The fine line with IC/OOC outside of RP.

[ThisGuy127]

Hello all, got a question for everyone's consideration.

I have been an RPer of all runs of the title for a good couple of years, and I've run into a lot of different styles and community standards on wherever I've been. just recently after some years have I started rummaging my fingers through the candy bowl of RP ads I come across on the recent threads of the site and have found quite a few people I am glad to call friends as well as delectable RP partners.

In my rummaging though, I keep finding my fingers pricked by an interesting topic. Presenting oneself In Character, or Out of Character. The concept strikes me as either speaking through some persona or just presenting yourself as a person, but as one of a rather common type of person who can blur that line through usual typing patterns without actually being in character for RP, this gets a little more confusing.

I have tossed quite a few appealing ads of all types and literacy back into the metaphorical bowl for someone else to pick out at their fancy over quite a few things. (Like another thread mentioned, OOC ranting.) But this particular niche has been incredibly common, especially with more literate players that like to run a collection of their own canonized characters and don't wish to be approached in character. I have a few characters that are rather persistent, but most of my RPing is done with a character made within the world of the RP that I often build, or it's with the one my avatar belongs to, which I half heartedly "speak through" in natural interactions since he's as much a character as he is just a bit of everything I enjoy about voracious and otherwise naughty fun and teasings online. Yet by doing so, I get a series of mixed replies when I ask if someone would consider doing that to be talking in character.

Anyone else have any opinions on this?

[SlitheringSnake]

For me it depends on my partner. Some people like to be IC all the time, some people want there to be that separation. I don't really see any problem with being IC all the time, though I can see the appeal for keeping a boundary between them... especially for more serious discussions or planning.

[ParentJam]

Personally, I like to distance myself as much as possible from my characters. They do not represent me as a person and I do not speak through them.

In the chatroom's Out-Of-Character room a lot of people are still semi In-Character, though. They may not play as their character, but they still refer to themselves in an In-Character style.
For example: most people in the Out-Of-Character room tend to say ''My tail is longer'' instead of ''My character's tail is longer''.
At that moment, they don't actively play as their character, but they do use it as some form of self-identity.

Everybody got their own preferences, but I personally don't feel it to be healthy when people get overly attached to their characters, especially when they start trying to become said character or act as this character outside of roleplays.

[crion1]

There’s a lot of line-blurring in RP. RP is the miscegenation of writing and acting, two creative professions each with their own long and storied history of mental illness and dramatic behavior.

I don’t like in-character approaches from strangers. Period. I show them the door. It isn’t that I’m uncomfortable with it, exactly; rather, it’s that I see an in-character approach from a stranger as a transparent attempt to drag me into a scene without fulfilling the usual requirements. I like my partners to share my interests and hold decent conversation and exchange good ideas; many people who approach IC have nothing in common with me and can’t chat to save their life and want me to come up with all the ideas and do all the work. In short, I’m picky, and IC approaches try to fly under the radar.

Now, if I’m interacting in a public channel—which is rare—it’s different. I’m channeling my character, even though I’m not really RPing. I can only compare this to the tendency for certain actors to stay in-character even when the curtain is down and the camera is still. It isn’t the same as method acting—I don’t have to “find” my characters; I can turn it on and off like a switch—but it’s more, I don’t know, an excuse to be somebody you’re not—which is, after all, the reason people RP in the first place. My replies swerve from IC to OOC and blend therebetween; it’s as if my character has inhabited my body and is living out my life—to put it simply, I cease to RP my character, and in my place, my character starts to RP me.

When people I know approach me IC, I’m a little more forgiving. I already know the person isn’t a feckless asshole, so I can be less inhibited about diving headlong into an unplanned scene.

I’m perfectly comfortable with my sexuality, and I can bend the lines around my character, but in the end, if anything starts happening, it is the character with whom my partners play, not me. The boundaries are malleable, the barriers fungible, but wherever those barriers exist, however brief their sojourn, they are stone.

[Saftkeur]

My first response would simply be that I stay OOC 100% of the time when I'm not in an RP (and even then, I always write in third-person, never first-person as my character). But on thinking about it, it is a fuzzy line in some cases; while I would always stress that I am not my characters, there are plenty of times I may say things that border on IC, comments between friends or even simple things like "I'd enjoy that!". There is a little bit of an overlap between me as a person and the things I enjoy fantasizing about, in such cases.

I think, to an extent, we all play something of a character when we interact online; especially in situations like this, where we interact over shared interests in something that is predominantly fantasy to begin with. I know I take on a slightly different persona online, mostly for anonymity's sake, though I always try to be myself regardless. My typing patterns don't line up perfectly with my speech patterns, I'm generally more outgoing and confident online as opposed to in-person... I'm Saftkeur when I'm online, and while this is not a character I've canonized in the slightest, it's still a bit of a character.

So yeah, I think it's a fuzzy line, and it depends on how people see it. Personally I'd probably still consider it speaking OOC anytime you're not actively trying to play a character, even if we may slip some IC expressions into our typing. The reverse could probably be argued, but generally speaking, it's the same as how saying someone is "acting" crazy doesn't make them an "actor". It's more the intent behind it.

[FarkyMacT]

Yeah, here's my opinion:

You aren't your fucking character, just like Robert Downey, Jr. isn't actually Tony Stark. I know, shocking.

The line isn't fine. There's you, and then your characters. Things that happen to your characters are not things that happen to you. You can avoid a lot of heartache and miscommunication by keeping yourself completely detached from your characters. It's not a "fine line", it's a massive gap double the size of the Grand Canyon. Don't build any fucking bridges. :U

[Hariken]

I hate when I try to talk to people and they talk to me as their character. It's annoying as shit; all their interactions on their thread/site/blog/whatever are them as their character, nothing about them themselves. Gotta be able to actually stand talking to the person, too, to be able to RP with them.

[fixated1]

If we're courting each other for RP, I'm going to be OOC. IC feels awkward, and I'm trying to get as much information as I think you need in the smallest space. Flourishes are best saved for the session. My writing style for courting versus creative writing is going to be wildly different. I feel communicating and creative writing are best left separate for clarity and efficiency.

[Vidofinir]

Personally, I hang out in the chat room (and to a lesser degree on Skype) not to formally plan scenes OOC and then carry them out IC, but to have fun. And that fun often includes playing someone other than myself, teasing friends I know to be preyish with the prospect of eating them, and once in awhile actually carrying out a formal scene. In character, out of character, with or without clear lines, I still find me and the people I'm talking to tend to have fun.

So... different strokes, I guess? Though, ouch, didn't realize so many people took such harsh offense to players being in character. I just approach OOC if someone requests it, and that's about it. Never saw it as a problem worthy of hatred over for slight deviations in methodology for writing fap-material.

I think the original post here describes me pretty well - My characters, or even my conversation not necessarily IN character are going to have a part of myself. I'm sure in chatting OOC, most people on this site would say "Yeah, I want <insert favorite pred> to eat me!" but faced with reality, they'd probably hesitate. Isn't that OOC person you're chatting with also a character, to some extent?

(Or... if you want to get too deep for this conversation, aren't peoples' words often different from their actions, and we're probably never playing our true selves in conversation?)

My only complaint with these blurred lines are when people constantly come to me in character, simultaneously begging me to eat them and playing an unwilling attitude. But that simply leaves me confused, and not hateful or particularly frustrated, and I can either ask them OOC what they actually want, and make it happen, or agree that they're too much trouble and move on. Or there's the odd instance where someone mistakes getting-off via RP for romance, and that leads to drama down the line, but that's a rare occasion. Hating people that play IC all the time really just seems a bit... much. Some of us like it, some of us don't. So play with people who suit your needs, and spare the energy you'd use the hate to rest on something better.

[fixated1]

Well, I speak for myself. Your style is your style. Don't let anyone harsh your buzz. Haters gonna hate... hate, hate, hate, hate.

[Vidofinir]

Oh, understandably so! I don't fault anyone for liking OOC conversation, but it's not my thing. Not gonna hate people who prefer it, but I do tell my RP partners that I prefer less planning and more surprises, in the brief OOC bits that happen.

I think as with anything, most people are fine with whatever, just looking for a good time. Best if we all just seek/provide fun, and don't dwell on the stuff we dislike, or minor frustration will fester into hate, and then into caps-lock rants on profiles that drive away potential partners >w>

[SilhouetteofKid]

I'm a little confuse on what those terms mean...could someone explain it?

I think I understand it but I feel like I'm still not getting it.

[kernac]

As I have many different characters, my standard stance is out of character. I get a little annoyed at those who come to me in character because I like to discuss what the other person likes and dislike and that can get a bit confusing when someone is in character. ( exp: Someone who says he doesn't wanna get digested but actually wants to. ) But its by no mean a deal breaker, just a little annoyance I wanted to share with others.

[ThisGuy127]

Yeah, here's my opinion:

You aren't your fucking character, just like Robert Downey, Jr. isn't actually Tony Stark. I know, shocking.

The line isn't fine. There's you, and then your characters. Things that happen to your characters are not things that happen to you. You can avoid a lot of heartache and miscommunication by keeping yourself completely detached from your characters. It's not a "fine line", it's a massive gap double the size of the Grand Canyon. Don't build any fucking bridges. :U

You're the kind of person who'd kick Johnny Depp for even thinking about visiting children in hospitals as Jack Sparrow, aren't you?

I'm not trying to attack you with this, but out of anything you could have done with the time it took you to type this, you resorted to weaponizing your opinion. Also, don't you dare tell me what bridges to build and which ones not to. If I want to build a bridge from my living room window to the roof of the McDonald's across the street because the corner is down the road quite a ways and I don't believe in Jay walking, then I will... So Nyeh.

That aside, thanks to all for the feedback, I'm glad some people took this question seriously. I got about what I'd expect to hear (Fortunately only two posts of it, the rest of you were great) and I see where everyone's coming from, but maybe I owe some clarification.

Personally, I hang out in the chat room (and to a lesser degree on Skype) not to formally plan scenes OOC and then carry them out IC, but to have fun. And that fun often includes playing someone other than myself, teasing friends I know to be preyish with the prospect of eating them, and once in awhile actually carrying out a formal scene. In character, out of character, with or without clear lines, I still find me and the people I'm talking to tend to have fun.

So... different strokes, I guess? Though, ouch, didn't realize so many people took such harsh offense to players being in character. I just approach OOC if someone requests it, and that's about it. Never saw it as a problem worthy of hatred over for slight deviations in methodology for writing fap-material.

I think the original post here describes me pretty well - My characters, or even my conversation not necessarily IN character are going to have a part of myself. I'm sure in chatting OOC, most people on this site would say "Yeah, I want <insert favorite pred> to eat me!" but faced with reality, they'd probably hesitate. Isn't that OOC person you're chatting with also a character, to some extent?

(Or... if you want to get too deep for this conversation, aren't peoples' words often different from their actions, and we're probably never playing our true selves in conversation?)

My only complaint with these blurred lines are when people constantly come to me in character, simultaneously begging me to eat them and playing an unwilling attitude. But that simply leaves me confused, and not hateful or particularly frustrated, and I can either ask them OOC what they actually want, and make it happen, or agree that they're too much trouble and move on. Or there's the odd instance where someone mistakes getting-off via RP for romance, and that leads to drama down the line, but that's a rare occasion. Hating people that play IC all the time really just seems a bit... much. Some of us like it, some of us don't. So play with people who suit your needs, and spare the energy you'd use the hate to rest on something better.

Vidofinir pretty much described how I handle things in a nutshell, so I'm glad we see things the same here about just seeing that everyone is having fun, and that's really what I aim for, whether I am designing a whole world within the branches of my RP, or just casually talking with vorish buddies.

That bolded part though, I see everyone bringing up, and I used to put up with this way back in my Felarya RPing days. I have to agree, some people need to understand when it's appropriate to actually answer a question as a person in front of the keyboard, not the character beyond your fingertips. I feel it's alright to show some enthusiasm for your character and how they'd react, but that is where the bolder lines are found that I believe everyone can agree on.

Lines, bridges, however someone would want to see it. I guess it's really down to just how someone has actually created their characters too. I, having multiple characters to use at any given time for real RPing purposes, only ever casually talk with a sort of impromptu mask of the one in my avatar. As he originally started as a long since request of me creating a personification of the furry variety to participate in an RP canon. He stuck with me since, and has taken on what I standardize myself as in the RPing scene. It doesn't mean I am him, not in the slightest, (I have a lot more hair) but I have been doing this for some years, and I know when someone's asking a legitimate question around my preferences and when someone else may just be enjoying some playful banter.

I guess, personally, my line is where someone would have the social and writing experience to understand when I'm asking something I expect them to ask as themselves directly, or if I'm poking at their character specifically for whatever reason. To me, that's more impressive than someone who completely locks out everything they do to being themselves until a character is brought up in an RP, because that tells me they can enjoy the fun and casualness that some lengthier and more life sized RPs can bring to the table, while some basic literacy qualifies them for the rest.

I guess while everyone else complains about people being too far IC, I'm always off put by people who are too far OOC. Which is a real shame, there's a lot of people who have so many great niches and kinks that I'd love to work with, but I feel like some employer talking to someone who came in to an interview in their pajamas. Presenting some interest in a character or at least being socially relaxed is an ideal quality I hunt for when looking for RPing partners, because I like to make friends while I'm at it. If you're just gonna set some character sheets down and state the Yays and Nays, I'm going to yawn and look for someone less boring.

I guess the better question is where the median is for those like me. I've approached people who've turned out to be too IC and too OOC, including people who actually accused me of being too IC which was always kind of weird.

[ThisGuy127]

As I have many different characters, my standard stance is out of character. I get a little annoyed at those who come to me in character because I like to discuss what the other person likes and dislike and that can get a bit confusing when someone is in character. ( exp: Someone who says he doesn't wanna get digested but actually wants to. ) But its by no mean a deal breaker, just a little annoyance I wanted to share with others.

Totally agree, I'd find that to be a deal breaker myself since that immediately contradicts what I'm trying to figure out for an RP. that's where "I'm alright with digestion, but I'm a fan of it being unwilling." Is what I'd be waiting to hear. Even if before then they were giggling in character because both them and their character enjoy something like maw play. Still some in character interaction I guess, but nothing that clearly works against itself.

[SilhouetteofKid]

Okay, I think I understand a little bit after reading some of the comments(I should of done that first...).

I'm probably going to be off but I'll try. I don't really know if I ever heard of anyone acting like their OC when

talking to them. I wouldn't really be bothered by it, if that's what they wanna do that's fine, as long they

don't lose their marbles. Other than that, I guess there is a thin line, but honestly I wouldn't be able to tell if

someone was their character or not(unless its really obvious). However, I haven't met anyone like that so yeah.

Be interesting though, but yeah, that's what I think. Sorry if its not much.

[eatmeplease]

I want to be my character all the time when on Eka's, FA, etc., but the little fucjers like FunkyMacT make me too anxious to do so. So gdiaf troll.

[Reaverbot]

i admit it makes me mildly uncomfortable when people refer to themselves as their characters, but i sort of learned to not even bother worrying about it because when you question it they can sometimes act really weird and defensive

it isnt all a bad thing and people can do what they want, but there isn't a "fine line." you're either playing your character or being yourself. verging towards either end with one is just projecting either side onto the other.

[Umbra98]

There's also the desire to be anonymous online. I present as a character even slightly when OOC rather than reveal personal details or quirks to other people.

[ThisGuy127]

i admit it makes me mildly uncomfortable when people refer to themselves as their characters, but i sort of learned to not even bother worrying about it because when you question it they can sometimes act really weird and defensive

it isnt all a bad thing and people can do what they want, but there isn't a "fine line." you're either playing your character or being yourself. verging towards either end with one is just projecting either side onto the other.

This isn't to say that someone is referring to themselves as a character, but it'd be more as to acknowledge that, as I'll double down on in a second, that everyone has some expected appearance when brought to mind. As I don't know you anymore than you don't know me, we'd really only know to identify each other by pictures and names in this case. (Username and avatar, obviously.)

You could say that by me using the picture of an OC is technically referring to a character as myself, but really that's just due to convenience, and because I find some fun in playing with my creation in the realms of like minded people on the internet. Between friends, there's often a bit of activity presented just to sort of display some genuine affection in one of the few ways text can, by engaging whoever's reading it in some mental imagery. For me, bopping a friend in the face with a fuzzy fox tail, because my character as an example happens to have one, would just be a playful action that those people understand as some genuine interaction.

But as this isn't with those friends, and is a topic of discussion that doesn't merit such things, no tail bop for you.

Also "They" is pretty rough isn't it? That'd be like me saying someone using a random image of an Anime is tasteless, and since I don't actually know if your avatar is from an anime due to a quick judgement, I could be as incorrect as I would be rude for throwing you in a category based on how you want to represent yourself. Then again, internet argument in the making there.

There's also the desire to be anonymous online. I present as a character even slightly when OOC rather than reveal personal details or quirks to other people. (example being refering to myself as Andy online and not revealing my true name or details to people I don't know on a first name or friend basis) I learned the hard way though when I was younger that you should only do this when you and your character have similar personalities and to not always stay fully in RP mode. There isn't really any harm though as long as you aren't actively RPing when someone else is trying to have a non-RP conversation with you. I'm kinda shocked there's people here being super aggressive about this kind of thing.

I didn't bring this point up, and I'm glad someone said it. Being anonymous is as much a comfort as it is to be expected online, so if that's to be under the guise of a character, why not enjoy that a little bit?