Some Random Tidbits

If you are unfamiliar with Second Life (SL) and/or Role Play, there are some things to keep in mind.

Sometimes real life (RL) interferes with a roleplay (RP) scene.  This means there can be huge time breaks between events.  It also means, sometimes a specific scene will get put on hold and when the next RP scene picks up, it is a completely different scenario.  This is because SL "time" is set up to move on its own schedule; the SL time schedule every 3 hours is a complete 'daytime' cycle and 1 hour 'nighttime' cycle.  Meaning every 4 hours of RL time is equal to one single day in SL (so 6 days in a 24 hour period).  When you paragraph RP (Para, Para-RP), it can take several RL hours to get through a single scene, however.  This means you need to understand that 'days' pass much faster in SL, but an RP can take several hours RL - you sort of need to just 'go with the flow' on time frames and days, and when there are gaps or unexplained changes in an RP scene, attribute it to the implied passage of time.

If you are new to RP and/or SL and you feel you want to explore this world, there are some basic things to keep in mind (beyond familiarity with the concepts of Gor).  Common courtesy rules of RP include (but are not limited to):

1.  Turn taking RP

     This means there is usually some sort of post order to follow.  This does not work as well in large groups so some adaptability is necessary.

2.  Limit the Out of Character (OOC) conversation that takes place in local chat (the place where the RP is taking place).  If you need to clarify something, use the instant message (IM) feature.  Try to keep all the "welcome back" comments out of the scene, etc.

3.  Try to involve everyone present in a particular scene IN the RP.

     One of the biggest misconceptions currently taking place on Gor is that the slave characters, in the presence of the free people, were not involved in the conversations.  This results in many, if not most, free men and women, utterly ignoring those people who choose to RP as a slave character.  Remember, everyone is here to RP and have fun, when you do this, you make it not fun for this group of people.  In addition, this is not at all correct by the book (BTB).  Slaves were integral to everyday life on Gor.  They were sought after for their intelligence, and in particular the Masters sought to know every thought and feeling of a slave, the slave's intelligence was considered a prize and another part of the slave in which he owned.  If you think about it, it would make no sense at all to exclude these characters from almost any RP going on (and not relegating them to nothing but glorified waitresses in fetching food and drinks).  Plus it is just plain bad RP form to exclude or ignore another person who is there to take an active part in RP.

4.  Do not rapid-fire one line comments in a group RP that is semi to full para-RP.

     This is very disruptive and impedes the ability of all other characters to accurately respond to what is going on in the RP.  Condense your thoughts and create a single post that contains everything you want to say at that particular time.  Personally, I find using a notecard very beneficial as I can put my inital thoughts/reactions together, and as other people post their replies I can incorporate that into my current comment so that when it rolls around to my turn to post, I have it ready to go and have responded to at least one thing, if not all things, each other character has said or done.  Having it ready by writing as people are also posting has the added benefit of preventing 20 minute gaps between posts.