Jump to content

Cliques and RP Etiquette


sforze

This is a poll  

46 members have voted

  1. 1. This is a poll

    • i voted in this poll
      17
    • i will not vote in this poll
      10
    • you can't sit with us
      19


Recommended Posts

On an unrelated note, are you by chance married to Trenton Cador?

 

Yep! Newly married this week~ Currently enjoying the privileges of dropping in on each other with ring-teleportation unannounced.

 

I do agree that cliques and friend groups aren't inherently bad things -- I hope I haven't given that impression, because...well, obviously they're inevitable and it's bananas to tell people not to hang out with people they like on a regular basis and give them your attention. That'd be nuts~ I just think it's important not to rest into a 'got mine' state of mind and forget that other people exist outside the circle.

 

Whatever the case, this thread has been plenty helpful and has given me a lot to think about, so I appreciate all the responses that have come from it.

 

Ahhh, hahaha. I was eavesdropping on his RP in the Quicksand for the past while and I noticed that you had the same (first) name that he mentioned. He's still there with three other people if you are interested and you don't know already. Although, at least two of them -may- be leaving soon. They sounded as though they were wrapping up until the fourth person came along.

 

Alothia was here too but it seems she left.

 

I don't typically RP in-game, but even should Trenton intend on leaving soon then I could try and set something up for you if I use a random character to perhaps act rudely to you... hopefully to garner the attention(and intervention) of onlookers? (I'll try and think of a softer means too, haha ;; )

 

Yaaaas, everyone who's offered to write with me should consider inundating his grumpy old man character, as well 8) Especially if you want a heartfelt lecture on 'young men these days'.

 

I'mma toss some friend invites out -- I'm taking a bit of a break at the moment to get up the enthusiasm to write again, but I'd loooove to get some things going then, even if you just wanna be a lil shit to Fina IC...which is probably the easiest thing you'll do all week because she is VERY easily rustled. <3

Link to comment
  • Replies 113
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I don't think I would play mean characters very well to be honest *laughs* 

It was honestly just a suggestion in the hopes that it will indirectly invite people to become involved but if you think I can be of any use to help you initiate with others then feel free to ask (^^/

Link to comment

Andralyn needs to RP with Fina and Trenton again. That was quite the enjoyable, random bit of shenanigans. 

 

...And Daphine may be in need of another to pick brains with about all things alchemical!

 

 

We should set something up!

Link to comment

OOC communication, for sure.

 

While some may frown upon it as 'hardcore, always 24/7 in character' roleplayers, I personally understand OOC communication both as backbone and 'must-have' for roleplay to nurture and prosper in a good way. 

 

Another good suggestion ; Many roleplayers post on their profiles (Right Click / Examine player] tagging themselves as Roleplayer, and noting whether walk ups are welcome or not. Often times such hints alone are very valuable for you to see if there's some RP potential, so just check player profiles ingame from time to times.

Link to comment

Andralyn needs to RP with Fina and Trenton again. That was quite the enjoyable, random bit of shenanigans. 

 

...And Daphine may be in need of another to pick brains with about all things alchemical!

 

 

We should set something up!

 

Yeeees do this! I've also got some plot bits up and coming with regards to alchemy that I'm pretty excited about, so there's much to speak of! :D

Link to comment

I've literally been around people who were by themselves emoting, which means to me that they're looking.  Sadly when I try doing the same back every attempt I've made has been ignored.

 

I just don't get it.  RP on this game is starting to feel like it's an exclusive club or something that doesn't allow others in ._.

Link to comment

I'm not going to beat around the bush and I'll likely stir up a fair bit of controversy with this post but I feel it's well worth stating this outright: A lot of role-players on this site love to present themselves as being open to role-play, friendly and fun loving people and yet in-game they're incredibly arrogant, needlessly exclusive and have an allergy to anyone who doesn't fawn over their every word.

 

Not every role-player is a bad apple and it is possible to find great role-play within the FFXIV community but not enough is done to allow fresh blood to get involved outside of pre-planned events and Free Company membership.

 

Then there's the ridiculous idea and commonly held belief that every last little detail needs to be discussed in advanced. In almost every thread you'll see people spew out the idea that 'OOC communication is important' and yet when push comes to shove many of those stating it don't respond to prompts IC or OOC from anyone who does approach them in-game.

 

My advice? Don't let it drag you down. Like-minded role-players do exist and there's room for everybody, it just takes a bit of effort and you'll likely have to wade through a fair bit of arrogance and bloated egos before you carve out a nice little group of people to interact with who actually want to role-play and not just treat outsiders like dirt.

 

It can be a pretty major culture shock to try and get involved in role-play in this community if you've come over from certain other MMO's that aren't nearly as 'exclusive' in terms of role-play. If you see my character around, however, everybody is more than welcome to approach me and set something up! I love getting out of cities rather than just hanging around in the same old locations day in, day out.

Link to comment

Then there's the ridiculous idea and commonly held belief that every last little detail needs to be discussed in advanced. In almost every thread you'll see people spew out the idea that 'OOC communication is important' and yet when push comes to shove many of those stating it don't respond to prompts IC or OOC from anyone who does approach them in-game.

I think you misunderstood this :)

 

The advice was to whisper someone OOCly to see if RP was welcome, or if something was missed in chat scroll.  This is not only reasonable, its also polite!  Some people do like to have things plotted out, but the vast majority of casual RP (especially) is entirely spontaneous.  People are just trying to offer useful advice for someone having trouble breaking into that sort of thing, and I do think its terrific advice! I'm sure I've missed a lot of things like this in the past.. chat scroll is a rough thing, and even if its moving slowly sometimes it difficult (or not really desirable) to read everything that's going by!

 

I never ignore anyone trying to interact with me intentionally, but I'm sure its happened :-X

Link to comment

So, I realize I'm in duty a lot (what can I say, I love instances, and I thus do LS RP a lot) and I'm basically never at taverns just hanging out, but please, if you see L'yhta out in the field, feel free to strike up a conversation. I can't guarantee you'll always get the response you want ICly, but I'll at least acknowledge you ICly -- and if I don't, feel free to give me an OOC poke. It's possible I'm AFK and the AFK status hasn't updated correctly, or I'm hammered with tells, or something else, but I will respond. I promise! :) If you want to set something up, just drop me a tell. I actually prefer just setting up a premise for characters to interact and seeing where it goes from there, rather than planning out the scene.

 

This is true even when my character is with a group of people, but you also need to consider two things: one, she's usually very focused on what she's doing, and two, she's often quite imperceptive generally. If you want to get her attention, you need to... get her attention. :) I generally try to emote back to people who are emoting around me "fishing," but if all you do is emote listening to her when she's facing away from you, she won't notice you're there. If you emote drinking or eating near her, she's not going to bother you unless there's something especially interesting that catches her eye. I don't mind adjusting her behavior a little if you drop me a tell, but I need something to work with IC too in order to be true to who she is.

Link to comment

Then there's the ridiculous idea and commonly held belief that every last little detail needs to be discussed in advanced. In almost every thread you'll see people spew out the idea that 'OOC communication is important' and yet when push comes to shove many of those stating it don't respond to prompts IC or OOC from anyone who does approach them in-game.

I think you misunderstood this :)

 

The advice was to whisper someone OOCly to see if RP was welcome, or if something was missed in chat scroll.  This is not only reasonable, its also polite!  Some people do like to have things plotted out, but the vast majority of casual RP (especially) is entirely spontaneous.  People are just trying to offer useful advice for someone having trouble breaking into that sort of thing, and I do think its terrific advice! I'm sure I've missed a lot of things like this in the past.. chat scroll is a rough thing, and even if its moving slowly sometimes it difficult (or not really desirable) to read everything that's going by!

 

I never ignore anyone trying to interact with me intentionally, but I'm sure its happened :-X

I believe this is best. Whispering someone to get their attention. Not to be rude obviously. I will stand around and tab out of game to watch my shows or just read the forums. Often I will miss people posting to me since well, if I stand there emoting to myself for about 30 minutes and no one bites I am going to find something else to do. Or I will often park myself and walk to my kitchen to make something to eat.

 

The Afk tag isn't instant and half the time I forget to turn it on before I go so I have probably scared people away. I also have my LS in another window due to how spammy it can be and will tab to it and miss the normal chat.

Link to comment

I don't think anybody is going to hold a grudge over someone who is semi-afk or outright afk missing an emote or two. It happens, especially if the location is busy. I've seen people actively role-playing, however, who couldn't possibly have missed someone walking up to their characters and emoting something unless they're deliberately doing it.

 

Nobody is obligated to interact with anybody else, of course, but OOC communication isn't to everybody's tastes either. Back when I role-played in WoW random interaction just happened on Argent Dawn EU. There was not lengthy song and dance to go through before people were drawn into the fold and anyone role-playing out in the open was automatically assumed to be up for random role-play.

 

If, for whatever reason, they weren't? Then they'd be the one to send a polite message stating that it's a private affair and they'd usually make it a point to arrange some interaction at a later date as a gesture of good faith.

 

Thus that is what I was getting at in terms of being a bit of a culture shock for many role-players, especially if they've come over to FFXIV from other MMO's.

Link to comment

He explicitly stated this has happened when the chat logs weren't surging with activity.

 

Whoops! I missed that. In that case - yeah, that is some incredibly bad form. :/

 

On the otherhand, if they are going to flagrantly ignore someone who is obviously trying to initiate RP with them without so much as a quick look their way to acknowledge they exist - they probably weren't the kind of RPers you'd want tl hang about to begin with.

 

I wish I could offer better advice on how to rustle up more random RP, but to be honest, I am super shy and actually have difficulty approaching folks for random RP unless I am on a specific character or have a plan in mind. Most of the RP friendships my character has made outside my FC are people he met at server events because when something special happens, its pretty easy to thrust a bunch of strangers together and have them bond as they go through shenanigans.

 

OP - while I'm not able to play as much as I used to due to real life being a huge pain, feel free to toss me a message on these forums on what days/times you are usually free. If my schedule matches up, I'll hop on Leilani Leilai and we can be each other's RP wingperson. Leilani is the most outgoing, cheerful, and excitable character I have and is pretty much the only character I have that I don't feel sort of awkward approaching random people with - so hopefully between the two of us we can shake things up until RP falls out.

Link to comment
If they say no - then you can silently judge them for having private RP in the middle of a public, open area instead of meeting up at an FC house or a more a place more secluded. ( Because in my mind, it's just common sense to not RP in a giant public hub full of RPers if you don't want to get approached by other RPers. )

 

I enjoy being in busy areas and people-watching but I'm shy and panic when strangers approach me. Even with friends it makes me uncomfortable. I don't think I should have to remove myself from these places just becuase I don't take well to walkups.

 

I had two unpleasant experiences earlier this evening that further put me off on acknowledging walk-ups. In both instances, the groups I was with humored these players. Both times these players had a 'their way or no way' mindset and since they didn't get their way, they were going to do their damnedest to ruin it for everyone.

Link to comment

Nobody is obligated to interact with anybody else, of course, but OOC communication isn't to everybody's tastes either. Back when I role-played in WoW random interaction just happened on Argent Dawn EU. There was not lengthy song and dance to go through before people were drawn into the fold and anyone role-playing out in the open was automatically assumed to be up for random role-play.

 

I was also on AD EU and yes, if you were RPing in public, it was pretty much given that you were open for random RP and the onus was on you to explain otherwise if and when you were approached. It seems alien to me for people to RP in a very public place yet refuse to engage in public RP...

 

I'm not sure what the solution is here. I would like to hope that most of the cases of people being ignored are down to the simple problem of having missed the approach. If that's not the case, well, I would move on and try again. Perhaps try another area altogether if that particular one seems rather insular for whatever reason.

 

One thing I can say is that, if you see me RPing out in public and approach me, I will absolutely respond. If I happen to be afk, I'll whisper you when I get back and apologise. If I don't respond at all then that means I somehow missed it entirely so a whisper to get my ferret-like attention would be appreciated!

Link to comment

Nobody is obligated to interact with anybody else, of course, but OOC communication isn't to everybody's tastes either. Back when I role-played in WoW random interaction just happened on Argent Dawn EU. There was not lengthy song and dance to go through before people were drawn into the fold and anyone role-playing out in the open was automatically assumed to be up for random role-play.

 

I was also on AD EU and yes, if you were RPing in public, it was pretty much given that you were open for random RP and the onus was on you to explain otherwise if and when you were approached. It seems alien to me for people to RP in a very public place yet refuse to engage in public RP...

 

I'm not sure what the solution is here. I would like to hope that most of the cases of people being ignored are down to the simple problem of having missed the approach. If that's not the case, well, I would move on and try again. Perhaps try another area altogether if that particular one seems rather insular for whatever reason.

 

One thing I can say is that, if you see me RPing out in public and approach me, I will absolutely respond. If I happen to be afk, I'll whisper you when I get back and apologise. If I don't respond at all then that means I somehow missed it entirely so a whisper to get my ferret-like attention would be appreciated!

Wyrmrest Accord (NA) Veteran here, I agree with all of this. I've only had ONE person say "This is a private rp, butt out." to me in MMO Roleplay. Ever.

 

That being said, "cliques" are natural and going to form everywhere, so it's useless to try and stop people from making better friends with one person than another-it's just how personalities work. The unnatural thing is the prevention of the addition of new blood, which should be encouraged, not shunned. Please don't hate on someone for not being there as long as you have been; it's like hating on a baby for being a newborn.

Link to comment

I am going to chime in here for a few , because I see a lot of great advice being given here but there are also a few things that perhaps I either missed or no one thought of.

 

Sometimes while Roleplaying I get a tell from a friend, sometimes more then one. I get distracted by it, so i check to see if the person I am Roleplaying with has posted. This goes as well for when I am sitting around with a larger group of people, same approach I am looking to see if they replied if not, I have a few seconds to maybe answer a question a friend asked, someone in my FC or one of the LS I am in . 

 

Does it always happen no ? but I have done it so I know it can happen. The best advice though is a sending of a OOC tell/whisper to some in the group , to let them know you are trying to break in to the conversation. Do this and wait for several minutes. WHY might you ask ? Because sometimes people spend a minute or two typing a reply to a conversation going on. You might be trying to break in, but they are stuck waiting for a reply before they can even reply to yours. 

 

Are their cliques , yes its natural actually. I tell people I am RPer friendly all the time, and if you see me and I am walking by or hanging out then attempt to interact. 

 

I tend to hang back a bit from Large public area's because keeping up with the chat scrolling across my screen can be hectic at times. When that happens I do miss stuff. I wish there was a line break between peoples posts, that alone would make things better for me at least. 

 

I will say if your having a hard time breaking in still , go to some of the RP events posted here on this website. Tavern night every Thursday has been an amazing event. There is also a date auction event  coming Saturday (shameless plug in because I am up for auction. ) , put yourself up for auction, it will get some interaction going, and let people know you are out there to Role-play . 

 

just don't give up and you will find Role play.

Link to comment

It really seems to depend on the people who are roleplaying. Some are ok with others jumping into their roleplay and others aren't. Personally I'm OK with a random person just joining in (as long as it fits the mood) to anything I'm roleplaying in public at the time. If I wanted something people couldn't bump into, well, I'd roleplay in private. As someone who has encountered a TON of cliques though (even amongst friends), I will usually send a private message first to see if it's ok to jump in.

Link to comment

I'm not going to beat around the bush and I'll likely stir up a fair bit of controversy with this post but I feel it's well worth stating this outright: A lot of role-players on this site love to present themselves as being open to role-play, friendly and fun loving people and yet in-game they're incredibly arrogant, needlessly exclusive and have an allergy to anyone who doesn't fawn over their every word.

 

Though the wording is a bit strong, and I think you are guilty of sweeping generalizations, I'm glad you brought up a dissenting viewpoint. It's an idea with some merit, and one I've noticed myself. I would not say a lot of roleplayers, as you have, but I would certainly say some.

 

The issue is time. For awhile now I've thought parts of the rp community can be similar to that of the PvE endgame community. For players like me, who level slowly, and rarely touch endgame (if ever) even trying to get involved can be a hurdle. I come to the game so late, that those who have been doing it forever expect certain things: a high level of gear. A thorough comprehension of how the dungeon is run. And an ability to adapt when the situation goes bad. Quite honestly? They don't have time to hold my hand and teach a noob like me. They want fast, efficient, smooth runs, and it is well within their right to expect as much. I won't fault them for wanting to spend their time in game to their level of enjoyment.

 

Thankfully, there ARE those out there willing to take a new person under their wing, but they certainly aren't the majority. Not everyone LIKES helping others. We are all just human after all. Though I myself love to help out if able, I have flaws in other areas, so cannot get mad if someone else doesn't want to help me.

 

The same thing kind of happens in RP. When someone takes the time to stop PvEing... takes the time to step away from their kids, their job, or whatever else they might have going on to RP; they EXPECT a certain level of smoothness. Of efficiency, and of enjoyment. After all, enjoyment is the ultimate aim of RP. I'll tie this in here: 

 

 

I had two unpleasant experiences earlier this evening that further put me off on acknowledging walk-ups. In both instances, the groups I was with humored these players. Both times these players had a 'their way or no way' mindset and since they didn't get their way, they were going to do their damnedest to ruin it for everyone.

A lot of people have had extremely negative experiences trying to cater to others in RP, in trying to be inclusive, of opening up their characters to complete strangers who they don't know from Adam. Just like you irl, might ignore the stranger on the street who comes up to you and starts talking, because there isn't a level of trust there, so too, might this happen in RP. I once had a character almost get eaten by a cannibal, a complete stranger I decided to accept random RP with, and my character was in no position to keep this from happening. I had to put the kabosh on the whole scene, thereby making the entire thing moot. I have no problem retconning like that, but others do. *Shrug*

 

People get jaded. They don't want to embrace ever new rper that comes along, because they don't want to end up in scenes like the one I just mentioned. It's nothing personal, it's that their wariness of outsiders has grown over time. That's why, to me, OOC communication is so important, because it serves as an icebreaker, AND reminds others that yes, there is a human on the other side of the computer looking for enjoyment through RP as well.

 

However, as you yourself pointed out, no one is obligated to RP with anyone. If people want to RP in cliques, okay. No problem. It falls upon those who want a more open world environment then to make that happen. Establish events. Not big, hollywood produced events.... just a Shout in game 'Come RP at (X location)'. Or... as if often the case on these sites... I have seen 4 or 5 threads in the past week alone about people struggling to break into RP. I have to ask myself; have those people messaged each other on this site to set something up? You are clearly looking for RP, they are clearly looking for RP.... seems simple, yes?

 

One more thing I'll add is; it takes skill to incorporate a stranger or walk-up into an ongoing scene. A DM's skill. Not everyone has it. A lot of people are flat out bad at it. They aren't really ignoring you per se, but either they OOCly, or their character ICly, or perhaps both at the same time, lack the skill and confidence to juggle the conversation they are currently engaged in, along with this new conversation coming in. They aren't necessarily being rude, they may just be overwhelmed.

 

Long story short; there is no ONE reason why cliques and ignoring others happens in RP. There are lots of reasons. Some are legitimate, some are good, some are not. But my advice for those looking for RP and feeling shut out, is to look for others on this forum who have voiced the same thing, and schedule a meet-up! Also browse the linkshells and fc's forum. You can have up to 8 linkshells! That's a lot of opportunities to make contacts you might not make through random walk-up RP alone.

Link to comment

As someone trying to get back into RP after being distracted for a long while by real life stuff and then leveling all the classes to 50, I understand feeling frustrated by insular groups and cliques. Even in my current FC with friends I find it difficult to inject my character into ongoing plots or situations with people I barely know.

 

Not to say anyone is to blame for this but myself, I'm just not sure how to get past it.

Link to comment

I have a few objections, qualms, and suggestions. Please note, even if I disagree with you, I hold everyone here in the highest regard and mean no offense by it.

 

1) "Events are a good place to meet people."

 

I haven't found this to be generally accurate. As someone who has attended ~20 events in the last few months, the only one that resulted in me making more contacts for RP was the Starlight Ball. This is because most events are so focused on some kind of performative centerpiece that the participants in the event interact with each other very little and/or because of the aforementioned chatspam.

 

2) The Quicksand is the one place to consistently find RP and the community derides it.

 

Nearly every one of my positive interactions with people outside of my RP partner have started in the Quicksand. I generally can't find people anywhere else with any regularity. And yet the community makes fun of Quicksand RP constantly by mentioning the supposed rampant ERP there (it happens, I've seen the roots of it, but it's not anywhere near as constant as people say it is).

 

Because of this a lot of the more established people avoid the place, leaving RP noobs to interact with a smaller, less connected pool of people. And everyone there kind of feels like a pariah when they see the jokes flying even if they weren't there for anything having to do with ERP. It sucks.

 

3) The lack of a central RP hub is especially damaging to new people.

 

This site/open RP/every RP LS I've been in has tons of people I have never seen RP. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they do, which just tells you that I don't have access to the areas/events in which they choose to RP. That in and of itself makes you feel like you're excluded from the clique.

 

***

 

Events largely benefit people who are established. It gives them something novel to react to around friends they've already made. They're a point of diversity for their character. Those who are new are just looking to make those friends to begin with.

 

I think what's really needed is a strong, central RP hub that everyone agrees on. It would need to be a large enough area so that the problem of chat spam can be addressed spatially. Ideally there would be multiple buildings with different themes to include diverse people (bar only wouldn't work).

 

Sadly, I'm not sure if such a place even exists and doubly that people would support it.

Link to comment

If they say no - then you can silently judge them for having private RP in the middle of a public, open area instead of meeting up at an FC house or a more a place more secluded. ( Because in my mind, it's just common sense to not RP in a giant public hub full of RPers if you don't want to get approached by other RPers. )

 

I enjoy being in busy areas and people-watching but I'm shy and panic when strangers approach me. Even with friends it makes me uncomfortable. I don't think I should have to remove myself from these places just becuase I don't take well to walkups.

 

I had two unpleasant experiences earlier this evening that further put me off on acknowledging walk-ups. In both instances, the groups I was with humored these players. Both times these players had a 'their way or no way' mindset and since they didn't get their way, they were going to do their damnedest to ruin it for everyone.

 

Ahhh, I didn't think of it from that perspective. In that case, this is just extra reason why poking someone with a tell OOC is probably the best bet if someone's not really receiving a response.

Link to comment

I'm perfectly fine with people joining in my RP, and my character will respond in kind as long as it feels natural. Like Magellan mentioned earlier in the thread, in "real life" you'll be hard pressed to find someone just.. walking up to two people out on the street having a conversation and saying, "HI. HI, MY NAME IS ROBERT AND I COULDN'T HELP BUT OVERHEAR YOU SAYING YOU LIKE X THING I LIKE." I mean, it could happen, but it would probably be seen as a bit weird in any sort of setting that's not intended to be a social gathering of some sort.

 

Walk-up RP can be tricky, and I think making it feel natural takes a certain level of social skills that some people generally lack. And that's okay. That's why it never hurts for there to be OOC communication.

 

Regarding the Quicksand, I admit I do avoid it, but it's less about some perceived notion that everyone there is looking for ERP and more about the fact that my character very rarely has reason to be in Ul'dah.

Link to comment

I don't think anybody is going to hold a grudge over someone who is semi-afk or outright afk missing an emote or two. It happens, especially if the location is busy. I've seen people actively role-playing, however, who couldn't possibly have missed someone walking up to their characters and emoting something unless they're deliberately doing it.

 

Nobody is obligated to interact with anybody else, of course, but OOC communication isn't to everybody's tastes either. Back when I role-played in WoW random interaction just happened on Argent Dawn EU. There was not lengthy song and dance to go through before people were drawn into the fold and anyone role-playing out in the open was automatically assumed to be up for random role-play.

 

If, for whatever reason, they weren't? Then they'd be the one to send a polite message stating that it's a private affair and they'd usually make it a point to arrange some interaction at a later date as a gesture of good faith.

 

Thus that is what I was getting at in terms of being a bit of a culture shock for many role-players, especially if they've come over to FFXIV from other MMO's.

 

 

Time for my 50 gil,

 

I've followed your posts so far, and whlie I understand where you're coming from with 80 percent of your posts, (I shared similar believes in the past), there's however one thing that I think you should be aware of in regards to "OOC communication not being to everyones taste"

 

 

I agree that initially, OOC communication can be distracting from mood and immersion if it is used to predetermine a majority of things that are to happen. Leaving things dynamic to a degree is never a bad thing, however; 

 

You need to differentiate between the various styles of Roleplay and the situation at hand. A public Bar as such probably invites to various walk ups and talks, after all ; A bar is a public place. Still, even there you might have people talk business at a table, and expect to be undisturbed. Sure, you can just try to initiate 'Roleplay' by walking up, and if you're dealing with good roleplayers they'll handle it ICly.

 

Chances are just they'll handle it by Icly telling you to annoy some other patrons or get lost. Normal in IC aspect, but it may feel very rude to you as a player. It's not that they want to exclude you, don't wish to make you part of the play, but certain approaches simply do not work in certain scenarios, and expecting others to break character so you can keep your 100 percent immersion by not talking with others OOCly 'will' lead to such situations.

 

 

OOC communication in my opinion is important for the following reason; (and perhaps im a minority in this regard). Every Character as such usually has facets and bits to him that the player would like to see exposed or present. A bard is not a bard if he does not sing to groups, a Soldier is not a Soldier if he never fights for his country, A Villain is not a Villain if all he does is menial bar socializing. Helping others, and therein, yourself to enable people to play their characters as they're meant to be portrayed can be the most healthy RP environment you can be in, and that requires you to know who the character you're playing with is, what he does, how he does it, what the player behind the character looks for in Roleplay, and and and. All of this can only be covered in OOC.

 

A good example of this is if you read the RPC Wiki's of several characters. Often, they have rich, deep stories that saw their characters tackle meaningful fights, overarching scenarios and be part of more moving things. Fighting for their wives, rescuing those in need, and so on. Yet, once they hit the RP scene, you see absolutely nothing of that. They just sit around, chat, try to talk with people in bars, and that is all their RP revolves around. Socializing instead of pursuing your characters ambitions.

 

In the end, it is probably a difference in RP flavor. I personally enjoy the occational Social RP, but I aim to have my RP somewhat story driven. That includes that my character has from time to time do the things that he does, and that wont work unless I clearly work it through with those I wish to involve OOCly beforehand.

Link to comment

There's a consistent theme I see brought up here, and I think it needs to be addressed outright so we can hopefully move on from it.

 

"Cliques are only natural, it's pointless to try to banish them"

 

This sentiment is really not the point of this thread. If that's the message you're taking from all of this, that was not my intent.

 

Cliques and friend-groups are obviously going to exist forever and nobody is trying to shut down groups of friends hanging out and preferring each other's company. That's crazy -- seriously, seriously crazy. Totally not what's going on here.

 

The request here is that in as much as I'm trying my best to be an active, communicative, and interesting roleplayer, there has to be some effort made on behalf of both sides to make it work. All the PMs and friendliness and understanding in the world doesn't make a difference if you can't get those who are pre-established to un-tunnel-vision a bit more. That's really it! You can keep your groups, you can keep preferring people you know and all that. I mean, I can't FORCE you to -- people who have robust connections and all that really don't have anything to lose if they don't feel like being a bit more inclusive, but I'm saying that from the perspective of someone still working to get their foot in the door...might be kinda nice, you know?

 

I'm not new to the game, nor am I new to RPing -- but I think Graeham hit it on the head that it's been some culture shock coming from the RP that I'm used to to a server of this size with this many pre-established groups and all that. I think Presidio also makes a good point in that I've seen a lot of people taking a dump on the Quicksand in the same hand that it's also trotted out as being one of the most active places to get RP for newbies. Just some food for thought.

Link to comment

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...