Experiences People who take RP far too seriously

[Tove]

Ah, don't let these horror stories stop you. There are great people who love to roleplay and understand there is life beyond RPs.

It's okay. My urge has been dwindling for a while now. I've been roleplaying for years, there comes a time when you want to just hang it up.

 

[Crayons]

This thread is a treasure trove of awfulness.

 

[Malozing]

I had a lot of fun with people who were too invested. I tend to not give a shit about people who don't care and have no standards at all. Using not taking the rp seriously as a shield for their own lack of effort lol.

but that's just me. It's been years since I found someone who cared enough to try.

Being harassed to post while busy with school, work, or other real-life obligations is not acceptable no matter how "seriously" one takes their RPs. Also, expectations of relationships just because your characters are in a relationship is more than creepy especially when no conversation of consent happens.

 

[still watching fma]

Being harassed to post while busy with school, work, or other real-life obligations is not acceptable no matter how "seriously" one takes their RPs. Also, expectations of relationships just because your characters are in a relationship is more than creepy especially when no conversation of consent happens.

Who said anything about being pushy about making a post.

Also this sounds like one of those instances where an accusation is made, but can't be corroborated. I've never encountered a person who harassed me online over an rp post. Although that might be because I'd tell you to fuck off the moment you think you can tell me what to do. Although I don't know how this pertains to my point that a large portion of people don't try.

 

[Malozing]

Who said anything about being pushy about making a post.

Also this sounds like one of those instances where an accusation is made, but can't be corroborated. I've never encountered a person who harassed me online over an rp post. Although that might be because I'd tell you to fuck off the moment you think you can tell me what to do. Although I don't know how this pertains to my point that a large portion of people don't try.

Majority of the posts in this thread.

 

[still watching fma]

Majority of the posts in this thread.

lol So you're just crying about this invisible serial harasser(s)?

 

[Jet]

lol So you're just crying about this invisible serial harasser(s)?

That's a very cynical way to view people's testimony especially when there's limited motive to lie. A lot of this creep behavior is man to woman as well so if you're a guy you probably won't see it. I'm the furthest thing from male third wave feminist but it's just a fact that men do creepy shit to women more than men so if you're a guy no wonder you haven't seen this. I've seen stuff boardering on that in OOCs between members and I stay outta the drama found in private chats so who tf knows what's going on there. Plus the world of 1x1 is more freaky than you'd believe my G.

Also there is a difference between taking things serious and being dedicated.... And being a maniac. Look at the post I put up in this thread. That's not "taking things serious" that's being an authoritarian "big brother" figure in a writing game/side hobby.

 

[still watching fma]

That's a very cynical way to view people's testimony especially when there's limited motive to lie. A lot of this creep behavior is man to woman as well so if you're a guy you probably won't see it. I'm the furthest thing from bleeding heart leftist or male third wave feminist but it's just a fact that men do creepy shit to women more than men so if you're a guy no wonder you haven't seen this.

Also there is a difference between taking things serious and being dedicated.... And being a maniac. Look at the post I put up in this thread. That's not "taking things serious" that's being an authoritarian "big brother" figure in a writing game/side hobby.

[/QUOTE]
I'm slightly protective of rp'ers because the worst thing I've found in rp'ers is rampant and uncontrollable apathy. I find it hard to believe harassment is a thing online if you have a block button. On discord they get cut off. On the forum you don't see their posts unless you check what it says.

As for big brother, yea I avoid those guys and move on the first second someone tries to control what I say in an rp. However the example in the op was " lol this nerd is so serious about not being beaten in rp". I find it annoying

 

[Jet]

still watching fma

Apathy sucks but imo you're making a false equivalency. I take my RPs serious and always stick around past the point where it's reasonable to leave but I don't do any of this weird obsessive shit. I do agree with the point about blocking though. If someone's being weird online you can always just you know, close the window lol word to the Tyler the Creator quote about cyber bullying.

 

[still watching fma]

still watching fma

Apathy sucks but imo you're making a false equivalency. I do agree with the point about blocking though. If someone's being weird online you can always just you know, close the window lol word to the Tyler the Creator quote about cyber bullying.

I'm not really making a false equivalency. Have you read this section? You'd think rpn is full of ists and isms.

 

[Jet]

I'm not really making a false equivalency. Have you read this section? You'd think rpn is full of ists and isms.

You're saying there's a divide between the people this post is talking about and people who don't care.

That's discounting all the people who take things serious but aren't weird fucks.

By equating the weird people with people who care, and the non weird people with those that don't, you're making a false equivalency.

There are grades to this, people who care & put in effort without being overbearing weirdos is the ideal level to be at. This post is targeting those who've gone past that to the point of obsession & creepiness. There are also apathetic people like you say but to not be apathetic you don't need to be a psycho.

 

[Lorsh]

Gonna be toxic and call out a RP that's in progress right now. There's one up in the group section that has a literal job application to join. It also has a three week probation period where you have to hangout in the discord OOC and (more or less) pass a friendship test. After you get vibe-checked for 21 days you earn the right to submit a character. Also has "mandatory fun" group chat gatherings that have to be attended or you get kicked if the rules are enforced as presented. Plus the characters you can make are all pre-made with only some things under your control. The actual application itself requires shit like your race & gender and you need to put an E-Signature at the end. Js they need to chill out.

If the GM of that RP sees this I'm sorry if I offend you. You seem to have a lot of work invested in the lore and the thread you have is well made. Impressive stuff no doubt, but your process for player induction and some of your rules are very overbearing. I understand that members flaking is a problem but at a certain point you need to roll the dice, accept the risk of people leaving and work around those who do. Putting up all these high entry barriers is way over the top.

that's more fascist than my fascist roleplay

 

[Coco Adel]

I had a lot of fun with people who were too invested. I tend to not give a shit about people who don't care and have no standards at all. Using not taking the rp seriously as a shield for their own lack of effort lol.

but that's just me. It's been years since I found someone who cared enough to try.

I mean caring enough to try is fine, you can care enough to them and not act like it's the only thing in the world that matters. Clearly, someone who tries to hack you because you weren't replying to them non-stop has a problem.

 

[Coco Adel]

I'm slightly protective of rp'ers because the worst thing I've found in rp'ers is rampant and uncontrollable apathy. I find it hard to believe harassment is a thing online if you have a block button. On discord, they get cut off. On the forum you don't see their posts unless you check what it says.

As for big brother, yea I avoid those guys and move on the first second someone tries to control what I say in an rp. However the example in the op was " lol this nerd is so serious about not being beaten in rp". I find it annoying
[/QUOTE]
Also, I notice how you zoomed in on me saying he was a bratty cheater but completely glossed over the fact that he harassed a girl by calling her a cheater because she didn't exclusively RP with him and that he literally fucking dropped out of school, you may have also noticed I said this went down on G+. G+ was known to have a host of weird people, there were a few times people posted beheading videos and fucked up pictures of dead bodies, the was a time we had an issue with a guy who posted child porn and G+ too their sweet precious time taking it down. A guy taking RP too seriously was not far fetched and he was far from the only one just the worst case I could remember. Also, the person who someone attempted to hack said it didn't happen in this site and they tried to hack their google account.

You may find it easy just to block people and tell them to fuck off and I wish it were that easy, but some people are psychopaths and that's not going to cut it.

 

[Rathian Diablos]

Who said anything about being pushy about making a post.

Also this sounds like one of those instances where an accusation is made, but can't be corroborated. I've never encountered a person who harassed me online over an rp post. Although that might be because I'd tell you to fuck off the moment you think you can tell me what to do. Although I don't know how this pertains to my point that a large portion of people don't try.

So basically if I am to understand you correctly, you are choosing to discount other people's experiences based on your own and because it had never happened to you, you believe it couldn't possibly happen to anyone and somehow you believe the block button is the end all be all to this problem.

On MeWe you can not only block people but you can report them with screenshots. To MeWe's credit, they usually remove them pretty fast thanks to accompanying evidence and if you report someone you automatically block them. I knew a girl on MeWe who was being harassed by a guy who got mad because he was looking for an ERP and she wanted no parts of it. She reported him, several times, he was removed several times but he just kept making new accounts to harass her with.

There was a girl I knew who was like the guy OP described where she stalked a guy and got pissy when he was RPing with other girls and actually made another account to catfish him and "catch him cheating on her" she then like the guy from OP's post posted the screenshots to tell everyone is was a no-good cheater and girl's should stay away from him because he wasn't faithful. Come to find out this girl called him non-stop over 57 times using MeWe's call function because he was RPing with other girls.

I mean OP even says we all take RP seriously to a degree so this isn't like they're saying taking it seriously at all is a problem, but there is a problem where you take it so seriously you treat it like real life.

 

[still watching fma]

I'm slightly protective of rp'ers because the worst thing I've found in rp'ers is rampant and uncontrollable apathy. I find it hard to believe harassment is a thing online if you have a block button. On discord, they get cut off. On the forum you don't see their posts unless you check what it says.

As for big brother, yea I avoid those guys and move on the first second someone tries to control what I say in an rp. However the example in the op was " lol this nerd is so serious about not being beaten in rp". I find it annoying

Also, I notice how you zoomed in on me saying he was a bratty cheater but completely glossed over the fact that he harassed a girl by calling her a cheater because she didn't exclusively RP with him and that he literally fucking dropped out of school, you may have also noticed I said this went down on G+. G+ was known to have a host of weird people, there were a few times people posted beheading videos and fucked up pictures of dead bodies, the was a time we had an issue with a guy who posted child porn and G+ too their sweet precious time taking it down. A guy taking RP too seriously was not far fetched and he was far from the only one just the worst case I could remember. Also, the person who someone attempted to hack said it didn't happen in this site and they tried to hack their google account.

You may find it easy just to block people and tell them to fuck off and I wish it were that easy, but some people are psychopaths and that's not going to cut it.
[/QUOTE]
I'm gonna be honest here. If I gave my actual opinion on these circumstances you're describing, I'd get banned. But to address your first point.

It's no one's business if someone dropped out of highschool. If someone is overbearing, you just move on. If someone sends you bad pictures, you block them.

I don't get why that's so hard.

 

[ashwynne]

Just because there are options to stop harassment (although as has been said... people can and do make multiple accounts to get around bans and continue harassing people) doesn’t mean that the harassment didn’t exist.

it’s just poor logic to say “harassment doesn’t exist online because you can stop it.” That’s the equivalent of saying “stalking doesn’t exist IRL because you can get a restraining order.” A method existing to combat the bad behaviour doesn’t mean the bad behaviour doesn’t exist and isn’t a problem.

I’m a bit confused as to why you’re even defending these random strangers, still watching fma . They clearly acted badly/against RP etiquette and no one is doxing them, just commenting on their behaviour. Talking these things through might make someone else reading along think twice about acting the same way and even if not... venting is pretty healthy.

The guy who dropped out of high school clearly made that known to people in that RP group. It was public knowledge and if something is made public knowledge then people have a right to comment on it. No one went and stalked HIM to find that out, and the dropping out isn’t the problem so much as him dropping out to pursue a hobby that you cannot live off of, is. It speaks to the mindset of a person who is unhealthily obsessed with roleplaying... which is the point of this thread.

 

[still watching fma]

Just because there are options to stop harassment (although as has been said... people can and do make multiple accounts to get around bans and continue harassing people) doesn’t mean that the harassment didn’t exist.

it’s just poor logic to say “harassment doesn’t exist online because you can stop it.” That’s the equivalent of saying “stalking doesn’t exist IRL because you can get a restraining order.” A method existing to combat the bad behaviour doesn’t mean the bad behaviour doesn’t exist and isn’t a problem.

I’m a bit confused as to why you’re even defending these random strangers, still watching fma . They clearly acted badly/against RP etiquette and no one is doxing them, just commenting on their behaviour. Talking these things through might make someone else reading along think twice about acting the same way and even if not... venting is pretty healthy.

The guy who dropped out of high school clearly made that known to people in that RP group. It was public knowledge and if something is made public knowledge then people have a right to comment on it. No one went and stalked HIM to find that out, and the dropping out isn’t the problem so much as him dropping out to pursue a hobby that you cannot live off of, is. It speaks to the mindset of a person who is unhealthily obsessed with roleplaying... which is the point of this thread.

We're not talking about a belligerent drunk in a bar. We're talking about an online forum where disengaging with someone is instant and easy. It takes someone 3-4 minutes to make a post. It takes me the click of a button to block a mean person.

 

[Tove]

From some of the horror stories up here, sometimes situations are not so simple as to block and move on from someone being overbearing especially if you have a person that will make multiple accounts or stalk a person or do any other asinine behavior.

 

[ashwynne]

We're not talking about a belligerent drunk in a bar. We're talking about an online forum where disengaging with someone is instant and easy. It takes someone 3-4 minutes to make a post. It takes me the click of a button to block a mean person.

Yes... but as MULTIPLE people have said, many of these people will create alternate accounts to continue the harassment. Yes, you can block these accounts each time they come up but that doesn’t make the situation less stressful or distressing.

You also seem to be forgetting that for someone to warrant blocking they need to be awful in the first place. And someone being persistently awful across multiple accounts is incredibly upsetting. Even just being that way once is often painful for the person they latch onto.

AND a lot of these people appear to be “friends” at first before they reveal their less sane sides and start becoming overbearing/unreasonable/obsessive. It’s a lot harder to cut out a friend from your life than it is a stranger and a LOT of these people do start off as friends. Which also makes their actions more painful when it becomes clear that they’re going to keep acting that way.

Being able to block isn’t the point here anyways. The point is the ACTIONS of these people that required them to be blocked.

 

[Coco Adel]

I'm gonna be honest here. If I gave my actual opinion on these circumstances you're describing, I'd get banned. But to address your first point.

It's no one's business if someone dropped out of highschool. If someone is overbearing, you just move on. If someone sends you bad pictures, you block them.

I don't get why that's so hard

Well to address your point, you tried to make it seem as if I was making fun of the boy for not being able to take a loss, your post was misinformative. I brought up the fact he couldn't take a loss to establish a pattern of behavior, he took RP so seriously he couldn't bear the thought of losing. He took it so seriously he harassed a girl as if she were an IRL wife and accused her of cheating on him, he took it so seriously he dropped out of school so he could RP more. His behavior was escalating.

You attempted to make it seem as though I was disparaging someone for being so serious about not losing in RP when that wasn't even the point. If that was the point I'd have made a thread about people who can't take a loss, strangely it seems I haven't. You conveniently left the rest out and talked about one specific part out of context to make it seem as though I picking on him when I wasn't. There is no possible way anyone can even find this person since I never told you his name, never told you what communities he hung out in so even if you were on G+ you wouldn't know who he was then and you surely wouldn't know where he is now because even I don't know that.

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

You've got to understand that we're not talking about playing Xbox, Monopoly, or any other hobby.

Role playing is essentially story telling. It's a form of art first and foremost. For alot of people it's about far more than killing time on a weekend. There are so many better hobbies that require less energy and commitment than writing. If the goal was to kill time with a fun hobby, I'd be sky diving or horseback riding right about now, not here, taking ten minutes to reply to this thread.

Story telling is a social and philosophical medium dating back to the origin of the spoken word itself. It gives people a voice, a vehicle to express themselves. Stories have the power to invoke emotion, educate, and change the perspectives of complete strangers.

Now sure, it's your prerogative to treat it however you want, do with whatever you please. Take it as seriously or carelessly as possible. "It's not a big deal, just some stupid stories we do for fun. Means nothing." There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but you have to understand that for some people, this is not some bullshit little hobby.

 

[Coco Adel]

You've got to understand that we're not talking about playing Xbox, Monopoly, or any other hobby.

Role playing is essentially story telling. It's a form of art first and foremost. For a lot of people it's about far more than killing time on a weekend. There are so many better hobbies that require less energy and commitment that writing. If the goal was to kill time with a fun hobby, I'd be sky diving or horseback riding right about now, not here, taking ten minutes to reply to this thread.

Story telling is a social and philosophical medium dating back tot he origin of the spoken word itself. It gives people a voice, a vehicle to express themselves. Stories have the power to invoke emotion, educate, and change the perspectives of complete strangers.

Now sure, it's your prerogative to treat it however you want, do with whatever you please. Take it as seriously or carelessly as possible. "It's not a big deal, just some stupid stories we do for fun. Means nothing." There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but you have to understand that for some people, this is not some bullshit little hobby.

This is fine and I never said there was anything wrong with that. However, we are not really discussing taking it seriously in that regard. I can understand taking it seriously to that point because I am a writer. I totally get that.

However, I believe when you start harassing people, treating partners like IRL spouses and actually get the point of trying to hack someone because they didn't reply as often or as quickly as you like then you have taken the medium far too seriously.

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

What you described was crossing personal boundaries in RP. Taking things too far outside the writing.

Goes without saying that's pretty messed up. I have never experienced anything like that, never even heard of it until making a return to the scene. Years ago people only cared about the stories. There weren't many casual kids and fandom burnouts looking to vent their latest swell of muse. It was mostly people who lived and breathed story telling.

 

[Ignition]

OK, I have a dumpster fire story of my own.

Basically, in one of my old RP communities, there was this guy who fell in love with a girl. She rejected him because, upon him sending her his photos, she judged he wasn't her type. The guy proceeded to create like five or six different accounts, gave them all an elaborate backstory (they were all friends and/or related to one another) and proceeded to flirt with her both in and out of character. I could see from a mile away that it was him, mainly because a) his writing style was really bizarre (capitalizing seemingly random words, extremely long sentences that really should have been paragraphs, etc.), b) all of them obviously tried to woo that one girl, c) the backstories were like something out of bad anime and not something you'd expect from real people. One of his 'selves', for example, was a sixteen year old cancer patient with an abusive family who got adopted by her rich friend's parents only to end up in a moral dilemma: can she now start a romantic relationship with her 'sister' or would it be incestuous? (Yes, he really expected us to believe that.)

I played along with it for a while because it was funny, but then he started getting more and more possessive of that girl and stalking her everywhere and being jealous of her other RP partners. That was when I told him that we all knew his 'friends' were all just him, and he disappeared off the site because of the shame.

... oh, and the girl proceeded to fall in love with me for some reason, supposedly because of that one time I played her love interest and ended up being too good at it.

Man, my teenage years were wild.

Wow, this story was a riot. I laughed so loud I hope I didn't wake anyone up.

I have one good story, of a friend who played in a Mutants and Masterminds campaign years ago. Nice guy, still a good friend, but probably once of the most inconsistent and insane RPers ever.

I was still new, so I made the mistake of allowing him to have Spatial Control as a power in a superhero campaign (I know, I know). He chose to play this bizarre Punisher-type character who would spare child molesters and kill drug dealers for selling pot. I still never got it. There was a fight with him and the party against this girl who could change size, and even after she told him that she was only stealing to save her mother from dying he still tried to shoot her leg off with a shotgun. Thankfully he rolled a 1, no joke.

But the crowning moment was later on, when the party was trying to stop a psychic villain who had taken over a train of hostages. Aware that they were mind-controlled innocents, he opted to teleport every single one he saw outside the moving train rather than try and incapacitate them. They hit the outside like cheddar on a cheese grater, horrible way to go.

Needless to say, he was swiftly arrested and went on the run, but the campaign fell apart soon after.

Strange times, I'll say for sure.