(08-29-2015, 01:27 PM)Oli! Wrote: This is not the main rebuttal.
The main rebuttal is that you can't make them acknowledge you. And you can't. There's nothing that anyone can do to make an RP public unless the other party is willing to play along. All RP is about playing along.
You can't force them to acknowledge you, that's true. But there are consequences to a lack of acknowledgement. Consider a hypothetical example of this:
Bob and Jane are characters in RP in the Quicksand. They're having an argument in which Bob is clearly being antagonistic in the scene and Jane is being victimized. As you probably can anticipate, a number of characters observing the situation are readying themselves to "white knight", and one such character, Frank, approaches and emotes suggesting to Bob that he cool it and maybe they all get a drink and calm down. Bob and Jane don't react, and Bob goes to smack Jane in the face. Frank emotes reaching out in an attempt to intercept or block the smack to prevent it from connecting. Bob and Jane don't react, and Jane takes the hit, falling backwards, and Bob draws his sword. Frank emotes another attempt to intervene by drawing his own weapon and positioning his avatar in between Bob and Jane's, while trying to tell Bob to stand down. Bob and Jane continue to not react to Frank.
Now then. Is your statement true, that Frank can't force Bob and Jane to react to him? Sure. But, are Bob and Jane's players being rude by playing out their scene in a public space and failing to acknowledge the existence of the public? Yes. For their behavior, other players in the area will probably conclude that Bob is godmoding by not acknowledging Frank, and a large portion of those players may decide to write off Bob and Jane as roleplayers due to their anti-social behavior.
More to the point, inability to force Bob and Jane to "play along" doesn't mean that refusal is polite or justifiable, nor does it magically mean they aren't in public. Many roleplayers play with a mind to the realism of the social environment, which means that unless a plausible reason ICly is presented for why Bob and Jane couldn't be interacted with, they're fair game.
Lydia Lightfoot ~ The Reliquarian's Guild «Relic» ~ Lavender Beds, Ward 12, #41
This player has a sense of humor. If the content of the post suggests otherwise, please err on the side of amusement and friendship, because that's almost certainly the intent. We're all on the same team: Team Roleplayer! Have a smile, have a chuckle, and have a slice of pie. Isn't pie great?
This player has a sense of humor. If the content of the post suggests otherwise, please err on the side of amusement and friendship, because that's almost certainly the intent. We're all on the same team: Team Roleplayer! Have a smile, have a chuckle, and have a slice of pie. Isn't pie great?
