Mmmhm. It's a different line to draw, depending. Part of it, though, is that... anonymity 'not knowing the name'-style is probably good for your safety most of the time. Anonymity 'not knowing what they're like'... that's probably the one that can give. Oh, and don't worry, Alyx, I probably have a weirder impression on things than other people. I come from places where (nonsexual, mind you) RPs have entire casts where maybe one person is playing a PC the same gender as themselves (and again, both ways. One of my friends' most memorable characters is a guy played by a girl - he's a lovable asshole XD ). And I see, Krawn. I sorta was curious just because of all the... feeling of lurking. Of watching.

(Ooh, voyeurism/exhibitionism~)

I would also like to point out that voyeurism is very fun.

Forny's right, even when my demented mind is too tired to come up with some gibberish that passes for character "exploration"(double pun intended), being able to peak in on all the wonderful stories on here is a joy in and of itself. The ability to view a character developing as someones mind places themselves in a role and creativity kicks in, and they go not just outside the box, but supernova past the obvious into an obtuse direction from even their previous norms, makes an amazing anime's backstory seem like Dr.Suess.

If real life of jobs, relationships, marrages, kids, mortgages, hangovers, stress, and everyday bullshit of real life was all important, and simple fun of creativity in a loosely based alternate reality, where the darkest thoughts prevail weren't a priority, then why visit at all? Pick up a book or a video game and the escapism is there as well, just minus the open ended creativity of two creators. Oh well I ramble sorry if you read this gibberish. Carry on...

The basis of a place like this is that it is *role* playing. Anyone can be anything they want. And in most cases they also want to be able to express their hidden desires or fetishes a) in safe anonymity so their friends or relatives don't find out and b) without having to filter their imagination through the fact that they know the person playing that sexy student with the 38DD tits is in reality being typed by a 400 pound guy with halitosis!

Now obviously some players find an affinity with each other beyond the roleplay. They chat, make friends, maybe move to instant messaging or skype. Sometimes they meet in real life and sometimes relationships are formed on that basis.

BUT that is something which happens naturally and at the individual player's discretion as to how much personal information they choose to reveal. Mostly they already have a life and a circle of friends away from the internet and they prefer to keep each separate. So here, as with any other such online community, the first and most important rule is that you respect that. We do not tolerate any player attempting to find out more about others than they want to share. ASL isn't a term you see around so much lately but it still applies. Anyone pushing other players to reveal age / sex / location will find themselves kicked out. So will anyone who harrasses or guilts any other player to go beyond what they find comfortable by demanding or emotionally blackmailing them into sending photos of themselves, giving out a phone number or showing themselves on web cams.

Not to get too heavy about this but it is sometimes forgotten that there is a clear difference between how a character acts and how the player behaves away from the roleplay.

I like what you're saying, Storm. You're not getting Inception deep, so your post is relatively easy to understand.

So basically, the person who plays the skank on here could be, say, the shyest, most reserved girl at a party?

Anyways, being who I am, my pants are really tight in reality, but my mind and body both open up when I'm stressed.

Wait, that doesn't matter. What does matter is that people are people, so why should it be that people look down on us in reality?

I think you might be onto something there. At least I find most my interactions with people on SHS a lot nicer and saner than I have been used to on other online communities.

We are here to play with our little fetishes, but that means that there is an inherit intimacy involved, and if one is not completely dense, he (or she) will realize that this means one could hurt people. Deeply.
But realizing this then means that we try to comfort each other, reassure each other, and be, all in all, nice to each other such that this doesn't happen.

I think it actually goes without saying. Better one PM too much than too less.

This then again has a positive feedback on the quality of the rp, because one can only let loose if he or she feels safe and reassured. Not only not to be hurt, but to hurt no one either.

So, in short: We came to RP here, and being nice tends to create a basis for much better RPs. Which then again leads to being nice(r). Its a positive feedback loop that tends to strenghten itself.

Oh, and we even have a place called N.I.C.E. Labs. What could possibly go wrong?

Now Sanity...