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Eh, it's a living...

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Fri, 2010-10-29 13:37

XenoSean

Eh, it's a living...

Hello. Long-time lurker, Second-time poster. I was busy creating a character for the fun of it last night and I was talking about who the character is and what they do for work with my roommate. I was trying to express the idea of being a free-roving mediator and problem solver in the outer system. Her point was that it doesn't make sense for the supposedly anarchist, independant and other wise autonomist habitats to call in an outside arbiter for their problems. On the other hand, I thought that it would be the perfect environment, as long as the character has a reputation for respecting the rules and culture of the host habitat. I was creating someone with very good social skills, including a high @-rep score and good networking skills, but also someone who knows how to defend himself if negotiations go down the crapper. I also figure good detective skills (investigation and kinesics) would be necessary to figure out who's telling the truth and how much of it. He would be Titanian by faction and primarily work in the Saturnian system, but I like the idea of going to distant and exotic places, too. What do you all think? Is the career viable? What kind of issues would require an outside mediator?

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[img]http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr135/XenoSean/Eclipse%20Phase/A_Rep.... 0 [img]http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr135/XenoSean/Eclipse%20Phase/I_Rep.... 0 [img]http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr135/XenoSean/Eclipse%20Phase/R_Rep.

Fri, 2010-10-29 14:02

Rhyx

Re: Eh, it's a living...

Quote:
Her point was that it doesn't make sense for the supposedly anarchist, independent and other wise autonomist habitats to call in an outside arbiter for their problems.

I think It's a good idea and actually I see where your roommate is coming from but it all depends on what your definition of anarchy is. Anarchists by and large live with the belief that they are right or that they can come to a consensus and they usually can within their own group. What I see your character as is more of a go between when two anarchist factions have had differences. So you could be called in to mediate between two voting blocks that could make or break a very important upcoming project. Give you a quick example: The budget is coming up and the Teacher's Union wants to use the habitat's resources to create more simspace terminals in order to teach the kids in a virtual reality environment. Meanwhile with the growth of the next crop of clones coming in the Agricultural co-op know that they will need to make a second hydroponics in order for them not to have to trade with other habitats for food. Both of these voting blocks could easily sway the budget and public opinion creating a stalemate in this year's budget. The all of a sudden the son of the Engineering Guild's Chief Executive Officer goes missing which could force the Guild to choose one of the factions over the other depending on who is holding him. And that's where YOU come in. They are too into their own problem and their self interest to see the big picture because they are too busy fighting for their idea. As a freelancer you are the only one that is impartial enough to look at the situation with a dispassionate eye and maybe even take the necessary steps to find the missing son. In an idealistic society sometimes being impartial and dispassionate is a luxury that has to be imported.

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[img]http://i.imgur.com/qtBZ9.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/AT25J.jpg[/img]

Sun, 2010-10-31 20:04

Sepherim

Re: Eh, it's a living...

He could also be introduced in order to create some "common grounds" between groups with very different agendas and world views that wouldn't speak face to face. Instead, he could be the one in the middle, making each of them make concessions and agreements on different issues, until enough things have been arranged so both parties can actually sit at the same table. So it would also require a good deal of Protocol.

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The mind is information... hack it! [IMG]http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/Sepherim/Otros/F_Rep.jpg[/IMG] +4 http://tribulaciones.es/

Sun, 2010-10-31 20:40

Teryn

Re: Eh, it's a living...

It does seem like a little bit of an odd idea at first, but I actually like it, and it could fit the EP background just fine. Yeah, lots of protocol, a good knowledge of economics would probably be helpful too. Especially if he ends up dealing with the places where the different forms of economics have to trade with each other.

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[img]http://boxall.no-ip.org/img/hcda_userbar.jpg[/img]

Mon, 2010-11-01 09:22

XenoSean

Re: Eh, it's a living...

Protocol. Got it. I must admit, I'm something of a newb when it comes to anarchic, autonomist, and/or socialist government. I have an understanding of what those things mean, but not really how they work. Now as I understand it, the further out one goes, habitats tend to be smaller and more uniform in philosophy. Rhyx, I greatly appreciate your example. It really helps me wrap my head around what kind of conflicts might arise. Any other ideas would be most welcome. I may wind up trying to write some short fiction centered on this character and see if I can get it into the fanzine. I think I find this character so interesting because it centers around trust; how it's made, how it's broken, and possible ways of restoring it. I would think in a society that is, shall we say, rules-light, trust is a vital commodity.

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Mon, 2010-11-01 20:11

Sepherim

Re: Eh, it's a living...

Trust is more than a commodity, it is a must. That's what rep does, makes sure you know who you can trust, who you can't, and lets you punish publicly those that break up your trust. In a way, it is like an enormous social vigilance system.

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The mind is information... hack it! [IMG]http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/Sepherim/Otros/F_Rep.jpg[/IMG] +4 http://tribulaciones.es/

Tue, 2010-11-02 07:16

XenoSean

Re: Eh, it's a living...

So how does one deal with jerks who use the reputation system in spite? I get the idea that if someone goes around just pinging people with bad rep for the hell of it they will wind up with bad rep themselves. But what about their victims? Example: Bob is a jerk. He doesn't get along with Amy, Norton or Joe, so he decides to give them bad reputations. He begins spreading rumors that they don't fulfill promises and they are unreliable. They in turn get angry and start letting everyone know Bob is an enormous jerk. What are the results? Does everyone somehow know that Bob is lying and that the others are telling the truth? What if the order of events happens exactly as above, but Bob isn't a jerk and is telling the truth. When the other three turn around and give bad rep back, is that simply the price one has to pay for calling someone out? For a mediator, this is important. Though the goal of mediation is to make everyone as happy as possible, that's not always an achievable goal. Sometimes problems just can't be worked out. If that happens, and the clients blame my character for not fixing things when it is evident that they themselves were truly intractable, do I just have to suffer through the bad rep they give me? What if one side really was right in their arguments, and I, the impartial decision maker, simply side with the group that is right. If the other side turns out to be sour grapes and hits my reputation, what recourse do I have? Especially if there are lots of people hitting my rep at the same time, that could really destroy my character's career.

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Tue, 2010-11-02 08:52

Sepherim

Re: Eh, it's a living...

What would happen is the same as in real life: people would have to start choosing who they believe and who they ping with good or bad rep. But probably they would ask for proofs of those accusations, and since most of what everybody does can be accessed by everyone else in one way or another, forging those proofs can be as important as convincing others. But it would certainly be a good chance for your character to use his detective side.

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The mind is information... hack it! [IMG]http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/Sepherim/Otros/F_Rep.jpg[/IMG] +4 http://tribulaciones.es/