OOC Courtesy and Other RP Etiquette

Introduction

It is never proper RP to speak harshly against one’s fellow player under any circumstances during the game, no matter how frustrated you get with your opponent. Making OOC judgments against another person is among the highest degrees of disrespect and dishonor in RP. Discussion OOC is just as much a part of good RP as IC discussion, so it becomes essential in both Combat and Non-Combat situations that all players behave themselves civilly. It is NEVER legal to attack, or attempt to attack, an opponent's character when the opposing player is OOC. The emphasis here is upon the word RESPECT. Good RP Combatants always have respect for one another, Bad RP Combatants don't. A commonly used phrase to define how one player should act towards another player is: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Aside from the exceptions, such as people who like to be disrespected, this is a good guideline to follow.

OOC in Combat

Think Bubbles
Many times during combat, dueling characters will have to go OOC in order to explain fighting maneuvers, character abilities, weapon/armor statistics, plot validity, or any of a number of possible topics that will be addressed further in the following pages. Making clarifications during combat should be done with the use of Think Bubbles. When that happens, ALL COMBAT STOPS. It is not only illegal to continue combat actions when a character involved in combat has gone OOC, but it is also disrespectful. Once all OOC matters have been resolved to the satisfaction of all players, combat may resume.

Mediators
Sometimes questions concerning various topics arise in combat and cannot be agreed upon by all parties involved in the fight. It is not just preferred, but recommended that a knowledgeable and fair Mediator be on hand to solve such disputes peacefully. Specifically, the Mediator’s job is to remain uninvolved in the combat he/she is watching in order to make unbiased judgements when called upon by a player. It is important to note here that a player acting as Mediator has a duty to be present at all times while combat is in progress. A good Mediator will also have a full understanding of the Rules and Guidelines presented in these texts. Having one player acting as Mediator during combat is sufficient for the job, but there is nothing wrong with having more than one Mediator. In fact, a second Mediator can prove benificial if it turns out the first Mediator must leave prior to the combat's conclusion.

Ignore Button
If a player has decided to take it upon himself/herself to insult other players OOC, or shows a total disregard for the combat rules established herein with no willingness to learn a more correct style, the Ignore Button is an acceptable resource at your disposal to prevent an unnecessary OOC argument once all other methods have been exhausted.

Private Message and “Away”
Just like Think Bubbles, it is illegal to continue combat while an opposing character is “Away” or in PM. A player may signal that he/she is “Away” by typing one of several abbreviations (BRB, AFK, BBL, PM LAND) at which point, ALL COMBAT STOPS until the player has returned, or an alternative is found to resume combat without the participation of the “Away” character. PM or Private Messages are considered OOC methods of communication, unless otherwise stated by the players communicating through PM. Abuse of Private Messages, such as requesting access into a private room with the intent of starting IC Combat without the permission of the players within that PR, is illegal.

PREPs Before Entrance
Sometimes, players with INDIRECT FIGHTER characters such as Mages, Psionists, and Missile-Weapon users tend to get frustrated with having to type all of the PREPs required to make a Sucessful Attack. To alleviate this stress, players might have their characters perform the PREPs required to make an Attack prior to the opponent’s character actually entering the room IC. But this is unfair RP and should not be tolerated. Thus, the following Rules outline how PREPs should NOT be used with respect to OOC in Combat:

1. Making PREPs to perform an Attack BEFORE an opposing character has entered the room IC is illegal.

2. Making PREPs to perform an Attack BEFORE entering the room in which the opposing character is located is illegal.

3. The above actions, and any actions similar to them, are considered equivalent to making a PREP Attack while the opposing character is OOC, which is obviously illegal.

In the case of Room Kills, where a powerful spell is used to kill all characters in a single room with a single cast, any unsuspecting player character entering the room just prior to the spell's casting MUST be WARNED OOC of the impending danger to his/her character. At that point, the player whose character just entered the room may decide the fate and RP path of his/her character with respect to the Attack.

OOC in Non-Combat

Crossing Characters
Crossing Characters involves a player taking IC knowledge he/she has gained from one character and using that knowledge for RP purposes with a different character. A player may know particular information OOC, but only one of the player's characters can know this information IC. Therefore, the only character that can legally use the IC information for RP purposes is the character that actually learned the information in RP. Any of the player's other characters must recieve this information in some other IC manner before it can be used for RP purposes with those other characters. However, if the player can invent another IC means in order to transfer the RP information between two different characters IC, then the RP information could pass between the player's two characters legally. For example, if a player's two characters were brothers that lived in the same house, the two characters might often meet and legally exchange information IC. Otherwise, Crossing Characters is illegal.

Character’s ID’s and Clan Characters
Every character has an ID by which he/she is easily recognized. The ID will look something like john_the_archer, mac_the_mage, etc. It should be understood that a character’s name, past, history, etc. can not be known IC just by looking at the character ID on the screen. The Character ID is designated as OOC knowledge. This is also held for clan/kingdom affiliations. A player character cannot know IC that bob_of_martok is from the clan of martok just by looking at his character ID.
Furthermore, characters that are affiliated with a specific clan/kingdom cannot always be recognized as being affiliated with a specific clan/kingdom just by having a player character look at them IC. Not all clan/kingdom characters wear identifying markers visibly upon their person IC. So, unless a player character has already met the particular clan character, or has in some legal way gained IC information about the clan character, there is no way for a player character to know IC that he/she is looking at a character affiliated with a specific clan. To use any OOC knowledge IC in the ways described above is illegal.

Entering RPG Rooms
When a player character initially enters a room designated as an RPG room, the chat room displays the character’s ID upon the screen to signify that the player has entered. However, this should not be understood to mean that the player character has entered the room IC. This only means that the player controling the character has entered the room OOC. A player character does not officially enter a room IC until the character’s IC entrance has been typed out in full description by the player and that discription has been displayed upon the screen.

Character Profiles
Over all, Character Profiles are considered to be OOC information. In many cases though, a player may put IC information such as a character’s looks, clothing, species, and similar characteristics into the public profile. It is a commonly accepted practice to at least place some sort of information in a character’s profile so those curious minds that wiggle their way into the profile have something to look at rather than waist their time. However, putting something in a character’s profile is certainly not required so long as the player makes it obvious to everyone in the RP room as to what his/her character is.

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