[Ranylyn]

I get it. You get it. We all get it. You shouldn't know someone's entire history just by looking at them.

BUT! And this is a big but! If someone forgets details they ICly know, the history tab can let them refresh their knowledge quickly without interrupting the RP to ask questions.

I know not everyone wants to use the history tab. But I've also seen a few history tabs of characters I ICly know that... well... outright tell the reader off for trying to read it. I mean, really. And apparently they got the idea from other people doing the same.

All I'm saying is, "Please don't be a dick. If you don't want to use it, you'd be saving a lot of time and energy just leaving it blank." And yes. I'll be filling all mine out when I get around to it, and if someone uses it to know details they shouldn't, they're a bad RPer and I'll avoid them, end of story.

[Rendar]

Okay but.

Literally what is the point of the history tab and making passive aggressive (or even super aggressive) comments on it? Like, gurl. If you want to keep your backstory for yourself to read, put it in a fucking notepad file or a wordpad, etc. Then you can just open it up and read it without having to deal with this crap.

[Ranylyn]

Character A and Character B are involved. Character B's player forgets key details about character A they know. History tab to the rescue.

Unless they fileshare that notepad file, of course.

[Egil]

... or you could just skype someone for relevant information

fuck the history tab

[Exxy]

Don't look if you don't want to see.

Personally I tell -few- people much information ICly about my character's different pasts (especially in-depth). It gives them a chance to learn about your character (so long as they don't meta it all from a glance) if they're interested to know more OOCly without the need for you to take 3 years remembering it all from brain power. It's also not like you have to fill it out, it's completely up to the person to be honest. I know a lot of people who still refuse to and put something like "You can't tell a person's History from examining them," despite the fact you can pick up on very vague archetypes in reality.

I was against it at first but slowly am warming up to it.... To be honest I don't see it going anywhere any time soon.

Edit: [strike]Also with how your Description crashes me every time, it seems like you hate the entire thing Egil... assuming I don't have the wrong person in mind. In which case, sorry. [/strike]

[Ranylyn]

... or you could just skype someone for relevant information

That takes time and disrupts the flow of the RP. If that's how you want to do it, that's your choice.

[Egil]

... or you could just skype someone for relevant information

That takes time and disrupts the flow of the RP. If that's how you want to do it, that's your choice.

I ain't saying that it's anyone's choice but that's the shittiest reason for supporting something that promotes needless metagame

fuck the history tab

[Ranylyn]

*claps hands* Awesome. Sit down and pull up a desk, it's time for school. Why? Because you're just throwing the word "metagame" around with zero inkling as to what it actually means. You brought this on yourself. And I don't mean with your images, but they just make this all the more satisfying.

"Metagame" is using information you shouldn't know to garner an unfair advantage or otherwise game the system. For example, if a party split up, party B knowing things party A has discovered since splitting up is metagaming, since they have no way of knowing that. This also includes witholding information that should be obvious for an unfair advantage, such being too stupid to tell at a glance if someone is wearing a tank top or platemail.

So... What advantage does knowing someone's backstory confer you? Let me tell you what "metagaming" can be done by a history tab: A bad roleplayer reveals themselves as a bad roleplayer by not using common sense and mentioning stuff ICly they should not know. The person gets ridiculed and shunned, life goes on. What advantage was gained? What knowledge was used to unfair effect?

I also notice you've made no attempt to deny the mention of the profile crash. All things considered, the most logical conclusion is that you are a metagamer yourself, trying to hide your stuff so you can metagame harder, and are just throwing the word around to get what you want. You also do not post these images in other threads, meaning you are deliberately posting them just to spite me because of my other thread complaining about meme "rolaplay." I'm sure you thought you were clever. But we're not braindead.

Want to prove me wrong? Be a man and stop throwing your "fuck the history tab" tantrum. And get Dev to fix your profile.

[Rockabye]

People don't have to write anything in the history tab, though I assume it's meant for things that are reasonably within public knowledge (ex.: this person was a famous convicted criminal). Some people already wrote out their history in their descriptions before the tab, and I assume the people that use it now are the same people that already put it in their descriptions before. At least you have the option not to read it anymore if it bothers you, as it will not longer be grouped in with information that you potentially do want to read, like their appearance.

Any talk about profile crashes is off-topic in the first place. Let's not get snarky.

[Autumn]

The only time I've ever used history tab was to note down that character was ICly a guard beforehand, that's it, it's really just not necessary for anyone to write down their character's histories in them, that's stuff you should find out ICly, and not OOCly know despite how interesting some of them might be, be it an insanely old vampire with well fleshed out backstory or a shaitan fresh off the boat (heh)

Metagaming is taking OOC information and using it to your advantage yes, so if you read those histories and don't decide to metagame, power to you, that doesn't mean anyone else won't, though I have a lot of faith in some of the roleplayers on the server, I know just how much people talk behind other people's backs OOCly, this is why I don't let them know OOCly unless its of the utmost importance really, which, histories are not.

So honestly, no, history tab should not have to be a norm for profiles, and the off-handed comments from players in those tabs saying something like "Find out ICly" is kind of deserved, character background is something that can mean a lot to roleplayers and their characters, it is about as crucial to discovering the character more than their appearance.

That and if all characters just had their character backgrounds in their descriptions it'd erase like 90% of the reason I get my characters to know anybody newish.