Then the solution is simple.
We gather up all the pandaren and protest every one of these events IC for treading on their heritage and culture for the sake of gold and pompous tourists. 
13 Likes
Sri-La villagers dread every Love in the Air season, because all the noisy party-goers scare the fish away from miles upon miles around.
9 Likes
Well, the way I see it there are some arguments to be made about this, both for and against.
Firstly, the Pandaren community is very small, Iâm only aware of two Pandaren only guilds. While yes it would make sense for Pandaren characters to want to know whatâs going on with a random event in a place of learning such as the Tian Monastery. How many of those attending the event would actually care about a couple of natives/students, especially when the organisers âHave permission from the Master/Mayorâ? (I personally believe that the excuse is so overused excuse is getting ridiculous, no self-respecting Master/Mayor would allow so many random and non-Pandaren events).
Even if the whole of the Pandaren community showed up at one of these massive events we would still be a very, very small minority. Both IC and OOC.
Talking about OOC, even if we go there with good intentions to politely ask whatâs going on or to give feedback, there will be people who think we are there to grief the event and simply ignore us and that could hurt the Pandaren community, since then we would appear to gatekeeping/harassing people for hosting events, which is 100% not what we want.
All we want is for people to have a bit of consideration for the place, you would not organise a food market at Utherâs Tomb, or in the Stormwind Cathedral, so why have one in a sacred Pandaren place?
And lastly, maybe this is just me slightly ranting, is what about the IC Pandaren? The character Iâm writing on is a pretty accepting one and would not be too bothered if people donât destroy the place. But my other Pandaren character would be very enraged at non-Pandaren using the continent as their own playground and would be very hostile if sheâd ever stumble upon such an event. And I know that many other Pandaren IC will feel the same.
19 Likes
Frankly the fish being scared is the least if their concerns.
The poor Inn keepers⌠They see some⌠Stuff.
1 Like
This indeed shows there is a potential drive for authentic events within Pandaria. I will add that there is currently a monthly tavern night that is catered for Pandaren only (this is more as a motivation to encourage people to try out Pandaren characters akin to similar events in other communities).
I will add that it has been nice to see how open and receptive people have been to the issues discussed on this thread.
14 Likes
I am of two minds about this, and have been for a long while. Weâve even talked about it IC at some point actually, Liao, if I recall right? At one of the events in The Vale?
I always like the events at Tian. Theyâre usually well hosted grand affairs that I enjoy. I love seeing all these types of characters from all sorts of races and backgrounds come together and I always have a good time. But I also always have that nagging shadow of a thought in the back of my head that asks âwhy here?â.
Booty Bay. I miss large Booty Bay events. That is a town made for partying and celebration. And it is neutral! It is also close enough to Stormwind and has a ship route close enough to Orgrimmar that nobody really needs an âexcuseâ to be there. It is the perfectly situated and designed neutral ground!
It used to be it was a lot more active as far as larger events went. But not so much these days.
3 Likes
Basically they want the visuals and the music. All the window dressing, but none of the context or lore.
Well, thatâs my interpretation based on everything said here anyway. Personally, I really want to RP in Pandaria, but only to experience Pandaria from the perspective of Pandaren characters who tolerate my socially clutzy worgenâs attempts to understand. ( Tourist RP, go! )
That effort would be a bit ruined by some fashion show at a monastery =/ Really hope the Pandaren community figure out a way through this tangled ball of yarn, because Pandaria is still one of the most interesting continents in the game and deserves much more RP presence than it has.
Iâm fairly sure most of this post is a mess but Iâmma post it anyway.
Just invade the faction capitals in return, bring the wrath of Pandaria to the other continents.
Iâm not one for the festivals, or for going there. But given largely the same group hosts them, I can acquiesce my not attending 
1 Like
Now I want to see a market dedicated to Pandaren food in the middle of Cathedral Square. Could be cool.
4 Likes
Whilst I can sympathise, given the state of RP due to the lacklustre expansion that is SL pushing more and more off the realm. Right now, its good to see any world events still going on even if it is in the same few places.
3 Likes
This is my general take on it. Certain areas get used for all sorts of reasons. Access, ease, aesthetics, space, npc density etc.
Sure there might be a lot of events getting hosted in places like Tian Monastery or other places that donât quite fit on strictly purist standpoint but the fact there are people willing to invest time, effort and patience in making them should override minor quibbles that rarely actually seem more than just a bit of pearl clutching for the most part.
Say these people were not to use the neutral location? Where else? I can put with 100% assuredness if said âfashion showâ or âfestivalâ was put in say⌠Stormwind, or Orgrimmar or Silvermoon the thing would be quickly gatecrashed by griefers (and not of the OOC sort) because big crowds draw the same type of people out that leak out of the woodwork whenever thereâs âriot rpâ or âprotest rpâ.
Putting them in slightly out of the way locations does wonders for separating wheat from chaff. I donât get the oddly gatekeeper type mentality that seems to be insinuated here anyway, if someone or some group of players wish to host an event in any location they desire in the world, all power to them I say. The more people out in the world is a better thing.
To the concerns that having Alliance and Horde in a place thatâs meant for another group (i saw mention of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms) wouldnât it be just as easy to look on it from a positive light by the Pandaren to see the Alliance and Horde abiding peacefully by one another? There are plenty of easy handwaves you can do to take on the fact a place is popular and well used by others.
Iâd certainly take Azerothâs Next Top Model: Halfhill Edition over even more poor taste terrorist bomber rp in Stormwind, for one at least.
1 Like
Itâs already been established within this thread that there are a plethora of neutral locations, both within and outside of Pandaria. Pandaria is merely the prime example of an ongoing matter.
The general sentiment is that there was an effort to make events match their surroundings instead of just using a location for the sake of logistics or to have a pretty backdrop. Maybe it does seem like gatekeeping, Iâd had a feeling it might look like that but it is honestly difficult to try and raised this concern without looking like a gatekeeper.
But in an OOC and IC perspective, holding a fashion show in a location that was recently sacked by Mogu, Mantid and Old God forces to raise gold to send to Westfall indeed struck me as odd, this is the example used regarding the Vale. Insult to injury was that there was little or no reference to anything Pandaren-related when the event was ongoing. This is a fine example of not really doing much to really push forward the culture or lore of the zone in return for a short-term benefit.
But these are two completely different situations. I wouldnât mind Halfhillâs Next Top Model either, if it made an effort to try and reflect the setting itâs being hosted in and make more connection to the zone rather than just picking a venue because it looks nice for the non-Pandaren models to strut around in. And this goes for any zone that such events are held in.
The âPandaria Effectâ isnât so much a tale of woe, but itâs the highlight a matter that zones are getting picked for events merely for aesthetic purposes and those events do little to find some reference within. I know these places are a nice instagram filter for backgrounds, but if youâre serving the same dish without using some spices from the places youâre serving then whereâs the enrichment?
13 Likes
Yes and itâs why people (that iâve spoken to) usually want to use slightly out of the way locations, itâs why a lot of people have shifted from Stormwind to Boralus for rp, to escape the GTA San Stormwindio scene of roleplaying over /y, having five different sets of goosestepping âguardsmanâ, gangs throwing molotovs at one another in taverns and the creep squad turning everything from the park to the docks into a bad retrospect of jimâll fix it.
Suggesting measures which could restrict entry into an area on some player made criteria is unfortunately gatekeeping. While that may not be the intent there has been more good than harm from these types of events being hosted in neutral areas, Pandaria/Argent/Non-Affiliated of all kinds.
The Vale recovered, itâs rather hard to put a bead on what the state of zones might be considering Blizzard themselves are not consistent. Old Gods were beaten, armies kicked out, peace and tranquillity for all again etc.
This however can be attributed to the Pandaren being non-existent practically as an organised bloc of rpers compared to monolith communities with far more organisation such as Night Elves, Blood Elves, Forsaken and Humans. As bitter a pill it is to swallow, youâre just going to need to have more people roll Pandaren, and the ones who are about to be more organised and out there representing yourselves in the best light possible.
Choosing a place for aesthetics is however a completely valid reason. It really isnât the fault of a player that the best designed zones are not the ones that were made 10-15 years ago, but the ones made within the last few expansions. While I can sympathise on the grounds of people choosing a place when they have no anchoring in their own event for it, Iâm not going to say people should stop coming to Pandaria or any other neutral zone.
2 Likes
Taking inspiration from the zone and the lore around you isnât that restrictive, infact, it can add more flavour if you plan to just copy+paste your event over and over around different places.
There are some beautiful places out there though.
2 Likes
This is a false dichotomy. Itâs not a choice between using hubs over neutral zones or keeping people out of neutral zones altogether, itâs about using neutral zones that actually live up to whatever the event is about.
Enforcing measures would be gatekeeping. Suggesting people take another point of view on board is not gatekeeping, itâs a suggestion, especially given nobody here has the power to stop anyone from hosting events on Pandaria. Itâs a bit dramatic to suggest otherwise. Even if it was gatekeeping, I feel the meme response of âYes, and?â coming into play. One personâs gatekeeping is another personâs level of standard.
Which makes it a bit of an arbitrary point because no matter how you alter this formula, if you stack a single race against every other raceâs community, it will lose.
I donât think that really solves anything. Having more pandaren players does not necessarily mean that people will give any more thought to the zones they use, hence why this thread exists. The guilds that do exist already do quite a good job, in my opinion, of representing pandaren roleplay.
In some cases, yes. If youâre using that zone to convey something that you want to exist in the larger game world but, canât find a means of representing it then sure, yeah. Using the Isle of Giants to represent a random isle in the middle of the sea is a clever idea.
Hosting an event in the Grove of Cenarius and saying itâs Grove of Cenarius while also asking people to ignore all the druids while you host a lumberjacks meeting and cut down the trees in the area is a bit weird/silly imo. More so when youâre challenged on the matter IC or OOC and say âThe druids gave us permission, take it up with them.â
20 Likes
Ew. Grody.
I think that settles it. Iâm going to roll an angry pandaren villager for the next inappropriate event held in Pandaria. Then ask every visitor when are they going to leave, because people want to get some sleep.
Heâs also trying to call for the guards.
9 Likes
I think one great thing would be for these events to be co-created with pandaren guilds.
When I was at the World Tournament my character and a friend looked for a guide that would give them a tour of the region. Out of hundreds of people, I didnât find a single pandaren - I actually did find two, one who was walking in circles and didnât reply to anybody, and then another who was on her own. Donât recall why, but didnât help us. And there wasnât a single event that felt tied to Pandaria.
I was somewhat disappointed: if I go to a place such as pandaria I expect to see some of the continentâs flavors.
4 Likes
Couldâve been me! Someone was asking me for a tour but I was about to log off to make dinner.
1 Like