Hello all of my amazing RPC people! I have a few questions to throw out there to you and see what I can get. We've just opened up an RP tavern and inn to the community. The majority of people we've seen have been wonderful but we've started running into issues with the not so wonderful. My questions are as follows:
How do you handle trolls? True trolls who come in to disrupt RP not those that just come in to check out the house OOC. We'd appreciate them letting us know they're there OOC but we have no problems with people wanting to have a look around.
How do you deal with outsiders wanting to turn your FC house into their personal ERP spot? Yes, we've had a few people members have had to cut off at the pass because they came into the house specifically to ERP downstairs. This is not something we approve of with our members let alone outsiders as we are not an brothel/ERP FC. If RPers want to rent a room, technically we can't and won't control what they do in a private room in party or whatever but in the public spaces... We don't want that kind of reputation.Â
Do you close down your house when the tavern/inn are not open? I hadn't wanted to do that but we've had to start closing the house down because people are walking in and expecting us to have full service RP at 2 and 3 am when most of our members are preparing to log. Some of them have become rather rude about it or come back at a later time only to get the same response from someone else who is wrapping up their affairs and getting ready to log.
Thank you so much for any and all advice you can give us! We do greatly appreciate your help and support!
1. There are two ways to handle trolls and which one you choose depends on the context of the situation.
* Ignore them completely
I blacklist anyone who is spouting utter nonsense or doing something blatantly trolly (dancing on tables, sitting on my character, etc.) and focus on the chatbox until they get bored and fuck off. This is the most common situation and honestly the easiest solution. You're already using so much of your imagination to fill in the scene for RP that pretending a troll isn't there usually isn't too hard. Sometimes they seem to AFK while their character dances -- if I notice/suspect that's the case, I just move my party to another table or location, NBD.
* Engage them in annoyingly good faith
This is far less common and isn't always right for every circumstance. If you can't commit, don't bother. If the fuckwad in question is trying to troll-RP with you (usually noticeable by a lack of punctuation/caps/grammar, obvious absurdities, a name like 'Salty Balls' in guild <POOP>, etc.), you simply RP right back as earnestly as possible, no matter what they say. Kill them with sincerity.
Example exchange:
TROLL MCTROLLSON: hey how are u this is a hot day in uldah my boobs are sweatin
You: reflects on TROLL MCTROLLSON for a moment, considering the words carefully. The fair maiden did, in fact, look to be glistening in the heat.
You: "Yes, you actually look a bit red in the face! Have you had adequate water? Are you dehydrated? It's actually quite dangerous to spend so much time out in the sun, you can grow sick and die. Do you need medical attention?"
There is some risk to this, but if you feel you're skilled enough and would get some amusement out of it, I've dispatched some trolls this way with fair results.
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2. I would honestly handle this IC as much as possible, whenever possible. People can be quiet/sneaky IRL and maybe get to second base in a covert area of a bar, sure, but that doesn't mean someone can't stumble upon them at any moment and have them sufficiently embarrassed/shamed/ejected/banned from entering (as the situation dictates). Couple that with sending a private message OOC letting them know your rules/preferences/that they can rent a room for it if they like, and that should suffice.
Obviously you can't force people to comply, but then you can refer to point 1 on ignoring trolls -- which is what you can safely call fellow RPers who refuse to respect your wishes like that.
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3. I don't think it's unreasonable to close access to the house when it's not open IC. You're not exactly allowed to wander most closed business places after hours. You can always list your hours on the sign out front and/or in your FC description if they'd like to reference. If they're still bitching about it, the best I can say is just stop caring what they think because they're not really people you want contact with anyway. It's not a difficult concept to understand that sometimes other people have a different schedule than you/you came late/it just didn't work out.Â
Hopefully this is helpful!
Report them to the GMs. Paste a log of the ERP if you need to make your point more clear.
If they're being disruptive on your lawn of something, and you kindly ask them to leave, it is considered harassment to continue as such. Especially if it's turning other people away.
If they're coming indoors and doing that, you might need to enable your FC house lock, and have a person act as a doorbell for interested patrons. (unlock the door, then lock it again)
How do you handle trolls?
Ignore them. As was already mentioned, you can remain fully IC and seriously and sincerely RP at them until they leave, but that only works situationally so I'd typically advise against it. Instead, just 100% ignore them and privately advise everyone else there to do the same. Eventually, they will get bored and wander off. Never feed the trolls.
How do you deal with outsiders wanting to turn your FC house into their personal ERP spot?
I've honestly never had this problem in all our tavern nights, so if this is a consistent problem, I'd say there may be something going on that... leads people to think this is okay at your tavern? I'd recommend trying to IC and OOC create an environment for your tavern that seems a little classier and better regulated than the average seedy little hole-in-the-wall bar, as well as letting your members know it's important they uphold a professional image for the tavern.
As was already stated again, deal with it IC as much as you can. If people are making out in a corner or getting handsy, ICly ask them to stop, and have someone play bouncer and escort them out if they refuse. If they're holed off in a corner silent because you know they're going at it in party chat, walk right up to them and ask them in /say if anything's wrong, if they need a drink refill or anything, etc. Worst case scenario if it doesn't stop, sending an OOC /tell and kindly ask them to stop or go somewhere else/private. You can politely explain that your tavern is not supposed to be an establishment for ERP, or that it's breaking RP immersion for them to be doing that in the middle of the room in party chat because it leads to some confusion in how other characters in the room are supposed to... respond to that happening.
Also! Something I find that helps is we try to keep IC guards posted around the private areas of the house to stop any of the guests from wandering off, accidentally or purposefully.
Do you close down your house when the tavern/inn are not open?
Our situation is a little different, because our tavern is only open at advertised times... We keep the house unlocked at all times, but since our tavern is only opened for business during our weekly "open bar night," people don't often wander in at other times and expect service. Perhaps having a specific time the tavern is designated as "open" will cut down on that?
I once had a roe whose friend/guildie didn't agree with the way Chao handled technology come and sit on me while I was having a discussion with another person about scribing a short magitek manuscript. Both she and I ignored the overgrown shitbag until he pissed off, so that's typically become the way that I handle it now. People screw with me, I disregard their existence and toss their names straight to the blacklist.
Generally I will engage people in an RP way and see if they respond. If they do and while ever it is good natured I will adjust my style to them. I have had some nice interactions that would probably be considered OOC in most circles, but that's how they choose to play the game and it is a little fun not hurting others.
If they don't respond then they either get ignored or become the butt of a joke, like that paladin table dancer (paladin who chose to stand in the middle of a table).
If they get offensive etc.. blocked, screen shots, reported as appropriate.
As for your FC house, if you want random visitors leave it open otherwise shut it. Maybe give the FC members permission to open it so they can let friends in. Not sure on this, if it is persistent harassment.. report etc.
Also--perhaps an unpopular opinion here, but it's perfectly okay to tell people to shove off sometimes. If people get snarky with you OOC about not getting IC service in the wee hours of the morning, it's perfectly fine to tell them--and firmly--that your members all have real lives and can't be expected to stay up later to RP something that people get paid to do IRL. If they get belligerent about that, you're more than welcome to deny them service and tell them they're no longer allowed at your tavern.
(04-12-2015, 01:18 PM)Unnamed Mercenary Wrote: [ -> ]Report them to the GMs. Paste a log of the ERP if you need to make your point more clear.
If they're being disruptive on your lawn of something, and you kindly ask them to leave, it is considered harassment to continue as such. Especially if it's turning other people away.
If they're coming indoors and doing that, you might need to enable your FC house lock, and have a person act as a doorbell for interested patrons. (unlock the door, then lock it again)
A little off topic, but I always thought that if your chars couldn't or didn't want to find a private spot to ERP, why on earth would you just rp that out in public, when you could, oh, I dunno...form a party and use the party chat channel?Â
Eorla's de-virginizing was a FTB thing, so please forgive me if I'm a little ignorant on some aspects of ERP...I don't mean to offend, I'm genuinely curious.
(04-13-2015, 07:51 PM)Eorla Brynn Wrote: [ -> ]A little off topic, but I always thought that if your chars couldn't or didn't want to find a private spot to ERP, why on earth would you just rp that out in public, when you could, oh, I dunno...form a party and use the party chat channel?Â
Eorla's de-virginizing was a FTB thing, so please forgive me if I'm a little ignorant on some aspects of ERP...I don't mean to offend, I'm genuinely curious.
Some people are rude or just stupid, or maybe just get excited at the thought of voyeurs, I don't know. That's really all it boils down to. Someone in a previous MMO I played said she had a rule to "only ERP in /say chat" because the game had a problem with people just sitting in corners of the main town grouped up ERPing in /party chat. She claimed it was to encourage people to find more unique/realistic places to ERP, but... I still think that just goes back to being rude/stupid.
(04-13-2015, 07:51 PM)Eorla Brynn Wrote: [ -> ]A little off topic, but I always thought that if your chars couldn't or didn't want to find a private spot to ERP, why on earth would you just rp that out in public, when you could, oh, I dunno...form a party and use the party chat channel?Â
This. This is how you smut in public without anyone being the wiser.
Not that I know anything about that.
Maybe I put too much faith in people, but I assumed the people in question were using party chat. It's still just a little awkward and confusing to RP when you're trying to RP... you know, normal tavern stuff when there are two people bonin' in the corner. How do you react to it IC? Pretend it's not happening even though the characters are still there, and they were maybe just posting in /em and /say five minutes ago and canonically in their own RP they're probably doin' it on top of the table? Do you ignore it since you can't see the emotes and pretend their characters aren't there and never were, even if your character may have just been rolling his/her eyes at their last public emote?
Even if the posts aren't visible, I can understand how it makes an uncomfortable environment if you show up to someone's FC house for tavern RP and find an ERP hideaway instead.
Well, if anyone's ever been smuttin' in party chat while I've been somewhere, I haven't noticed. I am bad about observing my surroundings unless I'm sitting still, though. I would completely ignore them to begin with, but I also don't really interact with people around me if I'm fishing for RP.
(04-13-2015, 08:16 PM)Faye Wrote: [ -> ]Someone in a previous MMO I played said she had a rule to "only ERP in /say chat" because the game had a problem with people just sitting in corners of the main town grouped up ERPing in /party chat. She claimed it was to encourage people to find more unique/realistic places to ERP, but... I still think that just goes back to being rude/stupid.
Mean~!
To answer OP, I'll echo what everyone else said about not being afraid to kick them out, maybe send SE a report if there are frequent and repeat offenders. It's your house you payed for, you don't need to take that!
On how to deal with trolls. This has worked far, far more effectively than ignoring them as often times trolls will simply take it as a challenge to see how long you can hold out before you break.
Just laugh it off, joke around with them, and act like what they're doing is extremely amusing to you. Do exactly what they're doing back in a light-hearted manner as though it's not really a big deal that they're interrupting. If they're dancing in scantily clad gear on your table, put on your most ridiculous outfit and do the same. If they're emoting lewd things at your character, blow back kisses at them. Have fun with it and above all -- don't say anything that would indicate that you're annoyed or bothered or even vindictive. Anything you say should be as though you're joking around with a friend.
The whole point of trolling is to aggravate and piss people off -- the second you act as though you're getting a kick out of what they're doing is the second you've robbed them of their power and their goal for trolling you in the first place. They'll either start feeling awkward and run away, find it neat that you're not taking things so seriously and leave, or they'll just get bored and go find someone else to harass.
Sure it might be annoying to have to stop the RP just to do something like this, but it usually only takes 3-5 minutes of time -- whereas I've had persistent trolls stick around for half an hour when trying to just ignore them.