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From watching the interactions between the “based on canon” SW twitterverse tweepers and the OCs, (Original Characters) it’s gradually becoming apparent that some guidelines should be laid out to help keep everyone on the same footing. These are by no means RULES, because really, the only way we can enforce them is for everyone to band together and block/unfollow someone. And that takes a whole lot of effort.
The following is a simple “dos and don’ts” checklist. Remember, you don’t have to follow these if your really don’t want to, but it may help your interactions with others following a more canon trend. If you want to be taken seriously on any level, these can’t hurt, only help.
Dos:
Put a little thought into your character. You can simply play as yourself (I did originally) but as things go along and you get more involved in the storylines, it’s nice to have a solid background for your character.
Respect the character hierarchy. Revan, Darth Traya, The Exile, Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, Obi-wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, Yoda, Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade, Cade Skywalker, Darth Talon… these are characters who are known for being incredibly powerful. Walking up to one and going “I throw a house on you!” *because I am more powerful then u are* is a fast ticket to ignoreville. And some people you just shouldn’t mess with. Revan? Traya? Talon? Vader? These people by the laws of canon should be able to rip off your face and stuff your ego down your throat like stuffing a turkey. If one of them comes up to me threateningly I’m going to run away like a little bitch, because even though my character isn’t supposed to be weak, I’m not going to even pretend my little OC can walk with the big dogs. Also remember that the “canon” characters run the show. If most of the canon characters decide you’re annoying them IRL (in real life) and they ignore you, chances are the rest of us will too. (Just ask @SarlaccBeast if you don’t believe me.)
Get involved in “community” projects. We have parties, set up fun dramas, and plan out epic battle scenes from time to time; being available for these and throwing in your offer to help here and there can get your dragged into storylines pretty quickly.
Accept that in our storylines, some of your canon relationships aren’t present. You’ve got KotOR characters, the classic movie characters, the prequel characters, Expanded universe and Legacy characters all playing at the same time. We’re okay with it, you should be too. Anakin (@Every1HatesAni) and Padme (@every1luvspadme) aren’t married anymore, and both are seeing other people. Cade (@cadeskywalker) is in love with his canon love, Blue(@Deliah_Blue) AND an OC, Kitty(@draconicdreams) who is also his apprentice. Did I mention he ALSO has a harem of beautiful women both canon(@azlynrae) and OC(@discogryff, @DarthSarah, @Biddygirl)? Who all get along? Yes, I know you’re thinking it, Cade is a lucky bastard.
Do be up front about your age. Not all of us are in our 20s, 30s and 40s; many of us were mature young. But if you are under 16, much of what we say could theoretically get us in trouble as we are adults. Being up front about your age means we’ll tailor how we act towards you to be age appropriate; if we find out later that you’re actually 13 chances are we will feel very uncomfortable and simply block you from our tweets. I mean it, I’ve done it.
Don’ts:
Don’t be a “MAI PWER LVL IS 5000 U CANT DEFEET ME” type. Some canon characters can do things that the rest of us just shouldn’t be able to. Using the force to levitate plates? Sure, that’s cool. Bringing someone back to life from the very brink of Death? I’m sorry, but the only person who should be able to do that, according to canon, is Cade Skywalker.
Don’t take anything IC (In Character) seriously out of character. If you can’t differentiate between the real world and the twitterverse, you shouldn’t be playing a game that immerses you in imagination. If someone is cursing you out in character, don’t assume they actually hate you out of character. And if someone says in character that they love you, don’t form an obsession with them and fall madly in love out of character. That’s usually a bad idea. And remember… you never know what the gender of the person playing a character is. Your lovely princess Leia may actually be a trucker named Morton who just happens to like hairbuns.
Don’t send private messages to other players insulting their playing style or how well they play a character. Most of us know how to screenshot and will delight in humiliating you by posting screenies of you being whinier then Luke and Anakin combined. And if you’re going to send any of the #Cadesharem girls hatemail, keep in mind you will be pissing off ALL of them. (This happens far too often.)
DON’T TELL SOMEONE HOW TO PLAY. You can ask @Luke__Skywalker all about that one… people don’t like being told what to do.
Don’t use out of character information. I know it seems a silly request, but things ARE more fun if the things we say in brackets (ß- brackets -à) are kept “unknown” by the characters. It makes it easier to set up fun events.
Don’t do things that would normally shatter physics. If you’re in hyperspace, flying between Tatooine and Dantooine, then spontaneously “slapping” someone on Coruscant… is just… um. NO. We’re very forgiving of where and when you are, much of the RP is done under the impression that we all have a massive comm system and constantly chatter with one another or randomly. People seem to pop between locations and conversations like we have natural teleportation; it takes a bit to get used to but we all accept it. But if you’re on the Star Forge having dinner with Revan, and someone on the Mynock knocks something over, tweeting *helps you pick everything up again* would be a physicsbreaker. Will most people say anything about it? Probably not, but they ARE rolling their eyes. It’s a good way to make people less interested in interacting with you.
If you have any Dos or Don’ts you think belongs on this account, feel free to @DraconicDreams, and I’ll see about adding it here. :)
