OOC in Say and the Dreaded (( )) by Adnaw
Hello all,
I am presenting an issue that rather than plaguing us RP’ers from the outside it is an issue that plagues us instead from our own community. Therefore making this a delicate subject but one that needs to be addressed none the less.
The problem is present on both Horde and Alliance factions, so we do not need to start pointing fingers. The problem is the vast amount of Out of Character that gets said in the say and yell channels not by the dreaded OOC players but by Role players themselves.
So In order to try and help and cope with a growing problem I wanted to create a post to help those breaching this etiquette, and despite believing they are RP’ers adding to the community how they are actually being detrimental.
First I think it is very clear that people that do this need to understand, putting ((brackets)) around something in say still makes it OOC in Say.
Yes your acknowledging what your saying is out of character, now as a role player that is annoyed by the idea of LOL or gold plx in say, why would you do the same thing, breaking the same rules, by doing it yourself?
There have been many times I have watched someone break from their RP to do this ((hey go to a pve realm this is an RP realm where your supposed to RP in say)) or other such things.
I am not sure if people realize that one you just broke the rule your complaining about and can be reported much the same way you just reported them, two that is is just as annoying or immersion breaking as the Lol, and three there are built in game functions to allow you to communicate to a large group of people simple things like BRB.
Players who choose to play in an RP realm should abide by the Role-Playing realm policies and remain in-character at all times.
Absolutely no out of character (OOC) or Non-Fantasy related dialogue should take place in the /Say, /Yell, or Party Chat Channels
This is a Quote from Blizz them selves in regards to appropriate behavior on an RP realm and is in fact the banner that RP’ers raise every time we seek to get rid of anyone with a name we don’t find appropriate, a guild tag that is an eye sore, or the spam and loling we hate.
So what can be done?
First and foremost stop using (( )) around ooc things in say. It is hypocritical, immersive breaking, annoying, and realm policy breaking.
You do it front of ooc’ers and your just reinforcing their own beliefs it is OK to OOC in say as you just did yourself. It is not RP and as much as I attempt to avoid labeling anything as bad RP behavior this will often get you labeled as a bad RP’er by many people.
There is no excuse as below I will give you examples of ways to simply avoid using ooc in say and therefore not break policy and not have to worry about being reported.
How can I get my message across without using (( ))?
1 You can use a main channel to do so if you are in a large group sort of situation or large event. Simply by putting the information in things like /1 General. If you are on a secondary list like /LFRP you can do the same as this is an ooc channel. This would allow for many of the vast majority of the people at said grouping to be aware of what ever ooc message you need to get across to them.
2 If your in a more intimate RP session with on 1 to 3 players you can easily whisper them and give them your ooc info.
3 If it is a guild meet up use what ever function the guild gives you for ooc info transfer whether it be your guild chat function or a separate ooc chat.
4 Find an IC way of emoting or IC say excuse for whatever ooc info you might need to get across. Such as needing to go? Simply find an IC excuse why your character suddenly might have to go and express that to the other characters. Going AFK? Emote perhaps that Molly the elf turns and looks into the fire and her gaze seems to become unfocused and lost for a few minutes and her eyes slowly glaze over.
5 The quickest and easiest way to avoid using brackets in a quick emergency situation such as a phone call or something much more drastic. That is /afk. people will see this over your head and realize that you currently had to take a moment to go afk. I have personally had to use this myself.
Although one warning if this is a true emergency situation and you are in the middle of RP and a true emergency happen please either immediately exit or even better just walk away and allow for disconnect. A real emergency is more important than informing Bob and Sue of anything and they will understand later when you tell them I am sure. Priorities should still be RL.
6 Here is a few macros to choose from that others have created and used that will automatically whisper your target to let them know you are going afk. these just need to be copy and pasted into your macro and that is pretty much it. This can make it very quick and simple to even whisper multiple people as it is simply click then macro.
/script n=UnitName(“target”);if n~=nil and UnitIsPlayer(“target”) then SendChatMessage(“I’m going AFK for a sec”,“WHISPER”,nil,n); end
To change the message to something more personal simply change the message between " and " where it says I’m going AFK for a sec.
- Type /brb this give an emote that even those that have turned off overhead names and guild tags will see. It simply informs those around you that you will BRB. <I am not personally as fond of this one but it is quick, simple, and gives no reason what so ever to type ((brb cat)) it even uses less typing.
All of these are appropriate ways to handle a situation which allows for you to continue following realm policy, not annoy or disturb other RP’ers, and continue to create a better gaming environment and immersion for others. Just remember there is no true excuse for this behavior, and just because you see others doing it does not make it ok. In fact some people just don’t know any better.
The reason I am posting this came after a weekend spent in sifting through (( )) in and around Stormwind. Now as I said this happens on both sides, my breaking point just came then. The final straw was an elf that seemed to not understand that not only was this inappropriate behavior, but used the excuse that others do it. So here is a simple guide.
Thank you for those that take the time to read it. <shrugs> Maybe we should start reporting (( )) speak too as ooc in say, maybe some people will get it then. Anyways I usually ignore it but I know how much it annoys many of you out there so well here is a simple solution to this annoyance.
Thanks.
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