Recently, we've been noticing a substantial increase in people going Out-Of-Character (OOC) using //text or Party chat routinely. This is an RP server, and the goal is to stay IC as much as is possible. Constantly going OOC is at best annoying, and at worst, disruptive.

So, here's a few examples of when it is and isn't appropriate to go OOC.

Yes

- You need to alert your party to something OOC, such as needing to go AFK.

- You need to discuss something of an OOC nature, such as a bug.

- You need to make the occasional clever remark. Like drinking, when done in moderation, this is fun as opposed to cripplingly painful.

No

- Using Party chat to babble on with pointless conversations, complaining, emotes, etc. This is mostly annoying to DMs, as the server shows the DMs everything said in party chat against their will, and when they're trying to do something and are being spammed with crap it's pretty irritating. However, it's also often annoying to other players to have to filter through this.

- Using //text or Party chat to say things that you could/should say IC. Such as coordinating quests. For example, [Party] Want to do hobgoblins? or "//I need to rest first" is ridiculous, since you could and should say these things IC, and it would take the same amount of effort.

- Using OOC comments to instruct your party on what to do. Such as //heal me pls while you're bleeding, or [Party] Ok, I killed the X, come to me now. This is metagaming as well as being pointless and lame. Don't do it!

These are just a few examples, but the general idea should be clear.

We're looking forward to seeing less of this. Some of the players proliferating this behavior don't always read the board, so do your part and politely explain IC/OOC to them if you notice it IG.