As someone who has returned to Tumblr RP, who has been on/off this activity since 2011 (tho done written RP in general for much longer tho), I wanna share my wisdom to folks new and old, so I can heal from past hurt and use it to help improve experiences:
1) Don’t force yourself to RP with someone just because they have a muse you like. I know on my end, I’ve had to handle SO MANY vitriolic personalities because of that. I didn’t even drop some of these people right away because I thought learning to be friends with folks with toxic personalities was a “good thing.” I’ve become a lot more confident in who I want to surround myself with over the years and that includes in online spaces.
2) I hope more people learn that behind every blog is a blogger. This is something I’ve really had to learn, that how active someone is on their blog or who they choose to respond to some days doesn’t mean that person is ignoring you or thinks you’re a bad person. Maybe they’re busy, maybe they only have the motivation for certain threads and muses. Communication is super key if one person feels insecure and the other doesn’t know what’s going on.
3) The minute someone is publicly stirs drama on the dash - don’t engage. Some people will hide their drama behind a “social justice” card - don’t fall for it. RP is for RP and the minute it stops being that, you have every right to feel uncomfortable and not give any attention to what someone is posting.
4) I once had someone comment when I left my Sonic blog in part because of drama… I feel commentary on drama (except to critique its existence) only makes RP spaces feel unwelcoming. Unless something is getting out of hand, please keep thoughts and concerns to DMs with mutuals and friends.
5) Controversial take from what I’ve been seeing: While I think soft blocking people who are actually harmful makes sense, I also think communication is key when choosing to unfollow someone who is otherwise a decent human being. That’s me being sensitive to emotions, tho.
6) Being exclusive is okay! Being a clique is not! You can have fun with your mutuals and friends without making others feel left out.
7) Honestly, I think the best RP experiences I’ve had have been with kind muns and friends. As I’ve learned: Maybe my Knuckles blog I made a few years back never got attention, but meanwhile, crossovers and OCxOC interactions (on and off tumblr) have been super fun.
8) Please, please, please don’t harass people about their takes on muses or headcanons. Even if they’re “wrong.” Gentle conversation and critique is fine, but if you’re going to get mad at someone, you’ve basically become a bully.
9) On that note: the energy you put out on your blog is going to affect someone’s day, so please be mindful or use tags when getting into negative territory.
10) This is getting better, but since no one said this when I was a minor: Tag your NSFW stuff. And don’t fetish mine. And ask before your begin RPing a sexually implied situation or doing something like r*pe. This should not be normalized with minors.
11) I saw a post that already said this: Some mutuals will become friends or acquaintances, but not all mutuals will be, and that’s okay!
12) No vagueing. Unless someone is being toxic or inappropriate, go to DMs, please.
I might add more in the future.
