I've had a few Horror Stories...

[AstralFire]

But this one has to take the cake.

So. Freeform roleplaying group, in a setting of my devising. The general ideas you need to know are that:
- It's a sort of fantasy renaissance world.
- Humanity is the only intelligent and sapient race.
- Power level is low; in D&D 3 terms, the characters cap out at about 7th level martially, and 2nd level combat spells. A few more grand effects with ultra long casting times.
- Huge political theme.
- Gods exist, but have long ceased direct interaction with mortals. Only a few believe they even indirectly act (and that is up for debate, OoCly.)

Guy sees us roleplaying, says, "Hey, I'm interested." I have my suspicions because the character he talks to me on is a 10,000-year-old walking god, but I say, "sure!" And give him a try.

His character is from a section of the world based on Mesoamerica and Egypt in a blend. The character is named Zatoichi. Facepalm 1. I give it a once over - he's a mercenary, standard merc, carries a katana facepalm 2 - the Asian culture is based more off of Korea than Japan for no reason, but- you know, I really shouldn't be too picky, you get diamonds in the rough and all that, right?

He embellishes this character in the meantime. While I'm off sleeping or doing work type things, Zatoichi quickly grows to become the personification of the three gods of death facepalm 3 who has been gifted with great and powerful heirlooms, and a cast of abilities including the ability to automatically know where anyone is ever facepalm 4 and the ability to teleport through shadows, go a shadowy super saiyan thing facepalm 5, etc.

Additionally, I'm starting to get complaints from a few group members that he is a bit egotistical. Day before yesterday, as I am about to have a talk with him, I get some bad news - my uncle has entered a terminal coma. This takes precedence, and I ask one of my friends to have the talk instead. Egos clash, and more people tell me, "Yeah, this guy is starting to get on my nerves," especially the way he's (unpleasantly) flirting with the many ladies facepalm 6 and the way he's constantly boasting about how his character could beat anyone else's in a fight facepalm 7, including our current antagonist player who's considerably stronger than the rest of us.

Yesterday, I get word of a few more arguments - this time, ones my friend started. As much as I am quickly growing to dislike this kid, I don't think that's proper. So I resolve to have a talk with both my friend and Zatoichi. Zato shows up, sees one of my friends who has taken an interest in this roleplay, and says in a ambiguously unpleasant matter, "Oh. That gay guy." facepalm 8

"Alright," I say to myself. "This really isn't going to work out, but I will give him a chance to plead his case." And so, I do. Very pleasantly and apologetically, I point out that his character has drifted against earlier counseling to something that does not feel to wholly mesh with the world, and that we may not be the group he is looking for. He responds by proposing that he play an anthropomorphic tiger swordsman. facepalm 9. As I try to explain why this doesn't work, he starts using Jew as a casual insult. facepalm 10. I say to myself, "Well. He's definitely leaving now, and I've met some good people who really think they're just being ironic or funny with casual usage of racism, so. Keep your smile face on, girl."

Only he really, really doesn't get it. And we've been at this for hours. Finally, I break down and say, "I am sorry, Zato. The arguments may not have been fair to you, I am not here to judge the what or why right now. But I will say what I have been loathe to say the whole time; almost no one here gets along with you. If you stay, I predict only constant personality clashes; I really must change my tone now and ask you to please leave. I am sorry, I hate doing this, please don't make me drag this out any further."

His response? "Well, hey. Say hi to your uncle for me when he wakes up. Hope his oxygen doesn't run out. Oh wait, I do. And he's never gonna wake up."

That is. Hands down. The most cold and cruel thing I have ever heard someone say over so trivial a subject. I am grateful, almost, because it cleared all guilt I had on the subject immediately, but goddamn. RP is serious business?

[Aron Times]

Friends don't let friends freeform roleplay.

[Fax Celestis]

Quickly, someone invent a device wherein you can kill people over the internet.

[AstralFire]

Freeform roleplay has its benefits and drawbacks. I've had mostly good experiences with it since I began trying it again with this group of friends. However, that is neither here nor there. Rules would not stop someone of his magnitude of jerk.

[Morty]

Freeform roleplaying can be cool. It's more of a collaborative story than something resembling a tabletop game, really. Unfortunately, it's a paradise for textbook cases of various kinds of Mar Sue, since there's no rules and people like the above example can indulge in their power fantasies. Not that a person who uses "Jew" as an insult wouldn't cause trouble regardless of the activity he takes part in...

[Lord Loss]

Ow. That's horrible.

Kinda like the time a player tried to break my arm for leaving a book at home...

[sombrastewart]

I have to give you credit for not punching this guy in the throat.

It seems you handled it well, but in that case, I'd have probably blown my stack, gone on a James Cornette style rant and told him that I hope he gets a visit from the Cancer Fairy.

[DabblerWizard]

AstralFire, I sympathize. If I were in your shoes, and someone had wished ill to a family member of mine in such circumstances, I would probably just start screaming at them, and I'm an incredibly mellow, non-threatening kind of guy.

That kind of behavior is incredibly cruel, aggressive, anti-social, and just plain wrong. It doesn't even matter why they acted that way.

At a certain extreme, no matter how "justified" a person is, no matter how "good" their explanations are, there comes a time when extremely negative behavior can be judged on its outcome and consequence alone. Likewise in this case, there's no explanation that can make that kind of behavior more tolerable.

[Bibliomancer]

That's horrifying. I respect your degree of self control, since I'm not sure what I would do in that sort of situation.

OOC, was this on Giantitp or another website? The advantage of Giantitp is that is it a moderated environment (often seemingly done single-handedly by Roland St. Jude, if you believe the proto-memes), so that person would (hopefully) be banned relatively quickly.

[AstralFire]

It is another website where I happen to possess a modship.

I felt a twinge of regret after the ban that I did not say anything more elaborate than, "No."

[elonin]

Free form role play requires a group of players who are on the same page and have the same goals. Having someone who is big in the head doesn't fit here. It speaks well of you that you were able to restrain yourself after that guy lashed out. Need I say more?

[Scarlet Tropix]

Wow. Unbelievable. You know something, Astral, you really have the patience of a saint. In my opinion people like this should not be allowed to reproduce, and if they do it should be labeled as a crime against humanity.

I've seen my share of idiocy in roleplaying, freeform and not, but that just takes the cake.

I totally empathize with you here; Believe it or not, I actually have a similar story of familial ill will aimed at my grandfather, who was suffering from pancreatic cancer at the time. The person in question was decent as a RPer, but obviously not so much as a person. I'm sad to say that I wasn't able to handle it as well as you did... It got pretty ugly.

> < I'm sort of rambling here, so allow me to express the rest of my feelings with hugs and internet puppies.

[Godskook]

I can't even tell what's going on in the beginning of the story, but this:


His response? "Well, hey. Say hi to your uncle for me when he wakes up. Hope his oxygen doesn't run out. Oh wait, I do. And he's never gonna wake up."

only has responses that are(but shouldn't be in this case) illegal.

I suggest you don't talk to him again without a larger(than him) male from your group present.

I know, if my sister told me a story like this, I'd pack as many friends as I could into a car and drive to the guy's house, to say 'hi'.

[Scarlet Tropix]

I know, if my sister told me a story like this, I'd pack as many friends as I could into a car and drive to the guy's house, to say 'hi'.

It would be the among the best hellos in the history of hellos.

[Serpentine]

Friends don't let friends freeform roleplay.So, what, the style of gaming is bad, but using "gay" and "Jew" as insults and abusing someone's dying uncle is A-okay? :confused:

So Astral, you gave him the banhammer, huh? Good for you - and the rest of the place. I thought that was a real-life thing, though, so that kinda confused me...

[desmond1323]

That's one of the worst stories I've heard in forever....ridiculous kudos to you for how you handled it. I know not one person (not even me and I go to crazy great lengths to avoid conflicts) who could have handled that like you did.

Honestly, he deserved a serious amount of pain long before that last comment...but that? Yeah, humanity, you continue to dissapoint. Here's to better luck in avoiding those sorta people in the future.

Also, please please please never lose that grand attitude you posess, regardless of the idiots who may cross your path...this world needs more people like you.

[TheMadLinguist]

So, what, the style of gaming is bad, but using "gay" and "Jew" as insults and abusing someone's dying uncle is A-okay? :confused:

I believe the argument was "freeform gaming is bad because it hold an inescapable attraction for that kind of person"

[Kylarra]

Wow, that's ... special. Kudos for maintaining your cool as well as you did.

[absolmorph]

Wow, Astral. That guy deserved the ban. Using "gay" and "Jew" as insults is pretty lame. Taking a shot at your uncle? That's crossing a line that I stay way the hell away from, and I've gotten in the habit of crossing lines.
My respect for you has grown. You were wise to keep your calm, since getting angry would likely have had... negative repercussions. Of some sort, I'm guessing.

I could say many things about the kind of person who would say such things, but I believe none of them are allowed by this forum's rules.

[Seracain]

Wow, that person just makes me shake my head. That's one of the worse horror stories I've heard. But kudos to you AstralFire, it sounds like you handled it better than most people, or myself, would have.

[Kol Korran]

sorry to hear that AstralFire, that guy must have been a special brand of insensitive jerk. i really have nothing much more to say other than this.

Except, i hope your uncle gets better. i had someone close to me suffering for a long time, it's... unpleasent... be strong.

[BobVosh]

Hmm, as far as horror stories go I would place it squarely as number two. The one where the guy got picked up by the police (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23784) on the front lawn would be number one.

Still I can't believe the escalation there. Hope your group is better, and really hope your uncle is ok.

[Occasional Sage]

Sorry to hear about your uncle. Hang in there.

Oh yeah, and that guy is a euphemism for something we can't talk about here. He's better off anyplace else.

[AstralFire]

sorry to hear that AstralFire, that guy must have been a special brand of insensitive jerk. i really have nothing much more to say other than this.

Except, i hope your uncle gets better. i had someone close to me suffering for a long time, it's... unpleasent... be strong.

He actually had already passed by the time that had occurred; he went in his sleep on Wednesday morning, only about 8 hours after our aunt told us he went into the coma. Which made that particular jab almost funny in a very bitterly humorous way. Zato even managed to mess that up. I really appreciate all the well-wishes on that front, however.

[waterpenguin43]

AstralFire, I sympathize. If I were in your shoes, and someone had wished ill to a family member of mine in such circumstances, I would probably just start screaming at them, and I'm an incredibly mellow, non-threatening kind of guy.

I would have yelled at him, thrown objects at him, and told him to get his a** out of my house right now or I would strangle him.
I am a mercurial, temperamental person. Plus, there are annoying kids at school who are saying I'm gay with my friend. In fact, they are saying I'm gay with TWO of my friends, so I hate it when people use gay as an insult.


He actually had already passed by the time that had occurred; he went in his sleep on Wednesday morning, only about 8 hours after our aunt told us he went into the coma. Which made that particular jab almost funny in a very bitterly humorous way. Zato even managed to mess that up. I really appreciate all the well-wishes on that front, however.

I hope he gets better too. Oh gods... I am so sorry. :smallfrown:


I suggest you don't talk to him again without a larger(than him) male from your group present.

Female works too, actually. In fact, it would be a hilarious ego-lowerer for that stereotype eating b(Nasty me!) if a girl did so.

[Eldariel]

...that's just...ok, that's just plain wrong. Who says something like that face-to-face? This fellow sounds so immature though; his whole demeanor is so self-centered and just...childish it's not even funny. Rampant racism doesn't help either.

[Pronounceable]

The real sad thing is, if you were to track down and kill this cretin who's so much deserving of death, they'd babble some nonsense about the right to live and you'd be legally prosecuted. Let's hope he pisses off the wrong guy in the near future and gets painfully murdered for it.

[Godskook]

Female works too, actually. In fact, it would be a hilarious ego-lowerer for that stereotype eating b(Nasty me!) if a girl did so.

Yeah, but a girl hardy enough to play bouncer is a lot harder to come by than a guy.

--------------

And I want to offer you my condolences, Astral. Losing family sucks.

[RagnaroksChosen]

sorry about ur uncle.

about the story

honestly Your a better man then me. I would have curb stomped that ****er if he talked the way to me.

[Antacid]

I am grateful, almost, because it cleared all guilt I had on the subject immediatelyThis is the only thing that matters. Weird as it seems to say, the guy in question is essentially pre-punished by virtue of being an anti-social jerk, something that he is certainly going to suffer more from than by any possible response you could have made. The whole point of insulting you is to avoid feeling like a anti-social loser for being kicked out, which he does by acting like even more of an anti-social loser. Obviously that's not going to be a winning formula in the long run.

Just shrug your shoulders and get on with your campaign.

[Chunklets]

His response? "Well, hey. Say hi to your uncle for me when he wakes up. Hope his oxygen doesn't run out. Oh wait, I do. And he's never gonna wake up."

That is. Hands down. The most cold and cruel thing I have ever heard someone say over so trivial a subject. I am grateful, almost, because it cleared all guilt I had on the subject immediately, but goddamn. RP is serious business?

Yup - right there is all the confirmation you'll ever need that you made exactly the right decision in punting him from the group. Kudos for doing it far more maturely than I think I'd have been able to.

And deepest condolences about your uncle.

[Yahzi]

RP is serious business?
Sounds like he was doing a great job... of being your next BBEG. :smallbiggrin:

Just imagine the terror on the player's faces when the antromorphic katana-wielding tiger death god appears!

(Run as an NPC, obviously!)

[hamishspence]

I agree with most of these- except the lamentations about how sad it is that it would be considered a crime to track down and kill the person responsible.

That's a bit much.

[DragoonWraith]

Wow... there's not really anything that can be said that hasn't been. I do want to join others in offering condolences regarding your uncle, though.

[Lycan 01]

Can you ban his IP address and stuff too, or whatever it is mods can do on some sites so the person can never make another account or anything again?


Also, I'm sorry about your uncle. You have my condolences as well. :smallfrown:

[Another_Poet]

I'm sorry to hear that, Astral.

All through your post I was thinking I'd have to reply and say, 'Still doesn't beat LankyBugger's story!" But that last line gives me pause. Yeah, you're right up there with Lanky Bugger.

Umm... Congrats?

[Comet]

That guy is obviously pretty severely retarded and lacking in all social skills and possibly suffering from bad self-esteem issues. Punching him in the face would be wrong, but damn it feels like such a tempting option, you know? Anyway, best to just let things go and hope that you never run into him again.

Also, sorry about your uncle. That sort of stuff sucks.

[Drakevarg]

His response? "Well, hey. Say hi to your uncle for me when he wakes up. Hope his oxygen doesn't run out. Oh wait, I do. And he's never gonna wake up."

The fact that you didn't tear his windpipe out on the spot makes you infinitely more merciful than I.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Oh, AstralFire... you must learn that there is no such thing as 'benefit of the doubt.' There is only your gut reaction, and the reaction you knew you were going to have all along. I would have had that guy out of there before he even got to the part about the katana.

[Mystic Muse]

Quickly, someone invent a device wherein you can kill people over the internet.

This was my reaction.:smallmad:

[Dusk Eclipse]

Astral... I ... I just don't know what to say, I am glad you could control yourself.
I mean that is the kind of guy who gives RP bad reputation...

Also my deepest condolenses, loosing family is never easy and having a jerk saying stuf like that...

[The New Bruceski]

Quickly, someone invent a device wherein you can kill people over the internet.

Unfortunately research is continuing on eCinderblock, if the goal was to cover them in concrete dust it would be a lot easier. I had high hopes for NoIP (Ninjas over Internet Protocol) but when they get that small there are transmission errors (caused by pirates riding passing torrents), requiring packets of ninja to be sent to a single location. And once that happens the Inverse Ninja Law kicks in and there are MORE errors, and the entire thing spirals out of control.

[The_Admiral]

Wow and I thought I was rude
condolences about your uncle

[Somebloke]

Wow.

I've had some stinkers (metaphorical and literal) in my time, but nothing like what Astralfire had to put up with.

All I can say is, 4chan and the internet in general have a lot to answer for.

You get entire communities of people who think that this is the right way to act.

[Quietus]

Unfortunately research is continuing on eCinderblock, if the goal was to cover them in concrete dust it would be a lot easier. I had high hopes for NoIP (Ninjas over Internet Protocol) but when they get that small there are transmission errors (caused by pirates riding passing torrents), requiring packets of ninja to be sent to a single location. And once that happens the Inverse Ninja Law kicks in and there are MORE errors, and the entire thing spirals out of control.

This... is fantastic!


Astral, I'm sure you already know this, but you clearly made the right decision. I've run my share of Freeform PbP's, and ... yeah. You get these all the time. Hell, I probably WAS one, when I started, though not to that extent. Someone like that seems to have a gift for displaying just how bad of a fit they are in any social group, so banning them was the exact correct course of action, even without the horrible snide comment at the end. Also, you have my deepest condolences on your uncle - losing family members is never easy.

[AstralFire]

Unfortunately research is continuing on eCinderblock, if the goal was to cover them in concrete dust it would be a lot easier. I had high hopes for NoIP (Ninjas over Internet Protocol) but when they get that small there are transmission errors (caused by pirates riding passing torrents), requiring packets of ninja to be sent to a single location. And once that happens the Inverse Ninja Law kicks in and there are MORE errors, and the entire thing spirals out of control.

Thanks for the laughs. :)

To everyone else, thanks for the well-wishes. It's been a little while since then, that guy's never even attempted to come back on the site to my knowledge.

[Greenish]

All I can say is, 4chan and the internet in general have a lot to answer for.
Yeah, the youth nowadays, just horrible. Personally, I blame that newfangled "jazz music".

[PersonMan]

Yeah, the youth nowadays, just horrible. Personally, I blame that newfangled "jazz music".

No, it's the air! Seriously, listen to this: In every single murder case, oxygen was found inside the body of the murderer. All the time. This stuff is dangerous, man! Just like Dihydrogen Monoxide! This is turning the youth of today into horrible, murderous monsters! The government is even hiding this all from us too keep us from stopping their evil plot! [/conspiracy]

[Ormagoden]

I can't even tell what's going on in the beginning of the story, but this:



only has responses that are(but shouldn't be in this case) illegal.

I suggest you don't talk to him again without a larger(than him) male from your group present.

I know, if my sister told me a story like this, I'd pack as many friends as I could into a car and drive to the guy's house, to say 'hi'.

I like you, we should hang; Or maybe we should not hang, because we'll go to jail.

Seriously though, I don't care who says something like that to me they are getting a broken bone.

[Bharg]

:smallfrown:
This guy ist just so wrong.

[ShadowsGrnEyes]

I, quite simply, would have blown my stack at this guy. . . litterally wishing death upon someones family member over a game is just insane

This is why I dont do online roleplay unless online simply means we use the internet cause no one wants to host/ bad schedual conflicts. only with people i actually know in person will i online roleplay.

too many people are crazy nutjobs when they feel that there are no consequenses to what they do or say. (which is how most social things online are)