modship vs politics. nother rant.

I’m having a hell of a time trying to convince people that position isn’t everything.

Just royally pissed someone off. He seems to think that position and names rank more highly than being a decent human being who knows how to act in polite company. We play with toggling pm settings, a game of you log in, I log out. I ease into it, don't attempt to talk to him when he dares to stay with pm on. Finally I get a chance to apologise, seeing as that's what I have to do. I don't consider apologies bad things, I don't consider apologising beneath me. I won't not apologise because of my pride, not even when I'm not in the wrong.

I will not apologise, on the other hand, if I feel I'm in the right. "Not in the wrong" and "in the right" are two distinct things, mind you.

I apologise, and that clinches it. He apologises too. He feels compelled to. I admire him for being willing enough to disagree vehemently enough with me, it must've been difficult to overcome that initial compulsion not to.

I almost feel like telling them, you have a next to nill chance of becoming a mod unless you are a genuine person concerned enough about other people, rather than simply, other players, to help them for the sake of helping them, with the idea of becoming a mod least on your mind.

I'm sorry for bringing this up again, but I thought solid examples might've been in order. I also need to rant.

Don’ts.

• Don’t go round intentionally playing Santa Claus. Giving away items is not going to help much, not if you’re going to be condescending, and not if you’re doing it for your own ends, just to clear some space in your bank. I have almost as much respect for this brand of players, who toot their horn doing this just waiting to be caught in the act as I do for people who beg.
• Don’t condescend to people, no matter what your opinion of their maturity is.
• Don’t gloat when you’ve killed someone in the wildy. Don’t even say “lol”. Schadenfreude isn’t going to get you anywhere at all.
• Don’t discriminate against a player because of their level, their combat type, command of the English language, or anything at all. Never discriminate.
• Never beg. Even if it’s only 5gp you need, never beg.

Now for do’s.

• Give people advice and help.
• Give items you want to give away to people who deserve it. Those won’t be the people asking for items, who patently do not deserve anything of that sort.
• Most importantly, be completely genuine. That covers it all. You cannot hope to be a mod if everything you do is structured around your wish to be a mod. The idea of becoming a mod must be least on your mind. That, imho, would be ideal. Perhaps not the reality, but the ideal.

Realise this. Being a mod is not anything like politics.

In politics, how much you desire the position matters, somewhat. If the only way to change the world is through politics, I’d rather go out and find a new one. It’s good to hear some people’ve found other ways already. I’m not bureaucratic and fake enough to become a politician, nor do I have enough masks. It’s possible to tell yourself you’ll be different amongst people who act as you would never want to. It’s not possible to succeed if you don’t speak their language.

The language in the game would be cash, items, stats. The surest way to a player’s heart would be to give that person good items. That’s the language of rs. Not to use it would involve so much more work. In politics, it’s not possible to succeed if you don’t speak their language. I refuse to speak their language, just as I refuse to speak it in rs.

Argue that codeswitching is the key, and I’ll tell you this. Those are masks. To codeswitch is to change masks.

The other option is to let that become part of your character. That’s something I’ll try never to do.

That’s precisely why you cannot approach becoming a mod the way you would an election. That’s also why you can afford to be human, all the time.

That’s why you must.