on DALnet -=-
It's bound to happen eventually. You'll go to some search engine
or go to anipike.com and you'll find some place that catches your
attention. That's cool. So you apply... but... how does one
introduce themselves into a channel and get accepted, rather
than get banned? Well Konoko is here to show you the ropes.
I've been in almost every position on IRC channels... general
player, operator, founder, IRCop.. just short of high-level admin
and coding, I've done it all. So in that time, I've seen a lot of
things. Here are a few tips and suggestions to help you ease
your way into the IRC community.
1) Go to the RPG's webpage and read their info. This is really
important, and many newcomers don't do this. They just read the
title and go "hey cool!" and hop in and start acting in ... less than
acceptable manners. Yea... right. Go to the webpage, and b
doing so, you will find out what the channel plot is about, who the
operators are, when the games take place, and most
importantly... is your character taken. You don't know how many
people skip this step, and then go in and look silly. Of course, it
gives people like me something to do *backflips a silly newbie
outta the channel*. ;)
2) Some channels have online applications, others require you
to email the ops, and still others just require you to go to the
chatroom, find the op, talk to them, and sit and watch so that you
get some info on how the game is run. Do what needs to be
done. If they tell you to sit and watch, SIT AND WATCH.
3) When sending in applications, give the operator some time to
deliberate. You might mention to the operator once that you have
a character submission, and then just be a good boy, visit often,
but do NOT bug the operator constantly. You don't know how fast
it will tick off an op to get a message every day asking them if so-
and-so's character is approved. If you don't get a response in a
week, ask once more. If you dun get a response from that,
maybe you need to go some place else. ^^;
4) Wait for the RPG's downtime to introduce yourself as the
player. Do not post personal information online (age, sex, IQ),
especially in the middle of a campaign. It marks you as being an
instant loser and will more than likely get you banned. When no
RPG's are in session, you may want to say hi and say who you
are and so forth.
5) When you DO apply, be somewhat knowledgable about your
character. It's okay to expand on your character a little (I say a
little because I've had operators chew me out on my creativity..
hehe), but it's a totally different thing to start out with Kenshin in a
Xenogears mech fighting bane-spirits from Washu's lab.... NO! I
once had an application sent to me that said that they were Inu
Yasha and that their mission was to hunt down Ranma Saotome
and kill him. Excuse me, but they are from two totally different
universes! If Ranma were in Inu Yasha, the anime, fine. If not,
then don't even try. You'll just aggravate the ops. A lot.
6) When you enter the channel, do not type !list. This is an RPG,
not a friggin F-serv channel. If I have to even tell you this, you're
on the totally wrong place to begin with.
7) Some channels have strict policy on hentai content. Others
won't allow you to co-channel (be in their channel and in a hentai
channel at the same time). Do yourself a favor: Don't run this
risk. If you know that a channel doesn't like hentai, open another
account and do your hentai there. This can be done by double-
clicking on the mIRC icon again.
8) Finally... don't be a lamer and powergame. This is easy for
people who choose to be Kenshin or Washu or any character of
power, but it's especially easy for "original" characters. I'm sorry,
but if you can't play a character that's somewhat weak, then you
have real role playing issues. RPG's are not all about hack 'n
slash. This is a general rule from paper-and-pencil RPG's. Don't
powergame. It's retarded, and it's a quick way to end a RPG, or
more often, get you kickbanned.
Exercise some amount of common sense when you apply for
RPG's. It's really pointless to get banned just cuz you were
stubborn or decided that the rules "don't apply to meeeee". And
for god's sake, obey the operators. Too many times, I've seen
people hop on, trying to do instant role playing, and refuse to
listen to the operators when they tell the offender to stop. I
shouldn't have to tell you what happenned to them. ^^; So may
that be a lesson to all of you: Be good, or be banned. ;)
Anyhoo, that's all from Mai this time around. Feel free to email
me if you have any comments or want me to blab on about
another topic of interest. [TCTF transmission out]
