massimilianogoi on 12/12/2009 at 18:51

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nope nope nope nope! They banned me just for having talked about Thief. :mad:

Freenode and stop!

fett on 13/12/2009 at 05:51

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I think it's just that some of us old farts tend to be old farts. :)

On the one hand, it's great to see a whole new group of people discovering Thief, especially those of you re-playing the originals after being introduced to Thief via TDS. On the other hand, you have to remember that the reason most of us old farts hang out in Commchat and #thief isn't really because of the game anymore. It's what brought us to ttlg, but look, some of us have been here for 10 years. I'm sure you can understand that most of us have talked about everything Thief that there is possible to talk about, except Thief IV. But over the course of those years, we've seen each other graduate college, get married, have families, and some of us have even died. Because of those shared experiences, our relationships go far beyond Thief. Some people from the early days of ttlg are even married to each other now, and travelling half-way cross the world to meet each other and be in each other's weddings, etc. We keep in touch with each other outside of ttlg - by e-mail, IM, or Facebook.

All that to say, what most of the newer folks probably perceive as mockery is well-intended - I think most of the old timers are glad that the Thief thing is still happening, that people are still excited about it and want to discuss it. But frankly, it takes something really really huge to draw most back to ThiefGen. When a new member busts in to Commchat or #Thief asking questions that we've answered a million times, or wanting to start conversations that we've had a million times, it's hard not to be bored. Unfortunately, the internet in general isn't very polite. I think you will find however that at ttlg, the mocking is done in a more light-hearted, joking manner, rather than in hostility (except for Zylon Bane - he's just hostile). But even with Zylon, you've got to realize, he's been in and out of these games for years. Hell, I spent 5+ years working on T2X - I got REALLY burnt out with Thief for a long time, but I still have good friends here. We hang in Commchat so the newer folks can go on about their business here in ThiefGen, get excited, and have those conversations we had 8 years ago. The mistake most new members make is thrusting Thief references and jokes on Commchat in attempts to be clever and "fit in" and it just comes off as lame or old hat.

I hope I'm explaining that well enough. It's not really mockery - more like, "Ah...kids these days..." I've been guilty of poking at new members myself, and I apologize if I've ever offended anyone here. I'm totally jazzed that people are still making FM's like crazy, checking walkthroughs, and discussing the deeper doctrines of Hammerite theology. It's fun to watch, but most of the time, I'll be sitting over here in the rocker on the porch, smoking my pipe, and complaining to another old timer about how you kids don't play proper Lytha style these days. I'm old, cranky, and I've earned it. :)

massimilianogoi on 13/12/2009 at 06:31

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@ fett: if you ever banned someone there for just having told "Vigilance is our shield that protects us from our squalid past" then you are culprit too. If isn't then the culprit are the operators of that starchat channel. Anyway, I see that (http://thief.wikia.com/wiki/Thief:_The_Dark_Wiki) the wikia has set as defaul our new channel, so all's fine now.

@ jtr7: I noticed that you escape anytime we are alone there, after that Facebook digression... what's happening? I'm ready for PM, just in case.

fett on 13/12/2009 at 07:20

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@mass - I've never banned anyone from anywhere except the T2X forums when it was first released. When I was a mod in the chatroom, it was the early days of T2 and there was a lot of conversation about the game. That isn't the case now - even the most recent game is over 4 years old. So I can imagine that if someone comes in that room speaking "Hammerite" and quoting Thief a lot, it's going to seem pretty irritating to the people who call it home.

My advice to anyone looking to expand their relationships at ttlg and #thief: realize that because Thief and SS are fairly sophisticated and intelligent games, they tend to attract intelligent, interesting people. Consider getting to know those people beyond they scope of those games, because chances are, you have a lot in common with them. What about their worldview, music and art tastes, backgrounds, etc.? That's the mentality you need to adopt if you want to enjoy those other areas and "fit in." People are usually advised to lurk for a while in both, note the conversations, relationships, jokes, etc. before you weigh in - just like when you're around new people in real life.

jtr7 on 15/12/2009 at 04:15

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Yeah, and when I see people have a personality that seeks to cut people down as a primary form of entertainment without restraint, I won't adapt to and join in with that, though I may step in from another angle with a reminder that there are different ways of looking at things and different life priorities. Most of what's been discussed in the new chat room has not been Thief, but a meeting of proud taffers who aren't ashamed or haven't grown past Thief, discussing life. A clique of people with Thief in common, discussing the rest of our lives, but not forgetting how important Thief and the forums are in all of that.