Roleplaying Etiquette

Real life social situations call for certain behavior. We say please and thank you and don't scream at people unless, of course, they cut in line at Starbuck's. Roleplaying is also a social situation and it also has a set of generally unspoken guidelines for behavior. While these are not rules required to use the room, we strongly recommend following these guidelines in order to keep a pleasant and fun room atmosphere. You'll find that these guidelines are pretty much universal so what goes in Hawthorne will also work in other rooms.

1. Don't use all capital letters. This is the online equivalent of shouting at someone. Contrary to popular belief, using all caps does not make your posts easier to read, it makes them harder. Most people simply find it annoying. This is a very basic but very important piece of netiquette. Bottom line, use the shift key and gain friends!

2. Pic size. Although the only limit put on pics is that they be no larger than 60k, role play etiquette dictates that you use common sense when posting pics. If your picture is larger than 450 pixels, try a little resizing. It's quick, easy and your fellow players will thank you. The Adobe Photoshop program, or something similar, will allow you to resize your pics. If you don't have such a program, ask another player. Most of the time you'll find someone happy to help you out.

3. Unnecessary posts. Please refrain from testing your pics and taglines over and over again. Few things are more annoying to players than having to scroll through posts of *test* or 3.....2 to get to their partner's response. If you need to test pictures or taglines in the room, your best option is to send them as a private message to yourself. Using the PM function is usually easy to figure out. However if you are having trouble with it, ask for help, someone will assist you.

4. OOC posting. This can be tricky. Not everyone is always in a mood to roleplay. Sometimes you may just feel like shooting the breeze and observing other scenes. This is fine and players love to have an audience, but it's always wise to be careful about excessive ooc posts. Remember that you can always have a conversation with someone in PM.

5. Font size and color. WBS has several options when it comes to font color. Some of these options are better than others. For instance, red font can be extremely hard to read. Avoid colors that make others squint. Choose a bright color and when in doubt remember, you can't go wrong with white. Along with color options, WBS also gives you different font options. Whichever font you use, always keep the setting to where it can be read by players with high resolution settings.

6. Roleplay requests. It is perfectly all right to ask someone else to play. But please keep in mind that some people may be in scenes already, multi-tasking, fixing dinner or just not in the mood. There are any number of reasons why someone might turn down a request to play. Do not take it personally and above all, don't get nasty about it. No one likes a whiner.

7. Roleplay content. Hawthorne Manor is a room with an Adult rating. This means that among other things, we deal with mature content. This includes sexual and violent themes. Be prepared for this. If you see an IC post that is offensive to you, don't read it. It's that simple. Or use the handy "ignore" feature. If someone has posted something OOC which you find offensive, you may choose to ignore it or you can report it to a room host or co-host. DO NOT RESPOND IN KIND. This will only make matters worse and could get you in trouble too. If there is no moderator in the room, their email addresses can be found here. Email the post, including date, time and post number and let him/her deal with it.

8. The "I'm bored" syndrome. Please do not come into the room talking about how bored you are. Posting, "I'm bored" over and over will not get you a roleplay partner and it won't make you any friends either. If you want to play with a specific person, ask them outright. Don't wait for them to pick up on your not-so-subtle hint. It is highly annoying to watch someone post how bored they are while not doing anything about it. If you have asked for a scene and been turned down, don't get huffy and don't think that gives you the right to post how bored you are either. Play solo, write a monologue. Face the fact that sometimes there will not be someone for you to play with. Be a grown up, or at least act like one.

9. The "I suck" syndrome. A close relative of the "I'm bored" syndrome. Please don't fish for compliments by talking about how bad you are at roleplaying. Also, please don't talk about how no one ever wants to play with you because you suck. Despite what you may think, you will not get roleplay partners by advertising how bad you think you are. People do not enjoy playing out of pity.

10. Guilt trips. Don't try to make people feel guilty for not playing with you. Most of the time it won't work and it will always make people uncomfortable around you. If there is a certain person you want to play with who never seems to want to play with you, ask them politely and respectfully and in PM why. They may or may not answer. Whatever the case, guilt trips are a sure way to make yourself an outcast in any room.

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Slideshows
Want to know what the manor looks like? Or Salem? Or Boston? The following slideshows feature photos of the area:

Hawthorne Manor Slideshow
Salem Slideshow
Boston Slideshow

Become A Better Writer!
Looking to enhance your roleplay writing skills in Hawthorne or elsewhere? Well, check out this article for some great tips that will help you become a better writer.

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