Dancer Archive
Thread: A Moral Question About AFK'ing
First a little background ...
I recently started an entertainer character while my regular server was inaccesible for some reason. I created the entertainer in an attempt to try a classthat I would have never otherwise even considered. On my regular server I am a Artisan/Droid Engineer/Pistoleer and I love crafting and combat. Well my short stint as an Entertainer was quite enjoyable and I've been back several times since.
Now for the question, which needs a little setup itself. I created a macro that would help me to concentrate on chatting and other things while performing. I have since used it to getexperience while AFK at times as well. Whenever I have been AFK I've moved to a back room in the cantina and away from the other hard working dancers and musicians. Since I am new to the entertainer line of professions I have only recently begun visiting these specific boards (today is the first time in fact) and noticed that probably 90% of people here are very solidly against AFK macro'ing, with the other 10% being those who do it.
Finally the question ... What is the main objection to macro'ing while AFK and do my actions fall under those objections? The couple of times that I've done it, I made sure to move out the way of others so as not to interfere with their customer interaction and to avoid taking up valuable performance space. I do enjoy playing with these professions, I'm not simply trying to get to master because a holocron told me to, and I've been reading these boards today in order to better understand the professions. To me, macro'ing at times that I can't otherwise give complete attention to my game is a means to an end that will allow me to get to a point in the profession where I can 1) be more useful to the general public and 2) be able to support myself. Am I among the hated masses who run mindless bots as a way to get easy money while AFK or to quickly make Master in order to move on to the next holocron mandate?
Please don't turn this into a flame thread about AFK entertainers. I am looking for a legitimate answer that will directly affect the way I play my character in the future.
The main objection in my book is that our professions are cheapened when people can reach mastery by typing a few lines into a macro and letting it spin while sleeping.
- J
dude, when chessack finds you.... dead man.
i don't understand what you mean though... morals in a video game as defined by a group of people on a message board? surreal.
if you like doing it... then do it! it's not against the rules and what the hell do you care about what the dancing community thinks? will you be an outcast among entertainers? doubt it. would it affect you if you were? doubt it! is it a nice thing to crawl into a back room and be an afk healing post for people who would otherwise likely have to log off at 3am? i think so. do you?
(Not AT you.. just a mild snicker in general) I have made some tips while AFK, but generally, while being ATK I get roughly 10x as much, sometimes even more. You'll never get rich AFK... you will, however, make a very nice living being ATK and especially buffing.
dude, when chessack finds you.... dead man.
i don't understand what you mean though... morals in a video game as defined by a group of people on a message board? surreal.
"Moral" is of course a relative term. The reason I'm concerned is that since I'm starting this character on a new server where I know NO one I don't want to develope a bad reputation that will follow me. Looking for moral justification from total strangers whom I will likely never meet ... yeah, that is a bit odd. Since I'm new to the profession I guess I'm just looking for insight.
As an example, wilderness survival experience for Scouts is commonly gained by setting up a camp and walking away from the computer for 45 minutes or so, disband the camp and repeat. This is a common and often recommended practice.
Is it AFK macro'ing? no
Is it AFK experiencing? certainly
I guess my purpose in making this post is to feel out what the communitee standards are. For scouts there is one set of standards, for entertainers there seems to be another. Everything, including opinions, is relative. I suppose I'm just trying to get a definition ofthe norm.
It's entirely on your conscience whether it's right or wrong. Will you be ostracised from the community for macroing? Probably by a small subset of it, but it's the subset that wants to tell you every aspect of how to live your life, so do you really care about being close to them?
My personal opinion is thatif you're doing it in a manner that isn't "in the face" of at-keys entertainers and especially in locations that at-keys entertainers won't go but adventurers will, you're providing a great service and not causing undue trouble.
Not sure why anyone would be "a dead man."
I don't object to AFK macroing if it is done in an unobtrusive manner. I think most of us actually agree with that.
The people (like me) who have been most vocal against it have done so because, at least in our own experience, it tends not to be done in an inobtrusive manner, and is often done in a way that directly impacts (deterimentally) our ability to play the game the way we would like.
AFKing is fine if done without being obnoxious about it. I know several people who macro'ed up in their homes because they wanted more dances, and then when they got those dances came out and performed with the "fun ones" instead of ones they didn't like such as Footloose.
I personally would not do it but I see nothing wrong with that per se. I just don't like it when five of them plop themselves in the middle of the dance floor and I have no room to work, and since they are AFK, I can't politely ask them to make some room. That's the part I object to. Not the AFK itself.
C
C
as far as community standards go, i'd say ATK entertainers (in cantinas) are the rarity nowadays. it's doubtful you'll be offending anyone and more likely you'll find others to group with who are also AFK sometimes.
will you be cheapening the profession?
all i can say to that is; if you are really doing what you want to be doing in the game, then nobody else will matter. people who latch on the the cheapening arguement are really trying to say they are threatened by the ease at which people can achieve what they consider to be a symbol of status. they are in a quest for 'power' just like everyone else, whether that be power in terms of money, or power in terms of fame....., power in terms of rarity.... in terms of status.
if a master dancer is easily obtained then it does not impress anyone and that is what is at the heart of the anti-afkers arguement....
meeuki wrote:if a master dancer is easily obtained then it does not impress anyone and that is what is at the heart of the anti-afkers arguement....
That's certainly not why I dislike it.
I'd just like one cantina I could go to with a reasonable probability that the performers would be there at keyboard and I could have a good time socializing with them. That's all... just one. I had that for a while in Keren, until the AFKers found it, and now it's a zombie-ville too. 'scuse me for getting annoyed when people come in and damage my roleplay opportunities.
I really don't care about titles or who is master of what, and I think people who are impressed by "master anything" are easily impressed. I couldn't care less how fast or easy it was for someone else to get to Master. I just want to have a place to work with other live people and have some fun, and the AFKers make it hard to do that. I don't care a whit how anyone else got their skills.
C
i suppose i can see it being a pain in the cantinas if people are rushing right up to the afkers and ignoring you. but then again that is not really cheapening your class, just reducing your clientell.