unforum

[Phaedra]

Sure, PMs' friends appear regularly to shill in small games. But I think this is the first time it's happened in a large corporate-scale game, and certainly the first time I'm aware of that something as potentially high-stakes as sexually-oriented material from players has been involved.

You don't see a difference between having your friend post here and say your game is cool and telling a player you'll give her puzzle solves in exchange for nude pics?

One is just sort of dumb and pathetic, and the other is potentially, depending on the circumstances, sexual harassment.

I believe this is the first time we've had even allegations of a PM sexually harassing a player, no? I don't really think they're equal in either degree or nature.

"Death of ARGs?" Probably not. But not the same-old, same-old, either.

[rose]

I haven't followed the LG15 boards and I find them hard to follow now because I don't know the players. It seems there was a group of players who segregated themselves from other players. I can't tell if these are the people other players are claiming that the PM gave hints/clues. I can't tell what happened or when it happened or much of anything that doesn't sound like accusations and rumors.

I don't think anyone should give private conversations to anyone else, but if there were comments regarding the game, maybe they were relevant to the PM? I also don't see how discussing private conversations on their public board is a good option vis-a-vis protecting privacy. I can't even tell what some people are upset about, except I understand they feel betrayed. So I can't figure it out. I'm not that interested in scandal and rumor so I plan on giving this a while to see what happens.

[jamesi]

FWIW, there's been no story on ARGNet about this as of yet because I haven't had the chance to formally accept an article. There has been a draft written, and the direction of an article regarding this matter has been under heavy discussion in the last 24 hours. It isn't that we don't want to report on the "bad things" that happen in ARG, but at the same time, we don't want to jump to conclusions within the scope of journalistic articles.

[Rekidk]

Um, ew. Bribing young women with answers to a game? For nude photographs? That's disgusting.

However, as some have said, it has not been proven. (It has, however, been proven that this guy is no longer developing OpAphid, lending some credibility to the rumors.) Innocent until proven guilty, indeed--but this guy's really teetering on the brink, IMO.

That said, ARGNet must be careful with what it decides to write. It, as a high-quality ARG news organization, wants to report the controversial news; but its method of delivery should (in itself) not be controversial. Therefore, the facts (basically, what has been stated by the creators of LG15) should be stated as such (Glenn is no longer running OpAphid); and opinions or unproven ideas (Glenn accepted nude photos of women in exchange for puzzle solves) should be labeled as such.

Thus, something along these lines... "Some players of the OpAphid ARG believe that Glenn, the PM of the game, has accepted nude photos of players in exchange for puzzle solves; others are coming forward with their own opinions and stories. However, at this point this has not been proven to be fact, and as such it should be taken with a large helping of salt."

I don't know anything about journalism, but I imagine that there is an appropriate way to handle the situation with integrity. One must always be sure to make it possible to write a new article, proclaiming innocence on Glenn's part, in case such a thing would be proven. Of course, this is tough to do without seeming biased one way or the other.

It's a really tough call on ARGNet's part. I'm glad I don't have to make it, and I pity those that do.

/myopinion

I do not claim to have any extensive knowledge in any of the above areas and am simply stating my opinion based on the limited knowledge available to me.

[SpaceBass]

Two points: this is not the first time there have been allegations of a form of sexual conduct or harassment in connection with or relation to a game; and if you think you have any expectation of privacy on the internet when you don't encrypt your connection, you're crazy. Even then, Anthrax still reads everything you say.

I'm with Rose on this. This is not new, it's not huge, it's not substantiated, and it really doesn't matter to the ARG community unless we decide to let it.

On preview: Technically it is not proven that Glenn is no longer running OpAphid either. This is my point: you cannot rely on a single-source posting, of which you have no ability to verify integrity, to claim "fact." It seems likely to be true, yes, but it is not "fact." Independent verification of claims is required. Blind repetition of unsupported allegations is disappointing.

[konamouse]

It's not a scandal, it's a matter of TRUST

[Phaedra]

It's also a matter, here, of that third side of the triangle: player to player trust.

I think back to one example in particular that was used in the keynote: the ILB puzzle/communications exercise in which a player in Seattle received a code word from Melissa on the phone and had to communicate it to a group of people online who communicated it to another team on the ground in Washington DC within thirty seconds.

It wasn't mentioned, because the subject was the trust between players and PMs, but that's not possible when the players don't trust each other enough to give out their phone numbers, etc.

And that's something else that gets eroded when the player base believes that some players are unfairly getting privileged information, passing on private conversations, etc.

[rose]

trying to figure out the LG15 forums

[konamouse]

[Phaedra]

Re: trying to figure out the LG15 forums

[rose]

I'm sure the game is coming back as the announcement from the LonelyGirl creators says quite clearly. They are looking to hire another PM. (anyone looking for a job? )

I'm fairly sure that the Op!Aphid PM is still part of the LG15 team. Presumably he would be able to help get the game up to speed quickly. I'm curious to see what new direction the game may go in with a different creative focus. I think the addition of an ARG (and there has been more than one) to LG15 has been a great move for them and for ARGs. Good luck to them!

[krystyn]

Digging the meta has been a huge draw for many of the lonelygirl fans from the beginning.

Not all games are played the same.

[chixor1]

Hey all, sory ive been MIA lately, I guess ive been sucked up in all of the drama this week and have neglected my UF friends...

This OpAphid thing has been a sore point for me for a long time, in the beginning they were doing things i disagreed with, from having players keep solves to themselves, to the characters messaging players, making derogatory statements to them about other players and questioning their sexuality, which i felt was very inappropriate.

I tried to play it in the beginning but these issues, along with the fact that Glenn made himself known as the PM made it extremely difficult to enjoy.

I do think the main issue in all of this gossip/drama/scandal whatever, is the issue of trusting your PM.
Im not going to re-hash most of what I said over on the LG15 forums because i think many of you share the same opinion, i just really think that its a shame something like this happened.

It brings a negative light to the ARG community that ive become very fond of.
However i do think that a lot of the drama caused has been created by the players. Sadly although the LG15/OpAphid thing opened up the ARG world to people who had never experienced it before, the people who were then used as moderators for the forums or for the chat were also new to the "game" and werent prepared for the goings on and didnt handle it very well.

Am I rambling yet? I get distracted by shiny things.

I just hope that as a community we can recover from this, and from my participation in the discussion on their forums, i can at least point them in the right direction, if not help them learn from this so that its handled better int he future.

Of course none of my knowledge wouldnt have been possible had it not been for UF so I thank you all for welcoming me into the fold and for teaching me how to play the game.

[imbri]

[ariock]

Re: trying to figure out the LG15 forums