Keeping OOC Speak out of RP

We've all done it, we've all heard it. Little things that seem innocent enough, but can actually disrupt immersion for fellow RPers. The purpose of this guide is to point out some of the most common to the more obscure examples and provide alternatives to keep from interrupting the flow of RP.

"By the Eastern Stars."

On November 18, 1883, America's railroads began using a standard time system involving four time zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific. Time Zones are established, and do not need to be referred to as if we were all Sailors in the early 1700's. The server lore exists in the Eastern Time Zone, so having to reiterate the time zone is redundant, and you just sound silly. If you say "The store opens at 6pm" it should be understood by all that you mean 6pm Eastern.

"What's your Lucky Number?"

When passing items to other players, trading horses, or paying someone, you need their Player ID Number in many of these transactions. But, asking people what their lucky number is can off-putting to many players, and in most cases, completely unnecessary. You don't need to ask. If you press and hold Z or right-click and focus on the person in question, their player ID will be shown.

"I need to go in my head for a minute."

Sometimes we need to take a break from RP for a myriad on reasons. Food intermissions, Bathroom Breaks, needing to let the dogs out, etc. However, no one says 'I need to go in my head' without catching funny looks, so it just sounds bizarre in roleplay. If you need to excuse yourself, come up with a reason that makes sense in RP, tuck yourself away somewhere, and do what you need to do. Here's some examples:


"I'm getting hungry, I'm gonna head to the saloon for a bit."

"Can we stop by a bush or an outhouse? I'm about to burst!" 

         - These are ideal if you need to go afk for a few minutes, regardless of the OOC reason.


"Hey, I need to rummage through my satchel for something."
         - This is a perfect one if you only need a brief moment to handle something before resuming RP.


"Man, I'm getting tired. Think I'm gonna turn in."
         - Even if you're not actually tired, sometimes something comes up that you need to log off to deal with.

This is better that saying things like "The dogs in my head are barking" or "I have nightmares in the morning". By introducing OOC reasoning into RP, it creates a situation where a character seems more like a self-insert, and that your IRL is bleeding into your character's reasoning. 

» However, we do understand that emergencies come up and there may be no way to explain in an IC way that you need to log off. This is where utilizing the /OOC feature or reaching out via DMs helps foster communication without breaking immersion for your fellow players.

Explaining Commands and Keybinds.

This can be a tough one because everyone wants to be helpful and tell newer players how to accomplish something. However, saying things like "Flex your X Muscle", "Think about 'slash pvp' to get feisty", and other things of this nature just sound unnatural because this isn't how people speak in a normal situation. There's plenty of ways to explain certain mechanics in an In-Character way that doesn't sound awkward in RP.

Here are a few examples that Mags will often use in character; certain things are said with emphasis to suggest keybinds/commands to help the other player.
• "When you're shifting your weight forward on your horse-..." - Mags will often do this during horseback riding explanations, indicating the need for using the shift key as you progress your horse forward.
• "I see you're stuck. Just EXhale and relax." - Mags will almost always use this to explain using the X keypress when stuck in an animation or menu.

However, if you're struggling to find a way to explain something, you can always DM the person in question the link to our 'Emotes, Keybinds, & Commands' guide.

References to Streaming or Recording.

There should be no reason to make a reference to your stream while in roleplay. References to 'Twitchy Eyes', 'Eyes in the clouds', or any other related references are both immersion breaking and encourages metagaming or stream sniping. You may risk players behaving differently than they normally would because they're now aware that there's an audience outside the game that is privy to the roleplay. It may even lead players to think you're trying to shift RP a certain way by mentioning you're streaming.

In regards to recording your gameplay, ideally everyone knows and understands that someone is probably recording ongoing RP. If something occurs that was funny, a rule break, or may need to be remembered later, consider reaching out in your DMs to ask about the situation and not asking in roleplay things like "You remembering this?" It just sounds bizarre.  

"Discordia / Federal Telegrams"

One wouldn't think this needs to be mentioned, but some of us on staff have lost count of how often we have heard it used. If you need to message someone on discord, please use the /OOC function to ask for this information, or reach out in the FSRP discord's community chat to ask if you can DM them there. Also, as a note, we are strictly enforcing that "Letters" or "Telegrams" sent through Discord DMs do not count as in character information and will be recognized as Metagaming if that information is used ICly. Our server has a functioning in game telegram system, and all in character communications should remain in server.