(The title is a joke)

Hello fellow RPers,

So it looks like we are going to be responsible for RP on our RP servers since there are no additional RP rules on the servers. This isn't a problem, a lot of unofficial RP servers have survived in games such as LotRO without the need for dedicated RP policing.

Now, some people take the offensive approach to non/anti-RPers and actively report them whenever they can or even argue with them/try to drive them off the server. This rarely works, so I'm going to throw this tactic out the window as "invalid"

Some people take the defensive approach and hide their RP in instances or in the corners of the world. They create insular groups of RPers and RP effectively dies on the server anyway. So, again, throwing this tactic out the window.

So what's left? Well, you ever notice how most non/anti-RPers don't actually know what RP means? People roll on the server by accident, or think it's a "I want to play Darth Vader" server and all kinds of stuff.

So why don't we try to teach them? All of us began as non-RPers, but all of us, and I mean every human being alive, engaged in make believe as a child, so the inherent core of an RPer exists in every human being.

At some point some of us chose to continue our games of make believe into adulthood and, I believe, we've been richly rewarded by years of fun with our friends and families revolving around the computer or around the game table.

So what got you into RP? What was it that you saw happen/experienced that made you decide to take the RP route?

Now take that. How can you use that to get others into RP?

How can we discourage bad RP (god moding, metagaming etc) while being polite about it?

What words can we use to explain roleplaying concepts for those who don't roleplay?

I think it's high time us RPers of the MMO world take a positive and aggressive approach to bringing people into the fold, not creating walled off little areas for us to hide in.

What do you guys think?

I used to be an enthusiastic RP promoter like you, then I took one to many people taking IC as OOC, to the knee.

It's very very difficult to get people who either don't understand it, or perhaps feel embarrassed by it, to do some RP.

I am all for getting more people into the community and having fun together, I will expand on this more when I get a few hours sleep.

Let's start by not calling nonroleplayers "unwashed masses."

That's a big part of the problem the rep roleplayers have. PvPers carry around their bad apples, the trashtalkers and griefers, around their necks like an albatross. RPers have a problem with elitism, or elitists among them, who make 'em all look kinda like jerks.

In general the best way to get nonroleplayers involved is simply by roleplaying in public. Let's face it much of the commonly seen public RP isn't always the best face we could put on what we do. I'm not going to put down other roleplayers, it's a free country and nobody can pretend to tell anyone else how to roleplay, but most experienced roleplayers know what I'm talking about.

It's the old hands who have some skills that should be out there doing their thing. Really brewing up stuff that feels like Star Wars and out in public where casual players can see them at work.

You can't teach someone how to roleplay before they want to roleplay. That desire is created by having a ball yourself and letting folks see how much fun you're having and how interesting it can be.

Formal events can help but these tend to be chatty/social things and not conducive to strong themes or interactions. I'd suggest vets focus more on impromptu public RP that illustrates colorful aspects of their character. Even if that's just a passing interaction with NPCs. Talk back to a quest giver or chat, in Say, with your group mates about a quest. Or, if you treat in-game quests as OOC, maybe plan for part of some in-house storyarc to take place in a public area.

But we need to deploy honey in this endeavor. We won't get far telling perfectly smart and capable people that they're "unwashed masses" because they don't cater to our every whim.

We need them, in the long run, more than they need us. This is where new roleplayers come from.

Let's start by not calling nonroleplayers "unwashed masses."

 

That's a big part of the problem the rep roleplayers have. PvPers carry around their bad apples, the trashtalkers and griefers, around their necks like an albatross. RPers have a problem with elitism, or elitists among them, who make 'em all look kinda like jerks.

 

In general the best way to get nonroleplayers involved is simply by roleplaying in public. Let's face it much of the commonly seen public RP isn't always the best face we could put on what we do. I'm not going to put down other roleplayers, it's a free country and nobody can pretend to tell anyone else how to roleplay, but most experienced roleplayers know what I'm talking about.

 

It's the old hands who have some skills that should be out there doing their thing. Really brewing up stuff that feels like Star Wars and out in public where casual players can see them at work.

 

You can't teach someone how to roleplay before they want to roleplay. That desire is created by having a ball yourself and letting folks see how much fun you're having and how interesting it can be.

 

Formal events can help but these tend to be chatty/social things and not conducive to strong themes or interactions. I'd suggest vets focus more on impromptu public RP that illustrates colorful aspects of their character. Even if that's just a passing interaction with NPCs. Talk back to a quest giver or chat, in Say, with your group mates about a quest. Or, if you treat in-game quests as OOC, maybe plan for part of some in-house storyarc to take place in a public area.

 

But we need to deploy honey in this endeavor. We won't get far telling perfectly smart and capable people that they're "unwashed masses" because they don't cater to our every whim.

 

We need them, in the long run, more than they need us. This is where new roleplayers come from.

Well said sir. I salute you.