CL: "The Portal Issue"

Could someone please summarize the portal issue in a few brief sentences?

I confess that I've skimmed or skipped much of the conversation, which
seems to mostly revolve around pro-/anti- Klur/PM/PMF flame-fests and,
to be honest, isn't very interesting reading. ("No offense." ;)

I don't need paragraphs of "I've been playing for 5 yrs" and "I never
complain, so my POV is more valid" or any of that, I'd just like someone
who feels they have a good grasp of all angles of the issue to give
their best shot at a bulleted-list version of what they think the
various sides think, both pro & con, about the portals.

(If you want to stick a "personally, I think that..." section at the
end, that's ok, too. But please keep it separate from the "easy to read
managerial summary." I know that some of you think I should work harder
that this stuff, but the fact is, I'm not going to read any post longer
than 50 lines or any paragraph longer than 2 sentences on this issue,
cuz the bickering and rhetoric tire me, so everyone else can submit
their thoughts to the trusted person that you feel can best summarise
everyone's POV. If it makes you feel better, you can flame me for
slacking, but I doubt I'll read those, either, unless you're at least
half as good a flamer as Outcast was ;)

Thanks!

Helpful "damn, I miss The General...!" GM

--
You have to remove stuff from my e-mail to reply, it's not difficult.
Everything here is my personal opinion, do with it what you will.

"[T]he idea of a game with people nicer than in CL makes me wanna puke."
-Michael

In article <HelpfulGM-E702FE.18564420102003.RemoveThis@sea-read.news.verio.net>,
Helpful GM <HelpfulGM@*NO-SPAM*PlayNaked.com> wrote:

 > Could someone please summarize the portal issue in a few brief sentences?

I haven't been playing much lately, but here's the gist as I've been
able to understand. It may be a bit outdated.

Klur/PMF's point of view:
IC- The portals can't be trusted- they're probably provided by bad
people to encourage us to do bad things or be lazy or something like that
OOC- Portals let people do things easier, easier = bad for the game
Cynic's view- Portals will allow other exiles to do things easier and
this makes it easier to accomplish things. They prefer it be harder to
accomplish things so they don't have competition for spots like the
pitch den

Portal for convenience users point of view:
IC- The portals are a gift from the gods and should be used for the
betterment of Puddleby. As long as people are cooperative about the use
of them, there's no reason not to use them effectively
OOC- There are many things in the game which require too large a time
commitment for many to enjoy properly. The portals allow users of them
to short circuit the limits placed on certain areas which makes trips
shorter and more efficient, giving even those with limited clanning time
a chance at things
Cynic's view- People just want things to be easier and faster- the
portals circumvent the typical limits that are designed into certain
areas

Keep the portal in the cloud point of view:
IC- The cloud is cool, getting access is a pain. Dragging the portal to
far off places benefits the higher level folk at the expense of folks
who would rather hunt in the cloud
OOC- It's one thing to borrow the portals for special occasions if you
arrange for special access to the cloud, but don't just drag it off with
no notice
Cynic's view- The portals are a very powerful device and to limit their
use to the cloud is not using them to their full potential, but folks
who want to leave them in the cloud probably wouldn't make much use of
the portals elsewhere

My personal view:
IC- Portals are a gift from the gods, use them wisely and
cooperatively, but use them for the betterment of Puddleby. Better
access to exploring and hunting is good for Puddleby.
OOC- The GMs created the portals, I think it's silly to say that we
shouldn't use the technology effectively and plain rude to interfere in
the use of the portals when people have made their best effort to give
notice and alternatives. Saying that somehow teleport stones are
acceptable and portals are is just hypocrisy
Cynic's view- I don't play barely at all anymore, so perhaps I should
leave the arguing to those who do :)

-SWC Kiriel D'Sol

-- Ye have enemies? Good, good- that means ye've stood up for
something, sometime in thy life.... -Elminster of Shadowdale<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->