metagaming and cdts

[solarina]

just a general statement , metagaming on someones cdt is just plain wrong. it happens sometimes but should be avoided. peoples CDTs arent available in char to others unless they have shared it which most like happens very little.  

[jan]

The metagaming makes me wonder if there can be anything done with the cdt's .
Like linking them to the friendslist on Lore maybe.
Could that be done ?

[Dorganath]

Or....
  How about people treat them as OOC info, like they're supposed to.
  To put it another way, instead of having to spend time and resources (which are already in short supply) to develop a technological solution, why can't players just not meta-game the info? It's faster, it can be done today, and it's the way things should be.

[Eorendil]

If it were up to me, and it isn't, things like CDTs would only be viewable by GMs and their creators. If an entry needs to be shared it could always be copied and sent to intended parties.
  I'm not sure if the current board system could do that but there's no sense in worrying about it. If everyone could keep OOC info separate it wouldn't be a concern.

[Tanman]

Having looked at various types of forum boards it could be done. . . BUT it would be too much administative work on the forum team.

Every single CDT would have to be applied a permission on that thread. With the number of threads being created it would be a nightmare.

While I agree with Dorganath, unfortunately for some players they find it hard to not to metagame. The best recommendation that I can forsee is to write your CDT (that could be metagamed at the time) offline until a later date when it is appropriate to post it. That way at least you have a record and nothing would be known about it until the right time.

[Dorganath]

Tanman - 1/18/2007  2:36 PM  unfortunately for some players they find it hard to not to metagame.

 Then perhaps they should acknowledge their difficulties and stay away from the CDTs.

[Tanman]

Sometimes it is hard for people to do that too.

Dorganath - 1/19/2007  9:46 AM    

Tanman - 1/18/2007  2:36 PM  unfortunately for some players they find it hard to not to metagame.

 Then perhaps they should acknowledge their difficulties and stay away from the CDTs.    

[lonnarin]

I love it when people RP knowing your deity from the field in the LORE login screen without so much as a divine revelation spell.  Usually that's when I start throwing rocks and screaming "He's a witch!  BURN the witch!  Demon-worshipping mindreader!"

[Laldiien]

It's advice I follow. I am not certain how I would handle it, so I don't read CDT's as a matter of course. They generally are the things you would read after breaking into someones house and stealing the diary the keep by the bed. Not something I do, so I just avoid them. I can't act on anything I read, I can't (IC'ly) form an opnion on what I read and it makes it easier to keep where I heard what straight.

[Rowana]

Or Mind reading...Don't forget intrusive mind reading, because.. Some of those aren't written down. Heh...
~row

Laldiien - 1/18/2007  4:32 PM

It's advice I follow.  I am not certain how I would handle it, so I don't read CDT's as a matter of course.  They generally are the things you would read after breaking into someones house and stealing the diary the keep by the bed.  Not something I do, so I just avoid them.  I can't act on anything I read, I can't (IC'ly) form an opnion on what I read and it makes it easier to keep where I heard what straight.

[Eight-Bit]

And here's why I don't read Character Development Threads unless they're related to me.

[Talan Va'lash]

This is why I don't read CDTs, or keep a public CDT.

The type of private/only GMs and people you mark as friends solution for CDTs described above would be ideal and I know the exact idea has come up before but... well, anything worth doing.. takes a long time to do ;p

It would be really really nice, but I don't think we'll see it in the very near future.

[Redhawk]

This is the point I was driving at when I asked about the ability to have a secret CD. Metagaming is subtle and it creeps up on a lot of people. My character Alice always introduces himself as Al, but everyone calls him Alice anyways. There are characters who never even use there own names (or have introduced themselves by a different name to each of my characters, thanks Pyrran ) and it's a struggle for me to not metagame the floaty text over there heads. I like Talan's idea in principle, but it is a bit depressing. Some of the finest writing in the community can be found in the CD's, so it becomes a very difficult balancing act. As for the server page, I don't think we should be able to see other characters deities. Redhawk

[hawklen]

I use the divine relation spell, and can usually guess, or roll a high sc check

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

Redhawk - 1/19/2007  6:34 AM

This is the point I was driving at when I asked about the ability to have a secret CD. Metagaming is subtle and it creeps up on a lot of people. My character Alice always introduces himself as Al, but everyone calls him Alice anyways. There are characters who never even use there own names (or have introduced themselves by a different name to each of my characters, thanks Pyrran ) and it's a struggle for me to not metagame the floaty text over there heads. I like Talan's idea in principle, but it is a bit depressing. Some of the finest writing in the community can be found in the CD's, so it becomes a very difficult balancing act. As for the server page, I don't think we should be able to see other characters deities. Redhawk

Fun, ain't it?

I don't use any information I get from CDTs IN-CHARACTER, but as a Player, I find that the information in CDTs can help me set up situations that offer richer and more rewarding RP. Playing on fears, tensions, and previous experiences, for example, to bring an already-hectic situation to a frantic, screaming head.

That said, it is a balancing act, especially if one has trouble keeping OOC and IC knowledge separate.

[Harlas Ravelkione]

As has been mentioned in this thread how you construct your character development thread is 100% up to you. You can leave out things that could lead to metagaming by others, like for instance your deity relations if your character worships an evil deity. I am aware that for some people that would mean less enjoyment in keeping a thread. It is a matter of weighting the positives over the negatives.

There will always be people that claim to know things about your character that you believe they cannot know. These things sometimes are due to metagaming, but at other times when they are claimed to be, the character in question may just have RP'ed with a closely related friend of the "victim" and got the information from a source. We have seen disputes and outright flaming in the past due to this. So consider carefully whether or not you are prepared to deal with the consequences if secrets you would not like to reach the surface come out into the open. If metagaming or RP from other characters could reveal something about your character that you would not like to be revealed and could result in you becoming angry, then leave it out of your thread.
Many times though people write about issues in their threads that add to their character development in game if they come out and the character faces consequences from it. It all helps you build something unique, so do not always see restrictions, but try instead to focus on possibilities. I know you have heard this being said many times before, but pepole tend to forget.

[Weeblie]

Also remember that the CDTs are in-character things and does not necessary have to have "true" facts in it.

If you write a diary in real life and suspect someone else might read it, you might always add some... erh... false parts to hide the truth.

Example: Planning to infiltrate the church of Toran (like, if you are becomming a Corathite)? Start to write how nice and good the dogma of Toran is, and how you would consider him as the greatest god out there!

[Tanman]

Weeblie,
You will never see a Corathite EVER doing that.