Tips on How to RP Considerately

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LadyKirsten's picture.
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Tips on How to RP Considerately

More information can be found here:

This thread is being set up to just provide some bullet points and things to think about. This way we can also have a place where people can post their own suggestions and tips. So feel free to add on as you wish. It's all about helping others and ourselves.

-Limbo Tips:
If you're interested in setting up an RP try and ask others to join in Limbo. If you see others setting something up that isn't in a private or personal room feel free to ask to join in. This is no guarantee that you will be able to play with that particular group so be understanding if the answer is no. If you see RP already happening, ask in Limbo if you can join, rather than asking in the room itself. This helps prevent the room from getting lots of extra posts. However if you get no response in limbo, you can then ask in the room itself. It's possible they didn't see you. Alternately, if you set up a public RP, try to keep an eye on limbo so that you can respond to anyone who asks to join in later.

-Metagaming Tips:
When playing, be sure to keep pop culture references to a minimum. There is some wiggle room, but if it happens frequently, it may become a problem. It's because these things don't exist in Vaxia, and so it makes very little sense to include them. Another very important thing to do is keep your knowledge as a player away from your knowledge as the character you are playing. It is very important to keep yourself from leading/influencing other players to tell you details about their characters during the game. What they choose to tell a character is entirely up to them. They may tell one of your characters their darkest secrets, but that means your other characters don't know about it. Keeping the two separate is very important when playing.

-Reading/Watching RP that you are not included in:
It can be hard not to metagame if you are reading other players RP even when you are not included. Especially for newer players. One good way to avoid that temptation is to steer clear of RP you are not in. If it is in a private room, or a bedroom or similar area, there is no reason for you to read it at all as it is likely a private conversation that is personal for the players involved. Some of our players are bothered by people watching them play when they are not actively playing with that other player. They may mention in the OOC box or in limbo that they'd like you to leave. If it becomes a regular thing they need to ask, they may even message you privately later. If this happens, please be understanding and refrain from watching their RP. They are asking you to help make their time here more pleasant and you should attempt to be mindful of their concerns.

-Being Patient:
Playing in a session or even in a casual RP can take a long time. Several hours at least. Waiting for all the other players to post in a given round takes a while. While doing a slow post, it takes even longer. If you find yourself writing consistently long posts and having people wait long periods of time for you, try and be mindful and alter your posts slightly to help alleviate that. One of the best ways to do that is to begin writing your posts as the others respond, instead of waiting until the end to do it all at once. This means that rounds will move much faster for everyone. In general, making someone wait more than 30 minutes for a post is discouraged. If that happens to you, try and ask (either in an OOC box or in limbo) to see if the player is still there. If they are there, continue being patient. However if you wait another 10+ minutes with no response, go ahead and move forward. They can catch up on the next round.

-Rounds vs No Rounds:
In Sessions, often times you will post in rounds. You will get one post to say everything your character is doing before the A/SH then gives a narrative so that you can post again. Outside of sessions, you don't have to post in rounds unless you want to. Often times, that's how it works out naturally. When in conversation with another character, it's best to get their response before you make a second post. However if a person is consistently slowing an active RP down, you may need to skip them. Let them know the reasoning behind your actions if you can, but be polite when you do so. It's very possible that they got distracted and started on their post late, so being considerate is appreciated.

-Read the Room:
If a player seems to be uncomfortable with your actions IC, try and be considerate of their concerns by behaving responsibly OOC. Speak to them in Limbo or a Private Message and ask what's going on. Explain your reasoning and they will explain their concerns. Try and work out a solution that works for both of you. Otherwise, try and step out of the RP, or suggest a change of characters or settings to help cool down the conflict. This will help keep people civil and keep the reaction OOC and IC much more pleasant.

-Read the Responses:
A fact of life here on Vaxia is that we all skim sometimes. In fact, many people who read this will skim it. There's nothing wrong with that in general, but try not to do it much. It can lead to missed information and miscommunication. If you find that you are confused about something that another player says or does, read backward in the log. It's possible that you've skipped an important bit. Another aspect of this is typos. We all make them, and we don't always catch them to edit them. Try and read around them. Often times the meaning is clear upon a second look. If you still find yourself confused, ask the person what they meant. It's likely a 'slip of the fingers.'

-Make Complete Posts:
Here on Vaxia, no one is a mind reader. If you don't write it down, we don't know it. You're painting an image with your dialogue and it's important to include all sorts of things. Upon opening posts, it's nice to include details about your clothing or anything physically descriptive about yourself. When you start to interact with others explain your tone of voice and your visual hints as to how you're feeling. You should also explain your thoughts and your emotions as well. It helps other players get a better glimpse of who your character is. Including information helps keep the world vibrant and alive. It helps other players interact with you as well.

LadyKirsten's picture.
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Last online
6 days 11 hours ago
Tips on how to RP considerately: Part Two

There are basically two types of RP. Casual and Session. I'd like to add on to the above section to give players a few guidelines about the specific types of RP that they will encounter while playing on Vaxia. We've had a lot of amazing RP opportunities lately and it's led to some wonderful posts. In order to keep that going, I'd like to have this post to show what players have been doing really well. :)

Let's start with the type of RP you will likely be playing the most often. Casual RP. There are two types of casual RP, slow post style and normal style.

The normal style RP is the more frequent of the two. In an average RP, you can expect to post at least once an hour, depending on how many people are involved. Often times it's more like every thirty minutes or so, and if it's one on one, you may even find that number drops to about twenty minutes. Checking in and keeping the bullet points from the post above in mind can greatly benefit your RP. One way to help keep the flow going is to begin working on your next post after each other character posts. Suppose you are in an RP with three players, A, B, and C. Let's say you are player A. Rather than waiting for player B and C to post before you begin to write out your next post, start on your response to player B as soon as you see it. This gives you a jump on the RP, and then by the time player C posts, you are merely responding to them and you have a quicker response. This is especially helpful in RPs with multiple players as it greatly speeds up the RP without sacrificing quality.

The other type of casual RP is the slow post style. These RPs may take a relatively short amount of time IC, but due to scheduling it may take upwards of a month or more to actually finish the RP. In general, we recommend attempting to post once a day (or more if you prefer it). You will want to work out scheduling with your RP partner (possibly even in advance) in order to make sure that you're both happy with the frequency that you feel comfortable posting in. Some players will be fine with one post every few days, and others may hope for at least one a day. Arguably, the biggest benefit to slow posts is that you have the opportunity to play with characters/players that you might not be able to otherwise. There are a lot of conflicting schedules on Vaxia and a lot of time zones to work with so slow posts tend to be very appealing. It also allows you the chance to work on your RP without the pressure of making fast posts. And for those who might be looking for a more private and low key RP, slow post RPs are a popular option.

The other type of RP is session RP. There are also two types of sessions, slow post and normal length. One recommendation is that no matter what type of session it is, sign up on the forums in advance. Don't wait until the last minute, as it's very hard for A/SHs to organize numbers at the last minute while also working on narratives. If you must back out after signing up, give the A/SH as much notice as possible. Make sure you send them a PM or speak to them in Limbo in order to be sure that they see your response.

The most common type of session is the average length session. These are often on the forums with estimated time limits and while they may go over, players post at a normal speed. Usually 1-2 per hour. During these sessions, the pace is reasonably fast. Attempting to stay focused on the room and not get pulled away too much is preferred in order to make sure you don't miss posts and delay narratives for other players. Sometimes these sessions will go over their original estimates. If you have plans or decide you want to leave early, work that out with the A/SH as soon as possible in order for them to be able to give you an easy exit to allow you to leave the session. Do not just leave the RP without saying anything. Often times that will either leave the session in the lurch, or the players will wait for you and that causes the flow of the session to be altered (often leading it to go even further over the time estimate).

The other type of session is the slow post style. These sessions do not occur as often as the normal length sessions. This is due to the time commitment that it takes in order to run them and the fact that many session ideas do not fit with this style very easily. If there is a risk of PC death, slow post sessions are generally not a good option. It's wise to expect that you should post once a day. While normal slow post RP is more flexible for slow sessions it's a better idea to post about once a day in order to help keep things moving. Often times the running A/SH will make a post detailing what they would like as far as frequency. This can occur in the room or even in the forums where you sign up. However, life happens and that can delay your posts. A/SHs will understand and be as patient as they can. But if you are unable to post for a long while, please try not to be hurt if the A/SH skips over you. This is to allow everyone to get a timely response and it's an important part of the slow post session process.

As always, feel free to add on any tips or ideas that you might have. :)