Recently there was a topic about saving the sim. Getting the numbers back and all that. Today however I wanted to bring up the point of actually keeping the numbers.

For those that don't know where I'm coming from. I've been playing one predator type and one victim type character off and on for 7+ years in CD, and just the predator for about 4 years before arriving here.
I enjoy Dark RP from both sides, depending on mood, and have only once (to my knowledge) refused retribution on my predator character, because it was demanded then I let him be killed off. (one of my few limits) Thus generally speaking, I'm up for it, since I both feel consequences are only logical for the actions of my characters and that rp should be somewhat of a balance.

With that out of the way, as of late I've started to notice a bit of a trend it seems. Whenever a person gets attacked (or sometimes is even just approached). The predator is left to deal with the backlash of not only those close to the (potential) victim, but every friend, acquaintance, co-worker and cousin twice removed of said co-worker. In other words, halve the town after you. And while I completely get the want to beat on the bad (wo)man... Mai simply is a rapist prick and frankly deserves all the bad coming at him... From an OOC perspective, this leaves me with two options 1. heal up injuries a lot faster then feels fitting for the setting (powergamer!) or 2. spend most of my time dealing with injuries and/or being in the hospital. So still from this OOC perspective, I'm unable to do the roleplay myself that I would like to be doing for most of my online time. And to stress, I'm not at all saying Mai or people like him should not be hunted down for things they do. However, I'm asking to consider the enjoyment of rp for other people as well. Communicate. Has the predator already been hospitalized or has the victim otherwise been avenged? Is another attack really necessary?

The same with when you see a scene unfold. I completely get the urge to come on over to rescue a friend from being jumped. However 1. Does the friend even want the help OOC? It's not an oddity for me to get poked in IM by someone looking for some dark rp, and 2. Will stopping every possible bad act make for the most interesting story?

In short what I'm trying to say. Yes, we all have our characters, with their own morals, wants and needs, but I'm sure we can agree that the wants and needs of the people behind the screens outweigh those. So my suggestion, lets try and work together a bit more, instead of against each other, Communicate, So we can all enjoy ourselves and do the things we like to do in our Second Lives.