Be a Good Online Roleplayer
Online roleplaying is a fun way to make friends, be your favorite character (or original character), and enhance your writing skills. Below are steps (some are meant to be humorous) you should know how to be a good one, not a jerk.
Contents
Steps
Selecting a universe
- Pick a universe you know well. Don't join a universe that you've never heard about or dislike; it cuts in with the whole experience. If your friend wants you to join a universe you've heard nothing about, look it up, read the books, watch the movies/shows, etc. Get familiar with your universe before you start.
Creating a character
- Choose your favorite character (or make an original one) Picking one that you think you relate to in real life is tricky, so try picking your absolute favorite character. If you don't have one, make one up.
- Don't make your OC (original character) be an absolute god. Roleplayers hate it when they see an OC who is claiming to be "god of the universe" and is totally "impenetrable." Making an absolute god won't help you make friends.
- God Mod, AKA Autoing. God-modding is basically being impenetrable and indestructible in every possible way. Don't do this, even if you are roleplaying a God of some sort. Remember: if your character gets killed in a particular storyline, you do not have to declare early retirement and kill off your character completely. Also, autoing is when you try to hit someone and they somehow "always hit without missing." This can also be called character controlling, controlling other characters, etc. It's insulting to the other roleplayer if you suddenly -throw a tomahawk at them with no chance of escaping- because it's pointless.
- Don't call yourself "professional" because you "act like your character in real life" or you've been Roleplaying your character for so long that "you know everything about them." The "Professional Roleplayer" does not exist. The only "professional" is the man/woman/group who created the universe you're roleplaying in.
Layouts
- Make layouts that suit your character. However, don't make all of the layouts; ask others to make their own too. Respect other people's choices. Don't say that yours is the bomb and everyone else's layouts suck. That's not cool and it won't get the storylines going.
Behavior
- Don't use text talk. Y u no reply 2 me? No. Don't do that.
- Sex: The rules in a nutshell. Don't roleplay-rape anyone (yeah, it exists, and happens), don't have sex in comments, don't upload sexually provocative pictures unless both parties are dressed and/or no genitalia is exposed, don't put "I'm so horny" in your status, don't put words like "horny slut" or "submissive whore" in your display name, and if you're in a relationship, don't go off and do other people.
- Don't one-line (unless it's a preference with someone you're roleplaying with). Most people prefer at least a single paragraph, but some others allow one-lining. Just make sure you check the other person's preference (usually in the form of Roleplaying Rules in blogs) before trying to roleplay with others.
- Don't steal anything, from anyone. This includes layout designs, storyline ideas, pictures, display names, biographies, roleplaying rules, etc. Don't be afraid to ask someone if you can copy something, 9 times out of 10 they'll say "Yes," and they'll expect credit so whatever you borrowed from someone, make sure you write "Credit to: [name]" under whatever you took.
- Drama. Ah, drama. A Roleplayer's worst pet peeve. Roleplayers mainly hate all the real life drama others bring in for attention. Don't be that person that sends a million bulletins/journals about your real life issues.
- If you have a problem in real life, talk with a friend in comments, messages, or on IM. Don't broadcast it to the world. However, you are allowed to broadcast in a journal that you'll limit your activity because of a death, school/work, problems in the family, etc. Just don't go overboard.
- Don't post a million statuses about how your parents are annoying. We all have annoying parents.
- Also, don't claim that you're going to retire, and then be all "oh wait, never mind." That pisses people off the most. If you're going to retire, think about it thoroughly and don't broadcast it prematurely just so you can watch everyone beg you to stay. Retiring is a personal decision.
- Be the nice guy/girl. Accept constructive criticism, be nice, don't take things said in roleplay personally, make friends, chat up, etc. Be easy to get along with, and great roleplaying opportunities shall come your way.
- Hang out in Chat zys. If you want to start a Chatzy, don't be extremely strict about it. Ban people if they're being rude to other members, not if you just simply don't like them. Also, if someone is being mean to another person, don't back them up because you think it's funny. Remember, not everyone in there is having as much fun as you, and don't act like you're entitled to do something and others that accidentally do the same thing you do are copycats. Be nice, and again, don't declare supreme power by giving certain people administrator rights and playing around with the rights with one or two other people. Be nice, courteous, don't single others out, and don't gang up on someone.
Owning the RPG
- If you own an RPG, don't go mad with power. If you want to assign moderators of the group, don't let them all be other accounts you have control over, especially if no one knows that those accounts are you (that's called sock puppeteering). It's not fun if you get people to join only to declare supreme power over them, because that'll make you look like a control freak and it'll cause people to leave. Let the members of the group be independent and if they don't want to participate sometimes then let them be. Only talk to them if they turn down opportunities consistently.
Tips
- Respect the style of other roleplayers. People play differently from one another; don't hate them for it.
- Don't control other people's characters, otherwise known as character controlling. Let the story play out with it's own twists and turns. No one wants to have the story go one way and one way only. Variety, almost.
- Avoid permanent god-mode. Everyone hates it when someone goes like this: "Jack hurled the spear at a godly speed, since he was invincible. There was no escape as the spear tore through her." It's one thing to maybe once in a while to say, "The spear was thrown at a godly speed. An average man couldn't have dodged it. He waited, hoping the spear would hit its target." It's quite another to keep irritating everyone with constantly invincible powers. It gets boring quickly.
- Don't god mod. God modding is becoming all powerful, and taking control of other peoples' characters. You can't kill someone else's character. It's just an indication that you're being a bad roleplayer.
- Join a fandom or role playing community that you know about. If you want to join a new one, read the books, watch the movies, play the games, etc. Don't just randomly join and have no idea what you're talking about.
Warnings
- Don't start an rp, only to reply only once or twice. People hate it when someone starts an rp, only to have that person reply a few times and move on.
- Keep in mind that you're still on the Internet. Don't post things you're uncomfortable about posting (such as a real life blog letting everyone know who you are, your cell phone number, etc). Get to know someone really well before letting them add your Facebook or see what you really look like.
