Sunday, December 24th, 2006
Issue: 2   Editor: Nobody


A Stamp, A Promise... Oh And Respect Animosity
Have you ever taken the time to think why people do things? And what has caused them to make that decision rather than another decision? It's all very interesting if you think about it - and in this article I will do my best to summarize why people in Bootleggers choose to do things the way they do.

One huge feature on Bootleggers is the Kill feature - and this is a key part of my analysis. We'll start off with protection stamps: what are their purpose? Do you think it's just an excuse for an attractive looking graphic in your profile or is it a much more meaningful image that is a symbol of trust and security of ones account - now from a previous post that Jker aka EvEn made about friends avenging each others deaths, it was interesting to see that the vast majority of people didn't think their friends would do anything, however when the topic of crews avenging deaths it was the crews that had a strong leadership and had been around for a longer period of time in Bootleggers that came up trumps when it came to security.

Why? You ask yourself - well crews that have been around longer have had battle experience and are not afraid to get stuck in to defend their pride and honor. We'll take two crews in this example, The Deadly Alliance & The Regulators. I do not know a time when either crew did not avenge a members death unless the circumstances stopped them from doing so, ie: lack of resources.

So perhaps if you want your account to be long lived it's best to find a crew? I'm sure a lot of you only join a crew for that reason.

But going back to the topic of protection stamps, it's interesting that the vast majority of you said you would avenge your friends death after you had looked into the case, the same went with avenging your crew mates death. So maybe there is some meaning behind the graphics, "A picture can paint a thousand words." I'd be interested in hearing your feedback on this matter.

Moving on now to the Forums. It seems evident to me that the "Forum Whores" are more prone to death than a player that keeps himself to himself - is this because these guys don't get dragged into conversations and annoy people? I'd also be interested in further feedback on this.

The next section of my article is all about Respect and what it means to people. The majority of people respected their their Crew Boss, Best Friend or the person that taught and helped them to play Bootleggers. Personally, respect is a very meaningful attribute that means a lot to me - a player in Bootleggers can go no where in anyones good books without having respect first. It can be earned, slowly but gradually your respect builds up, but for something that rises slowly, it can fall rapidly so it's nothing to be dished out without meaning. Now here's a selection of quotes about what respect means to different people in Bootleggers:

Sabin
Respect is one of the most deceptive words you'll find on Bootleggers. People here use respect to imply some sort of legendary status. In reality, respect comes from one of two sources: admiration, or fear. The problem is that admiration is a reason to enjoy being respected, while fear is devoid of compliments. While it's good to be respected, that doesn't make you a good player, or a good person. It just means you have influence.

Respect is won or lost either by behavior, or by actions. If your respect is based on fear, then it's easy to gain (kill or threaten people until they listen), and easy to lose (all you have to do is look like a pussy). If your respect is based on admiration, then it's a bit tougher (you need to actually become an admirable, living the life, not talking the talk), and once you're there it's hard to lose (a drunken night of cursing and slandering people will only make a temporary dent, not change who you are).

To me, true respect is the type associated with admiration. That one defines who you are as a person. Those are the ones that I respect.

5Litre
Respect isn't shown as much as it was in the past, or as much as it should be. When the game first started, you could see the respect people had for each other. Now... It's just not there, It seems like alot of people are just doing whatever they can to help themselves out. I'm not saying this is the case for everyone, I know there is still some respected players out there, just not as many as before. The one person from the beginning of the game who i think had the most respect (my opinion) was Hannibal. Now a days.. there is people.. But it differs from person to person. For some it may be their crew boss, for others, a casino holder for having a good max bet. I don't think you'll ever find just a select few people that everyone respects.

Respect (as lukky said) is the greatest quality of someone on this game... without respect you have nothing. you need to be able to respect someone and trust them in order to do anything for them. Respect was and still is probably the hardest thing i can do on this game, I can't just go out and tell people i respect them... takes alot for me to respect someone..

Nobody
Respect is a term used to define how one feels on another, according to their personal judgment and the way they act around others/deal with things.

I pesonally feel that respect is grasped through one showing true courage and true respect, which usually comes from the closest of friends. Sometimes it even shows through people we do not personally know but can respect them for the way they deal with issues.

LukkyB
First off, I’ll tell you what respect is (as related to Bootleggers). It’s a universal feeling of admiration at how someone conducts themselves under different situations and pressures. By universal I mean it crosses all nationalities and is not limited to one language or race. Players (whether they admit it or not) are always sizing the next guy up by his abilities, qualities, or achievements. It’s for that reason, people work hard on creating a lasting name for themselves. When accounts come and go – your name and the amount of respect you have behind it, is immortal.

Now, what does it mean to me? Respect is the single most important asset you can have on this game. When people know they can rely on you, and know that your word is your bond – you earn respect. I work hard in keeping my name clean and treating everyone with respect until such a point that they disrespect me. Once the respect is broken it is the hardest thing in the world to regain – it’s not something you can fix in one day. I know this is a little out of the way, but think of respect as a glass plate. Building respect is like piling food on the plate... But when the respect is broken – the plate is thrown to the floor. Not only do you lose the food, but the plate itself is shattered.

There are a handful of people that I have a great deal of respect for on this game – and I’m willing to go to great lengths and sacrifice everything that I have if they should need it... That’s the power of respect.

Scarlet
I respect people on bl who can play the game without cheating and who can show me respect.

JohnnyBlaze
To me respect is all about reputation, because money/points/rank doesn't earn you respect it's what you do with it that counts. For example if someone has stacked a lot of points and a friend of his gets killed by a crew, if that someone uses a (large) part of his stack to revenge his friend. He would earn my respect.

But old skooling a crew would also earn respect. Of cource if you want to be respected, you'll have to be repectfull. In the way you act/talk. I think respect is never lost, I stopped playing before the previous reset for quite some time. When I heard of the reset I just had to come and see it (took me like 10 minutes to get hooked again) and still after all that time people still knew my name and who I was. That's the thing I really like about this game.

Legman1
Well I don't really know anyone of respect but my definition of respect is being Humble, obedience, support,and kindness. Also discipled.

Meioses
Respect is something that you gain.. not something you demand. Someone will be respected when he or she is not bragging about achievements and not asking a thank you after he or she handled something.

Respect can be broken in one night of being drunk, in a few sentences that say to another that he or she is worthless.. than you lost the respect of that person.

Japonica
What is respect to me and what does it mean?
Hmm, well...respect can be given in many ways...I like loyalty, manners and trust - that will get my respect immediately. I respect originality in everything. Imitation may be the highest form of flattery but I think it just shows that you have no individuality and/or don't have a respect for others and the work that they have put into something.
I respect few because I trust few...it's a text-based mafia game on the internet, everyone is out for themselves...whether they deny it or not, it's basically true. Majority rules, right?

Overall, it seems respect is the most important attribute in the game for the majority of Bootleggers - this being that friendship, crews, reputation and even enemies are built around the foundation of respect but is mutual, or in the favour or someone else.

Check back soon for part II.