I respectfully disagree on this point. None of the messages you posted mention your name or refer to you directly. It is clear and obvious to me that we were referring to Merlin...whom we referred to by name, and who is not you. And again, I assert my right to call Merlin a Machiavellian bastard if I want to, even if he doesn't deserve it. Especially if he doesn't deserve it. I can't believe you are seriously complaining about in-character whisper campaigns, when nobles can literally kill their peers.
Most of these messages don't refer to Merlin by name. That is exactly WHY it isn't clear and obvious. Case and point: Jason Elegant's messages. He refers to me as "He who cannot be named." Not only is there zero chance that any character has knowledge of real life Harry Potter in this game, but by using such language it is very easy to see it as not discussing Merlin, and instead Merlin's player. Why? Because, there is zero differentiation given in the entire set.
In addition, he goes and gives a freaking Disclaimer.
If you need a disclaimer in your letters to try and make them less offensive or reportable that is a problem. apologize to me for dragging me in front of the Magistrates for no reason.
I don't think anyone should ever have to apologize for bringing a Magistrate case when it is intended to protect the Social Contract or the players in this game. I certainly won't be apologizing for that.
If I was even possibly breaking the rules I'd expect someone to make a case against me, so that I could see the problem and correct myself if I was doing something wrong. If the problem is that the case is public, that isn't by my doing, so don't blame that on me.
No it's not. And that's because I don't care one bit about Merlin's feelings regarding my OOC messages, because he's not real.
ICly, nobles are going to gossip and say bad stuff about their peers, probably behind their back but sometimes to their face. To suggest that this is a Social Contract issue is absurd.
OOCly, players are going to gossip and say bad stuff about other players' nobles, probably behind their back but sometimes to that player's face. You are free to feel insulted about this, but I dispute the notion that this is somehow an unfair tactic used to "win" BattleMaster. Please demonstrate how players OOCly saying bad things about your nobles impacts anything in-game.
It is a well known fact that players find it very difficult to separate IC and OOC information that they hear about in-game. That is why it is good not to talk about OOC secrets with players who shouldn't know about them IC. Doing so just makes it more likely that they'll accidentally use this information or it will subconsciously change their decision making.
Perhaps the players in CE were going to have their characters support Merlin as Merlin was making a lot of good logical points. But then, they read OOC'ly that Merlin is a manipulative bastard, evil, and can't be trusted. They have nothing to back this up from IC correspondence, but a few players that they respect a lot (namely all the leaders in the league) are saying this as FACT within the league as an OOC statement. Well, they then decide hey, maybe my character shouldn't trust Merlin. So, Merlin gets further alienated because of constant damning OOC remarks or jabs at him, his realm, or his actions.
That is how OOC information can have a bad effect in-game.
