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"Just as the wave cannot exist for itself, but is ever a part of the heaving surface of the ocean, so must I never live my life for itself, but always in the experience which is going on around me.” - Albert Schweitzer
I feel like coup has equally affected the community, both positively and negatively. The positive affects of coup are that people are given the option to express their individuality more freely. With the limited amount of avatars we are given people may feel as if they cannot be as original as they would like.
Personally, I enjoy customizing my avatar, as well as my title bar. I no longer use coup, but I when I did I felt in control; not to say that I had no control over what I was doing, but more to say that I liked the feeling of being able to choose what I wanted to be. I could have a title bar with bananas in it, and an avatar with oranges.
In other words, I like how people are given the freedom to manifest themselves in their avatars, as well as their title bars. Not only that, but there are several other beneficial settings that come along with coup. Sure, there are limits, but overall people have an overwhelming amount of dispensation.
Although coup does have it's ups, there are a few things about coup which I believe have negatively affected this community. A small fault in coup, and I am sure this was not intended upon its creation, is that there are an overwhelming number of topics regarding it, which, by the rules, are not allowed.
As I said, I am sure this was not intended. After all, before creating something you are never sure of whether or not it will be accepted, and what portion of it will, or will not be accepted. So that is not a huge issue, but it certainly has lead to several off topic discussions, as well as rule breaking.
Perhaps another negative affect that we should address is the abilities we are given. We can completely alter who we are. That is, as I said before, quite brilliant, but in some cases, not so much e.g. someone might alter their personality completely. By that I mean that someone might pose as someone else. I have not used coup in quite sometime, so I am unsure if people are able to do that anymore, but in the beginning (if I remember correctly) you were able to.
The negative affects that has on the community is that it might create a stir up, people will get angry at one another, and rules will be broken. If someone is using coup and convinced that someone else is a moderator when they really aren't, all hell could break lose. Not literally, of course, but you understand what I am saying. People may impersonate someone else, thus resulting in a chaotic feud.
In essence, coup has helped members express who they are more freely, although that freedom is sometimes taken for granted.