[aquameez]

It seems that some people are confused about what exactly RP is.

RP is based on pretending. The most common types of pretending are:

• Pretending to be someone else
• Pretending to be yourself, but in an unusual situation
• Pretending that someone/something else has changed

Example 1: Pretending to be someone else

example 1 wrote: Oliver used his whiskers to check it would fit, then poked his head through the gap. He wasn't sure what the sounds were, but he was driven to investigate. His head was quickly followed by his body, and with a feline leap, he found a vantage point on top of the chair, where he could watch dogs playing.

This qualifies as RP because the person is pretending they are a cat.
You could also pretend you are a vampire, werewolf, ghost, firefighter, politician, TV presenter, an alien, or pretty much anything else that you can imagine.

Example 2: Pretending to be yourself, in an unusual situation

If a group of Meezers pretended they were going to Hawaii together, that would qualify as RP.
The key thing is that they're pretending to go to Hawaii, rather than actually going to Hawaii in real life and writing about it.

Important note:
Simply chatting with other Meezers, isn't RP, even if you try to make it look like RP.
The RP should be the main focus of the thread. Of course you can talk to people in a RP thread outside the RP, but:

• The thread should remain primary about the RP, and not about the side-conversations.
• When you have side conversations (where you aren't pretending), it is a good idea to note that this chat is Out Of Character (OOC) - by putting an "OOC:" in front of it.
• If you find yourself talking in OOC more than you are roleplaying, it might be a good idea to take your conversation to another forum, or private message.

Example 3: Pretending that someone/something else is different

If someone else is obviously pretending to be a cat, and you pet them, put a bowl of milk in front of them, etc, then that is RP.
Why?
Because you're pretending they're a cat, too. You're interacting with them as if they were a cat.

This also works with places and situations.
If there's a haunted house RP thread, and you pretend that you're there inside the haunted house, then your pretending is helping to build the story. So, it qualifies as RP.

Summary

In a roleplay thread, two or more people take turns pretending. They pretend together, and the result is a story.

They aren't just talking to each other. They aren't just talking to each other and mentioning bits of a story.

Rather, telling the story is the main point of the thread.

The story doesn't need to be agreed in advance.

If you don't like the idea of pretending, and just want to chat with your friends, try doing that in a different forum (like Social Life / Open Board), or sending them a Private Message.

[cravepain]

Aqua, this is amazing! Thank you so much for clearing this up.

You, of course, rock.

[monchhichi]

Now see this is where I come in and learn more. I was always up front with you guys when I modded this forum. I have never Role Played in my life. I tried, I looked up certain things just to understand it. I was wrong myself! This is going to help ALL of us RP more effectively.

[jackie-is-here]

Alrighty.

[neeko44]

Mmk.

[xoxo_beca_boo]

ok....

[charlie_summer_]

Okay. ._.

[redpaw]

Ok, here is an example of RPG as I know it...
http://forums.meez.com/forums/role-p...ght=sample+RPG

In the above example, "Cori" , played by my wife is attacked by a vampire.
She describes what her actions are and I tell her what the result of her action is.

I have been gaming for a long time. 1976.
I know what RPG is.
If you would like more examples, let me know

[aquameez]

I've re-written the post, using your suggestions.
I've also deleted replies which refer to the old version of the post (as it would get confusing if they were replying to things that were no longer there).

[hazelheartbreak]

Okay. ;p