Roleplay by definition:
"to assume the attitudes, actions, and discourse of (another), esp. in a make-believe situation in an effort to understand a differing point of view or social interaction."
EDIT: Role-playing Game by definition:
"a game in which participants adopt the roles of imaginary characters in an adventure under the direction of a Game Master."
Since I play my accepted role under the given circumstances of real life, I can as well play my accepted role under the circumstances of this community.
That way I can experiance myself in another world?
Whatever.
Roleplay for me is a kind of behaviour that fits into the surroundings. If it doesn't fit, it feels wrong to me.
' Wrote:for those who missed it: the moral of it all is ----> traders with teeth are fun for pirates. - within reason.
' Wrote:Since I play my accepted role under the given circumstances of real life, I can as well play my accepted role under the circumstances of this community.
That way I can experiance myself in another world?
A lot of truth in the statement and we still find a way to fit some container, though it is mostly self-defined. Being a Player and a Game Master for several years had almost made it a vocation in a way, there is some sort of "love for your work" that really doesn't make it work at all. It embodies some of your love for self, the love for community and accepting one-another within it.
Definitions of fun come in all sorts of different packages and sometimes it can be frustrating if you want to do something that is unacceptable by the community who is playing. Sure, it might be time to step away and reconsider. Know that the community of players will still be here when you're done being abrasive. :D
Hmm, the most important thing is that roleplay starts in your very mind.
It's the same like an actor do, simplified.
Sadly a lot of players think that 'inventing' a story is roleplay, it is not. It is just an addition.
@Michael Trenton: You should not link to external sources bound to particular national points of view.
Roleplay also includes a chain of causes-and-effects. When the effects don't match the causes, that's when something is wrong and it must be examined. When people judge the effects as being wrong even though they do fit the causes, then there is a break in roleplay that should be addressed.
In a way, roleplay is art. If you create a character, that's already art, because you use your imagination to picture one specific character and then you try to show your character to other roleplayers through words to make them see the character the way you (want them to) see it.
Each RP conversation is art, even though it can be brief. RP is a fun art, because you are not the only artist performing. It needs improvisation, a sense of your ego and the other roleplayers' ego to create a successful bit of roleplay. Sometimes you need to know when to give the others some space and sometimes you need to grasp the initiative. You need a good sense of subliminal cooperation with the other players to get the "fun" out of roleplay. The "fun" is the result of the synergy between the players' plots, even if they are actually playing each other's arch nemesis roles.