One of the most important things when it comes to roleplaying with other Dreamers is roleplaying etiquette. This guide is quite subjective when it comes to this topic. Some people will disagree with me on some aspects of this guide but this guide is only intended to advise how to treat your fellow Roleplayers both inside and outside of a roleplay.
Etiquette regarding other Dreamer Roleplayers
When it comes to interacting with other roleplayers that you wish to roleplay with, it is best that you speak to them politely and ask politely for a chance to roleplay with them. If you are polite, the chances of another Dreamer agreeing to roleplay with you are significantly increased. If you are rude, demanding or otherwise a complete douche-canoe on the forums, then that might put other Dreamers off. While politeness is not something that is enforced, it does go a long way in getting along with other Roleplayers and their willingness to Roleplay with you.
Another thing to note when interacting with Dreamers is if another Dreamer constantly messages you, asks uncomfortable questions, or makes numerous demands of you despite you telling them to stop with such behaviour, you are well within your rights to report this to a member of staff. Here on EcchiDreams, we follow the legal definition of harassment, which you can find in the Terms of Service. Likewise, do not harass other Dreamers, or attempt to make unwanted demands of them. You may find yourself blocked by other Dreamers or, if the behaviour persists, infractions may be added to your account with banning being a possibility if you continue to ignore warnings.
What it really boils down to is this: try and be polite, and communicate with your roleplaying partners. Make sure that you are both on the same level of understanding before continuing. It can be awkward for both sides if you get deep into a roleplay and Roleplayer A wants to do something that Roleplayer B doesn’t, but Roleplayer A is under the impression that it was something that was happening from the beginning. So communication between roleplaying partners is essential in keeping a roleplay moving smoothly.
Etiquette regarding Roleplaying
One thing that some Roleplayers can find frustrating when it comes to roleplaying with others is that some people do not read posts properly. This can cause a large number of frustrating misunderstandings. For example Character A is sitting down, and in the next post Character B comes over and sits beside them, perhaps wrapping an arm around Character A. Then, in the next post, Character A suddenly stands up and walks up to Character B to give them a hug, but Character B has already stated that they are sitting down next to Character A. Most Roleplayers find it offputting when other Dreamers don’t read their post(s) properly, this is understandable as it breaks ‘immersion’ disenfranchises other roleplays. Of course; mistakes like that occur, down to human error. Repeat offenders of not reading posts properly may find themselves without a Dreamer to roleplay with, especially the more seasoned and serious Roleplayers of EcchiDreams. So just take a few moments longer to make sure that you have read the post properly.
When it comes to interacting with the characters of another Dreamer, one of the things that you should not do is Godmodding, such as controlling the actions of other Dreamer characters or portraying your character in such a way that makes it impossible for other characters to overcome them. Generally, most serious Dreamers will refuse to Roleplay with a character that has no established weaknesses that limit their power, or give a way for characters to beat them down. This can be hard for characters that are extremely powerful; however, characters that have great power can sometimes tend to have rather huge, glaring weaknesses; like Superman and Kryptonite. Despite all of his super-human strength and abilities, that one weakness can be used to bring him to his knees.
When interacting with another Dreamer in regards to the Roleplay that you are doing with them, and they are explaining perhaps a plot or something regarding their character that hasn’t yet been revealed in the roleplay itself, then your characters cannot have that knowledge. For example, if Roleplayer A states out of character, that their character is telepathic but their character has neither shown nor said anything about it, the character of Roleplayer B cannot suddenly know that Character A has telepathy. There is no way that they could know that. So if it isn’t revealed in the roleplay, your character cannot know it. Metagaming, or using knowledge obtained from outside the roleplay, is looked down upon in roleplaying communities in general. Of course, there may be a situation where Character B is also telepathic and might be able to sense something, but without the approval of Roleplayer A, they should never state that they know for sure.
The most important thing to remember about Roleplaying Etiquette is to follow the rules of the RP and EcchiDreams Terms of Service. When you join a roleplay, you are agreeing to abide by the rules of that roleplay, that the particular Game Master has laid down, so when you join that roleplay you agree to abide by those rules. Some roleplayers might not like the adult themes that EcchiDreams allows, and as such their roleplay might be as ‘SFW’ as it gets on EcchiDreams.
Another example is if a Dreamer states that they only allow for human characters, you cannot come in with a Neko without speaking to the roleplay creator first. Roleplay Creators have the right to ask another user to leave their roleplay if their rules are not followed. Game Masters can ask for certain users to be ‘barred’ from their roleplays, however with violations of the EcchiDreams Terms of Service, infractions may occur with the possible outcome of banning, as a last resort or if violations are severe enough.
Whilst it’s not against the rules persae, it is considered rude and highly disrespectful to ditch another person’s character for another. For example; Roleplayer A and Roleplayer B have an established plot, or are doing something that is currently occupying their characters, but then Roleplayer B and Roleplayer C are talking out of the roleplay, where they decide that Roleplayer B’s character is going to ditch Roleplayer A’s character as quickly as possible to go with Roleplayer C’s, all without little to no communication to Roleplayer A. Roleplayer A is left scratching their heads wondering why they were, to their perspective, suddenly ditched. A roleplayer can find such an experience frustrating and can even be perceived as bullying. Make sure to keep communication open with all those that you are roleplaying with.
Dispute Resolution
The one thing we absolutely recommend doing is try to settle disputes peacefully, be that either roleplayer, game master or even a staff member. To make it clear right now; our staff are not above the rules, they helped make the rules sure, that’s why there’s more onus on them to uphold said rules. If they break the rules, they face the same consequences as everyone else.
At first, you should try and talk to the parties involved. Do not use a Guilty until proven Innocent view, the first assumption should be, in most cases that it was a mistake, in which case talking to the offending roleplayer to point out the mistake should have it corrected very quickly. Be gentle, friendly and if it isn’t a mistake and you’re clashing on it, try to offer compromises; as we’re all reasonable adults here. Try to keep to being friendly and open, even if the other side is either being childish in their responses, or downright rude, you’ll need this for the next step, if it escalates.
If all attempts to rectify the situation fails, then move it onto the next step. Invite a member of staff to come and help you to act as an impartial mediator. We will then attempt to work towards a mutually beneficial resolution, and even measure the situation against the rules. If you’ve been calm and reasonable, and the other person has been a raving loon, then this will be noted. If (however unlikely) you’re at this stage with a staff member, contact their superior, or equal. Trust me on this (again, however unlikely) if our staff are acting up, we want to know about it immediately, as we might be able to either provide a perspective or even take actions against the staff member in question.
As a last resort only; in the cases that it’s a Game Master who has a dispute with another Roleplayer in your roleplay, and you’ve quite frankly had enough of their difficult behaviour you can apply to have them barred from your roleplay. But we can only do this to people who’ve posted in your roleplay, due to the way this feature is designed, we cannot and will not “pre-emptively” bar people from roleplays.
Conclusion
You don’t have to follow these suggestions, or they might not apply to you. But for those who can make use of them, we hope that it improves your roleplaying experience not only here but in other parts of the Internet.
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