Staffing What to Do About a Player Who Doesn't Listen...

[Anonymous 234]

There is a member on my site who just does not listen. We're constantly asking them to change their posts because they often godmode or write their characters as over powerful or perfect. And despite what we tell them, they kind of change the posts, but on their own terms, which sometimes requires us to again contact them and ask for edits. The other staff and I have had it up to here. We don't feel like we need to constantly be on this member's case about this stuff, but at the same time, they're not playing fairly and despite asking them to change their posts often, they don't seem to be understanding why. 

 

Punishment (or consequences) really need to happen... but we just don't know what kind would be appropriate for the situation. We don't want to ban them (I feel like that'd be more appropriate for a last resort thing), we just want to get the message across that they need to think about their character's actions, read our rules and specific thread stipulations, stop writing their character as all powerful / unable to lose or be injured, and apply realistic factors to their posts. 

 

So, I open this up to you ~ has anyone else ever dealt with a member like this? How did you handle it? What do you think is the best approach?

 

Anything, at this point, will be useful! So, I thank you in advance!

Anonymous poster hash: bfc46...d56

[Morrigan 1,826]

Well I read the intro to this and I was hopeful I could help but really this sounds like an overpowered staff versus a member that thinks they are right. Totally a bad combination. The real answer is. Tell them to stop or tell them to leave.

 

For me, as a member and staff member. I've dealt with people like this on their level before. Actually, dealing with it ON their level often gives them a Mary Poppins view of a spoon full of fucking sugar.

 

If you want to understand what I mean I will explain:

You play with the member and you sort of show them the way. You either ignore their really stupid OP stuff or you find a way around it. I've actually guided many young roleplayers minds through this method. It works more often than not. Sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it pisses them off and makes them leave because they didn't get the perfect mcperfect character that could do all the things. But overall I've had good experiences.

 

The one caveat to it, you can't do it in a negative way. When they ask you, you have to say "Well that was OOC for you so I ignored that it happened. Well it was OOC of my character so I ignored that it happened."

 

It takes a special level of finesse to do it my way and years of practice. So I don't recommend it unless you are ready for the fallout.

[Anonymous 234]

Oh gosh the last thing we want is to seem overpowered. I would give examples, but I don't want the member to feel targeted if they find this in passing.

Anonymous poster hash: bfc46...d56

[Morrigan 1,826]

I think you misunderstand my post. Ignoring stuff that is against rules isn't overpowered it's IC. There is a difference.

[Deep Sea 326]

Kick them. I've been in this position as a GM. Straight up in the middle of the OOC thread, I told him "If you're not going to follow the rules, then this isn't the roleplay for you."

 

Don't wring your hands over it. Don't put up with it. Don't make your players suffer their nonsense.

 

Edit: It's mean, but turn it into a joke. "Oh man, is A up their shenanigans? Classic A. They'll never change." Say it in the chat, in OOC. Make the rest of the group laugh. Make this player so goddamned angry they become a better player just to spite you.

Edited April 8, 2018 by Deep Sea

[Sadrienne 242]

These sorts of things are common in new players, and members who create "self-insert" characters. There's nothing inherently wrong about a "self-insert" character, but it does make it more tricky for people to have negative things happen to that character, as it is an extension of their self-perception. Some people are less able to distance themselves from their characters, and that's perfectly fine too.

 

You need to decide what sort of administration you want to run: whether you're prepared to work with members to develop their posting style, or if you simply have a standard that you expect members to adhere to. Neither answer is wrong, but it will inform what you do next.

 

If you opt for a strict standard, you will need to have it documented. You will need to enforce it across all members, and especially your staff.  You will need to set out what is expected, how many warnings will be given, and clearly state a punishment for failure to comply.

 

If you opt to move forward as a "teaching" board, you'll need patience. A lot of it. Some documentation on character development never goes astray, and dedication to threading with the member and guiding them through the joys of playing a fallible character. This is what I do, and it's usually pretty rewarding.

 

At the end of the day though, if they're not meeting your standard---and they aren't developing, this may not be the ideal roleplay for them and you are allowed to say that too.

[Kit the Human 758]

On a forum I was on a while back, both staff and members would deal with this by doing exactly the same thing back as well as forcing the logical IC consequences upon the character. In the case I am thinking of, it involved a lot of trained soldiers firing their crossbows at the OP character.

 

I mean, OP character did disobey the fort commander and attack guards, all in an effort to prove how badass they were.

 

Person involved complained because they didn't want their character to die. Staff explained it was a dose of their own medicine. Posts were then edited and the player did indeed pull their head in.

 

So if you're up for it, give them a dose of their own medicine. Personally, I hate that level of combativeness in RP so I personally wouldnt pick this route. But I wanted to highlight it as a viable option.

 

If you were not up for it, you could give them the shape or ship out ultimatum.

 

There are the middle grounds of simply continuing as you are. Or @Morrigan's suggestion. Which is where I think I am inclined to fall. Ignore the OP, game breaking stuff (or find a way around it) and be prepared to say why you ignored that stuff.

 

Like Mousie said, it depends on what kind of admin you want to be.

[Quell 249]

It really is going to depend on how you want your site to run and the role of your staff. There is nothing wrong to my mind in admin teams deciding they want to coach someone, but likewise there is nothing wrong with someone deciding they don't. 

 

My suggestion is therefore twofold. If you want to run a #advanved site where writing skills are expected and godmoding is not tolerated, give them warnings, give them short banned periods, etc. If you want to run a #teaching site then you will have people who need guidance and you have to be a teacher not a punishing force. Don't poke every time, just ignore what they do wrong and reward what they do right. Make comments about how much you love posts that include no godmoding or turn it around on yourselves. "I dont like when people imply my character does things. Just wait for the next post to see! Sometimes my characters can be so unpredictable! 😛 "

[CovertSphinx 710]

On a relaxed site I helped run, we had a member join who the worst kind of GMer: the ones who write everything up by the book to make themselves "legally" good on paper so-to-speak and then uses their writing skills to intentionally be OP in practice. He or She thought they were coming onto a site full of "newbies" who didn't know how to finesse their way around a battle - and quickly found out in the first fight that we were more than capable of dishing his own tactics out in a thread. Faced with a spoonful of Member's own medicine, they soon ghosted of their own accord. 

 

Some people on the other hand just don't really "know" any better (age/maturity, writing experience, whatever reason). Your response will probably be dictated by the amount of "drama" you're willing to cause. Ultimately, the real question is going to be "how much babysitting do I want my staff to have to do?" and go from there as far as whether or not to ask them to shape-up or leave. 

 

Is there a way for members affected by this continuous godmod/powerplaying issue to simply, reduce their threading with the problem character? Once in a blue moon, simply a conversation of "Hey why don't you like posting with me anymore?" "Well because you're not letting me choose what happens or doesn't happen to my own character. It's not fun for me." is all the consequence it takes to start seeing improvement. 

[Rune 1,099]

What I haven't seen suggested is spoon feeding them the rules. Next time your ask them to change, quote the rule that shows why. Even if it's the same one over and over again. Ask them if they understand why you need them to change it.

 

There isn't one correct way to deal with this sort of thing but most wind up solving themselves because no one wants to write with someone that doesn't care about them. 

 

Personally, I'd go after a combination of things suggested here and when that fails, boot them. 

[Zahhy 130]

My strategy is similar to what Morrigan is suggesting. I'm a passive admin, which means that unless people are complaining, or something really gets under my skin and breaks the game, I'm not going to make a fuss. I have steps to how I deal as an admin with players and characters that overstep:

 

1) I ignore it. They might change, or it might never come up with me and as long as nobody complains about it and it remains harmless I try not to grind my teeth too hard. I repeat this step as often as I can.

2) Inform them. Sometimes people just like to see where they can push the boundaries. Sometimes people don't know those boundaries. I usually kindly let them know what's up if I notice something. "Hey that seems a little off. What were you trying to accomplish here? Let me help you make this right. Also, if you're confused on how much you can do, include me on the planning!" 

3) I make IC Consequences. My characters REACT to these rules breaking with negative consequences. People like when their characters are liked. It's a quick way to adjust their behavior and show that you're aware of it. I usually warn about IC consequences before they happen so they can change.

4) If applicable, we discuss it as a group. I post in our worldbuilding discussion section where everyone can voice their opinion about this type of play. Generally, the community is soft & they make a lot of concessions for one another. I take what they want and mash it with the rules as best I can, or I explain to them why the rules are in place. I then post the updates to the rules in our official documentation.

5) Private Warning. If I have to PM someone, I log it as an official warning in my admin notes & send a "Okay this isn't working" sort of message that is a lot stronger than my "information" message. I've never gotten to three official warnings. Most people are willing to change when they know the admin and others don't like their behavior. In my experience, everyone that oversteps has either left the site on their own or they've adapted. (Or I'm still ignoring it).

 

Additional steps I would use if I had to:

6) After 3 warnings, I would change their account so they couldn't post IC. I would inform them of their temporary ban & ask them why are they playing on this site and neglecting all of the rules? The rules exist so everyone can have a safe and fun place to play. They obviously have no intention of working with me and the players on adjusting your behavior.

 

7) If they break the rules shortly after their temporary ban I would permanently ban them. I might even go so far as to explain to the remaining players what happened in the next announcement. "We recently had to ban someone who repeatedly broke the rules and disregarded our sincerest attempts to make it right. This isn't something we do lightly and we apologize if this has caused any heartache or issue for those of you that had threads with the banned player. Please contact us to work out what happened IC so that we can all move past this and keep making great stories."

[Nerissa 15]

Maybe a brief temp-ban for a week?

[xexes 108]

Yeah, go for it!

 

Ask the member to reflect on why they want to roleplay and what they hope to accomplish.

 

IMO I feel like the real issue that you are dealing with is that the member isn't here to write a story like everyone else, they are either here to win, or they are here to show off their ego with their BAMF demigod self-insert. A fundamental change in thinking takes time and soul searching, and a temp-ban is a good time for that.
 

[Icewolf 258]

To be honest, banning them is the only route that will solve the problem. You've given them multiple chances, but they are very stubborn and don't change. It's understandable that a player might not get something straight away (especially if they are new to rp, and don't know how to handle it), but when they don't choose to improve even after you've spoken to them about the issue, then it's entirely on them.

[Lilythe 12]

I generally have a warning system in place. 

 

First I PM them, explain "Hey you're godmodding, we don't allow that on our site, for more information about this please read here" and link them to the site's rules on godmodding and try to walk them through how to not do it in the future. And then I explain that they need to edit their post, and further complaints about godmodding will result in harsher consequences. Then I have a time limit for warnings to expire, etc. If they do it again before the first warning expires, I escalate up to the next punishment (often that's a removal of the post, a 24 hour suspension, and another PM that explains what happened and why). If they continue to disregard me or any other staff/mod that warns them, I escalate to the next punishment (a week suspension). And if they don't seem willing to listen after multiple attempts to help them, I finally resort to banning. 

 

That being said, I only count posts made after the warning was received and read against them. So, for example, let's say they godmodded in 3 forums at the same time. That would still be 1 offense, not 3 separate ones. Maybe someone reports an old thread of theirs from before the warning, that wouldn't count as an offense, because they hadn't been warned yet. However if they godmod a week later, then that's a new offense and would escalate to the next tier of consequence.