To try to clear the air, playing this game - particularly now, when there are elements of competition as well as cooperation - there are going to be IC tensions between characters. But it would be daft if we let IC conflicts become OOC ones between players. It would be like an actor playing a Montague getting mad at another for playing a Capulet. Also, we should try to refrain from criticising how other players are playing out their IC roles. That would be like one actor criticising another on set for doing a poor job. We are only human and we do have emotions, we do make critical judgements etc, but we should be careful how we express things in public as they can cause animosity and hurt.

On the issue of whether Dukes can ban people from their House threads, there are arguments on both sides of the issue. As with most things in this PBM, we are making the rules up as we go and as long as we approach this cooperatively, in a good spirit, that may be a virtue rather than a vice. On reflection, I’m inclined to say Dukes should have the power to exclude players from their House threads - it does seem fitting given the Kaiser’s comparable power in the Diet. Jan’s long letter to the Franconians would probably best fit in the Imperial Messenger Service thread, given that Ansehelm is refusing to give him a platform within Franconia. I’m not going to move it now - as the temporal ordering would be out of sync.

Without a Diet or Tavern, that does leave Jan without any place where he can conduct snappy back and forth exchanges with Peter etc. But, as I said, there are arguments on both sides of the issue. With the cataclysm, when we are emphasising our avatar’s physical location more and the communication problems in general, snappy back and forth may be something best reserved for face to face meetings. We can use the IMS for longer, more substantial contributions. (If you are going to circulate something across the Reich in a time of chaos, it had better be something substantial enough to be worth circulating.)