I won't disagree with the "do what feels right" suggestions, because really this is a hobby activity that we all do for fun, and you should not feel compelled to follow a specific set of rules or to even "do it right".
But I do think there are differences between that and discussing what is most expected, and what is most effective.
I think the suggestion that expressing thoughts is something that should really be left to prose posts on forums, or stories. I say this for a number of reasons, but most especially because RP emotes are largely meant to be taken in the context of "this is what your character is experiencing", and they cannot read thoughts.
That said there are exceptions, and there are times that I do express thoughts in emote form, but they're rare and often intended humorously.
In terms of expressing emotions: I would suggest not straightforwardly expressing emotions, but instead utilize the wealth of communication potential in body language. We often share our emotional state indirectly through our expressions, posture, pose, voice, and movement. That is, probably, the greatest gap between real communication, and text communication, but we can draw upon it to voicelessly communicate to other characters in players in our interactions.
But I do think there are differences between that and discussing what is most expected, and what is most effective.
I think the suggestion that expressing thoughts is something that should really be left to prose posts on forums, or stories. I say this for a number of reasons, but most especially because RP emotes are largely meant to be taken in the context of "this is what your character is experiencing", and they cannot read thoughts.
That said there are exceptions, and there are times that I do express thoughts in emote form, but they're rare and often intended humorously.
In terms of expressing emotions: I would suggest not straightforwardly expressing emotions, but instead utilize the wealth of communication potential in body language. We often share our emotional state indirectly through our expressions, posture, pose, voice, and movement. That is, probably, the greatest gap between real communication, and text communication, but we can draw upon it to voicelessly communicate to other characters in players in our interactions.
![[Image: 21282370099_a814a08664_o.png]](https://farm1.staticflickr.com/590/21282370099_a814a08664_o.png)
