[Ranylyn]

No, this isn't another thread about "Guys, please don't be dicks when it comes to people building suboptimally" or whatever. I promise, this is something else, and I come to you not on a high horse, but nibbling on humble pie.


Let's get some ketchup for my harshbrowns, here: I'm the kind of guy who gets bitter and irate and basically becomes a jerk (despite my best efforts to avoid this, some things outside of SL2 get to me and then I come to SL2/ the forums with pent up frustration and am not as level headed as I'd like. Honestly, I'm ashamed of that. Thing is, RP is my escapism, it calms me down.) and as such, I generally tend to shy away from explaining the rules to new players who break them, lest I end up driving them away from the game.

Discussing classes and skills is one thing, but when it comes to "Um, this is an RP game, please stop using the IC chat for saying OOC things" I'm just not comfortable being the one to speak up, because I've seen people like Naruko. I basically try to hint by replying to them in LOOC or whatnot, but when they don't grasp it....

This exact scenario is something I've been seeing a few times, lately, and I was basically hoping to get some opinions on how to best address the situation. I don't want to be rude - and I KNOW I can be a very rude person - so I thought I'd weigh in with some of you on the best ways to go about this. I mean, demanding "Follow the rules or suffer the consequences" is a last resort to be used by GMs, not the first line of defense. There has to be a more convenient way of convincing people, right?


Here's an example of what I mean. This is paraphrased from an actual conversation less than 24 hours ago. I remember the name of character C, if GMs need to know. Character A is my recently unretired phenex, Character B is someone who seems to be trying their hand at RP at the very least, and Character C is... well, character C.

*I see the two walking by. They see me. They get into a fight. I spectate.*
Character B: invite them, they is phenix and can revive us.
Character C: Okay.
*I realize they're likely new so join up to answer questions and offer guidance. After a short while...*
Character B: so wat shall i call you then i mean you have a name right
Character A: I usually go by "Summer" if you wanted to stop calling me "The Phenex."
Character C: Just in case you didn't see it at the top of the screen, I'm _______. Not really into the whole roleplay thing though.
Local OOC Character A: If you're not saying things in-character, this is the ideal solution. Say and Emote are for roleplay.
Character C: Whatever.


Let's be honest, I just don't know what to do in this scenario that isn't either dickish or going to a GM. Just call me Biggus Dickus Errectus, because all I can do is slap people in the face and make a big mess. Except I choose not to because it's not worth the jail time. Dick jokes aside, is there anything more I can do in this kind of situation?