[Event] The Day The Network Stood Still

[trpmememods]

The Day The Network Stood Still

The datapoints are a great equalizer, bringing all who come to them the same level of knowledge with the systems they are associated with. Or that's how they're theoretically supposed to work. Truth of the matter is that coming in with some level of competence and understanding can go quite far, and being completely oblivious can have its own repercussions.

Especially when one learns something is theoretically possible and wishes to understand the how of it. Usually such explorations of an apprentice in a skill tended to be better guided by a master to avoid disasters. Well, perhaps disaster is too big of a word to cover what happens from the exploration of the communications systems by Dedicate Initiate Lark.

All it take is looking into a hidden directory here, accidentally deleting some data there, a frantic bit of trying to fix the system from memory, and a true lack of knowledge of Ctrl+Z as a lifesaver. And just like that the communication system's user database was horribly tangled, posting was down, and poor Lark was none the wiser of the chaos she had inflicted.

And so it happened that there came a Day The Network Stood Still.

Well not fully still, but it's sure being difficult. The posting process for public messages is glitching out, video and audio and even text posts bouncing back with a 'System Error: Please Try Again Later' message. Over, and over, and over for hours. Good news? The direct message function still works properly right? Right?

Wrong. Any message sent directly to another He Row will find itself caught up in the error and delivered. But never to the right person. The good news is that once a conversation chain starts, at least the system is sending back and forth reliably. People will just have to live with their mis-sent texts getting out there to other people. Who knows, maybe it will be good for some laughs.


FAQ

When does this event take place?

This event covers one day and one day only. It starts at 5 AM Temba Standard Time, Tuesday April 12th and continues for 24 hours. We are posting it early, but it technically only takes place in that 24 hour window. Joining in late is allowed, don't think you missed the event just because you missed the specific in game day.

Can my character make a public post during this event?

No matter who your character is, what their powers are, or even what datapoint they took, there will be no ability to make public posts in any form on this day. It will also not be possible to send a direct message that actually reaches its intended target. Any message sent will get to a another He Row it was not meant for.

So what do we do?

If you want your character to receive a misfired message, post a new reply to this with the character's name as the Subject Line. If you have any rules about the sort of thing you'd prefer to avoid, please leave it in the body of the comment. Then wait for the messages to come in. We ask that you Do Not post your own initial comments there. This isn't Texts From Last Night. Think of it more as your character is reaching out to someone they're prone to messaging, and it just doesn't end up where they want it to go.

My character doesn't send a lot of private messages. How would I get them involved in this?

Part of the whole build up of this structure is that it's good for bringing in characters who might not send out messages themselves. Maybe they aren't sending many messages out, but if you want them involved, you can post a comment for them, and messages may come to them anyway. Who knows, maybe they can make a new friend/pen pal of sorts! Or just get caught up on the juiciest gossip they didn't want to know about.

I'm still not sure I understand the format of this. Any examples?

You're in luck. We actually did this about a year ago as a meme. So we have a functional example over here. Only difference here is that this time it's game canon.

Wait, so I can use this for AC?

Yes you can. But there are some important notes here. Your top comment serving as your character's 'inbox' for this? That won't count for AC. And the section of comments you give us for AC should have an average of three sentences per comment. This is part of our AC rules. If you don't have that, at least give us a longer chain so we can use that for consideration instead.

What about content warnings/other possibly triggering stuff?

Please do not send unsolicited triggering stuff, and remember not to send adult content texts to the few 'children' in the game. No racy pictures to Omega or Peter. When in doubt, remember you can message other people AND all players maintain a permissions post. Check those first before getting racy/potentially emotionally intense. You wouldn't trauma dump on someone you've never met before, would you?

Can we see who the misfired text is from?

No, that's sadly not possible. Even those with the Communications Datapoint, or insane hacking skills won't be able to decode the mess Lark has unwittingly made here. He Rows will have to use context clues, shared photos (if any are sent), or flat out being told who it is to know who they are talking to.

Can senders see that messages didn't get to their intended recipient?

Also a no here. The messages will label the person they are speaking to as if they were the intended recipient. As an example, if you meant to send a message to Lark and it went to Tommy, the message will insist that it's Lark who got it, and all responses would be labeled with Lark's name, even if it's Tommy.

Can I just play this out in my inbox?

Because of the nature of this event, we ask that all participation in it happen in this post. This allows everyone to engage equally. If you're looking to limit your interactions with it, then either focus on tagging out to other people, or when you put up your character's comment for this, indicate you would like no more than a certain number of people to respond.

Does my character have to keep interacting after they figure out it's the wrong person?

Absolutely not. Characters are still themselves. They can choose not to engage at any point. It is polite, though, to let the person know that your character is no longer responding. This lets people know that the thread is closed and not to expect more.

I don't know who to send something to. Help?

Well, use this Random number generator with the number of comments already posted, and use that to figure it out.

Comments

[thestaremaster]

Give it time.

[mrsklover]

Yeah.

Try being in love with your best friend your entire life and then lose him not once, not twice, but four fucking times.

Then tell me to give it time.

[thestaremaster]

...Give it time.

[mrsklover]

Oh shit.

It's not Steve, right?

[thestaremaster]

It's not really worth talking about.

[mrsklover]

Ah. So that's a yes.

We should form a club.

[thestaremaster]

Four times, huh?
Hell of a club.

[mrsklover]

Yep. Magic made me forget him, found him, watched him die saving me, got him back, disappeared, got him again, and then poof.

Fucking sucks.

You?

[thestaremaster]

Sent of to war. He found me.
Fell from a train and brainwashed. He found me about seven decades later.
Turned to dust by a big ugly purple alien. He brought me back.
He goes back in time to be with his girl. And a Steve that knows none of this turns up.

[mrsklover]

Fuck, man. Okay, I think you win.

So this Steve isn't the one you're in love with? Or he is but he doesn't remember?

[thestaremaster]

He's the same, just...from an earlier point. I never told any version of him how I felt.

And you'd better not either. This conversation didn't happen.

[mrsklover]

Yeah, sure. I'm not gonna go play Yenta. I remember that sucking when I was on the other side of it.

But for the record? If it means anything, I regret it every fucking day.

I had him here. I had him here and I had time with him again. I dunno if I'll ever get that again and I wasted it worrying about what he'd say about my feelings. By the time I just manned up and did it, we only had months and he was gone.

That sucks a whole lot, lemme tell you.