NOTE: This entire Philosophy has been shamelessly ripped from another site; where the owner’s are friends, and likewise understand we too think unfortunately all-too-much alike. Hence all credit for this fabulous piece of work belongs solely to they; or she rather, Dragon Lady. Thank you again woman, for the use of your words!
 

In a nutshell, Vancouver espouses the idea that players do not need baby-sitting, and Storytellers do not have to be god-like entities with unlimited free time, patience, and creative interest. The owners have been on each side of the fence (in some cases repeatedly) and have seen the pros and cons of being ST - online and table-top - and of being a player in either venue. We've seen (and been party to) good games, bad games, and everything in between. The same issues always seem to arise...

Storytelling online is somewhat akin to signing a contract in blood and stapling it to your computer. On your plate is the responsibility of a full setting, determining what characters to approve (out of a pool of many strangers), and then being expected to move along a plot involving upwards of 20 (usually incompatible) characters and players. The scheduling difficulties alone are enough to send a stable mind over the edge - incorporating differing time zones, player work schedules, and a general chaos factor can be a monumental task. If you, as the ST, dislike a player's style, you're expected to grit your teeth and bear with them - there's a notorious mob mentality on the web, and an 'unfair' ST can find themselves very suddenly without a player-base and with an unfavorable reputation. This leads to STs deciding they just really don't want to bother running storylines anyway, and the added stress of not moving the plot along usually chases these fragile minds straight into retirement. It's a thankless job, but if a good ST leads some agreeable players in a well-executed storyline, it'll be a work of pride that can be reviewed anytime.

Storytelling table-top can, at times, be like sitting your friends around a table once a week and pretending you don't hate them. Few people speak as well as they write, and vice versa. I've known very charismatic people that, behind a computer, degrade into barely legible chaos typists. It's not impossible to eke out some good role-play and a dramatic story at a table-top session, but it's usually much harder. When you have, typically, a few hours a week to play, people tend to want to get down to the action, and pronto. It can also be harder to act out a character when you only have a few seconds of reaction time to say something witty/mean/inspiring/charming. Before long, dots are used to replace role-play, and the ST burns his fond dreams of a dramatic story in a trashcan.

Storytelling online has an upside. The ST has much more time to get to know the PCs, and the pacing is slow enough to give plenty time to plan what to do next. Role-playing comes much more naturally, and the ST sometimes gets an entertaining show without having to instigate it.

Storytelling table-top has a distinct advantage as well. While sometimes a downside, the fact that you're usually playing with your friends is more an asset. They tend to be at least mildly respectful of your sanity and time, mostly willing to work together, and like you well enough to trust your judgment and follow your rules. You also know what to expect from individual players, and can prepare for them appropriately - and have the advantage of being able to build a story they'll like. Online, it's more like shooting in the dark and hoping you hit something.

Playing online is a chance to really delve into your creative bug and take a more independent stance with your character that table-top play allows. However, you're either stuck with the Perpetually Absent ST that's either in the midst of a breakdown or has forgotten he's running a game, or else the ST is struggling to maintain a choke-hold of control and doesn't want anyone sneezing without prior notice. If you want to get in on the current plots, then you're going to have to play nice with everyone - whether you like them or not. At any point, a scene you're rather enjoying may suddenly become a pointless bloodbath that leaves you dead for no discernable reason. You deal with problematic players that sorta 'missed' the idea behind role-play, and have set out to win the game. This means making everyone (besides, sometimes, their buddies) feel stupid, weak, and incompetent at every opportunity, using every rule loophole and meta-gaming technique at their disposal. Assuming you dodge most of these pitfalls and have some fun, play tends to get scarce when the ST has an anxiety attack and the system collapses.

Playing table-top is a marvelous social event, but can be a tormented experience depending on how sadistic the ST is. When there's a small player pool and limited time to play, it's easy to be overruled and dragged along on excursions against your will. Personal role-play is trumped by the need for party cohesion, and people are more interested in getting to the next plot point than in much else. Understandable, since if you're engaging in indepth role-play with another player, then everyone else is just having to sit and watch you. This tends to be regarded as boring and/or wasting limited play-time.

Playing online can get dull if nothing's happening. Whether the story's at a lull or you've excluded yourself from the running for any reason, there's only so much to do. Scenes can take a couple of hours at a time, and no one wants to spend it discussing the weather. The simple solution is to run a short plot point with the friends you've made - something pretty quickly resolved, just to put in a little interest. What's that? Well, to ensure integrity in the overall plot, you've got quite a bit of back-and-forth discussing and work to do before the ST will give you the go-ahead. If you're bored in a room with a few friends, the last thing you wanna do is have to wait on a thumbs-up e-mail.

Playing table-top can be quite rewarding. It's fun to see a character develop as a result of your work and taking risks, and inter-party dynamics can be surprising developments. Games are quicker-paced, and seeing the full spectrum of a storyline from beginning to end can leave you with a real sense of accomplishment. A good ST ensures that the players all feel they were the most important - if not the most powerful - in the game, rather than leaving them with a vague idea that they're just extras in a cast of hundreds.

Blending these aspects into something that might be fun is our goal. Players may act as storytellers whenever they like - the limit is set only to not disrupt the setting (which is something even we adhere to, unless we feel a setting shift is in order), and we've gotten rid of the unnecessary red tape, the obligation to be on constantly, to deal with problem players, and to do any more work than you feel like doing. The pace is your own to set, and you can have events popping off as fast or as slow as you like. You're free to ask any of the other players (including us) for entry into another storyline, and let someone else take the reins for a while. You're free to just drift on the site, popping in just often enough to be the notorious disappearing side character, and remain unhindered by metaplots. We're not going to tell you what to do at all in the freeform rooms, and in the approved chronicles, we only tell you what to do in the interest of character balance (hence character approvals and XP rules) or to enforce remaining respectful of other players' interests.

We're easy. The laid-back absence of hierarchy isn't going to go over well with those accustomed to being told what to do, or rank-jockeys, but we're not too worried about being a huge site. Better a small playerbase that's comfortable with writing together than a huge one that can't even agree on what day it is.

Take a look around. Chat with the owners. Post in the forums a little. If we're not for you, then feel free to find what is. If you're willing to see how things go, then welcome aboard. Feel free to bring some friends if you like Trinity, and eventually this whole network thing will bring together a good base of players. Start us off, won't you?

Here I'll be going into a little more detail about some of our rulings, for those that are curious.

First, you've been beaten over the head with the Rule of Consent. You know what it is, what it does, and what happens if you mess with it. Now, here's why it exists.
To give an example from literature, think of a collaborative author anthology. Each author writes within a shared setting with the understanding that their work can't affect their fellows' characters with tacit approval. A famous (and personal favorite) example is the Thieves' World anthology series.

On most sites, player arguments are solved by dice and heavy moderation by admin or (supposedly) unbiased third parties. This merely reaches a decision as far as the story goes, but does not come close to solving he problem. It, in fact, exacerbates the problem by encouraging players to create characters that can't be out-diced in order to retain control. Further, it's important for players to be able to resolve their own issues without intervention. By intervening, we take away players' skills in relating to their fellow writers, and thereby their responsibility to do so. Promoting irresponsibility causes otherwise capable adults to behave like children. And as for those who DO act like children? Neatly solved by the consent rule: kick 'em to the curb.

The problem we're hoping to solve is that of control. Sites claim different views - some say that the control of the site and stories is in the hands of the players, with others cite that sites are private and any who use them do so at the behest of the owners' charity. In the end, it's a precarious struggle between player freedom and admin control.

We believe the majority of control should be in every individual who puts forth the effort to create a character and have it approved for play. We take away the struggle for control with other players (which is generally an act of ego-gratification) leaving an environment that allows characters to have flaws, to fail, and to tell visceral, compelling stories.

It's a World of Darkness
We have a somewhat unconvential ruling regarding the treatment of scenes involving sex, violence, death, and other complex aspects of the WoD. We simply leave it up to player discretion. There's no reason to make rulings insinuating bad things don't happen; it's a reminder of what the WoD genres entail. Too often I see Captain Brujah, Toreador Girl, and Dr. Ventrue teaming up to protect humanity, fight villainy, and trounce evil vampires. Yet, it's also a statement that if that's what you want, then you can go have fun with it... far away from our characters.

What've You Got, Really?
Another shock is the fact we don't promote secrets between players; in fact, if you're playing with them and they ask you something about your character, it's required you tell them. This often causes a rebellious instinct in players far too used to confrontation settings; they feel it takes away their ability to plot against their enemies. However, we gently remind you that you don't have any enemies. You are a player. Your character might, but we strongly suggest playing rivalries with people you know and trust - this site operates by the rule of consent, and there can be no consent without knowledge.

This Ain't Burger King; Can't Have It Your Way
In regards to character approval, we are generally lenient; we want you to have fun, after all. So while we seek to give players the most freedom possible, we do want to have everyone be as close to the same page as possible (at the onset, anyway.) The biggest problems we run into are people who have different notions of what a stat is worth. We have to approve characters by our ideas, though. This doesn't change anything about your character, in reality. If a person is described as a certain amount in attributes, and we don't feel the score assigned meshes with what you're going for, then that doesn't change the concept. It merely fits it into the site's collective acceptability of what that number means. (For example, don't be offended when a '5' in a stat is rejected; it's nothing personal against you, it's just highly unlikely ANYONE will be allowed a '5'. Thus, everyone's still around where they should be.)

Who Runs Vancouver?
Finally, we're sure the lack of a set storyteller running an overall plot is a little unusual; there are reasons, however. First off, we feel it's kinda unhealthy for people to be on-site every day of the week running maintenance and stories they don't always want to run. This is supposed to be fun, after all. We plan on living a real life complete with jobs, friends, and extracurricular activities. So, players are granted a great deal of personal freedom; as for not being allowed to change the site as a whole? We just want to get to know you first. This IS a consensual experience, yes?