Sub-forum for a private letters to the NPCs

[Warren Oates]

I would like to see a sub-forum for players and DMs where they could send a private letters to the NPCs, would make it easier for players/characters to send sensitive stuff/questions to the NPCs, if they don't want other players to see it.

[AKMatt]

This would be very helpful.

[PanamaLane]

Yeah, except then how do I metagame?

In all seriousness though, I do sometimes find that a letter is sent to an NPC faction leader that can be more easily and promptly responded to by a PC faction member, as long as these were separate, I'd be down.

[ScottyB]

Very, very often I would have letters sent to an NPC be forwarded to a PC faction member. That would be quite a hassle if posts had to be moved _and_ bumped.

Also, DMs like Snoteye hate vBulletin and would probably say a subforum just increases the likelihood that he'll forget to look for letters sent to NPCs.

Edit: If you know that only a specific NPC should be reading something, try to ask a DM to accept a PM of it, or maybe use the Private Discussion section of DM Q&A. Usually in these cases a DM will specifically ask you to PM them instead of post, anyways.

[lovethesuit]

I agree with what you say but I'll fight to the death your right to say it.

[Garem]

Not a bad idea. Honestly, if there were a way to make sending letters to players more private too, that would be AWESOME.

The long of it:
Let's be honest, sometimes, we like to look at letters we ought not to because we all love the story of EfUA and don't want to miss out on the fun. The exchange between Donrick and Macasta comes to mind! On the other hand, for the sake of realism, perhaps it is better to leave many things to mystery. The founding fathers of the United States heatedly debated the nationalization of many industries, but one was hardly debated at all-- MAIL. It's a felony to open a letter that doesn't belong to you, by the way! I think it's even a felony to take mail from a mailbox without explicit permission from the owner! Correspondence and the privacy of it is recognized for its importance. Any way we could reflect this attitude on EfU would be a winner in my book, even if it's just between NPCs.

The short:
Mail is supposed to be extremely private, and any efforts to keep us from snooping in business that isn't our own (guilty!) ought to be limited as best as possible.


EDIT: Link to aforementioned Donrick/Macasta exchange!

http://www.escapefromunderdark.com/old_forums/viewtopic.php?t=32573&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=macasta

[Snoteye]

See: truth