Where did the RPs go?

Kaila

I just came back recently after a 2 year (or so) break. I don't really know anyone in the game anymore, so I was really surprised when random characters started talking to me, and immediately jumped into OOC mode in tells. Am I like, a magnet, or is this a common thing nowadays? How do you guys fend this off if it does happen? 

Vayne

It never happens to me. If you want to find RP, you simply need to look for it, it will come! I would also avoid OOC clans like the plague, worst thing in the game for serious.

Kaila

Yeah, not in any OOC clans. I just find it really odd that people who I have never interacted with will send me a tell, then shortly follow it up talking about something OOC, ie, "I'm really sleepy IRL" or something. It's mostly random but a little frustrating. 

Vayne

Unfortunately, there's a chance it might correspond to your character being female as well. Lots of lonely desperate people on the interwebs.

Achimrst

Kaila said:

I just came back recently after a 2 year (or so) break. I don't really know anyone in the game anymore, so I was really surprised when random characters started talking to me, and immediately jumped into OOC mode in tells. Am I like, a magnet, or is this a common thing nowadays? How do you guys fend this off if it does happen? 

Right though, whenever I ask this question I get told I'm trolling. Although we have an RPWHO now so you can flag yourself for RP.

Edit: Also it's HELP RPWHO to read about it.

Kaila

That's awesome, thanks! 

Jurixe

Generally, I find that the best course of action is to either ignore the OOC communication or send a polite message saying that it's immersion breaking and could they please not do that or keep it to messages if they must, which is less jarring. Depending on who it is, they might get a bit offended but it's probably not worth spoiling your fun to interact with those people anyway. Most will understand, and if any tell you tells are ooc, I believe HELP CHANNELS or HELP TELLS explicitly states that they are not. It's common practice for some to be ooc in tells,  yes,  but only if the other party consents. 

Razzlo

I have a standing rule to only start a tell that is ooc with '//' and it will be usually in a way that I am giving someone a tip or warning someone to stop talking to me ooc in the first place. With some people I don't mind it, but I generally prefer the immersion.

I tried my hand at a few ooc clans but left them because it broke immersion too much. If you want to talk to me ooc, add me to skype or something.

Ula

if someone asks me a question that seems like an IC way to understand game-mechanics, I will usually strip the facade, and go to // tells, because precise wording is important for clarifying a game mechanic. I essentially wasted the first two ig years of my characters adulthood on alchemy, because of a misunderstanding I had due to RP explanations of game mechanics. I like to save other people from that, however much of my rp uses empirical understandings of interacting the world(ie game mechanics), so it can be a tricky line to walk sometimes. That said, I try not ever do OOC stuff. I refuse to join OOC clans, and do not engage in idle ooc chit-chat with other people.

i also, just learned of rpwho from this thread. I was actually talking a couple weeks ago to a friend irl about how there needed to be exactly this function. So, nice.

at any rate, if you want to rp, engage people in it. if they respond to your rp with OOC stuff, just tell them you were trying to rp, they will either tell you they are the wrong person, or get into it with you and you can have fun.

Bluef

Welcome back, Kaila!

My short answer to this is: Yes, it has become increasingly common for people to intersperse OOC and IC in everyday communications in Achaea.

The long answer would be that I don't think OOC clans are not alone to blame for this though; in fact, I'd argue the against the notion that they're wholly detrimental. Instead I'd place the blame squarely on the shoulders of what I'll call the "Achaean Skype community," which is made up of the same lonely people on the interwebs Vayne just mentioned, who have so blended their IC personas and OOC communications that anything they do or say on Skype or forums may as well be IC and vice versa for when they're actually in-game. 

I'd say it's a combination of that and just poor role modeling by more experienced players. There are still some of us who may chat with friends in OOC clans but manage take our IC interactions very seriously though!

Mishgul

What if I use ICQ? My computer cannot handle skype. Achaea ICQ Community.

Bluef

Mishgul said:

What if I use ICQ? My computer cannot handle skype. Achaea ICQ Community.

Oh man, haven't thought about ICQ in ages. I think my very first internet-based course (like 20 years ago or more) required that as a way to communicate with the instructor.  I used to know all my friend's numbers by heart. /Derail

Achimrst

Is that like, Raidcall?

Edit: The ICQ I mean.

Tharvis

one thing I definitely noticed ooc clans mess with : events.
You can be trying to get immersed in an event, and suddenly someone on an ooc clan starts to joke about the event, people in the event (admit it, not a single ooc clan out there hasn't seen this happen yet) Which either makes you annoyed at the event because you see what they're talking about, or annoyed at the person - and annoyance is generally not a good factor to build on for RP.

and as for random ooc tells, either ignore the tell, tell them off in an ooc tell, or go like "What is this IRL you speak of?", mess with their head a bit

Klendathu

But @Tharvis, I rely on you as my one source of HAAAAAAAAALP!

Bluef

Achimrst said:

Is that like, Raidcall?

Edit: The ICQ I mean.

Hm, it was like very old/original Yahoo or AOl instant messaging. Extremely basic. Pre-emoticons and stickers and everything else you see added in to messengers today. You were assigned a random, long-ass number when you joined and people had to have that to message you. 

Tharvis said:

one thing I definitely noticed ooc clans mess with : events.
You can be trying to get immersed in an event, and suddenly someone on an ooc clan starts to joke about the event, people in the event (admit it, not a single ooc clan out there hasn't seen this happen yet) Which either makes you annoyed at the event because you see what they're talking about, or annoyed at the person - and annoyance is generally not a good factor to build on for RP.

and as for random ooc tells, either ignore the tell, tell them off in an ooc tell, or go like "What is this IRL you speak of?", mess with their head a bit

Hrm, I wouldn't know about this one. I tend to go SILENCEON when an event I'm involved in is taking place, which is something I'd encourage most people who want RP tunnel vision to do (you can always turn individual org clans back on to discuss IC things there). I agree though; that would be a downer. 

Tharvis

Klendathu said:

But @Tharvis, I rely on you as my one source of HAAAAAAAAALP!

ooc questions for help I don't really care about, if someone asks for help, I have time and I know the answer or what to point them at, I'll just throw them what they need.

but random things like X tells you, "Lolol I'm so tired." are just a ...wat? moment

Kaila

@Tharvis Those are the exact kind of tells I'm talking about. I've been asked some OOC questions by newbies and such, which is fine, but they don't seem to have a boundary. An OOC question about the game then leads them to telling me about their RL job or their RL headache. 

@Bluef Thanks! Good to be back! 

Natliya

This is why I enjoy helping Newbies so much.

Back when I first started Achaea just under two years ago, I was enthralled by the concept of a full-out RP environment.
Hyped, you could even say. 

...But I was also horrible at it.
I'd have trouble with some concepts in emoting, had a -lot- of issues with keeping time/conversations straight, and yes, I was one of those who abused True Achaean for a time.
When I wanted to communicate OOC with someone for expediency's sake, I used to send a basic tell.

Then one of the Newbies I ran with who, unlike myself (being completely Rogue) had evidently gone through his House's training on Insanity.
They proceeded to do something similar to what @Tharvis is suggesting, but a whole helluva lot more condescending, painful, patronizing, and just in general, antagonizing manner.
This caused me to go into a two week recession from the game because of how deep it stung.

I bounced back, of course, and kicked his (virtual Rajamalan) tail in the arena repeatedly after a few training sessions with @Hellen. (Thank ya!)

To cut back into my original point, though, having been on the wrong end of the sanity, I try to be as tolerating as possible when someone has something "insane" to say- Just so long as they prepared to hold that conversation with me -AND- a proper, IC conversation with Natliya.

Something that a few psych tests I've have pointed towards my ability to really hold an Orwell double-think whenever I choose to. So... Breaking the OOC barrier, then turning around and sliding back into Natliya is perfectly fine for me and doesn't effect me much at all, save for those times when I am rather exhausted physically and mentally. This also makes it enjoyable and easy for me to help out Newbies, both in maintaining sanity, and in answering the question fully without risking my own enjoyment of the immersive environment.

In short; If you're going to play the game, you're agreeing to be in a fully RolePlay environment.
If you want to have a conversation with me Out Of Character on the side, fine by me.
You better be prepared to -still- be playing the full RolePlay environment aspect of it, because that's what I will do.

Tharvis

edit : woops wrong thread
( @Natliya tagging me confused me into opening this thread mid-writing, weep )

Natliya

See why this is such an effective method now, Tharvis? 
Not even you can keep -threads- straight on the forums... Imagine trying to keep OOC and IC straight. 
*Sagenod*

Tharvis

@Natliya there's a reason I have the logger running perpetually, and that is to remember just what was done IC and what was irl brainstorming that I never actually put in.
Like that one time someone (not me, before you think so) applied nonexisting laws because they thought asking for a draft review on skype = IC majority approval

Raem

I've never had an issue if it's clear that it's an OOC message and the IC conversation carries on without any overlap. As long as there's a distinction I can still feel connected with the IC aspect of things. When the lines start to get blurred there's an issue... Worst thing is when someone mentions/ claims to know something IC that I've only told them OOC.

I usually have OOC conversations going while I'm playing, but I make sure they're completely independent from anything going on in the actual game. I'm realizing from this thread that some people aren't cool with that though. So I need to remind myself that not everyone is open to an OOC message/tell even if I carry on the IC interaction just fine.