In any situation where you have leadership, you must first have followership. That is just as true in Simming as it is in both sports and business.
And good leadership generally begits good followesrhip. To the converse, poor leadership usually results in poor followership. Such is the inherent problem with the quality of individuals who lead both Sims and Sim groups. Not everyone can lead. But it is equally true that not everyone can follow.
History has shown how easy it is for mob rule to reign. And that has led to the downfall of AOL Simming as well. As AOl is one of the preeminent users of the IM and chatrooms, it only stood to reason that both of these tools would be used for something other than their intended use----that is called abuse. And it is abuse, of authority, power, and tools that have been the wrecking balls used to destroy AOL Simming for so many. These tools, in the hands of the wrong individuals, with followers, have only caused the snowball to roll down the hill faster.
Sim Etiquette, akin to life etiquette, establishes rules on how people treat each other within the boundaries of the Sim and outside the Sim. They were established for the same reason laws were enacted---to guide people in how they should behave and establish boundaries. However, as with the breaking of laws, the breaking of rules, especially rules of behavior, leads to anarchy, chaos and pain. It is just this breaking of the rules shamelessly that has provided the excuse for AOL Star Trek Simming to degenerate into what it has become.
The leaders and their followers abandoned Sim Etiquette. As such the use of personal attacks became more and more common. It has always been a stipulation of Sim Etiquette that privacy and anonymity were the purview of each Simmer. By throwing that out, COs and followers and Groups essentially did what the Germans did to the Jews during the holocaust---dehumanized the Simmer. Gave themselves an excuse to seek and destroy. Placed themselves above people and above the laws of humanity.
People who supposedly have no rights, are not treated as people at all. This leads to the process of attacking persons in chatrooms, emails and IMs. Finding out personal information about others, they did not willingly share and using it to incite others into personal attacks. Women. Minorities. East. West. North. South. It all becomes fair game. Any difference is a reason to make someone and enemy and to a group of individuals, a pariah.
This became a common occurrence. It extended to members of different groups, friends of individuals targeted, and just those who didn't fit in. Quite sad for a place where people come to escape from the world's biases, prejudices and just enjoy their time online.
But many of these groups, affiliations and alliances became nothing more than organized mobs or online gangs. Some of these gangs operate officially, many operate unofficially. They even have headquarters----they are called chatrooms. Many of them operate these chatrooms or "recruit rooms" as places to incite, foster and plan the behavior I have described above.
Recruiting and Simming are the farthest things from their mind. They have a different agenda. So in effect, it is not about AOL Simming, it is about belonging to the gang. It is about socialization, not on a Sim level, but on a personal level.
It is not about Gene Roddenberry's vision of the future at all. It is about who belongs and who doesn't belong. Who is liked and who is not liked. Who is considered friend, and who is considered, ultimately----the enemy!
And good leadership generally begits good followesrhip. To the converse, poor leadership usually results in poor followership. Such is the inherent problem with the quality of individuals who lead both Sims and Sim groups. Not everyone can lead. But it is equally true that not everyone can follow.
History has shown how easy it is for mob rule to reign. And that has led to the downfall of AOL Simming as well. As AOl is one of the preeminent users of the IM and chatrooms, it only stood to reason that both of these tools would be used for something other than their intended use----that is called abuse. And it is abuse, of authority, power, and tools that have been the wrecking balls used to destroy AOL Simming for so many. These tools, in the hands of the wrong individuals, with followers, have only caused the snowball to roll down the hill faster.
Sim Etiquette, akin to life etiquette, establishes rules on how people treat each other within the boundaries of the Sim and outside the Sim. They were established for the same reason laws were enacted---to guide people in how they should behave and establish boundaries. However, as with the breaking of laws, the breaking of rules, especially rules of behavior, leads to anarchy, chaos and pain. It is just this breaking of the rules shamelessly that has provided the excuse for AOL Star Trek Simming to degenerate into what it has become.
The leaders and their followers abandoned Sim Etiquette. As such the use of personal attacks became more and more common. It has always been a stipulation of Sim Etiquette that privacy and anonymity were the purview of each Simmer. By throwing that out, COs and followers and Groups essentially did what the Germans did to the Jews during the holocaust---dehumanized the Simmer. Gave themselves an excuse to seek and destroy. Placed themselves above people and above the laws of humanity.
People who supposedly have no rights, are not treated as people at all. This leads to the process of attacking persons in chatrooms, emails and IMs. Finding out personal information about others, they did not willingly share and using it to incite others into personal attacks. Women. Minorities. East. West. North. South. It all becomes fair game. Any difference is a reason to make someone and enemy and to a group of individuals, a pariah.
This became a common occurrence. It extended to members of different groups, friends of individuals targeted, and just those who didn't fit in. Quite sad for a place where people come to escape from the world's biases, prejudices and just enjoy their time online.
But many of these groups, affiliations and alliances became nothing more than organized mobs or online gangs. Some of these gangs operate officially, many operate unofficially. They even have headquarters----they are called chatrooms. Many of them operate these chatrooms or "recruit rooms" as places to incite, foster and plan the behavior I have described above.
Recruiting and Simming are the farthest things from their mind. They have a different agenda. So in effect, it is not about AOL Simming, it is about belonging to the gang. It is about socialization, not on a Sim level, but on a personal level.
It is not about Gene Roddenberry's vision of the future at all. It is about who belongs and who doesn't belong. Who is liked and who is not liked. Who is considered friend, and who is considered, ultimately----the enemy!
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