Here is something Zero (Ice) and I threw together at an old forum we went to. They are some standard rules for newcomers, and might help to teach new people proper RP usage.
Edit by Samui: I have revised this post to make it more readable and up to date.Here are some basic rules to follow:
* You
must have a character profile.
* Dialogue must be shown by using quotation marks.
* Use punctuation marks, capitalize proper nouns and first words in sentences, spell out entire words. You're essentially writing a story, not texting your friends.
* Rules must be stated and followed.
* No controlling topics unless the one who started them has been absent for at least a month. Also be sure there is still interest in the RP, and that you do have consent.
Godmoding is absolutely
forbidden. Simply put, godmoding is excessive cheating in roleplay. Not being injured, gaining far too much power, or taking over the entire RP to your own liking. This is also used to make a move without the counterpart saying anything about it.
Godmode Archive, assembled by many:
* Automatically hurting somebody
* Not taking or showing any damage
* Creating Chaos Emeralds out of thin air and using them to power up plasma
* Having Ultimate Speed and Strength
* Not drowning or suffocating, recovering after strong attacks too quickly
* No DBZ crap like a huge beam called the Hawaiin King Blaster
* Making an Ultimate Character
* Using unlisted elements
* Having the power to be invincible
* Creating sheilds that can't be broken
* Stealing other attacks and multiplying strength to much
* Controlling the opponent's character
* Making an ulitma combo
* Stealing opponent's item and invoking it's power to become "All Mighty"
* Reviving using an emerald
* Having a ultimate unlisted attack making everyone die
* Also, if anyone uses the Lotus from Naruto, they will be punished.
* To attack someone without reading the entire thing and attacking without them replying. -Zero
Here are some basic layouts of roleplaying. There are several ways people do this, but sometimes others get annoyed. The main ways of roleplay are First Person, Third Person (narration), Script, and "Live Action".
First Person is when you role play from the point of view of the character you are using. This is generally most common with users that use one character, as playing from the views of two or more characters can be confusing to do, or just a bother to make color codes and remember them all, unless you have global colors for characters, which many do. Generally, try to use first person when you are using one character, and try to remember that you are doing this from the point of view of the character you control, such as using "I", "My" and other self appointed words. Example:
I held out the tip of my sword and stared into the face of the enemy. He smirked, walked to me, and put his arm around my shoulder. "How've you been?"
Third Person is role playing as if they were writing a story, which is a huge majority of what people use. It's very easy to control many characters at once this way because you narrate movements. Different characters, weapons, and abilities can be deciphered easy this way because names of characters are stated often. This is best for controlling many characters, and if you have detailed writing.
Laughing darkly, Character I walked to a dusty alter. He went to Character II, and slapped him. "Where were you yesterday?"
Script-form role paying is the use of stating a characters names before you actually say something. Script is used very rarely, except for most beginners or those who cannot be that descriptive. A standard script setup is as follows:
Char I: Sup
Char II: Not Much
Char III: DUDES
Char I: Yeah?
Char III: Whats up?
Char II: ...
As you can see, quotation marks are clearly uneeded, since it is stayed when a character speaks. As well, script movement usually uses asterisks or some other form of notation to show movement in a character. Another example, of actions:
Char I: *walks forward*
Char II: *raises his hand*
Char I: *high-fives Char II*
"Live Action" role play is generally seen within instant messanger or chat programs. In this programs, if no commands are available, actions are noted with asterisks. All speaking is used as a standard text, since the only actual actions that occur have asterisks, which will mark when you are doing an action. For those who do not know, an asterick is a * . Example:
> DUDE!
> * Walks up to a wall*
> SUP?!
This post can be updated if necessary.
Edit by Samui (2/17/2010): Cleaned up post.