Dr. Jana's Field Guide to ERPers for Everyday Folks Like Yourself

[OttoVann]

Well I missed a fun thread.

 

Gosh I wonder what category I fall into. I think Im like 1/3rd serious rp, 1/3 humor/side rp , 1/3 erp. am I awful?

 

Is the end near?

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Well I missed a fun thread.

 

Gosh I wonder what category I fall into.  I think Im like 1/3rd serious rp, 1/3 humor/side rp , 1/3 erp.  am I awful?

 

Is the end near?

 

No, because you keep it classy. And don't shout it in public chat. (At least, none I've ever seen)

[Askier]

*In the voice of the most interesting man in the world*

 

I don't always ERP, but when I do, I prefer miqo'tes.

 

Stay ERP-y my friends.

[OttoVann]

*In the voice of the most interesting man in the world*

 

I don't always ERP, but when I do, I prefer miqo'tes.

 

Stay ERP-y my friends.

 

You could have said thirsty here and it would have been way funnier. The thirst is real.

[Devereau]

I...I actually have no idea where this thread descended into the more inappropriate jokes, but I reckon I can shove a valid point in regardless, for I am always fashionably late.

 

I think the real problem in discussions here is that we shove too much of ourselves into our opinion. 

 

For example, "I ERP and I think ERP is okay," versus "I think people should be free to ERP." When we shove ourselves into discussion, just as we do into characters, it's not so much a discussion as opening ourselves to take things and disagreements as personal attacks. 

 

What I truly think should really be done is...well, whatever we want. The thing we should never do is force our opinions on other people. It's all well and fine to have opinions (on Sexuality, religion, politics, flavour of cake, the joys of Justin Bieber) but we shouldn't expect people to hear us out and agree or else they get branded HERETIC.

 

Now, the real question. Where do we draw the line? Use your best judgement. Figure out what follows social convention about discretion. Keep it classy. For example, you can probably yell about carrot cake being the one true cake, but the other topics (Sexuality, religion, politics, the joys of Justin Bieber) are in the realm of controversial and emotionally charged, and should be not tossed in open company. 

 

As it were, though, we only have control of ourselves. People are gonna not care, people are going to put feet in mouth (not sexually, stop thinking that.) So, what we can do is ignore it. Blacklisting or leaving company is absolutely a mature, valid choice, and really one of the only things we have control over. However, both parties should leave it at that, and stop poking the bears. That's the point of it in the first place. 

 

Shit is going to exist in this world whether we like it or not, so with anything, there are two rules that should be followed; Only worry about that which you can change, and don't be a dick. 

 

Now play nice, and remember that discretion is sexy.

[111]

*In the voice of the most interesting man in the world*

 

I don't always ERP, but when I do, I prefer miqo'tes.

 

Stay ERP-y my friends.

 

Don't we all.

[Kinono]

*In the voice of the most interesting man in the world*

 

I don't always ERP, but when I do, I prefer miqo'tes.

 

Stay ERP-y my friends.

 

Don't we all.

 

Miqo'te are gross. >

[111]

*In the voice of the most interesting man in the world*

 

I don't always ERP, but when I do, I prefer miqo'tes.

 

Stay ERP-y my friends.

 

Don't we all.

 

Miqo'te are gross. >

 

How do I give negative reputation...

[Coatleque]

Miqo'te are gross. >

 

I don't know, all the males Crofte has had to deal with have been quite civil in public.

Although those Tia's can be quite rowdy in private.

[Kinono]

How do I give negative reputation...

 

I'd return the favor, but being Miqo'te generates negative reputation on its own.

[Melkire]

Miqo'te are gross. >

 

I don't know, all the males Crofte has had to deal with have been quite civil in public.

Although those Tia's can be quite rowdy in private.

 

What you didn't say is actually more telling than what you did say. :lol:

[crowmeleon]

0la5DBtOVNI

 

 

As litmus for "Should we take it to whispers?" ask yourself the following:

 

-Would this be shown on Disney channel?

 

Final fantasy xiv is rated T, which means in a perfect world there would be people age 13 and up playing. Reality is you can be sure kids even younger are playing. 

 

 

-Would I be comfortable seeing other people do this in public? What about my grandparents?

 

It never hurts to take it to private channels, even if you aren't sure. And what you do in private channels is nobody's business but your own.

 

Also, for anyone who does include anything evenly MILDLY erotic in their roleplay, be VERY aware of the age of the person you're rping with- And the fact they could be lying. You can get into SERIOUS trouble. I tried to spoiler the vids for less spam but I can't figure it out, forgive me. 

 

 

gtMBuJkgiNw

[Lillith Cale]

How do I give negative reputation...

 

I'd return the favor, but being Miqo'te generates negative reputation on its own.

And this is why the only lovin Lillith can get is from a Hyur T_T

[Seriphyn]

The thread with the fastest reply rate is sex-related! Whodathunkit.

[TheLastCandle]

The thread with the fastest reply rate is sex-related! Whodathunkit.

 

 

I don't know, the pooping thread was started later and is steadily catching up.

[Faye]

Man, it seems I must a lot since I went to sleep, but to rehash some things!

 

1) I don't think Jana was meaning to make any of the three categories sound inferior to the others, and I don't think any of the wording in her post showed any bias toward any of the categories. I think the three classifications are pretty accurate, and there's nothing wrong with any style, it's just someone's personal preference.

 

2) I've never seen this rampant ERP in the streets everyone talks about. I guess I'm in the minority, but I have NEVER seen an ERP post in a public chat that was not just a mistell. (Firsthand, I mean. I have seen screenshots of such and heard some horror stories.) I've seen some racy posts quite frequently, sure, but nothing R-rated.

 

3) You'd be surprised who ERP's. I venture over half the people in the RP community have at least once. We do it in private, discretely, and perhaps rarely. Some hide it out of shame and pretend they're appalled at the thought of it (imagine that), while most others are just quiet about it out of decency. And I'm going to add--knowing that people in the community ERP does not mean you've ERPed with them. To help make some sense of that--I know most of my friends have sex, that doesn't mean I've had sex with them, thx. Knowing something doesn't mean you've participated or even seen it firsthand. 

 

4) Most people agree that public ERP is bad. It's preaching to the choir, even when you say to people who ERP, that ERP shouldn't be done in public. Sure, there are certainly idiots who post inappropriate things in public chat channels, but the majority of the RP community does not and considers it taboo. Even the people who do it generally realize it's a no-no. They just A) think "well I don't see anyone in the area so this place is safe enough to post in /say" or B) are purposely vying for attention/trying to stir up trouble.

 

5) Many non-RPers put a negative stigma on role-play because they want to, not because of anything the RP community did. Sure, there are certain role-players who do lend to negative thinking about us. But countless time I've heard people blurt out of stuff like "omg there are people ERPing in the middle of the tavern ugh how gross" and it turns out, it was just two scantly clad characters standing next to each other in silence or AFK sitting in each other's laps, two people joking around OOC with flirting and sexual jokes, or just some trolls pretending to ERP to make fun of/bother the actual RPers nearby. It's not fair to say it's largely the fault of ERPers that some people think that all RP is nothing more than ERP when most people who think this way are just trolls or people who have absolutely no grasp of what either RP or ERP is because they'd rather turn up their noses and rant about how we're all sweaty men in our mother's basements playing as catgirls looking for cybersex than try to understand either.

[Tiergan]

gtMBuJkgiNw

 

... I did not know there was a youtube channel just for roleplay advice. o_o

 

/mindblown

[Verad]

I'm never sure what the purpose of worrying about the possibility of non-RPers stigmatizing roleplayers for engaging in ERP is meant to do. Helping to minimize trolling and harassment - yes, certainly, but somebody who is willing to troll and harass based on that is willing to do it whether ERP is the reason or not.

 

So what's the point? Outreach? Are we trying to expand our numbers? Do people who worry about this simply not like feeling embarrassed about their hobby?

[Faye]

I'm never sure what the purpose of worrying about the possibility of non-RPers stigmatizing roleplayers for engaging in ERP is meant to do. Helping to minimize trolling and harassment - yes, certainly, but somebody who is willing to troll and harass based on that is willing to do it whether ERP is the reason or not.

 

So what's the point? Outreach? Are we trying to expand our numbers? Do people who worry about this simply not like feeling embarrassed about their hobby?

 

I think it's a matter of embarrassment mostly, stemming from insecurity. Those of us who embrace our geekdom, though, needn't worry.  I have come across RPers who fear trolls like the plague, totally irrationally. They will not RP anywhere public, only RP with their FC/people they already know, and often won't even tell others that they're RPers. I don't understand the troll-phobia, but I've come across it several times.

[C'kayah Polaali]

Well, in all fairness, there are games out there where the troll community is completely off the hook.

 

In Star Trek Online, for instance, there was a troll fleet for a while who's modus operandi was to take fire extinguishers and glitter projectors (yes, both items exist in the game) and mob RPers in certain RP hotspots, spraying so much glitter/fog that nothing could be seen on the screen at all. During their heyday they would basically shut these places down 24/7.

[Melkire]

I'm never sure what the purpose of worrying about the possibility of non-RPers stigmatizing roleplayers for engaging in ERP is meant to do. Helping to minimize trolling and harassment - yes, certainly, but somebody who is willing to troll and harass based on that is willing to do it whether ERP is the reason or not.

 

So what's the point? Outreach? Are we trying to expand our numbers? Do people who worry about this simply not like feeling embarrassed about their hobby?

 

Outreach has always seemed the point to me, though I'm not personally invested in such. I can see how a negative stigma arising from association with ERP might deter potential roleplayers and scare them off.

 

It's the difference between viewing RP as a medium for creative writing and viewing it as a cybering tool a la Second Life.

[Kellach Woods]

Wait...

 

ERP DOESN'T STAND FOR EPIC ROLE PLAY?

 

*shames self off thread*

 

* * *

 

Seriously though, don't bring ratings into this - They really only exist to protect the company and retailers from people railing against content that's already in the game. After all - "Online interactions not rated by the ESRB." That being said, it is against the ToS to do it in public channels, so don't.

 

Not that anyone here would do that.

 

I've seen it happen personally though, that they'd go very, VERY far in /say though not in this game, and it was this ur-example of all that is "wrong" with ERP. I was too busy laughing my ass off to care.

 

Still, I kind of compare the ranting against ERP (from "it's wrong" to "ERPers are gross") to potential people who do it as saying to a wrestling fan "wrestling's fake!" It comes from a position of assumed superiority about something everyone's already figured out years ago. That it's not your cup of tea is fine - that it is someone else's is also fine.

 

The funny part is, and again this was my experience in another game, a portion of people who'll say "fuck ERP" when prompted by someone who asks them about it, are actually ERPers themselves either trying to fit in or being obviously sarcastic about their hatred.

[Faye]

The funny part is, and again this was my experience in another game, a portion of people who'll say "fuck ERP" when prompted by someone who asks them about it, are actually ERPers themselves either trying to fit in or being obviously sarcastic about their hatred.

 

Every single person I've met who is vehemently against ERP--and I mean shouting about how gross it is and how they'd never do it when no one has even brought up the topic--end up being the most ERP-centric people I've ever met. Funny how that works lol.

[QueenFrejyalen]

I just really crack up whenever someone goes into "omg eww ERP?!  *mega-blushu*"  I'm not going to lie, ahaha.  I mean if you're grossed out it's cool, do you.  But I hope people aren't knocking ERP without knowing anything about it (not referring to the OP here, referring to in-game exchanges), because that's the same as knocking someone's IRL lifestyle without knowing anything about it.  That's not cool.

 

I had never ERP'd in this game or any other before, so I hit up some ERPers and just asked them questions on etiquette and the like, has been very interesting to learn.  I've contemplated getting into it for the sole fact of honing my writing as a craft (which is what, I assume, most are RPing for in the first place) and because sexuality and gender are topics of interest to me.

 

And I agree with Jana's clause about the creepers; do not feel guilty explaining that they need to stop or blacklisting them!  I treat most of these as a chance to help someone learn about boundaries, but there comes a point where you just blacklist.  If any person just asked me "hey, I really love your character/her personality, maybe they could be an item?  =3c", I'd be receptive to that.  But "yo sexy *buttslap*" is NOT okay.

 

There's always going to be that someone who doesn't understand boundaries, or doesn't care to (and shame on that person who just doesn't give a shit about others).  And there's always going to be that person who makes a mockery of something you love and are into, and shame on that person too.

 

I guess my personal opinion/advice on all of this is the same as many others here - ASK FIRST!  Be clear, honest, and up-front with what you are looking for, and ask nicely.  If they're not into it, that's their choice.  If someone asks YOU nicely, be respectful of their lifestyle and decline fairly.

 

Communication is key in all of life.  <3

[Delilah Scythewood]

 

Every single person I've met who is vehemently against ERP--and I mean shouting about how gross it is and how they'd never do it when no one has even brought up the topic--end up being the most ERP-centric people I've ever met. Funny how that works lol.

 

I've seen that too. Thou protests too much! *eyebrow waggle*