Best Of

Casual chop-busting aside, this is def a problem game-wide, no side is without sin--that doesn't mean we should accept that it's okay. I've definitely seen plenty of people sanctimoniously dismiss the Shadow Tether as wholesale toxic because of

1. things that both "sides" do (also, hey, do you think maybe viewing this as different "sides" is paramountly stupid? like probably a part of the dumb problem? We're only on opposing sides ICly)
   
2. things that happened IC, for IC reasons, that made IC sense, and wasn't all that terrible (like people who talked poop and got scooped)
   
3. things that happened years ago, from folk who became social pariahs, and requires glossing over the actual years of effort put into drumming out bad faith actors from at least our casual macrocommunity.
   

Newsflash: we're a game that peaks with sometimes over 100 people, there's gonna be poopbags. It doesn't make toxicity an inherent quality of either tether's culture, nor does it make People Who Play On The Other Team Bad People (seen this one from folk all over the map). Nor, frankly, does the inevitability of bad faith and/or abusive actors make that sort of behavior something we should ignore. Anyway, if I have to have Shout Discourse one more time, I'm gonna rip my fingernails out.

@Czcibor

I have some immediate feelings about what you are posting. Shouts are opt-in and if someone is shouting in a way that is bothering you ooc and not just ic, then it might be a good idea to use shoutsoff. Because essentially in your post you are justifying bad behavior by saying his ic actions made them ooc mad. Ultimately it is up to the player to monitor their emotions and show some emotional maturity. And if shouts are hurting your ooc feelings it might be time to take a step back and examine yourself.

Edit: Also, I am curious who is 'inexperienced'? From deathsights I mostly see Whirran engaging with Spirit veteran players in combat and most shouts are directed towards them.

I disagree. Shouts are as opt-in as pretty much any other form of communication. In game, you can always IGNORE someone entirely. Out of game, you can block them from whatever platform they are using to contact you. I think it is victim blaming a bit when we say that people should "monitor their emotions". Yes, people should learn when to step away from the game, but the rest of us should also show our own "emotional maturity" and realise that there is a person on the other side too. I am not justifying the bad behaviour (in fact, I even said as much in my post), but I am saying that these things don't come out of nowhere and everyone has a responsibility to make this game enjoyable for everyone else. I am saying that "IC actions" is not a blank cheque to do whatever we want if we want other people to engage with.

The "inexperienced" person that comes to mind is Sardara. He is by no means innocent, because he has been shouting back just as much, but my point was about the fact that Whirran has specifically gone after him while avoiding the rest of us as much as possible. I used the word "inexperienced" because this was the exact word used in some of the shouting matches about who exactly would be targeted.