What the hell are we doing?

[Sighter Tnailog]

Okay, I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and I have to get it off my chest.

WHAT IN THE HOLY EVERLOVING SHIT ARE WE DOING ON ALTHANAS IT SEEMS LIKE ALL PEOPLE WANT IS GOLD AND EXP AND RANDOM SHIT WHEN WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING IS WRITING DAMN GOOD STORIES AND NOT GIVING A RATS ASS WHO THINKS THEYRE GOOD OR IF WE GET A FIVE OR A FIFTY OR A FIVE HUNDRED IN THE SCORE AND WHETHER WE ADVANCE TO LEVEL ONE IN TWO DAYS OR TWO THOUSAND OR WHETHER WE ADVANCE AT ALL ITS ABOUT HOW WE TELL GOOD STORIES AND IF WE LIKE WHAT WE SAY EVEN IF SOME SELF-IMPORTANT POMPOUS JACKASS LIKE SIGHTER THINKS ITS GOOD OR NOT OH MY FUCKING GOD WERE SO INCREDIBLY STUPID.

Thanks. That helps.

I'm serious. Is Althanas about EXP, or is it about writing? Is it about what other people think of you? Have we just created the world's most inane clusterfuck and self-masturbatory mutual appreciation society?

Be honest. Are you here to have fun, or are you here to prove you're better than everyone else?

EDIT: And if you lie I'll know about it when I die and go to heaven, or maybe hell because you might know lots there too.

[Daggertail]

It's the tournaments' fault. having so many at once has an affect on the community.

I have been thunking that Althanas gets a bit too much into score but there's no way you can forget them. If you want a gunman character than you better damn well write a high score quest or you won't get that gun for your character to be a gunman. or magic swords and stuff. If you look at them in a way they're just props for your character to do what he does and yet there's junk like guns are too strong and it feels like only the high scorers get to have the characters they want while everyone else struggles to try to get what a character needs to fith their image.

[Roscar Palidyne]

I won't lie, the gamer in me wants to advance and get exp and become one of the "big guys" in this community and be a badass that some others can look forward to playing with. There is an enticing in that, for some reason. I blame MMORPG's. Or maybe my mother didn't hug me enough as child. Fuck if i know.

But more than that, I'm interested in seeing my character, the creation of my mind, is honestly able to interact with creations of other people's. I want to see his individual story interlap with others and create a whole new experience that I, myself, could have never imagined alone. That's what I'm truly hoping for, in the end. I dunno if my stories are any good, worth publishing or even giving a fucking gander at. Guess I don't care either. It's fun.

What about you, Siggy?

EDIT: Isn't "Self-masturbatory" kinda redundant?

[Dissinger]

I have a story for Seth, and I'm working towards it with every post. Occasionally I do things on the side, and occasionally I do care about score, since its tied to what rewards I can expect. The rewards are a means to an end in that I use them as plot devices. I don't think I've used to many, so I guess I gotta check and make sure I got them all I tink I remember a magic detecting charm...oh well. Point is I used to be all EXP whorish, now I just roleplay.

[Cyrus the virus]

Hey, as long as we're ranting...

WHY THE FUCK IS IT THAT THE ONLY PEOPLE BITCHING ABOUT ALTHANAS BEING ALL ABOUT NUMBERS AND NOT ENOUGH ABOUT JUST STORIES ARE THE ONES WHO CAN PULL JC'S OUT OF THEIR ASSES AND GET CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR EVERYTHING THEY WRITE???? AND WHY DONT THEY SEEM TO CARE ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE APPRECIATE ABOUT ALTHANAS!?!?

HEY IF THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT WRITING GOOD STORIES THEY CAN DO TO ANY OTHER SITE WHICH IS WHY ALTHANAS IS SO UNIQUE AND BELOVED FOR ITS INTERESTING LEVEL UP SYSTEM THAT IS NOT STUPID LIKE ALL THE OTHERS!!!

[Falcon Darkflight]

LOUD NOISES!!

I'm here for two reasons in no order. Firstly, I f*cking love roleplaying. Anyone who knows me back from the olden days or even just those who have spoken to me online at any stage know this and daren't not question my dedication when my activity is at its peak.

Secondly, I love writing. I love the idea I have the power to create anything I want, justify it and make it work.

Thirdly, (I know I said two but whatever), I want the opportunity to personally get revenge on certain ex-Castigar members for destroying my precious Red Dragon fortress. You assholes!!

[Damion Shargath]

I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE SCREAMING ABOUT!

Well, I'm writing for the fun of it for a large part - otherwise I wouldn't write about killing people...constantly...as gruesomely as possible...on a max 2nd post basis would I?

If I want to compete to check my competence as a writer I partake in a battle...but quests I write because I want to have fun and tell a story that's in my head, one that I'd like to share with others, if they like it or not. I try for myself to improve my writing, not for others.

[Witchblade]

OMG WHAT'S WITH ALL THE CAPS!

I'm on Althanas because I enjoy being on Althanas, when I stop enjoying it, you'll know, because I'll disappear again. I'm here because I love to write and because being here stimulates my creativity instead of letting it sit in a dormant place and rot. I do care about score, not becuase score awards me experience, personally I hate writing a fucking level up, but because my score lets me know how my writing is improving, how I can improve it and what I seem to be good at.

[Yamihara]

I'm here for the cookies. ^_^

OK, seriously, Master Raven is here to let us girls have fun. To hell with the EXP advances, writing's more fun than that!

Oh, that and the cool peeps. You guys.

[Molotov]

Okay, I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and I have to get it off my chest.

WHAT IN THE HOLY EVERLOVING SHIT ARE WE DOING ON ALTHANAS IT SEEMS LIKE ALL PEOPLE WANT IS GOLD AND EXP AND RANDOM SHIT WHEN WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING IS WRITING DAMN GOOD STORIES AND NOT GIVING A RATS ASS WHO THINKS THEYRE GOOD OR IF WE GET A FIVE OR A FIFTY OR A FIVE HUNDRED IN THE SCORE AND WHETHER WE ADVANCE TO LEVEL ONE IN TWO DAYS OR TWO THOUSAND OR WHETHER WE ADVANCE AT ALL ITS ABOUT HOW WE TELL GOOD STORIES AND IF WE LIKE WHAT WE SAY EVEN IF SOME SELF-IMPORTANT POMPOUS JACKASS LIKE SIGHTER THINKS ITS GOOD OR NOT OH MY FUCKING GOD WERE SO INCREDIBLY STUPID.

Thanks. That helps.

I'm serious. Is Althanas about EXP, or is it about writing? Is it about what other people think of you? Have we just created the world's most inane clusterfuck and self-masturbatory mutual appreciation society?

Be honest. Are you here to have fun, or are you here to prove you're better than everyone else?

EDIT: And if you lie I'll know about it when I die and go to heaven, or maybe hell because you might know lots there too.

Quite frankly, I believe you've created a false dichotomy. According to you either love writing as this pure Platonic ideal or you're a mercenary for arbitrary numbers that have no value outside of this website. I think most of us fall somewhere in between. No matter what you do, you like to have some kind of positive reinforcement. Does this make us attention grubbing whores? Perhaps to some extent, but no more so than most aspects of life. Writing is a means of communication. I'd rather write on Althanas than on a notepad that I leave in my closet for some important non-EXP reasons.

1) I know somebody else read what I wrote.
2) I know what someone else thinks.

Does that make me a bad person. Perhaps. Does it make Althanas a mutual gratification society? Perhaps. Are these the worst things in the world, probably not.

Additionally, keep in mind that EXP is the measure of character progress and GP is the most effective way to obtain goods. I don't necessarily need ten tons of EXP per quest or a million GP, but I do like to get enough so that my skill sets can keep up with the stories.