HELOVIA || The Way to the Sun

Positive Roleplaying Guide

GUIDE TO POSITIVE ROLEPLAYING

- By Blu

In your days of roleplaying, no matter where you go, there are certain things you can do that will help you achieve your goals and wants, as well as make the overall experience better for everyone involved. You want to get the most enjoyment you can from roleplaying, and sometimes that means recognizing a few tips, tricks and traits. Hopefully this guide will prove useful in that.

OOC

Requesting
Often times you can make threads to request art for your character. It’s always good to remember a few things when you’re asking of other people.
■ Say please and thank you – Manners really do go a long way and they’re such a simple thing to remember that help make other people feel good, and make them more likely to want to help you again.
■ Include detail – If you’re going to ask someone else to go through the trouble of making something for you, then you can at least take the trouble to make it easy for them! It doesn’t matter if your profile is one click away, that’s one click I’m not willing to take if you can’t even take the time to list out what you want. It’s good to include the basics about your character, but also what you may be looking for in the art piece, and any stock or references you might have.

Thread Titles
Whenever you’re making a thread for something OOC related, such as a story you have to share, a new idea, or a request you’d like, it’s always helpful to make sure the title to that thread is descriptive.
■ Informative – the thread title is the first sign of what to expect of a thread, so use it to show people what your thread will be talking about. That also makes it easier to remember and find later.
■ More reads – A forum can produce dozens of posts in one day and it’s unlikely all of those will be read by everyone. Instead, people pick and choose, usually based on thread title. Descriptive titles are going to be more prone to people clicking on them than otherwise, because when you have so many options, you want to know what you’re about to read before taking the time to click on it, skim, and decide it’s not worth it.
■ Organization – Often when we’re first writing down our ideas it comes out like the jumble it was inside our head. Before posting those blocks of paragraphs, confusion and tangents, take the time to read back through it, correcting typos and laying it out in a more organized fashion. This will help everyone understand what you’re talking about and looking for, and overall makes it easier for people to read so that they’re more likely to finish reading or to come back to it. It’s also a good idea to have a summary area, either before or at the end, with something like bullet points so people can easily grab the ‘point’ of the thread.

Opinions
On a site there will be many different opinions drifting around about all sorts of topics. While opinions are definitely encouraged, it needs to stay at a level of opinions or debate, rather than getting into argument or flaming. If you’re able to state what you think, then someone else should too, even if it’s different than yours!
■ Tone – One of the easiest ways to start a conflict, usually accidentally, is to approach something with the wrong tone of voice. When we speak with each other, we pick up on true or hidden feelings behind the words spoken based on the tone of voice used. When you’re only reading text however, this doesn’t exactly work. That’s why it’s important to think carefully about the way your phrase things, and why sometimes smiley faces (in moderation) and punctuation can be very helpful in getting your true intentions across. You should avoid just telling people to get to know you and learn how your humor is, but instead should make it easy for people to understand the type of person you are and humor you use, by keeping things friendly and welcoming. It’s easy to feel isolated or disliked at times when only text is involved.
■ Criticism – Whenever you approach someone’s opinion and you don’t agree with it, or if someone is asking an opinion on something of theirs, remember to use constructive criticism. This means you should phrase your comments in ways that will help the other person and better the topic in question. Because any type of criticism can sometimes be hard to take, a good rule of thumb to follow in all parts of life, is to compliment first, then criticize, usually offering suggestions or examples of how to improve it, then end with a compliment. By starting and ending with something nice, you ease the person into your criticism and set both individuals up for success. Consider how you would want your ideas or opinions approached. There is also a difference between being honest and being mean. You can be honest without needing to be very bland. You don’t need to sugar coat everything, but often you can word things in a better way to help ensure no one’s feelings get hurt.

Problem Solving
With so many different people coming from all different types of backgrounds, it’s bound to happen that some of them may not get along. The biggest thing to remember when you have a problem with someone, is that communication is the best solution. If not to approach them and talk about it, then admin are there to help you get through it. It’s when we bottle things up that it can get explosive and chaotic.
■ Handle things privately – If you do ever need to discuss something with someone, or even if you just need to vent frustration, you want to make sure you do it privately. Either use the private messaging system of the site, or turn to e-mail or another chat system off the site. What happens when you just start to make comments publically is it ends up getting you in trouble even if you’re not at fault. Public conflict creates more tension because there’s so many other eyes watching, which makes it more uncomfortable for everyone and can cause everyone involved to get very defensive. This makes the problem quickly escalate when it could have been easily resolved before.
■ Player to player issue – Sometimes players won’t get along with each other, either because of the habits of someone else, their comments, the way they RP or just even the way their characters interact. If this is the case, and you feel calm enough to approach them, it’s ideal that the players will be able to resolve it themselves. Often times just a little friendly message to each other can clear things up, because more often than not it’s a misunderstanding or something someone wasn’t even aware they were doing. However, should you ever feel like you couldn’t remain calm or unbiased, or if you tried and got no results or a poor response from the other player, definitely turn to the admin of the site. They are there to help you, and are usually chosen as admin because of the way the approach problem solving. You shouldn’t be made uncomfortable or forced to endure something, and it’s by no means wrong to bring something to the attention of admin. It’s better to get things off your chest and work together to solve them, than keep a tension and unhappiness festering.
■ Player to admin issue – Sometimes players won’t get along with the admin of the site. It can depend on the site and the admin, but usually the admin are going to try their best to be fair, level-headed and unbiased when they handle things, which should make them good tools to approach from problems, even if it’s a problem with an admin. Usually what happens is an admin may not be aware of the way they’re making you feel or what they’re doing wrong, so instead of begrudging them for this, it’s a good idea to send them a friendly hello and see if you can’t talk things out amongst yourselves. Again it’s often a misunderstanding that can be easily cleared up. Maybe it was over an in-site problem or judgment, and letting you or the admin explain themselves in more detail can shed light on the issue. If it’s something else, if that doesn’t work when you try it or if you just don’t feel calm or comfortable talking to that admin, there’s usually other admins on the team that you can talk to. You should never feel as if its admin vs. members, because the admins are there to help the members, and the site may be updated and controlled behind scenes by admin, but it’s the members that hold the true power. Another admin should be able to help explain things to you, or approach the other admin in a way that they might be more receptive to help induce change. Above all else, communication is key to solving your problems!
■ In character is in character – Sometimes a player may begin to dislike or have a problem with someone because of the way their characters interact. It can definitely get frustrating when dealing with rude or mean characters, or ones that won’t always cooperate with yours, but remember that a player’s characters are just that, their characters. The views of a character do not reflect those of the player, so it’s best to remember to keep them separated. If you’re really having problems with a certain character, you should approach the player privately and talk about it, they may not realize how it’s affecting you and can explain things better or compromise with you in some way.

IC
Posts
There are a lot of ways to approach planning, writing and producing posts. To ensure you get the most out of your posts, and to keep fellow players happy when you post with them, just remember to follow some unwritten etiquette and you’ll be off to a great start.
■ New thread – It’s always very tempting to make a lot of new threads when you’ve got the muse! Although there’s nothing wrong with that, consider instead putting that energy towards answering other threads that don’t have replies yet. A lot of times new, open threads sit without replies, not because anyone wants to avoid that person or character, but because so many people are already wrapped up in other threads or fighting off posts on their to-do list, that it’s hard to answer new threads. That’s why it works out best for everyone when you all start posting together! Just jump into any open threads, whether they have replies or not, and you’ll start to meet lots of new people and plots will unfold without even trying :)
■ Joining threads – When you are looking to jump into a thread someone else has made, it’s always a good idea to make sure that the thread is ‘open’ to new or any arrivals. Sometimes people will have threads ‘closed’ for particular plots or characters. When joining an open thread, it’s better to read any of the previous posts so you don’t miss out on the flow and happenings within the thread, and it’s even a good idea to check out the profiles of those characters. People are appreciative when you take the time to read what they’ve already written, and will be more accepting than someone who might just jump in and start doing things that don’t make sense within the post or with the characters involved. You always want to be respectful of your fellow players, and consider how you want to be treated and treat them in similar fashion.
■ Research characters – Whenever you start posting with someone else, it’s a good idea to check out the profiles of that character so you know the appearance, personality and any extras that come with that character better. Profiles aren’t just there for the owner of the character, but are a tool for everyone to utilize, and people especially enjoy it when you do put forth the effort to read their hard work. Profiles offer a lot of detail that can help prepare you and your character better, which can enhance the quality of the roleplay.
■ Summoning characters – If you want to make a thread for someone in particular, it’s a good idea to ask the player first before you make the thread requesting their presence. Often times people may not have the time at the moment, but are more than happy to plot or post with you in the future. Taking the time to communicate with other players before doing something is prone to ending in good results for both parties :)

Plots
There’s always lots of plots floating around, so to help make sure yours gets some attention, just remember a few things.
■ Descriptive titles – Just like with OOC related thread titles, plot threads should be the same! The plot board is overflowing, so you want to make sure to grab someone’s attention before they even click on your thread. Avoid using symbols or caps to do this however, and just get informative!
■ Organized post – Just like with OOC related posts, it’s a good idea to make your plots clear, concise and summarized somewhere. If the plot is dependent on your character or others, take the time to tell people a little about your character. As with making art requests, if you put forth the effort to make it easier for everyone, then you’re more likely to get people willing to help, or at the very least, comment. Profiles are only a click away, but that’s a long click when it doesn’t seem like you’re even willing to do it.
■ Appeal – Plots come in all shapes and sizes, but when you’re hoping to get several people involved, it needs to be something that appeals to them. You might want your character to be the very best, but it’s best to avoid trying to steal the spotlight and making everything very centered around your character. Everyone wants to have fun, be involved, and be important, so open up ways for them to do so rather than expecting everyone to be support for your character.

Goals
There will often be things within the site that you can set as goals for your character, be it ranks, items, or popularity. There are a variety of ways you can work towards this, but there are some important things to keep in mind whichever way you may choose.
■ Patience - Anything worth getting will take time and patience on your part. It’s no fun to get everything you want right away! Sometimes it may get frustrating or prove difficult, but remember the point is in the experience and enjoying it, not quickly trying to rise to the top. Let your character develop as it works and in the end it will be more gratifying.
■ Sportsmanship - Usually several people will be trying for similar goals as you, and while competition is a good thing, you want to keep it friendly. We’re not here to crush peoples hopes and dreams, because you certainly wouldn’t want that to happen to you. This is also a time to review what all your characters have, if you have quite a few good things, maybe slow down a bit and give other players the chance to receive some of those good things. A roleplay works as a community, and will always function better when that community helps each other. It’s also a good idea to never gloat when you do receive good things. You can take pride in yourself and your work, but showing it off in a loud or constant way can hurt other people’s feelings. Remember too, that if you do a good deed in private, it’s usually best to keep it that way! We don’t do good deeds so people will respect us or praise us, we do them because they’re right and good.