Welcome to Gaia! ::

This is a thread for those who need it. Meaning, if you feel you're confident as a roleplayer - both in skill and interactivity, I'll trust you know well how to conduct yourself as a roleplayer. (Though it's still a good idea to skim over this thread anyway.) Otherwise, if somebody has referred you to this thread, there is likely a reason they did, and it would be a good idea to read it. This is not as much a grammar (what, you thought it was English class?) lecture as it is an etiquette guide. It's only here to make a statement about what other roleplayers will expect out of you, and what you should expect in return. Ah, how appropriate of a transition. This leads me, without further ado, the first rule of RP etiquette.



Lo and behold - there she is. The one thing you should always remember. Even if you're somehow hit on the head with an anvil and forgot everything else. Why is this so important? Because it basically encompasses every other rule of etiquette. The Golden Rule is a demand for respect. Respect your fellow roleplayers, and they will respect you back. If they don't then they're being a douchebag. Not only is this an important rule in roleplaying, but it's important to remember no matter where you are. I'm sure you all know it. And if you didn't before… well now you do.
So what do I mean by respect? Respect is something you can probably figure out on your own with simply a good and sharp judgement, but I'll list the most important principles of respect when roleplaying.

II. POWER-PLAYING

I won't lie to you - this is probably lowest form of disrespect known to the RP community. It might be called by a different name ("god modding", "possessive playing", "character modding", etc) but all encircle the same idea. For the love of Jiminy Cricket, ONLY control YOUR characters. At the very least, ask the other roleplayer first for permission to do so and so to their character.

Here's an example of power-playing:

DON'T do this:


Here's how you can fix it:


The whole point in roleplaying is to have fun, so please don't ruin the fun in it for the other players. Remember the Golden Rule. ;D

III. SPEAK ENGLISH

Alright, I know you're speaking English (hopefully o.o') What I mean by this is that most roleplayers DON'T want to see this:



YES, I have seen stuff like this before. Nobody is trying to be mean to you, but when you type like this, nobody can freaking read it. Believe it or not, this falls under respecting your fellow roleplayers. Nobody wants to spend an hour trying to understand what you meant by so and so, only to later find out that your character was actually speaking. We all know you can do better than that. Keep your posts legible. Readable. When everyone can understand one another, a roleplay flows much more smoothly and is generally more enjoyable for everyone. Not to mention, there are also folks out there like Wonton and I who are irked by bad grammar. Don't be offended if somebody corrects you - about 90% of the time they mean well, and by correcting your own errors you WILL benefit. biggrin

IV. COMMUNICATE

Here's where many good roleplays can go wrong. Think before you act! If two people are in the middle of roleplaying, don't just barge in and demand their attention! Not only will it be frowned upon, but it will certainly upset the tone and the other roleplayers will not appreciate that! If you need to talk to the other players, not the characters, don't be afraid to use OOC! (Out Of Character: Usually followed by a colon and your message.) If you have just walked in to a roleplay and are feeling a bit tl;dr, it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask the other players what's going on and where everyone is at.
If you've been sticking around in one spot for a while, or even wandering around - if nobody is roleplaying with you, don't get upset right away. Consider all the reasons why nobody is interacting with you. Perhaps your character is on one side of town and everyone else is on the other. Don't blame them for not having psychic mind-reading abilities that can reach across an entire town and pick out a mind that seems interesting enough to travel a few blocks to investigate. Although the players know you're present, the characters may not, and it could take a little effort on your part to introduce your character in a (reasonable) manner.
If there really is no reason and you do feel utterly ignored, do tell. Use OOC and politely ask the other players if it's possible for them to interact with you, or if there is a way for you to make a spot for yourself. They may simply apologize and outright invite you into their little thing. Other times they might tell you what you need to do to get their attention that you might have overlooked. Either way, don't be discouraged.
Another VERY IMPORTANT part of communication is to let the other roleplayers know what's up. If you're involved in a roleplay and you need to go on a family trip for a few days, POST a notice somewhere so the other players can see it. It really sucks if you're roleplaying with somebody and you suddenly poof on them for a few days with no notice. The other player may not know how to respond - they don't want to be rude and abandon you impatiently, but your absence is slowing the RP down.
Respect the other players and they will respect you.
(Also, don't forget to use IC (In Character) or BIC when you're done talking in OOC so nobody gets confused!)

V. BE CREATIVE!

This may seem like a silly thing, but to be honest, we've all seen the character whose parents were killed by arsonists, is independent, and lives on the streets but is somehow well dressed. Look, it's alright if that's how you really want your character to be, but it would be nice to see some new faces once in a while. Try to make sense when shaping your character! You can't have black hair and blue eyes unless you're some kind of genetically engineered freak with a learning disorder. Even though it is possible in natural genetics, when so many roleplayers give their characters such an exotic set of genes, s**t gets old. Be a pal to your character and give him or her or IT, even, something special that sets them apart from Mary Sue down the Lane. Maybe your character has a distracting habit of touching his face and needs a few rubber bands around his wrists to occupy his hands? Or maybe he or she can't look at or be around water without feeling the need for a bathroom break? Make your character interesting! Give them some perks and some flaws. Make them believable. People like diversity, and the more interesting your character is, the more people will want to roleplay with you.

~

I'm sure you can think of many more examples of respect. But I'm sure if you read this, you have AT LEAST a very general idea of what other roleplayers expect out of you, and what you should expect out of them.
No, you won't get kicked out or anything if you don't follow these guidelines. But if you want respect, you better darn well give it.
(( No, really, if anything gets out of hand, don't be afraid to tell the mods. ))