Moralities in Runescape

Quick blog-related notice before I rant on: I was sick last Thursday and Friday with a bad stomach bug which is the reason you haven't seen a "by Buddy Foote" at the bottom of any blog posts lately, but I thought that while I feel a tad bit better that I should contribute to the blog, as Caitlin seems to be the only one with the wind still in her here, thank God. Saturday we were invited to upgrade the blog to the new Blogger beta, and we followed the invitation link and upgraded (I know in the future somebody will ask if that's why we have "v.2" in the title of the blog, and right here I'll say no). I was excited that we got the upgrade, but I was quickly disappointed. For the labels, I expected a nice little HTML code that we'd plug into the template on the left side bar for them to display, but no; we need to upgrade the template interface to the very annoying, buggy, and limited layout editor which will delete our current layout and we have to face the dreaded widgets or whatever they are that was put into the coding for the templates. As of now, we're staying the same, but in the future hopefully something can be worked out. Caitlin and I are going to invest our time into working out a solution. But mainly for only two features: the labels, and the "older posts" and "newer posts" links at the bottom of the page. Only time will tell what the future of the blog will be like, and hopefully it's great and shiny.

Now to your main purpose for being here:

Runescape. I'm beginning to slowly hate the very game that I've been playing and enjoying for more than a year. Why? Do I hate the updates that Jagex make? Heck no! I never went up against an update of theirs yet, and I don't plan on it unless they did the most idiotic action a video game company can place in their game. Is it that I'm becoming bored? No, sometimes I'm too overwhelmed to know what to do, and the only way I maintain sanity is to direct myself back to my set goals. Right now I want to resume training hunter, but I need to stick to my goal of combat and slayer.

What the problem is are the people in Runescape. Yes, the very people that place the MMO on the RPG. The population in Runescape is mostly newer players than the older ones from Runescape Classic, and what are referred to as "Runescape 2 Products" from the legends who played the game almost the second it went online. I am considered a "Runescape 2 Product" myself, but I don't care about any label that is placed on me. What I care about is that the moralities in Runescape are horrible. The people in Classic, from what I read, were mostly nice individuals who were mature enough to respect the ones that they play one, and to carry on intelligent conversations without any fear of others interrupting their time together, but rather to join their balance and contribute to the meeting. This is seen in my basic visit to f2p to visit Caitlin or Chase, but the opposite mostly occurs. I hang out with either one or the other, following them around while enjoying a talk when somebody will wander up to us, and follow me or trade with me like crazy asking me to give them things, showing off expensive items to me and running away, or trying to annoy me. I don't give any rude outbursts but I just politely follow along or tell them I have nothing (because I rarely carry anything with me in f2p -- Chase went to Karmaja once and I couldn't because I didn't have the 30 gp on me) and they either bother me more, or just run off as they figure they won't waste their time begging to a man who has nothing. Now if somebody out of the blue followed us, said "hi" nicely, and joined us in conversation politely without disturbing the balance Chase or Caitlin and I had the whole time, then that person is getting a mark in my friend list and he or she is a mature individual, and I'll bow down to them. However most mature people tend to keep to themselves, like myself, but I'm just saying that if one of these people who wandered up to me on my visit to f2p (or even my standard time on p2p) were nice, polite, and mature, my world would flip upside down.

The problem: More than half of the Runescape population nowadays is not like this. The word "noob" (or some form of it) is probably recited by 96% of the population more than once a day. People are luring others to the wilderness or into dangerous areas (Lumbridge Slayer Cave with a candle, or Ape Atoll during Monkey Madness before having the monkey greegree) more and more just for quick pixels or for dirty fun, not returning any lost items only to scam players of hard-earned items. I had many thoughts of doing the same with a clever scam that I thought of that I have never seen anywhere else, but as of recently, I refuse to ever pull it off. I've been fully pure and mature in my Runescape career since Day One back last year in late May or early June, and I expect to stay that way. And others should too follow the path of myself and the others in Runescape who are pure and mature -- the ones who follow the rules -- the ones who respect their fellow players -- the ones who do not call other players any form of "noob" but rather "friend" -- the ones who want to make Runescape a better game for all to play.

Some may think that this job is for player moderators. Heck no! Normal players outnumber player moderators by tons, and even some player moderators are corrupt. By reporting a lot of people doesn't mean you're nice to others. Probably more than 90% of the player moderators in the game are nice to others as it shows in their position, but others may just have the silver crown for reporting people, but at the same time being mean without breaking the rules. Because normal players outnumber that 90% of nice player mods, that means that normal players need to take a stand and be nice to others also because if we expect for the player moderators to be the only nice ones, then we're playing a criminal justice game, but without the justice. Don't you see that we're moving backwards? Runescape Classic was the roots, and it greatly advanced. Would you think that maybe the morality would advance also? No, it went backwards. With the growth in population came a growth in rude players, and as most people like to point a finger at and generalize, younger players. When I was eleven I remember going into chat rooms on AOL and in a room full of twenty adults, I was the only mature and nice one there. Doesn't that show that not all younger players are irresponsible and immature? If anything, the younger players without the real life pains hitting them over the head like taxes, work, college, money, etc. should be more cool than an older player who may take out his real life pains in-game.

Here's an example: Today while on my way to the Lumbridge Swamp to the hut located in it to teleport to Zanaris on my way to the slayer master, a guy comes out of nowhere and follows me for a second before he asks, "Can I buy your d skirt?" I reply as nice as I can, "Sorry, not for sale =(" Then he states that he has a mega offer and sends me a trade request, which I accepted to see. He puts up a new treasure trail item, the sleeping cap, and nothing else. I close the trade window and say "No thanks." He then calls me a "nubs", runs off with the sleeping cap on his head, and starts killing a giant rat with his whip. Now this was a level 96, but combat level has nothing to do with how a player is or how his stats are, therefore reflecting on this guy. Then as I'm walking, I have the camera zoomed in to me and positioned at the guy and I see him yelling "Froob!" Then he comes and chases me yelling "Froooob!" Thankfully I was at the hut at this point, so I just equipped my staff, and entered the hut to be teleported to Zanaris. Then, as soon as my form appeared in the center of the fairy ring and I take a step out, this guy with a dragon long follows me and yells, "My love!" Then he runs off toward the fairy ring as I resume walking away. Funny thing -- I got this whole paragraph on film, but I did not have the time to get it online. Now this shows the reason why people are immature. Just because I didn't trade a guy, he comes after me with cyber-offensive words? Then as soon as I'm away from him, I'm harassed with a random comment by a stranger? Shows the only reason why I hate Runescape -- the majority of the people are like this.

The honest and good people of Runescape need to rise up and do something to motivate these poor-character individuals to boost their goodness to others in the game, and to make the very MMORPG of Runescape a great game for all! I'm already starting to create the "Anti-Noob Foundation of Runescape", which is to eliminate the use of the term "noob" and anything to do with it. In Runescape Classic, as I read, the term "noob" was hardly heard of. It's a very vague term and can be taken differently by all, but also can be shot at somebody with a meaning only the shooter may hold. If somebody says, "a noob was following me around Varrock begging for 28 mil gp!" then why couldn't this person say that a beggar was following him around? Why not a 'lower leveled character'? Why not a 'person expecting too much for nothing'? Something, please, be used other than "noob". I never called anybody a "noob" or myself a "noob". I'm against the word, and the people who use it as their power of mouth against others. Calling something about yourself a "noob" I can see as you might be kidding around or think it's a low standard you have about yourself (a low skill, non-expensive bank net worth) but that's as far as it goes for me, and I still hate it even. Think the same as me or even different, please contact me in the comments of this post.

That's enough ranting from me. I know I didn't even touch the surface of my rant yet and I didn't really seal up my current outburst (I never do, but that's what makes the person I am) but please, take something I said into consideration. Are you a nice person? Then tell me. Are you a 'naughty' person in-game (nothing dirty, you pervert)? Then tell me.

I'm out. Have a good one.