15.13 OUT OF CHARACTER BEHAVIOR
The term OOC stands for "out of character" and is used to refer to any
action that your character, someone who has lived in Aetolia his or her
entire life, would not logically take. You, the player, know things
about the real world, about the computers on which the game is played,
and about the Aetolian world itself that your character has no idea
about. As a player, it is your duty to make sure that your character's
comments and actions never reflect these external matters. When you and
others hold yourselves to this high standard, you help maintain and
enhance both your and other players' immersion in the fictional world
that is Aetolia.
By way of analogy, think about going to see a movie. When you have paid
your money for a ticket and you are sitting in the theater, do you want
someone sitting near you yelling out, "Cool, that one stunt man stabbed
the other stunt man with one of those retractable prop knives, wow look
at all the blood makeup they've used?" Though you know it's just a
movie, behavior like would destroy your temporary sense of immersion in
the fictional story being told on the screen, and that is the exact
opposite of what you want - you paid good money for the chance to let
yourself believe in whatever world the moviemakers have created.
Similarly, OOC behavior in Aetolia jars the other players out of their
sense of immersion in the game world.
But it's not just about respect for other players. By immersing yourself
in the game fiction and keeping your behavior in-character, you will be
creating a much more fun and rewarding play experience for yourself.
Questions & Answers
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Q: What exactly is considered OOC?
A: Broadly, anything your character wouldn't do or know about is OOC. A
few specific examples:
- Talking about real-world people, places, events, or things
- Citing or quoting real-world pop culture, literature, entertainment
media, etc.
- Using modern slang or 'netspeak' abbreviations
- Discussing lag, servers, mud clients, etc.
- Mentioning alternate characters
- Discussing issues (except with Administrators, obviously)
- Acting without regard for the context or history of your character
("You can kill me for 50 credits", "I think I'll landmark for evil
today, more PK")
Q: Isn't it a little too picky to consider some common things OOC?
A: Depends on whom you ask, but... yes, probably. For example:
- Emoticons. Some people love them, some hate them, but they are
effective and not (in the opinion of the author) particularly
intrusive.
- Emoted text (*grin*). Again, while a pet peeve of some, they can be
very helpful in communicating effectively and there isn't always
a reasonable substitute.
Q: Where is it acceptable to say OOC things?
A: Virtually nowhere in Aetolia. Certainly you are expected to avoid OOC
behavior in all public channels and places where someone you do not
specifically know wants to hear your OOC comments could overhear you.
This includes SAY, YELL, SHOUT, GNT, MARKET, and so on. If you and a
buddy play together and want to talk about your jobs or weekend plans,
feel free - just please keep it to tells. Owners of private clans are
also permitted to set their own rules with regard to acceptable OOC
speech on their private clan channel. However, if you are the owner of
such an OOC clan, don't expect any immortal to support it in any way.
It's worth noting that the NEWBIE channel can be a special case.
Sometimes newbies need a helping hand figuring out how to configure
their mud client and whatnot, so a certain degree of OOC speech is
tolerated there. Discussing the 49ers game there will generally result
in someone asking you to stop, though.
Q: It's a free country, isn't it? Why can't I "roleplay" a gangsta pimp?
A: Yes, it (the United States, where Aetolia is hosted) is a free
country. Aetolia is not owned or operated by any government body though,
so this is an entirely moot point. The immortals and players of Aetolia
alike collectively define what are acceptable standards of roleplay
within the game world and use various methods and tools to maintain
those standards. Another is simply social/political pressure. If an
immortal doesn't like your OOC behavior, don't expect any favorable
treatment by them. If your guildmaster keeps having to ask you not to
speak OOC on the guild channel, don't expect to be promoted very quickly
within your guild. Players who make an effort to consistently act
in-character generally do get more out of their play experience in
Aetolia.
Q: Are there other types of OOC behavior I should know about?
A: Allowing information that your character would not reasonably know to
affect their actions; referred to as 'metagaming', is another type of OOC
behavior to avoid. In example, if another player told you in a chat window
about something a mutual friend did, and in turn, your character approached
the friend and asked about it, this is an instance of metagaming. While this
example is benign, the affects of metagaming can and often do escalate to
staggering lengths. While metagaming is hard to police and not as obvious as
other OOC actions, we depend upon players themselves to be careful about
separating OOC knowledge from character's knowledge. That said, help scrolls
and honors are considered general knowledge.
See also: ROLEPLAYING