Roleplay Courtesies

Eleanor

Well, if you came in and emoted swinging at me, I'd notice that you were emoting and think, hmm, he clearly wants to engage in roleplay rather than straight-up PK. I'd then emote a desperate scramble to get away, except the difference would be that I'd still be in the room and thus present to continue the RP that you initiated. If in a few emote's time it seemed right for me to get away and you hadn't done anything to stop that, then yeah, I'd mechanically bolt.

Edit: And if I engaged in that roleplay and the story unfolded that I was RP'd into a corner I couldn't conceivably get out of, then I'd be cool with the RP if you then mechanically PK'd me. Wouldn't even be mad, if the story was good. Because, you know, that's what roleplayers are here for, cool and engaging stories.

Alexina

Eh.

I sort of do RP and PK for two very different reasons. I react differently to PK and RP. I'm affected differently by PK and RP. Why? Because RP is different from PK.

Logging into Aetolia with the notion that they're interchangeable seems like it'll only lead to disappointment because most people typically don't have the same stance. In most cases, I engage in PK because I find it entertaining (it can be quite fun fighting over a lesser with your friends) but I generally don't expect an hour of PK to lead to sudden and spontaneous character development. It's sort of the same reason why bashing is somewhat separated from RP; strictly speaking, there are tons of psychotic murderers living in Enorian, willing to go out and cull of the Xorani populace for no other reason than 'I want to be stronger/richer'.

Hadoryu

Sessizlik said:

I don't think the main thing here is rp that toes the line of what might be uncomfortable. What is being discussed is severe torture/rape/kidnapping. These things -can- be extremely uncomfortable for some people. I am up for most things, but I have my limits and I see no reason to stop playing Aetolia just because I wouldn't agree to them. Also, @Moirean made a great point in that some people might be a bit too insecure to say no in some situations, which could cause things to get out of hand.

 

What I think is important when it comes to these extremely dark themes, which are not the norm in emoted aetolia, (even though it might be in mechanics), is that we show eachother respect. Of course you can start a darker rp an hope the other person tags along, but when it comes to the really awful things, the big, bad things, show your fellow players some respect, unless you know them well enough to know they will agree to it. If you are unsure if a person can/want to handle it, then ask. It's not too difficult and if you are a good roleplayer, you won't let one ooc tell break the mood.

Actually that's not true. The topic isn't rape and it isn't EXTREME torture and mutilation. The topic is whether you can at all kidnap someone with skills without OOCly having to ask first and potentially RP hurting them. The average roleplayer is constantly exposed to this level of violence within the game's context and these attempts to build up a rape/torture strawman are basically a smear campaign. Neither I nor Irruel nor anybody else said it is alright to just go Hannibal Lecter on people with impunity. We're ARE talking about borderline cases. I'd prefer not to have to go back and quote myself explicitly saying that each individual is personally responsible about where they draw the line when it comes to exposing others to content.

There is a point here that I also very strongly disagree with - that people can just 'go along' with it because of low self esteem or whatever other emotional weaknesses. How, then, do you guarantee they don't just 'go along' even if you ask them? How do you guarantee consent at all, if you're willing to absolve these people of their responsibility in managing their own participation? We HAVE to be big people here, we have to be responsible for our actions, because believe me that it can be pretty traumatizing to be told you just forced someone against their will after the fact, when they never attempted to make their discomfort known.

If, in a hypothetical RP situation, one party drops plenty of hints and provides ample foreshadowing that things are going to take a dark turn, the onus is on the other party to interrupt if this direction is going to make them uncomfortable. They are the only person who actually knows where their limits are - they should be the ones to make it clear when they're being breached. It should not be the responsibility of the other party to try to guess at where this particular individual draws the line. And before someone jumps on this point again, that does not apply to content that clearly crosses the line for the majority of the population - that is not what we're talking about and that is content that yes, you should touch base on first. There is plenty of content you should not even begin to ask a stranger about, but there is no point discussing clear-cut cases.

Vharen said:

You're trying to disguise the point, and adding words to what people have been saying.

I, nor anyone in this thread, have said that you have to protect everyone from every emotional trigger. There is a line, and extended torture and kidnapping are on the unicorn rainbow princess other side of it. If you can't ken that, then I daresay you need to go reevaluate your priorities.

And, that last paragraph, seriously? Man. I'm at a loss, and your inanity is about to make me break forum rules.

You have twice now actually broken the forum rules. I've addressed everything you've said here earlier, but you seem keen on throwing insults my way without adding to the discussion. And I'd appreciate it if you stopped trying to paint my position as more extreme than it really is. I never called anyone 'stupid', nor did I ever say anything about 'extended torture'.

Vharen

Edit - YOU KNOW WHAT. I am not going to slam my head into extremely, extremely retarded posts anymore.

On the stuff not pertaining to me, the original question also specifically says it's an RP scenario.

FailQuoteBracket

What is the best way to approach someone, especially someone of an enemy org, to see if they'd be willing to get involved in some rp that, in a way they can't really control the overall flow of. Example being, kidnapping someone and torturing them. 

EndFailQuoteBracket

Aarbrok

If anything, watching someone who does not play, get agrees from another person who does not play, on a subject that does not currently involve them is the most amusing part of this discussion.  I think it should honestly be kept on track but just cutting our losses and getting somewhere constructive.

...by constructive I mean closing the thread, its clearly a lost hope.

Aarbrok

Cant we all just....

Hadoryu

@Vharen (who apparently decided to edit it away; that'll teach me to not quote)
You're going to have to justify that opinion with something other than an insult if you want to have something to stand on.

I understand it might not be pleasant for anyone to be told that this game is probably not good for them, if they've had any amount of fun playing it. But I think it's completely irresponsible to knowingly expose yourself to emotional stimuli that can cause you real damage due to your state. It is irresponsible on account of your own personal health AND on the undue burden placed on the other players. Aetolia WILL NOT always ask before slamming you with controversial content - this is simply by virtue of its user-created, mostly unregulated nature and dark theme. It does not matter if you THINK you should be asked before that happens, because that is a fantasy that can never become reality. The raw truth is that you WILL find yourself experiencing themes like violence and torture in Aetolia, so you have to be responsible with your own health. Gods don't ask in OOC tells first and plenty of players NEVER will ask either, no matter what a help file or admin ruling says.

Omei

This thread has run its course. I will be locking it. Anyone who is at all curious about our administrative policies re: the material discussed in this thread is entirely free to read HELP POLICIES, as well as HELP ROLEPLAY and HELP LANGUAGERULES in particular. Between these, you should be able to construct a decent idea of what is and is not appropriate behavior within the context of the game.