State of the RP, as of Feb. 2013.

[Wes]

Greetings my fellow role players. I think it's about time that we've had a chat, if you have a moment. I am taking this moment to focus and talk about some issues that I believe are turning more serious by the day. The main thing is that in order to resolve these issues, all people of all sides need to work together and find resolution, and not conflict. I'm going to be level-headed, but honest, and no candy-coated lies.

The first matter of discussion, is the punishment system. Currently we have several people on punishment. However, the problem being, is that I have noticed a bit of disharmony among some of us. One of the issues about punishments, is how overly dependent some characters are becoming. I have currently set in some new rules about punishments which you may find in the thread, but I'll mention here for good measure. The first new rule, is that there will now be a maximum of three characters under punishment. Another rule is that starting from their punishment, the player of the punished character will not be allowed to have another character be punished for a month and a half, or 45 days. The over-dependency I've noticed has started to affect some of us, including myself, in a way that topping doesn't seem very fun at all, as opposed to an unpaid job or a chore. However, I believe it is still possible to retain some dependency without making it hard on the tops, because there is only one player in our RP that can top seemingly endlessly. I am grateful for that player's presence, and I believe he shouldn't be taken for granted. It also a fact that we must face, that his presence isn't going to be around forever. Without tops, where would our RP be? It would suffer quite a bit, that's for sure, which is why I am willing to work with the other tops and the players of more bottom characters to find a solution to this problem.

The second matter of discussion is the seemingly lack of progression among characters. We have now been around for several months, and it seems as if some characters who have been around since around the beginning of this place haven't changed at all. While I know that it -does- take time for people to really change, it doesn't happen overnight, either. Some of us have one or two characters, but if you're like me, you have an endless amount. For how much characters get played, it only really makes sense that some form of progression occurs within your character, such as a new hobby, or their attitudes improve somehow, or they're perhaps the complete opposite of what they once were. Although I will rectify my problems with my massive amount of characters, I do believe that some characters need to eventually learn to give up their behaviors that they've had since the beginning of the game. Otherwise, it will simply just lead to role play stagnation, and eventually just repeating the same plot, same mannerisms as done many times before.

The third and final matter of discussion is a possible addition to those who don't like the idea of punishments. This is a diapers and infantlist-based role play, and it will remain as such. However, punishment, in my eyes, is a secondary theme. Me and the others in charge have began to brainstorm an alternative to punishment. Right now, we might be leaning towards adding in a possibility to allow characters to go into "therapy mode." This behavior would involve a non-forced babying, and like punishments, regulations and limits would need to be placed as not to overload the tops. I'm thinking the same limits that currently apply to the punishment system, with the three maximum characters, one week per "therapy session," and a 45 day limit per player. This is still an alpha system, and no final idea has been set in stone. We will continue to build upon this as time goes by, leading to perhaps a better RP, and perhaps even better morale outside of the game.

If you've read this far, I'd like to thank you for not taking this as a TL;DR post, because this really is important. I could take the coward's way out and just shut this place down without bothering to listen to any possible resolution, which I've got to be brutally honest... Have thought about doing in the past week. However, I am addressing everyone because I still believe that there is a possibility for change, that is all, and once again, thank you. Your GM, Warlock918, signing out.