It's true that AP chat can sometimes make you want to stab your eyes out, in many ways the chat reminds me of the chat in one of those huge spammer guilds. However, I think that is often a function of it's size (when the population is high), and its non-exclusivity
I'd like to say something about that, though it's not strictly on topic, because this is one of my minor pet issues. Not pet peeves, mind you--I wouldn't escalate it to that level of intensity--but something I personally believe to be true.
Back in the day (boy I love being able to say that...) the more senior members of the community such as myself put forth a lot of effort to maintain a certain "image" of Aerie Peak as being a positive and welcome community. For me personally, the community has always been much more important to me than the gear, or the gameplay, or any of that. So in that line of thinking, I and several other "founders", if you will, would make an effort to promote decorum and respect, both in-game as members of the "open guild" that is the Aerie Peak community, and as members of the community that is the F2P forum on TI.
I don't think there is anything wrong with calling people out if they are being too foul, or too spammy, or too mean in the in-game chat. Communities need leaders, even if those leaders are just guides, and they guide by example and setting social expectations for others. I have found that if you can demonstrate a standard and gently hold other people to that standard, as long as the majority of people are on board with you, other people will come around to the same idea. I don't have Earl, Rhae, Mindy, Insects, Drunk, etc (and I know I'm leaving out a lot of people and I apologize) around as much anymore, so I don't think I have enough sway on my own to truly shut down disruptive talk like I once did... but if you don't like what you're hearing and you do not speak up, you'll never know if maybe 80% of the others actually felt the same way and were afraid to say anything. It has to start somewhere.
I mean yeah I understand that people are just rowdy or bawdy sometimes, and there are plenty of times where I let it go by because I know it's just people being people. But if anything ever seriously bothers you, or you think it's bothering someone else, or it's just impossible for others to genuinely communicate,
speak up. The community you live in is yours, and you have as much right to your point of view. And who knows how many people you might inspire to stand up as well.
Hm thanks for letting me get on a little streak there. It's a topic that's important to me because classes and gameplay come and go, but we have control over the quality of our communities. Sometimes it's the only thing we can have any say in.
