Post by Raga on Aug 18, 2009 15:58:17 GMT -5
Three and a half years later, the tiny little ooc channel created by the founding members of Tawa so they could keep in touch with a few friends has grown into a not-so-tiny channel populated by people from so many assorted guilds that I can't with any honesty claim it as Tawa's ooc channel, any more than I like to claim Tawa as "my" guild. And really, that's always been the idea at the heart of Tawa--it is not a guild belonging to or run by any one person or group of people, and the channel to an even larger extent operates on the same concept. It simply exists as a communication tool used by the people who belong to it. But there have been some questions lately, and since the channel name has Tawa in it and I'm listed at the GM of Tawa, I guess it's me trying to clarify things for people.
I've long joked that the only rule for TawaOOC is that there are no rules. I don't want to be the boss. I don't want to be the moderator. Everyone originally invited into the channel was someone Maus and I trusted to use good judgment in asking others to join the channel. I trust that all those people also trusted the people they asked to use good judgment. And that's the only criteria for determining who is asked to join the channel: That each of us consider whether or not the person we're asking will be a good fit for the channel. People frequently ask my "permission" to ask someone to the channel, but it is not a requirement. If you think they'll be a happy addition to TawaOOC, then I trust you. Or, if I don't know you and you're wondering who the heck Raga is anyhow, I trust someone back along the chain of people that brought you into the channel.
Trust is also the basis for "rules" regarding the use of the channel. There are very few topics we don't cover in there. We all know this. I think we have all taken that into consideration when deciding whom we'll ask to join us. We are a large and disparate group of personalities. It is inevitable that personality clashes will happen. The only thing I have ever asked or will ever ask is that clashes that are at risk of turning into major drama explosions do not blow up the channel in the process. I am not perfect in this regard, and I don't expect it from anyone else. Shit happens, tempers flare, and eventually things get smoothed out. Anyone asking me for advice on how to handle someone in the channel that they don't like will receive my standard answer: I'm sorry, but I try really hard not to pick sides, even if I might personally agree with you. Talk to the other person, use the /ignore command, take a brief vacation from the channel yourself if you really need to. Getting in the middle of a disagreement between two friends is not something I really care to do.
In reading back over this, I suppose it might sound a little hardass and uncaring. Honestly, it is not intended that way. I simply feel that the best person to handle conflicts between members of the channel isn't me--it's them. Someone recently said to me that they felt TawaOOC is something very special and worth protecting. I absolutely agree. I am boggled every time I try to figure out how the heck it grew into the force that it has become. But I also believe, very strongly, that sometimes the best way to protect something is to loosen your grasp on it and let it grow in whatever way it grows, in order to avoid the risk of stunting or breaking it by use of too much force.
In summary, then... No rules. Just mutual respect, trust, and maybe a pinch of tolerance now and then.
Hey, it's worked for three and a half years.
I've long joked that the only rule for TawaOOC is that there are no rules. I don't want to be the boss. I don't want to be the moderator. Everyone originally invited into the channel was someone Maus and I trusted to use good judgment in asking others to join the channel. I trust that all those people also trusted the people they asked to use good judgment. And that's the only criteria for determining who is asked to join the channel: That each of us consider whether or not the person we're asking will be a good fit for the channel. People frequently ask my "permission" to ask someone to the channel, but it is not a requirement. If you think they'll be a happy addition to TawaOOC, then I trust you. Or, if I don't know you and you're wondering who the heck Raga is anyhow, I trust someone back along the chain of people that brought you into the channel.
Trust is also the basis for "rules" regarding the use of the channel. There are very few topics we don't cover in there. We all know this. I think we have all taken that into consideration when deciding whom we'll ask to join us. We are a large and disparate group of personalities. It is inevitable that personality clashes will happen. The only thing I have ever asked or will ever ask is that clashes that are at risk of turning into major drama explosions do not blow up the channel in the process. I am not perfect in this regard, and I don't expect it from anyone else. Shit happens, tempers flare, and eventually things get smoothed out. Anyone asking me for advice on how to handle someone in the channel that they don't like will receive my standard answer: I'm sorry, but I try really hard not to pick sides, even if I might personally agree with you. Talk to the other person, use the /ignore command, take a brief vacation from the channel yourself if you really need to. Getting in the middle of a disagreement between two friends is not something I really care to do.
In reading back over this, I suppose it might sound a little hardass and uncaring. Honestly, it is not intended that way. I simply feel that the best person to handle conflicts between members of the channel isn't me--it's them. Someone recently said to me that they felt TawaOOC is something very special and worth protecting. I absolutely agree. I am boggled every time I try to figure out how the heck it grew into the force that it has become. But I also believe, very strongly, that sometimes the best way to protect something is to loosen your grasp on it and let it grow in whatever way it grows, in order to avoid the risk of stunting or breaking it by use of too much force.
In summary, then... No rules. Just mutual respect, trust, and maybe a pinch of tolerance now and then.
Hey, it's worked for three and a half years.