rpanons | 011b

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Concerns?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I don't have a horse in this race because I'm not apping to the game, but just want to point out that a poll is not always the best way to decide everything, and majority rule doesn't necessarily address the issue of why people are acting bent out of shape about this.

If what you want is to be sensitive to people's concerns about the exclusion of trans characters, then asking for a simple majority vote isn't likely to give you that.

Reading all of this, it sounds like the problem is as much an issue of phrasing as it is game policy. What you say here about "physically and mentally male" characters, for example, comes across as pretty insensitive to begin with since it's such an oversimplification of so many complicated things. At best, that kind of phrasing implies that "maleness" takes a very limited and restricted physical shape, and that's quite an ignorant place to start from.

Maybe you should try going with an in character justification (saying that the school itself has a gender exclusionary policy and will only accept students who were assigned male at birth and have been raised as male since) than having a rule with an OOC justification that comes from you drawing a line in the sand about what constitutes "real" maleness. No matter where you draw the line, there are always going to be people who dispute it, and they're going to get justifiably angry because lines drawn in the sand like that are bound to feel like they extend beyond the rules of a DW RP game.

I've got mixed feelings about the policy and I would be much more supportive of it if there was a clear IC reason that was consistent with the rest of the setting. (e.g. establish the school as rather conservative in general and make the only cis men rule a part of that) I actually like the idea of games that have clear in-universe restrictions on characters you can app, and I feel like if you're going to do that you should embrace it fully instead of just chucking it in the FAQ.

I disagree and think a poll is the only method of gauging playerbase opinion here -- and that's what this comes down to, essentially. From the start I've been building a game around what other people seemed to want, which is probably a pointless attempt but one I've tried all the same. I want the people who play in the game to be comfortable and happy, and it seems to me that the best way to do this is to, well, ask.

In-character justification is a doable solution, and I appreciate your input. Should the rule end up remaining, I'll be sure to go in and made some changes by adding in something to the IC rule section and FAQ.

Thank you very much.

You're free to do what you want of course, but as far as playerbase goes, remember that's not a static group. Your playerbase changes over time, and a poll is only going to give you a snapshot of one moment which might not end up being very representative of the playerbase in one or two months time. Or, if you think of it differently, it gives you a snapshot of one moment which then starts to define everything after, since it will attract some people and keep others away, so it kind of becomes self-enforcing.

Good luck coming up with a solution that will work for you guys and the game though!

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