I was reluctant to chime in again so soon, but having read over many of the responses of this thread, there's one point which keeps resonating true. We all have different preferences, different styles, and different things that we hope to get out of our various RP experiences. I think we can also safely say that there is way more than just one spectrum on which we can kind of measure where we fall within the greater community.
IC vs. OOC
So far this has been used as a kind of baseline metric by the RPC to slap a label on linkshells with regards to whether they are casual, moderate, or heavy. Each RPer may have preferences with regard to this. Myself, I could do without OOC in most instances, but I have friends who feel they need some, or that a given linkshell is too quiet when things aren't happen and it's preferable to have some OOC dialogue than "dead air." This view is going to vary from one RPer to the next.
Adherance to Lore
This also seems to be a point of differing opinions. From what I have read in this thread and others across a number of RP linkshells I've belonged to in FFXIV it's clear that there are some people who are very uncomfortable with a certain amount of deviation from what has been established as canon by Square-Enix for this game. As the lore is still being written, it's hard to draw a very clear line in the sand. For instance I've known some people to be comfortable making some assumptions with regard to lore related to Sharilyn, Ishgard, or Garlemald - areas where there is still a lot of gray area - but then find things such as vampirism and lycanthropy are frowned upon (even though lycanthropy has been shown to exist in some form in Eorzea).
Style/Purpose/Story
Different linkshells are also going to attract members based upon their purpose. Adventuring guilds, mercenary guilds, educational facilities, business conglomerates, trade organizations, groups of friends with no formal organizational structure - really the sky is the limit here with regard to what the linkshell's creator(s) decide upon doing. While I'm sure an argument can be made that anyone can fit into any given linkshell's structure, certain types of guilds are generally going to appeal to certain types of roleplayers more than others.
Event Types ('casual' vs. 'monumental')
This is kind of a new one based upon the last few posts in this thread, but it seems like this is another good point of preference and worth adding as an example. I also use the expression 'monumental' events to describe their greater impact on the characters involved and 'casual' events to describe events where it may seem little character development takes place. I know some may grow weary of the simple get-togethers for tea and roasting marshmelons around the campfire. I agree that the real character development seems to happen within the individual linkshells - or at least this has always been my own experience. I suspect this happens because of the variations from linkshell to linkshell about what's appropriate and what's not (such as godmode, lore-adherance, etc.). I can also see the point about how too many monumental, character-defining moments can result in either being perceived as somewhat outlandish or otherwise the PTSD and frayed nerves and all that other fun stuff kicks in, as has already been mentioned. Personally, I like the frilly light RP and sitting around and chit-chatting and such, but I also like some "meat and potatoes" once in awhile. I can think of about three such incidents (curiously with three separate RPLS's) that have happened in my year-and-a-half of doing this. Some might yearn for more than that. Others may feel that's too much. Not everyone is going to agree on this, just as the points above.
As role-players, we are as unique with our preferences as our characters are. I don't expect that any of us will fall exactly in the same place on each of these points. Even people whom I consider like-minded RPers have disagreed with my views, and I with theirs, on certain matters. What's important here - and I think the bottom line to this entire topic - is tolerance. I don't see much intolerance towards anyone for their styles and preferences, and the fact that we can all calmly talk about these variations in an open forum such as this is certainly a very positive thing.
I do think a lot of the frustration stems from the fact that there are so many linkshell communities which may not necessarily comprise many members, and of course there is a lot of overlap since we can belong to multiple RPLS's and kind of pearl-hop depending on where the activity is on any given night.
This all being said, I don't think the personal variance is a bad thing. This has been more of an observation than anything else really. I don't necessarily view the current state of the RP community as a problem. But for those that do, I think the question we need to ask ourselves is "What we can do to improve things for ourselves, collectively?" Simply understanding and declaring that more people should be more respectful and more tolerant of different styles than their own isn't really accomplishing anything.
I don't have an answer to this question, but I put it out there as food for thought.
IC vs. OOC
So far this has been used as a kind of baseline metric by the RPC to slap a label on linkshells with regards to whether they are casual, moderate, or heavy. Each RPer may have preferences with regard to this. Myself, I could do without OOC in most instances, but I have friends who feel they need some, or that a given linkshell is too quiet when things aren't happen and it's preferable to have some OOC dialogue than "dead air." This view is going to vary from one RPer to the next.
Adherance to Lore
This also seems to be a point of differing opinions. From what I have read in this thread and others across a number of RP linkshells I've belonged to in FFXIV it's clear that there are some people who are very uncomfortable with a certain amount of deviation from what has been established as canon by Square-Enix for this game. As the lore is still being written, it's hard to draw a very clear line in the sand. For instance I've known some people to be comfortable making some assumptions with regard to lore related to Sharilyn, Ishgard, or Garlemald - areas where there is still a lot of gray area - but then find things such as vampirism and lycanthropy are frowned upon (even though lycanthropy has been shown to exist in some form in Eorzea).
Style/Purpose/Story
Different linkshells are also going to attract members based upon their purpose. Adventuring guilds, mercenary guilds, educational facilities, business conglomerates, trade organizations, groups of friends with no formal organizational structure - really the sky is the limit here with regard to what the linkshell's creator(s) decide upon doing. While I'm sure an argument can be made that anyone can fit into any given linkshell's structure, certain types of guilds are generally going to appeal to certain types of roleplayers more than others.
Event Types ('casual' vs. 'monumental')
This is kind of a new one based upon the last few posts in this thread, but it seems like this is another good point of preference and worth adding as an example. I also use the expression 'monumental' events to describe their greater impact on the characters involved and 'casual' events to describe events where it may seem little character development takes place. I know some may grow weary of the simple get-togethers for tea and roasting marshmelons around the campfire. I agree that the real character development seems to happen within the individual linkshells - or at least this has always been my own experience. I suspect this happens because of the variations from linkshell to linkshell about what's appropriate and what's not (such as godmode, lore-adherance, etc.). I can also see the point about how too many monumental, character-defining moments can result in either being perceived as somewhat outlandish or otherwise the PTSD and frayed nerves and all that other fun stuff kicks in, as has already been mentioned. Personally, I like the frilly light RP and sitting around and chit-chatting and such, but I also like some "meat and potatoes" once in awhile. I can think of about three such incidents (curiously with three separate RPLS's) that have happened in my year-and-a-half of doing this. Some might yearn for more than that. Others may feel that's too much. Not everyone is going to agree on this, just as the points above.
As role-players, we are as unique with our preferences as our characters are. I don't expect that any of us will fall exactly in the same place on each of these points. Even people whom I consider like-minded RPers have disagreed with my views, and I with theirs, on certain matters. What's important here - and I think the bottom line to this entire topic - is tolerance. I don't see much intolerance towards anyone for their styles and preferences, and the fact that we can all calmly talk about these variations in an open forum such as this is certainly a very positive thing.
I do think a lot of the frustration stems from the fact that there are so many linkshell communities which may not necessarily comprise many members, and of course there is a lot of overlap since we can belong to multiple RPLS's and kind of pearl-hop depending on where the activity is on any given night.
This all being said, I don't think the personal variance is a bad thing. This has been more of an observation than anything else really. I don't necessarily view the current state of the RP community as a problem. But for those that do, I think the question we need to ask ourselves is "What we can do to improve things for ourselves, collectively?" Simply understanding and declaring that more people should be more respectful and more tolerant of different styles than their own isn't really accomplishing anything.
I don't have an answer to this question, but I put it out there as food for thought.
"One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others." Â ~ Lewis Carol
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