From my perspective..Â
1. Don't accept IC/OOC bleeds around you, and have very high standards aimed at yourself. It's never acceptable and it should always be resolved as soon as possible, through means of communicating with the other player. I'm not saying go be a rude person and tell people what to do, more like a self-awareness on both yourself and your sorroundings.Â
2. Do not get angry when others question you about a potential IC/OOC bleed. This can be applied to a lot of other things as well - getting defensive about yourself and your character wont solve anything, people's only way to make sure that there isn't one is by asking. If you get defensive I'd be tentative to take that as a confirmation that there actually is one.
3. Do not play yourself, an extension of yourself or something you would like to be. It's one of the first rules I was ever told about when I learned to RP, and I still believe it's one of the most important ones, especially if you are fresh/inexperienced. This doesn't mean you shouldn't play something that you find interesting, mind.Â
4. Never ever assume that anything a player does through their character is in any way negatively aimed at you because they hate you or similar. Even with the people you have a bad ooc relation to, rarely I find their actions to reflect the same lest it was justified with a meaningful conflict.Â
5. Do not RP to fulfill a real emotional need, and if you end up doing that, tell your close friends in game so they might be able to help you or at the very least avoid stepping on things that'll cause you RL distress. Yes, roleplaying can be a get-away activity much like reading a book, but if you abuse this one in particular it can drive you places you shouldn't be going. Â It usually also ends up with people losing some of the friends they've made over time as I find, including myself, pulling away from someone who is in an abusive relationship with RP is the only way to help them, because you cut off whatever sets them off into sad spirals. Even if they might just find a new place to do it.Â
6. When it comes to romances, be hyper aware of the other person and try to regularily make sure that there's nothing beyond the IC relation. The moment there is, it's time to wrap up and go. It may not always be dangerous but trust me, you don't want to end up with a stalker (any gender here), it's better to be safe rather than sorry.Â
I do not know anyone, no matter how experienced they are and how clear cut their lines usually are, who do not occasionally slip into a moment of heated emotions, which is something that's good to keep in mind as well.Â
But most of all just don't accept it happening. Without the IC/OOC boundary, we wouldn't really be roleplaying, imo. Some rules may be able to be bent and broken without much serious coming from it as a reaction, IC/OOC is not one of those.
1. Don't accept IC/OOC bleeds around you, and have very high standards aimed at yourself. It's never acceptable and it should always be resolved as soon as possible, through means of communicating with the other player. I'm not saying go be a rude person and tell people what to do, more like a self-awareness on both yourself and your sorroundings.Â
2. Do not get angry when others question you about a potential IC/OOC bleed. This can be applied to a lot of other things as well - getting defensive about yourself and your character wont solve anything, people's only way to make sure that there isn't one is by asking. If you get defensive I'd be tentative to take that as a confirmation that there actually is one.
3. Do not play yourself, an extension of yourself or something you would like to be. It's one of the first rules I was ever told about when I learned to RP, and I still believe it's one of the most important ones, especially if you are fresh/inexperienced. This doesn't mean you shouldn't play something that you find interesting, mind.Â
4. Never ever assume that anything a player does through their character is in any way negatively aimed at you because they hate you or similar. Even with the people you have a bad ooc relation to, rarely I find their actions to reflect the same lest it was justified with a meaningful conflict.Â
5. Do not RP to fulfill a real emotional need, and if you end up doing that, tell your close friends in game so they might be able to help you or at the very least avoid stepping on things that'll cause you RL distress. Yes, roleplaying can be a get-away activity much like reading a book, but if you abuse this one in particular it can drive you places you shouldn't be going. Â It usually also ends up with people losing some of the friends they've made over time as I find, including myself, pulling away from someone who is in an abusive relationship with RP is the only way to help them, because you cut off whatever sets them off into sad spirals. Even if they might just find a new place to do it.Â
6. When it comes to romances, be hyper aware of the other person and try to regularily make sure that there's nothing beyond the IC relation. The moment there is, it's time to wrap up and go. It may not always be dangerous but trust me, you don't want to end up with a stalker (any gender here), it's better to be safe rather than sorry.Â
I do not know anyone, no matter how experienced they are and how clear cut their lines usually are, who do not occasionally slip into a moment of heated emotions, which is something that's good to keep in mind as well.Â
But most of all just don't accept it happening. Without the IC/OOC boundary, we wouldn't really be roleplaying, imo. Some rules may be able to be bent and broken without much serious coming from it as a reaction, IC/OOC is not one of those.
