[amIblue?]

I don't even know what to think about this one. I was going to share it the other day when I read it, but I got busy with work and didn't get around to it yet.

In general, I don't like the use of (most) hand signs for (most) NPC groups. So, in that respect, I agree with the new stance from HQ. I don't think that it has anything to do with being "too refined" as Sen mentioned (although I do think that there is that element among some NPC women). The cultural appropriate aspect is bothersome as well.

For me, I think it boils down to the fact that we didn't do it when I was an active, so it just doesn't seem to be a part of my experience with Kappa. (Get off my lawn!) I also think that the hand signs that I've seen associated with Kappa look stupid because I usually can't figure out what the heck they're trying to show. (Seriously, I usually turn my head sideways a bit to try to figure them out.) There is no consistent Kappa hand sign. I've seen attempts at making letters, keys, stupid owl eyes. If we're going to have a hand sign, let's have ONE.

I also think that the message was delivered in a rather heavy handed and culturally insensitive way, but knowing what I know about how people get dramatic when changes are communicated, I can see that HQ felt that they had to deliver some reason beyond "it's not part of our ritual, so stop." They just didn't think enough about how they were sending the message. Unless it's part of the unanimous agreements, we don't need to bring in any other GLOs when making decisions about our policy.

Honestly, I think they could have just stopped using the photos with the hand signs quietly without making a big PR statement about why. It's not like they use every photo that is submitted. There will still be plenty of shots of people showing the back of their spirit shirts or beach shots, etc. When the actives see the kinds of shots that are being chosen, that's what they'll submit. It's not like these photos are usually particularly creative in composition.