The Master/Slave Aspect in my RP

I've been getting some flak for this, so I'll address it. Again.

Honestly, I've gotten a lot of flak for it over the years. Whatever. I'm not changing my character(s) so that I try to please everyone. It doesn't work.

I'm also not going to stop mentioning it on my RL account, either.

So here is a brief explanation for both the RP aspect and the RL aspect.

Shara The Orion:

Shara has no desire to lose her freedom. To her, there would be no worse fate than to be put back into a situation where she has lost her freedom, where she is someone's property. She has no desire to be a slave.

For the most part.

Her experience as a slave wasn't always unpleasant. She had several Masters over the years that were benevolent and kind, and they treated her more like a treasured pet than their property. With those Masters, she was pampered, treated well, shown a great deal of affection.

No, it wasn't ideal, but it wasn't bad. Not compared to the Masters that beat her, hurt her, and far, far worse.

So she has what Ian refers to as her "Dark Side." The part of her that craves that type of relationship. Being "owned" by someone, but with the safety of having her freedom. A roleplay within a roleplay, if you will.

It also explains her attraction to dangerous men. Powerful men. Deadly men. The type of men who were her Masters.

Shara O'Ryan:

My reasons for my love of collars and cuffs are far different.

I own and run my own company. I also run a household. I am in charge, making decisions all day - every day. I often need to channel my inner bitch.

And I am okay with that.

But the appeal of finding someone worthy of my trust - someone that I can hand over my control to for a time - is a very attractive one for me.

I'm not weak or submissive as a general rule. Quite the opposite.

But to be able to find someone worthy of collaring me, strong enough to handle me, who can take control behind closed doors? Whose pet I can be? Who would treasure me and allow me to adore him in return?

Someone who would treat me as an equal outside of the bedroom, but who would relish a gentle touch on my collar and a knowing smile when we're out in the public eye, enjoying it when I blushed at this gentle, private reminder of what goes on behind closed doors?

That, my friends, would be my Heaven.

"Air Tweets" - a follower's opinion

First of all, let me say that the following is just my opinion and I'm not saying that every role-playing group needs to do what I suggest. I am just giving my opinion as a follower of a lot of RP groups.


Let me also say that this comment is not directed at any particular person or group - I have seen it a LOT. From a lot of different groups.


Now, on with the blog post.

"Air Quote" - A tweet that's directed at another RPer, but there's no @. Sometimes no name is mentioned, either.

This is different from what our RP group calls a "stand-alone tweet." A stand-alone is more like a monologue. We use it when we are trying to either convey the thoughts of the character or if we are trying to make sure that followers are up to speed on what has happened already in a storylines. They are used to try to help followers to understand what's going on, and generally are used as some type of explanation. 


These are particularly helpful in a long or complicated storyline, especially if something profound has happened and if followers missed that crucial development, they'll have trouble following the SL. They can also be helpful when you are trying to set up the scene.


There are some groups who will also make tweets that are not really directed towards anyone, but they are basically breaking down the fourth wall temporarily and making a comment to followers - again, it's generally to let the followers know what the character is thinking, or maybe what the writer is thinking.


Air quotes are entirely different.


There are times when two or more characters will have an entire conversation without a single @ reply.


If you are following everyone involved, it's hilarious. If you are not following one or more characters in the conversation, it's very confusing and annoying.


What makes it worse is that you can't follow the person that the other one is talking to because you don't have a username mentioned. What makes it even worse than that if the name that is used in the air quotes is the name of more than one character, so you don't have any idea of who you need to follow.


I have checked the profiles of people doing this so that I can find out who the air quotes are directed to and follow that person, and that is also a lesson in frustration many times.  I can't find the username of the person they're talking to! They have used all air quotes! If they don't have too many people that they are following, then I can try and go down their followers and try and find out who I need to follow, but sometimes that doesn't work either.


Then I will try and find a list so that I can see the entire conversation and see who is speaking to whom. That does not work very often, either.


I love to find new role players to follow. I love to watch role-playing scenes and storylines. But it's very difficult to follow along in situations where you're only seeing half or one third of a conversation and you have no way of knowing who the other person is.


I know that sometimes it's hard when one person in a conversation has fewer followers than another. The only people that will see the conversation (if you @ the other person at the beginning of the tweet) are followers that follow both characters. This can be especially difficult if it's a new character and has only a handful of followers.


What we will do in that case is to have the user name at the end of the tweet. Or somewhere in the middle. Or whatever. But we always try to tag the person being spoken to somewhere in the tweet.


This actually does two things.


1. It's a courtesy to the followers - they can see who you're talking to and they can follow that person if they choose.


2. It also helps to build a follower count for other people. I know that there are times when @SharaTheOrion interacts with new people and the new person will get followers simply because she's interacting with them and people see that there is a new role player around. Or maybe not even a new person, but someone that they haven't seen before. 


Again, I am not saying that people have to do what I suggest. I'm just saying that if I'm having this kind of frustration, I imagine that other people are, too.

I give credit where credit is due

I follow a lot of role-playing accounts and role-playing groups. I easily follow dozens of groups.

Many of the ones I follow are good. In every group you have at least one or two excellent role players. Some groups have more than that.

But every so often you have a group that simply has an amazing combination.

• All of the characters that are canon have the voice of the character down pat.
• The storylines are compelling.
• The out of character interaction is fun to watch.
• The action flows nicely and there aren't any major time lags in the RP.
• All of the participants have good grammar and spelling.
• They interact with followers both ic and ooc.

There are very few role-playing groups that actually have me looking at the list and hitting refresh so that I can see everything as it happens.

But there is one that I have started to follow that does this.

It's a new Firefly RPG. You can see the list here:

https://twitter.com/#!/DiffDimensionRP/firefly-rp

You can choose to follow the list and/or to follow everyone that is on the list - I recommend both.

In case you are wondering: no, I do not play any of the roles in this group. I simply love the RP.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to check them out. They have a great story line and running now, and I know they're going to have some awesome ones in the future.

Why There is Sex in RP

This question keeps coming up, so I'm going to throw my two cents worth in. Why? Because I have a blog, and I am NOT afraid to use it, dammit. 


To me, there is a very simple answer: because, in the real world, people have sex. It's a normal part of relationships - if you are an adult and you have the level of commitment you feel is necessary to warrant sexual involvement (dating, engaged, married, whatever your personal feelings are), you have sex.


Because of this fact, most fiction you see geared to adults (or even teens, in some cases) has an element of sex if romance enters the picture.


I've heard the saying "Star Wars didn't have sex in it!" - well, while there was nothing graphically portrayed, of course there was sex in it. Luke and Leia didn't just show up in a turnip patch. Padme didn't have immaculate conception. 


And you can't tell me that Han and Leia weren't well on their way to doing the horizontal mambo. Seriously. Han is ten kinds of hawtness and yummy.


(And we'll conveniently skip the part where Leia and Luke were smooching.)


Now, if you don't like watching the SLs where there is sex, there is a very simple answer. It's called the "Unfollow" button. There are times when I've made posts about suggestions or my personal preference for RP, but in the end, everyone is in control of what they RP. Some people will like it, and some will hate it. It's okay.


As far as Star Trek - um....I play an Orion. They OOZE sexuality. It's not some chaste character to play (although my three Orion characters are quite different in that aspect). So maybe my perception is different because I see it as a given with my main character.


I dunno.


So my advice is to follow whom you want. Unfollow those you don't like to watch. Live and let live. 

Some RP Guidelines

I know that there are a lot of RP groups out there, and also some people that may want to start up their own RP group.


Please keep in mind that these are just some general guidelines and things that we do for our group. This isn't saying that you have to follow these guidelines if you have a group of your own, it just makes things easier for us.


Our group has three rules:


1. No drama in the public feed. If you have an argument with someone, take it to DMs or somewhere else off the feed. Take it to your blog. Take it to e-mail. Take it to chat. Handle it however you want to, but do not have the drama fest in the feed. Period.

2. No unauthorized jacking - a lot of times when one of our characters signs off, you'll see them say something like "So and so has jacking rights." This is especially true if someone has to leave in the middle of a scene. The reason that we do this is so that the other players are not stuck mid-scene. They can move things along even if they are missing a player.


"Jacking" is short for "hijacking" - one player saying that another player is doing or saying something. 


Jacking another player (unless permission was given) is a definite no-no in our group. If I see it happening, and I have not seen permission given in the feed, I am very quick to send a DM and make sure that prior permission was given between the two parties.
      

There's a reason for this. Several, actually. The first is just that it's common courtesy. The second reason is it can disrupt a person's storyline if they are jacked.  It can disrupt a storyline that is already planned for the future, or it can disrupt a part of the character's back story.


3. Keep it PG-13 in the public feed - I do not have a problem at all if somebody wants to cybersex. I honestly don't. In fact, there are some cyber feeds I enjoy watching.


However, in the public feed (for our group), I ask that everybody keeps things PG-13. 


Why? Well, we do have subscribers for the RSS feed that don't want to see anything over PG-13. They subscribe to the feed for the storylines, and they really just don't want to see anything graphic.


Another reason is because of the fact that anyone can see the public feed - including minors. It just makes me feel a little squicked out to think that minors could be reading stuff that was adult in nature, simply by doing a Twitter search (for something that was sci-fi related, for example).


Still another reason is the fact that we do have some players that are under 18. I can't control what they do if it doesn't involve the RPG, but I can ask that they keep things PG-13 when it comes to RPG activity.


That's pretty much it. We don't have a requirement as far as activity is concerned (although if someone is going to be away for a while, it's nice if they check in every so often). We don't have a requirement as far as clearing storylines with the group leader (as long as the no jacking rule is followed, of course). 


I hope this helps to answer some questions. Feel free to leave comments.

RP Hater on Twitter - Part 8 Bazillion

I used "8 bazillion" this post because, quite frankly, I have lost count with how many times one certain RPer has caused trouble in the RP 'verse.


It amazes me how people can't let things go. Honestly, this person has screenshots from well over a year ago, claiming that they show her being "cyberbullied." 


------ [side rant]


Just as a side note - I really do hate that word, unless it is being used with children. 


Children are bullied. 


Adults are either:

• Discussing
• Debating
• Arguing
• Harassing

It is what used to be called "being an ass."

But, I digress.

-------- [/rant]

This person has truly harassed numerous people in the Star Wars RP 'verse. She has posted the IP addresses of several RPers, among other things.  Do you want to know what the main offense was for this, plus her barrage of insults and cries of betrayal?

Several RPers (myself included) had been sitting around discussing different RP's, and the comment was made that this particular RPer had a recurring theme - getting pregnant and having babies, then trying to kill them in various ways. It seems like every time we turned around, she was pregnant again. And the babies grew up within a matter of weeks.  And she was jumping off of buildings and trying to drown them and stuff. It was truly odd.

We made no attempt to hide the conversation, and we discussed many other aspects of different RP's.  (It was a slow night.) If I remember correctly, some aspects of my own RP were discussed. (My characters tend to have numerous bed partners and also have those bed partners die off rather often. *shrugs*)

She went absolutely ballistic and began what has become more than a year-long tirade against the entire Star Wars 'verse. 

In another incident, she has badgered one RPer to the point where the player was going to shut the account down (but, thankfully, didn't.  This person that she attacked was someone who had never even tweeted on her account before the attacks began.)

Many of the people in the RP community retaliated, defending the people who had been harassed and attacked by this person. Was it the right thing to do? Perhaps, perhaps not. I just find it very difficult to stand by and not say something when I see these kinds of things going on. I try not to have a whole lot of ooc commentary and/or drama in the feed, but I certainly am not opposed to blog posts or other ways of voicing opinions.

I say all of that to give a little bit of history.

Now she is back, once again claiming that she is the one that is being "cyberbullied." She even claims that one RPer who only RTed 2 tweets is cyberbullying her. 

I feel sorry for her. She clearly is disturbed on some deep level. 

I just wanted to say 3 things.

1. If you post information that is easily disproved - and people disprove it - don't get all bent out of shape over it. That is not being cyberbullied.  That is called "being shown to be full of sh*t." Suck it up and deal with it.
2. If Person A comes along and says they've had problems with person after person after person - at some point you have to look at the one who is the common denominator with all of these situations and realize that the problem is not everyone else in the entire RP 'verse. It's Person A. 
3. If you look at different RP groups and you see which ones are growing and which ones are not, that is a good indication of the types of people that are in them. If you see one particular group that is never growing, or it seems to lose members faster than it finds them, or if the group will gain members and then have a falling out soon thereafter - something is wrong. See Point #2. 

I am sure this is not the last post that I'm going to have on this subject, but it's all I have for now.

RL vs RP

The motto of our group is always that RL comes first.  It has to be that way.  RP is fun, but RL is simply more important.


But, if someone has a conflict or an issue that needs attention (work, family stuff, etc.), I always ask that they give me a heads up if possible.


So, I wanted to give everyone a heads up about what's going on with me, and let you know that I may not be on  as much as I usually am.


I won't be talking about this much (if at all) ooc on the RP feed because I don't feel like it's something I want to discuss.  I'd rather have RP be my "happy place."  If you want to ask me about it or chat about it, DM me or talk to me on my RL account: @Shara_ 


Or you can comment here.


Anyway......


My grandmother had surgery last week.  Breast cancer.  They took some lymph nodes, too.


She got the test results today.  It's a rare form of cancer.  It's not aggressive, but they didn't find it quickly.  It has spread.  


She'll need more surgery, chemo and radiation.  She is in her eighties.  They don't think she can handle the chemo.


So if I'm not on a lot, I'm either helping with her, or I have work stuff going on.


Just letting everyone know.  


Edit - updated 1/31/12:


My grandmother had a bout of treatment. The treatment was horrible - side effects are hell - but she's now cancer free. She is still very weak from the aftermath of her treatments, but she's doing well otherwise. 

Mooooooooooooooommmm! You're embarrassing me!

**Disclaimer:  No preteens were harmed in the making of this blog post.  Only their pride was wounded. 

*happy sigh*  Nothing does my heart good like embarrassing my kids.  I figure it’s nice payback for a total of 2 weeks of labor while bringing them into this world.   (Long and painful story, don’t ask.)

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When I see them squirm and check to make sure none of their friends are nearby, I know I’ve done a good job.  It’s all I can do not to give a fist pump and shout “YESSS!”  Hehe

How does this relate to role playing?  Glad you asked!

I went to the local bookstore to do some research for RPing. (Translation:  buy some Star Trek books.)  While talking to the sales associate, I casually mentioned that I am part of an online role playing group on Twitter.  (Okay, it was more like:  ”Guess what?!  I RP on Twitter and it’s so much fun and we have a ST/SW/Firefly crossover RP and we have a blast you should join us!”  The aforementioned conversation is done with the words quickly blurted out and has the appropriately excited and animated hand gestures to accompany it.)

THEN the clerk mentioned she was rather fond of Star Trek, as well.  (Translation:  ”OMG!  No way!  I LOVE Star Trek!  That sounds so cool!  Do you guys have a website or anything?!?”  Again, hand gestures and a look of rapture accompany this declaration of geeky joy.)

At this point – the epitome of our Trekkie Nirvana – up walks my daughter.

I wish I could have had a camera in order to capture the look on her face.  A mixture of horror and……….well, actually, horror pretty much covers it.

BUT WAIT!  IT GETS BETTER!

You see, my lovely daughter had come seeking me out so she could get money from me.  (*insert evil grin here*)  It is quite amazing the things that children will suffer through to get money at the Mall, especially female children.

So, being the wonderful mother I am, decided to torture her further.  (*insert diabolical laugh here*)

Instead of letting her slink off and come back to ask for money when my Trekkiefest was over, I grinned and said, “Oh look!  There’s my daughter!” and proceeded to put an arm around her as I talked to my fellow Trekkie.  She actually hid her face. (“Moooooom!  You’re embarrassing me!”)  She quickly asked for her money and left.

It was awesome.  I figure it’s good payback for her making me listen to Adam Lambert songs all the time.

Flaws in your Role Playing Character

When creating a character for role-playing, you probably don’t think too much about what flaws your character will have.  You usually are more concerned about the character’s strengths and abilities.

However, a character with no flaws is not only unrealistic, but boring.

Flaws are what make us unique and genuine.  The same is true of your RP character.

My main character – Shara - has a lot of flaws:

• She is terrified of sleeping alone.
• She is flighty.
• She can be selfish.
• She has a nasty temper.
• She is a flirt.
• She has a tendency to go from bed to bed, if you get my drift.

But she also has numerous strengths:

• She is intelligent.
• She is ambitious.
• She is loyal.
• She has a soft heart and loves to help people.
• She is (usually) cheerful and very affectionate.
• She is bouncy and exuberant.
• She is a flirt.
• She is trusting (almost to a fault).

While Shara (and I, as her player) often takes a lot of flak for her flaws, she has fiercely loyal fans.  Enough so that I think she is a likable character overall.

Handling Conflicts in your RPG

Role-playing groups are a lot of fun. You get to RP together, plan out storylines, and usually get to know a little about each other in real life.  RPG’s are especially fun if you get writers to join – it’s like having your storytelling walk, talk and breathe.

Once you start to RP on Twitter, you’ll inevitably draw others in the to RP with you (if your RP is interesting and others can tell that you have fun doing it, of course).  This is one of the great things about RPing on Twitter – building a group.

But having multiple people in a group inevitably means there will be conflict in that group – and the larger the group, the more potential for conflict.  Why?  Different personalities, different beliefs and different approaches to RP – all combined with the relative anonymity of the Internet – make conflict unavoidable.  (There can also be conflict between 2 or more RPGs. )

Preparing in advance to handle conflicts in your RPG is like preparing for Hurricane Season in Florida: you hope you don’t need to use it, but you know you will eventually – and to be unprepared is going to bring disaster.

Here are a few guidelines to consider:

Guideline #1 – ALL Conflicts Are to Be Handled in Private

Let’s give an example of why.

Susie Q and Johnny B are having a spat.  You have 20 people in your group, and when Susie and Johnny start going at each other, everyone takes sides and jumps in.  Now you have 20 people arguing where only 2 people should be – and often these 18 other people start arguments that take on a life on their own and can even be worse than the original spat.

In addition, what about the followers?  Followers follow RPers so that they can read original sci fi fiction (or other genre) – they don’t want to see a bunch of squabbling on the feed.  It’s a huge turnoff.

Finally – what about those trying to RP?  It’s hard to focus on what you’re doing when there is a heated argument going on in the feed.  Not only that, but RPers don’t want their storylines ruined by a dramafest – followers will skim over the whole thing and could miss an excellent SL amidst all of the clamor.  Other RPers just signing on only to see a conflict in full force will often not even attempt to RP – they’ll simply leave for the night.

Contrast this with a spat handled in private – via DMs, email or chat – between the two parties.  It stays (for the most part) between the two parties; and if they need a mediator, that’s what the group leader is for.  No drama, no cluttering up the feed, and the conflict is addressed.  No one else is discouraged or bothered by it.

In my opinion, this is the main rule.  If someone doesn’t want to abide by it, then they obviously love the drama and they will poison your RPG if allowed to stay in it.

Guideline #2 – Don’t Get Involved on the Feed in Other People’s Fights

This is a hard one.  You see a friend and fellow RPer getting attacked or accused, so you want to jump in and defend this person.

But – think for just a minute – why do you want to jump in and defend him or her?  Is it because you want to argue, or is it because you want to the person to know he or she has your support?

More than likely, it’s because you want the person to know you support him.  This can be handled by sending a private message/DM and telling him you support him, and to encourage him to either handle the conflict privately (“Take it to DMs” is my mantra) or to ignore/block the person who is arguing with him (if the argument truly is pointless or simply too mean-spirited).

Another option is to use your personal blog in order to voice your opinion or your support.

The main thing is to keep the drama that is occurring off of the feed.

Guideline #3 – Stay Professional

You would be very surprised who is looking at the tweets of RPers – and subscribing to their RSS feeds and blogs.   There are people looking for the next “big” writer on Twitter – and if you don’t believe me, that’s your loss.

Also, I’ve never met a serious RPer that didn’t want people to enjoy their portrayal of their character.

While we’re not “professionals” in the sense of being paid, we do need to maintain a sense of professionalism during RP.  Yes, we can kid around and such, but drama simply has no place in front of all of the followers.   It detracts from your character portrayal.

This doesn't mean that you don't mention it at all - just that getting into an all-out drama fest in front of the followers isn't a good idea.

Guideline #4 – If You Can’t – or Won’t – Follow the Guidelines, You Need to RP with Another Group

Kind of self-explanatory.  If someone can’t or won’t settle issues in a quiet, non-dramatic way, they are either too immature, thrive on drama, or are unstable.  They need to go.

The Bottom Line

Role-playing groups can be a lot of fun – but also can be a huge headache if the inevitable conflicts aren’t handled with a minimum of fuss and drama.  Take steps to insure you are prepared in advance to handle them.

Choosing the Right Avatar for your Character

This whole situation made me laugh, so I’m sharing it.  (It’s also a good lesson.)

A while back I was in an RPG and we needed a character for the plot.  The character actually needed to die off quickly for the plot to work.

The character (Jared Stone) was a cute, hotshot, skirt-chasing, foul-mouthed-yet-endearing pilot.  He was critically injured and needed to die after a few days to make way for another character to take his spot.

Because of this, we (as a group) chose this avatar:

Cute, yes?  XD

But then……something happened.

Because of the other player dropping out, we needed Jared to miraculously pull through and live.

O.o

The character became a main character, and the avatar was ridiculed mercilessly.

(My favorite one was comparing him to Kahn Singh:

KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNN!

And my favorite nickname was “Mr. Booby Chest.”  XD)

So, finally, he chose a new avatar….but the nicknames, I am told, will remain.

So remember, kids….when choosing an avatar, choose wisely. The pic should reflect the nature of your character, and…plan ahead.

What is Role Playing?

What is role playing?

Chances are, you’ve done role playing before.  Most kids pretend to be something they’re not – a policeman, fireman,  astronaut, etc.  It’s fun!

Role playing is the same for an adult – you pretend to be something you’re not.

Online role-playing is a quick, easy way to do this.  You can RP in a variety of formats, with 2 being my faves:

• Twitter
• Forums

I prefer Twitter for roleplaying because it’s fast and interactive, but forums can be enjoyable, too.

Getting started with Online Role Playing on Twitter:

Online role playing with Twitter is simple.

• Start an account at Twitter – it’s free!
• Pick a character you want to be – or make up your own!
• Follow the steps to create the account and then find a picture to use.
• Find other RPers and follow them.  (Another Twitter term)
• Start interacting.

Need help?  Our role playing rpg is very willing to help newbies!  Go to http://navaarstwitterfic.wordpress.com or contact

• Shara at sharatheorion {at} hotmail {dot} com or http://twitter.com/SharatheOrion

You can also post questions as comments. 

RP Haters on Twitter

If you RP in a public forum long enough, you’re going to have a hater.

I, personally, have just acquired a new one.  ((WOO HOOO!  LOL XD))

Not everyone is going to like the way you RP.  They won’t like your character, your storylines or your grammar.  Something.

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Once someone realizes that they don’t like how you RP, most people would simply ignore what you RP at that point.

But – for some, strange reason – some people are not content to quietly unfollow you or to not look at the RP threads you post in.

No, they have to attack you.

That, my friends, is when you have a hater.

Why Haters Hate

Now, before I start my little rant, please understand that there are some people that I simply cannot stand to watch RP.  Seriously – there are things they do that just make me go “ick.”

But you know what?  I’m not the end-all, be-all of RP judging, so I quietly unfollow them and that’s the end of it.  No big deal.  They have fun and I don’t have to watch it.  Everyone’s happy.  ( And, most of the time, they have a good number of followers, so my opinion is obviously in the minority. *shrugs* I’m cool with that. )

But haters are different.  They aren’t happy with ignoring you.  Because of some deep-rooted issue, they have to let everyone know – including you – that they dislike the way you RP.

Why?

I have a few theories:

• Jealousy
• Pettiness
• Psychological issues
• No life
• And a few others I’ll keep to myself

So then you are faced with a choice.

Live and Let Live

I have seen some truly spectacular fights over RP.  Stunning ones.  Devastating ones.

But – at the end of the day – it’s just RPing.  It’s not worth getting that upset over.  (Now, if it’s an argument IRL with someone you RP with, that’s another story.  Not what I’m talking about.)

If someone has an issue with the way you RP and simply wants to be a jerk about it, ignore it.

Honestly, don’t lose sleep over it.  Don’t fight over it.  That’s what the hater WANTS you to do.

Just unfollow, block and ignore.

And that’s all I have to say about that.  :D

RP Haters on Twitter (in RL)

Another ooc post.  You're surprised, I know.  Hehe


I have another hater!  SWEET!  Called me a b*tch and everything, plus tried to get me riled up by mentioning an account I have.  Hahahahaha.


Why?  Because I had the audacity to tell this person (an RPer, no less) that threatening legal action against someone (not me) just because that person said/did something they didn't like was ridiculous.


This person said that the account in question was cyberbullying because it pokes fun of RPers and their storylines.  (And trust me, my accounts are poked fun of just as much as anyone else is.)  


Puh-lease.  If that's the case, every comedian on the planet is a cyberbully.  It's like those countries that put comedians in jail if they speak against their leaders. 


Anyway, I digress.


Honestly, if you don't have haters on Twitter (or anywhere on the Internet, for that matter), you're not doing anything interesting.  


RP is supposed to be fun.  People that get all full of Haterade make it suck for everyone.  That's what the block button is for.  *POOF* The person is out of sight, out of mind.  Then you can get back to RPing and having fun.  There is no reason to keep bickering with the person.  


Just going to toss a few things out there:


1.  You are what you tweet.  If you start name-calling and being a total jerk (ooc, not ic - there's a difference), then people see that.  It's forever.  Debate is one thing.  Name calling is another thing completely.  Name calling is a surefire way to get people to turn against you - and not just the person you are calling names. 


2.  "You understand that by using the Services[Twitter], you may be exposed to Content that might be offensive, harmful, inaccurate or otherwise inappropriate..."  Quoted straight from the Twitter TOS.  Guess what?  Not everyone is going to say or do what you think is right. They may even *gasp* disagree with you.  Again, unfollow or delete.  Don't throw tantrums.


3.  Twitter has very specific reasons for suspending accounts.  "That account upset me/offends me/hurt my feelings" isn't one of them.  Get over it.  Block or unfollow.  Next. 


And my favorite:


4.  "You think you are the RP Twitter Rules God."  No, actually it's God-dess. Hahahaha  Okay, just kidding.  But seriously, since this has been tossed at me twice now, I'll address it.


The only RP Rules I ever post are ones that are generally accepted as standard rules.  I also post guidelines that I personally prefer.  (To my knowledge, I believe I always make a distinction between the two.)  The ones I post that are my personal guidelines are from watching literally thousands of RPers over the years and from personal experience.  I think that kind of qualifies to have an opinion and post some advice.  *shrugs*


Not only that, but I help a lot of new RPers (along with others in my RPG).  I see what they struggle with and what seems to help.  *shrugs*  Seems only right to pass tips along that would help others.


And third, how difficult is it to understand the concept of being polite?  I remind people to "Do unto other RPers as you would have them do unto you" and I am told that's wrong?  Holy cow.  Go figure.


-----------------------------


So, kids - in closing, just play nicely.  And if a hater tries to yank your chain, just block and/or unfollow.   You know what they say about arguing on the Internet.... (If not, Google it.)

Coming up with RP plots

Seems like I keep writing ooc posts.  I'll have to change that, but I think this one needs to be written.


So many times I see the following from RPers:


"I'm bored."


"I can't come up with a storyline."


Or this conversation:


RPer 1:  "I'm bored.  Anyone wanna RP?"


RPer 2: "I'm bored, too.  Sure."


RPer 1: "What do you want to RP?"


RPer 2: "I dunno, I was just bored.  What do you want to RP?"


Then there are 20 ooc posts and they are still no closer to RPing.


*headdesk*


If you come up with compelling, interesting, varied SLs, you will get more and more people to follow you, and those people will want to join your RP (if they are RPers).  People will ask to join you.


I almost always have a plot in mind when I log on.  I may not do it (depending on if others are on, we will sometimes coordinate a different plot off the cuff), but I at least have it in mind.


People have asked how I come up with so many plots.  A lot of times they just pop into my head and I write them down for future use.


But there are times when I have to just sit down and plan something out.


Here is my Sooper Sekrit RP Plot Formula (TM).  And I'll walk you through my thought process.


1.  Pick a place.


Don't know why, but knowing where the action is taking place helps me.  Since I'm in sci fi, it's usually another planet.  


So I look at a Star Wars galaxy map (since that's the genre I RP in) and start looking.


I'll read through and see if anything jumps out at me.  Today I like the Outer Rim Territories.  I click that.


Browsing.....browsing....reading the history.....browsing....


Oooh.  The Si'klaata Cluster.  Let's look at that.  *click*


Reading.....reading....oooooh.  Non-Hutt access was restricted.  Interesting.


Four planets are mentioned in the sector:   Klatooine, Tas-La, Vontor, and Vodran.  *click click click click*


Klatooine?  Nah.  Tas-La?  No, not much info.  Vontor?  No.  Vodran?  Hmmmmm....this is promising.  Jungle planet?  Swamps?  Me likey.


Okay, so this mission is going to Vodran.


2.  Why do they go?


Reading.....reading....


The dianoga evolved there.  Maybe NavKor needs new garbage disposals.  Hehehe.  That could be a fun plot.  Much pissing and moaning from those sent.  Let's do it.


(I could have also chosen a bounty hunter mission, cargo pickup or delivery, etc.)


3.  What happens during the mission?


This is the fun part, and this is where you can get the input of others.  At this point, you have a basic idea and you can ask others to join in.  


So now, instead of saying "I'm bored, wanna RP?"  you can say "I have a mission to Vodran planned.  Anyone want to help?"  And, in the meantime, you can have your character going through steps to prepare for the mission.


What happens on missions is the fun part.  Will it go smoothly?  Does someone get hurt?  Do they run into Darth Maul along the way?  Is a crew member captured by a rival smuggler's ship?  Does one member get captured by the Hutts and forced into slavery until rescued?  Will they have to crash land somewhere?  Do they meet someone that will join the crew?


Always remember these words:  "What if....?"


That's the key.  So many possibilities.


If you are in another 'verse, use similar resources for your genre.  Start reading, pick a place (country, city, building, etc.) and then work from there.  Where is it?  What kind of place is it? Why would they be there?  What could go wrong?


There's never a reason to be without a plot.  Use some reference materials and let things go from there.


And one more thing:  Use DMs or chat to plan a plot.  If you plan everything in ooc tweets, I have no reason to watch it.  I already know what's going to happen!  (I feel another ooc post coming on....)

Creating a character that people want to RP with (OOC post)

Just an OOC post/rant about a trend I'm noticing on Twitter. The following is JMHO, of course. 


Starting role play on Twitter is simple.


1.  open an account, name it, put up a bio, choose a pic.
2.  Start Tweeting.


Seriously.  That's it.  


Now, I can think of several people that do a fine job of "role playing' and they don't even need anyone else to interact with.  They are excellent storytellers, and I enjoy watching their stories as they tweet them.


But for others, they enjoy interactive RP.  They want others to talk to.


I have several characters on Twitter, and they are all pretty popular.  I've seen a LOT of RPers come and go in my time in Twitter RP.  


Here are a few things I've observed in watching both successful and unsuccessful RPers on Twitter:

Do's

1.  Make your character interesting.  Make the character multi-faceted.  Give them flaws.  


2.  Make them realistic.  Even if a character is powerful, he or she should have a weakness.  Even if the character is a good person, there should be some flaw.  Perfect characters are annoying.


3.  Have a storyline.  Even if you are alone, have a storyline.  Make it an interesting one.  This will bring more people into your story.


4.  Interact with followers (other RPers).  Don't just say, "Hey, baby, wanna RP?"  Come up with a plot and then ask if others want to join in.   Try something like "Hey, I am on a mission to Zebus and need someone help me capture a deathstick dealer."  You'll get a much better response.  Once others realize you come up with good plots, more people will want to join in.


5.  Interact with followers (non-RPers).  Talk to them "in character."  The followers get a kick out of it, and it really is fun.  Some of the best RPers are followers who decided they wanted to take the plunge and join the wacky world of Twitter RP.


6.  Make your characters sociable.  This one drives me crazy.  People will NOT RP with you if your character is pissy.  Or silent.  Or emo.  Or violent.  UNLESS you make it interesting for them to do so, and you balance it.  


Case in point:  Jared Stone.  He was an arrogant, smartass bastard most of the time.  But he also showed a nicer side to one or two people, and he was entertaining when he was an ass.  


7.  Give your character a face.  Another pet peeve of mine.  It's really hard to "get to know" a character that is faceless.    Hard to relate to someone that way.  Find a pic that at least comes close to your mental image for your character.  


8.  See if you can join with an existing role playing group.  This is the easiest way to find people to RP with.  Ask the group members how to join. 

Don'ts

1.  Don't be an RP slut.  Do I mean you need to be a saint?  No.  (Most of my characters are Orions.  Duh.) But don't be one of the types that just prowls for sex and that's the only thing you RP.  Don't make sex or a relationship be the focus of your RP.    Don't be "Single and Looking."  IT'S RP, FOR GODS'S SAKE!     


A relationship (and/or sex) should ENHANCE a storyline, not BE the storyline. 


You want a character that's promiscuous? (Or, as I prefer to say, poly-amorous?)  Fine!  But have the sex be in some kind of a decent storyline.  Just sayin'.


And by "decent storyline" I don't mean "Hey, baby, I'm a [fill in the blank with some type of profession here], wanna make out/have sex/screw like rabbits/have babies/get married (even though we met 5 minutes ago)?"  Um, no.  (And I am seeing this more and more.)


2.  Don't just post "I'm bored." or ooc posts all the time.  Create a storyline!  Make it exciting!  You'll draw people in quickly.


3.  Don't god mode.  Don't have a character that can't be beaten.  Or that beats everyone else.  Seriously, it sucks.  


4.  Don't just jump in with someone else's storyline.  Ask first.  You never know if they are ad-libbing or have a storyline planned out.  And ESPECIALLY don't attack or grab someone without asking first.  

***

Okay, I've said my piece.  Are these hard and fast rules?  Not necessarily.  I'm sure there are exceptions to them all.  Just saying that in my 2+ years of RPing on Twitter, these are pretty good rules to play by.