OOC and IC: A Guide To RPG's Forum Structure

Topic Tags:ic, in character, ooc, out of character, roleplay

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Hello all! Over the last week it has come to my attention that there is a great deal of confusion as to how our Out of Character (OOC) and In Character (IC) structural system is laid out. Even I wasn't quite sure of just how specific it is or is not meant to be, until recently. After all, one of the greatest things about RPGateway is how much wiggle room there is for our individual tastes and preferences.

However, grey area can be as confusing as it can be forgiving. There are a few things I feel desperately need to be clarified:


1. Threads meant strictly for OOC planning DO NOT belong in the IC forum. If you are posting your character bio and a request for new RPers, but not any IC content, it goes in the OOC forum.


2. Beyond that, the use of OOC threads is largely up to you! The OOC forum and its subforums are meant to help members organize their RP and enlist more players. Truly, if you make use of the OOC forum for planning and recruiting, you will have a much easier time building a bigger, better RP. Here are some things to consider:

  • Combining your OOC planning (bio, rules, contact requirements, etc) with your IC content can leave players unsure of just what they're getting into. It can be more effective to finish your planning elsewhere so that everyone knows where they're starting when they join the IC thread.
  • RP is a fickle beast! Lots of OOC planning threads are created that never actually go anywhere at the time. Starting this in an IC forum may be considered a waste of space, and really, you shouldn't be opening threads with purely OOC content in an IC forum anyway (see point number 1, above.)
  • Use of OOC subforums are also left to member discretion. Remember, however, that if you already have an OOC thread in the OOC forum, that acts as a request for more members in your IC thread. You're encouraged to re-open and bump that OOC thread, rather than opening an RPers Wanted thread.


3. I want to remind everyone that there is a new IC forum available to you! For those of you who haven't noticed it yet, Remæus was kind enough to open a Private RP forum alongside the other IC forums. RPGateway is a community that welcomes all kinds of RP, and one-on-one styles are no exception. However, considering how quickly private stories tend to move and therefore how rapidly they overpopulate the first page of any RP forum, it just makes more sense to provide one-on-one RP with its very own forum. Let me lay out a few reminders!

  • The private RP forum was not created to section off mature content. All RPGateway rules apply there, including those involving excessive vulgarity and blatant sexual content.
  • Also, the forum was not created to open a breeding ground for "net speak" and one-liner posts, despite the fears some may have to this effect. In essence, the forums are intended for forum RP, and therefore forum-level posting. Remæus has put a great deal of effort into providing members with a chatroom for the aforementioned.
  • In reference to the above, I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that every window into which we type our posts comes equipped with a spell-checker and a red-to-green text-warning that informs when a post is considered too short to post. These are not strict rules, but are general guidelines that every member should consider when making use of the services this website provides.


4. The Multiverse is a source of great confusion for many members. Remæus has posted the rules for the Multiverse at the top of its forum:

Forum rules
There's no need to post rules or requirements for joining here!
This whole forum is one big roleplay, with no specific rules or guidelines.
If you want to create a roleplay in a single thread, this probably isn't where it needs to be.

Remember – this whole forum is one persistent world –
your characters are free to move from topic to topic here with no restrictions.


Consider it this way:

RoleGateway's Multiverse is a single roleplay contained within this website. It is its own massive game where elements from multiple "universes" can co-exist. Every event in a Multiverse thread is persistent across every other Multiverse thread, just at a different place within the "multiverse." Each thread corresponds to either an event or location in the Multiverse (depends on how the thread-creator meant for that thread to be), and your character can only exist in one place at time. Anyone with a character(s) in the Multiverse can participate in a thread. They are constant, and your character(s) can interact in the threads as you see fit. You can join at any time, so long as you don't violate the persistence of that world. Planning is inherently unnecessary (but nonetheless encouraged), as the storyline(s) are driven by conflict between characters' personalities and motives.

Threads in IC forums outside of the Multiverse are not connected to events in the Multiverse.



I sincerely hope this is helpful to everyone. Mods and admins work hard to keep the place running as smoothly as it does, but everyone must do their part! If you notice a misplaced thread or need something deleted, moved, split, merged, or whatever else, remember to smack that "Report" button at the top of the post/thread. It will inform us immediately of your request!
I am available as an RP mentor should you seek to improve.
I draw things that you may like.
I like Ronald Jenkees and you might, too.

I require a certain level of writing skill in my stories. Don't be insulted, I just prefer to RP novel-level material. (I, I, I, me, me, me. I sound like such a jerk.)
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Re: OOC and IC ( )

Postby Kronos on Sun Oct 12, 2008 7:52 am

You might want to add something about the multiverse.
"The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever."
- Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

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Re: OOC and IC ( )

Postby Rokku on Mon Oct 13, 2008 7:35 am

Are you guys gonna move the unfitting threads to the proper categories then? I'm still seeing IC forums clogged up with private RPs and threads that should be in OOC...
Join my RPs!

Shattered Earth [Restart]: shattered-earth-ooc-t11698.html

The Waves Of Flame: the-waves-flame-ooc-t12213.html
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Re: OOC and IC ( )

Postby Remæus on Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:58 pm

Kronos wrote:You might want to add something about the multiverse.


The Multiverse is a single roleplay contained within RoleGateway. It is its own roleplay where elements from multiple "universes" can co-exist. Every event in a Multiverse thread is persistent across every other Multiverse thread, just at a different place within the "multiverse." Each thread corresponds to either an event or location in the Multiverse (depends on how the thread-creator meant for that thread to be), and your character can only exist in one place at time.

Anyone with a character(s) in the Multiverse can participate in a thread. They are constant, and your character(s) can interact in the threads as you see fit. You can join at any time, so long as you don't violate the persistence of that world. Planning is inherently unnecessary (but nonetheless encouraged), as the storyline(s) are driven by conflict between characters' personalities and motives.
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