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[Casiella]

Look, I know we all have our preferences about what should be in RP. As we've seen in a number of recent threads, ask 10 players what are the RP community norms and you'll probably get 12 different answers.

But unless something is out-and-out whacko (Superman travelling from another dimension), can we at least not ruin it for all the third parties around by making a big deal ICly when you think somebody else is doing it wrong? Case in point, rogue drone RP. Everybody will have different opinions about it, but turning it into a federal case by calling them lying crackpots annoys everybody in there, particularly other people who would like to RP with the unusual character.

Yes, we can just defend ("well how do you know?") but that's not nearly as much fun as playing along. Stepping on the air hose just deflates everybody.

[Seriphyn]

Ah, the problem of blocking. I agree. What harm is there playing along with a rogue drone? I've had some enjoyment with it. In the Summit at least, I make a habit of looking up people's bios and, if they have some unique element that is publically knowable (like a criminal case), I'll bring it up for the sake of conversation.

Another thing...what is it with saying shit like...I'll give an example...in the OOC public channel...

"Hey Seri, remember when my character slapped you?"
"You mean slapped my character?"
"whatever"
"I do, yeah, what about it?"
"And then x character made you cry?"
"yeah, I do. but you mean my character though"
"cry some moar"

^ WTF is the point of that. It's bringing up some IC RP for the sake of showing off and putting someone else down in an OOC public channel. Why? This does not create a cohesive community atmosphere if the only point of confrontational RP is something to brag about OOC.

[Makkal]

I thought the Speaker for the Swarm was well done and interesting. According to the bio, he's not an actual drone or possessed by one, just an Amarrian scientist that worships drones and has implanted himself with strange implants.

At the same time, I do understand character thinking the dude is crazy and reacting as such.

Superman travelling from another dimension

 

*wonders how you found out about her super-sekret alt* 

[Seriphyn]

According to the bio, he's not an actual drone or possessed by one, just an Amarrian scientist that worships drones and has implanted himself with strange implants.

Heh, how inventive.

[Katrina Oniseki]

Playing Devil's Advocate:

Why is it okay to have my immersion broken by a 'silly character', but it's not okay to risk breaking anyone else's immersion by saying something about it IC or OOC? Are those who think a character is ridiculous supposed to swallow it, or just go RP somewhere else? Where should a line be drawn?

[Casiella]

Kat: I often run into characters that break immersion for me, or just annoy me OOCly. I just ignore them and go about my day, rather than rain on the parade for other people who may be enjoying it.

[Malcolm Khross]

I would like it to be quite clear that Malcolm's responses were entirely IC. I wouldn't consider anything I said or did to be "urdoinitrong" or deflating the air hose. Malcolm typically considers the man crazy, no matter how he wound up being a servant of the Rogue Drone Swarm, he's clearly crazy now and that's how Malcolm responded to him.

If that's not IC then I'd like to know what it is.

[Esna Pitoojee]

The line between questioning because your character finds an idea completely implausible and you finding the idea implausible is thin indeed; I bump into it often. I've yet to be able to define it exactly, and much like other aspects of the IC/OOC divide, I do worry that the line is often only visible after someone soundly crosses it.

[Syylara/Yaansu]

Kat: I often run into characters that break immersion for me, or just annoy me OOCly. I just ignore them and go about my day, rather than rain on the parade for other people who may be enjoying it.

This.

But then, my characters are the types who see something like that, shrug their shoulders, go "huh" and then remember they have more important things to worry about.

There are dozens of options available to players who are presented with RP that doesn't fit their understanding of the lore that are leaps and bounds better for all involved than waltzing into a discussion and going "you have a CONCORD this and graduated from school X, so you clearly can't be a rogue drone! Ha!" and then everyone facedesks because the 4th wall has just been shattered.

It's like that guy you go to the movies with who points out that the hero didn't reload after so many shots fired and that wounds from a 5.56×45mm NATO round don't look like that and wait those shell casings they showed hitting the floor don't belong in that gun and...and...at some point you just want to smack them.

Then 20 minutes later they're telling you how awesome that scene in the Lord of the Rings with the Ents tearing up Isengard was and you just give up :9.

Willing suspension of disbelief is sometimes required in order to enjoy fiction.  We fly pretend spaceships in pretend pods as neigh-unstoppable demi-gods in an interstellar setting with FTL travel complete with space vampires.  I think we can dispense with the nit-pickery on a lot of these "grey area" issues, but that's just me.

There's got to be some middle ground between being constrained to the wooden literal inflexibility of some game systems and someone claiming to be a werewolf where if it doesn't directly impact you, you simply make the conscious choice not to get involved and allow others to enjoy their particular corner of the sand-castle without asserting your superior prerogative.

[lallara zhuul]

If the most common response to an immersion breaking character is shrugging your shoulders and ignoring them it will generate a culture of cliques in the RP community.

As it has in EVE.

Also I don't see anything 4th wall breaking in pointing out the difference between game reality and what a character is claiming to be/do and using it as a tool to point out to the public that the character is clearly a delusional individual and should be treated as such.

[Myyona]

While I rarely RP with people trying to portrait the rogue drones, I often feel their RP is a bit lacking on knowledge on the history and nature of the rogue drones. Most importantly that the rogue drones are not a unified group (one big hive) but different groups that separate themselves from each other by adapting to the surroundings they inhabit. And, in particular, that the ability to adapt is their major force. Also, the rogue drones fight among each other. I stumbled upon this very interesting PF while doing my Algintal investigations.

This give a rogue drone RPer more room to develop their story setting for their particular drone hive, but I would advise them to refrain from trying to speak on behalf of all rogue drones as that is simply… silly, sorry.

[Graanvlokkie]

... but I would advise them to refrain from trying to speak on behalf of all rogue drones as that is simply… silly, sorry.

This goes for all factions.

[Jev North]

Yes. Thank you. The unrelenting torrent of negativity from the RP police is why I tend to avoid the whole "creativity" thing these days, and primarily interact with the RP community through warp scramblers, blasters, and snark.

[Syylara/Yaansu]

You are provided the tools to remove exposure to disruptive elements who disagree with your interpretation and/or willingness to bend inflexible gameplay restrictions to try something new.  If your "game time is screwed over" because you refuse to use them (which is what they are intended for, after all) then you have yourself to blame in the end.

As often as I see people bitch about how nobody ever comes up with a new concept and all the same discussions and arguments take place over and over and how the fiction encourages cookie-cutter faction archetypes...

I guess you're damned if you do, damned if you don't.

e-thugs thumping e-chests don't really impress that much these days.

Rather than "stompin" on people or coming up with degrading insults to hurl at them if they are doing something egregiously out-of-sync with established lore, point them to relevant information so they can learn.

If the most common response to an immersion breaking character is shrugging your shoulders and ignoring them it will generate a culture of cliques in the RP community.

As it has in EVE.

After spending time in online RP all the way back to IRC chat channel days, I guess I just accept the fact that large communities segment to a degree.
 
Quite honestly, I'll take a diverse range of groups each operating in their own comfort zones that interact with some other groups they get along with while avoiding others they don't over a self-selected "sekrit RP counsil" who thinks it is their god-given right to judge what's right or wrong and think it's their job to tell other players "your RP is nothing but shit" (like seen above).

Also I don't see anything 4th wall breaking in pointing out the difference between game reality and what a character is claiming to be/do and using it as a tool to point out to the public that the character is clearly a delusional individual and should be treated as such.

In-game reality: You can't join Mordu's

What I claim about my 2 primary characters: They are part of "Mordu's Surveillance Operations" working as part of the contract to provide security services in Intaki

How does it benefit anyone in any way if I were to suddenly find myself being hounded in IC venues by one or more other characters constantly about this inconsistency?

I'm just attempting to illustrate once again that it's one thing to balk at space werewolves but another entirely to endlessly nit-pick over minutiae that is lore friendly but not supported by game mechanics.

[mod]Removed the quoteboxes of a recently-moderated post. The rest can stay. -Morwen[/mod]

[Malcolm Khross]

I personally feel that tasteful creativity should be encouraged OOC, even if your character would respond negatively IC.

Speaks for Swarms, for example, is a really creative way of going about RPing something related to Rogue Drones and the background they're using is pretty unique and perfectly viable. I see a lot of potential for good RP with them. However, Malcolm doesn't respond so well to things like that because a) he doesn't like Rogue Drones, b) he doesn't understand why/how anyone would be fascinated with them, c) the guy clearly speaks in the third person plural when referring to himself which makes him crazy in Malcolm's eyes and d) he doesn't like Rogue Drones.

I honestly hope Malcolm's reactions weren't seen as an OOC attempt to "squelch" the character because they were entirely IC.