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I'm a member (and one of four Leaders, aka 'The Council') of the Freedom Protectorate on the Protector server in City of Heroes.

Last night I kicked a guy out of the FP for 'griefing'. Specifically, he pulled (lured) a Giant Monster into the crowd during a Hamidon Raid in an attempt at disrupting the proceedings (which, if successful, will grant all involved some nice otherwise unavailable enhancements for their toons). When I asked him why he did it, he said he 'got bored'. When I told him his boredom was no excuse for screwing over other players, he said he wasn't going to talk about it anymore. So I clicked the little button and booted him out of the group.

Never done anything like that before. The power, she is going to my head! Actually, I feel bad about it, but damn. I don't believe such behavior would have been tolerated in the ELH, and by golly gosh, it won't be tolerated in the FP as long as I'm one of the Leaders.

Still...

TD

Well, at first glance I thought perhaps you may have been aq little too quick to judge there. But I read it again, and reasoned that what he did wasn't so bad, it was more his attitude towards your displeasure at what he did, not to mention his excuse. Had his actions had some bearing on what he may have personally gained that may have put him on a better footing with respect to the other players (personal gain), then I may have understood it. However, I suspect also that the excuse he gave was just to save face and look 'big'. Another visit with the same question may yield a different answer IMHO. I dunno, but that's what it sounds like to me.

A Hami Raid is a *bunch* of people (we're talking 75+) all trying to work together to take down the single toughest creature in the game, in order to receive a rare power enhancement. A Hami Raid the only way you can get one of these enhancements, and then only if the raid is successful and the Hamidon is defeated.

In order to defeat the Hamidon, his guardians must first be cleared. This in itself is no mean feat. There are dozens of them. This phase takes an hour or so to complete, and during this time care must be taken to avoid attacking the Hamidon - he'll wipe out lots of toons if someone attacks him.

Once the guardians are cleared, the Controller and Defender types gather near the Hamidon and begin hitting him with 'Holds'. Meanwhile, a designated Tanker keeps the Hamidon's attention and aggro. Blasters and Scrappers, the 'big guns' of the game, stand clear until the call to attack is given. It is necessary for the Hamidon to be Held before he's subjected to an all out assault, because otherwise when his health drops to a certain point, dozens and dozens of fresh guardians spawn and wipe out anyone in the immediate vicinity - which puts an end to the raid. During this phase it is CRUCIAL that the participants refrain from using damaging attacks on the Hamidon, as these can draw aggro away from the designated Tanker to the Controllers/Defenders trying to hold him, or, if unchecked, produce the spawn of guardians mentioned above (generally refered to as the 'Yellow Death'). The Holding Phase can take a long time. Hours, even, if too many people fail to cooperate. IF the Controllers/Defenders succeed in establishing a hold on the Hamidon, and IF he doesn't break free during the subsequent attack, the raid will succeed and everyone will receive their nice Hamidon Origin enhancements.

It was during the Holding Phase of the Raid that the fellow in question took it upon himself to attract the attention of a 'Giant Monster' elsewhere on the map and draw it into the midst of the people trying to hold the Hamidon. He wasn't the only one to do this, but he was the only one in my Super Group that did it. Previously, he'd been called to task (by someone else) for attacking the Hamidon during the Clearing Phase. To make matters worse, this was not the first time he'd attacked the Hamidon prematurely - he did so during the last raid, as well. I was the one then who told him to stop. So he *knew better* than to do it this time. He did it anyway. And he knew that pulling that monster into the crowd in an attempt to screw over all those other players was straight up unadulterated GRIEFING. What he didn't know was I lack any tolerance whatsoever for such behavior.

Yes, I was ticked off when I booted him. Primarily because - and this is the bottom line - the guy *knew better*, yet still he chose to go out of his way to try to screw things up for all those other players. And also because he decided it was a good idea to get snippy with me when I called him on it. It generally takes a lot to get me riled, but that sort of behavior will do it in a heartbeat.

Last night's raid was eventually declared a failure, btw. The Controllers/Defenders could not establish a hold on the Hamidon. In part because the turnout was a bit low, and also because, of those who attended, the ratio of cooperative types to Griefers was too far off.

TD

And now with a better understanding of that part of the game, the word "A**#&%e" springs to mind. I think I might have wanted to do more than just kick him from the server, although plenty of kicking is what I would have had in mind!

during the time i lead Clan Diamond Shark, and then later as second and even general of ELH, there came alot of times that hard choices were made. to me, you had a clear choice and took the right action. the benifit for the group is always the greatest concern. what i found, specialy in DS before i understood what leading was realy about. i faced some choices like that, and DAMN you sure felt bad about em lol. to be honest its just a sighn you care and are trying to do the right thing.. when you dont care and make choices like that then maybe you either have been in leadership too long, or your personality has changed to a point it dosnt bother you any more. every time ive ever had to kick, repremand, or disipline anyone on anything ive ever lead, ive felt bad about it. its normal. its ok. you will get threw it, learn from it and be better becuse of it.

you did o.k. - you should feel bad.

you should try having to fire someone...

TBH, it's a fairly standard response. It's not as if the guy didn't know what he was doing, and if there's a precedent of him doing this type of stuff, then he didn't leave you much of a choice IMO.

you should try having to fire someone...

Then of course there's the - you should try firing AT someone, and what's even worse sending someone out to be shot AT! Now that makes you feel bad!
But, like the rest of the guys have said, it's okay to feel bad about doing it (it shows you care about everyone's feelings), but it appears to be for the greater good, and hence a necessity.

I'm working on a set of Rules of Conduct for the Freedom Protectorate.

Here's one version:

The Freedom Protectorate Rules of Conduct.

1. Behave!

2. At least *act* like ya got some damn sense!

3. When in doubt, ask yourself 'WWCAD?' (alternately, 'WWSD?', but never, ever 'WWCND?')

TD

O.K. -not playing this and not being all that up on my Super Heroes and Villains, who is CN???

Chuck Norris.

TD

hehe! i suspected as much...

i would prefer WWWWD....


af for steel its, What Would Wounder Woman Do

Wouldn't the question WWCND have been a reasonable level of response in this incidence?!

actually, i agree!

While one might be able to envision Chuck's response to a given situation, no mere mortal could hope to emulate that response. Thus it is pointless to ask.

TD