The Mad
Whether or not to acknowledge non-roleplayers seems to be dealt with on a case by case basis. Keep in mind that some people who may seem to be griefing your roleplay might simply not understand what it is you’re doing and why you’re doing it. People end up on servers for any number of reasons. Every player has a potential to become a roleplayer with the right incentive and encouragement.
However, not every player wants to be a roleplayer. While you may disagree with this and point them to the server’s ruleset, you don’t need to let them ruin your roleplay experience. Blatant OOC speak is often referred to as the gibbering madness, and your character treating such players as incomprehensibly insane is one commonly used RP tactic.
While all Grim characters are expected to be IC in public at all times, including no use of bracketed OOC speak in /say or /yell public channels, pick-up groups or PUGs are generally left to the player’s discretion. Roleplaying within random pick-up groups can lead to very interesting situations. Alternately, one can phrase one’s speech ambiguously to be comprehensible both IC and OOC. Some things which may be considered OOC at first glance, such as many acronyms, are upon further consideration logical extensions of IC language. Even the word “tank”, while generally not preferred by the Grim over vanguard, has always had a place in terms of technology, with actual “tanks” existing in even some of the lowest level areas. Whether or not to roleplay with “the mad” and in what manner is ultimately up to the player, but try to keep in mind the guild you represent and our standards as Grim.
This ideal continues for public organizational channels such as Local Defense and /bg. The ability to ambiguously phrase directions, suggestions, or alerts in a way that can be considered IC and yet is comprehensible to the general cross-server populace is a valuable skill.
– Words from Qabian Amberlight
Former Keeper of The Grim