et·i·quette /ˈɛtɪkɪt, -ˌkɛt/ Pronunciation Key
–noun
1. conventional requirements as to social behavior; proprieties of conduct as established in any class or community or for any occasion.

Now, some of you maybe asking yourselves; Why is Gabe posting about etiquette? We all know what it means. The answer to this is, it's not just a set of rules taken for granted with in society, it should also be used in ever community. That includes Gwing.

Now, I know there have been posts like this in the past:
Guidelines
and
Forum Rules

Both of these topics speak about the RolePlayers Creed. I would like everyone to revisit that once in awhile just to remind yourselves of some little rules that are there.

The Creed contains basics to live by in RP. It does not, however, contain some simple definitions that I think everyone needs to be reminded of, such as Godmolding, Pre-RP Information, Granted/Not Granted Information Given, and Character Association.

1. Godmoding AKA godmodding/godmolding
I know that you are thinking to yourself: "I don't need a defintion for this. Everyone knows what it is." WRONG. Godmoding is not just when characters are invincible, and have no weakness. There are other types.
Godmoding can also occur when a character takes advantage of another. Such as when you have an action completed that can affect future playment of the original character. (Forcing actions upon other players)
ie: Connecting an attack. Wounding. "Voodoo". Etc.
Another type of Godmoding is when a character has no weakness at a certain point in time. It's fine if it lasts for thirty seconds, or it is just plus three to attack, whatever. If it lasts for the entire length of the RP, that's Godmoding.(Unbalanced Characters)
ie: A buff that enables gives your +9 to everything and slowly kills you, but it happens whenever you want it too. WRONG. This is a form of Godmoding.

2. Pre-RP Information
This is information that has been decided upon before the RP happens, or information that a character brings up to help further along the story line. This information can be helpful or have a drag on the plot. If this information affects an NPC or another persons character please discuss it. If it just affects your character and does not bring about Godmoding, then it is perfectly fine and acceptable.

3. Granted vs Not Granted Information
Granted infromation is something a player posts to all, in order to get it out there. For instance, their character is short tempered. The player wants you to know that, so your character can be prepaired for it and to give you an idea that it is coming. Granted information is just simple foreshadowing.
Not given Information are tidbits of a character or storyline that have not been made public in order to expand the roleplay at the GM or the players decided point. There are also pieces of information not given that a player will sometimes take for granted. WRONG.
Granted ie: Fred was a very quite person since the accident. He doesn't talk much or socialize well.
Please don't take for granted that George knows Fred. Discuss who he knows via PM.

4. Character Association
Each character belongs partly to a player. Even NPC's. Said character has an ammount of traits that the player is already aware of or discovering through the RP. If any of your characters acts would affect the player ask them. Any major actions affecting NPC's should also be requested through their creator. All NPC's have a purpose too. (Non-Player-Character)

Well, I think that's it for definitions. If I have missed anything or have any inncorrect information please feel free to post it here or PM it too me.

One more thing, another factor that will drastically affect a forum RP is writing skills. Please put a little bit of detail into your posts. I'm not asking for anything droning, but something with a little substance. Please don't just post one liners. If you want to One Liner, heres the link to the chat.

Can everyone have a look over Ways to kill an RP as well.

Cheers.
Gabe.

Gabriel Faile wrote:
The Creed contains basics to live by in RP. It does not, however, contain some simple definitions that I think everyone needs to be reminded of, such as Godmolding, Pre-RP Information, Granted/Not Granted Information Given, and Character Association.

The Creed is something every role-player lives by. They are life defining rules. Etiquette is a privilege and your responsibility as a respective role player. It shows you are of a higher, respectable class of role-players. Eating your steak with your salad fork won't get you removed from the table, but it will certainly get you dirty looks from those other classy fellows.

Gabriel Faile wrote:
1. Godmoding AKA godmodding/godmolding

I know that you are thinking to yourself: "I don't need a defintion for this. Everyone knows what it is." WRONG. Godmoding is not just when characters are invincible, and have no weakness. There are other types.

Godmoding can also occur when a character takes advantage of another. Such as when you have an action completed that can affect future playment of the original character. (Forcing actions upon other players)

ie: Connecting an attack. Wounding. "Voodoo". Etc.

Another type of Godmoding is when a character has no weakness at a certain point in time. It's fine if it lasts for thirty seconds, or it is just plus three to attack, whatever. If it lasts for the entire length of the RP, that's Godmoding.(Unbalanced Characters)

ie: A buff that enables gives your +9 to everything and slowly kills you, but it happens whenever you want it too. WRONG. This is a form of Godmoding.

"Godmoding", "powerplaying", "modder" is classic terminology used when referencing someone in chat-based "fighting" circumstances who is responding in any way unfair to other players. This term is pronounced "mod" as in moderator because despite popular belief it didn't stem from "god mode". This term was from back in the day when being a Moderator in a chat room meant that for the few hours they were on they could kick and boot any user they pleased. They didn't play, or offer any type of helpful critique, so they weren't regarded very highly yet still acted like "gods". Thus, godmodding/godmoding. Typically in a written out story form, the culpable character is directly referred to as Mary Sue or Gary Lou. (while there are several male forms of the name, Mary Sue remains the only relevant term for female "godmodding" characters)

Mary Sues and godmodding comes from a fear/love for a role-player's character. We all know what it's like to have a character special to our hearts and come to fear losing them or having their value diminished. We all know what it's like to want to express our character's value or worth and value to several other players to showcase our valiant efforts and passed role-playing experiences.

And there are some of us that know what it's like to create a "plain Jane/Joe" character and have them become, through role-play only, someone epic and worth remembering.

And there are even fewer still that know the pain and loss when that character dies, loses face, or becomes obsolete. Yes, that happens. And if it hasn't happened to you yet, I assure you it will. Not every character has the chance to immortal or live longer lives than currently possible, and not every character is invincible. And they shouldn't be.

Whether we are new or seasoned role-players, it is important to remember we represent a community that participates in an art form, and you represent this community to others, or potential new players that want to learn and become seasoned and skilled like their "heros". A lot of responsibility comes with this- and I will not, among the other administration staff, tolerate any negative "flaming" or anything of the sort when it comes to "Mary Sues" or "godmoding". Everyone needs to understand that this need for a Mary Sue or a godmoding moment is simply a love for the game and a love for a character gone a little awry. We need to coach and help each other and those players grow away from that- let go of their fear of losing, death, or rejection – and play.

There are the extreme cases, most notably, when someone is obviously taking control in an RPG- playing someone else's character, making another player's character act and react without the their consent or direction. Even seasoned role-players make this mistake, though this particular offense is generally only in forum style. People who have played together for years will get comfortable with each other, how they play, and what their characters are like- and sometimes will make their actions for them. Let's face it. You have to when you're writing three page long posts each turn. But the character's owner reserves the privilege to say, "That's not quite right," or, "That's good, but can you change this a little bit". It's a collaborative effort, role-playing, so work together to expand your characters. There's this beautiful thing called the "edit" button- and we should never be afraid to use it.

There are also the less obvious offenses, such as when a starting character has a background that's unreasonable or extravagant. A characters background should be defined by the stories they play in and the choices they make. Was Eric's character Master always a badass? No. (Eric don't kill me.) He learned, he was burned, he grew and became respected for his growth and age. Was Hilde always a badass? Hell no. I started playing her when I was twelve years old and she wasn't anything special. She didn't have powers. She wasn't amazing by any means. She was a mechanic in a Gundam Wing chat. That's it.

If you take four hours to role up and or create your starting character for an RPG, chat or not, you are victimizing yourself to a form of Mary Sueism and godmodding. Characters don't start perfect or powerful. They start by dealing five points of damage to their opponents, or missing their marks, falling off their horses and making bad choices.

We need to understand that actions do speak louder than words. And in this case that means letting our characters character grow and become something memorable. Nobody is ever going to be impressed by you completely destroying or killing their character in one post or one hit. And nobody is going to be impressed by a character that is in no way remotely human simply because they can't relate to him or her. Role-players know one thing when it comes to their characters- the blood, sweat, and tears gone into making, shaping, and developing them and if you can respect that as a fellow role-player, then they will respect you and your character.

Gabriel Faile wrote:

2. Pre-RP Information

This is information that has been decided upon before the RP happens, or information that a character brings up to help further along the story line. This information can be helpful or have a drag on the plot. If this information affects an NPC or another persons character please discuss it. If it just affects your character and does not bring about Godmoding, then it is perfectly fine and acceptable.

This also includes research. If someone took the time to write out a lengthy post about something their character is afflicted with, and you don't even know how to spell the word, please have the decency to look it up. Researching things now is so easy, it's a click away, so don't ruin the RPG or everyone's hard work and make a fool of yourself by posting something you're clearly pulling out of your ass.

Gabriel Faile wrote:
3. Granted vs Not Granted Information

Granted infromation is something a player posts to all, in order to get it out there. For instance, their character is short tempered. The player wants you to know that, so your character can be prepaired for it and to give you an idea that it is coming. Granted information is just simple foreshadowing.

Not given Information are tidbits of a character or storyline that have not been made public in order to expand the roleplay at the GM or the players decided point. There are also pieces of information not given that a player will sometimes take for granted. WRONG.

Granted ie: Fred was a very quite person since the accident. He doesn't talk much or socialize well.

Please don't take for granted that George knows Fred. Discuss who he knows via PM.

This is also called playing with "Character Knowledge". If you can't tell me, or any other player, HOW your character logically came upon that information, he or she doesn't have it. Period. This includes information posted in a biography.

"Sally has a birthmark under inside her right thigh that symbolises her royalty. She is currently on the run from her kingdom because she fears threats from a neighboring kingdom."

Not only is this a possible Mary Sue situation, but it's general information given out so the PLAYERS can coordinate with each other as to not have EIGHT Mary Sue's running around (Please, people, we only have room for one per story). An example of playing WITHOUT character knowledge is-

"David walks up to Sally throwing his black, 8 lb cloak over his should effortlessly and says to her- "Princess Sally, I know it's you and I am a bounty hunter her to take you back."

Is anyone other than me going aroo? It looks like we have a Gary Lou situation on our hands too! Someone get an icepick, quickly, so I can STAB MY MONITOR. Which leads right into the next point-

Gabriel Faile wrote:
4. Character Association

Each character belongs partly to a player. Even NPC's. Said character has an ammount of traits that the player is already aware of or discovering through the RP. If any of your characters acts would affect the player ask them. Any major actions affecting NPC's should also be requested through their creator. All NPC's have a purpose too. (Non-Player-Character)

This is also known as RESPECT. Don't try to kill another character in one post. Don't do anything that reflects their actions without consent. We've harped on this enough so I'll just use another example:

"David walks up to Sally throwing his black, 8 lb cloak over his should effortlessly and says to her- "Princess Sally, I know it's you and I am a bounty hunter her to take you back." He reaches up high, raising his sword that no other human can raise above his head and brings it down onto her skull- miraculously leaving her unharmed, but unconscious. He then puts her on his horse and gallops into the sunset.

Sally awakes a few hours later, "What happened to me?"

"I am taking you back to your home, it is your responsibility as royalty."

"Oh, you're right, I guess." Sally said, wrapping her arms around David's waist"-

Okay, I cannot force myself to go any farther. I'm sorry whatever poor player has just been violated. It looks like your dear Sally now suffers from Stockholm syndrome and doesn't know what the hell she wants in life!

Gabriel Faile wrote: One more thing, another factor that will drastically affect a forum RP is writing skills. Please put a little bit of detail into your posts. I'm not asking for anything droning, but something with a little substance. Please don't just post one liners. If you want to One Liner, heres the link to the chat.

Well said. With this however, it isn't just about the one liners. Keep in mind there is an audience.

If there has been a murder DO NOT start your post by saying,

"Walks up to the body and kicks it."

WTF?! If you insist on doing so, you need to be specific. You need to explain THE BODY even if you insist on leaving out HOW you stumbled across it.

Spell checking is also another major part of etiquette. You have one built in to the forum, and if that isn't working- you can easily find one online or use a word processor.

Turn off your signatures. No matter how cool you think they make you look, they are OOC and unacceptable in a forum style RPG, breaking the flow of the story.

Oh, and if you took the time to read through this whole thing, then you are more respectable than most and you have my thanks and my respect. Don't blow it. (I'm only teasing.)
(Slightly.)


Cheers,
Bonamy
The Player Behind Hilde

A lot of responsibility comes with this- and I will not, among the other administration staff, tolerate any negative "flaming" or anything of the sort when it comes to "Mary Sues" or "godmoding". Everyone needs to understand that this need for a Mary Sue or a godmoding moment is simply a love for the game and a love for a character gone a little awry. We need to coach and help each other and those players grow away from that- let go of their fear of losing, death, or rejection – and play.

No.

No.

I play using a character named "Erik Strong" on another board. Regardless of what the situation is - be it an excursion to Jurassic Park, a prison for mass murderers, an innocent coach trip to Scotland that goes bad - my character retains this name. None of the Strongs are related to one another, none of them realise the others exist. Ditto here - you have the elven mage Asterius, the elven sniper Aster, the ex-soldier Major Aster of the RST, the unnamed freelancer and such and such. I like these characters, and I like the name.

But were I to godmod to ensure one of my characters survived, I would cease to be a good roleplayer in my own eyes. Godmoding and Mary Sueism doesn't come from "a love of a character", it comes from people not being willing to play the game. It comes from people wanting their character to survive to the end and win, regardless of how many people they piss off. If I encounter a Mary Sue, I will give them a warning, and if they carry on doing it, I will vent at them - that way, we avoid the whole "wah i wusnt doin anything rong wah" aspect because it had been made clear they were doing something wrong. But I will not kowtow to people who don't have skills good enough to play a game properly. No way, no how.

mronimusha wrote:

A lot of responsibility comes with this- and I will not, among the other administration staff, tolerate any negative "flaming" or anything of the sort when it comes to "Mary Sues" or "godmoding". Everyone needs to understand that this need for a Mary Sue or a godmoding moment is simply a love for the game and a love for a character gone a little awry. We need to coach and help each other and those players grow away from that- let go of their fear of losing, death, or rejection – and play.

No.

No.

I play using a character named "Erik Strong" on another board. Regardless of what the situation is - be it an excursion to Jurassic Park, a prison for mass murderers, an innocent coach trip to Scotland that goes bad - my character retains this name. None of the Strongs are related to one another, none of them realise the others exist. Ditto here - you have the elven mage Asterius, the elven sniper Aster, the ex-soldier Major Aster of the RST, the unnamed freelancer and such and such. I like these characters, and I like the name.

This is playing in a multiverse, in alternate dimensions and alternate realities with the same character. Some people choose to do this while others do not. I will come back to something said in this quote later.

mronimusha wrote:But were I to godmod to ensure one of my characters survived, I would cease to be a good roleplayer in my own eyes.

It sounds to me like you role-play a lot. If you were to pull an act of godmodding, I would be extremely disappointed, and you would cease to not just to be a good role-player, but a decent one.

mronimusha wrote:Godmoding and Mary Sueism doesn't come from "a love of a character", it comes from people not being willing to play the game. It comes from people wanting their character to survive to the end and win, regardless of how many people they piss off.

Please take all of my words in context, and not just a few and run with them. "Gone a little awry" is a key phrase in my statement. The basis of creating a Mary Sue character or godmodding comes from a love of the game, or they wouldn't even be here. It is an unwillingness to play by the rules that's the problem. They want to participate, they want to be cool, and badass, because they love the game, they love the idea of their character being badass, etc. Also note that I wasn't just talking about blatant godmodding, I go on to discuss the many various forms. Some would even say playing the same character over and over again regardless of the setting, time, or place is a form of Mary Sueism. You love your character, just as you said, you don't want to play anyone else. We don't have a black and white depiction of Mary Sueism because every player is diverse in their styles or what they believe is right. What I am trying to explain is that the base of Mary Sueism comes from a love of the game, or writing, or fan-fiction and you don't need to tarnish the player unreasonably because they might not realize or know any better.

Everyone started somewhere, and most of the players who pull Mary Sueism are younger, and this is their first stretch in role-playing. I never said Mary Sueism was tolerable, or needed to be tolerated, ever. What I said was I won't tolerate a flame war or a bashing of a player from administration because their offense- whether little or small. This should be common sense and there is nothing wrong with that statement. If they break the rules, whatever the offense, we need to obviously make them aware of the offense (as I also discussed already) but also be willing to give them a few examples of what they're doing wrong. Just saying, "I'm booting you from any RPGs I do because you godmod." is unacceptable. Role-players come from somewhere, and whether you want to admit it or not, most of them will grow and learn and become better. Those that don't won't be role-playing here. But we have to allow them room to grow.

mronimusha wrote: If I encounter a Mary Sue, I will give them a warning, and if they carry on doing it, I will vent at them - that way, we avoid the whole "wah i wusnt doin anything rong wah" aspect because it had been made clear they were doing something wrong. But I will not kowtow to people who don't have skills good enough to play a game properly. No way, no how.

How administration and staff will or won't treat another user on this forum is not open for debate or discussion. And I wasn't telling you that you needed to hold a blatant offender's hand. If they don't express a willingness to try or to learn, then they don't need to be here. I assumed this was common sense. I was, however, telling you that I won't tolerate administration bashing a user for an offense they've made. I've seen it happen, and I'm sure we all have- that players will get cocky and only play with other players they feel are good enough- and then a newcomer can come along and have extreme potential, and a willingness to learn, but they do something wrong to piss off one person in this "elitist" ring, and the whole lot of them bash that new player. I am saying that I will not tolerate this. I wasn't asking you to "kowtow" to people of "lesser skill"- I was telling you not to flame or bash them and thus discourage the player from any further attempts at role-playing on this board or walk away from the board feeling that the administration here was full of a bunch of stuck up elitists that weren't willing to extend a hand to a player with potential and a willingness to learn and grow.

I think your initial approach is OK, give them a warning. I hope your warning includes something more than just- "You're godmodding in ___ RPG, this is your first warning." But you should never "vent" at any user. But I'm open to the idea that by "vent at" you meant you explain to them (or direct them to useful links) what their offense was (however little or however large) and warn them gently that it shouldn't happen again- but if they are willing to try to change it and have any questions, or would like their post proof read, they should contact a seasoned player willing, even if you obviously aren't, and have them help out.

However, with respect, the tolerance of any sort of Mary Sueism should be ultimately left up to the author of the RPG- unless it's fellow players complaining about the author. If there is a player in an authors RPG who is having some Mary Sue issues- and the author doesn't mind, leave it. Worry about it when they want to join an RPG of higher standards.

I would like to stress that this post was directed at all administration, and not just mronimusha, who I thank for bringing up his questions and concerns regarding my initial post. If I thought I had to tolerate those players who godmod without any desire to change or learn, I'd be a little frightened too.

It's funny to me Gabriel Faile, that you post a thread about Role Play Etiquette when with just a few clicks I can find a thread in which you leave your signature on in the middle of play even after the thread's author and owner has respectfully asked that this NOT be done.

And mronimusha, that you would post in response, hounding the same person that requested that IC posts that are not long (specifically saying, "I'm not looking for page long posts..."), but short and interactive, while yours spans nearly two pages in my word processor.

If you are going to set rules, and specify how things be done, or even voice your opinions, please, please follow your own written advice. As has been said before, "We need to understand that actions do speak louder than words."

We are here to teach and, more importantly, to learn.

mronimusha wrote:But I will not kowtow to people who don't have skills good enough to play a game properly. No way, no how.

Let me let you in on a little secret. A lot of the time it's hard for me to be an admin. Honestly, on any of the sites I work with. Some people suck. I mean, they suck. But the thing is, once upon a time, so did I. And even now there is room to improve and room to learn from the, "idoits tat don no nuttin." We are a group that has knowledge to share, and insight to give to the people that wouldn't make it into this world without us.

It's time to take step back, and re-evaluate what foundation we're standing on. Don't scare these new people away with your high and mighty spelling ability. Or how many words per minute you can type, or how many years, "[I've] been in the game."

Role Play Etiquette is an important part of play, but attracting and teaching new players is the first step.

So, in closing, I would like to say this:

1. Take your own advice, read the thread you join, respect the author and other players and ask any questions that need to be. Just because you're a mod or admin doesn't mean you know everything.

2. Lead by example. We all make mistakes, yes, and with the history we have as players a lot of times our foresight is better, but make it a general rule to show what needs to be done by doing it yourself.

3. Remember no matter how many years you've been playing, you're still a n00b somewhere.

; )

Sincerely,
Skuldhild

My two cents on godmodding:

If it happens for the sake of one's character, it is generally bad.

If it happens for the sake of the improvement and progression of the story, it is generally good.

This is where the problem surfaces. By-and-large, I have found that people--veterens and newbies alike--have no concept of what a story is if it does not revolve around their character. Such a style of play produces terrible, generic plots with no purpose other than the glorification of individual characters. To me, that type of writing is worthless, selfish, and abusive to other players.

When interacting in a role-play scenario (and am being serious), I ask myself these questions: "will this benefit the plot?", "will it be to the readers' enjoyment?", and "will it not destroy the groundwork of another player?" If the answers to those questions are "yes," then godmodding or not--whatever happens is good.

I got this from another site, and it is basically a MUCH simplified version of all stated above.

What is a Godmodder?:
There are many types of Godmodders. The most commonly thought of are those who are all powerfull, and never get hit, and never miss their target. Bah! Well, in fact there are many other types of godmodders, and even multiple spellings for the word. Lets watch!

Types of Godmodders:
The people who never miss a single shot no matter how hard it is (Aimbotters).
The people who can't be hit or just shrug it off (god-moders).
The people who never are without a weapon (idkfa-ers).
The people who have absurdly strong powers (twinks).
The people who 'balance' thier characters by having a massive but irrelevant weakness and massive powers (min-maxers).
The people who use Out Of Character knowledge to get an edge (Metagamers).
The people who do things in hindsight (McFlys).
The people who RP other people's characters for them (Puppetmasters).
The people who RP completely irrelevant things (Daydreamers).
The people who RP actions and time against others while the others aren't present Out Of Character, but are In Character (Shoe elves).
The people who ignore or alter RPs that they don't like (Revisionists).
The people who RP an absurdly time consuming sequence occuring between other people's actions (Speedhackers).
The people who play as characters that are completely impossible (Oxymorons).
The people who arbitrarily declare themselves the winner with instant death attacks (Lil' Junior Sonofa...)
The people who've taken actions before they start RPing (Gaseous Snakes).
The people who pull-in elements that were approved in an unrelated RP (Augustines).
The people who use an existing persona and only RP them when it helps (Batmen).
The people who alter thier character as needed for the situation (Zoicite).
The people who declare thier In Character threads safe, but readily attack others (NIMBYs).
The people who gain abilities as they need them with no prior exposure (Trinities).
The people who pick-up things that spawn from seemingly nowhere (Quakers).

Spellings:
Godmoder
Godmodder
Godmobber
Modgodder
Godmober
Godmoder
OMG U SUK

I experience a version of a "Batman" almost every time I tabletop with our group here.

This one girl who creates essentially the SAME CHARACTER for every game...you know, the one who is a Mage with great skill in magic and fighting, oh and by the way, she's drop dead gorgeous....that one. I play with that character in EVERY CHRONICLE.

<.< >.>

It makes me a little tense

HERE! HERE! Wonderful post! Thank you!

Skuld wrote:It's funny to me Gabriel Faile, that you post a thread about Role Play Etiquette when with just a few clicks I can find a thread in which you leave your signature on in the middle of play even after the thread's author and owner has respectfully asked that this NOT be done.

And mronimusha, that you would post in response, hounding the same person that requested that IC posts that are not long (specifically saying, "I'm not looking for page long posts..."), but short and interactive, while yours spans nearly two pages in my word processor.

If you are going to set rules, and specify how things be done, or even voice your opinions, please, please follow your own written advice. As has been said before, "We need to understand that actions do speak louder than words."

We are here to teach and, more importantly, to learn.

mronimusha wrote:But I will not kowtow to people who don't have skills good enough to play a game properly. No way, no how.

Let me let you in on a little secret. A lot of the time it's hard for me to be an admin. Honestly, on any of the sites I work with. Some people suck. I mean, they suck. But the thing is, once upon a time, so did I. And even now there is room to improve and room to learn from the, "idoits tat don no nuttin." We are a group that has knowledge to share, and insight to give to the people that wouldn't make it into this world without us.

It's time to take step back, and re-evaluate what foundation we're standing on. Don't scare these new people away with your high and mighty spelling ability. Or how many words per minute you can type, or how many years, "[I've] been in the game."

Role Play Etiquette is an important part of play, but attracting and teaching new players is the first step.

So, in closing, I would like to say this:

1. Take your own advice, read the thread you join, respect the author and other players and ask any questions that need to be. Just because you're a mod or admin doesn't mean you know everything.

2. Lead by example. We all make mistakes, yes, and with the history we have as players a lot of times our foresight is better, but make it a general rule to show what needs to be done by doing it yourself.

3. Remember no matter how many years you've been playing, you're still a n00b somewhere.

; )

Sincerely,
Skuldhild

while the ettiquette used is important and there are some things that are universal, I have one comment that i mst state from my on going days with dungeons and dragons: "THE DM IS GOD." Should it not be up to the dm or gm or whatever phrase you wanna use for the head hauncho of the story to decide what is right and wrong for a particular rp?

the dm/gm/whatever is the one who wrote the origional story and who started it, shouldnt it be left to them to decide what is and isnt godmodding or twinking or anything else in their story? Shouldnt it be left to the dm/gm/whatever if it is time to knock off a charcter? What if the Dm/Gm/whatever decided that the only badguys are the ones under their control and so anything goes in the battles?

"Rocks fall, you die/ Rocks fall you die of (insert STD here)" may have been the right of the Dm/Gm/whatever, but its not what I'm advocating here. The events of the story should be under the pull of the one who is mastering it, the one who started it. The story of an Rp is the brain child of the dm/gm/whatever first, the product of a collaberation secondly. What ettiquette and rules are appropriate for a rp should remain where it started. Behind the cardboard cut out of a castle and in the hands of an incredibly talented and creatvie teen ager who held the power of the gods in his dice bag.