I tend to roleplay controvercial topics. I tend to take seriously the fact that AOL's chats demand that you admit you are 18+ before you're allowed to use them. I don't like being policed. I don't like being censored. And I don't like OOC and IC power being in the hands of the same player.

 

I've been a forum admin, I've hosted popular online role-playing game servers for Ultima Online, Neverwinter Nights, and other virtual environments including Second Life for about as long as I've known how to emote or write.

 

Below are some of the main issues I've found with 'Organized SL's.

 

Admin Abuse (or the Illusion of it)

The thing I came to understand early in my roleplaying career is that admins and moderators can never be allowed to hold In Character power. If Game of Thrones was a forum roleplay? Bronn or Tyrion are probably good roles for forum admin.. Problem is that never happens. The King, Queen, or Social-Center is almost always the forum admin.. and this destroys organized roleplays every single time from perception alone.

 

Elitism (or the perception of it)

Organized forums have a problem usually, when people don't fit perfectly into niches they want other people to fit into. You end up with 8 blacksmiths. Or you end up with to many nobles and no commoners. Especially if someone comes in who creates a character who doesn't fit into the established IC troubles, issues, and struggles of those 8 blacksmiths, nobles, or warriors. This is why I tend toward generalist characters whom spend most of their time amongst commoners.. minor nobility can hob-nob with commoners if they like and this provides a lot less requirement to protect characters with legions of NPCs.

 

Being weighed down to specific established canon

This becomes incredibly intense in a lot of popular media settings, and frankly limits the field where normally, loosely compatible characters might be able to roleplay together in a more general setting such as "vague medieval fantasy". Refrencing your old canon is fine.. but in an age of RP where there's almost nobody left?.. requiring people to know your canon.. even if it's on TV every night (maybe they don't watch the show!) ... is a bit more of a long-shot.

 

Very Respectfully,

  - The Dominant Drowess