So I've been looking through the RP forums lately and I've noticed that there is an infinite supply of private threads, invite threads, invasion threads, dominion threads, development threads, faction threads, duel threads... All sorts of threads! :)

...Except for open public threads. :(

The 'Open Role-Playing Forum' seems to be lacking something lately, and that is the color green for "go". So I've been wondering why this is. Why do we mute the public in our RP world?

Do we despise writing with others? <no comment>
Do we despise conflict? No. We obviously have a plethora of invasions and duels and dominions.
Do we despise conflict we can't control? I think we're getting warmer!

Oh, by the way... I want to talk to you about RP! :D

First off: What is RP?
'RP' stands for 'roleplay', as you may have figured out at this point. It is the concept of escaping yourself for a brief period and imagining yourself as some other person--in this case, some other person in a galaxy far, far away who gets to use awesome technology that we don't quite have here yet. In short, you are assuming the personality of a person you will never be. (And in the case of you Sithies... Man, we sure hope you will never be that guy! :D )
Now you are a person! :p A person who lives a life! Because that's what persons do. They live lives and do stuff. Pretending to do this is RP.

Next: What is life?
No, this is not some philosophical question. This is about what you (a person) experience every day. If you are roleplaying a person who lives a life, there are things that happen.
What things happen? Random things! Things you have absolutely no control over! Sure, you can schedule that picnic in the nice park with the pretty girl (The Weather Channel says it will be a gloriously sunny day! That means rainy. :p ), but how do you know your buddy Greedo won't show up and spoil your whole day? How dare he interrupt your five-post monologue! Or what if the wind blows your toupee off? Bummer, dude.
Don't act all holy over there! I know this has happened to you before!
You mean it hasn't?
But surely you've written something like this in that scripted closet thread of yours before!
You mean you didn't even get to use that speech you had planned to bore her with if she said that specific trigger line that would make even Anakin puke?
Well, crud!

Now what?
Is that girl pretty? *nods*
Do you want to be friends with a pretty girl? *assumes you do*
What are you going to do? She knows your biggest secret! You are really Bruce Willis in disguise!
Now you have to go figure out how to convince her that Bruce Willis is really an awesome thing to be. Like Chuck Norris, but not quite. ;)
Oh, by the way... Greedo is trying to steal your picnic food. You know that your female friend likes those cookies your mom bakes. Greedo cannot take all the cookies or you will not look like the Bruce Willis you sort of are! But *gasp* he has the Super Soaker Nerf Airsoft Bubble Gun! How will you survive and prove yourself capable of pulling off the no-hair thing? Will you make friends or worst enemies with Greedo? Will that Will Ferrell guy be allowed to show up for once and get you on TV like you always dreamed? Will that crazy stalker guy offer you Foo Fighters tickets this time instead of his usual death sticks?

Find out next time when you dare to go Public and enter that wonderful world of I-don't-know-what-will-happen-next-but-that's-what-makes-things-interesting!!!


Woof woof! :)