Aberrant: 2011 - Courtesy

[Kittie]

Please feel free to add your own preferences to this. In the interests of trying to keep fictions running as smoothly as possible, here are my suggestions for courtesies that should be extended by and for the participants. By and large, it's about communication, but some things need to be mentioned specifically.

-NPCs. If another character creates an NPC, don't write for them. Ask. You may be completely off-base with any assumptions you make, especially if they have plans for said NPC to be a recurring part of their character's life (like a mentor).

-Consent. If you're writing a fiction with someone, discuss whether or not consent will be lifted for the duration, or for specific events. There's nothing like writing a thrilling action scene, only to be told "It bounces off/He dodges flawlessly/A falling anvil blocks it." Conversely, it'd suck out loud to log in and find that your character (who was having a picnic on the lawn last you checked) is suddenly being required to try to survive in the black void of space, where he's just been hurled.

-Meta-gaming. Don't do it. There's no excuse. You know the villain has an area-of-effect quantum death ray, but unless there's a really good reason for your character to know (not a manufactured one), don't RP them as if they do.

-Goals. If you're involved in a fiction, and you've discussed the story arc... Don't deviate from it without warning the other player.

-Losing. Sometimes, you do. We all want to look cool, but if you always look cool, well... You really don't. You'll gain a hell of a lot more respect, in my estimation, if your character isn't always Billy/Brenda Badass in their interactions with other characters.

-Mechanics. If you're using die rolls, quantum points, willpower, or any other number-crunching goodness, use quote tags to indicate actions, results, etc. It prevents a lot of confusion and annoyance when people don't have to ask how, exactly, your character caught the flaming meteor and crushed it to a fine powder with his bare hands.

If any of you can think of more, by all means, add to the list. This isn't, however, a thread for bickering, complaining, or flaming, so, please... If you don't have anything worthwhile to contribute here, find something witty to write in the shoutbox instead.