Discussion: Don't meta game, but do not give others the chance to meta game you as well

When I started to roleplay, the first thing I learned was do not mega game (paired with do not god emote). As time passed, I learned a more interesting concept regarding meta gaming however.

"Don't meta game, but do not give others the chance to meta game you as well"

I've had discussions with some about this matter and I've read alot about this subject on forums and it seems that most people aren't really behind the "but do not give others the chance to meta game you as well".

Why I like this concept is due to the following:

Spoilers! I hate spoilers! I'm not going to tell you about my schemes. What's more awesome than being surprised? Plot twists? I don't want to hear your plans either! I personally tend to be amazed when finding out stuff about characters that I'd never thought of before and it's a satisfying feeling when someone whispers me "Wow mate, I never saw that one coming."

Besides, if you reveal your stuff OOCly you open up the opportunities of meta gaming more easily. I believe that alot of roleplayers meta game NOT on purpose too, you see. I'm probably one of them myself too, although not intended.

(A classic example: Lightie sees a follower of darkness, who asks the lighty to walk along of a minute. Lighty declines, although the lighty may have come if it was another guild tag or no guild tag. (It also goes the other way around of course)

And then there is another version. It's a weird version of meta gaming but it is there: A follower of darkness walks up to a lighty and asks the lighty to walk along. The lighty follows deliberatly due to the tag because it could be interested RP, where he may have declined if the guild tag was less interesting to him. - maybe think about this like negative and possitive discrimination IRL. Possitive discrimination is as weird as this weird version of metagaming...I hope you catch my drift, I am terrible at explaining stuff)

But that classic example is just a sidestep of this post. I want to go back to "Don't meta game, but do not give others the chance to meta game you as well" and why alot of people aren't behind this concept.

I don't like to ask people "May I hurt your character?" "May I kidnap your character?" - to me it's like skipping to the last pages of the book to read the climax, then switch back to the start of the book and continue reading.

People's arguements are "This way I don't feel respected. You MUST ask permission first." or "I had other roleplay plans damn it! Now it is all RUINED!"

I...don't think such arguements are valid. The first arguement: If I want to do something to or with your character, it surely means I like/respect you. The second arguement: Well...we all have plans, and plans tend to go wrong. You can always execute your own plans later.

Finally, another thing I find interesting: Why do people use guilds? Why do you want others to know to what organisation you belong? Unguilded networks bring so many nice additions to RP, mainly that 1: You exclude people metagaming (On purpose or not) due to your guild name and it also removes any spoilers about your character as well. I've experienced that it's harder for an unguilded network to...work, and that people simply flock to guilds way easier. (I'm aware of guild perks) - as for tabard, you can make your own personal guild with a random name and create the tabard of your IC organisation.

Disclaimer: I'm absolutely not asking of you to follow my ideals. I also don't think that people who do not follow my ideals are 'bad'. I'm mainly interested in people their thoughts about these matters, and wether I'm the only one with these thoughts in mind or not. Basicly: please discuss.

Crojwin wrote:
I don't like to ask people "May I hurt your character?" "May I kidnap your character?" - to me it's like skipping to the last pages of the book to read the climax, then switch back to the start of the book and continue reading.

People's arguements are "This way I don't feel respected. You MUST ask permission first." or "I had other roleplay plans damn it! Now it is all RUINED!"

I...don't think such arguements are valid. The first arguement: If I want to do something to or with your character, it surely means I like/respect you. The second arguement: Well...we all have plans, and plans tend to go wrong. You can always execute your own plans later.

Everyone is different, and so are the kinds of roleplaying scenarios that they enjoy. In most cases a player has full control over this by being able to decide what their character participates in and, if they end up not enjoying something, when their character leaves. It doesn't disrupt the RP because plausible IC reasons are usually substituted. There's nothing wrong with this, as the entire point of RP OOC'ly is to have fun. Random kidnappings/assault/etc takes that control away from the victim because it usually doesn't leave any plausible ways for the victim to IC'ly get out of the situation at any time. That either forces them to sit through it or disrupt the RP to get out OOC'ly (or the third option, god-emoting their way out, but that's just the drawbacks of the other two options combined).

That's the main reason for asking such victims OOC'ly beforehand. It allows them to retain their control over how much enjoyment they have OOC'ly. It isn't nice or respectful at all to just take it away, no matter how well one's intentions are.

I agree <3 It hurts my brain when I see people writing in their MRP things I wouldn't be able to see, like "X enjoys the smell of floral roses, and used to see roses as a child.". I don't care, I just want to know what I -see-.

Regarding the "permission" thing, I think it should only apply to...certain "extreme" situations, if you want your character to fly forwards and grapple someone, do it. But if you want your character to like er....stab them with some poison which'll make 'em pass out, and then you force them to go all the way to Feralas to your 'secret HQ', I think it's only fair to ask first.