The Ankhet Gazette
Issue #28: 5 Epeiph 2756
Thursday, February 07, 2008

Fostering Discussions – Fostering Attacks

~dove~

Many Ankhet members pride themselves on the ability to have a real discussion. Others seem to glorify in their ability to raise anger, resentment, and ire. Some disciples speak with mocking tones and derisive questions. Some simply threadjack and verbally attack the disciples in the thread. Then, there is a group that uses their abilities to speak for them. Yet in all this, it seems that we must find a way to have actual discussions, or we will be stuck with constant cycles of speak and attack that do good for no one.

In the Fostering Discussion Thread (Fostering Discussion: Post #1), Silhouette (Shadows) opened up a dialogue with Nefertiti (N: Light) to discuss issues that had been unresolved in previous threads stating that she only wanted "to have a conversation about truth, honesty, accuracy, accountability, etc." Nefertiti agreed to participate in this discussion. However, she limited her participation by stating that she would only respond to Silhouette and none of the others that entered the thread. Silhouette endorsed this stance, but she said she would take comments from others while focusing on Nefertiti.

The discussion quickly moved from what constituted the discussion and the mass tutor of Andreus and mass tutors in general to Nefertiti's use of abilities to make her arguments for her. According to Silhouette, she had lied often and then used abilities to back other disciples off. Nefertiti argued that her use of paradox was a good way of letting things cool down because it didn't affect anyone's stats. Throughout all of this, there was a great deal of discussion about discussion, and they moved back to mass/Andres' tutoring. At one point, Nefertiti pointed out that: "This is not a courtroom. This is supposed to be a discussion. After all, the title of this thread is "Fostering Discussion."

It is questionable exactly what happened in the fostering discussions thread. Silhouette often corrected Nefertiti by demanding more "specificity" and less "sloppiness" in arguments. Nefertiti tried to explain her actions and why they differed from past opinions. After all, is she not welcome to grow and change? Or is Silhouette not welcome to find some way to improve discussion in Ankhet? Perhaps the next "Discussion" thread might be about how Ankhet should have them, what "evidence" is acceptable, and what tone is best.

Limits Shmimits? Or Boundry Woundries?

Ma'at's Disciple, Fer Ynuph

Recently our fair community was encouraged to revisit the question of "mass Tutors". We, your dedicated journalistic types, decided to bring the issue to you from within these pages in hope of elevating the issues above the realm of personalities. Because we want you to feel like you got your money's worth, we have additional related questions of our own for your consideration. Please take advantage of Decree in order to post comments in response to this article. That way, your thoughtful efforts will benefit you, as well as the community as a whole.

Should there be Tutoring limits?

Pro:
Yes, there should be limits, especially for new players. There is valuable learning involved in leveling up under one's own steam. It's important for new disciples to have ample opportunities to build a good Enigma database and to develop the patience and endurance required by other aspects of the game. Disciples who are fed too much, too soon, will be weak.

Con:
It's impossible to legislate a policy to fit all cases, so this is better visited case-by-case. Creating an official policy creates more administrative work. It would remove valuable opportunities for disciples to consider each situation as it arises and to participate in resolving it, thus building important community skills. Newbies who partner with other disciples can gain access to a robust database and inventory items that make leveling nearly effortless. The physical mechanics of leveling are not enlightening, in and of themselves.

Related Considerations:
-- If limits are created, what should they be? How can they be defined? Is there any difference between what constitutes a mass Tutor at level 10 versus at level 45?

-- How will these limits be enforced and by whom?

-- Is it ok to mass Tutor in order to build Dominion Favour?

-- Is it ok to mass Tutor disciples who have already climbed high enough to Attune their Ka at least once under (mostly) their own steam?

-- Is it a mass Tutor if it is replacing Favour lost?

-- What constitutes a newbie?

-- Are disciples "damaged" by receiving mass Tutors? If so, how?

-- What do you think of how this subject was brought up in the game (Nefertiti's claim that she mass Tutored Andreus in order to provoke a reaction and, therefore, bring the topic up within a live context)?

-- Should there be limits placed upon other types of aid, like Bequeath, Cure, Sacrifice, etc?

The Poll

HOW MANY OF THE 'MILLION FAVOUR ITEMS' HAVE YOU GOT FROM SATET IN THE EASTERN DESERT?

[ONE] --5

[TWO] --2

[THREE]--1

[FOUR] --9

[NONE] --3

[BAZAAR? SATET? HUH?]--1

Anoints

Bottom-Heavy Dead Fruit is Anointed Bottom-Heavy Grapefruit
Commodore James Norrington is Anointed Mister Brightside
Captain Jack Sparrow is Anointed Mind Maelstrom
Beatofficer is Anointed Beat Officer
Tacky Outfit is Anointed Beatofficer
20 Payni is Anointed Commodore James Norrington
toasty muffin is Anointed bloody muffin
dirty muffin is Anointed toasty muffin
default is Anointed 20 Payni
Peaches Honeybutt is Anointed Tacky Outfit
Obsidian Blackbird Mcknight is Anointed Obsidian Blackbird McNight
Will is Anointed Obsidian Blackbird Mcknight
Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism is Anointed Djeserit
Olufemi is Anointed Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism
bloody muffin is Anointed dirty muffin
Spelling Bee is Anointed Peaches Honeybutt
sparkly muffin is Anointed bloody muffin
smarty muffin is Anointed sparkly muffin
stabby muffin is Anointed smarty muffin
gothy muffin is Anointed stabby muffin
pooky muffin is Anointed gothy muffin
Priapism is Anointed Spelling Bee
Renob is Anointed pooky muffin
Spam Witch is Anointed Priapism
Sherlock is Anointed Bottom-Heavy Dead Fruit
Bottom-Heavy Grapefruit is Anointed Sherlock
Insidious Grapefruit is Anointed Bottom-Heavy Grapefruit
paulisall is Anointed allispaul
allispaul is Anointed paulisall

Menefer Ammon

Dominion: Shadows
Level: 85
Current Nomarch: Baltar
Created on: 21 Mecheir 2755
Previous Nomarchs: Aer Capello(Mikolaj), RandomEmoticon, Silhouette(Nefret), Arthur

Menefer Ammon, a member of Shadows, kindly agreed to answer the following questions:

1. Why did you join Shadows?
They asked me (= It's where the majority of my Ankhet friends were, they had given me help and taught me a lot, I enjoy chatting with them, they had a killer enigma list (; I enjoy their company, I enjoy their philosphy, and dude, Shadows has the sexiest men in the game!

2. What do you think makes Shadows unique from the rest of the dominions?
Shadows has no set requirements for its members. In fact, we've even got very few suggestions. We consider it common courtesy to give a heads up/explanation if a member plans on doing something that's probably going to result in the rest of us being slaughtered, but we understand that we're all individuals. We don't always agree with each other, hell we don't always even like each other. We do, however, always respect each other. That's what ties us together.

3. What do you think is the philosophy of Shadows, if any?
Live and let live. If you can't live and let live, kill mercilessly (; Seriously, though, I think our philosophy is similar to what makes us unique. We're diverse and we embrace that. We've got a lot of really intelligent disciples and we enjoy challenging each other.

Next issue, we'll be interviewing a member of one relatively newer dominions, stay tuned!

Top of the Game

Here are the current Ankhets: (Bold indicates a change from the previous issue)

Ahmose:Nefertiti (84, N: Light)
Amin-Ra:pakhet (90, N: Monolith)
Ammut:Miraj Adham Fathi (26)
Anubis:Bottom-Heavy Grapefruit (61)
Apophis:Dijital (90)
Atum-Ra:Mikolaj (100, Shadows)
Bast:Thanatos (71, Monolith)
Hathor:Menthu Ate My Baby (81, The Black Pearl)
Menthu:Kalshinra (52)
Sekhmet:I would like to contribute (85, N: Macrocosm)
Selket:akhenuraeus (85)
Thoth:Iboni (75, The Black Pearl)
Dominion:Shadows (85)

From the Editor’s Desk

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