You read the strange leaflet... (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} strangeleaflet) wrote,@ 2006-03-10 18:11:00 |
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Character Sheets: Cynn (#169594) - Part II
Correspondent: CaitiffsEros (#481465)
When not beautifying the forums with her artwork, Cynn can be found patrolling the Ring of Flame with an iron fist and her trusty big stick. It
is here that many thick-skinned players come to, well, flame the heck out of each other while slinging the type of defamatory, slanderous muck
that simply can’t be allowed in any other forum.
Cynn initially garnered the position of mod through a string of events that “make a pretty uninteresting story.” Foremost among them was a suggestion
from The Bub, who thought Cynn would make a good mediator in the incendiary forum.
In the Ring of Flame, The Bub’s ass is certainly legendary and such praise certainly couldn’t be ignored. Shortly thereafter, Cynn became one of the
few brave enough to moderate a forum that was seemingly little more than mudslinging.
“I don’t think he actually meant I should mod the Ring, so the joke was kind of on him,” she said.
Though the Ring of Flame is regarded by some as a total free-for-all for insults and insinuation, there are, in fact, a number of guidelines
governing behavior. These guidelines include: no posting of pornography, no truly personal and malicious insults, no flaming outside the Ring, and
don't overlap into the real lives of participants.
Such stipulations seem counterintuitive to an area devoted to libel, but it’s all a matter of striking a balance between flaming and a conducive
chatting environment.
“The challenge is to create an environment that the KoL community in general is comfortable with, without taking the edge off the flaming,” Cynn said.
"It’s a noble experiment, and I think it’s a successful one.”
That’s not to say the RoF doesn’t occasionally have it’s share of turmoil. With a forum that size, hurt feelings or offense can’t be completely
avoided. A number of incidences since the forum’s inception have occasionally made the relationship between posters tenuous at best.
“The hardest thing for me is to interpret the underlying meaning in people’s posts,” she said. “I try to keep the lines of communication open, because
people come to the RoF to hurl outrageous insults at one another, and it’s usually done for the sheer joy of being nasty, but not always. Once people’s
real feelings get involved, it’s time to put on the brakes.
“The problem is, everybody’s boundaries lie in different places, and it can be very hard to tell the difference between flaming and actual anger. I try
to remind people to contact a moderator when they need one to step in, but I think in the heat of the moment, people forget that.”
Don’t be mistaken, a few minor problems haven’t taken away from the fun and relatively harmless spirit on which the forum was founded.
Underneath scathing insults is a cadre of players simply having fun at one another’s expense. What would be tortuous to some has become an
integral part of Cynn’s life in KoL.
Despite the notorious nature of the Ring, Cynn is quick to defend this group of players that seem misunderstood.
“Those knuckleheads managed to turn a cesspool into a community, and they make me laugh every single day.”
Related Cynn links:
Cynn's Gallery of Art
Cynn's House of Sticks!
Correspondent: CaitiffsEros (#481465)
When not beautifying the forums with her artwork, Cynn can be found patrolling the Ring of Flame with an iron fist and her trusty big stick. It
is here that many thick-skinned players come to, well, flame the heck out of each other while slinging the type of defamatory, slanderous muck
that simply can’t be allowed in any other forum.
Cynn initially garnered the position of mod through a string of events that “make a pretty uninteresting story.” Foremost among them was a suggestion
from The Bub, who thought Cynn would make a good mediator in the incendiary forum.
In the Ring of Flame, The Bub’s ass is certainly legendary and such praise certainly couldn’t be ignored. Shortly thereafter, Cynn became one of the
few brave enough to moderate a forum that was seemingly little more than mudslinging.
“I don’t think he actually meant I should mod the Ring, so the joke was kind of on him,” she said.
Though the Ring of Flame is regarded by some as a total free-for-all for insults and insinuation, there are, in fact, a number of guidelines
governing behavior. These guidelines include: no posting of pornography, no truly personal and malicious insults, no flaming outside the Ring, and
don't overlap into the real lives of participants.
Such stipulations seem counterintuitive to an area devoted to libel, but it’s all a matter of striking a balance between flaming and a conducive
chatting environment.
“The challenge is to create an environment that the KoL community in general is comfortable with, without taking the edge off the flaming,” Cynn said.
"It’s a noble experiment, and I think it’s a successful one.”
That’s not to say the RoF doesn’t occasionally have it’s share of turmoil. With a forum that size, hurt feelings or offense can’t be completely
avoided. A number of incidences since the forum’s inception have occasionally made the relationship between posters tenuous at best.
“The hardest thing for me is to interpret the underlying meaning in people’s posts,” she said. “I try to keep the lines of communication open, because
people come to the RoF to hurl outrageous insults at one another, and it’s usually done for the sheer joy of being nasty, but not always. Once people’s
real feelings get involved, it’s time to put on the brakes.
“The problem is, everybody’s boundaries lie in different places, and it can be very hard to tell the difference between flaming and actual anger. I try
to remind people to contact a moderator when they need one to step in, but I think in the heat of the moment, people forget that.”
Don’t be mistaken, a few minor problems haven’t taken away from the fun and relatively harmless spirit on which the forum was founded.
Underneath scathing insults is a cadre of players simply having fun at one another’s expense. What would be tortuous to some has become an
integral part of Cynn’s life in KoL.
Despite the notorious nature of the Ring, Cynn is quick to defend this group of players that seem misunderstood.
“Those knuckleheads managed to turn a cesspool into a community, and they make me laugh every single day.”
Related Cynn links:
Cynn's Gallery of Art
Cynn's House of Sticks!
