St Edmund
27-02-2008, 12:11
Isn't the UN forum in general (apart from a few specialised threads such as the Bar) supposed to be RP-optional, so that people who don't want to roleplay can still participate in discussions about proposals & resolutions?
A couple of people have complained about me having replied to IC posts without attributing my own remarks to any specific character, but if doing that is forbidden as against the forum's rules of etiquette then how are those players who choose to refrain from roleplaying their nation's presence at the UN for any reason (such as having had enough of the gratuitous -- and sometimes godmoded -- violence that certain other players consider to be an amusing aspect of RP...) supposed to be able to play any meaningful part in the discussions?
Ardchoille
27-02-2008, 14:48
I'm sure you're as au fait with this as I am, St Ed, if not more so, so this is addressed to those who don't know.
First, The One-Stop Rules Shop:
The United Nations contains an element of roleplay, but often there will be a mixture of OOC comments mixed in with the purely diplomatic comments made IC. The UN is only semi-RP, and posts there are subject to more mod intervention for inappropriateness than in the other two RP forums. The UN Forum is limited to UN business in the context of the General Assembly: if a UN nation is discovered to be in violation of UN resolutions, challenges to that nation should move to NationStates or International Incidents.
Civility: UN posters are presumed to be ambassadorial representatives from their nations to the UN.There is a higher expectation of decorum and politeness. Player attacks are not tolerated, whether uncouth language is part of the mix or not. Smilie spam is also more heavily policed in the UN, as it really has no place there at all.
Next, the link to the relevant section of HotRodia's UN admirable guide: What Is Roleplay (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11280699&postcount=3).
Reading back over these, I realise that they tell players a lot about how to RP, but not much about how to avoid RPing. So I'll write my observations, but note this is just my personal off-the-cuff response, no more.
If a non-RPer replies in debate to someone who is RPing, it's courteous to address his remarks to "the representative of" $$nation$$. Strictly speaking, though, he doesn't even have to do that, and can go straight for the argument's jugular.
It's also my understanding that a UN regular who consistently speaks in his own voice has no need to label all his posts OOC. People who swap between their own and their characters' voices have an obligation to make their position clear, as, for example, Hack does by signing his IC posts with Dr Leary's or Mme Pejorative's names.
Some people follow the practice of commenting in their own voice in drafting threads, but in their character's voice in debate threads. All fine as long as it's clear which is which.
The reason for the emphasis on being clear is that RP characters have more leeway than an actual poster in the tone of their responses. Iron Felix the character is more, ah, direct than his puppet-master. I'm personally much more wishy-washy than my impulsive President.
But posting IC does not give anyone an excuse for flaming the person who is posting OOC. The rules that apply to all NS forums, including General and the RP forums, apply in the UN, too. A character can abuse another character, but not the poster; only his arguments. A non-RPing poster can comment adversely on a character's demeanour (though it's probably wiser not to), but not on the person "behind" the character.
A poster whose roleplay is so clunky that they RP an action affecting another's character without leaving the other character a chance to respond must expect to be ignored, even by other RPers, and certainly by the non-RPers. If, say, a character announces that he has defenestrated you, you may simply ignore the "event", whether you're IC or OOC.
If he "approaches you with defenestration on his mind", or "begins to drag you towards the Defenestrator", fair enough; it's up to you if, and how, you respond. If you're not into RPing, this might be a good time to start heading all your posts "OOC" for a while to make your position super-clear.
I haven't been following the UN threads closely lately, St Ed, so I don't know what specific events you're referring to. But it sums up as, IC or OOC, keep the post clear and yourself cool.
EDIT: Having just read the conclusion of the previous debate, I now see what this probably relates to. No, OOC is not a privileged position in UN debates. No, IC is not a privileged position in UN debates. Other posters' choices are just something everyone has to deal with. And QoD (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13482826&postcount=39) had the right of it.