Incommunicado players

[Kaerli_Stronwylle]

One trend I've noticed lately is that more and more players don't want to have much, if anything, to do with Out of Character communication, especially ingame.  This makes it very hard to do everything from trying to set up and plan RPs (since we simply don't have the encounter density needed for randomly running into people to suffice for keeping plots from stalling out) to simply finding out what people want out of their RP, or even simply building relationships at an inter-player level.

Why is this?  Is this just me, or is this something we need to sit down and have a discussion as a community about?

[hulla]

Hello
as an (ex) french player i think i have a part of the answer many player in mmorpg simply dont speak english   

[Semutara]

HULLAAAA  

[gonger]

Some people are simply not interested in communication at all, be it IC or OOC.
The number of times I /greet someone without the slightest reaction, even though they are not AFK (moving around, for example)...
@Hulla: True, some people do not speak English too well (I find it hard to believe that they don't speak English at all). One of the best ways to learn a language is to simply speak the language and to learn from your mistakes. Learning by doing.


Modified because of typos.

[MishkaL1138]

Kaerli, the problem is that you have to pinpoint every single outcome and dissect every other scenario we come up with. So that's why people refuse to discuss some things with you OOCly. Sorry to be harsh but it's the only way you'll understand this.

Quit forcing RPs, and let it flow. Roleplaying is like a fart: if you push it, it's probably a [REDACTED].

[Rigwyn]

One trend I've noticed lately is that more and more players don't want to have much, if anything, to do with Out of Character communication, especially ingame.  This makes it very hard to do everything from trying to set up and plan RPs (since we simply don't have the encounter density needed for randomly running into people to suffice for keeping plots from stalling out) to simply finding out what people want out of their RP, or even simply building relationships at an inter-player level.

Why is this?  Is this just me, or is this something we need to sit down and have a discussion as a community about?

Yes, it is just you, for the most part. Most newcommers learn to stick to IC info and just play the damn game after a week or so. You? You've been obsessing over this kind of stuff for years now and I'm sure you have a rationalization or excuse for it. If you don't like role playing with IC info only or feel that you cannot role play with IC information only, then you are probably not really interested in role playing.

Surpise, surprise....

Roleplaying is like a fart: if you push it, it's probably a [REDACTED].

Yes, there is much truth in this statement.

[Cairn]

If you don't like role playing with IC info only or feel that you cannot role play with IC information only, then you are probably not really interested in role playing.

Surpise, surprise....

I can't wait until Garris gets a hold of this one xD

But let me just echo what Rigwyn said, and give you a little history in the mix:

A few years ago, there was a time period where ANY OOC info was frowned upon. People didn't want you in tells, there was no gossip, and if you bracketed in main you were a dumbhead. Why? Because that particular group of people realized that our natural reaction is to use ANY ooc information in our IC conversations, through mostly no fault of our own.

We're a lot more relaxed now. But honest to god, most of us recognize that with you, OOC info is not an option. We can't give you that. Truth be told I feel uncomfortable giving ANY player OOC info, and I don't care how much they trust me or I trust them! Honest to goodness, it's why I don't post logs, hardly ever post my RPs on the forums, etc.

But that's just history.

"If you don't like roleplaying with IC info only or feel like you cannot role play with IC information only, then you are probably not really interested in role playing."

And history backs it up

[gonger]

I try to keep my RP IC as much as possible, but sometimes it helps a lot to be OOC for a moment. For example, missunderstandings happen, and quite often a short OOC comment can help to clear a situation.
It's a problem of balance: Be IC as much as possible, but don't hesitate to be OOC whenever it is necessary.

PS Kaerli, we need to RP more, so I can see for myself whether you are obsessed or not! 

[Kaerli_Stronwylle]

One trend I've noticed lately is that more and more players don't want to have much, if anything, to do with Out of Character communication, especially ingame.  This makes it very hard to do everything from trying to set up and plan RPs (since we simply don't have the encounter density needed for randomly running into people to suffice for keeping plots from stalling out) to simply finding out what people want out of their RP, or even simply building relationships at an inter-player level.

Why is this?  Is this just me, or is this something we need to sit down and have a discussion as a community about?

Yes, it is just you, for the most part. Most newcommers learn to stick to IC info and just play the damn game after a week or so. You? You've been obsessing over this kind of stuff for years now and I'm sure you have a rationalization or excuse for it. If you don't like role playing with IC info only or feel that you cannot role play with IC information only, then you are probably not really interested in role playing.

Surpise, surprise....

Roleplaying is like a fart: if you push it, it's probably a [REDACTED].

Yes, there is much truth in this statement.

Here's the thing -- people don't respond well to my characters' ways of trying to get information ICly either; asking directly runs straight into the complex web of social secret-keeping that characterises PS RP, espionage has ranged from almost fruitless to downright counterproductive for me, and physical evidence is disdained by the other RPers in this community (I have no clue why, either).

[Ebonwumon]

One other thing to consider is that if 100 players are online and 6 don't reply to you, it seems like RP is thriving and you have tonnes of people to interact with.

But when 12 players are online...

[Kaerli_Stronwylle]

One other thing to consider is that if 100 players are online and 6 don't reply to you, it seems like RP is thriving and you have tonnes of people to interact with.

But when 12 players are online...

Aye -- this is a much larger problem because of the small size of our community; I don't have the ability to "pick and choose" what subcommunities to interact with any longer.

[Kaerli_Stronwylle]

Kaerli, the problem is that you have to pinpoint every single outcome and dissect every other scenario we come up with. So that's why people refuse to discuss some things with you OOCly. Sorry to be harsh but it's the only way you'll understand this.

Quit forcing RPs, and let it flow. Roleplaying is like a fart: if you push it, it's probably a [REDACTED].

I'd like to do that, but what should I do when players refuse to RP with my characters, because their past biases overpower any chance of current experience overcoming them?  Is the anon-alt approach my only hope?

[Aramara Meibi]

  Is the anon-alt approach my only hope?

try it.

[gonger]

Kaerli, the problem is that you have to pinpoint every single outcome and dissect every other scenario we come up with. So that's why people refuse to discuss some things with you OOCly. Sorry to be harsh but it's the only way you'll understand this.

Quit forcing RPs, and let it flow. Roleplaying is like a fart: if you push it, it's probably a [REDACTED].

I'd like to do that, but what should I do when players refuse to RP with my characters, because their past biases overpower any chance of current experience overcoming them?  Is the anon-alt approach my only hope?

As I said, I never RPed much with you, so I do not really know what went wrong with your RPing (or what others think went wrong with your RP). But since I talked to you a lot, I believe that you are a reasonable person who honestly cares about PlaneShift, and your role there.
Therefore I would hope that people might give Kaerli a second chance. As it says more than once in PlaneShift: "Characters change, and therefore their RP should also change."
Maybe you need to "implement" a reason for change into your RP. Be creative about that, and let people see it.

Best of luck,
Gonger

[Kaerli_Stronwylle]

I'd like to raise a point in counter to those who are saying that RP should only require IC communication -- how are we, as a community, supposed to build the inter-player trust relationships needed for RP if we don't communicate with each other as players?