Logged in vs unavailable (my perspective)

[Jilliana]

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to touch on some things that has been happening with increasing frequency for me.

Being logged out doesn't mean asleep/not around or unavailable.

Some folks see my characters leaving their room or out and about for the first time that day and assume they just rolled out of bed. I'd like to think that they don't lounge in bed for 10+ hours when there are things to loot, enemies to squash and trouble to cause.

Secondly...

A few times one of my characters was chastised for being up all night. I realize that it's a perfectly justifiable concern in character, but it does, at least for me, fall in that line of gameplay that could be ignored more easily than not due to the fact that we're not all in the same time zone. There are also a myriad of reasons why some PCs might want to be up all night but perhaps they don't want to get into them every time someone else brings it up.

I hope these reminders help someone and that they were taken in the spirit in which I intended.

[artus]

Agreed on this, as someone from a close timezone. Not that I've never said you're up all night though, but it's more like you're a nightowl with a shift in sleep routine or unusual one, or that you prefer to be elsewhere during day time whatever blah blah blah.

I usually solve this especially on Arty by saying imma be in the wilds or whatever, somewhere people know they won't find me easily just to make clear I'm not around, though anyone can take it otherwise. It's a common knowledge anyway that logging out can mean anything from sleeping, being away, having crystal off or just focusing on something off screen. I don't know how or why it has to be a deal for people anyway given everyone's from a different time zone, even Americans from states away.

[ThresherAle]

A few times one of my characters was chastised for being up all night.

Just give them the classic, "You're not my real dad, you can't tell me what to do!"

[Jilliana]

Just give them the classic, "You're not my real dad, you can't tell me what to do!"
[/quote]

I wish I would have thought of this. Alas, my MC is a little too nice at times for her own good.

[Gorth]

These fall under unfortunate game-isms, I think. I freely admit that I'll play a character and switch to the other (if I'm playing two characters at the time), if someone calls for them, or something happens that I think the character should be a part of. Caius is just off in his room, getting punched in the face, or whatever he likes to do in private (don't ask (or do)).

Things like that. If I'm AFK, I'm not sleeping. I'm not doing anything else that I didn't say I'm doing. I"m just not in the frame of story, at that second. Et cetera. It's important to not be obnoxious.

I'm not calling anyone obnoxious, by the way. Most people here are pretty good about this stuff. It's just annoying to be slapped in the face with: 'Did you know you're playing a game? Hey! You're playing a roleplaying game! Tjat means that every action has to have a specific meaning!"

[Rilulth]

A few times one of my characters was chastised for being up all night.

The Faewyr have a name for these folk: The Naeturgondur or Nightwalkers in the common tongue.

Night shift has been a pretty common thing for years, I used to work it, so I can agree with this post. I usually tell people I was out of range or they just missed me returning to the inn. Or that yes, I had just rolled out of bed.

[adresin]

I agree with this so much. What if people can only really play on the weekend? Certainly they didn't sleep for days unending!

I rp a good bit with a couple people who are on very different time zones. Personally I don't see anything wrong with acknowledging the characters are night owls, but chastizing IC seems to go a bit too far and ignores things that are really very ooc based. For example, one of my characters was talking to another and they were considering going into combat together. In that case I just said something like, if you feel up to it when you're up and around in the evening, let's do it. I'm not saying that's the only way, but it was the best way I could think of to acknowledge that it was very unlikely the character would be around mid day game time, but not making a huge deal out of it. Not their fault rl night for them is game time middle of the day. If it were me in that situation, I'd hope for a bit of grace.

Similar but a bit different, I stay logged in constantly on one character or another. At night, I'm sleeping oocly, unless the darn cat wakes me up at 3:00 at least! During the day, I'm generally able to know what's going on, but because I work from home I can't usually do a lot of rp. If I'm in meetings that's even more true. My reasonings range from, oh I was dozing, to I was deep in studies, and others. I've been very thankful though that most people just accept it and don't put me in an awkward position of having to explain why I'm there but not really responding much. Of course, I also try not to hang out in high traffic areas when I'm distracted like that, either.

[sapphire]

You have to keep in mind that the game is on mountain time for better or worse, so those characters that do sleep at the normal night hours may see it as concerning or odd. You have to roleplay it out, and not take it so personally on an ooc level. This comes with the time the game is set.

[Gorth]

You have to keep in mind that the game is on mountain time for better or worse, so those characters that do sleep at the normal night hours may see it as concerning or odd. You have to roleplay it out, and not take it so personally on an ooc level. This comes with the time the game is set.

Maybe this isn't intended to suggest that OP is a bad roleplay-er, but it kind of looks that way.

[Jilliana]

You have to keep in mind that the game is on mountain time for better or worse, so those characters that do sleep at the normal night hours may see it as concerning or odd. You have to roleplay it out, and not take it so personally on an ooc level. This comes with the time the game is set.

As the title of this thread said, it's merely my perspective. However, some have expressed a like mind. It was also pointed out that it does have the tendency to shatter immersion for some of us - even those who are on the continent as the game's server.

Folks may do what they may with this thread. It is my hope that we find a way to compromise and respect each other's roleplay in a way that works for everyone not playing at typical times.