Roleplay and gatekeeping

Moon Guard
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Everywhere you go nowadays whether it be a guild or just random event/walkup RP if you are new at roleplay. Or have an apparent lack of experience with it, you will be instantly disregarded by many people either ignoring you or calling you a troll. This is something I see happen very often inside the roleplay community across all roleplay servers. If a roleplayer doesn’t like something? Call them a troll or refuse to acknoweldge their existence.

Yes there are people that are open to helping new people trying to get into roleplay but honestly, some members of the community tend to attempt to be so “elitist” with their roleplay telling them to go back to a “PVE” server because they don’t have RP experience. If you are new at roleplaying you basically better hope you have a friend to help you learn because there are very few in WoW willing to teach nowadays. It’s sad that people gatekeep roleplay so much, instead of giving constructive criticism they just basically tell them to screw off or regard them as a troll.

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I agree with the part of roleplayers ignoring what they don’t like, I’ve been dancing in the cathedral for four days and they refuse to acknowledge me!

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This is how it works in the real world too.

Likely, when they see “Rawrlol” walking up, they think you’re just there to crack jokes and waste their time.

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It all comes down to three things:

  1. The TRP profile
  2. The RP style
  3. The emotes

Your first impression always matters. Like in actual life.

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This is a double-edged sword as one of the more popular mentalities in the RP community nowadays is to live and let live when it comes to how others chose to play. That often means simply not interacting with those who RP in a way you disagree with or don’t like. And to be fair, there ARE a lot of people floating around out there whose goal it is to simply grief RP when they can.

So if I see someone out in the world doing something I don’t care for? Yes, I’m going to ignore them in most cases. If they indicate that they are new to RP and ask me for pointers or guidance, I’ll gladly give it. But it’s generally recognized as bad form to offer advice unsolicited.

As for people not even giving you a chance and telling you to go back to a PvE server when you’ve done nothing wrong or in spite of you indicating your newness to the scene and/or asking for help, those are people best suited for your ignore list. A word to the wise: there are insufferable idiots not worth anyone’s time in every community. Don’t let those few ruin the entire scene for you.

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Another alternative way to look at it is some characters just don’t click and the person doesn’t want conflict. Like a pious priest interacting with a metal rockstar warlock. At first glance, one wouldn’t want to bother the other unless there was some banter going on to ease the breaking of ice.

After all, I constantly see all the time how people are tired of the mean characters running about, and just want a pleasant interaction. And if they see a joke name and joke profile too, they won’t see you as serious. And if you are serious, the character is not one they would want to interact with.

I think it’s wrong to shame people for being picky. We are all here to have our pretendy fun times. Why not curate our experience?

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I agree with the OP’s sentiment and I have seen this on a number of occasions. We had such a person approach us on our weekly guild tavern night. Here’s a picture of that night to set the scene:
https://i.imgur.com/PPTOgKg.png

See that white vulpera sitting next to me on the right of the frame? His name was Foxysnow or something like that. A non-RP name, but it wasn’t offensive.

Anyway, the guy (or girl) seemed to be steroids. He couldn’t make proper sentences, not anything that was more than 3 words, and he was typing at a million miles an hour! So it kind of came off like spam. Plus he didn’t know the difference between IC and OOC, so he was saying stuff he shouldn’t have, it was a mess.

He’d just been put on ignore by the people at the door, and the guy couldn’t understand why. My guildies and I were doing some roleplay (we were actually matchmaking that big orc with a lovely but shy Mag’har lady at the bar - but that’s an aside!)

Anyhow, this crazy vulpera ran up to us, spouting all sorts of nonsense. But you know what, I didn’t put him on ignore. He was very excited to be roleplaying. He wanted desperately to be involved, and to be accepted. He just didn’t know how.

So I greeted him, and spoke to him ICly. My pal Scheki offered him something to eat and drink. We got him to sit down and to try to relax, and just…breathe. We all knew he was a beginner to RP, and I’m happy to say everyone in my group was patient and tolerant (even the Mag’har orc!). I think after he sat with us he went AFK for a few minutes, then a pandaren (also a RP beginner) showed up. The vulpera leapt up and raced over to the new guy and the two ran off into the sunset doing their crazy things.

I admit, it was a bit disruptive having him in our group, but it wasn’t unbearable. People that are new to RP often don’t realise that typing can be a slow process and RP can go on for HOURS. They might not be used to that.

So I have three suggestions for people who are new to RP and want to be taken more seriously.

  1. Slow down. Find the walk button and stop running. Use chairs (if your city has them, if not - a rug on the floor is okay!)
  2. Listen to what other people are saying. Talking is only one half of the equation.
  3. Make sure you have an RP name. Whether or not you have an RP addon, a fancy transmog, are level 1, whatever - these things can be improved as you go. But at least start on the right foot at character generation and make a good name. Not a sentence or a joke. A name that would make sense as a character in a book.

That last point is something I’m noticing a lot with server transfers from non-RP realms. Unfortunately a lot of them don’t think there’s anything wrong with their name, so it’s hard to convince them otherwise. Yes, I know you can use TRP to disguise a bad name, and that is a good band-aid, at least until they get the hang of things (and it’s free!).

But I’ve met people who can’t even do that. I don’t know what to do, or if we even should do anything? The ToS for RP servers say they should have an RP name. Do we report them? Is that going to make us seem elitist and discouraging towards RP beginners? I’m open to hear your opinions.

Sorry Rawrlol, I’m afraid that your name is the kind I’m talking about. You seem like a nice person from your post! But yeah, maybe think about the impact your name might be having on other people’s first impressions of you. Your guild title as well. It doesn’t have to be an RP guild, but pick one that sounds like a title rather than a one punch line joke, if you want to actually RP on that toon.

EDIT: Oops, I just noticed you’ve posted from a WoW classic character which is obviously not your Moon Guard toon. So maybe your character here is slightly different. How about posting on your MG avatar so if we see you we can give you a wave?

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Alternatively, I aim for word names (like Cleansing, Oaths, Empress, Senile) if I cannot use my character’s actual name, or make a new one that fits. But I have found that isn’t a deterrent at all. So I suppose it depends on the context of the name.

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Arisperina is a great name! That’s definitely not your issue then.

Sorry to hear about the problems on your other server. Faction imbalance is real and can RUIN a server (I keep ranting and raving about it, haha).

I really hope that you can find a new home here, somewhere that you feel welcome. I generally only play Horde side (feel free to message me on discord: Flywheel#4087 if you end up here and need help). But if you’re on Alliance, Gaiea is a truly lovely lady and I recommend sending her a whisper or letter. Mailang is also full of great advice for newcomers.

There are people here to help. You did a very brave thing reaching out on forums. I honestly hope that things pick up for you.

EDIT: I think with the bug of not being able to switch characters, you could try logging all the way out of your account (you have to scroll right to the very top) and then log back in. It’s not the same as logging in and out of your battle.net launcher. It seems to be a different thing.

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One of the best rp experiences I have had in the past few years is taking my OG forsaken Dk from WRA, stapling a mound of paladin flesh on him and bringing Forsaken RP to MG Stormwind.

I will be happy to share this experience to any and all newcomers, time permitting of course.

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I have not found that to be the case, OP, and so I’m going to assume a few things in my advice to you.

(forgive me, it’s not meant to be aggressive or to put anyone down…just assumptions I’ve made based on what’s been said in the thread. I want to help, not make it worse for you.)

I’m very new to RP. I’ve never done RP of any kind, anywhere except on Moon Guard. I’ve only been active for a few weeks. ALMOST everyone on MG has been super kind to me, super helpful, and super willing to teach me things if I was doing it “wrong.” Like, even the super villain who came to kill me the other night was a very understanding player in the ooc conversation b/c I told him that I was new and didn’t want to mess up his RP scenario.

In tells, he taught me how emote battles work and gave me excellent advice before scaring the pants off me when he went back IC.

I’ve had people playing nasty sorts in the pub be kind to me, as well. So…these are my assumptions. If they don’t apply, just ignore them, okay? And I hope things improve for you on MG because it’s a wonderful place to make believe.

1.) Maybe Your TRP Profile Doesn’t Look Legit - If your TRP is not filled out, and if it does not look serious, people will assume you are not serious, that you don’t want to RP, and that you’re one of the MANY voyeuristic trolls that come online to laugh at the RP’ers and mess up what they’re doing. Take some time to look at it again, and make sure the idea that you’ve made a real RP character with sincere intent to be part of the world comes across clearly.

When I first came back to MG, I had ZERO RP experience, and I read every TRP profile that passed me. I mean, I really looked at what other people had done for their profiles and glances. I’m still learning how to tweak that and use it for broadcasting my current activity. It’s not a Rome-in-a-Day thing. Still. Make sure your profile looks and feels like the serious ones you see walking around. When I mouse over someone, and their profile is empty, silly, over-the-top, or offensive, I assume that person has approached us to poke fun and mess up our story. I don’t do this because I don’t want others to join. I do this because 9/10 times, that person IS there to make fun, disrupt what we’re trying to play out, or just be mean. So, do what you can to review it and see if people are mistakenly confusing you with that sort of player.

2.) Maybe You’ve Been Disruptive Without Meaning to Be - Most people are happy to have others walk in and join their RP stories on MG, but if someone walks into a scenario that’s already been playing out for an hour and abruptly changes the tone or direction, it can be jarring. Stories play out over hours or even days, sometimes, and if you accidentally step all over what someone is doing, they might choose to ignore you or ask you to stop OOC rather than letting you continue on. That’s a group protecting an RP they’re invested in; it’s probably not an attempt to be mean to you.

If their story is a serious one and you come in cracking jokes, that won’t go over well. If their story is jovial and slapstick, but you come in being very serious…same thing. If the story is very involved and long, but you come in and totally change the tone with your approach, it threatens to blow up what they’re doing and pull them out of their immersion in the story.

I spent my first three weeks back on MG just watching people. I’d toss some emotes out now and again. I would freely converse with anyone who walked up to me and started talking. Otherwise, however, I just listened and watched to get a feel for what people were doing and how the people who joined in the middle did it successfully.

3.) Maybe You Haven’t Communicated IC/OOC Differences Very Well: If you walk around OOC, people will pretend they can’t see you. If you’re not IC, you’re broadcasting that you “aren’t here to RP right now.” In that case, most people will ignore you when they are IC. If you say things in (OOC), they might reply in kind, but make sure you’re IC when you’re trying to RP and OOC when you’re trying to ask questions or get advice.

I am sorry you’ve had trouble, and I hope some of the above was even remotely helpful. Keep trying. It’s a great place to play.

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Great post Meriweather!

If you’re new to RP, then you’re getting the hang of things VERY quickly.

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Thank you, but truly…it has ALL been people teaching me. I had a handful of people back in the beginning when I created MG Meriweather (about a year ago, now) who showed me how to make my profile. People actually stopped what they were doing to teach me how the app worked and tell me things like parentheses for ooc talk and how basic things worked.

I was taken away from that first experiment with Meriweather after about a week of playing, and I just came back last month. Again, people were just generally so helpful, and when I got frustrated about not knowing how to find a place to fit in, I posted here, and people immediately responded and helped me.

I’ve been guilded since, and I have met SO MANY people who just wanted to help the person who posted in the forum.

So…anyway, I’d hate to see another new RP’er on MG not receive the same help. It is a pleasure to play on MG, so far. (I’m a writer…and that helps in this kind of RP, for sure)

P.S. I love what you’re doing to energize our Horde players. I really admire your enthusiasm and kindness.

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Hey, I’ve seen you around lately! I’ll try and hit you up when I’m on my dwarf next time I see you. I’m new to dwarf RP (but not rp in general), so it would be a nice opportunity!

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There’s a huge number of RP guides for pretty much everything you could possibly think of out there, from general RP etiquette to how to RP a specific race/class.

How is it gatekeeping when all of the information and help you need is available for free, within seconds, and you don’t need to interact with a single person? Google ‘wow roleplay guide’ ‘roleplay guide’ ‘xrace yclass roleplay guide’ ‘wow lore guide’ ‘wow roleplay discord’ ‘xrealm roleplay discord’.

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I recently learned a little about how to treat open bleeds on a Dark Iron dwarf. Your internal anatomy is…different…apparently. /smile. If you’re ever in mortal peril, I will do all in my power to patch you up. Ha ha!

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I am aware that I may not have the best reputation on the server, but I can agree that first impressions are always the one thing you should make best when you RP with the other fine people here on Moon Guard.

Admittedly, I came with a lot of baggage when I transferred from my home server of Dalaran, and I have done some…Questionable stuff, but I’ve been making it a constant effort to improve myself.

…What was I talking about? OH! Yeah. Always keep a good first impression, and make sure you try to differentiate OOC and IC.

Anyways, I hope everyone’s having a good morning / afternoon / evening, and I’ll see you all starside. :heart:

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Triggered but yeah this.

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The problem is, is that you have to walk up to get RP most of the time.

People are shy, people want RP but don’t know how to approach most of the time?

Me? I walk up to everyone even if I get mugged, robbed, beaten, tortured… etc

Everyone deserves a walk up.

I agree with the pandaren and even I’m triggered.

We have ToA for a reason in about a month.

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This is among the reasons I’m not allowed back in a Planet Fitness.