Feel free to disagree, but I think a lot of us here take ourselves too seriously. I do too on occasion. I know this isn't a role playing site, you needn't remind me of the rules, but why get upset with people for it? Kids will be kids and I pretended to be all sorts of crazy things as a kid from killer robots to submarines at the swimming pool. Here they come in chat talking about being mermaids and starting fires with their mind, then everyone who feels they have something to prove immediately jumps on them. I try to think of some quirky riposte, then there's the back and forth of "Vampires aren't real", "I am one", "no you're not", "That kind isn't real, but energy vampires are" People get upset and take it as an insult to the magical community instead of simply ignoring them. Why? Anywhere else, this would be considered silly harmless fun, but here the role-playing prohibition is divine law.
Why is it so important to people that the magical community be taken seriously? "Mundane" people will think we are loopy or devil worshippers and always will. What is said here won't change their minds, and does it matter what they think anyway? I know that my magic works and I don't care if they believe me; I don't have to prove myself to anyone that way and why should you? For me, the "fluffies" here as many call them (I despise the word) provide entertainment as comic relief, and this site says "For entertainment purposes only" at the bottom of every page. I'm not asking for any rule changes about role-play, and I'm not defending what they say. I just think that everyone lighten up and see the humor in someone futilely trying to convince people on the internet that they're a vampire. Laughter is magic.
You make some very good points of view. Let's have a closer look.
Let's start with, "For entertainment only". In a way, this is a disclaimer. Because children as young as 13 are members, the owner has to be very careful that the children are not being taught! The site is world wide, and in most countries it is against the law to teach children without the parent's consent.Especially about religion!
The owner of the site,Petrarca, has decided that, by the age of 13, children have grown out of their "fantasy dreams". I think it should be more like 18; but I am not the owner! Then again,there are many adults who "believe" in the fantasy creatures, and they would continue to do so if we allowed every child to state his/her fantasy as the truth!
What this site tries to do is to seek "truth". That is difficult enough among sensible,level-headed adults.Among children, raised on TV and movies such as Harry Potter,Twilight,Charmed, et al., what are we supposed to do? Are we to say,"Yes, darling, of course you can be a mermaid"? Or shall we tell them the truth, and risk shattering a child's dreams?
Difficult questions. All we old fogies can do is try!
I don't take myself too seriously
When it comes down to it I could care less about role players
The problem is,newbies just learning
In many cases will take them very seriously
This is how the Harry Potter Magick
Spreads,that view...In a way it's a good thing
We dont need to create blinders like the magicians of old
The serious folk will still seek out the true knowledge
I know I did,I was very disappointed when I figured out what Magick was at first,then I came back excited to learn the real truths
Long ago, there once was a time on SoM when moderators were not around as they are now. Roleplaying was rampant in the forums, in the chatter. It made any real discussion almost impossible or moot at times. Every other sentence was someone claiming to be a draconic warlord or a vampire or some other fantasy creature. The overall attitude of a lot of members began to sour in the community because those who spoke up, who came to learn or to teach, were often pushed aside by the large volume of people who came to roleplay and otherwise use the site ficticiously. It caused a lot of drama in some ways. I was a new member around this time, and I can recall that I never wanted to use public chat or forums mainly due to this issue.
After some amount of time, moderators and the site rules and such became a thing. They started cleaning up the site and getting rid of a lot of the roleplay. It was like a breath of fresh air. People began to contribute to the site in a reasonable, logical way. People who had a lot of experience showed up, began sharing what they knew, and in a way SoM began to really expand as a community where it fostered the growth of individual practice and taught newer members about the wonders of magic and the pagan community. We, as a community, came together and decided that the roleplaying was an issue and it needed to be addressed.
To suggest we simply allow roleplayers to come to the site and do as they please is to suggest that SoM, as a community, go backwards in time and reverse all the progress we've made to make the site more sensible and enjoyable. At the end of the day, it is against the site rules to roleplay. It is made very clear that we do not want it here. The admin himself set that into place. If roleplay occurs in the public chat, the forums, etc it is breaking the rules. Therefore, members who are roleplaying need to be made known of this and need to be made to stop when they begin.
Personified, I never "suggest we simply allow roleplayers to come to the site and do as they please" Saying that shows you missed the entire point of my post. My point was that people don't need to get butthurt when roleplayers come in. Enforce the rules, but don't act like it's a sacrilege.
I didn't miss anything. You saying "People get upset and take it as an insult to the magical community instead of simply ignoring them", "Anywhere else, this would be considered silly harmless fun" are examples of you implying that it is an issue which shouldn't be taken seriously/ should be ignored. I also never said "YOU suggested" I said "TO suggest", therefore it was not aimed at you- so don't take it personally. It was a broad statement.
We are in agreement that mods should enforce the rules. Sometimes when there are no mods in chat, people continue to chase after a role player to no avail when ignoring them would likely end it sooner.
