Hrm. Apparently, you mooks are out of control.
See, Sanya recently cornered me. She said it was either talk to her about the name change, or she threatened to teleport me to the Mid capital city.
After the sixteenth time of me turning up at the bindstone screaming “Wheeeeeee!,” she finally got tired of that little game and said I had to sit down and talk with her. Hrmph-ingly, I obliged.
It seems some people have been writing in to Mythic to complain about the Bottom issue. Yeah, the whole “An Idiot by Any Other Name Just Isn’t as Funny…” thing.
I complain about a lot of things. Usually, it’s just my way to vent my little frustrations at the world in a feeble attempt to make up for my sucktitude in a game. But occasionally, I rant about things that really make me mad. And this whole name thing was something that truly and honestly made me mad. I was mad about two things: 1) that someone was stupid enough to appeal that name. 2) that my appeal to the appeal received what looked to be a rote response, nothing more well-written than a form letter.
Now, there’s not much I’m going to be able to do about the first item. Apparently, there’s some people out there that are that anal. However, I did have a very low-key (I didn’t shout that much) conversation with someone about the name. They pointed out that while Bottom was a very common surname, it was rare for people to refer to each other by their surnames. A very good point, but when I replied it was pretty damn rare for names to float above people’s heads, that shut him up. However, on that point – I can definately see someone being that much of a fussy bastich. I think they’re idiots, of course, but I can at least respect that reasoning and agree on that point that they’re justified in appealing it.
The second issue… You know, I understand that you get a lot of emails. I know that it must be a thankless, pain in the ass to deal with. I sympathize how difficult people like me must be to deal with – and, let’s be honest here, I’m far more polite than many of the people I’m sure unleash their flurry of all the naughty words they learned on the playground that day at you. I cannot imagine how frustrating that must be.
But. You agreed to do a job. Yes, it’s a difficult, thankless job. We all know that. But we – the people you’re writing to – aren’t all illiterate, anti-social 13-year-olds that refuse to accept we can’t have our way and will just throw a tantrum when you tell us ‘no.’ Granted, I might like to act like that, but in truth, I can deal pretty well with a mature rejection. I’ve had years of dating to acclimate myself to it, after all. Consider this, the original response:
On our Roleplaying Servers, we require players to use names which fit within the “spirit of the game.” This means that we require players to use proper birth-names, rather than nicknames, descriptions, references to personal history or past deeds, etc. As such, the name BOTTOM was inappropriate.
Now compare that to this:
So, basically, Bottom is a swell name. So is Dick, short for Richard. And neither of them can be in the game, because there will literally be thousands of people complaining about how much we suck for not getting rid of the Bad Names. Sometimes, the majority wins, even if the majority is not too terribly well-read. It’s one of those things you have to cope with in a massively multiplayer game. I’m sorry.
See the difference? If you don’t, try slamming your head in the door a few times, then go back and read it. Seriously though, acknowledging that my name, while being proper in one very real sense, will cause a HUGE stir amongst a majority of players – I can totally relate and understand that. Furthermore, I now feel that my appeal was actually read, and that while I might have had a valid point, it wasn’t enough of a valid point. That’s a perfectly acceptable premise to me. I have no idea understanding how much of a pain the player base can be.
After all, I’m one of them.
I think the difference between someone that just does their job versus someone that does their job well is attention to detail. Yes, it’s obvious I’m not going to like you changing my name. However, if you take the time to explain to me that while I may have the moral high ground, in reality, you have to sell a product and your job in doing that is keeping the majority happy – you know what? I can deal totally with that. With such an explanation, my anger quickly transfers from you to the little bastiches who appealed my name…oh yeah, I’m coming for you, buddy!
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