Safety In Meeting Online Friends In Real Life?

[Jexik]

I met spider_poison and Clarissimus in person and...





They were really nice!

We played some Heroscape the night before the TTO. I beat s_p on a map that was awful for his army when I was killing Deathreavers with 1-skull rolls.

He got his revenge in that jedi dueling game. His Darth Maul mauled my Mace Windu.

 

[Jormi_Boced]

I met spider_poison and Clarissimus in person and...





They were really nice!

We played some Heroscape the night before the TTO. I beat s_p on a map that was awful for his army when I was killing Deathreavers with 1-skull rolls.

He got his revenge in that jedi dueling game. His Darth Maul mauled my Mace Windu.

He broke out the Epic Duels on you, huh?

 

[MinhBinh]

There have been people responding to this post with comments such as, "I don't think that I'll be able to trust people in our online community as much as I did before. I think that I will have to get to know this community much better than I do, before I give anyone any sort of personal information about me."

Do you know what I think when I read comments like that? Two things:

1) It is perfectly natural to react this way. I don't have children. However, if I did, I would be especially concerned with the people that I befriend and possibly introduce to my own family. Even without children, I think that exercising more caution is a prudent choice. I know that a lot of the old 'Scapers here have known each other for years and have met multiple times at Gencon and assorted tourneys, but you can't know everybody personally on this site.

2) It doesn't surprise me that something like this almost happened. Is it because we as a community are more naive than others? No, no, and no!!! The Heroscape community is one of the friendliest and inviting online groups that I have ever had the pleasure of being a member of. I know that occasionally, tempers flare up between people, but I firmly believe that 99% of this group consists of high character-type people. This happened not because we are naive. It happened because it is bound to happen anywhere. The fact that only one person (and hopefully only the one) has been able to penetrate the net that this family holds together is astonishing to me. If I had younger children, I would not think twice about allowing them to become a part of Heroscapers.com. I feel that the vast majority of people here would treat them well and lead them towards greater Heroscape enjoyment.

Almost every single new member to these forums gets greeted in a very timely manner. This is not because Admins are bound by duty to make us feel welcome. I like to believe that it is because it truly makes the regulars feel good to see our little (not so little, really) community grow daily.

So what can we do to help bring this community together in a safe atmosphere? I, for one, can't wait until Gencon. I relish the opportunity to welcome the greater Heroscape community to my hometown with open arms. I have not met any of you, but I am excited to. I'm sure that I will find folks like Spider_Poison and Rychean to ask tourney questions to for as long as they can stand. I'll spend hours sitting at a table with Gamjuven and Jexik over beers discussing order markers and Deathreavers vs. Raelin. I'm sure at some point, RevDyer will sit down with me, and he'll prove to me that there are people in this world who you would do well to listen to all of the time.

Basically, I want to be able to meet you all in safe environments and get to know you as more than your avatars. You'll understand if I don't give my phone number out anytime soon, though.

Crap, I gave Oncara my home address! Oh well, he's sending me an RotV!!! (Those Castle sets are on the way man. I'm so stoked about this trade. Um... I didn't think to send a thank you card with the package, though.)

See you all at Gencon! And for all of you Indy area folks, I'll see you at the next Indy event.

 

[MinhBinh]

Wow, I didn't even realize that this thread was half a year old. Apologies.

 

[MinhBinh]

In light of our most recent events and in line with this topic, I wonder if anyone here has good alternatives / suggestions for ways or places to meet with fellow gamers in a public location outside of our homes? Atleast until a personal face-to-face relationship has been establised.

I was recently in the local Ihop (yeah, so? I like the chocolate chip pancakes.), when I saw a group of guys in the back playing magic the gathering. They did this once a week. Now one of the guys knew the ***. Manager and MtG is a little less room intensive than HS but it got me thinking. Maybe there are certain major chains out their who, during slower times, would be happy to have some gamers visit them from time to time.

Anyone else have any other ideas on locations?

Bannister

PS Yeah I know it put in the stars, but I thought it was funny so I left it.

The big book store chaines like Barnes and Noble allow this sort of thing.

One of the best place I know of is your local library. Libraries almost always have meeting rooms that you can rent out. This is a very public option for open gaming. Typically they are a little cleaner than some of the game shops I have played in as well! I am hosting an event at a library here in PHX. The room holds 40 people and costs $5/hr. The event is going to be 5 hours, so that is only $25. I am picking up the tab on the room, but I am sure if you have enough people to chip in, it is a very inexpensive, safe, clean, public place to play. The only downside I have come across so far is that you can't bring food in the room.

--Lonewolf

Denny's (late night) had a backgammon group that met. You might try some pubs, cafes, etc. If you're in Indy, there's always The Ram.

Speaking of which... both NinthDoc and RevDyer have mentioned the Ram (downtown Indy) on here. Is there some sort of inside information about gamenights at the Ram that I don't know about? Or are you just referring to going there to get drunk? In which case, I understand.

 

[ninthdoc]

In light of our most recent events and in line with this topic, I wonder if anyone here has good alternatives / suggestions for ways or places to meet with fellow gamers in a public location outside of our homes? Atleast until a personal face-to-face relationship has been establised.

I was recently in the local Ihop (yeah, so? I like the chocolate chip pancakes.), when I saw a group of guys in the back playing magic the gathering. They did this once a week. Now one of the guys knew the ***. Manager and MtG is a little less room intensive than HS but it got me thinking. Maybe there are certain major chains out their who, during slower times, would be happy to have some gamers visit them from time to time.

Anyone else have any other ideas on locations?

Bannister

PS Yeah I know it put in the stars, but I thought it was funny so I left it.

The big book store chaines like Barnes and Noble allow this sort of thing.

One of the best place I know of is your local library. Libraries almost always have meeting rooms that you can rent out. This is a very public option for open gaming. Typically they are a little cleaner than some of the game shops I have played in as well! I am hosting an event at a library here in PHX. The room holds 40 people and costs $5/hr. The event is going to be 5 hours, so that is only $25. I am picking up the tab on the room, but I am sure if you have enough people to chip in, it is a very inexpensive, safe, clean, public place to play. The only downside I have come across so far is that you can't bring food in the room.

--Lonewolf

Denny's (late night) had a backgammon group that met. You might try some pubs, cafes, etc. If you're in Indy, there's always The Ram.

Speaking of which... both NinthDoc and RevDyer have mentioned the Ram (downtown Indy) on here. Is there some sort of inside information about gamenights at the Ram that I don't know about? Or are you just referring to going there to get drunk? In which case, I understand.

Rev lives in Arkansas. I live in Texas. We were referring to when we are in your neck of the woods for GenCon.

 

[scottishlad5]

I agree completely I hesitated going to a tournament due to this.

 

[omen20154]

Its sad the we can't trust people more. I agree that when you meet people online you should be carefull. I have meet a couple of people online. Ironically I haven't met any scapers yet. I have never had a bad experience. In fact the people that I have met in the past were really frendly and good things came of the meetings. Saying that. IF I DON"T KNOW YOU AND I MEET YOU AT YOUR HOUSE I EXCERISE MY RIGHT TO CARRY MY GUN!!!! Its not that I plan on using it or anything its just that with the wierdo's out there your better safe than sorry. I think that we should meet people online that share the same intrest as ourslevs, just be carefull. And if you have kids.... don't let people over you don't know!!! Anyone can talk a good game for the first couple of meetings.

 

[Heroscape Elffy]

I was anxious to meet some people from 'Scapers, and was quite pleased that none of them were weirdos when I met them...well, if you don't count the fact that they are most 25 and older and play Heroscape, which is looked down upon in most towns. Supergeek, Jexik, Jormi, Codeman, HeroscapeDiva, were all really nice. They were the ones that stuck out, and were really nice. I'm glad that people in my area, that I've met, aren't complete and utter freaks. Supergeek, sometimes, but thats just him.

 

[S1R_ART0R1US]

I was anxious to meet some people from 'Scapers, and was quite pleased that none of them were weirdos when I met them...well, if you don't count the fact that they are most 25 and older and play Heroscape, which is looked down upon in most towns. Supergeek, Jexik, Jormi, Codeman, HeroscapeDiva, were all really nice. They were the ones that stuck out, and were really nice. I'm glad that people in my area, that I've met, aren't complete and utter freaks. Supergeek, sometimes, but thats just him.

Same thing with me in January. My dad kind of raised his eyebrows when we got there, but it ended up all right and I had a great time.

 

[ra914]

Deleted

 

[bbearz]

I was anxious to meet some people from 'Scapers, and was quite pleased that none of them were weirdos when I met them

You haven't met this weirdo, yet.



I agree with the original post of this thread, but also to the contributions that others have made. Safety is a huge concern, but it is also is one that we don't need to over-react upon. Clearly the argument is different for females, but that is more to do with the small percentage of history of sexual misconduct that has sadly infiltrated the growing popularity of online communities. The risk is low, to a degree, when used with caution, but predators will always be out there lurking.


I am a "weirdo" in the sense that I have a tendency to put myself out there on occasion. I enjoy the thrill of stepping outside my comfort zone, and one of these ways is by meeting new people on a daily basis. So in a unique way, I find pleasure in making acquaintances with complete strangers.


All that aside, I look forward to meeting some of you guys, and rest assure that you will have always have a fun, safe time around me.