Quote:
Originally Posted by Shinto
But does it really break your immersion more to hear someone shout "Is Quest X broken?" than to have the ooc channel open and hear it there?
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What follows is IMO, YMMV, yadda yadda. Insert whatever disclaimer you want.
For some people, yes, it does break immersion to use any channel other than the /ooc one(s) for that kind of question.
I don't roleplay in online games because I just can't get my head into it, despite 20-odd years of tabletop gaming. (It's the visual thing, I think. I'd rather see it in my head than on a screen.) That said, many people find exactly the opposite and for them, RP in an MMO is a vibrant and magical experience. So to some extent, they don't want said experience sullied by the equivalent of some kid's zillion-decibel car stereo suddenly blasting into your room at 3AM.
There's also a certain element of defensiveness in the (often rabid, IMO, and intolerant) way the RP rules are enforced. This is because roleplayers still get persecuted far more than anyone deserves in games. Really - there's nothing perverted about roleplaying and it's *not* all cyber (I'd contend most RP has nothing at ALL to do with that, in fact) - and yet, there's that image that an online gamer who's also a roleplayer is just geekness squared and thus fair to pick on by all the kids with personal issues to take out on others.
I've seen the griefing some people get up to on RP servers just because they know it annoys the people who play there - and since there's not much that can be done to stop them, the RP community can get pretty heated at the slightest hint that someone isn't following the rules.
Add to that (again, imo, you know the drill) that some roleplayers, as in any other group, just like to tell people what to do and how to do it. What you can name your char, what actions your can take when you roleplay, what is and isn't acceptable use - the kind (if you've ever played tabletop) that you just want to stare at and say "Hey, how about you just play this char for me, huh?" To me they're the equivalent of the people who endlessly relate what phat items they just acquired in regional chat, and how wonderfully cool they are - I avoid both if I can. Personally, I find the whole (( )) in a *marked* /ooc channel to be just plain silly - I also don't usually do it in tells because I have problems with the whole "I'm roleplaying, but I sure can whisper in your ear 5000 miles away;" that breaks character for me by definition, but it doesn't for lots of other people. There are as many different types of roleplayers, even online, as there are people. It's not all just one homogenous mass.
I'm rambling and I'm not sure I'm making my point - which is, if you're trying an RP server, give it a bit of time. The RP community can be defensive and insular, but it's also equally welcoming, helpful and mature (though not always on first acquaintance), and you might find you have some really great experiences there. A good idea would be to let people know in /ooc that you're new to the whole thing, and see if people don't cut you a bit of slack - I can guarantee that they will if they know you're willing and that your intentions are good.
RP online is a fragile thing to create and maintain, and someone next to you loudly discussing the football scores while you're trying to be Sir ReallySerious The Solemn Paladin isn't easy. Hence, a few unwritten rules, many of which are designed to make it clear who is doing/saying what to whom (it's not always obvious if, for instance, you walk into a tavern and there's something already going on). Hence, occasional scrappiness when people don't seem to follow those rules or know them by osmosis.
