AeonRO: A Guide to the Unspoken Caste System

[TheBTG]

   My stay at Aeon was a long and difficult one. Most people who have heard my story asked me one question. "Why did you stick around so long?" Well, "Canada" Bill Jones said it best in the back of a Baton rouge barbershop, losing money hand over fist in a rigged game of Faro. When Bill's buddy George Devol informed him the game was fixed, Bill responded "I know its crooked, but its the only game in town." AeonRO is the last of the major Roleplaying ragnarok servers, surviving more on the players need for a fix than any redeeming qualitites of its own. I stayed as long as I did simply because there was nowhere else to go.

   I write this guide partially for the catharsis of it, and partially as a warning to those who wish to join in the future. It is my hope that anyone that reads this post and still chooses to join the server will be better able to navigate the unspoken caste system that I was, and might have a better overall experience than I did. That being said, let us begin.

   AeonRO is, as stated in the title of this post, divided by a caste system. While never being explicitly stated, the system becomes apparent and obvious with exposure. At the top, there is the head GM, followed by the RP GMs, Technical Gms, the Chosen, the Powergamers, the Casual RPers, and at the bottom, the Untouchables. One could argue a caste lower than the untouchables, being the banned. While they are no longer accepted in the community as a whole, those who have their bans lifted and choose to rejoin the community find themselves on the lowest level of totem pole, below even the untouchables.

   The Head GM, Laggy, is the current owner and head coder of AeonRO. While rarely ever seen or heard from, when he speaks everyone -must- listen. His word is law, and those who find themselves at odds with him will be bounced to the lowest caste overnight, or banned, depending on his mood. While the role of a central leader is essential in most power systems, Laggy seems to fancy himself as God Almighty, showing up and speaking only when the server is in trouble over technical or social issues, or when he himself has been insulted.

   The next class, the RP Gms, are essentially the ruling class of the server, acting as the judical and legislative systems for the server as a whole. Changes to the server are voted on by the group of them, with motions being carried out only in case of a majority. This is a fairly typical system of governing a server, but in the case of AeonRO, the GMs are all of a similar mind as to what is good for the community and what isn't, and more often than not what's good for the server is what's good for the RP staff's personal characters. The RP GMs themselves appear to be close to each other, usually speaking with a single voice through a single member, with any conflict between themselves hidden away from the server as a whole to prevent the conflict from spreading to the community as a whole. The reason for this is to prevent a fracturing of the server, as has been seen in Aeon's past.

   The next class is the Technical staff, serving to maintain the forums and the ragnarok server itself. For the most part this class remains silent, their posts almost entirely restricted to technical issues and discussion of game mechanics. While they technically have all the powers of the RP GMs, they tend to abstain from voting or voicing opinions about social or RP issues.

   The next class are the Elites, or the Gm's Chosen. This is the most obvious of the unspoken classes, and are the only community members that will be raised to GMs, regardless of talent or worth. Each RP GM has one or more Chosen, who act as their personal council, spies, and community organizers. The Chosen usually devote themselves to furthering their patron's plots, and are rewarded with key positions within said plots. The Chosen, along with their patrons, also determine the class of new members. Chosen usually group together in private rooms, once again alongside their patrons, and avoid contact with the lower classes outside RP events. Most major RP plots revolve around the Chosen, or their patron GMs, personal characters. This caste is also the driving force behind community politics. Should a member of a lesser class offend a Chosen, either intentionally or unitentionally, the offender will usually be dropped to the Untouchable Class.

   Below the Elites are the Powergamers. These players are the driving force in the actual game, being the most active and skilled Ragnarok players. They usually are the richest, serving as something of a merchant class, driving the IG economy. While the Chosen usually dominate RP, the Powergamers dominate Gameplay. It should be noted that members of this class are the most blatantly exclusive of the castes, forming cliques based around gameplay, with a select few usually deciding the group's actions. There can be some overlap between Powergamers and the Chosen, those players being the most blantant trolls, belittling lesser classes, while enjoying the benefits of a RP GM's protection. If an arguement breaks out in the IRC channel, these members will choose a side, and their followers will act in unison to belittle their leader's chosen target, often bringing ad hominem into what would otherwise be a somewhat civil argument.

   The next class are the casual players. They form the majority of the server population, and can occasionally find meaningful RP in and amongst themselves. Casual RPers lack the protection of the higher classes, and must walk carefully lest they be dropped to Untouchable class.

   The next class of Aeon are the Untouchables. These players are usually those who have in some way offended someone of Chosen class or higher, though sometimes they are members of an opposed community. Higher classes avoid these players, usually avoiding speaking to them entirely, though occasionaly curt conversation can occur. Any RP requests sent out from an Untouchable are refused or ignored by the higher classes, though rare cases of Casual Player/Untouchable RP have occured. Untouchables are always a moment from being banned from the server, or run off by higher castes. Usually these players will realize their social status, and leave the server entirely, sometimes never joining any other RP community. Should a Member of the Untouchable class mention the caste system the entirity of the server, save for the other Untouchables, will round on them. Any claims of GM Favoritism will be met with a untied front of denial, be it for fear of agreeing with an Untouchable, or to protect their own interests.

   Below even the untouchables are the Banned. The Banned could be argued as a subclass of the untouchables really, as there are so very few of them. A Banned is a player who has been banned from aeon in the past, had their ban lifted, and decided to rejoin the community. These players enter the server as the social pariahs of AeonRO, the lowest of the low. Usually the entirity of the server, save for a few of the untouchables, will avoid a Banned at all costs. Usually any comments they make will be met with ad hominem, no matter the content of their words, and their RP experience will be non-existent. Most remain silent, lurking silently in IRC or the OOC room waiting to pounce on newbies as they join in search of some form of social interaction. Some become channel gadflies, commenting on the obvious failing of the server, though no one will openly respond to their comments. In the current administration of AeonRO, speaking with or about a Banned publicly is the worst of taboos, and those that choose to associate with them -will- become Untouchables, there is no doubt about that fact. The only variable is time, in some cases it happens instantly, though sometimes it can take up to a month for the caste change to occur.

   Now that I have explained the unspoken castes of AeonRO, I have advice for those who would still join the community. When you join Aeon, you will be a member of the Casual Players Class. From the moment you join the community you have two weeks, give or take, to move up from your class by getting in good with a higher class. Don't expect to be a full fledged member of these castes within your first two week, but instead use that time to introduce and begin the grooming process. Becoming an actual member of the caste you're trying to join can take months to occur, and in the mean time you'll be something of a probationary member. If two weeks go by and you've not made significant progress in advancing in caste, its time to leave Aeon, wait a month, start up a new Gmail account and rejoin under a new name.

   If you wish to be a Powergamer, play the game constantly, and try to transcend a character within your first two weeks. Show advanced knowledge of Ragnarok, but don't go overboard. Ask to compare builds with a Powergamer Leader, ask questions, but do not critique their build. Do not patronize Powergamers, or be too obvious in getting close. Talk about experiences on other RO servers, but try to keep the focus on them and not yourself. If you manage to party with Powergamers, stick to your class role and show your mastery of that class, but do -not- outshine the Powergamer Leader. If you truly aspire to become a Powergamer, be prepared to play for a month straight, and then cease playing entirely, save for rare occasions, such as events or the introduction of custom content. Do not approach other Powergamers, and instead take the time to establish yourself as an exceptional player. Wait until your gamer prowess has been recognized, and begin an exchange on the basis of builds, bowing to the Powergamer's "greater" expertise. I don't recommend anyone who hasn't been playing ragnarok consistantly for 2 or more years try to join the Powergamers.

   If you want to become a Chosen, then try to get close to a member of of the Chosen Caste, or an RP GM. Respectfully ask to join Chosen or RP GM RP, but do not push the subject if they turn you down. Talk to the RP GMs and Chosen about real life, but try stick to humorous stories. Offer advice about RL issues, but again, do not push the subject if they seem disinclined to listen to your advice. Be a shoulder to cry on, and in the case of Drama, stand up for your selected chosen, or members of your chosen's clique, even if you don't agree with them. Talk about RP constantly, and express admiration for the Chosen's RP Prowess, even if said RP prowess is non-existant. It cannot be stressed enough that you must be subtle in praising them, lavishing them with compliments is too obvious. Instead you should try suggesting things they should try next time you rp with them, but don't push the matter if they don't like your ideas. Suggest things your characters can do together, be humorous, emotocons are a must. Tell stories about past RP experiences, but try and keep the focus on the Chosen or RP GM you're grooming. Express love for the RP GM or Chosen's characters, and try and single out their favorite characters with the most praise. When RPing with a RP GM or Chosen, try to keep the attention of the RP on them, but don't be blatant in your attempts. Avoid playing violent characters, and if your character should find him or herself in a Violent situation, job it. Job it hard, let your character get beat down, let the character get killed even. If your character should die, appear heartbroken, and go to the chosen or RP GM for consoling. Don't show anger, or complain about the situation, just express that you are upset with the outcome. The sympathy you will recieve from the RP GM or Chosen can rapidly accelerate the process of joining their ranks. Again, don't overdo it, don't push RP too much if you are turned down. Avoid contact with Untouchables, and ask about past drama with the Banned -only- if it is mentioned. If you get into a conversation about Banned drama, take the side of the Chosen and RP GMs. Try and affirm their decisions, telling them they were in the right in the situation. I recommend to only try these techniques if you are an experienced role player.

   If all of this sounds a touch too dramatic for you, or maybe you simply want to experience all Aeon has to offer, without becoming entrenched in the server as a whole, you have the option of avoiding the caste system entirely. It's as simple as avoiding IRC, and never initiating any actions. Do not start conversations, but instead contribute helpfully. Do not initiate parties, but instead join them, offering your aid in whatever station is most appropriate, while always taking direction from the other party members. Do not discuss other players with anyone. Roleplay when it is offered, or request it from the server as a whole. Join events, but do not outshine any present characters, always taking great care not to ruffle feathers or trod on toes. In this manner, you can float through the current, without getting bogged down by the ever-shifting tides. While you may initially lack the clout of any other class, you might in time earn enough respect to integrate yourself more solidly into Aeon's heiarchy. Unfortunately, this technique will take a long time to perfect, taking several months to years to come to fruition. In my experience, this method has only been succesfully performed once in server history, however said player is almost universally respected within the server.

   It should be noted that these cliques and castes are not exclusive to Aeon. The little subdivisions are a reality you will face when joining any social community. However, at Aeon this system has taken center stage, to the point of completely isolating some members, leaving them no room for enjoying their time in the server. This information is, of course, very subjective, collected from my personal experience, and the stories of many former members that were either banned, or left the server of their own volition. I fully expect a barrage of complaints, and the ever present front of denial, from members that have found a niche in the server. It should also be noted that due to the small size of the community, these people are the majority, though most of them fall into the Casual RP class. If you have read this guide and still wish to join Aeon, I wish you the best of luck, and sincerely hope you find your experience there more enjoyable than mine was. Aeon, despite its faults, can be a wonderful community for those fortunate enough to find their place. It is the longest standing Ragnarok RP server for a reason. Those that manage to work their way securely into the community rarely leave. I hope this guide helps you to achieve said end, and that you are able to experience Aeon at its best, as opposed to Aeon from the eyes of an Untouchable.

[ChocoMoco]

Very descriptive review, and i really like how you referred it back to the Caste System in India back in whenever (:

[Celeritus]

It has been some time since I was truly active on this server, but these descriptions seem to fit the new and the old AeonRO to a tee.  Trolls and problem individuals manage to slip in among "The Chosen" ranks and can wield rumors as razors against the helpless masses.  The server had some fun things going on and some good custom content, but it seems that much of it got taken down in the years since.

I do hope that their lead coder has stopped taking a player beating one of his dungeons as a personal attack, and has come to the realization that perhaps dungeons are made TO BE conquered, not to stand as some lofty goal to never be reached.  As cliched as it is, I will say regarding this that perfection should never be a goal, simply the betterment of things.  The main goal seemed to be to create such "perfect" creatures in the custom dungeons so as to thwart any attack by any class... the whole idea of some mob being weak to a certain play style was seen as an affront and taken personally by Laggy.  This was the case with many of the old custom dungeons, including their infamous "Ascore" dungeon.  Like the old system, the new dungeons do rely on having one or more of the Power Gamer caste in your party, but it seems that the threats to add more rape to dungeons being beaten by players are hollow ones, so they are at least somewhat manageable.

The old problem with the role-play was that all role-play happened in the Publick Houses, or rather, the single Pub, and consisted of brawls between two people with completely different definitions of magic and game-play mechanics waving around their egos while essentially having a dodge-fest with one another where nothing happened, unless one decided to finally take a fall.  The new role-play does not revolve around fights, thank goodness, but can be best described by the words "Fruits Basket".

Their old Errata system, which did allow for characters outside of the normal confines of mortal abilities, when I was there was a work-in-progress, but seemingly got scrapped for a common sense rule that is simply abused by, once again, "the chosen".  At least in the old system, one had to specifically outline ones character abilities in their forums for the server, and GM approval was needed for anything and everything above and beyond the norm, but now, with looser restrictions, things work themselves into the cracks and the GM staff will simply choose to overlook the godly abilities of some but not others based on which players are those chosen few for playing pivotal roles in the subplots.

It should be said that the downfall of the Errata system was brought about by the introduction of characters by a GM who refused to document powers and limitations, even at the behest of the rest of the GM staff and much of the player base, leading to several defections from the community of substantial numbers of players.  This set a rather nasty precedent for GMs to ignore the guidelines placed on the server as a whole and to have free reign of things, all the while completely undermining the canon that made the server so charming in the first place.

It has to be said, too, that of the GM staff, one of the staffers who is still around to this day was seen propositioning female players for less-than-appropriate materials.  Girls, beware.  I do hope that he's gotten past this stage in his life and drawn a line of professionalism in his behavior.

The server is a mixed bag.  While the occasional custom content always tends to be challenging and fun in some ways, they are created by a coder with a God complex who got into the RO scene for it seems all of the wrong reasons.  Luckily, though, since he's managed to delegate most of the coding to others now, you may have to deal with him less and less.  The role-play is varied and will take you to many different corners of the world, letting you meet the good, the bad, and the downright ugly in your stay there, but suffers from balance issues and an almost middle-school style social system, where players may fall into the cracks and bad apples may slip by with Lethal Weapon-esque "diplomatic immunity".  If you want to have fun on this server, I'd almost say that you should stay clear of their IRC channel entirely and come in with friends who can level with you, or perhaps get on the good side of a power gamer.  Otherwise, I'd just keep walking.

[Raven776]

Well, I've got a bit to add as well. I played for about half a year and tried everything I could. I got on a few people's bad sides and made some great friends. I've seen people get harassed by GMs (or by people that GMs agreed to let harass them) and I've seen delicate dramas unravel and come to light everywhere but the RP scenes. It's clique-y, but every server is. What I experienced in Aeon was to a completely different degree though.

RP tokens are a simple system meant to allow long term players to get fame, money, or powers for their characters. They were awarded for good RP, "relevant" posts to the wiki, and for running/participating in events.

The downside to all of these things are that if you have none, you're pale in comparison. To get them, your good RP must be recognized by a GM who will not consider anything good unless you lose a fight against them or worship their character, post something "relevant" on the wiki that is either a storyline that a GM organized and gave permission to someone for posting (or a game play update that, yet again, older and more experienced players have access to first),  or run/participate in an event.

Events are a fickle thing. What constitutes as an event? A gathering of 10 people for a "Speed date" in RP was an event that got the author (though it was not his idea originally anyways) tokens. An island crash, authored by me, with over 19 people on the first day scored no RP tokens even though I religiously logged on, shamelessly advertised, received much positive feedback, and poured three full weeks into it. It was not wasted time, however, as me and everyone else had fun. I heard rumors that other players received tokens, but even after asking about it (weeks later) I was faced with promises of talking to another about it. Nothing was done.

After that, I managed to grab tokens from smaller events and hard to bear, character centralized, and badly written events in which one player shamelessly whores his character as the better party while forcing outside elements to strike down all others that acted before him, better than him, or smarter than him. (One incident is where an ice monster attacked Rachel, and, after seeing the avatar of snow (or something, no explanation was ever given) two women stood in awe and tried to protect it. It attacked the two women, attacked the third person to try to connect, and (while the author of the event was sitting beside making snarky comment after witty retort) finally succumbed to the greater charm and power of the main character.)

I digress, however, from my original point. I managed to grab tokens, contact a GM, and wait... and wait... and wait... and wait...

and wait...


and contacted again, told not to bother anyone...

and waited another week...


and waited...





mission accomplished. No, I didn't receive the character notoriety, but I assume (with how poorly GMs treated me) that I was not welcome on the server. I've been the subject of good and bad in the past. I've been the admin of RP servers, and I've left with nothing but a single goodbye. I've spun storylines and character bios that could be heartbreaking or hilarious, and I've been the subject for ridicule (being a literary student bound for college in a rural school will do that) many times. However, despite this, I've never felt as shunned, demoralized, and humiliated as me, my friends, and people who called me friends not days before turned against me the days I defended a crying woman over her husband being banned, a depressed girl, and a long time friend.




Also, if you ever log on, don't talk about where you've come from. They don't care about you or your problems. They don't care about your life good or bad. They care about they. Who is they? Well, despite logging on the first day with a positive attitude, that whole "caste system" thing has never sounded so true.

[Keiyo]

I have some personal gripes with the server, but I'll do my best to keep those from leaking into anything meaningful I have to say.

I was a member for about 2.5 years as best I can recall. When I started the game, I was about ready to quit maybe three or so weeks later. The clique mentality was pretty obvious from where I stood. Certain people/groups were liked and important, everyone else not quite so much. The only reason I stuck around was having found some friends amongst other new members that made it worthwhile.

I think it was roughly six months later that the server underwent a complete reboot for both game play and story. Being like this, I took it as incentive to be able to make myself known and get a bit of recognition. In a way, it worked. I attended every event I could and kept a constant level of appearance in the game and the general community. People got to know my name. Looking at it though, it took basically a year of effort to really get that far, and I still felt just as disposable as I was on day one. My leaving really doesn't affect anything for better or worse. Of course, my main character was a loner type and hence not a leader or a part of any significant group, just someone that interacted with most everyone. Even as a member of the community however I really felt no closer or much more liked. I just wasn't with the clique.

I can't think of much more to say. There's favoritism abound, but as mentioned in the opening post that sort of thing is normal to any community. It's the small size of the community that makes it so very apparent. Were it not for making friends with those other new members I wouldn't have been there as long as I was. I find there's a lot of denial about problems in other areas from the staff, but I feel that's dipping into personal gripes. To say this from a very bitter point of view, I don't recommend going to this server for any reason as it is right now.

[Kyomi]

Seeing as this is more of a discussion than an actual review, I'll be moving this to a more proper section.

[Griever]

This is certainly an interesting topic. I figured I'd add some cherries on it. I recognize and have played with pretty much everyone on this thread. Mine will not be as constructive or well-written as the other posts, but I'd like to lay down the cards for the kind of community that prospective players will be encountering on this server.

I've been on Aeon for many years, and recently quit. It's difficult for me to place myself in the caste system, as it has been a rather wild ride for me.  I suppose you can say that my base class was powergamer. From the day I joined I worked to establish my superiority in the gaming aspect of the server (having played RO since its alpha stages, this was extremely easy for me to do). This has been the case from the day I joined til my final breath. I've also had a rather interesting presence among the other classes.

To start, the problem with establishing myself as a powergamer was that no one ever came to me for RP. Only a couple of people were interested enough to personally ask me for it. So as said in above posts, there's clearly a separation of groups where people in cliques just aren't interested in people from outside the clique. All the main plotters and affiliates are always so busy doing their own thing that newer folk usually don't have a snowball's chance in hell to get in on it, unless you're one of the lottery picked ones and they grab you from the start. There's been many. Even to this day. If you join and pick a clique, make sure you're prepared to sacrifice contact with at least half of the community.

What was said about glorious leader Laggy and assistant GM's is all true. I would know better than anyone, since we ended up becoming buddy-buddy and went as far as playing a great amount of other games and MMO's together, so I definitely got to know the guy. In the long run, it all leads back to the same simple truth: they just don't want to get off their high horses. They don't care what the community has to say. All server changes, edits, mods, rules...whatever, are all established on a whim and without consulting the community for opinions. The few times that opinions have been asked for, they've gone unnoticed, just to save face. They know what's best for everyone and what is fun, but they don't actually play the game or have legitimate characters (yes, GM's use "legit" chars with illegit items. surprise!). Laggy acted friendly towards me outside of Aeon, but one wrong move on the server and it was srsbsns time.

The other GM's are somewhat the same way. They're kind... until you get on their case about anything at all. Then you're in trouble with Big Laggy. You can't critique anything unless it's absolutely 100% positive or in agreement with the GM's. And don't ask them to confirm that, they'll just tell you that you don't understand what's going on, when the truth is that they can't tell you because they themselves don't understand. This is pretty much the case for any topic of conversation across the board. I can't stress that enough though. For being a community centered around drama, it's funny that they CANNOT handle critique, so beware what you say.

Now for the most important aspect: the roleplay. The roleplay is, in a word, terrible. Well, most of the time it is. Most RP is done in the same two or three places all the time, or the same city. The plots for the last few YEARS have all been about one thing: religion. Ever since they introduced gods into the world the RP has diminished so severely and become so stale it's not even funny. Most of the RP is bland and tailored to very few people and characters, so not everyone can be a part of it most of the time. There have been some good times, yes, I can admit that the last event I was at (which was the Airship Crash event mentioned above) was probably the best event done on the server in years, and hilariously enough it was run by a single player with very little GM involvement (just some npcs, and effect or two, and a map.). It's become so bad that plots are being re-used like palette swapped monsters in Mario games. So unless you like fantasy religion and/or doing nothing but hanging out in bars all day, then you're in for no surprise at all. And expect to play with uber powerful and godlike characters that are unapproachable and under the constant protection of either plot armor or GM's. Everything done will be set in stone from the start and onlookers will never be able to change the story in any way, shape, or form.

I feel I shouldn't bother to talk about the gameplay, since, after all, it is supposed to be an RP server. But it isn't anymore. It has since shifted to a mostly gameplay server, which is now being incorporated into many events and plots (used to be few, now it's a lot) so casual players can't really participate without getting the stuffing beat out of them as has always been the case (and usually there's some higher level players there to do ALL the work). And it's funny because the rule of "gameplay doesn't equal roleplay" still applies, so even if you single-handedly carry a group through a fight, your character still means diddly-squat in the bigger picture.

I guess the last thing I can think of to discuss is the IRC server. There is always either one of two things happening. Either the entire server is locked in a discussion on politics, which ends up pissing most of the players off, or people are posting links to silly things on the net. Very few times are there actual meaningful conversations between the players, and by looking at the channel listing you can see that each clique is pretty much separated into their own secondary chats to talk amongst themselves. Very rarely do interesting things happen in the main chat that everyone can participate in.

Well that's as far as I can get without getting into some bad details. Everything else that was said in previous posts is pretty much on the spot.

[Celeritus]

Seeing as this is more of a discussion than an actual review, I'll be moving this to a more proper section.

True, that most reviews of servers revolve around game-play, Aeon is a role-play server, and in this thread are personal reviews of the role-play aspects of this server as well as reviews of the staff who oversee said role-play, so I would have to disagree.  I would also disagree on the grounds that this thread was moved not minutes after a link to it was posted in the Aeon IRC.  It's almost as if they don't want to see this up on the actual server reviews page or something of the like.

So far in this thread, myself and several others have posted up our reviews of the attitudes of the staff, the quality of roleplay, and the social system in place as a modeled system, or rather, in review.  I fail to see how this thread belongs here when game-play reviews of game-play servers can have followup posts by other members of the server corroborating on facts said in the initial post can belong in the reviews section of this website.

What we have here is a thought-out review which has followup posts corroborating the statements in the initial post.  Note that each post merely tacks onto the points made on the previous posts rather than providing counter-point.  In order for this to be more of a discussion, one would hope to see a combination of viewpoints that clashed in some manner of back and forth, but seeing as most of these are one-time posts that enhance only the initial post, this would not be a discussion but rather a review from multiple sources.  The fact of this thread's removal from the official page of server reviews mere moments after those on said server with a poor review had chance to see it seems... fishy.  I should think I know fishy.. I'm a fishmonger.

Would you rather we make four separate threads with reviews that all say the same thing and clutter space in the reviews session, or is this really a lot more efficient?

[/two cents]

[Raven776]

Maybe it would be best to separate the posts into different threads. Two reviews appears to be defined as a discussion here, and that's nothing of mine to critique.

[Daegas]

Initially I was going to refrain from responding from this topic, but I think that there should be something said here.

I've been on Aeon for roughly 6 years and have recently left. So I know all of these people and their story with the server. Aeon does have it's legitimate issues, and most of them can simply be chalked up to a lack of efficient and productive communication between the playerbase and the staff. But I digress. This isn't exactly what I'm responding about.

Celeritus is a member who was banned from the server several years ago and has not been active in the server since that time. While she is still in contact with some who WERE, up until recently, still active on Aeon, and while most of the points she brought up are still relevant to issues going on with the server at the moment, she shouldn't be depended on to post regarding the server. In fact, I felt that her contributions, while she certainly has the right to make them, are less of a constructive reflection of the server and more of a veiled attack on a server where she still holds grudges and feels she was personally wronged. Her post did little to help the cause of the original topic and while she did not entirely misrepresent the server in her posts, there is no doubt in my mind that her response in particular is more spiked with facetious aggression than others' are. I feel that her intentions, while somewhat similar in nature, are much less 'innocent' and much more onesided than others that responded.

I also think that it's extraordinarily unfair of her to suggest that there was some behind the scenes involvement to keep this topic from being seen. A link to it is posted on Aeon's server review page, which has NOT been deleted, and DOES, in fact, redirect to the thread's new location in the server discussion. The forum moderators are just trying to keep discussion discussion and reviews reviews. Quite frankly, this thread does tread the line. It's discusses Aeon's problems more than its benefits. And it is (though I agree 100% with most of the things stated in posts prior, make no mistake) a biased review, because these are all discussion responses from users who were unhappy with the server and left. Sans Celeritus, who was, in fact, banned. And I'm sure that the RMS forum moderators had to deal with and bear witness to all kinds of drama between players and their server before. I doubt that they would pander to the wants of a single server owner so quickly, and moving a topic to somewhere else where it is just as accessible is hardly trying to silence an opinion.This is a forum where you can speak freely and Aeon's GMs have nothing to do with the moderation here, nor do they hold any power more than any other ordinary forumgoer would.

tl;dr, calm your tits and move the Hell on with your life, Celeritus. Because no one should care this much about the politics of an online game server that they haven't even been a part of for years. It shows a disappointing amount of petty immaturity that you would be so quick to suddenly show an interest just to kick the server while it's down, so to speak, and then boldy suggest that any action that seems to be against it is supposed to be some sort of cover-up.

[Celeritus]

I was in fact banned from this server, Rapps.  So were others who wrote in this thread.  The reason for my writing up a review on here is to shed a supporting light on many of the issues that were in fact brought up to begin with in the first post and to bring forth a context of time to the situation, to show that these issues are not new to the server and have been around for a while.  My intentions are to merely inform.  I brought up several of the things that the server has managed to do well, and I have brought up the things that it did well which it scrapped.  I also brought forth information on the shortcomings of members of the staff who are still there that are relevant to this thread's topic on the social caste system.

There are multiple reports from multiple people that corroborate these statements on these shortcomings and on the middle-school-esque politics that the server suffers from.  From the perspective of someone who has had to comfort members of this server reduced to tears by these antics, one cannot say that I have been fully removed from the situation.  This wouldn't be relevant if this server wasn't causing real damage to its members to the point of them seeking help from outside.  As hard as I try to get the hell away from this server and its shortcomings, it just seems I'm unable to get away from the crater around it.

My opinions were requested to be heard in this thread by the OP, and so I provided them.  If you wish to discredit my decisions and statements by my ban... then at the same time you must discredit those who made that action of banning based on their actions, statements, etc.  We shan't have a double standard, shall we?  And no, if I were truly obsessed with your server I would have done as previous members have, making trolling websites defaming members and so forth.  This is my first review of the server with any real thought and I provide it far after any anger over my ban could linger.  Had I written this a few years prior, you may have been right.  I have since gained perspective by going to different servers and running into my fair share of ordeals in beginning my own server.  I got a good view of what it is today and I do have to say that with the feeling of being utterly outcast dissipated into the wind, I was able to identify what has carried through from my day and what has changed.  Note that in my post I do go into what it is now versus what it was then.

I'm merely here to help a friend and provide my perspective on the things that have and haven't changed over time on the server, and show which of these issues are long-lasting and probably not going away any time soon as such.  I was asked to put in my two cents, since many things have not changed, and been given a full view of what the server is today, so I would say that this is entirely relevant as this gives you a perspective of time.  The fact that you discredit me by my status of "the banned" as per the initial post merely proves the OP's original statements.  Good job.  For those of you playing the home game, I was of the "Power gamers" turned "banned" castes, and Daegas here was of the "Chosen" turned RP GM.  In fact, of members of the server from my time and members today, they can still all be classified by this system.  This system has also led many who would call others great friends in one moment to turn their backs in a brief moment on them in order to conform to such a system.  Griever's statements tend to back this up with the way that peoples' actions would change even outside of Ragnarok-based interaction based on anything regarding the in-game system.

Regarding this thread being moved, I was merely wondering if in the moments after the thread being posted in Aeon's IRC, the outcry of butthurt from members was enough to possibly sway the movement of the thread through repeated IMs to RMS moderators.  I cannot be certain, but I did say that it seems fishy.  Prior to the point the thread did not differ in any way from the other review threads in the RMS Server reviews section.  The only thing that changed between when it was in the other section of the forums and now is that it was linked in AeonRO IRC.  I'm merely looking at a situation that changed, and looking for another variable that changed with it.  This seems the only one to do so, and so I merely wondered if P implied Q, as Q happened once P happened and no other variable changed.

Moving the thread here does in fact leave the original thread on the server reviews session, yes, but acts like a sage attempt on the initial thread since any activity will only update this thread and its status from recent posts here, effectively allowing it to die on the other part of the forums.  I cannot say for certain and I do not wish to implicate the RMS folks in anything foul, nor do I think they would be really at fault if they did move it to prevent some sort of potential drama from angry folks.  I was merely wondering aloud.

Now, seeing as this thread actually has some dissent and a back-and-forth going on, lo and behold it's looking more like a discussion.  Funny how that works, innit?  I suppose it cannot be helped.  Well played.  Now, regardless of whether whining got it here or not, it seems that I have sealed its fate by defending my name, or rather, issuing a message that the stigma attached to my name makes my statements no less true.

tl;dr version:
Daegas's post represents a fine playing out of the interaction between the Chosen/RP GM caste and the Banned, former Power Gamer caste.  It has been a long time since that ban and so my words are not filled with the hatred that Daegas feels they hold as I simply don't give a [expletive deleted].  This review was from having played on several servers since then and viewing Aeon as it is now and how it was then and comparing these things that never change in Aeon to the parallel aspects of other servers.  My review contained both positive and negative aspects of the experience one can have over there.  Lastly, by means of this back and forth, this thread is now properly a discussion, whereas before it was simply folks tacking on points to an existing review, seeing as we now have back-and-forth.

Sorry that my TL;DRs aren't done in a single sentence, but there was a fair bit to cover.

[Daegas]

-The only other person who was banned from Aeon was the OP. The others, including myself, left on their own will.
-I talked to the person who helped to write and edit the first post, and she felt like your input was unnecessary, too.
-The OP asked EVERYONE he could for their input on this topic. He even came to me about it, and I declined because I really didn't want to have anything to do with it at the time. I wanted to just quietly leave the server and be done with it. Seems that's not so much the case now.
-I was an RP GM at Aeon for all of a MONTH in early 2007 before willingly choosing to step down from the position on my own. Though I may have been one of the 'Chosen' at that time, I certainly wasn't one by the end my time at Aeon and by the writing of this post. I shifted from being all over the place and RPing with a variety of people from all different castes to not even being there at all. My characters weren't the central figureheads of plots. Ever. Even when, in the past, my character had some significance to the plot, Aeon proved that it could've progressed without them when I was absent. So it did. And I found other people to RP with.
-I don't discredit you because you were banned. If I were discrediting by bans (which would be stupid, because there were people on Aeon who were banned or silenced for the most stupid or paranoid or misguided of reasons), then I would be discrediting the OP, too. Did I? No. I made a specific case of pointing out you in particular. I discredit you because I know you as a person and what you're like and how you react to things like this. I discredit you because your ban wasn't without justice. And I know that because I talked to the people who were around you at the time the reason happened. I discredit you because I know that you act and speak emotionally, and that you will use emotional speech to get others to side with you. I discredit you because your original post did make a point of talking about 'problem members' twice when I know very well it was one person in particular you were talking about, and it was the person who initiated the calling-out that led to your ban in the first place. And I discredit you because, as I said, the Aeon you knew was one from several years ago. I had to have been a senior in high school at the time of your ban, and now I'm about to enter my senior year of college. That's at least 3-4 years difference. Even though, as I said, Aeon wasn't entirely misrepresented in your post, it still shows a different shade of Aeon that it is today. Even if you may have some understanding of what the server is like because you were in close contact with others who were still very active, what you hear from them is still not the same as being an active member of the server yourself.

And I'll be damned, it is a discussion now. Oh, well. Even though it's deviated from the original topic, which I do apologize to The BTG for, it's still as accessible now as it was then for anyone to read.

To toss me into the caste as one of the 'Chosen' is actually an insult and is just as wrong a way to discredit me as it would be for me to discredit you for being a banned member. I'm aware of Aeon's problems. I've talked to them at length with people. I left the server and decided that it isn't any fun being there anymore because of those problems. In fact, I'm in full agreement with most of what had to be said in this whole thread, even parts of your own post. The problems of Aeon RO arise largely from poor communication between players to GMs, and in some cases even GMs to GMs. It happened to me in my personal experience as a GM, it happened often to a friend who was an active GM for a while, and to my understanding after talking to one of the main GMs active on Aeon currently, it still happens where sometimes matters that need to be discussed just won't, for one reason or another, be brought to the table. People don't talk to one another. And this largely arises from the sense of 'why bother?' from either the GM or the player side. And when someone does talk, it's like pulling teeth to try and be listened to and taken seriously. So that even after some initiative is taken, there just comes a point of "this isn't working. I give up," and the cycle of apathy continues.

[Avalon]

Well, let's get this back on track as a proper review, shall we?

I first joined AeonRO in 2004 or so, I believe, at the behest of a handful of friends who'd been playing for some time before me. This was the first time I'd ever roleplayed, but I'd been wanting to play Ragnarok again and I was curious about the whole roleplaying thing. It was fun! Contrary to what a lot of people might say in this thread it was entertaining. This was the Lamborghini era, when Aeon's original founder was still around, and before a certain handful of other people grew into power. There wasn't as much of a caste system, the RP was good and varied, and took place everywhere from Payon to Aldebaran and spots in between. Seeing the server like this, it was no doubt why Aeon was the best of the best amongst the handful of RO RP servers. Sadly, this wasn't to last terribly long.

Shortly after I joined, perhaps within the first year or so, Lamborghini disappeared into obscurity--as far as I know, people still have no clue what actually happened to him. During this time, Laggy had been slowly getting more and more power, and eventually took over Lambo's spot as the server head. This would be the downfall of Aeon, and it has gotten worse and worse ever since the shift of administrators. Once this shift in power occurred, I pretty much have to concur with everything that's been said in this thread other than Daegas' trying to derail things.

The caste system was absolutely put into play, whether intentionally or otherwise, but Aeon has always played favorites. There's a certain other player beginning with the letter H who stands out in particular. This player was basically regarded as a GM himself, privy to insider information, constant favoritism, automatically approved errata character applications, and free to basically harass the lower rungs on the caste ladder. This player ruined the game experience for numerous players, going as far as to hunt their characters down ICly, harassing them on chat programs outside of the game itself, constantly attacking and belittling them on the server IRC channel, and even going so far as to join other servers' IRC channels to harass them further. Even when a group of players petitioned for the ban of this player, the petition went completely ignored--if it'd ever been read in the first place--and H was still given as much "respect" amongst the Chosen and other high castes as ever.

Sometime after the power shift I too was banned, with even people who were once friends refusing to stand up in my defense, thanks to ascending to the ranks of GM Staff themselves some time after my joining. For some reason, I rejoined the server some time later, though things were even worse. Despite my identity being left unknown to all but the staff--and again, H, being privy to all private staff matters despite being a supposedly regular player--RP was impossible to find. Even when a character approached one of the villains in an attempt to join his cause, she was run off and threatened with death for even bothering to speak with him. Another opportunity arose when hearing people discuss a treasure expedition in the pub, though again when my character spoke up, she was ignored by one and quickly hushed and disregarded as being too young by the other. Still another character joined the ranks of a supposedly important organization, but the other members never spoke with her, never passed on the organization's plans, and she was never made privy to any of the group's movements. During this time, I believe perhaps one person actually roleplayed with me, and that was an old friend who'd remained there after the original ban.

During this second time I have to say I saw a lot of what was mentioned in this thread. Violent RP was forbidden unless planned by the GMs specifically, and players kept themselves almost solely to Aeon's pub map which, according to rules, automatically confiscated all weaponry upon entering to avoid any combat from taking place. This "safe zone" was almost never left save for events, and when players did attempt to force their way past the invisible NPC bouncers to keep their weapons, they were slapped with warnings and in-game jail time by the GMs for rule breaking. My final ban came in an almost hilarious manner, during an IRC chat when a friend of mine spoke up about jokingly burning down the pub, to which I half-agreed by stating I had a character well suited to the task.
I was banned on the spot for something as laughable as "inciting chaos", thanks to being on the caste system's absolute bottom rung, while the player who'd actually stated they would burn the pub down was entirely ignored.

While the first ban had left me furious, this time I couldn't help but laugh at the ludicrousness of the entire situation. This was, of course, the last straw and I've been gone from the server ever since--this was perhaps in 2007, though I've heard it's gone even more downhill ever since, with the advent of these RP tokens and how players are required to actually earn them. It's sad to see Aeon slip from a once great RP server under Lamborghini's control to a complete caste-based mess under Laggy's power. Aeon is a perfect example of the oft-mentioned phrase, "absolute power corrupts absolutely."

[Mandy]

http://www.aeononline.org/newboard/index.php?/topic/940-the-anon-box/

*tips hat*

I don't intend to say much else. You're welcome to use it, if you like. The password is easily attainable by those with forum access, or knowing a player still within our community. You don't have to be a current member of the community to use it, though.

[Celeritus]

@Avalon's Post: This^

The context of time has shown that these problems are in fact recurring throughout the server's history under its current administration.  Whereas some problems may come down to a blip in time, these problems have been around for years now and ain't going anywhere.  BTG's Aeon was still Avalon's and my Aeon.  It may throw on different skins but all in all it will still be the same at the very core.