Yup, respect to your fellow players is my only general rule for good RP vs bad RP.
I also agree that it's at least courteous to acknowledge someone new coming in - even if my character is likely to ignore them completely, I tend to at least emote that my character is unaware/ignoring/uncaring of the new person in the conversation - or, depending, send the player a /tell to say they're welcome to join in. If my character is hostile for any reason, I also like to communicate OOC to say my character is an ass, but you're welcome to interact. I also tend to check in advance/ask for permission when my character is likely to rudely butt into a conversation, since that can be pretty disruptive.
It's only polite, and you could be helping a new person still trying to fit in! No matter how rude your character is IC, there's no reason to be an ass OOC.
That said, I'm with Vito - I prefer small, consistent groups, with some occasional random interaction to spice things up. I generally start by throwing all my characters around to find interactions with good chemistry, then narrow things down to a group of steady relationships. I also love little ongoing storylines - helps character grow closer together (or hate each other more!) and I thrive on character relationships. I like my characters to grow with and through others.
I also agree that it's at least courteous to acknowledge someone new coming in - even if my character is likely to ignore them completely, I tend to at least emote that my character is unaware/ignoring/uncaring of the new person in the conversation - or, depending, send the player a /tell to say they're welcome to join in. If my character is hostile for any reason, I also like to communicate OOC to say my character is an ass, but you're welcome to interact. I also tend to check in advance/ask for permission when my character is likely to rudely butt into a conversation, since that can be pretty disruptive.
It's only polite, and you could be helping a new person still trying to fit in! No matter how rude your character is IC, there's no reason to be an ass OOC.
That said, I'm with Vito - I prefer small, consistent groups, with some occasional random interaction to spice things up. I generally start by throwing all my characters around to find interactions with good chemistry, then narrow things down to a group of steady relationships. I also love little ongoing storylines - helps character grow closer together (or hate each other more!) and I thrive on character relationships. I like my characters to grow with and through others.
