NeoTheHutt wrote:
I was just wondering what the big deal about afks are, your biggest issue seams to be the fact that they "take up" group spots. The purpose of a group is to produce xp, and they are doing jsut that!. Just wondering what the big deal is, being an ex-entertainer
I used to care about you all. But you see NeoTheHutt, I don't anymore. Because I finally realized what it is we actually "sell," why it is that when I dance I come home with a ton of bank, and why since hologrinding came about I actually get more bank now than I EVER DID before hologrinding.
Its because unattended players can provide BF service, mind healing service, and buffs just like we can. In fact, they can do it BETTER than we can. They work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They also work for no tips. So in a game mechanics sense, I simply cannot compete as a live entertainer.
But NeoTheHutt, AFK entertainers are not very "entertaining." In fact, they are very annoying. People hate AFK entertainers, and they only use them when no other character is available. AFK entertainers show contempt for the patrons because they don't even give them the dignity of a live player behind the keys. Thus, when a patron goes to an AFK entertainer, they are putting the ctrl-c screen on, counting down the BF meter, and a procedure that takes 3 minutes feels like 3 days. However, at least you get this boredom for free.
But see, here is why I business has been real good for me. You see, I talk to my patrons. I crack jokes. I greet them at the door, call them by name, and do interesting things with the tools I have, both visually and through my dialouge. When I do these things, patrons are not looking at their character screens. They are looking at me. And what was once a tedious 3 minutes flies by like a few seconds. And when I finally do see the healing XP no longer popping up, and they are healed, and I tell them finally "You are all rested," they tell me, "Awww shucks, Sirii. Do I have to go?" SEE? I do the same things an AFKerdoes in terms of the game mechanics, but the patrons have FUN while doing it. And THAT is why I get BIG CREDITS.
Because frankly NeoTheHutt, AFKers and hologrinders have made my job a whole lot easier. You see, before the holocraze, I actually had to compete for attention from at the keyboard dancers. Now, most of those at the keyboard players are gone. And they are gone because they never really understood what we did and what we sold. We never sold BF and mind wound healing and buffs. Those were just the things that made the patrons come to us. What made the patrons stay with us, watch us, and tip us were the things we did WHILE doing these things that can be just as easily macroed.
And that is why I love this profession and why I am good at it. Because unlike Fencer, or Armoursmith, or Bounty Hunter, the skill boxes won't make one a better dancer. The loot won't make one a better dancer. In fact, the only difference between Dancer A and Dancer B is the attempt to figure out "how can I get this guy to tip me when he can get everything I have for free from an AFKer?" And THAT takes work and skill. This is why, bar none, the entertainment classes are THE MOST CHALLENGING IN THE GAME, because ultimately, it is the player behind the keys that makes the difference. NOT the boxes! Not many people can do what I do. That's why so many people have trouble with this profession, both AFK and ATK. The AFK ones simply don't even try to be entertaining, and the ATK ones who have trouble simply are boring or haven't figured out what it is we actually do.
I used to think this was a broken profession because it allowed for AFKers. However, once I thought about it, I have to marvel at the genious behind the design of this profession. It rewards EXACTLY the people who should be rewarded. Because I get MY BEST TIPS IN THE GRIND CAPITOLS! The poor souls who go there are so bored that I hardly have to work hard at all to get 10,000 credits. What's more is that I deprive AFK entertainers of their XP, because they are all looking at ME instead of at some AFKer who makes no effort at being entertaining. This causes AFKers to do silly things to make up for the fact that they are bad performers, like pay people to watch them, or get people who are diseased simply to watch a group of BORING ENTERTAINERS who simply make no bones about the fact that they choose to be boring....and the funny thing is, NeoTheHutt, they stink so bad that they have to
pay people to do those things other people pay big money for me to do

. PATHETIC, any way you slice it. Because if an AFKer would just put some effort to be live and at the keys, they'd discover that they can actually GET PAID for leveling FASTER than they would by being AFK, whether you are in a group or not. The formula works. But it only works if you do it right in the manner by which the developers intended.
So NeoTheHutt, I have no problem with AFKers anymore, because you all do something for my career. You show how pathetic this profession can be, so that those who put forth the effort to make it interestingcan earn a decent living.
Madame Sirii Ajaan
August 2003-September 15, 2005
"There is a difference between being /watched and being WATCHED."