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Graveyard => Save Paragon Retirees => Save Paragon City! => Topic started by: CollegeZoo on October 03, 2012, 03:10:37 AM
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Hey All,
Just wondering how many of use would be interested in picketing Protest NCsoft WEST HQ. If we get enough folks showing up for the event, we could get some press. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please reply and give input and what you think would be a good date.
As far as dates, Mondays or Tuesdays would be preferred, as it tends to be when the news networks resort to more "fluff" stories to eat up air time. Also, a protest midweek mean executives are less likely to take day off to avoid us.
NCsoft's West US Offices are located in Seattle, WA three blocks west from the Washington State Conventions Center (The place that PAX Prime happens in.) Click here for a Google Street View (https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Century+Square,+1501+4th+Avenue,+Suite+2050,+Seattle,+WA+98101&hl=en&ll=47.610437,-122.336892&spn=0.000476,0.002064&client=firefox-a&hq=Century+Square,&hnear=1501+4th+Ave+%232050,+Seattle,+Washington+98101&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=47.610514,-122.336961&panoid=maNNyZnFS1FkvgrqUF7AXg&cbp=12,239.24,,0,-1.45)
If we decide to this, we'll need the following at the event:
- A large crowd
- An event permit if the crowd is over 50 people
- Plan of action
- Signs (and perhaps capes)
- Hopefully, at least celebrity
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I am up for this.
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hey, 'Zoo. Now I'm really annoyed I had to leave and am stuck in the midwest again. Good luck, I hope this happens. I'd be there in spirit.
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There's no way I can afford to fly out there to do this, but it is an awesome idea and I fully support it!
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I've been wanting to do something similar since day 1. I've been told by some of the higher powers it isn't quite time yet (although that was over a week ago). I was thinking on a larger scale though. One in Seattle, Austin, and at the Paragon Studios location too. This would give more community members a chance to participate and show our unity :-)
Angela (lives about an hour south of Seattle)
@Ventus vis Vires
@Villamos vis Vires on Triumph
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Paragon are friendlies. Stopping by with words of encouragement would likely not be unwelcome, though.
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Does anyone remember the "gauntlet of shame" that the pepper-sprayed students at UC forced the Chancellor of the University to walk?
Basically they lined the sidewalk and the entranceway, did not block anyone, and forced her to walk through a double line of absolute silence and disapproving stares.
That might actually be more effective than a traditional protest, especially if the group is small. Wear something like a "Save City of Heroes" sign or a t-shirt rather than carrying it, make no noise, wear white (the color of death in Asian cultures) and make everyone that enters or leaves the building walk the gauntlet to absolute silence.
You won't be disrupting anything
You won't be blocking anything
You won't be violating any ordinances.
This should keep them from being able to order local police to clear you away.
It also powerfully invokes eastern shaming culture.
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Depending on date/time, I may be able to take a day off work and drive over (about 3-4 hours away) with the husband & daughter... but really contingent on date as my boss is taking a week of vacation and it's a SMALL business.
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Does anyone remember the "gauntlet of shame" that the pepper-sprayed students at UC forced the Chancellor of the University to walk?
Basically they lined the sidewalk and the entranceway, did not block anyone, and forced her to walk through a double line of absolute silence and disapproving stares.
That might actually be more effective than a traditional protest, especially if the group is small. Wear something like a "Save City of Heroes" sign or a t-shirt rather than carrying it, make no noise, wear white (the color of death in Asian cultures) and make everyone that enters or leaves the building walk the gauntlet to absolute silence.
I was thinking we could all hold Flashlights. I'd say torches but the Seattle Cops would not be amused. Not getting arrested is the name of the game. :D
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I was thinking we could all hold Flashlights. I'd say torches but the Seattle Cops would not be amused. Not getting arrested is the name of the game. :D
Or hold a picture of your toon holding a torch?
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Or hold a picture of your toon holding a torch?
That is a GOOD idea.
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Or hold a picture of your toon holding a torch?
You could also wear a picture of your toon, holding a torch, on a lanyard. Rows of silent protestors, standing stock still, hands at their sides might be more culturally intimidating and shameful than if you are holding something. (Someone feel free to contradict me!)
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Be very, very careful if you do this. The location of the Seattle office is only about a block away from where the Anarchists hit last May.
The police and the local residents & workers are still rather jumpy.
(My husband works on the next block up, which IS the block the Anarchists hit)
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The Seattle office is also located in a place with a bunch of different other offices of unrelated businesses. How do you know That Schmoe works for NCsoft and That Other Schmoe does not? Not to mention the first floor is all street businesses.
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I support this idea, but my being poorer than dirt won't allow me to make the trip up there. I do wish you the best of luck.
Be very, very careful if you do this. The location of the Seattle office is only about a block away from where the Anarchists hit last May.
The police and the local residents & workers are still rather jumpy.
(My husband works on the next block up, which IS the block the Anarchists hit)
I didn't know this, but it seems as though y'all should -definitely- be careful.
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The Seattle office is also located in a place with a bunch of different other offices of unrelated businesses. How do you know That Schmoe works for NCsoft and That Other Schmoe does not? Not to mention the first floor is all street businesses.
An interesting phenomena happened when another group recently used the same ploy (in a staircase) and accidentally first had an encounter with a group of people who did not know what was going on, and then with a group of their supporters.
The first group asked what was going on, was genuinely curious, and many became their supporters.
The second group interpreted the protesters (correctly) as supporting their position.
Only the people being protested against were unnerved.
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Here's what you do.
1) Call ahead and notify police. Ensure the protest falls in line with local ordinances. Jump whatever legal loop holes you need.
2) If folks become unnerved, appoint someone to be the spokesperson. When people walk up nervously and go "what's going on?" have that single person indicate that you are there to protest the erasure of eight years of online history, shared stories, communal triumphs, and community hardships. You are there, to honor and represent those who cannot be there themselves--those who are too far away, or those who have passed on but are remembered. Heroes.
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Be very, very careful if you do this. The location of the Seattle office is only about a block away from where the Anarchists hit last May.
The police and the local residents & workers are still rather jumpy.
(My husband works on the next block up, which IS the block the Anarchists hit)
I will make sure we get all the permits we need once we have a date set so we will be 100% legal.
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I will make sure we get all the permits we need once we have a date set so we will be 100% legal.
Knew you would be, 'Zoo. You're a 'by the book' type, always have been near as I can tell. ;)
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And then.. when you have all the NCSoft people around.. light them on fire!
... huh? What do you mean 'not that kind of protest'? Well, I'm out then. *goes back to playing with his zippo in a corner* *clink-spark* Heee fiiiire.
In all seriousness, if done right, this could be pretty epic. If done poorly, it could be a pretty epic shitstorm. Tread carefully- the group will need heavy self policing. We've all seen the various emotional outbursts this closure has caused, and the more people you have in one area.. the more possibility there is that something will happen to set one person off (on either side of the 'fight'), and .. that one person could easily be the catalyst for a whole lot worse.
It's going to take more than making sure it's done 'by the books', you always want to make sure things are well in your control. If this is going to end up on the news, we don't want it to be because "Rabid fans attacked local employees over the shut down of a video game" >.>
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And then.. when you have all the NCSoft people around.. light them on fire!
... huh? What do you mean 'not that kind of protest'? Well, I'm out then. *goes back to playing with his zippo in a corner* *clink-spark* Heee fiiiire.
In all seriousness, if done right, this could be pretty epic. If done poorly, it could be a pretty epic shitstorm. Tread carefully- the group will need heavy self policing. We've all seen the various emotional outbursts this closure has caused, and the more people you have in one area.. the more possibility there is that something will happen to set one person off (on either side of the 'fight'), and .. that one person could easily be the catalyst for a whole lot worse.
It's going to take more than making sure it's done 'by the books', you always want to make sure things are well in your control. If this is going to end up on the news, we don't want it to be because "Rabid fans attacked local employees over the shut down of a video game" >.>
That leaves me out I guess!
Geez...you maul one Asian businessman and suddenly you're marked for life... (...yes. that's a joke. since some of us seem to have forgotten what those are. <.<)
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About your 'torch' idea.
Long ago, there used to be small flashlights with a red transparent cover over the light to make it look like a torch. Very popular around Halloween. Perhaps stores might have something like this in stock?
... and follow Grimm's advice. A lot of you are angry, but rise above that anger. Don't give NCSoft ammo to shoot down our cause.
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The thread title is protest. I was thinking more along the lines of the unity rally to show our support and bring the subject to the masses with hopefully news coverage.
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The Seattle office is also located in a place with a bunch of different other offices of unrelated businesses. How do you know That Schmoe works for NCsoft and That Other Schmoe does not? Not to mention the first floor is all street businesses.
This strikes a chord with me because a similar thing happened during a university protest I was involved in many eons ago.
In my case though, the first group of people we were hard-staring as they climbed 4 flights of open stairs lined with students were actually there to negotiate on our behalf... :roll:
No harm done though - if anything it gave them a boost because they knew the cold burning stares following them up the stairs were not aimed at them, but at their yet-to-arrive opponents! Gave us a good dress rehearsal too, so when the real bad guys arrived, they got a double dose of "the stare" ;D
If there's a possibility of mistaken identity at the Seattle offices then my suggestion would be to either wear a white teeshirt with the CoH logo on it, carry some sort of instantly visually recognisable CoH paraphenalia, or even tape a printout of NCSoft's logo to your shirt. That way everyone else who works there is in no doubt who you're going after.
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I have a buddy who works as a GM on Aion (or..another NC game, I forget which) in the Austin office.
I was chatting to him today and he said that the Austin office has nothing to do with any decision making, that'd be Seattle. So while if this goes ahead, protesting at Austin would probably get you some press interest (which is good), the decision makers aren't based there :)
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I was chatting to him today and he said that the Austin office has nothing to do with any decision making, that'd be Seattle. So while if this goes ahead, protesting at Austin would probably get you some press interest (which is good), the decision makers aren't based there :)
Just a thought--those of you near Austin may want to find out about how many people work there. Maybe we can buy the server-keepers breakfast as a token of good will? Bagels and coffee aren't that expensive, after all.
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I have a buddy who works as a GM on Aion (or..another NC game, I forget which) in the Austin office.
I was chatting to him today and he said that the Austin office has nothing to do with any decision making, that'd be Seattle. So while if this goes ahead, protesting at Austin would probably get you some press interest (which is good), the decision makers aren't based there :)
Isn't attention (ie: press interest) sending a message? If there is an NCSoft logo in the background of the news footage, I would say something had been accomplished.
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Vulpy - I can ask him, if you like. Maybe we could do coffee for the COH GMs? They've helped a bunch of us out over the years, I'm sure, and it couldn't hurt to get them on side.
..and..apparently there's only 4 COH GMs in Austin. That should be wicked easy to do, then.
Ducken - Oh, I'm all about press coverage :) Just passing the message on. He possibly assumed we were hoping to doorstep some decision-guys.
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Not to mention there's an "Admin" who keeps spawning AP33 for us after every server maintenance window. That guy deserves a gift card to Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme...
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I'm not sure who that is. Maybe a redname can tip off one of our glorious leaders? :)
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Speaking of...
@hitstreak
City of Heroes live servers are back online. AP33 is open as well. #cityofheroes
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I will make sure we get all the permits we need once we have a date set so we will be 100% legal.
If you can arrange this and want to coordinate these efforts, let me know. I want to PM you about options to support this effort. I like the idea of having people in matching t-shirts. I'd like to try to get the press to cover it also.
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This needs to be done! Wish I lived near any of the three locations to attend but don't. Everyone who participates has my full support and gratitude.
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Isn't attention (ie: press interest) sending a message? If there is an NCSoft logo in the background of the news footage, I would say something had been accomplished.
@dwtruducken and then @rae yes this is more along the lines of why I was including Austin and Paragon Studios. Not so much they are anything to do with the decisions, but as other locations with the same message would probably make it more newsworthy. Not to mention it might give the people in those areas the feeling of actually being able to help the cause instead of feeling left out and sitting on the sidelines.
Angela
@Ventus vis Vires
@Villamos vis Vires Triumph server
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@dwtruducken and then @rae yes this is more along the lines of why I was including Austin and Paragon Studios. Not so much they are anything to do with the decisions, but as other locations with the same message would probably make it more newsworthy. Not to mention it might give the people in those areas the feeling of actually being able to help the cause instead of feeling left out and sitting on the sidelines.
Angela
@Ventus vis Vires
@Villamos vis Vires Triumph server
Glad to see you in the fight :)
Now if only there was someone I could picket...alas wrong location yet again
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I agree that leaving the Austin folks alone is a good idea. There are a lot of good people there, and they have nothing to do with this decision. The real decision makers are all in Seattle.
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I agree that leaving the Austin folks alone is a good idea. There are a lot of good people there, and they have nothing to do with this decision. The real decision makers are all in Seattle.
Then do this.
Get someone with a good video camera. Let's do a chip-in to buy the Austin folks pizza (there aren't that many of them). Go to the Austin site. Get the most photogenic of you in front of the camera, explain in 1 minute why you are there, then surprise the Austin folks with the pizza. Send that to your local TV news programs, with a longer explanation of what we're doing and offer Mr (or Miss) Photogenic as the spokes person for a longer story. Meanwhile upload YOUR vid to YouTube.
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Make small crosses with hero names on them and stick them in the ground. They can walk past the stares and the graves of the heroes they're killing.
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Then do this.
Get someone with a good video camera. Let's do a chip-in to buy the Austin folks pizza (there aren't that many of them). Go to the Austin site. Get the most photogenic of you in front of the camera, explain in 1 minute why you are there, then surprise the Austin folks with the pizza. Send that to your local TV news programs, with a longer explanation of what we're doing and offer Mr (or Miss) Photogenic as the spokes person for a longer story. Meanwhile upload YOUR vid to YouTube.
Seriously. Who do we have in Austin that might be able to take point on this?
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I was thinking we could all hold Flashlights. I'd say torches but the Seattle Cops would not be amused. Not getting arrested is the name of the game. :D
You may be able to get away with it if they're fake. Halloween is right around the corner and there's all sorts of faux flame devices out there (typically cellophane or tissue paper with lights and a fan underneath to make them flicker).
What worries me though is... Seattle is a pretty big protest town, right? And there's been a very extreme group of Anarchists all over the place, both in the U.S. and Canada, who have had a way of invading other causes and making them look like they're about Anarchy. This is largely how Occupy ended up getting such a bad rep.
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I may not have the best timing especially at this emotional juncture for some but I think we should remain as professional as possible.
I know that it may be hard for some and someone out there probably feel like flying over to Korea and busting out all the windows at NCSoft, I dont think it would be a constructive thing to do even though it may be emotionally satisfying until the bill and court order arrive in the mail.
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I may not have the best timing especially at this emotional juncture for some but I think we should remain as professional as possible.
I know that it may be hard for some and someone out there probably feel like flying over to Korea and busting out all the windows at NCSoft, I dont think it would be a constructive thing to do even though it may be emotionally satisfying until the bill and court order arrive in the mail.
This is why my biggest suggestion is to have one spokesperson. Everyone else just stand silently, holding vigil. This spokesperson would have a 'script' of responses to give, approved ahead of time by those attending. It might even be a good idea to start coming up with those responses here, so the rest of us can weigh in. :)
These are, of course, just ideas. TonyV and 'Zoo are going to want to hammer out the final details.
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This is why my biggest suggestion is to have one spokesperson. Everyone else just stand silently, holding vigil. This spokesperson would have a 'script' of responses to give, approved ahead of time by those attending. It might even be a good idea to start coming up with those responses here, so the rest of us can weigh in. :)
These are, of course, just ideas. TonyV and 'Zoo are going to want to hammer out the final details.
Indeed.
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What worries me though is... Seattle is a pretty big protest town, right? And there's been a very extreme group of Anarchists all over the place, both in the U.S. and Canada, who have had a way of invading other causes and making them look like they're about Anarchy. This is largely how Occupy ended up getting such a bad rep.
Anarchists normally like marches because they can blend in and out of a crowd. Protests our size are not there thing as we stay in one place and they can be spotted. Also, we play heroes so we are the kind of people to point at the idiots and say "He did it" Also, not wearing black tends to foil them as well as they like using the color as a form of urban cameo (black goes with everything.).