During a discussion in Ravenholdt's LFRP channel, it came to my attention that many roleplayers have no idea how to best deal with the people that in some cases ruin our gaming experience - the non-roleplayers. I gave out some advice, and it was suggested that I should write a guide on this. So... here it is!
Let's start with a few examples..
- You're a level 70 human male walking from the Stormwind Auction House to the bank, to get your RP gear. A level 3 gnome rogue named "Stabbahlol" runs up to you and says: "omg level 70 r u imba or waht?!" -
What NOT to do:
"/s (( Reroll non-RP realm ))".
Two wrongs doesn't make one right. Blizzard policy states that NO Out of Character should be in /s, brackets isn't an excuse.
"/w Stabbalol: Stop being OOC. /ignore".
A lowlevel character could be a new player, not only to the realm but to the game as well. And, this goes for most non-roleplayers, he might never had heard about OOC, IC or even RP, and therefore will have no idea what you're saying. It just won't help.
What to do:
"/w Stabbalol: Hey, welcome to the game. Since you're new at this, I might be able to give you some advice, if you like?".
Telling the new player about what kind of realm this is and what's expected of him in a civil manner will help him, and the RP community in so many ways.
1) If the first person he meets gives him a nice view of roleplayers, he's more likely to respect them later on.
2) If you introduce him to the wonderful world of arrpee, you might just have a future roleplayer to add to your ranks. More = better, right?
3) Most of all, as stated above, not everyone knows about the rules. Ignoring doesn't solve anything in this case - the next person he meets might be an OOCer. How do you think he'd turn out then? If he doesn't seem fit for it, you might atleast manage to send him off to another realm before he's too high level to leave.
"/s What is this "EllVeeEll you're talking about? And game? Are you hunting?"
"Stabbahlol says: wtf? :S"
"/w Stabbahlol: This is a roleplaying realm, where we pretend to be our characters. That's why he doesn't know what levels are. :)"
Introduce him to roleplaying! I've done this successfully a few times. I once escorted a newbie player all around the world IC. It started out with "hey can u give me some money im new to this game :)" and ended with the person in question having a last name, a fairly decent background story, and an interest in RP. He had fun, I had fun, everyone is happy.
- You're a troll having an IC conversation with your best pal in Mulgore, and you're wearing your newly made tuxedo. A level 70 tauren warrior named McBeef, wearing epixx from head to toe comes up to you, stops, stands still for a while and says "wtf why are you wearing this [Tuxedo Pants] it has no stats! LOL" -
What NOT to do:
"/w McBeef: Reroll a !!#@ing PVE realm you !!#@ing !*#*%*@@@!"
Violence never solves anything. Same goes for violent behaviour. They might be idiots for not reading the realm rules, but you need to be better than them or he'll never respect a roleplayer ever again.
"/ignore"
Just ignoring the problem doesn't make it go away.
What to do:
"/s Why shouldn't ah wear them? Dey look nice, dont'cha tink? /smile"
Roleplaying back at OOCers is always good. Either they get confused, which is fun for you and the people you're roleplaying with to watch, or they catch on after a while and join in (this is even better, of course). At level 70, you would expect a player to atleast have heard about RP, so it should be doable. If he really doesn't get it, send a whisper and explain it! Remember to be polite about it.
Reporting OOCers.
There are no disguised GM's around, teleporting OOCers to Ragnaros. Blizzard relies on the players to report rulebreakers to them, and this is why reporting is so important. However, quoting the RP realm policy:
Sometimes, you might not be able to reson with the offender in question. You see someone who previously said he'd never do it again having an OOC conversation in /s in the middle of Ironforge, or the one you kindly tried to explain RP to tells you to "go fuk ur mom" (yes, this has happened). In these cases, you should report the player, ESPECIALLY if they' insult you or RPers in general when you ask them to follow the rules. Harrassing RPers is a bigger offense than simply breaking the rules, but don't provoke people just because of that. You might get yourself punished for it. Be the bigger man/troll/gnome, be polite. I can't state this enough.
Well, you sent a whisper to McBeef, telling him about the rules. One minute later, he's spamming lol's and talking about the upcoming patch in /s. What do you do, and how?
In the bottom menu, along with your spellbook and other stuff, there's a button with a "?" on it. Clicking this brings up the ticket interface. From here you choose "Open a new ticket" in the bottom-left corner, choose "Behaviour/Harrassment" and then verbal or physical harrassment. In the case of OOC conversations, it'd be verbal. (There's no specific option to report OOC, but this is what I use and no one has complained so far. ) Now you have an open ticket to write in!
In the ticket, you should add the following:
1) Name of the offender. (McBeef)
2) How did he break the rules? (spoke about OOC things like the upcoming patch in /s).
3) When and where? (around 19:00 gametime).
Being specific will help the GMs find what they're looking for. They have logs, after all. Once they contact you, be nice and answer their questions. Don't yell at them for not doing their job, give them cakes instead. Trust me, they like cakes.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c34/p1x3l4t3d/GMcakes.jpg
If you're wondering what the rules say exactly, you can find the policy here:
http://www.wow-europe.com/en/policy/roleplaying.html
Finally...
Remember, being reported for OOC once doesn't get anyone banned. So don't stop stop fighting for RP just because it doesn't have immediate results. And again, because I think it's the most important thing of all:
BE NICE. Even OOCers are human beings, and some of them might even be roleplayers waiting to happen. Tell them about the rules, tell them to check the official forums for an RP guide (there's one in every RP-realm's forum, usually), and try to get them involved. RP is supposed to be fun, not something you're forced to do, so try to help them understand how much fun it can be.
Let's start with a few examples..
- You're a level 70 human male walking from the Stormwind Auction House to the bank, to get your RP gear. A level 3 gnome rogue named "Stabbahlol" runs up to you and says: "omg level 70 r u imba or waht?!" -
What NOT to do:
"/s (( Reroll non-RP realm ))".
Two wrongs doesn't make one right. Blizzard policy states that NO Out of Character should be in /s, brackets isn't an excuse.
"/w Stabbalol: Stop being OOC. /ignore".
A lowlevel character could be a new player, not only to the realm but to the game as well. And, this goes for most non-roleplayers, he might never had heard about OOC, IC or even RP, and therefore will have no idea what you're saying. It just won't help.
What to do:
"/w Stabbalol: Hey, welcome to the game. Since you're new at this, I might be able to give you some advice, if you like?".
Telling the new player about what kind of realm this is and what's expected of him in a civil manner will help him, and the RP community in so many ways.
1) If the first person he meets gives him a nice view of roleplayers, he's more likely to respect them later on.
2) If you introduce him to the wonderful world of arrpee, you might just have a future roleplayer to add to your ranks. More = better, right?
3) Most of all, as stated above, not everyone knows about the rules. Ignoring doesn't solve anything in this case - the next person he meets might be an OOCer. How do you think he'd turn out then? If he doesn't seem fit for it, you might atleast manage to send him off to another realm before he's too high level to leave.
"/s What is this "EllVeeEll you're talking about? And game? Are you hunting?"
"Stabbahlol says: wtf? :S"
"/w Stabbahlol: This is a roleplaying realm, where we pretend to be our characters. That's why he doesn't know what levels are. :)"
Introduce him to roleplaying! I've done this successfully a few times. I once escorted a newbie player all around the world IC. It started out with "hey can u give me some money im new to this game :)" and ended with the person in question having a last name, a fairly decent background story, and an interest in RP. He had fun, I had fun, everyone is happy.
- You're a troll having an IC conversation with your best pal in Mulgore, and you're wearing your newly made tuxedo. A level 70 tauren warrior named McBeef, wearing epixx from head to toe comes up to you, stops, stands still for a while and says "wtf why are you wearing this [Tuxedo Pants] it has no stats! LOL" -
What NOT to do:
"/w McBeef: Reroll a !!#@ing PVE realm you !!#@ing !*#*%*@@@!"
Violence never solves anything. Same goes for violent behaviour. They might be idiots for not reading the realm rules, but you need to be better than them or he'll never respect a roleplayer ever again.
"/ignore"
Just ignoring the problem doesn't make it go away.
What to do:
"/s Why shouldn't ah wear them? Dey look nice, dont'cha tink? /smile"
Roleplaying back at OOCers is always good. Either they get confused, which is fun for you and the people you're roleplaying with to watch, or they catch on after a while and join in (this is even better, of course). At level 70, you would expect a player to atleast have heard about RP, so it should be doable. If he really doesn't get it, send a whisper and explain it! Remember to be polite about it.
Reporting OOCers.
There are no disguised GM's around, teleporting OOCers to Ragnaros. Blizzard relies on the players to report rulebreakers to them, and this is why reporting is so important. However, quoting the RP realm policy:
Q u o t e:
If you find another player acting in a manner that contradicts the spirit of the guidelines detailed below, you must first verbally request the offending player to discontinue his/her behavior. If the actions continue after this request, only then should a Game Master (GM) be contacted.
Sometimes, you might not be able to reson with the offender in question. You see someone who previously said he'd never do it again having an OOC conversation in /s in the middle of Ironforge, or the one you kindly tried to explain RP to tells you to "go fuk ur mom" (yes, this has happened). In these cases, you should report the player, ESPECIALLY if they' insult you or RPers in general when you ask them to follow the rules. Harrassing RPers is a bigger offense than simply breaking the rules, but don't provoke people just because of that. You might get yourself punished for it. Be the bigger man/troll/gnome, be polite. I can't state this enough.
Well, you sent a whisper to McBeef, telling him about the rules. One minute later, he's spamming lol's and talking about the upcoming patch in /s. What do you do, and how?
In the bottom menu, along with your spellbook and other stuff, there's a button with a "?" on it. Clicking this brings up the ticket interface. From here you choose "Open a new ticket" in the bottom-left corner, choose "Behaviour/Harrassment" and then verbal or physical harrassment. In the case of OOC conversations, it'd be verbal. (There's no specific option to report OOC, but this is what I use and no one has complained so far. ) Now you have an open ticket to write in!
In the ticket, you should add the following:
1) Name of the offender. (McBeef)
2) How did he break the rules? (spoke about OOC things like the upcoming patch in /s).
3) When and where? (around 19:00 gametime).
Being specific will help the GMs find what they're looking for. They have logs, after all. Once they contact you, be nice and answer their questions. Don't yell at them for not doing their job, give them cakes instead. Trust me, they like cakes.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c34/p1x3l4t3d/GMcakes.jpg
If you're wondering what the rules say exactly, you can find the policy here:
http://www.wow-europe.com/en/policy/roleplaying.html
Finally...
Remember, being reported for OOC once doesn't get anyone banned. So don't stop stop fighting for RP just because it doesn't have immediate results. And again, because I think it's the most important thing of all:
BE NICE. Even OOCers are human beings, and some of them might even be roleplayers waiting to happen. Tell them about the rules, tell them to check the official forums for an RP guide (there's one in every RP-realm's forum, usually), and try to get them involved. RP is supposed to be fun, not something you're forced to do, so try to help them understand how much fun it can be.
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