Internet Etiquette AKA Netiquette

There was a time when I was I was roleplaying with a chick who was younger than me. It was pretty chill at first since we weren't doing much OOC posts. She wasn't my favorite on the forum to roleplay with because she forced me to decide ideas and keep the plot going. However, I never really complained because it wasn't a big deal. But she ruined my "like-meter" scale for her whenever I made a new character. Some of you may have already figured this out. Some of you haven't yet, and for those of you who haven't, let me explain more thoroughly. I would make a new character, have no relationship plans for this character, and then get an message. What was the message you ask? The message was about how one of her many, many characters would be the perfect match for my newly made character.

She did it roughly 8 times on that forum, and then 3 other times on a different one. That's crossing a line, not just for me but for anyone. And if you're a sucker like I am, then you go along with their request and ruin your brand new charrie because they technically don't interact with others when in an relationship thread. If you're a person who has dealt with something like that, or has done it before, then you may want to use/share this lesson on etiquette for RPing and even on interaction through the internet.

INTRODUCTION:

Internet etiquette, also known as netiquette, is majorly important if you're going to roleplay. You will be roleplaying with people, and people like to be respected. Would you roleplay with someone if they were harassing you and continually giving you negative feedback about the stupidest things? No, you wouldn't. And if you answered yes to that, then find yourself a sadist because you're obviously a masochist. When interacting with people, be sure to be polite. Especially when roleplaying with others. There is a difference in netiquette and RP-etiquette, but you'll have to know both of them to enjoy yourself, the experience and have people like you. Since this is an important topic, I'll go over netiquette first, and in my next post it will be about RP-etiquette.

Netiquette is like the etiquette you never learned as a child-because public schools have gone downhill- but refers to internet interactions. It focuses more on the private conversations you have with people, the OOC conversations, how you treat others and how others treat you, and being polite/respectful. Hopefully none of you really need to read this, but it never hurts to make sure you're being a courteous RPer.

NETIQUETTE:

Being Polite and Respectful:

First thing you have to be is respectful. You'll find that the people you will be RPing with will be from all different kinds of background, cultures, religions, ethnicity, sexual orientations and so much more. There may be a controversy between what you like and what they like, and arguments could arise. If you allow them to. All you got to do is accept the fact that they're not exactly like you and respect their opinions. This may involve you having an open mind. Sounds difficult, I'm sure, but it really isn't. Try to respect and understand their opinion to show that you respect them.

There are some topics that you should try to stray away from if this is the first time talking to the person out of RP or if you know you can't keep an open mind. These topics are politics, religion, immigration, homosexuality and stereotypes. If you and the person are comfortable with one another, and have plenty of private messages or OOC chats, you probably know what you two can debate or talk about. Every once in awhile, you may have to be the open person to joke about stuff, because everyone loves humor, and if they joke about it with you then most likely that's a safe topic to discuss. As your RP relationship grows with them, so will your personal relationship with them.

Being polite is different than being respectful. To be polite, you have to be nice to the other person. You can criticize them on their roleplaying skills, but you cannot be brutally honest. Do the constructive criticism "sandwiching" method, or don't be harsh with your words. Sometimes to be polite all you gotta do is greet them.

Greetings/OOC Conversations:

To begin roleplaying with someone, you gotta greet and ask them to RP with you. Believe it or not, there's actually a right way to do this. If you want to roleplay with someone, and make sure it's not an inconvenience if they go into a new roleplay, you're going to have to stalk them. Perhaps "stalk" is a bit strong for a word, but it's basically what you have to do. Stalk the roleplays they are in. Read about their characters. Then think if it would benefit them if they RPed with you. Are you online when they are? Can you match their skill or are you a fast learner? Do you write in the same POV as them? Are you creative and can keep the plot going? Do you have a really interesting character that is a parallel or character foil to one of their characters? Are they asking random strangers to RP with them? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then hit them up because they would most likely say yes to your request.

First off, when sending them a message, don't make the topic sound like you're insecure. Your message should not look like this:

Topic: umm i have a question to ask you....

Body: um hi. i was just wonderin if you would rp with me because

your really good at rping and i really like your character

zackary and think hed be good with my character

bethany cuz she kinda needs a bf and yeah......

so if you can rp with me please message me back

and if you cant well then thats ok i guess......

What was that load of crap? You sound insecure and unsure, and cliche since you're just trying to find your character a date. Never write messages like that. If they have any maturity then they will quickly dismiss you as a newb and will most likely recline your request, or pity you and do a half-hearted RP with you. You want to impress whoever you're asking to RP with you, and to do that you have to sound confident but not too intimidating. Here's a good example to try out and give your own flare:

Topic: Hey!

Body: Hey, I was just wondering if sometime we could do an 

RP together. I have a new character I'd like to try out

named Bethany (she's a shape-shifter) and was thinking

that your supernatural hunter Zackary might be a cool

character for her to brawl with. If you're not too busy

with your other RPs, I'd like to discuss plot ideas

with you and see where we could go with these two

characters or others. Thanks for reading this, have 

a great day. (:

See how friendly and open that is compared to the first one? Writing something like that makes you sound confident about your RP skills and creativity. You also suggest a preference who you want your character to be in an plot with, but then add in that if they want to use a different character they are more than welcomed to. Also, adding in a discussion of plot can give the two of you some interaction and maybe have an OOC conversation.

OOC conversations are important. Getting to know people and have others know you will help you RP with others. People talk about who's good and who isn't, and if you're buddies with someone who is good then you will be known as a good roleplayer. It's sad to say, but roleplaying has it's own cliques. Which is why in my intro to roleplaying I gave you advice and examples on how to RP the best way possible without daunting people. You're going to want to have OOC conversations, and you can talk about a number of things.

Does one of the person's characters remind you of another character from a book/movie/TV series? If so, just ask them if they've ever read/seen whatever you think their character is based on. This helps you guys share interests and other things like dislikes. Sometimes having a major OOC conversation during an RP discussion/post/thread can be distracting or infuriate the person. Try to have OOC conversations through messages, or during your roleplay you can mention/comment something OOC here and there.

Replying To Messages/Giving Out Notices:

It's rude to not reply back to a message. Even if you don't want to RP with the person, just tell them. Having them wait a few days for an answer is a bit harsh. If you don't want to tell them no flat out, then make up an excuse. I hate to be teaching you guys how to lie, but sometimes excuses soften their fall. If they want to have a relationship between their character (which you just hate for some off reason) with your character (who happens to be your favorite), just tell them you have other plans for that character with someone else. Or say that you're currently in too many RPs and you won't be using that character for a while, or just say you're on a hiatus with that character. It's a nice way of telling them no, and they won't think of you as jerk when you reject them.

Also, if you're going to be gone a few days, let someone know. You don't have to make a big deal out of it, but don't let them think you got abducted by aliens or something crazy like that. If you're bored with roleplaying then tell them you're taking a break from it and currently your RPs will be postponed. If you're going on vacation, then say how many days you'll be gone. It's just the polite thing to do so people aren't waiting for you to reply. It will also keep a bunch of people from messaging you or commenting on your stuff to figure out what's wrong or where you are. And trust me, you don't need that kind of spam when you come back from your vacation/hiatus.

Favoritism/Corrections:

Favoritism will cause jealousy. I've had a situation where two RPers literally fought over my love. It was beautiful- I felt so needed, and enthralled that I was so special to them. And then I became extremely annoyed with their constant bickering and did a Gandhi and had a major RP hiatus. It taught them a lesson and they actually became RP buddies after I forced-- I mean asked them to play nicely with one another. Now imagine if I had picked one over the other. The one I picked would get a big head, and the one I didn't pick would hate the one I picked even more. I've seen it happen plenty of times. It causes lots of drama and hate groups. Showing open favoritism is bad. I mentioned the RPing cliques, and yeah you want to be in the big kid group, but when they pick RPers over you, it's gonna hurt. So don't show favoritism. Show friendships instead, and try to keep away from statements like: These are my favorite RPers because yada yada yada.

Corrections will also cause drama. If you correct someone nicely they won't be butt hurt, but many times people will get butt hurt- even if you have a point or if you're right and they're wrong! So if you can, don't correct others if you're on their level. You can offer suggestions of improvement but don't actually say what they do wrong. If they ask you how they can improve, then give them a list of their flaws, but give them a list of their abilities as well. And even if you are above them in rank, try not to correct people who are trying their best. If you want them to improve, sometimes RPing with them is all they need to realize how to RP well.

Drama/Not Being Afraid To Block:

Moderators and administrators can help eliminate drama between some users. However, cyber bullying is a big problem in America. There's a big search going on in my school about a facebook group with obvious fake accounts that were cyber bullying the students. Cyber bullying is disgusting, and if anyone is doing it to you, let someone know. Save the messages they send you, or have witnesses defend you, and get them banned. Do whatever you have to so that you're safe- but don't overreact if they're rude to you or cold. Moderators and administrators are sort of like a biased judge who pities the victim, so you already have a lot on your side if you're actually being bullied, but don't try to abuse it. If it's serious, affecting your self esteem or giving you depression, then get them banned. But if they just occasionally piss you off, then ignore it or ignore them.

When drama is happening on a forum or in a chatroom, it's because two RPers got fed up with each other. Sometimes they'll try to drag other people into it. If that is happening, then STAY OUT OF IT! You probably get enough drama on social media, school, and at home- so why would you want drama on your RP site that is probably your escape to leave those other dramas? Having drama in a community makes things uncomfortable and can create rifts between people, especially if people are picking sides. Staying neutral is your best bet to not piss someone off. Then again, most RPers are females and it's very easy to piss them off.

If a user is constantly creating drama or trolling you or others, don't be afraid to block them. Blocking them is the polite thing to do. You don't want to be in an internet war. I was once, and it lasted 7 months. SEVEN FRICKIN MONTHS! That is too long to be fighting with someone, and then you can stalk them and get angry for the dumbest things like if they used the same picture as one of your characters, used the same name was one of your characters, or create an exact replica of your character. Or vice versa. Anything they do will make you angry, and whatever you do will make them angry. Which is why you should just block them. If the solution is as easy as blocking them then there is no need to inform a moderator or administrator. You may think that blocking them means they win, but that's not true. You win because you became the mature one and decided to not let it drag out for 7 months or more. If it's a petty fight, try to make a friend instead of an enemy, but if the fight seems like it'll never end then just block them. It may be the best decision you ever make in your RPing career.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

That's it for netiquette that relates to roleplaying. I'll go over over roleplaying etiquette because that goes with the rules of roleplaying, god-modding, power playing and all that other good stuff. Hopefully this is helpful to you, and wasn't too long. I tried adding pictures to break up the block of text, so I'm hoping my posts are getting easier on the eyes. It's my first blog guys, I'm figuring it out bit by bit. 

Anyhow, if this was helpful to you or could be helpful to someone else, share this blog. Subscribe to it. Read it. Or at least keep checking it out. I'm going into a wide range or topics, and you never know which one will be useful to you. Give me suggestions, comments, questions, complaints or suggest an RP community for me to look at. On weekends, I've decided to do one critique of a certain website, and try to post 2 to 3 information topics. But since I'm on a roll this week, there will be 5 topics. After the roleplaying etiquette I'm thinking about going into a comparison of small communities and large communities.

So remember all you TL;DR (which is actually very rude to write on someone's post), be polite, respective others and their opinion/culture/whatever else, block people if necessary, if you are being bullied inform the site administrator or moderator, reply to your messages, let people know if you're taking a break from RPing, greet people, write confident messages, don't pick favorites, correct people if they ask for it, and stay out of community drama. 

And with that, I'm out!

             -SC

Comparison of First and Third POV in Roleplaying

Second post. Dang, I'm going strong here, aren't I? Well, for me I am. I just kept thinking about this blog all day, and I was trying to figure out what I should I post next. What would be useful after my post in basic RP styles, terminology, forum vs chat room, and some skill examples? I read over my first post and realized that I didn't explain what exactly 1st and 3rd POV was- and that really affects how you roleplay! So that's what this post will be about: The Pros and Cons of 1st POV Compared to the Pros and Cons of 3rd POV. So, let's get started, shall we?

INTRODUCTION:

Okay, first off, POV stands for point of view. It's not an important RP term because you should have learned what it meant when you began learning true literature-- so around 6th grade. Point of view is the perspective in which the story is told; an exact definition from one of my old literature books! When roleplaying, you are basically creating a story right there on the spot. Sometimes you already think up a plot, while other times you're just going with the flow. Which is why roleplaying is such a great way to boost your writing skills and English scores.

Here's a little factoid:
There are five viewpoints employed in literature;

• dramatic or objective: A viewpoint wherein we are not conscious of a narrator, for the author does not comment on the action but simply describes the scene, telling us what happens and what the characters say, so we get a feeling of being there, observing the scene as we would in a play.
• first person: An eyewitness gives a firsthand account of what happened as well as his or her response to it.
• omniscient narrator, third person: An all-seeing, all-knowing narrator, capable of reading the thoughts of all the characters and capable of being in several places at once if need be, tells the story.
• stream of consciousness or interior monologue: A third-person narrative that seems to incorporate the first-person form, although the participant in the action is not consciously telling the story. It is a unique inner view, as though a microphone and movie camera in the character's mind were recording every thought, image, and impression that passes through, without the conscious acts of organization, selectivity, or narration.
• third-person selective or limited: The narrator is omniscient except for the fact that his or her powers of mind reading are limited to or at least focused on a single character, who becomes the central figure through whom we view the action.

I got this lovely little set of definitions from (here) and you can check out other definitions if need be. Anyhow, the POVs that you will be using in RPs is the First Person and Third-Person Selective or Limited. Before I give you the pros and cons for those two (with some examples, of course), I'll just blatantly state why you don't use the other three POVs.

Dramatic/Objective is not used because either your character is the narrator or you are the narrator. There is no bias so you cannot use words like profound beauty or express the character's thoughts. You could use it, but it'd be more like a Shakespearean play- if done right. Omniscient Narrator Third Person is considered god-modding. You're roleplaying with other people, not just yourself so you can't be the all-powerful, perfect, invincible person we all wish we were. Stream Of Consciousness/Interior Monologue won't work while roleplaying, just like Dramatic/Objective. It's a style that really only works if you're writing a story/play but not creating a story with someone else.

Now that we're done with those POVs, let's go onto the POVs you'll actually be using. First thing is first: First Point Of View~

1ST POV

Books that you have read that were in 1st POV were either the Twilight Saga or The Hunger Games. Those are probably the biggest examples I could give in literature, since what I read is probably what you all scurry away from. So what did you notice about those books? Did they seem more emotional to you? Showed greater main protagonist character development? You probably noticed all the "I's, Me's, Myself's, Mine's" inside these great stories. There were lots of thoughts from the main character, and the main character was the narrator. Here's a small roleplay example of this POV:

"I walked down the small trail inside the quiet forest leisurely. It was early in the morning, and the air was moist from all the rain the day before. My boots left soft prints in the dark, loose soil as I continued my trek to the center of the forest. It had been so long since I had been there last, and I missed the Black Dove. I wondered if the bird had survived through the rains, and I remembered how it didn't seem to have a nest. Nest or no nest, the dove still must have gotten drenched. The trees of this forest weren't known for their ability to shelter someone out of the rain. Black Dove, I thought solemnly as I neared my destination, please be there. I need to see you."

Short little excerpt, but you get the point. Now, what's good about roleplaying like this? You get to describe your character's purpose easier, and describe their thoughts better as well. You describe actions when needed, and can describe scenery less and go further into your character's thoughts. What's also great about this that it's easier to transition into a flashback with having to actually write it's a flashback.

Now, what's bad? It may harder for you to differentiate between the past and present tense words. You could start out with: I walk down the small trail... I was missing the Black Dove; but it wouldn't make sense if you had done I walk down the small trail... I missed the Black Dove. It will take some experience and can take some time if you aren't use to the style. Also, when roleplaying with another person, if they're not using that style then it may be difficult to read. It's also suggested that you don't try roleplaying two characters at the same time because it can be extremely confusing.

Technically, this style is to your preference.  I've only met a few who actually RPed like this, but hey, if you like it, then there are communities out there for you.

3RD POV

The main way to roleplay is through 3rd POV, and many writers write in 3rd. Books like Harry Potter, the Warrior cat series and Lord of the Rings write in this style. What was amazing in these books were that you got other character's thoughts and there was a smoother transition to how the character's interact and their emotions. You can use either their name or the he/she or their's and such to describe what belongs to them or what they are doing. You've probably read this from many books, but here is an RP example:

"'Fascinating' Gilan spoke, almost coldly, knowing that many elves were connected with animals due to the fact that they can speak with their minds. He absentmindedly played with the marble once again, swirling it between the fingers of his right hand silently and he looked up as a droplet of water fell on his shoulder. He had known that it was only a matter of time before it started raining, due to the fact that the sky was blanketed with dark grey clouds. He then saw a flash of lightning, but there was no boom of sound that followed, meaning that it was merely heat lightning from the warm front and the cold front coming together. The rain then started to come down faster, "Unless the little one gets shelter, he may fall sick" he spoke of the colt, whose fluffy pelt was being pierced by the cold rain. He pulled his cloaks' hood over his head, his face now hidden in a shadow. "If you don't want to make the journey home, there is an abandoned cottage about two minutes away, I had found it last night" Gilan told her, knowing that the cottage had a lean to. No, he wasn't saying it because he cared about the horse, he was merely helping out, strangely enough."

Not an introductory paragraph, somewhere in the middle, but it gets the job done. So what's good? If another person roleplays like this, then it's like reading a story. You can differentiate between characters easier when posting, and you can go into character thought or motive. With the character's actions you can describe it more profoundly and explain how'd look like to other characters your character is interacting with. It's more fluid, and basically the universal and preferred POV when roleplaying, especially on forums or advanced chat room RPs. You can also RP two or more characters at the same time without making it too dreadfully confusing for your RP buddy.

What's bad about it? If you're inexperienced with roleplaying, you can really mess up by your inexperience. If you can't describe setting and detail then this POV can fall apart. Also, it closes you off from someone who RPs in 1st POV. There's also an issue if you can't keep track of your present/past-tense words.

ENDING WORDS AND THOUGHTS:

Overall, you're gonna want to stay with 3rd POV. But if you really love 1st POV, then don't worry. There's so many forums and chat rooms with users who adore roleplaying that way. If you're a beginner, try out both. And try out which way you like it. You want to be more in touch with your character and express emotion, flash back, and personal experiences more then go with 1st POV. You want to describe setting, actions and RP two+ characters at the same time then use 3rd POV. Each POV has it's pros and cons, and it's mainly just up to you pick and choose and try.

Well, that's the end of this post. A lot shorter than my first one, huh? Anyways, I may as well just tell you all that my next post will be about roleplaying etiquette. Internet and RP etiquette go hand in hand, but there are some things you'll just have to know to be courteous and knowledgeable  so other RPers will respect you more and will like to RP with you more.

If this blog is helping you in any way by giving you ideas or just refreshing stuff inside your head, then share it, follow it, or just read it. I want the blog to go big, not just for brag rights, but because there's a lot of people who would find it useful. Since I'm going from how to roleplay to roleplay ideas and character design/development, I'll be posting regularly. If this is information that you need, then great. If it isn't, then give me suggestions on how I could make the blog better for you and others. Give me ideas, share this, and even give me websites that I can help critic and analyze and advertise for you. I read any and all comments and am ready to serve you.

Well, enough rambling. Don't procrastinate people, and roleplay long and well.

Yours truly,

              SC~

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