I think the only point of concern/frustration/curiosity is that people playing non-reproductive characters feel the need to "opt-out" of reproduction and note that they aren't looking to reproduce rather than "opt-in." It's really a very minor thing, not a big deal in the long run, but perhaps worthy of note. However, I'm not entirely sure that the need to opt-out is really there. I believe if I said nothing about it that La would still not get bothered about. But what matters sometimes is how people feel and I think that's a lot of what happened here.

My perception of others' feelings has also been that people who wanted/anticipated The Rut to be treated more like a sport than anything else feel a bit let down that not everyone wants that. But that's just kinda how life goes sometimes.

And I'll say again too, as far as I have seen every character has been on their best behavior. La and I truly have nothing to complain about. I'm grateful to every participant for all the fun.

i doople posted am noob

Fortunately, I think that everyone who has been able to connect at times when excitement was happening was able to have some fun and that's the important part.

and @JD those are pretty much exactly my sentiments too.

Because that isn't the point of the rut on TEFc.

It's not the point of the rut, fine, but what is the big deal if that's how someone uses it and they aren't hurting someone, or overstepping boundaries, by doing so?

Soli, I'm on your side, man.

And yes, everything hypothetical I proposed was from an in-character perspective under the assumption that it would be characters discussing their issues irrespective of player opinions/feelings. I've made an attempt to be literal and use the word "character" often in order to limit confusion where relevant and to speak in general terms to make it clear that I'm not focusing on specific characters, players, or instances. I don't think that anyone is against having characters work out their issues in character.

And no, of course it doesn't matter if some characters are reproducing. I don't think that anyone is against characters reproducing or seeking to reproduce,. The only time that would ever conceivably matter would be if characters who didn't want that were being pressured to do it or if it somehow became the sole, dominating, central theme of the rut to the exclusion of all other themes that are important to players and characters.

No, they shouldn't be totally shunned. The big deal is not when someone wants to use the TEF Rut for reproductive purposes, it's when it's the majority. It's the losing focus of the original spirit of the event that is disheartening some people. The rut is meant to be a game. TEF is not even remotely realistic, and while the rut adds 'realism' to a certain extent and while there are plenty of realistic characters that I for one greatly appreciate, TEF is not a place for that kind of thing. Most of these characters have human intellect. You've brought up the points of a character being able to say no, and that's true, but have we taken into consideration the fact that the majority of these characters really should not be slaves to their hormones?

e; I guess I'll drop it. I don't know. The rut usually burns out this early whether there is arguing or not so I doubt it really had much of an effect. Not that I think it's good.

Friendly reminder: This is a discussion blog. It's necessary to share opinions if we're to improve the event. If you can't stand the "arguing" all you need to do is look away. I believe that we're all still friendly at the end of the day though.

I meant the shunning in regards to the fact that they shouldn't be pushed away from the event, which isn't happening anyway. I still think that the point being reproduction should be discouraged and reduced, but that's just my take on it. I have said many times that it's still okay for your character to reproduce. I honestly don't care. I am putting my opinions out there as is the point of this blog, please do not let it stop you going about and making fawns if that's how you choose to enjoy the event. On the flipside of your arguments, I don't see why character reproduction is so important to the apparent majority, as you don't see why sportsmanship and being just a lighthearted game is so important. You're not shunning those that play this way, I'm not blaming you for that, but why is it a problem that I and many others dislike the rut being turned into something it wasn't supposed to be in an entirely fictional, non realistic setting?

Of course, nobody has to do anything. Nobody has to participate in the rut. The rut doesn't even have to exist. At this rate considering there's such a huge conflict of interest between parties and last year was just a popularity contest, perhaps it shouldn't be run at all anymore. I would hate to see that happen, seriously.

It makes me uncomfortable when a lot of people use the rut for mating purposes because again, that isn't what the rut was intended for in this game of human-faced magic sparkledeer. No, the game is no longer what M&A intended it to be, and no longer is the rut what it was intended to be. Change is fine. But when a game that has so little realism is subjected to the 'oh but this is realistic so it has to happen' treatment, it just doesn't make sense. These deer can talk. They're funny colours. Some of them are liondragonwolves from another dimension. You can't use realism as a defense mechanism when that kind of thing is common, whether you have a feral character or not. The majority of characters enlisted in the rut are not totally feral.

It's disheartening because, yet again, that isn't the spirit of the game. Game. The Rut was meant to be a game. I know those characters are open to friendly relationships too. That's fine. As I have said before, it's still fine that people want to have their characters reproduce, though I as a singular person with an opinion perhaps shared by a few others would really prefer if it was dialed back in honor of the fact that it's an unrealistic and frankly silly game meant for play sparring and winning a 'score' from characters that are literally called 'judges,' because the rut is a sporting event. Whether there is an official winner or not is not important, but that's literally what it is. Competitors and Challengers compete to show off their strength and judges reward those that have greater strength just like what happens in the Olympics. In fact, Vee has regularly insisted that the rut be the TEF Olympics, and I agree. It's not about making babies. It might be a side effect and I'm alright with that, but for the umpteenth time, that is not what it is about.

Where did I say I have a problem with fighting? I don't. My characters fight regularly and I find it exhilarating. Fighting is not constrained to realism (see: anime, characters with superpowers, etc.). I'm not suggesting that everyone be given handouts and 'oh yay we're all winners let's all cuddle and be friends.' I honestly have no clue where you got that, but it is late so perhaps I said it somewhere without meaning to.

Honestly, if any of this comes off as assholery, I don't mean that. I'm just exasperated and my social skills are very, very poor, and I really just don't know how to soften my opinions. I'm very sorry, seriously. And I'm sorry if you thought I was being insincere earlier by frequently saying 'I guess.' It's a tic of mine both verbally and in text. I am shy and unsure about speaking, and like I said, it's late. I don't like to argue, but I do intend to get my point across and make sure everything is done and said. The last thing I want is for this to fester and for everyone to be mad forever or something horrible like that. Let's get it all out now.

Anyway. No, the feral nature of some characters is not 'hurting' anyone. I'm okay with feral characters, I love their simplicity and real deer are cute. I'm okay with making babies, because baby deer are even more cute. These feral characters, sure, have at it, they can have all the babies they want because that's what their animal brains tell them to do. What I meant by saying that was that the intellectual characters should not be so affected by their hormones. It's a little bit like justifying why a girl has to change her clothes in school because apparently whatever she was wearing was 'distracting' to the boys in the class, but it doesn't work the other way around. An intellectual character should probably understand that this place is weird and magical and also probably shouldn't want to get jiggy with it and make babies all the time, and they should theoretically understand that the rut here is not like the rut in the world(s) outside of TEF. If they have a hormone surge or whatever that makes them fit for the competition that is the rut, okay! That's great! When they suddenly have an overpowering hormonal surge of 'ey lil mama lemme whispa in ya ear' is when it gets a little annoying. It happens in real life, sure, but not on the massive time and group scale that encompasses the rut. You get that hormonal surge when a pretty person that you like is feeling the same way and you're spending some alone time together.

The rut was intended to have controlled, nonlethal fights. It was intended to have class systems. It was intended for competitors and challengers to do their very best to get 'points' (i.e attention) from the judges on the whole. It was not intended to be a cushy event. It was not intended for breeding, although if it happens as a side effect of a judge being like 'hey now I think you performed pretty well out there now how else can you perform ohoho' then that's just fine and dandy. If there's a feral character or two that just really really really wants to have some fawns, then that's fine, though I think that should be limited to within feral characters and not as widely accepted as it is.

Jesus, what a wall. I'll try to see if I can respond to any comments that might have cropped up in the time it took to write this, if there are any.

To the organisers of the rut (totally just gonna skim past all the whatever the fuck is going on)

You guys are great for organising this.
At the end of the day, you guys can make some ground rules. As a community, and as people always will, those rules will be changed to suit everyone's play styles. At the end of the day, you cannot control everyone. As long as YOUR rules on YOUR OFFICIAL rut blog sit there, you cant be held accountable. It shouldn't reflect bad on you.

This is a wonderful, diverse, bittersweet community of people who will do what they like (most of it not in any way a hate crime, just wanting to play their way). People will make good or bad of whatever opportunity is given to them. As organisers of an in-game event that is mostly developed through roleplay, expect human creativity and desire to get in the way.

Why is the reproduction topic still a thing...? No one's stopping you guys from having it be a thing for your characters... I approve if thats what you guys want. This should have been concluded ages ago guys.

The sexism topic has been concluded too. Okay...?

Kostya: *loudly shares blueberries*

I am kind of baffled to find this discussion here. In the game, (at least from what I could see, and trust me, I was online a lot, oops) it was great fun and an awesome opportunity to meet new faces, socialise and branch out from the usual groups. I really didn't see any problematic or offensive behaviour in the game itself and pretty much the same goes for the community site (again, from what I could see reading through everyone's updates and comments). Seems to me that the only thing that got out of hand is this thread.

Anyway, thanks to the people who organized this event and also to all the players (and their characters) who participated and made this into a pleasant experience. My character and I had fun.

Just here to applaud Soli, as she said everything I've wanted to say through the entirety of this groundless debate.

I've had a couple of people approach me about the suggestion of The Rut being a twice a year event. One in Autumn and another in Spring. One week each event. Thoughts?

- Vee

Sure. But as servers are right now, will people be able to participate even if the rut is held during 2 seasons? If that was the thought behind splitting it. Maybe it was to keep it true to the natural rut, what do I know.

A new holiday could be fun whether or not it's rut related. It would give the opportunity to develop the collective culture of the characters that live there. We could make up myths and traditions or something. I play a character who is pretty pious towards the twin gods and I think she'd enjoy it if it were more connected to that, but as a player I'm happy with any reason to celebrate any time as long as I can get online aaargh.

i love the rut as it is, once a year. save from the server issues that fudged things over, its been great being once a year; i love it being a one time thing. makes it more special.

but im attracted to the idea of having a different holiday or event another time of the year, would be refreshing! i have no ideas currently, but id love to see some other new event c:

I looove the idea of a lore event, but I definitely don't want to dump it on the rut organisers, hah. They have a lot on their plate already even when the rut is only yearly.

I would happily help organise a separate springtime event though. I love all kinds of lore and worldbuilding stuff, so it seems like it would be fun!

A 'lore event' sounds like fun~ I like the expansion of ideas in the second post, Jacklo.
Maybe some kind of arbor day or 'April showers' thing where it's a big gardening party?
Gotta upkeep the Forest somehow after all those rutters tear it up, right?

Trying to think of how you'd make it a really social event like the rut is. Give it 'glue' so to speak.
I think I remember someone suggesting a 'pollinate' event a long while back? Where you get a flower and go 'pollinate' other flowers, so you have to meet as many people as you can? Maybe something like that would work. It could be represented with an action/combination of actions in-Forest (nuzzle+listen-shake?), and would encourage the interactions to be roleplayed.

Could do it like reverse hide-and-seek, maybe, where once you find someone you stick together?
The groups would get pretty huge pretty quick, though, and eventually there would be one big blob haha. Maybe have it start over every day, or on every hour.




Also this.
I'd totally be willing to help out, but I can't say I can dedicate a ton of time to an event, between work and bills and life in general.

Although the above idea doesn't really require much organization, just a start/end time and maybe a sprinkling of "starter flowers" to get things rolling.

I totally think you should make a thread, Alison. That way everyone can put down their ideas and get them organised. Jacklo's idea is absolutely spectacular too. Makes me think of Bambi, hehe, when his mother takes him to meet Faline for the first time.

But I'm open for a holiday surrounding forest lore. I'm torn because I really love both ideas, but I don't know that they could be incorporated into a single holiday. But that should be brought up on the holiday planning thread if one is made, and not here, heh.