Hello! Thank you all once again for your input on this matter. We have been discussing this amongst ourselves a great deal, and we would like to share with you our conclusions on the issue.
We would like to say, upfront, that we did not consider the implications of our decision as much as we should have. Prior to this particular question, the majority of the questions posed on the FAQ had simply been answered by a brief discussion between the three of us, with the basis of ‘what would make the most sense in regards to our setting?’ When we first received this question about homosexuality, we did not give it as much consideration as a question like this deserves, and for that, we apologize. We failed to consider many of the real life implications that all of you have brought up, and we failed to realize that it could cause distress to our potential players.
That apology out there, we also want to let you all know that we began to approach this from the standpoint that Union was, and remains, a post-apocalyptic city. Due to the nature of this world, Union has a great deal of societal issues that are not meant to be considered ideal or perfect in any sense. From this standpoint, we reached the conclusion that it would make the most sense for childbirth to be valued in Union and for homosexuality to be kept on the down-low. We hope you can see now why it is that we gave the first answer we did.
All of that said, we have made the decision to revoke everything we’ve said in the past about this issue. From the suggestions we have received from all of you, we will be enacting the following changes: the major emphasis in Union will be on contributing to the city and to the future of humanity. There will be no discrimination between sexualities. Citizens will be encouraged to marry and have kids; however, there is an understanding that this not always possible, for multiple reasons, and those unable to conceive will not be looked down upon for it. In the event that they are unable or unwilling to, they will be encouraged to raise and provide homes for orphans or others in need. If they are also unable or unwilling to do that, they will be encouraged to provide for Union in other ways - trainers and Enlightened venturing outside the city generally fall under this category, as previously established, and they will therefore receive less societal pressure on anything to do with children. Additionally, all citizens will have equal rights in regards to marriage equality and any other pertinent social issues. Let us emphasize again that in this new setup, all citizens are equal so long as they are contributing. If they are not contributing, they may be frowned upon (this is in the event that someone may wish to app and play a character who is considered a social outcast).
As a caveat, there does remain a number of families that consider themselves to be ‘higher class’ due to claimed descendance from the Savior or for other reasons. Although Union is ostensibly equal, these ‘higher-class’ citizens do exist and may try to claim privileges they feel are suited to their ‘rank’. They additionally tend to have access to more resources and wealth due to their institutionalization within the city - this is not officially acknowledged as existing but everyone within Union knows who these families are.
In the long run, however, we would also like to say that Union is not to be considered an ideal or perfect setting by any means. We would like for everyone to keep in mind that it remains a post-apocalyptic society, and that this is simply how this specific group of humans chose to construct their society, with any inherent flaws that it may possess. Specifically, this is because we will be introducing new settings and societies in the future that may contrast with what we’ve established in Union, and we by no means want players to think Union’s attitudes are perfect in any sense.
Finally, we are becoming slightly concerned that everything we say in the FAQs is being taken as immutable truth and is being interpreted as inflexible. Not specifically in regards to this issue, but please do not take our answers here as unable to be played around with. Our statements about clothing and fashion and our statements about the general level of Industrial Revolution-era technology are meant to provide the players with a more concrete knowledge of the setting we’ve established if they wish to play around with it more. It is not meant to be restrictive to anyone’s play.
We hope this response adequately addresses all the issues that have been raised. We apologize again for our initial lack of consideration in regards to this sensitive matter, and we thank you all for taking the time to bring this up with us and to discuss it in a thoughtful, rational way.
Specifically in response to you, leadergreen, we apologize for not having seen your PM and having failed to address it with any kind of expediency. We are still working out how best to figure out our notifs, and all three of us failed to keep an eye on our private messages. We will try to be better about this in the future, but as we continue to figure out a solution that works best for all of us, it may be best to post in our Anonymous Suggestions page rather than send a PM. Or, if you feel comfortable, please do not hesitate to PM any of us on our personal plurks or on the mod plurk.
Thank you again for initiating this discussion with us, Brave New World Mods (Void, Wighty and Sheepy)
no subject
We would like to say, upfront, that we did not consider the implications of our decision as much as we should have. Prior to this particular question, the majority of the questions posed on the FAQ had simply been answered by a brief discussion between the three of us, with the basis of ‘what would make the most sense in regards to our setting?’ When we first received this question about homosexuality, we did not give it as much consideration as a question like this deserves, and for that, we apologize. We failed to consider many of the real life implications that all of you have brought up, and we failed to realize that it could cause distress to our potential players.
That apology out there, we also want to let you all know that we began to approach this from the standpoint that Union was, and remains, a post-apocalyptic city. Due to the nature of this world, Union has a great deal of societal issues that are not meant to be considered ideal or perfect in any sense. From this standpoint, we reached the conclusion that it would make the most sense for childbirth to be valued in Union and for homosexuality to be kept on the down-low. We hope you can see now why it is that we gave the first answer we did.
All of that said, we have made the decision to revoke everything we’ve said in the past about this issue. From the suggestions we have received from all of you, we will be enacting the following changes: the major emphasis in Union will be on contributing to the city and to the future of humanity. There will be no discrimination between sexualities. Citizens will be encouraged to marry and have kids; however, there is an understanding that this not always possible, for multiple reasons, and those unable to conceive will not be looked down upon for it. In the event that they are unable or unwilling to, they will be encouraged to raise and provide homes for orphans or others in need. If they are also unable or unwilling to do that, they will be encouraged to provide for Union in other ways - trainers and Enlightened venturing outside the city generally fall under this category, as previously established, and they will therefore receive less societal pressure on anything to do with children. Additionally, all citizens will have equal rights in regards to marriage equality and any other pertinent social issues. Let us emphasize again that in this new setup, all citizens are equal so long as they are contributing. If they are not contributing, they may be frowned upon (this is in the event that someone may wish to app and play a character who is considered a social outcast).
As a caveat, there does remain a number of families that consider themselves to be ‘higher class’ due to claimed descendance from the Savior or for other reasons. Although Union is ostensibly equal, these ‘higher-class’ citizens do exist and may try to claim privileges they feel are suited to their ‘rank’. They additionally tend to have access to more resources and wealth due to their institutionalization within the city - this is not officially acknowledged as existing but everyone within Union knows who these families are.
In the long run, however, we would also like to say that Union is not to be considered an ideal or perfect setting by any means. We would like for everyone to keep in mind that it remains a post-apocalyptic society, and that this is simply how this specific group of humans chose to construct their society, with any inherent flaws that it may possess. Specifically, this is because we will be introducing new settings and societies in the future that may contrast with what we’ve established in Union, and we by no means want players to think Union’s attitudes are perfect in any sense.
Finally, we are becoming slightly concerned that everything we say in the FAQs is being taken as immutable truth and is being interpreted as inflexible. Not specifically in regards to this issue, but please do not take our answers here as unable to be played around with. Our statements about clothing and fashion and our statements about the general level of Industrial Revolution-era technology are meant to provide the players with a more concrete knowledge of the setting we’ve established if they wish to play around with it more. It is not meant to be restrictive to anyone’s play.
We hope this response adequately addresses all the issues that have been raised. We apologize again for our initial lack of consideration in regards to this sensitive matter, and we thank you all for taking the time to bring this up with us and to discuss it in a thoughtful, rational way.
Specifically in response to you,
Thank you again for initiating this discussion with us,
Brave New World Mods (Void, Wighty and Sheepy)