(12-17-2017, 04:40 AM)Mermaid Wrote: If I post a thread in a public forum and clearly label it as closed does that mean you should be able to jump in? The forum is public and everyone can see it, after all.
I don't really think that's an accurate metaphor, though? It's more along the lines of, what if you made a thread on a public forum and didn't clearly label it as closed in a community where such threads are typically understood/assumed to be open, and then proceeded to exclude or ignore anyone else who posted, or get angry with them, or message them OOC to tell them they can't be involved because it's private, etc.? /Say and /em and open world RP are generally fair game. It's assumed that if your avatar is standing there and you are posting in open chat there, your character is physically there in the world, and therefore approachable because they are, well, a part of the world all our characters are sharing and seeing. That's the draw of in-game MMO RP after all--that we have a complete little immersive IC universe here. If people want to have closed RP's in public channels, that's totally fine, but if others are gonna see them as standoffish, or rude, or weird because of it, I think the onus is on them to accept that for going against the norm and bringing out candy they're not going to share with the whole class.
More related to the topic, I think Maril said it all best and I don't want to be too repetitive, but imo, anything in public RP that a character could believably hear is fair game. This is a somewhat unpopular opinion, however, so if you want to avoid drama, it may be better to check OOC first. Yes, some people will metagame with that knowledge, sadly, but you have to ask yourself if those are the people you want to be role-playing with, anyway.