The Community Is Hurting

[Yoshua]

Themetricsystem wrote:

Removed quote but want you to know who I am responding to.

Well, maybe. but the fact that enough of the allegations have been given credence by either their unexplained actions (read: single rooms at conventions) or through personal statements (Read: Buhlman and Mona brave enough to acknowledge faults and show progress) then I would say that they have plenty of credence.

And asking for forward progress is perfectly acceptable.

Grounds in reality just means you and I see what the company and its executives have clearly stated as very different realities.

[Steve Geddes]

One good reason to believe the allegation of the transphobia Crystal experienced is that Paizo didn’t deny it. Would have been easy if it never happened.

Instead they very rapidly implemented a policy that ensured that specific incident couldn’t recur. Hardly commensurate with the claim having no basis in reality.

[Scott Young]

Themetricsystem wrote:

...<redacted to avoid repeating something untrue>...

Excellent, this has been solved! Please present the evidence you have uncovered that clears up this issue. Gotta say, usually I don't trust an anonymous account over a bunch of people that I've gamed with in person, but something about your confidence just convinces me.

[Steve Geddes]

It doesn’t address the problem.

I’m not one of the people who needs to be satisfied, I can’t experience transphobia.

[Yoshua]

People in the community need more than a solution. They need recognition. I am a CIS dude and can't speak for them, but I am a trans dad and my kid has educated me on what they feel and have learned.

No. just implementing a solution isn't enough. Acknowledgement as to why the solution was needed makes the difference when it comes to acknowledging that there was a problem targeted at the community and now there is a solution targeted for the community.

This solution they are proposing could be because someone had bad body odor and complained about it. This solution they are proposing could be because someone was completely over stepping their comfort zone and complained about it.

The solution, while hints that it was done because of the very visible complaint, does not explicitly say it is a solution aimed at inclusion. Otherwise, the solution very well could have been 'People can choose who they bunk with' But that in itself will have problems too.

I agree with the solution, one person one room and everyone is allowed to go if there is a need for them to be there. That is a SOLID SOLUTION to this problem. But they haven't acknowledged the problem exists. That creates a whole new problem about visibility and shows that holistically the company has not made as much progress as they think they have when it comes to inclusivity.

[Yoshua]

And, for a lot of companies, I would agree with that. For a company that creates pride pins and makes a huge statement about how inclusive they are? For me and for a lot of people? It's not enough.

Everyone has the right to their own views on the situation and a lot of people patron Paizo for different reasons. I went all in on 2e because of their opening statement on inclusivity and I wanted to introduce my kids, who are in the community, to a safe and inclusive game. At the time DnD was having a metric ton of issues around exclusionary practices. I went full in on 2e Pathfinder explicitly because it was inclusive.

Thank you for hearing me, it is appreciated. I wish Paizo would hear the community.

[keftiu]

To lean on queer people so much in your lore and branding on queer inclusivity and then not treating real queer people right feels like a betrayal. I can’t be detached and analytical about that.

[Kobold Catgirl]

Anyways, back on topic, I hope that we hear from Paizo about this soon. I'd like to think the delay is a result of healthy dialogues between staff and management, but in the meantime, we're a little in the dark about things.

It's also difficult when, due to the abrupt nature of Sara Marie's firing, we're forced to have these discussions in heavily unmoderated threads. I don't blame the moderators for this, and I've appreciated how active they've been, in fact, considering the circumstances.

[Steve Geddes]

I dont know if [e-mail] is still being monitored.

But that was always a good avenue for escalating forum issues without publicly responding - in those instances where you feel the flag system is insufficient.

[Tonya Woldridge]

Steve Geddes wrote:

I dont know if [e-mail] is still being monitored.

But that was always a good avenue for escalating forum issues without publicly responding - in those instances where you feel the flag system is insufficient.

It is still being monitored, it goes to the same ticket system as the CS email, just a different category.

[Anorak]

Tonya Woldridge wrote:

Steve Geddes wrote:

I dont know if [e-mail] is still being monitored.

But that was always a good avenue for escalating forum issues without publicly responding - in those instances where you feel the flag system is insufficient.

It is still being monitored, it goes to the same ticket system as the CS email, just a different category.

Tonya, not sure if this doable or not but can there be a Weekly or Monthly State of The Community blog setup that covers hot community topics, community problems, needs, etc?

[Tonya Woldridge]

Anorak wrote:

Tonya Woldridge wrote:

Steve Geddes wrote:

I dont know if [e-mail] is still being monitored.

But that was always a good avenue for escalating forum issues without publicly responding - in those instances where you feel the flag system is insufficient.

It is still being monitored, it goes to the same ticket system as the CS email, just a different category.

Tonya, not sure if this doable or not but can there be a Weekly or Monthly State of The Community blog setup that covers hot community topics, community problems, needs, etc?

I'll take this suggestion to the team!

[Tonya Woldridge]

Removed some posts that were arguing just to argue. Apologies to those that got scooped due to quotes. Trying to keep the conversation focused and civil.

[Steve Geddes]

Tonya Woldridge wrote:

Steve Geddes wrote:

I dont know if [e-mail] is still being monitored.

But that was always a good avenue for escalating forum issues without publicly responding - in those instances where you feel the flag system is insufficient.

It is still being monitored, it goes to the same ticket system as the CS email, just a different category.

Thanks Tonya

Does that mean it gets reviewed by the CS people? May I ask if it's always the same person or depending on a roster?

[Brent Bowser]

Checking in. Has there been a statement yet?

[Berhagen]

About a dozen? At least two formal ones, and a few from individuals. Whether you think it is sufficient is of course something you have to decide for yourself.

[Kobold Catgirl]

No follow-up from the previous official statement--meaning, no response on the transphobia allegations. On the OP's concerns? Yes, Tonya has been posting fairly actively in this thread.

[Tonya Woldridge]

Steve Geddes wrote:

Tonya Woldridge wrote:

Steve Geddes wrote:

I dont know if [e-mail] is still being monitored.

But that was always a good avenue for escalating forum issues without publicly responding - in those instances where you feel the flag system is insufficient.

It is still being monitored, it goes to the same ticket system as the CS email, just a different category.

Thanks Tonya

Does that mean it gets reviewed by the CS people? May I ask if it's always the same person or depending on a roster?

Its a bit of both. Some things, like charity donations, wind up in my bucket. If it is a heads up on flags or problematic forum bits, it is who sees it first and can dive in.

[Tonya Woldridge]

Kobold Cleaver wrote:

Happy upcoming anniversary! You're getting lots of difficult questions, so here's hopefully a less high-stakes one to balance things out a bit: which was your favorite to run of the RotRL installments?

I realized I had missed some of the questions, so catching up. Didn't mean to skip them :)

My favorite was book 1. The group I ran for was very civic-minded, so we added lots of extras into the story around Sandpoint. They spent time establishing ties, which led to establishing why they would defend the community. They built so many relationships that they funded a worship site/community center/outreach center/base of operations in the town. It led to some fantastic roleplay and made the rest of the AP feel more involved. Especially when their actions in book 1 led to a rematch in book 2. I love it when I can get the story to interconnect and resonate through multiple books.

[Tonya Woldridge]

Cori Marie wrote:

Are you playing any ongoing campaigns right now?

Another question that got lost and not answered. Sorry for the delay!

Just spinning up into a Kingmaker campaign (going to play it using first edition rules, as that is what everyone in the group is familiar with.) It's got some people I gamed with in the early 2000s as well as some of the current crew. Looking forward to it, as I get to play! Grabbing a bard with the archivist archetype. Should be fun!

[Aaron Shanks]

Paizo is having internal discussions, meetings and action reports. The company is working on the things they said they would do in the last statement. I have no timeline for additional official statements, but "There will be more messages, and more concrete actions, to come."

[TriOmegaZero]

Thanks for the update Aaron.

[Kobold Catgirl]

Honestly, I really appreciate the simple "yeah, we're still working on it" messages. I know how stressful it must be to feel like the clock is ticking, but I think the majority of us who can do so are waiting patiently.