The Line Between IC and OOC

I don't think there are many things MUSH-related that vex me as much as witnessing one player tell another how to play their character. Usually this is derived from some personal inclination that dictates that the person giving the lecturing feels that if that were THEIR character, THEY'D play it like...

What vexes me more is when people take IC matters personally OOCly. For example, when Character A insults Character B, and then Player B decides to take it as a personal slight. That's where the line between that which is In Character, and that which is Out Of Character, must be drawn.

Most people on Chiaroscuro can see the line clearly. A few people I've encountered over the last four years have never been able to make it out quite as well. At times, a few people can be forgiven for forgetting it's there.

In case there's any confusion, though, I'll mark that line clearly:

YOU ARE NOT YOUR CHARACTER!

This seems a simple enough concept. While you do tend to adopt the persona of your character to some extent OOCly on channel and so forth by virtue of people associating certain traits of that character with you, at the end of the day it's important to note that you are not the character you play. If your character has been insulted, it is your character that has been insulted and not you, the player. If you character is killed, you - the player - don't die.

This works when applied to other people, too. Check it out:

OTHER PLAYERS ARE NOT THEIR CHARACTER!

It's an important point to remember. I may RP my character as being a complete jackass who has no respect for your character. That doesn't mean that *I'M* a complete jackass that has no respect for YOU. My character might harbor a blood-vendetta against your character. That doesn't mean that I hold any intention of hunting you down in real life and murdering you.

If someone's doing something IC that you don't like, deal with it ICly. It might just be that the person that's ICly annoying you is doing it as part of their character's development. It might just be that they're just *waiting* for a chance to have someone take their character down a peg or two. Or it might just be the way they want to RP that character. Not everyone in the world is all about fluffy kittens and pretty flowers, after all.