In an ideal world, bros with anime girl pfps would be the last person anyone should ever challenge with "post physique" statements. (Because they'll bench press your squat/deadlift PR for laughs)

I mean, it's one thing to age-gate one's site to 18+, and maybe raise the bar a little higher for personal comfort reasons, but I swear that sometimes, the hobby of forum RPing seems to have become like that Twitter meme about how "I think kids should be banned from the Internet altogether, because the fact that I'm at risk from hearing a 14-year old's opinion on something is a violation of my human rights."

There's a saying in this hobby that there's no "wrong" way to RP other than insisting to others that your way is the only right way to do so. With this logic in mind, it makes me wonder if this means even widely derided playstyles like the dreaded murderhobo isn't a "wrong" way to RP.

Like, there's nothing wrong in RPing a murderhobo in and of itself... Provided you can find a community or group that's willing to entertain said playstyle.

While this is a given for the hobby and something I agree with 100%, I feel that the "having fun" argument is kind of a double-edged sword. After all, one might argue even disruptive players such as godmoders and metagamers only want to have fun, only that their idea of "fun" is A) incompatible with the community in general, and B) really no fun for anyone save for themselves. But of course, when site staff crack down on their behaviour, one can expect them to play the "you're a bunch of anti-fun party poopers!" card.

From my experience both as a RPer and a site admin, behind every authoritarian admin is a wounded RPer. As in, they're probably the sort of player who early on got soured on the hobby due to having had one too many unpleasant run-ins with godmoders, metagamers and other RPer types who are highly disruptive and not in the positive sort of way. What happens with such people is that they either end up kicking the hobby, or they stay on a "bitter vets" who run their games in a very controlling manner, in order to avoid repeating the experiences from the past that defined the hobby for them.

That, or they approach roleplays like a novel. I.e. They have a grand vision for their site and probably a script in mind regarding an overarching narrative that comes complete with an exposition, buildup and endgame, and don't take particularly well when players look like they may "go off the script."

I'm also a diehard believer in the "let people use whatever they want" (though with the caveat of as long as they're not stealing someone's artwork) school of thought. But it's such a shame that the hobby is full of people who want to get possessive over pictures they don't even own, or cast judgement over others for their FC choices, or a combination thereof. It's like, I want to let people just use whatever they want, but I know that this policy is likely going to turn away more potential members rather than attract them.

Then again, maybe I should do exactly just that. Because the people who'd cast judgement on others like that probably aren't people I'd want to RP with to begin with.

P.S.: Yeah, I said it. Claiming faces is lame, because it's like I find it hard to wrap my mind around the logic of claiming a bunch of pics they don't even own. Like, did you draw it? Did you commission it? If neither of these points apply, then no, you don't own it.

They say only two things are certain in life — death and taxes. Well, I propose adding one more to the list. Death, taxes, and people not letting you enjoy Zack Snyder films.

Well, because as PHIMBO  said it, "You are what you consume." And it just happens so that animanga content by far makes up the bulk of the media I consume - and they influence my preferences. That being said, I just find animanga as a whole more aesthetically pleasing than live-action. Aesthetics aside, I also feel that the culture surrounding animanga FCs (in general anyway) is more positive than the culture surrounding RL FCs. 

Now, I'm not bashing the premise of using RL FCs, but I've found myself noting that the culture behind animanga and RL faces are quite different based on my experiences as a RPer.

For starters, I noticed that generally animanga players tend to view their FCs as little more than placeholders/references for what their characters look like. Whereas I tend to get this "fantasy dream-casting" vibe from sites that use RL faces. As in, they tend to attract players who view their FCs as more than just a reference for their characters' appearance... they feel like they're literally envisioning their character being played by that specific actor/actress as if the RP were a movie or TV series.

My apologies to RPers who prefer RL faces who do not fit the above bill; you are cool people and have my respect!


Though that being said, I've never grasped the idea of 'claiming' faces to begin with, drawn or RL. Like, I've been in this hobby for a long time, long enough to remember a time when nobody batted an eyelid when half a dozen characters were running around a site with Sephiroth FCs. Sure, I understand the sentiment behind wanting a distinct look for one's character - but this is an instance of where Reality is Unrealistic. i.e. Look-alikes and mistaken identities are not that rare (Though they're by no means common either!) in the real world. Like, I still chuckle at how my nephew said I looked like Benedict Wong; (when portraying Wong from Dr. Strange) and social media has their fair share of cases of celebrity look-alikes. But somehow, we just can't have that in fiction?

After seeing playthroughs/let's plays on YouTube for Blood West, I'm surprised no one has yet been hankering for a Weird West RP.

I don't think I have anything to add that isn't already covered by the earlier posts, but I suppose high stakes can henceforth be defined as anything that can either have major, long-term changes to a character (whether physically or emotionally), or a massive shake-up to the setting's status quo, or a combination thereof.

Contrary to what others have stated, I don't think it necessarily has to be as drastic as killing off a character or permanently crippling them or whatnot. Cause things like losing their elevated status (for characters who are of high standing in the setting's society) - or conversely, getting bumped a few notches up the pecking order - or relationships with another character becoming permanently soured, etc. can also count as high stakes.

The bottom line is basically about having consequences that stick.

...Which reminds me of why I don't like writing in-depth personality writeups on character profiles. For these sections, I prefer to write just the passable minimum for the site's standards, and nothing beyond that. Because for me, I feel that the personality description should only serve as a "what to expect when interacting with this character", essentially a run-down or summary of their surface traits. As far as their innermost traits go... that's something I prefer to explore and develop in-RP than to put down on a character profile page; and yes, often their inner traits can be quite the opposite of their surface traits. I know some might argue that detailed writeups are useful for maintaining consistency, but I tend to beg to differ. Ergo, I feel "locked in" if I have to provide a very detailed personality writeup, since for me it feels like it means 'forcing' my character to develop along a predetermined or scripted path, which kinda sucks out a good deal of the fun, IMO. 

Telemarketing is just an euphemism for legalised harassment.

I think in all my years of RPing, I've never RP'ed my characters ever being a victim. Now, they're not invincible or always successful - far from it. They're definitely capable of running into defeats and failures and generally things not going right for them. Or basically, they may have moments of weakness or vulnerability - but they're never completely helpless or powerless.