roleplay Scuttlebutt from the Harbor Master

[Farrago]

Have a seat.

Get yourself drink of water from the scuttled butt. Here... add a bit of something stronger from this bottle. You only got a few minutes break so I'll be quick.

I am your Harbor Master.

I keep my eyes and ears open for scuttlebutt from the ports in these waters. I used to have agents everywhere and we'd share what we learned. Yep, back then... the right sources and the right customers... those odd bits of news used to earn us quite a tidy sum on the side.

But alas, your ole Harbor Master ain't as young as he used to be and many of my agents are sailing different waters. The Admiralty is controlling information these days. Them in Europe want to keep us down... keep all the profits for themselves and their ilk. I need some new agents.

So, lad, keep a weather eye not just to the clouds, but watch the ports and markets. Let your ole Harbor Master here know what you see and you may just find yourself drawing more than your Captain's pay and the miserly "rewards" that the King deems fit to give you.

But one quick warning... You know how gossip is. Information grows old like those fish in your hold or maybe the agent who is sharing it has less than honorable intentions. So don't blame your friend the Harbor Master if it doesn't pan out or you get burned. I don't know if I can trust every one of my new agents. Har! I don't even know if I can trust YOU!

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REAL LIFE:

scuttlebutt: noun rumor; gossip
English origin from the scuttled water butt (barrel) providing drinking water on the deck of a ship; Sailors would traditionally exchange gossip when they gathered at the scuttlebutt for a drink of water.

I have created an online bulletin board called Scuttlebutt from the Harbor Master to make up for what I feel is currently a shortcoming in the tools at our disposal within the game. The developers just rescinded their decision to stop global chat. [Thank you, @admin] However, other than real-time chat we do not have any other in-game or centralized mechanism to share information or conduct global trade. The game's trading tool, updated just once a day at maintenance, is inadequate. The Game Labs forum or Steam forum could be set up to facilitate this, but they are currently not organized for that task and are preoccupied with discussions of development issues. Chat helps but it's not "sticky" and is often quite cluttered. I would love it if this new site becomes superfluous because of in-game tools but in the meantime, here you go. I hope we all find the scuttlebutt useful providing opportunities for roleplay. Basically, I envision this site to at least temporarily take the place of what one might see, hear, and read on the docks and in the taverns of our fictional Naval Action world.

I am using the free bulletin board host ProBoards but have paid so none of us have to look at ads. Right now, you do not have to register to read or post but I highly suspect I will need to require registration in the future to add just a bit of accountability. I do encourage you to register anyway so that readers have a way to respond privately via PM to your posts. If you're making a commerce offer, you may also gain more trust being registered. I would encourage folks to use their primary in-game Captain's name and enter their game server and country in their member profile too. I can neither vouch for, nor would I if I could, the validity of other members posts. This will be a place for role-play. I can say that the Harbor Master character will never deliberately mislead you. I can't make the same promise for my in-game Captain Farrago. Please post feedback on the success or failures of deals or information. Without an in-game reputation system for players, your posted feedback will help others weigh the value of the scuttlebutt.

Please be aware that by participating on this board you are agreeing to the Terms of Service of the site host ProBoards. I, as currently the sole moderator of the Scuttlebutt bulletin board, will be the judge of whether your participation violates these ToS. Otherwise, I'm no prude and don't want to play arbiter of good taste. Role-play is fine. If the player character is a scalawag, it's okay to say so. However, personal attacks on the real life person will be shut down.

Any questions, problems, or suggestions... contact the Harbor Master on Scuttlebutt from the Harbor Master or me, Farrago, right here.

If you find it useful, please share this site with other players of Naval Action.

Edited May 15, 2017 by Farrago

[Farrago]

Bump because I think this site could be more useful than ever...

I made a bulletin board where Captains can share information, list items for sale or trade, tips, and rumors. Please check it out and participate. If there's interest, I can set up private nation or clan sections as well. I'd also appreciate feedback if you think such a site is useless because if it is ultimately deemed unnecessary, I won't bother with it.