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[Kazzzi]

Ever see a non-RP group that closely resembles an in-game PF faction? If so, did it affect how you dealt with them IC? How so?

[lallara zhuul]

Please elaborate.

If the name is deceivingly the same you can always petition them.

If you mean by interaction with entities in game, then just apply the Garreck doctrine 'Everything that happens in-game is IC.'

[Borza]

I think I know who he's thinking of.
He means groups who aren't really RPers but act in such a way that they could easily be, and aligned to a known faction. Like, say, mining organisations who aren't interested in RP but could practically be an ORE subsidiary.

[Elsebeth Rhiannon]

Most Militia folks who fight the war aren't RPers. Also, many of our allies are "locals of Molden Heath / Metropolis / whatever" defending the local region against pirates and stuff, but are not RPers. Are those examples that fit here?

I treat them basically the same I would an RPer in the same position: we make arrangements, have fights and operations, reminisce about past victories and losses, plan future campaigns, whatever. For me, they exist in-character; it does not matter much whether inside their heads they think they are RPing or not; they are real people in the game world and they have real effect on Elsebeth Rhiannon, and in EVE the way you talk about operations etc IC is pretty close to how you talk about them OOC.

The only difference is that with a RPer in the same position, I might slowly develop into talking about personal stuff IC, while with a non-RPer I obviously won't (I refrain from doing it OOC either; when I play EVE I want to play EVE, not to chat about my RL ).

[Esna Pitoojee]

Fitting non-RPers into an IC slot is difficult because of the fuzziness surrounding so many of their positions. Do they actually (support/want to destroy) (Slavery/"terrorists"/the Federation/the Caldari/CONCORD/whatever) because they think it's (wrong/awesome/horrifying/convenient) or are they just there for the pewpew?

Moreover, why is that important? I'll explain: I approach different groups in very different manners. My (IC) reaction to someone who has had a bad experience with slavery will be vastly different than my reaction to someone who just wants to kill targets, and I definitely don't want to put words in other players' mouths.

With that said, about the only slot I can reliably fit people into is "the crazy megalomaniac capsuleer" - and my reaction to them is fairly simple: Are you an ally? If not, should I flee/hunt/attempt to ally with you?

Essentially, by merit of occupying that unique slot, any IC reference is overtaken by practical considerations.

[Elsebeth Rhiannon]

I think I understand what you are trying to say, Esna, but I do not myself find it that black and white.

A lot of e.g. the aforementioned non-RPer local allies actually care (as much as anyone cares about anything in an interwebs spaceship game) about the regions they occupy, beyond just "being allied here and wanting pewpew".

And while personal IC relations to non-RPer characters are rarer than those with someone who is an RPer, obviously, they are also not non-existent. There are some (I tried and could name about half a dozen) non-RPers that are important people to Else (as opposed to just me OOC), based on the history those characters share. They know that I am a RPer about "The Republic" and they respect that, I know they are not and do not try to push "drama RP" on them (enough drama in diplomacy tbh).

These guys fit into slots like "a long-time <region> local and a loyal friend", "hero of the Militia", etc. Sometimes, well, better than people who would want to see themselves as RPing such.

[Shalee Lianne]

I agree with Elsebeth.  Thats pretty much exactly how I play. As an Amarrian loyalist militia pilot, I fly with tons of pilots who do not rp.  But, my rp revolves around what Shalee does in the militia and since I'm flying with these guys most nightly, they do exist in my rp world, whether they know it or not.

Usually it isn't a problem at all.  The guys I fly with, even though they don't rp they don't mind that I do and a lot of them read my blog.  They ask me to write about this or that battle or mention them somehow lol. 

[Esna Pitoojee]

Perhaps I should elaborate - rarely do I accept that there is a black-and-white divider between one option and the next. That's merely the most likely.

One of the reasons I tend to not try to apply labels is because it's very, very easy to start with what you think is a reasonable assumption about someone and then find that it's a mistake; this can often blow your RP out of the water and leave you with some nasty snarls to work out.

Example: At one point in a prior corp, I operated in an area in which was inhabited by an alliance that ostensibly claimed to be pro-Republic. However, when I opened negotiations with them, they ended up more concerned with whether I might also be negotiating with other (hostile to them) parties in the area, and never even brought up that Esna owns slaves IC (it's not the hardest thing to find out; I even mentioned that I worked with CVA...).
How do I treat them IC? They aren't terrorists/freedom fighters, or even really that pro-Republic. They aren't pro-slavery either; I'd posit that the vast majority of their members simply didn't care about RP positions. Of those that do RP, Esna gets along with quite well. They don't really fit any of the normal tags, and I don't want to claim they're something they aren't.

[Elsebeth Rhiannon]

Example: At one point in a prior corp, I operated in an area in which was inhabited by an alliance that ostensibly claimed to be pro-Republic. However, when I opened negotiations with them, they ended up more concerned with whether I might also be negotiating with other (hostile to them) parties in the area, and never even brought up that Esna owns slaves IC (it's not the hardest thing to find out; I even mentioned that I worked with CVA...).
How do I treat them IC? They aren't terrorists/freedom fighters, or even really that pro-Republic. They aren't pro-slavery either; I'd posit that the vast majority of their members simply didn't care about RP positions. Of those that do RP, Esna gets along with quite well. They don't really fit any of the normal tags, and I don't want to claim they're something they aren't.

This is, to me, actually a different problem to working with non-RPers. Your example case is about dealing with people who do give an RP motive but do not seem to you to live up to it. They are actually more difficult to RP with than people who are quite non-chalantly not RPers. A non-RPer you judge based on their actions and you measure their words against what they actually do. With someone who states an RP-compatible motive but does not live up to it, if you do that strictly, you can end up being accused of being a difficult person and spoiling other people's RP by "not playing along".

As I said above, I've also occasionally noticed that some people who do not RP "a local defender" or "a hero of the Militia" actually seem to fit the description better than some people who do. (Just to make sure: I am not thinking of anyone particular here, so if you think I am bashing you, I am not.) Personally, my solution is to play with "what you see is what you get". I try to be accommodating, but for example, if I see people who claim to be pro-Republic allied with known slavers, I consider it completely valid RP to call them on it and ask why they think it serves the Republic, etc.