A Question for Balmung

[Chapter Serf]

RPer! Walk-ups welcome!

Or something to that effect.

 

Yet, none of you ever walk up. You're all welcome to being walked up to, yet not to walking up? And I'm not just referring to myself in this instance. I see a lot of people always standing around, willing to be walked up to but not willing to walk up.

 

Why?? It completely boggles my mind... :dazed:

[Melkire]

Took that off my search info after a while.

 

I find that "Walks-ups welcome" is shorthand for "I don't mind spontaneous RP, but I'd at least like to have a hook before I initiate, so I'm not likely to walk up to you myself right out of the blue."

 

Might be that's not been not others' experiences with it, but that's been my impression. It's certainly a major factor in whether I walk up to someone: I'm going to want a reason for my character to suddenly bug a complete stranger, just as I'd like a reason in real life before approaching the same.

[Sriracha Quilt]

I've seen those as well. My own "status" for a lack of better word coming to mind never reflects that. Part of it, I think is an almost subconscious reluctance for fear of being "rejected", or just doing nothing but small talk, all in character, of course. 

 

At least, that's my perspective on why I never approach people while IC.

[Griffith!]

It's in my comments, because I'm not adverse to walk-ups. I'm also not a big instigator, so I don't initiate a lot of walk-ups myself. That's not to say I never do, just that it's rarer. I'm not that outgoing a guy. I don't like bothering people.

 

So I put it there to show I'll RP back if someone walks up, not to indicate that I'll walk-up and start RPing. Pretty much just that.

[Coatleque]

In my case it's mostly because I have nothing to say.

 

I'm not an innately creative person so coming up with an ice breaker or a reason for a palace guard to suddenly walk up to a random stranger and start talking is difficult.

 

But I am very good at taking what someone else is doing and feeding it or interjecting.

[Sigil.9054]

You're not that interesting, or I'm not paying that close attention.

 

Not you, the OP, specifically. I don't know you. I usually *do* walk up to people, and certainly don't mind walk ups myself. Usually, though, I have to think up a reason why my character would walk up to someone else. Unless there's something that stands out about them to pique my character's curiosity, chances are she WON'T bother someone. It's not even shyness, really. She's just content to keep to herself.

 

As for being walked up to, when I'm sitting by myself and not emoting or anything, I'm usually doing something else, and just leaving myself available. In those moments, I don't really care if anyone walks up or not.

 

If I want someone to take notice, I'll try "broadcasting". Sort of "role playing by myself" to indicate to others, "Yes, I'm here, and I'm available." It's a little disappointing when someone doesn't take advantage, but I'm a big girl. I'll survive.

[111]

In my case it's mostly because I have nothing to say.

 

I'm not an innately creative person so coming up with an ice breaker or a reason for a palace guard to suddenly walk up to a random stranger and start talking is difficult.

 

But I am very good at taking what someone else is doing and feeding it or interjecting.

 

I think it's easiest to not be creative, and have a few canned lines you can ask most people.

 

Like hassling anyone armed to make sure they're not in the city to cause trouble, or asking people what their business is in the city.

[FreelanceWizard]

For me, it's a friendliness thing. (I think my search info on L'yhta is something along the lines of, "Adventuring mage, always LFRP! Come say hello!") I often wonder if a lot of people aren't sure if someone's an RPer, if they only do scenes that are already set up, and so on. So, I try to give key information in my search info -- character concept, that I'm always open to RP, and that you can just come up and say hi, even if you don't have a hook other than, "Hey, you look interesting." I think this is particularly important because I don't usually spend a lot of time idling in taverns, so I want people in the field to know that, yes, they can come up and say hello if they want.

 

L'yhta will sometimes walk up and strike up conversations with people, but she's often doing something. Unless something really stands out to her, she's just going to go about her business. Also, as Melkire points out, just like a real person, she needs a reason to engage. If there's no obvious reason, then we should probably come up with a hook -- whether it's bumping into each other (possibly literally), an interesting trinket, or so on.

[Caspar]

I do do this, so I guess in my case this is a moot point? Though, I removed walk up status from search info... Usually I walk up when I'm unoccupied and want to play with someone. These days I'm often very busy, so being approached is fine, but I can't really go out of my way seeking it. I am definitely of the "broadcast" sort as my character tends to generate bad vibes socially anyway.

[Spethah]

Mine says to /w first with good reason. I'm happy to do walk up RP, but sometimes people want to do something extra like make a new friend and PMing me about is a good thing. On the other hand I don't usually start walk up RP because my character doesn't do that without a valid reason (she's an ultra grump, please forgive her). 

 

I also tend to forget to check search info as well, so forgive me on that.

[Kellach Woods]

I can handle making up a context for any situation I happen to have Kell in, the problem is that in my experiences few people are receptive to him unless there's a common ground, which walk-ups don't necessarily provide.

[-no longer matters-]

My character wouldn't walk up to someone and start talking to them casually unless she had reason. She's usually searching the crowd for targets or contacts.

 

This really comes from not having a socially out going character on War Siren. My outgoing character who I don't play anymore Nico Pahrafel would walk up and talk your ear off like you're a long lost friend. But I just haven't felt like playing her.

[WorstRPerEver]

I have "Walkup friendly" in my search info. For me, a lot of my hesitation is due to shyness. Usually I'll have an emote readied, but I'm paralyzed by worry that I'll mess something up or something will happen and my prepared emote will wind up irrelevant.

 

By the time I gather up the courage to actually post anything, the person has usually already moved on. <.<

[Verad]

If I wrote "Walkups unwelcome" there'd be hell to pay.

[Grott]

Walk ups not welcome. If I don't know you already, I never want to know you.

 

No, in all honesty, I think it's a shyness thing for a lot of people. Running into someone's conversation is an awkward situation, even in a virtual world. Ever had someone do it to you in real life? More often than not you think to yourself "So, what, you've just been eavesdropping?" or "Who are you and why are you talking to us?"

 

In a virtual reality it's a bit more acceptable, of course, but the stigma is still there in the back of people's minds. Plus sometimes people just don't have an "in" for the conversation. A lot of times it turns into someone trying to ICly correct someone else, or one-up them in their own conversation and no one likes that.

 

I think that's why people say "walk-ups welcome" instead of "looking for walk-ups", in my mind "walk-ups welcome" translates to "I know this isn't the real world and I'm totally cool with you butting in on my conversation for the sake of RP" whereas "looking for walk-ups" means "I have something to say and I don't care who hears it."

 

I hope that makes sense, as I have a tendency to ramble on this forum. 

 

I do, however, think this community can get sort of cliquish at times (not intentionally exclusive, but it's just how things happen) and RPing in the housing districts and in the Quicksand so much is kind of killing off some walk-up opportunities, but that might be a discussion for another time/place.

[K'nahli]

I could practically be said that I never roleplay in public outside of events and perhaps one, single instance(on a legitimate character since I'm not counting my level 4 bandit character) a long time ago for a variety of reasons, but if I did then you could be assured that I would almost certainly not walk up to anyone else either since my characters wouldn't have anything to really say to strangers under normal circumstances.

[Faye]

It's in my comments, because I'm not adverse to walk-ups. I'm also not a big instigator, so I don't initiate a lot of walk-ups myself. That's not to say I never do, just that it's rarer. I'm not that outgoing a guy. I don't like bothering people.

 

So I put it there to show I'll RP back if someone walks up, not to indicate that I'll walk-up and start RPing. Pretty much just that.

 

This, pretty much. Someone saying "walk-ups welcome" but not initiating them is not a contradiction of some sort, but actually makes perfect sense. My experience seems to be the opposite of Melkire's--"walk-ups welcome" has always meant the person is open to anything appropriate and believable.

 

But, to answer the actual question in the OP about why people don't initiate walk-ups--they don't for likely the very same reasons that you may not.

 

Some people just like to RP with their friends or have planned out RP and don't do spontaneous RP with strangers, period. For others, they may not be approaching you out of shyness or anxiety, or they may not know that you're IC and wanting to be approached. Sometimes people just don't have ideas, or don't have a character that's easy to justify initiating a walk-up with. Some people are just looking for a certain quality or substance and just don't find it in the Quicksand that night. Some people play characters that come off as gruff and unfriendly and may be difficult for others to approach.

 

For anyone expecting walk-ups, I think it's important to throw out clues and sell yourself. One baffling thing to me is that I see people who complain of not finding walk-ups, yet they stand silently in the Quicksand for maybe five minutes then leave. Have patience, and actually actively emote, do something interesting to pique the interest of the people around you, take a seat at an empty table to give others an easy hook to approach your character ("May I sit here?").

 

I think it's important to keep in mind, however, that there's no surefire way of finding RP unless you initiate it.

[Blue]

Sigh... this is why I keep sending in-game suggestion mail to the devs to add an "RP" or "In Character" status icon to pop next to our name to inform others we are IC. A good reason I don't walk up to others IC is that I can't tell who is RPing, who is afk, who is OOC, etc. A status icon is what we need >_

[Unnamed Mercenary]

My couple thoughts.

 

Having "Walkup OK/Welcome/whatever" is still very much a one-way thought. It means you are fine with someone coming up to you! ....but nowhere does it imply that you would do the same to someone else.

 

And I think that's part of the issue with it. We've got too many people who would like to be approached instead of approaching others. I'm guilty of it. I think I'm bothering people 4/5 times I think of asking for RP. It happens outside the game too. Used to work in a restaurant. Worst part? Pre-bussing a table. That thing where you interrupt someone's mean and ask them while they're chewing if you can take that one plate that really isn't taking up a lot of space on their table back to the dishwashers only to awkwardly wait while they trying to finish their bite and provide some sort of response. Hated it.

 

It does make me think of putting something funny like "By the time you've read this, I will have read your wiki and debated if I'm going to approach your character."

[Faye]

My couple thoughts.

 

Having "Walkup OK/Welcome/whatever" is still very much a one-way thought. It means you are fine with someone coming up to you! ....but nowhere does it imply that you would do the same to someone else.

 

And I think that's part of the issue with it. We've got too many people who would like to be approached instead of approaching others. I'm guilty of it.

 

I don't think this in itself is necessarily an issue. I think the issue begins when the people who wallflower all the time get upset or disheartened that no one approaches them, like others are obligated to approach them even when they would not do the same (not the case with the OP here, just something I've seen rampant on the RPC and in RP communities in general). It's okay to want others to come to you, but you can't get mad when they don't.

[111]

My couple thoughts.

 

Having "Walkup OK/Welcome/whatever" is still very much a one-way thought. It means you are fine with someone coming up to you! ....but nowhere does it imply that you would do the same to someone else.

 

And I think that's part of the issue with it. We've got too many people who would like to be approached instead of approaching others. I'm guilty of it. I think I'm bothering people 4/5 times I think of asking for RP. It happens outside the game too. Used to work in a restaurant. Worst part? Pre-bussing a table. That thing where you interrupt someone's mean and ask them while they're chewing if you can take that one plate that really isn't taking up a lot of space on their table back to the dishwashers only to awkwardly wait while they trying to finish their bite and provide some sort of response. Hated it.

 

It does make me think of putting something funny like "By the time you've read this, I will have read your wiki and debated if I'm going to approach your character."

 

I mean, I get this, but it's totally different in FFXIV, and if you take a breath an look at it, you'll see why. If you walk up to another person and RP something, they can just not respond. If they don't want to be bothered, or want to RP, they can just not type anything, or go.

 

/say Sorry I'm OOC))

 

I do way too much walk up RP, and sometimes people are either AFK/OOC or they just don't want to RP. If I don't get a response back for a few minutes, I'll send them a tell asking if they're IC.

 

Actually, here is a good way I use to judge interest in RP. If I walk up to a character that I think is IC, I look to see if they target me. I'll hover in front of them for a little bit before I start talking. Usually the ones who really want walk up RP will select my character to creep on me and read my tag. 95% of the time it means they're happy for the interaction.

[Tierney Weaver]

Look at it from an IRL perspective.  Some characters are socially anxious/afraid of rejection.

 

Some characters are grumpy,  they don't like to socialize.

 

And some characters go through different things.  It's normal for them to not walk up in these cases, the ''walk ups are welcome'' description is there for you to let you know that you can engage roleplay with that character anytime, just keep in mind that they might not be in the right mood

 

 

You can't blame someone for not walking up to you.

[C'kayah Polaali]

I have a habit of sending /tells to RPers asking what sort of RP they like. I usually take a "Walkups welcome" tag as an invitation to do this. I usually don't just walk up cold, though. I like to at least have a quick OOC chat to make sure they're not afk/waiting for a duty/whatever. I also like to find out a little bit about what sort of RP someone likes, and any background information we might know about each other - rumors, that sort of thing.

 

It's a lot more interesting for me, for instance, to go up to someone and say "I... know you. You're a pit fighter, aren't you? You're the one that took on those two Roegadyn with the nets... I won a lot of money off that fight, let me buy you a drink!" than it is to go up to someone and say "Gosh, it sure is hot today..."

 

I do get a kick out of people who don't seem to have a preference for anything:

 

"Hi! I see you're a RPer. What sort of RP do you like?"

 

"Oh, anything, really..."

 

Sometimes I want to come back with "Great! I've been looking for someone to use this sheep dip on! Hold still!"

 

Better yet, I love the ones that reply with "Not ERP." Again. That leaves a lot of open ground. Sheep dip time...

[111]

I have a habit of sending /tells to RPers asking what sort of RP they like. I usually take a "Walkups welcome" tag as an invitation to do this. I usually don't just walk up cold, though. I like to at least have a quick OOC chat to make sure they're not afk/waiting for a duty/whatever. I also like to find out a little bit about what sort of RP someone likes, and any background information we might know about each other - rumors, that sort of thing.

 

It's a lot more interesting for me, for instance, to go up to someone and say "I... know you. You're a pit fighter, aren't you? You're the one that took on those two Roegadyn with the nets... I won a lot of money off that fight, let me buy you a drink!" than it is to go up to someone and say "Gosh, it sure is hot today..."

 

I do get a kick out of people who don't seem to have a preference for anything:

 

"Hi! I see you're a RPer. What sort of RP do you like?"

 

"Oh, anything, really..."

 

Sometimes I want to come back with "Great! I've been looking for someone to use this sheep dip on! Hold still!"

 

Better yet, I love the ones that reply with "Not ERP." Again. That leaves a lot of open ground. Sheep dip time...

 

When all else fails, and they just say 'anything' I just pick something physical about their appearance, and stereotype it.

 

Fun examples:

Highlander - Unemployed

Lalafell - Rich

No pants - Prostitute

 

 

99% of the time the stereotypes are wrong, but that initial interaction is usually fun, and breaks the ice.

[Aya]

Well, I think I lacked the room in my status to include walk-up RPer.  I just assume it of myself (and of others).  Sometimes that assumption doesn't turn out to be accurate, but oh well, that's the cost of trying to meet people

 

What I look for in a status is:

RPer (if the character does not appear to be a likely RPer by appearance and behavior)

 

Important notes (obvious features, accents, etc).

 

The rest is just whatever!