Private RP's?

[Envin]

Since there are such things as PRIVATE RP's on other boards (yes, GASP, fellow CoG'ers) and since we are garnering quite a bit of new folk from such sites, I think that we should set some ground rules. If you absolutely have to have a certain thread(s) kept private, i.e. RP'ed by you and a select person or persons, then please state as much in the very first post in an OOC division. However, even though sometimes privacy can be a good thing, please do not take it to the extreme and ONLY post in private RP. We want to interact with you and see you out and about on the board. If someome posts that a certain thread(s) is private, then please respect that and PM that person prior to posting in that thread. I would personally like to see a few people RP'ing in their own thread, and if it is obvious that their subject matter is a well-developed story or is very personal to that character, or in any way is obvious AT ALL that the RP is only for certain characters, then I would hope that our membership would have the brains and decency to keep their noses out, and to not make a PRIVATE disclaimer neccessary. We'll see how it goes. Don't disappoint me, folks. Let's keep the good ole free-form spirit of CoG alive, by respecting other people's feelings and wishes. How else can a family get along?

[Saeren]

I just want to say that there are some private rp's we've been doing, mainly covering back stories, otherwise....Okay, with the cynicism of 5 years of rp-ing. ..... No, in general, I do not mind people inserting themselves into a story, but not just for the hell of it, not from boredom, not to just start a fight, I'm really p*ssed off with that by this stage.
I can see from the way people write on here, that they appreciate good stories, well so do I. But if some-one wants to just pop into a thread to show they're hard and not scared, just please... don't do it. A good writer can insert themselves into any thread, any story, with my blessing, but not just because you don't like Saeren and you want to have a pop at him. I'm bored of that, sorry. Make it interesting, make it reasonable. Primarily I am interesting in developing complex, and LONG-RUNNING stories, and characters, not logging in and thinking ' Oh f*ck , some-ones attacking me. ' Personal vendetta's and hatreds are interesting, just having to waste time on a battle post because some-one's bored, no, I cannot be arsed any longer. Take Saeren off and torture him, if you're strong enough, just don't bore me to death.
I've dropped all but one, long-long-long running site , for this, because of the quality of posters like Nuruytave, Morsereg, Chi Gandir, Feanor, now, because I enjoy reading their posts just as much as writing on here. But yes, I am jaded, after years. I've allowed people to be my characters sons, daughters, etc, only to find that Saeren would definitely have drowned such limp-wristed, fluff puffs at birth, and I have seen way too many girls just obviously posting threads so some guy can go and talk to her. If a female character is interesting enough, I'll find a way to talk to her, but falling over at my feet with a sprained ankle ( joke from elsewhere ) is not going to work.
It's all to do with the quality and imagination of the poster, I'll rp with any-one interesting, and I intend to get out and about more, but I like to scene-set and back-story and do some characterization , before I stagger round posting in far different locations. If I can't believe in my character, due to sheer laziness on my part, not delving into him, I can't get up any interest, and that goes for me and others, so yeah, I spend quite a lot of time doing that before I rp seriously. But I think the threads where we are doing things which are obviously private, ( like going back through memories ) are obvious enough, nothing else is really that private.
Only don't just decide you are bored, you hate Saeren and want to kill him. At this stage I'm fed up to the teeth with it! . No, he's not a nice character, nice characters bore me , but there a re a lot more evil ones, if that annoys new people, then possibly they are not understanding anything about ROLE-PLAYING, and need to have it explained in words of one syllable. I am not meaning to cause offence, but I've got to the stage where I will not waste my time with that sort of thing. That's one of the reasons I came back here,

[Cerridwen]

I do not mind any-one joining in, if it's interesting, I am not much for small talk. Although I completely agree with these pointless battles And I hope we do not have again, on this site, a bunch of kids who decide they don't like Saeren. Well, my little poppet's, for Saeren, or his character, please blame me. I want him to be like this. I am sure he has fun, but it was me who said, '' Make a character, like this, dark, charismatic, sexy, cruel, twisted, complicated . A man like I think men should be, capable of anything, but oozing passion . And rather ambiguous sexually, that's always a turn on. ( come on, I'm an adult woman, not a girl! )
After all this is supposed to be fun, isn't it? And fantasy? And then, as soon as he posted on another site, these kids were saying they hated him. He might laugh, I could knock their heads together for being stupid. I am not so perverted I would eagerly have some-one kidnap me and just torture me,- I know some girls will do anything for the attention, but not me, it should have some point to it, - because that lacks one basic ingredient to make things interesting, but otherwise, if it's dramatic, I will do it, and if not, Saeren and co will always make things interesting anyway. I always thought private rp was just when two dull people were married in their house, as far as I am concerned, people needn't worry about my reaction if they post in a thread where I am to speak to another person on it, I'll work around it, or leave so the others can talk.

[Morsereg Dîndaedel]

I am in the same spot as you are. If anyone can insert themself into a plotline I'm in and make it MAKE SENSE, then they're welcome, just know that unless you plan on giving your service to, or becoming the ally of, Morsereg, he will undoubtedly try to kill you. I do not consider ANY RP "private", unless it's sort of an intimate thing between friends, lovers, etc. For example, the "Old Habits Die Hard" thread with Chi'Gandir and Nurutyave. If anyone wishes to join, I request that you wait a couple of posts so that Chi and Nuru can reaquaint themselves, and then if anyone wants to join in and cause a ruckus you are more than welcome if it makes sense.

[Anwyn]

I can understand the need for keeping threads private at times though I can think of only one time that I did so otherwise I have abseloutely no problem with people showing up as long as they basically do not materilize out of thin air. Too many times on other sites I have spent alot of time on post/plot only to have some kid walk straight in and write [post] (Insert Character name) enters and says "Hello"[/end post] and that point I just let the thread slip away to the bottom of the page and disappear becuase rarely can I find the patience to even bother but its the ackward RPG equiliviant of being cornered on the street by someone you don't want to talk to who is trying to hold a conversation with you and the entire time is spent wishing they would get the hint and go away. If it becomes a constant thing, where every singe thread is private and not open to anyone I may begin to wander what the deal is but truthfully, I have never seen that happen either.

I work with children (8-18) so I spend a good deal of my day dealing with the tears, temper tantrums, name calling and other deal of silly stuff where they are simply looking for attention where I just sit back and let them have their cry, becuase they are abseloutely fine (For the most part, I do act when they are not). When I come home and away from it I don't need to come to the boards and see more of it, people simply striding into threads and throwing out pointless challenges and insults, Generally being a pest so that a character will notice them. They abseloutely cannot write it seems unless someone takes them by the hand and leads them through it. There should be a huge board someone where all people who write like that can go and enjoy each others one sentance/word posts becuase I most certainly do not.

[Feanor]

Lol, after reading all this I feel so small and insignificant. I'm 15! So I feel like I am grouped into the category of my fellow age group RPers who give you this. ( Walks up to her." Hello." Looks at her body) Ok when you guys say private that's what I have to think of! I was stuck on 18th string RPG sites where the plot was seeing how many girls you could get with. Which I have no problem with, if the words they were using didn't make it seem like cheesy low core porn! So naturally upon receiving the email to this site I was nervous and turns out it is good! Anywho about the Private Threads we are talking about, I think really there should be no need to ever mar them private, but please let me explain. If the person who would like to post there simply takes the time to read the whole thread, which I hope to god they do, then they will be able to tell if it's private or not. Most aren't like Cerridwen pointed out. You can always simply work with an entrance post if it's good. So basically I am completely agreeing with you all!

And if this didn't make sense just blame it on me being 15 year old and part of the 'not so good RPer' category. lol.

[Anwyn]

I have to applogize, I should not have generalized with the age thing though with the group of people that I work with, they are very immature for the most part for various reasons including that there parents let them act that way though I have also met people a great deal younger than me that act older as well, It can most definately sway both ways.

I have also seen the cheesy low grade porn sites as well, Its depressing watching girls pretending as though some some random guy panting and pawing at her is some kind of tremendous turn on. One site had a private forum just for the sake of having threads like that. On an RPG board the term "private" should mean a story moving between select characters, not private in the sense of "Oh no! Please don't read this, we don't want you to!" Get over it, Its a an RPG board and anyone can do a google search and find it using the right keywords. I don't understand the point of posting something to the internet that you don't want anyone else reading it.

[Saeren]

When I started rp-ing, I would talk to any-one, absolutely any-one - until I realized, with slowly dawning horror, that these were 13 year olds who knew nothing about Tolkien save watching the films, and if they were girls, giggling over Legolas. Now, I am not imputing to Feanor that being young means being ignorant or immature, because I was not either, I was born middle aged, into a very literate family.
Basically, some people have good writing skills and are very mature, - I would not have pegged Feanor at 15, but let's face it, such posters are in the minority, if you can find one, encourage them, for heavens sake!
Anyway, I began like Anwyn, to withdraw from such puerile postings, gradually, with my partner, discovered a handful of people who could actually write, and knew Tolkien - a handful over 5 years, is a bit pathetic, really - so at first I am very chary of rp-ing with some-one I don't know, I prefer to read their posts a while, and get to know their character. I cannot be having for one moment with this huge amorphous blob of kids who cannot characterize, spell, or make any effort to have a personality which belongs in Middle Earth. My time is not limitless, I WILL choose who I post to. Most kids on these sprawling big pointless sites are trying to pair up, or picks fights, God knows why, because at both they look stupid.
Obviously I find it easy to play with Cerridwen or my old school friend, since mainly we can talk face to face, and get a plot or story going, and they help, not hinder. It's a bit like fanfic but contributed to by more than one person, in rough, then posted out.
Posters of the caliber of Morsereg, Chi gandir and Nurutyave, and Anwyn, who I met on yet another pointless site, are rare as hens teeth. We'll all get around to being around the board, but I'm very much into laying a solid foundation for my characters, not relying only on a bio, but putting them through stories, which often do involve only one or two other people, to begin with anyway .
I am more of a writer than a role player, really, but I am not being stand-offish with people, I'm just getting to know others through their posts before deciding, how, where, when and why, I could meet them, and how to react with them, let's be honest, these people mentioned above, are not going to be standing over a garden fence with a hoe as you happen to walk by, they're more likely to do something alot more lethal, these is not tea and buns with the vicars wife sort of people.
I've made up my mind, that one day I will write enough about a character that some-one will actually be able to see an overview of the, not like, on most sites, you spend six solid months of posting about some-ones personality and abilities etc, just to have some wanker ignore it all because they want to pick a fight. I've had it with that, no more time wasting for me!
As for the low grade porn sites, well they're so obviously written by very hard up teenagers, it's hard not to laugh, before posting something that actually shows you know what your on about,as in: Read this, and learn, twonk! I've done it out of sheer annoyance that these people play apparent adults but act like teenagers after too much cider going at it, badly, awkwardly, and very boringly, let's be honest. Even their more er... kinky interludes are actually wrong, physically, wrongly done, wrongly responded to
I'm all for passion and esoteric lust, but only a very bad writer needs to crayon it out in huge four letter words on their screen.
It's funny, but depressing, frankly. Sometimes what is implied is more effective than any amount of hard core description. Too much crap like that and it utterly looses any impact, any-way, it desensitizes the reader and is totally boring, just like watching too much porn, or seeing endless naked breasts in Ibiza, it really does loose its initial titillation after a while!

[Chi'Gandir]

Well thank you for the praise, Saeren. I guess I should inform you that I am only fourteen.

Had to get that out and see everyone's reactions.

[Anwyn]

Indeed, Thank you very much.

Most of my reasoning for opting to have a private RPG thread or even go as far as a locked board do have reason, I'm not just sitting back and saying "Hmmm, nope...you are crap, goodbye" Okay, well sometimes, yes. Its just that after years of writing, not just LOTR, other themes as well that you learn the sterotypes, and that is a mayjor pet peeve for me ESPICALLY when you are drawing from a source as pure as Toilken, Its often said and widely known that he just didn't write the stories, he wrote a history, he wrote of the peoples, there are few details that were left untouched. Its all there. and I find it fascinating but incredibly irritating that there are so many people that refuse to use what they have.

How many times have I seen a Hobbit just randomly pick up and leave the shire, though it is made (I think so at least) really clear that they like to keep to themselves and avoid the outside world, but since Sam and Frodo did it, it MUST be alright....right? Or elves that are seemingly born with a bow in there hands, Becuase Legolas did it in the movie and he was incredible and all that. I can really compare it to being offered a trip to a place full of culture and life, but instead opting staying at home and going to the mall because its easy I'm not going to claim to be an export, there is still alot that I don't know but I am more than willing to learn. Too often have I run into people with glaring mistakes, and while I may gently try to prompt them to do there research slightly better, more often than not I am met with a brick wall.

Teenagers are...Teenagers, I work with teeangers. They are strange creatures, Its hard to believe that I was ever one becuase even when I was 16 I most certainly was not out chasing around boys and looking silly in shoes that I couldn't walk in. Its an intresting time devolopmentally becuase you are coming into your own, growing to the person you will be and its a time with experimentation with roles. They want to be there own person, but still seek acceptance so they chance to what will be pleasing to the majority.

I know I am not alone in saying that I don't have the patience to constantly reassure and hold hands, and that is what some of these kids are doing "So and So was a beatiful elven princess who lived in a peaceful place, and she was an excellent warrior as well, even though she never had to fight" Alright, slightly excerated there but I see it way too many times and its making me want to pull my hair out. Most of these kids are looking for attention, Its really as simple as that. They constantly write themselves into danger, and look for someone to come rescue for them. For a while I played that game, not anymore.

I get those people PM'ing me, I don't want to say all the time so lets just go with fairly often, telling me that they think I am a great RP'er and asking if I would RP with them, even if there is abseloutely NO fesiable reason that the characters should even meet so I will put in the effort to be met with 2 lines of script, and I say script, dialogue with no character, Just words.

LOL, I love it when these teenage characters hook up becuase its just so...wrong, for lack of a better word. I have read somethings where I have had to sit there and use my knowledge of anatomy to consider if what they are doing is even physically possible, becuase there have been sometimes. Its even better when they seem to think it makes them adult becuase they are ACTING adult, and not many adults that I know throw themselves at each other for no reason. If a guy came up to me and spoke in very broken sentances with a puffed out chest like some of the male characters, I am more liable to fall over laughing at him than throw him down.

...and in closing, this is why private RP's are most certainly a good thing.