Hello all.
I'm placing this in Off-Topic so that it doesn't mess with any other boards or conversations, but this is a serious enquiry and not just something meant to troll. Let's please keep it civil.
I was interested when I heard that LOTRO was going free to play, so I came back and started to look around. I haven't read the books since I was in middle school, and I never really was too fond of Tolkien's writing style, or the man himself, but I liked what many people did with his inventions, and unquestionably he influenced modern fantasy of course (naturally, so did mythology and folklore in general, which most people knee-jerk ignore and go for 'Tolkien' as a descriptor, whether accurate or not).
I know Turbine has rules in place to prevent bigotry, such as 'You will not access or use the Turbine Service to form or participate in groups whose ideology is based upon or resembles anti-religious, anti-ethnic, anti-sexual orientation, nationalistic, racist or sexist philosophies.' It's great that's there. However, in the lorebook I came across a particularly ugly little roleplay guide that was not only inaccurate from my memory of the books, but also rather unpleasantly exclusionary. I've reported it as in violation of the above rule, as it does -- whether directly or indirectly -- cause the formation of such groups. But at the same time even contacting the author himself/herself was a disaster met with indignant defences such as 'it was in a letter Tolkien once wrote' and 'this is Tolkien's world', as if that excuses a game based, however loosely, on that world, to engage in the same prejudices.
These books were written over half a century ago. The game is now. It may not be the 'real world', but people from the real world populate it, people from the real world want a place to go where they can enjoy themselves without ugly reminders of the world they came from, a world where they can be heroes regardless of the frustrations and limitations of their everyday lives. They likely get enough ostracising in their everyday lives; fantasy fans tend to get a lot.
So after that ugly experience, I decided to come here, ultimately to make the decision about whether or not I should even keep playing. And yes, it does make a difference -- if the community at large and even the official website accept this kind of nonsense, then I don't want to contribute to it. But I've seen announcements of pride parades here, I've seen people try to foster mature discussion and the kind of conversation that should pass between adults. I've seen concern over an influx of sophomoric WoW players...and I can't help but wonder if this is a place of maturity and tolerance, or if it's a place of small-minded bigotry based on the prejudices that may have existed (or may not -- what kind of proof is a personal letter anyway?) with an author who hasn't even been alive for decades.
Ultimately I'd like for people to get along, but that's an ideal that never really occurs. However, I certainly do want to know the truth about this community, about how accepting, and about whether I'm going to be pressured to change for the sake of a few very unfortunate people. The discussion has seemed to be very mature, from what I've seen. But that's not always something that one can judge by.
Please let me know. I'd rather know now, and up-front, than to waste any money on a game that cheerfully takes my cash at the same time it gives me the middle finger.
I'm placing this in Off-Topic so that it doesn't mess with any other boards or conversations, but this is a serious enquiry and not just something meant to troll. Let's please keep it civil.
I was interested when I heard that LOTRO was going free to play, so I came back and started to look around. I haven't read the books since I was in middle school, and I never really was too fond of Tolkien's writing style, or the man himself, but I liked what many people did with his inventions, and unquestionably he influenced modern fantasy of course (naturally, so did mythology and folklore in general, which most people knee-jerk ignore and go for 'Tolkien' as a descriptor, whether accurate or not).
I know Turbine has rules in place to prevent bigotry, such as 'You will not access or use the Turbine Service to form or participate in groups whose ideology is based upon or resembles anti-religious, anti-ethnic, anti-sexual orientation, nationalistic, racist or sexist philosophies.' It's great that's there. However, in the lorebook I came across a particularly ugly little roleplay guide that was not only inaccurate from my memory of the books, but also rather unpleasantly exclusionary. I've reported it as in violation of the above rule, as it does -- whether directly or indirectly -- cause the formation of such groups. But at the same time even contacting the author himself/herself was a disaster met with indignant defences such as 'it was in a letter Tolkien once wrote' and 'this is Tolkien's world', as if that excuses a game based, however loosely, on that world, to engage in the same prejudices.
These books were written over half a century ago. The game is now. It may not be the 'real world', but people from the real world populate it, people from the real world want a place to go where they can enjoy themselves without ugly reminders of the world they came from, a world where they can be heroes regardless of the frustrations and limitations of their everyday lives. They likely get enough ostracising in their everyday lives; fantasy fans tend to get a lot.
So after that ugly experience, I decided to come here, ultimately to make the decision about whether or not I should even keep playing. And yes, it does make a difference -- if the community at large and even the official website accept this kind of nonsense, then I don't want to contribute to it. But I've seen announcements of pride parades here, I've seen people try to foster mature discussion and the kind of conversation that should pass between adults. I've seen concern over an influx of sophomoric WoW players...and I can't help but wonder if this is a place of maturity and tolerance, or if it's a place of small-minded bigotry based on the prejudices that may have existed (or may not -- what kind of proof is a personal letter anyway?) with an author who hasn't even been alive for decades.
Ultimately I'd like for people to get along, but that's an ideal that never really occurs. However, I certainly do want to know the truth about this community, about how accepting, and about whether I'm going to be pressured to change for the sake of a few very unfortunate people. The discussion has seemed to be very mature, from what I've seen. But that's not always something that one can judge by.
Please let me know. I'd rather know now, and up-front, than to waste any money on a game that cheerfully takes my cash at the same time it gives me the middle finger.