t’s strangely engrossing, like if askhistorians published a tabloid magazine lol

You nailed it. This is 100% the energy.

The world of competitive chess seems absolutely wild.

I got you.

Thank you very much!

Explain like I’m five?

I’ll start us off!

In the MUDding world, specifically the Iron Realms brand of MUD, two games (Imperian, Starmourn) have been put into “legacy mode” by the company, which means that a lot of the more useful, grabby, and/or addictive features typically found in IRE games will be unsupported going forward, as well as disabling the ability for characters to retire INTO Starmourn or Imperian, while retiring OUT of them is still doable. Everyone’s expecting mass exodus. Vitally, entering legacy mode means that the administration of these games will no longer be paid by IRE, so if they intend to stay and keep the games going they’ll be doing so out of the goodness of their hearts - it can’t be their job anymore, so their time will by necessity be focused elsewhere, at least a fair amount of the time.

Starmourn’s population in particular is panicky, as it’s very new in comparison to other IRE games and has a dedicated playerbase. Among other things like the literal end of the world looming on the Starmourn horizon, rumors abound that entering legacy mode will mean Starmourn, which already has a problem with over-indulgence in PK, to become fully “open PK,” because if the administration isn’t present then there will be no one to enforce the rules. The administration has countered this claim, but the panic continues.

Meanwhile, on more popular IRE games with ostensibly less tOxIc playerbases, people are dreading an influx of undesirables from Imperian. I guess people don’t like those guys.

This is a weird hobby.

Yeah, no. Phones on students are vital, particularly the United States, where a shooter might just mosey on in any time and open fire. Phones play a huge role in active shooter situations, which unfortunately show no sign of slowing down.

It’s all so, so petty. I love it.

I somehow missed this one! I remember there being a ton of drama surrounding the wedding pack back when it came out, but it was more surrounding the bugs and some features not being fulfilled, fulfilled poorly, or the overall angst that surrounds basic game content that probably ought to just be included in the game you boughtinstead getting segmented off into multiple pricey packs or expansions for additional purchases.

This one is downright nutty. I really can’t even imagine what they were thinking.