take that impairs the enjoyment of the game by others, whether by action or opinion, regardless of causes, intentions, or motives behind said impairment, will only create a more negative environment for all.
Thanks for reading.
EDIT: Spotted a few typos.
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