#roleplaying etiquette

[the-stanley-parable-roleplay]

How to avoid drama

The TSP fandom is not without its drama and cliques, which every fandom eventually crosses into.

You can avoid it and you should avoid it if you're not a part of it. It doesn't need to ruin your roleplaying experience.

You don't have to side with people, whether they're your mutuals or not. A lot of drama posts demand you interact or reblog to "prove" you're on the good side or to "spread the word" against the 'awful person' they're attacking, but more often than not, drama posts are just meant to bully people without actually protecting anyone.

Suddenly your dash is full of two sides arguing and you might even get angry anons in your inbox asking why you're siding with someone or calling you names.

Some tips to help you steer clear of it are

don't believe he said/she said posts (i.e: posts that just have statements like this person is toxic and you shouldn't write with them)

avoid call out posts. 99% you won't get all of the information anyway and if you don't know what's going on, that's all the more reasons to not get involved

block urls and tags that make you upset or uncomfortable (info below)

delete anons that try to get a rise out of you or turn off anons. You can also turn off messages and replies from non-mutuals (tumblr.com/settings/blog/yourblogurl)

don't let mutuals bully you into choosing a side. if someone demands you side with them or they will block/unfollow you, they're probably not worth keeping around

YOU ARE ALLOWED TO BLOCK AND UNFOLLOW FOR ANY REASON. YOU DON'T OWE ANYONE ANY EXPLANATIONS. PERIOD.

NO one, no matter how close they are, are allowed to make you feel uncomfortable, unsafe or insulted. If they disrespect your boundaries, they are not a good friend.

What if this person is said to be a pedophile/groomer?

If you feel unsafe or uncomfortable, you can block them! But again, keep in mind that he said/she said posts are not proof. If there's concrete evidence that someone is grooming or preying on minors, that's another story.

Note: I've been roleplaying since 2014 and the only time there was a groomer warning was for a fandomless blog that only briefly interacted with TSP blogs.

How do I blacklist urls/tags?

Go to Settings → Account → Scroll down to Content You See. When you filter a post or an url, Tumblr will block that post with a warning label.

Official Tumblr Article

What if I don't like that person?

Unfollow, block, soft block, it's your choice. You don't need to help harass anyone.

I'm scared to lose my partners if I don't agree with them / I don't want to lose a friendship / My friend is more important than this stranger they dislike

In the end it's your decision but if your friend is pressuring you to side with them in an argument with the threat of losing their friendship (whether spoken or unspoken), you have to decide for yourself if that's a relationship worth keeping around.

Especially since a) there's no telling if this will be the last time they demand this from you and b) they might turn on you if they decide you did something wrong.

This person writes problematic content / has a rude or hateful OC / tried to kill my character / has fucked up plots / uses a face claim I don't like / writes for a fandom I dont like / writes toxic or abusive ships / etc.

Absolutely none of these give you the greenlight to bully someone or help others bully them. You control your own experience. If you don't like a character, don't interact with them. If you don't like a plot, tell your partner you want to write another one. Something they write triggers you? Blacklist the tag or unfollow.

You are not a knight in shining armor if you get upset at something and decide to try and harass someone off the platform.

Roleplaying is fiction. None of these plots affect any real life people. If it triggers you, you can take the necessary steps to prevent yourself from seeing it.

[sea--of--blessings]

Hey guys, I don't want to be seen as rude or anything, but I'd like to go over some role-playing etiquette. I'm perfectly fine with non rp blogs following me, and even liking some of my threads, but please...don't reblog them.

This is an interaction between myself and this person only, and it messes with notifications whenever someone reblogs a thread that isn't theirs. So please, I'd appreciate it if you guys would refrain from reblogging an RP that isn't yours. This also goes for any rants, selfies or OOC posts that I may post in the future.

[theaccursedninth]

//good morning folks! Just dropping in with a quick reminder in case there are others out there who can relate:

Wanted to remind everyone in the roleplay community that some of us struggle to read and comprehend non-verbal social cues. This does include implication through typed messages along with unspoken reaction to anything on your blog. I know this community functions somewhat like a collective of individual safe spaces that come together to interact now and then but please keep in mind that some of us need certain etiquette spelled out so please, I’m begging you - if we struggle to read the unspoken rules of your blog, take the time to clarify with us. I’m very approachable and will never get mad if you DM me, but that may not work for everyone so ask! Never be afraid to ask us how best we process information. Most roleplayers seem to be neurodivergent so you’re already halfway there with that understanding - the next step is easy, just don’t be shy and please be patient 🤣

Thank you!

[wintersovereign]

Following A Roleplayer: Etiquette Basics

Whether you’re a new roleplayer yourself or a personal blog who followed because you saw a gif/photo set or some other post from me in the public fandom tags and decided to follow, there is well-known etiquette for following and interacting with a Roleplayer that new followers might not be aware of, I’d like to share them with you so there isn’t any confusion when interacting with our community.

What is Roleplaying? Roleplaying is taking on the perspective of a specific character (canon or original) and writing stories called threads (not unlike fanfiction) with partners who play the role of other characters from every fandom imaginable. Some people write multiple characters on one blog, those are called Multi-Muse, and others like myself write one character. Our content (with the exception of gifsets, graphics, and meta we share in public tags) are not meant to be reblogged. These are private interactions between us.

How do I know who is a roleplayer and who isn’t? Identifying a roleplayer is pretty easy of you check their blog before following. We have some variation of ‘ _____ character from ______ fandom’ in our description. Our themes are also kind of telling, very aesthetic and based on the character we portray. You’ll see links to our various info pages.  

What is an out of character post? Any post that is the writer (the Mun, short for Mundane) makes that is not in character is called an out of character post. these posts are tagged as #ooc or #out of character. Some roleplayer like to have a special tag but they are always clearly marked as ooc.

What is a thread? A thread is a story being written between two roleplayers. Each partner takes a turn writing their part via reblogs to continue their story. There are usually written in third-person format with dialogue between the characters. These can be fun to read for non-rpers too, because they are basically a fanfiction. We love to hear from you and we’re flattered you enjoy our writing. It is always ok to like a thread and even comment on it but do not reblog threads. Roleplayers use the notes on threads to track whose turn it is to reply. When you reblog it, those notes get broken and the methods we use to track them no longer work. 

What is a headcanon? A headcanon is the roleplayers individual interpretation of canon. We will often write a series of collective headcanons or a very detailed headcanon based on canon that we call meta. Roleplayers are protective of these posts because they are very personal to us. They are where the character becomes our own interpretation. It’s ok to like these posts and comment, but please do not reblog them without asking the Mun first. Often times non-roleplayers turn these posts into long fandom discussion in hopes of conversing with us, but most roleplayers dislike it. If you would like to talk about the character with us, please send asks, on or off anon, asks are always welcome.

Speaking of asks. . . 

Can I interact with your character if I’m not a Roleplayer? Yes! Anyone and everyone is welcome to send us asks on or off anon. We frequently post memes and writing prompts that you’re welcome to send in.

You mention tags a lot. How do roleplayers use tags? We use tags for organization. We tag our posts to make them easy to find on our blogs or for fellow roleplayers to find us. Tumblr’s algorithm only shows your post in the first five tags you use, so we will not tag anything we do not want to be public using those first five tags. If you see a post with #whatever fandom tag that is tag number six or more, that post was not intended to be shared publically. If we have posted a gifset or meta that we want to share with non-roleplayers, those posts will have fandom tags in the first five spots.

I’m new to roleplaying, how do I start interacting with you? First off, welcome! We’re glad you’re here. Every Roleplayer has different likes and dislikes when it comes to interacting with fellow roleplayers. Some of us have welcome posts to help you get acquainted with how we operate. It’s best to check the rules page on their blog to learn how they like things done or send them a message if you need clarification or help with anything. The majority of us are happy to answer your questions.

Ultimately, we’re all here for the same reasons. We love a character/fandom and we want to have fun. Roleplayers do not expect everyone to know everything about our community or their personal prefrences. Sometimes mistakes are made and you might reblog a thread thinking it was a sharable drabble. You might share a headcanon someone is attached to and those roleplayers will message you privately to ask that you delete it. We’re not trying to be rude or make you feel bad. Just delete the post you shared, apologise, and more often than not both parties leave the conversation amicably. These mistakes happen a lot and sometimes we feel a little exasperated having to explain this etiquette when it does. It isn’t uncommon for roleplayers to block personal accounts that follow or share their content because they do not want to deal with any future misunderstandings. It’s not personal, we promise.

I hope this post helps you to understand more about how rolepayers on tumblr operate their blogs and what they expect from the people following them. If you want more information on roleplaying and roleplaying etiquette there are some great resources here on Tumblr and on Google.

[renegade-servant]

Ahh...I hate making these posts, but I guess it comes with the territory of being in the RP community. Please, please, please...if I answer an ask meme from another rp blog, don't reblog it. I'm alright with it if you like the post, but this interaction is between me and the person who sent in the ask. It's just basic rp etiquette, but sometimes I guess I just have to remind a few people who may not be familiar with it.

This also applies to any ooc posts, possible rants, or selfies if I ever post any. I don't want to be the bad guy, but I just had to say this, sorry.

[thefadedprince]

Important! - Losing Muse

If you find it hard to interact with certain characters, and keep putting replies off, I personally think it would be more respectful to tell them, than let them think otherwise. I think partly because people are too afraid to be honest could be why conflict arises in the RP community on here.

I’ve personally had to ask people if they wanted to continue, only to be told they lost their muse for our threads. I had to ask them, otherwise I would just have thought they lost interest or didn’t want to anymore.