rp

[Grendel Footman]

didn't want to hijack Tenk's thread with this, but Miss Reil's post made me think, her RP she had linked to, personally if I had been there, only thing that would have bothered me is the 'sit and watch' part some people would be more likely to act. and generally fo me, RP should be interactive, and not just theatre.

but the mention of people 'upset at being tossed in an RP' s what made me sort of think, I seen on nings, blogs and all related to Babbage and other steamlands, where people say they were 'pulled into RP' just because someone rp'd nearby, or even complained because someone talked to them in character, typing some accent or another. personally, I'm all for RP being optional,
it cuts down on miles of rules and I don't get an admin suddenly there if i accedentally slip out an LOL or forget ((brackets)) and so on.

but in some cases, some people seem to take that to extremes as in 'noone RP's anywhere's in 50 meters of me, in my sight, or even talks to me in character'
I always took it to simply mean you don't have to participate if you don't want to, rather than 'you shouldn't even see it, hear it, or smell it."' just because someone's talking in character in a dance or social function, or just on the street, maybe doing a little bit of RP, and you happen to be in the same area, does not mean they're 'pulling you into RP' now if they come up to you and threaten to kill you, biting you, try interrogating you, go on about their quest for the holy hand grenade, or randomly walk into your house and start breaking pots and stealing bottles, then it's getting you involved. Roleplaying in sight of you is not pulling you in, talking in character is not necciserily pulling you in.

not justifying the 'hooker murders' as it's really unrelated,
just putting my two cents in, carry on

[Mr Underby]

I agree with every word you wrote. Well said.

[Ceejay Writer]

Let me describe what I consider to be an ideal evening in Babbage,from my point of view.

Ceejay is sitting in her cafe, a couple of notecards are open and she's writing furiously, her muses in serious high gear. It's sunset. The skyline is stunning, sooty and glowing with the last light of day. Fog is beginning to creep down the streets. A couple of urchins run by, laughing, and dart through the cafe, grab some chocolates and take off again. She calls out in mock-indignation at them and goes back to her writing. Other townsfolk stroll past, and perhaps sit a while in the cafe, conversation ensues. A trolley crashes horribly and Cleanslate's cursing echoes in the air. The clockwinder stops by, eyes the building, points out a loose gutter, and falls asleeep on the hearth.

Some or all of these interactions may be part of someone elses roleplay. That's cool. I assume RP has been designed within the realm of Babbage, and the cafe is a stable spot in Babbage. Ceejay speaks in character, and may inadvertently add to the plot. Or not. Folk stay as long as they want to or need to, then move on as their adventure warrants. If something was needful to be found or used in the cafe, Ceejay's typist would have been coordinated with in advance and she would have happily cooperated.

Ceejay loves her town. She is very fond of all her neighbors. She's vaguely aware of some of the incidents and events happening in town, but in-character she is a dreamer, a writer, often drifty-drunk, and happy. If events happen around her, she'll probably notice, just as you might notice a car accident outside your window. You might not necessarily run out and do CPR, but it affects your evening and your memories.

I love roleplay. This typist has participated heavily in huge, complex scenarios in various story-based roleplays for a couple of decades now. I still do, in venues outside of Second Life. It is my choice to view the roleplay in our town through Ceejay's eyes as I wish. My time and energy levels dictate that my time in Babbage be more relaxed and casual, but very much immersed in the reality we have all created. Your mileage may, and should, vary.

[Talisa Shriner]

Here here Sir.....well said!

[Gabrielle Riel]

I agree with you Grendel. The people who get all worked up because a Jaeger walks by speaking with their accent...well, in my opinion that's just silly. If it's that big a deal to you? Mute them. RP politesse is a two way street. Don't throw a tantrum if you just happen to be in earshot of someone speaking in character.

The case I spoke of was very specific. It was a Formal Ball. Everyone was corralled into a fairly small space. And then I got on air and told everyone to be quiet and stand back.....oh lord...*winces at the horrific memory*. Sadly, we did have them "captive" to an extent. They would have had to TP out to get away from it. :-(

Have I mentioned how much we screwed it up?

[Vash Crimson]

I wouldn't say you had them totally "captive", Riel. another option for them at that point would be to turn the stream off, if they didn't like the RP. One click and they cant hear it.

[Moses Mureaux]

Outstanding post Mr. Footman! Well said!

I've had RPers walk up to me while work and speak to me in character. Sometimes I can pause, go into full "Lord Mureaux" mode and have a nice IC conversation.

Other times I speak OOC while they speak IC and neither of us has to drop either mode.

Other times I send an IM five minutes later saying, "Sorry! I was in another window!"

My level of participation has always been my choice, and it's rarely met with any objection. And when it is, I invoke the awesome power of the mute option.

It's that simple.

[Artemisia Paine]

I don't understand this concept of people getting uppity about being "pulled in" to a RP. I mean, we all have the option of teleporting elsewhere, walking away, or (gasp) logging out and doing something else. Mute also works well.

The hooker stuff was a bit of nonsense I'm glad I was not around for.

The first time I stumbled upon RP in Babbage, I came across a little pod of urchins one night, asking for change. It was one of those totally amazing first experiences in SL that I still hold very dearly. Early on in the Moriarty story, there was very little OOC interaction with the urchins, and it was so amazing to get to know that characters, and then later have some very nice OOC conversations with a few of them and get to know their typists a bit.

I'm very much a casual RPer, but I also tend to be the sort of person to happily observe from the shadows, RL and SL. I love coming across really good public RP, though I tend to scoot off if I don't feel I have anything to add, or if my presence as an onlooker would be odd in the context of the RP.

But, um... I think I'm asleep... I just want to say how much I appreciate the existence of RP in Babbage, and that it is optional. I think that makes the random really good IC encounters even better - the fact that I don't expect them, but that they could happen any time I'm strolling around bored.

[Gabrielle Riel]

I know it seems surprising to many of you that the observers at my botched RP 2.5 years ago felt "captive". Believe me, it *shocked* me when people told me that. I was horrified at the way people felt violated.

It seems logical that they could just turn off the stream, or walk away or TP out...

But they didn't. Things happened so fast, and so many of the people were fairly new to SL, and there had *never* been a large scale RP in the community. It was the very first time that anyone had tried it. When you put all of those things together, people freeze. They need time to process what is happening and then to decide what to do. It was very confusing to many of them.

It broke my heart later when so many people said they felt "hijacked"...but that is exactly how they felt. And it's how a lot of people here felt about the "Why Am I Not Welcome" post here in the Ning.

I don't think the folks who worked on this canceled RP intended to make people feel that way. I did not intend to make my audience feel that way 2.5 years ago. In both cases though, it's how people felt. Just because you don't feel the same way does not mean that the feelings are not valid!

Communicate as much as you can to prepare people. Communicate so that people can choose their reaction...so that they can opt in, observe or simply walk away.

[Artemisia Paine]

I think in the case of the RP you were part of, Gabrielle, I can understand why people got upset, a little bit more than those who are just averse to it happening anywhere on principle.
Your RP took place at a gathering, where I'm sure everyone had a set idea of what they expected to happen and were not prepared for something like an RP.
That incident where I was killed by the werewolf (L. Sin) at a gathering in Caledon also made people a bit angry, I believe.

But for general spontaneous RP on the street, I just can't comprehend being offended and feeling like you have no choice but to be "pulled in" unwittingly.

[Mara Razor]

The thing with the hooker blurred OOC and IC - which is what made it upsetting/annoying. I didn't know this woman was playing a role. I thought she was just a troll. Plus, it had the potential to throw Babbage into the "adult" relm, and since we're a child avi friendly sim that would be a very baaaad thing.

The rest of the time - I have a "teleport some place else if you don't like what's happening" attitude of role play. My boundaries are clear in my profile. But, I have still had to teleport away many times because someone tried to violate them. And for all my threats of spine ripping - the only time I've every actually done it, I had the permission of the typist since it was agreed that the Mole King would die in that rp I asked if I could do it by ripping out his spine. He said yes. I've threatened Doc O and Ashiko, but as you all can see - they're both alive and well, and I adore them both OOC.

The exception to all of this is if it's on your property. At that point you have the right to say, "Take it some place else."