*Note: Perhaps this would be better fitting on the "Guides and Tutorials"?
I think that roleplaying should be more than just making a character and roleplaying her/his actions and speak "Hello" and "How are you?".
Here's a list of advices for general roleplaying that weren't yet included here(And it includes good advice for people that wish to RP things that don't fit with PS Settings), and that are pretty generic:
SETTINGS
The first thing you should do when you are going to download/buy a MMORPG that has an emphasis on roleplay, is to read its settings. This should be done even before downloading/buying it due to a peculiar aspect: you may dislike the Settings of any game because they forbid the types of characters you like to create or simply because they aren't interesting for you. In that case,
if you really wish to RP a specific type of character/guild/event that doesn't fit with the Settings above everything, don't waste time with the game you are playing and search for another one, and lastly, I really recommend
having a group of friends with a GM/DM as
Pen and Paper RPG rulebooks are really much more wide on Settings than Computer RPGs and MMORPGs and also it's easier to find one that fit your tastes, or
if you have time and creativity, you could even create your own Settings based on such books. This is really important as well to
avoid conflicting your character with the Settings, and that is something that only brings disappointment and disruption if you wish to try again. Lastly there is the always controversial "grey area", the
undefined part of Settings that some people usually employ both to criticize a guild/rp event as unfitting with the Settings or for doing the contrary. On that there is only one thing, the principle of logic.
If you really need to employ such on your roleplays, you should
use it in a form that does not contradict or is disconnected with what already is defined, but
it's really better to avoid it when possible.
In brief: Read the settings first, if you think "they suck/are boring/etc" and that the types of characters you really like to roleplay don't fit with it, look for another game, or preferably, for one of the much more open PnP RPGs and for friends to play it with you. Also don't work over undefined parts except for logic points that make it concise with what is known, MMORPGs are not rulebooks to give the users freedom for that.
Example: Racist characters in Yliakum.
ROLEPLAY A DYNAMIC WORLD
After you readed the Settings, liked them and created your character and have some roleplay for it based on the
guides that already exist about it, you are
assuming control of your character life from now on and should always see
everything as dynamic around your character life. First there is
ageing, some people prefer to take a RL year relation for roleplaying it, others lock their characters forever on the same age and others use the world time/game time relation
( 1 RL year = 6 Yliakum years). In any form you should
expect your character to learn more, acquire experience and even slightly change their personality traits as time passes and happenings affect them. Someone who was kidnapped more than once would probably acquire some trauma and phobias, someone that had success on life or achieved a position of power from hard working could become more proud, self-confident and/or arrogant, people who isolate from social interation would become grunts and those on military would mostly become more disciplined and stern. "Good" characters may be corrupted by "evil" as they have more and more power, "Evil" characters may find redemption and change themselves. That is one of the points of a dynamic world and it really increases realism. Other points include
economy, although it probably can't be applied easily now as the economy is flawed and extremely Out of Character, except if all the community agrees in putting prices for merchandise in a realistic pattern. In that case,
propaganda and social skills should also have an influence on your character preferences on which merchant to buy from for example. A well-clothed and polite salesman with good persuasion skills, even if selling for a higher price, will probably attract more or as much people than a bad-clothed, uneducated and bad speaker one that don't care about his customers but who sells things for a lower price. One important thing to note
when you change your character behavior is that such change
should have an In-Character justification, not "Now he/she became 'evil' cause I'm bored with the way my character previously was". Also I recommend to avoid cheesy justifications that rely too much on "evil rings/artifacts" and "evil forces" in general. Other thing is
preset phrases for talking to people. Some people realistically may always start a conversation with things like "Hello, how are you?", but
many don't always use the same sets of words on the same order for it, also when used excessively, it gives a "robotic" look on the way a character talks.
In brief: Never see your own character as static and unchangeable, both him/her and the world around are dynamic. But don't change your character personality without a realistic IC reason for it. For many types of characters avoid repeating over and over the same phrases on the same order when speaking to others.
Example: The rebel type that is drafted on the army will definitively be forced to change his/her behavior, and sometimes the change will be definitive.
