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A proper post should have the following components (parts): The beginning of the post should be a physical and/or mental reaction to what was said/done in the previous post. That should be followed by a bit of dialogue and more physical description. The dialogue can either end the post, but I find that if you include a post-movement, such as making the character move, sit, stand, dance, jump, etc., it rounds things out nicely. Now then, lets break down each part to give you a better idea of how to do it.

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React
Generally speaking, only one person begins a thread and everyone else is reacting to how the thread began and/or what was posted directly above their reply. So, if you are starting a thread, a reaction is not necessary to the dialogue, but you can put their reaction to walking into what ever area they are and what they are doing there. When I say your character should react physically to what was said/done in the previous post it is only mirroring real life. If someone says something to you, you have a reaction. Even a non-reaction is technically a reaction, because your character is attempting to look as if they are not reacting. If that is confusing, let me give an example.

In this example you see how no or very little physical reaction can be played out. After all, think of it in real life. Put yourself in John's shoes, how would you feel in his place? What would your reaction be to what Maria was saying? Put yourself in your character's head and get your character's responses. Remember to keep yourself out of it. This is a totally fictional character you have created and the less you react as if it is a personal attack and react as if it were an attack on John, the better your post will be.

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Thoughts
Remember to put your character's thoughts into the post, whether you do so in third person, such as saying "John wondered why Maria would seek to hurt him so" or in the first person (usually put into italics to differentiate between description) "Why does she want to hurt me like this? I thought things were going great." Often the difference is simply how deep you want others to read into your character. But know this: Posting your character's thoughts is as important as posting their actions. While the other characters may not be able to react as if they know what you are thinking (unless they are mind-readers, in which case, only give out what you want known), it develops your character to put their thoughts out there. It makes them "human(oid)" and gives depth to your posts. If you have ever read a fictional story, a good one anyway, you will find the pages littered with thoughts, a necessary addition to create the best story possible. Without the thoughts, you have no clue what drives this character, what makes them who they are.

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Physical Movement and Description:
Physical movement should also be included at this point, whether they take a drink of something, walk across a room, or sit in a chair. Be sure to include a description of what ever the character is physically interacting with.

There is a lot of description in just those few lines, enough to give your reader a clear mental image of the layout and the actions that John is taking. You don't have to say "the chair was old and smelled bad" rather simply by using alternate words, you can say the same thing this way: "the chair looked ancient and had an odor that usually accompanied a landfill." A great way to find alternate words is the use of a thesaurus. Plenty are available online or in most kinds of typing programs like Microsoft Word. Also, when you are trying to compare something, think of an example, such as replacing "smelly" with "odor of a landfill." Even if you have never been to a landfill, you can imagine the noxious fumes one would find there.

"Do"s and "Don't"s of Role Playing:


Do:

Include lots of description and comparisons in your posts.

Use dialogue that other people can understand.

Include movement such as walking, drinking, smelling, etc.

Use your character's five senses.

Describe the surrounding environment.

Research before you post. If you are responding to a particular topic, learn about it before you just make something up.

Follow the guidelines of the universe in which you are posting.

Remember to use good grammar, punctuation, and spelling. It is appreciated.

Be realistic.

Use links to pictures rather than including the images in your post. People appreciate not having to wait for them to load.

Chose an avatar for your character quickly. Avatars really do have a lot to do with how much "action" your character can get from other players. If no one knows what you look like, they really don't think about you.



Don't:

Take an insult to your character personally. It is just a character, insulting another character...that is all.

Use less than 3-6 sentences per post. While they don't have to be novels, less than that and you border the "one-liner" category once more.

Break the rules of the universe in which you are role playing.

Think your character is invincible. If they are, then they aren't a very good character. No one wants to role play with a god, especially if they always have to be right.

Post song lyrics unless it has purpose to the scene. It chews up space and drives others nuts. And in most cases, they don't even read them, just skip over them to the other parts.

Use large pictures for your signature. Some people still have dial-up and it takes time to load those large pictures.

Get mad if you don’t get a boyfriend/girlfriend right away. The boards aren't meant as a dating service. RP romance is more than acceptable, but it takes more than 5 minutes of talking for people to fall in love.

Power Playing

Don't power play. If you want to power play someone’s character then you need to get their permission FIRST, or have had some kind of plan made out with the other RPer. If you have some kind of plot for the characters going, which would require you to power play another player's character, that is fine. You have the other player's permission then.

Secondary characters such as ROBOTS, POLICE, CIVILIANS, GUARDS, ect... are free for anyone to play. You can do whatever you want with them provided they do not somehow belong to another player.
For example: Punisher busts in and takes out Kingpin's guards. That's fine. But if the other person comes in playing Kingpin's guards...then Punisher should not be able to automatically kill them.

Even the relatively simple action of putting words in another characters mouth can be seen as God modding, or making a character perform an action that their player might disagree with, which is why you should usually check with another player if it’s okay to use their character.
God-modding, is forcing reactions upon other characters. In laymen’s terms, saying what another players characters are doing.

In a roleplay, controlling other people's characters. This is very looked down open and is against most rp rules.

'Kim punched Kelly and watched her cry,' is powerplaying, because who are you to say if Kelly started crying or not.

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Examples can be found below.


Viresse kills Escy.

Now what about that is wrong some of you ask? Well it’s written as a fact. So Escy has no chance to defend himself here or anything else and this is bad. You've essentially taken away all of his power to do anything for his own character. If you want this kind of post to fly you have to write it the right way...

Viresse attempts to kill Escy.

There are two different things in the second one. I have said what I’m trying or attempting to do and I have not taken the power from Escy to reply or to fight back.

This also works for simple things.

This is wrong:

Viresse steals Escy and Iou’s wands.

This is wrong because Viresse has not given Escy or Iou a chance to respond or react. They are now wandless and probably not what the RPer's wanted to happen to their characters.

This is right:

Viresse tries (or attempts) to steal Escy and Iou’s wands.

At this point, Escy and Iou can either allow Viresse to steal the wands.



In very basic terms....you need to give the other person time and the ability to react. If you are being shot at by another character and you just dodge all the bullets, kick the character repeatedly in the face, toss them into the wall, then take off out the door to escape.........you didn't give the other character any time to react to you at all. Maybe they would have stopped and stared when your character dodged their attack. Maybe they could have counter attacked all of your blows to the face. Maybe they could have flipped off the wall and tried to send another round at you. Maybe they had made sure the door had been locked and you just went through it like it never happened.

Power playing someone's character only results in more power playing. If you don't give them the ability to react, then they'll do the same to your character.


Another No-no:
Autohitting - when someone describes their launched attack as hitting, even though no chance was given for the other player to evade or defend themselves.