Among gamers, Roleplayers are sometimes considered the geekiest of the geeks. It's not that we've actually done anything extraordinarily horrendous to earn ourselves the ridicule and mockery of our fellow gamers or anything. We just don't play the game the same way they do, so it's easy for them to point fingers and say, "Hey, they're weird!" and try to act like big bad bullies on the virtual playground.
Who knows why they do it, really.
Maybe they don't understand the whole idea of roleplaying. Maybe they think roleplayers are using the game as a venue for cyber. Maybe they had a bad previous encounter with a roleplayer (or pretend roleplayer) in the past. Maybe they were picked on by jocks in school, and have decided that they'd punish roleplayers in revenge. Maybe they're just jerks.
Again, who know? And more to the point, who cares?
I don't pay the trolls any mind, really. I used to roleplay a tarutaru in Final Fantasy XI, back before there was any real organization for roleplay, and people pretty much put up with it (back then, a good WHM was worth putting up with eccentric behavior). I don't mind explaining the idea of roleplaying to others who are curious, but for those trying to be arses, I will usually just add them to my blacklist and go on with my day. If they still persist in being a pain, I will send them a /tell asking them to please stop their harassment, a complaint will be sent if they continue, and I will follow through with the complaint.
And then I go back to ignoring them.
I roleplay openly in /say, with emotes and gestures and everything else. If it makes sense to move to a quieter location, I can do that - but usually only if it makes sense to the roleplay moment, or if the chatter is too much. I tend to concentrate on the text while roleplaying anyway, so people jumping around like poo-flinging monkeys on tables or trying to cast area of affect magics (I have the graphics for non-party turned off) don't even get more than a blink, really. I refuse to be bothered by petty, small-minded jerks who have nothing better to do than to try to make others as miserable as they are on the inside.
Who knows why they do it, really.
Maybe they don't understand the whole idea of roleplaying. Maybe they think roleplayers are using the game as a venue for cyber. Maybe they had a bad previous encounter with a roleplayer (or pretend roleplayer) in the past. Maybe they were picked on by jocks in school, and have decided that they'd punish roleplayers in revenge. Maybe they're just jerks.
Again, who know? And more to the point, who cares?
I don't pay the trolls any mind, really. I used to roleplay a tarutaru in Final Fantasy XI, back before there was any real organization for roleplay, and people pretty much put up with it (back then, a good WHM was worth putting up with eccentric behavior). I don't mind explaining the idea of roleplaying to others who are curious, but for those trying to be arses, I will usually just add them to my blacklist and go on with my day. If they still persist in being a pain, I will send them a /tell asking them to please stop their harassment, a complaint will be sent if they continue, and I will follow through with the complaint.
And then I go back to ignoring them.
I roleplay openly in /say, with emotes and gestures and everything else. If it makes sense to move to a quieter location, I can do that - but usually only if it makes sense to the roleplay moment, or if the chatter is too much. I tend to concentrate on the text while roleplaying anyway, so people jumping around like poo-flinging monkeys on tables or trying to cast area of affect magics (I have the graphics for non-party turned off) don't even get more than a blink, really. I refuse to be bothered by petty, small-minded jerks who have nothing better to do than to try to make others as miserable as they are on the inside.
