Honestly, I think it comes with practice, at least for me.

I've been RPing for so long now that I'm able to remember what Caleb has heard IC and what he hasn't. You kind of get into a habit of it, eventually. When I was first starting out, I used the school chat as my source of OOC information. If it was posted there and I know that whatever situation was occurring and being discussed WAS DEFINITELY NOT witnessed by my character, it helped me to remember that my charrie didn't know about it. If that makes sense haha Same with "What in Merlin's Beard?" thread. I constantly checked that to see what was posted, and then most of the time, I GOT my characters involved so then I didn't HAVE to worry about OOC/IC!

For me I think it helps that I have an oblivious charrie who, even when she might notice, pretends she doesn't so half the time I see things she shouldn't know, it's easy enough getting her to turn a blind eye. In general I find it weird and slightly annoying ahem when IC and OOC start switching between each other whether for the charrie or the RPer so I'm super conscious about what makes sense that my charrie would know and what wouldn't. There's loads of stuff I know Lex wouldn't agree with if she found out but I can't have her acting any different because it's not something she legit knows.

I've stalked SO many things and thought up charrie reactions but that's as far as they ever get for me, thought up ideas that never come out in the RP unless the knowledge gets IC slipped to them.

I re-read stuff like all the time And even now, after YEARS of playing, I feel like I still get caught up in what my character knows vs what I know.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that ... it's difficult no matter what, and to try and be conscientious of what you're posting ... and don't post when you're half-asleep either, cause that too could lead confusion and mixup of the voices in your head and that's coming from someone who only has about 14 or 15 voices ... only like 4 or 5 of which are active though, but still

Bottom line if someone didn't directly tell my character, he wasn't right there to see it, or it wasn't part of the 'general knowledge' of SS (ie Daily Prophet, The Aparecium, textbooks, something he'd have free access to if he was so inclined) then my character doesn't know.

But for me there is a difference between IC vs OOC knowledge and IC vs OOC emotion and THAT is where lines can be blurred. Its hard work when something that happens to your character can cause you some grief because at the end of the day they are our babies and we do care about them (if we didn't/don't, how could we expect others to get invested in their stories?). For me though if you step back and really break down the IC Emotion vs IC Knowledge vs OOC Emotion vs OOC Knowledge, and keep in mind that we are not our characters, then its a lot easier to keep it separate. Its just sometimes you have to consciously remind yourself about it.

I'll give you an example that I can think of where the lines can blur.

X RPer cant RP with Y RPer because they are busy. Y RPer is upset. Y Charrie starts wondering if X charrie doesn't like them anymore.

OOC emotion of Y RPer has effected Y Charrie, and their relationship with X charrie.

We're all human so of course little (sometimes silly but again we are human) things can set us off. The trick here is, as Y RPer, to remind yourself that RL is a thing, and that it doesn't mean that X RPer doesn't like you, or that X Charrie is even involved in the slightest. Y Charrie shouldn't react to this, not at all. Its OOC leaking to IC because of emotion.

I think the knowledge stuff is way more straight forward and easier to keep control of. In summary its where they overlap where problems can come up.

Getting involved is a biggie. And making use of the resources we have like Merlins Beard helps a lot too.

And honestly, like Lissy said about RPing for ages, most peeps that have been around forever are totally willing to help you brain out if your character knows something, or how they might know. Just ask!

I usually say reactions as I think West (or whoever would have them) like 'West in my head thinks XX' or 'West would do XX' but that's quite separate from what he might actually think or do if it comes up in the RP. Its sorta like me trying to filter through him, whereas when things actually come to light whatever I thought or whatever might not be the case. I guess I mean for me its easy to keep it separate too because I do try to be hyper aware of it like you do Dani XD When you keep the lines clear and consistent for YOUR character, it makes it easier, and being prepared to answer and justify why your character knows (or doesn't because sometimes its ooc that a charrie doesn't know when they should. Like if anyone was all 'oh what aging epidemic?' and extreme with their obliviousness) a thing is always a good idea.

I find when I'm half asleep, my ooc knowledge is actually LESS likely to effect my charries haha. Like my brain is off and they just use my fingers or something.

I usually just try to go with the general 'if your charrie wasn't specifically told something, or saw something' then they don't know it, even if you stalked it, or heard about it OOC.

For example: If so and so character has some juicy gossip that is going on in a RP and Tag /isn't/ there, then he won't know it. I may know whatever happened, but that stays strictly OOC. So the general idea, at least for me, for separating things is, if your charrie wasn't told what happened, or didn't see what happened then they don't know about what happened.

Now, Tegz brought up a good point with IC and OOC emotions. Tag, my current charrie, is an extremely emotional, and sensitive guy who, usually goes to the worst conclusions when told something. And that usually leads him to having strong opinions. In some instances I've been told things, OOC, but somehow Tag gets into my brain and thinks he would officially know it too. That doesn't make too much sense, at least to me it did, but I hope you guys understand it too 3> Like your charrie thinks they have a right to feel a certain way about things even if they don't actually /know/ about it. So I usually have to be all "You don't know this Tag. So you can't say anything about it". If that doesn't work then I just tell Tag to shut up and he usually gets quiet XD

But, Tegz brought up an excellent point with the OOC and the IC emotions getting slightly blurry and confusing.

Most of my IC/OOC confusion comes from mixing up thoughts and dialogue in whatever post to which I'm replying. I think it's important that people only really respond to words said and any explicit actions/expressions, so it helps if whoever I'm playing with makes it obvious (like bolding dialogue).

I also don't hesitate to ask or have another RPer remind me of what my character would know about a certain situation. Talking really comes in handy, especially when you're not RPing an interaction and just assuming that it happened. Communication between RPers is most vital, and it clears up a lot!

I agree with everyone that if a charrie doesn't hear directly, then they don't know. But sometimes I've made exceptions. For example, at the beginning of this term, I played with Felix at the opening feast. Even though Marigold and Toby hadn't met directly, we both assumed that they would know each other after being in the same house and year for two years previously. So basically, if it really really really makes sense for your charrie to know something, it's okay.

Also, I'm really out of the loop anyway, so my charries and I are pretty much on the same foot here.

I've found that it gets easier to remember the difference between IC knowledge and OOC knowledge. Also, I started RPing over five years ago and it was easy to see things happening in the RP and want to be involved and get really overeager so sometimes my character would magically know something or be somewhere because I tried to reason with myself that it would be common knowledge, even though he'd not actually heard anything. I like to think I've developed as an RPer from that these days.

Also there's one thing I do in regards to IC vs. OOC, where I'll refer to IC Toby and OOC Toby. OOC Toby reacts to things I know, like when I've read other people's RPs but he wasnt there to witness it, or reading OOC comments from others, or the thoughts and stuff of other characters. That's just for my benefit, like its interesting and a good exercise to always try and see things from his perspective. And the. Of course IC Toby is the one who is actually RPed and responds to thinks he actually knows/has seen/heard IC. It IS a good exercise, but I try to avoid doing it too much if I can help it, mainly because it can make things different in terms of IC character development. Because I obviously only want to develop him as a character in response to IC happenings, not OOC knowledge. Idk if that makes sense but yeah. I like to think I've improved with that too.

And yeah like Casey said, I do that too. Like, with people he hasnt met, Toby generally recognises people in his year, would probably be able to name the girls in his house and year, and would obviously know the boys in his year and house/see them a lot because of sharing a dorm. He also tends to know the name/quidditch stuff about people on the house teams even if he hasn't met them, because of his interest in the game, but that's just like a quirk of his?

Eeep! All of you are just awesome and such quick to respond! I can be overly active at times so I stalk many many things and I agree Felix that OOC charrie emotions come out, but I don't think that's a bad thing as long as when you are RPing them it stays OOC knowledge. I know I've had a few times that my charries thoughts have been used against them or something has been RP'd, but after my charrie thoughts (that IC the other RPers can't see since they didn't actually same them) the other charrie changes directions to be one up. I'm not really saying either way is wrong it was just something I have found in RPing and wanted to see if my thought process on keeping things separate and really working to make things as realistic as possible was off or if others felt the same way!

Admittedly, I haven't consciously thought about the way I RP IC/OOC knowledge until now, but I would like to think I manage to keep them separate. Bentley's an easy enough one in that sense, she's holed up in the greenhouses/garden and now with the aging in her office, so she's not out and about with people to really see/hear things, so she's clueless for the most part. But also with things such as lesson/content/skills knowledge, while she can heal a plant, she's not so good with humans, NEAR-clueless in that respect, so in that sense we don't blend IC/OOC knowledge and become a know-it-all.

But also....

... #THIS.

I find this is usually the case where I NOTICE blurring of IC/OCC and it's really quite sad. It's one thing to have an OOC discussion about "Oh btw, how's our charrie's going, what've they been up to in the few weeks we've been busy" to the point of making assumptions and getting carried away with the OOC emotions which come from feeling forgotten? alone? bored? ... I dunno. So as Tegz said, this coupled with IC/OOC knowledge can get skewed.

At the end of the day, I think experience, some time for reflection of finished RP's (recent or old) can help us improve. And patience, patience is keyyyyy!

Okay, I have to say this before beginning my post: My memory is TERRIBLE. Like, in some cases I can't know if I've heard that OOC or IC, so as Lemon put it: I ask people. Communication is the sole key here.

During a RP (when my memory doesn't fail me), I think of my own personal experiences while trying to decide if my character would notice that thought's crossing the other character's mind. Did they specifically say "His/her expression clearly changed." or was it "just for a moment"? If it's the latter, I then think of how oblivious my character is: João studies people's faces so he would probably catch it; but Cosgrach's generally distracted, so he wouldn't.

I agree with Felix too: common knowledge. In some cases, if that event is B I G, my character doesn't have to be there to know it, or the people as well. I couldn't RP with nearly any of the staff, but Cosgrach would CERTAINLY know their names and exchange a few words.

So in the end, it's communication, how 'obvious/big' it was and my character's general position in the RP world.

I think (as far as OOC vs. IC goes), the hardest thing for me to get a grasp on is what my charrie should and shouldn't know in CLASSES. Most classes are presented in a way where a question is asked and a correct answer is at least hoped for. Options at that point are to either play your character as not knowing and therefore handing out some random thoughts...OR play your character OOC and google the answer.

I've played two characters back-to-back that were started in their first year, and option one really only worked for me during that first term for them. I found that after that, most of their peers in the same year were giving out correct answers, and the personal perspective from that was that if I continued to play my charrie as not knowing the answer, she'd be played as falling behind her peers. So from second year on out, I began to shift to a slightly OOC way of answering in class to make it what I assumed was more realistic.

I do have a tough time answering IC in class, because a lot of times, I feel like my charrie SHOULDN'T know what's being asked, yet there are only so many posts I can make where she's simply thinking and not really contributing.

OOOOH YES THIS.

I agree. I think it's tough sometimes trying to find a good IC/OOC balance in classes, because not EVERY first year can be Hermione Granger, but you still wanna participate and get points!

To combat this, I've started making posts where Caleb guesses something that is TOTALLY out in left field, or something that he would logically come up with based off his background knowledge. So that way he isn't just sitting there, but he's at least giving it a shot (even though I know OOC that it's totally wrong haha) but hey, it's something fun for the professor to respond to, right?

In a way, I feel like the RP sort of FORCES us to come up with good explanations as to why your charrie would know all that information about stuff that, technically, they probably shouldn't know IC. So I usually like to have a little write up in the post where I explain how Caleb read that once or overheard it somewhere or saw it at his muggleborn great-uncle's house because he has a TV. You know? Just a little explanation to make it more realistic.

I definitely agree with the majority of what's been said here. I think being able to distinguish IC and OOC knowledge/emotions gets better with practice, though it can still be hard at times, especially with the emotions. So for me, whenever those lines start to get a little blurred, it usually helps me to just take a step back, breathe, and try to think logically about whether my charrie would actually know/feel something about whatever it is. And sometimes it can also help to just distract myself with something else for a little bit to clear my head, and then I'm able to think more clearly about something. Though I think that's a little more for emotions, because charrie emotions can be overwhelming sometimes

Also communication like Lemon pointed out. That's also definitely important and is a big help in clearing up any confusion or thoughts about anything.

And I think Anna brought up a really good point about IC vs. OOC knowledge for classes. I know some professors will still give points for posts where a charrie is just listening and taking notes, but for me, there's only so many times I can post that sort of thing before I feel it's too repetitive and I bore myself And I think this can affect older years too, not just the younger ones, because just because a charrie's a sixth/seventh year doesn't mean they'd know everything in every subject. They'll know more than they did in their first or second year, of course, but if they knew everything, they wouldn't have to be in school still. And of course it probably depends on the charrie too, since one that reads about a lot of stuff (or even if they just read about a lot in one particular subject or study REALLY hard or something else) then they likely would be able to answer most/all questions in class(es). But I think there's always got to be some sort of balance between IC/OOC knowledge for classes, and that balance varies based on the charrie's year/background/interest/personality/etc, though it can be tough to find/maintain that balance at times. For me it is, at least.

I'm not sure that paragraph made as much sense as it did in my head But basically yeah, IC vs. OOC stuff can be easy to distinguish sometimes and other times a little bit harder, especially when it's emotions and stuff for classes, but I think taking a little bit of time to think about it and communicate with other RPers can help clear up most things

I have a different angle on this same question, and I'm interested in what people think about it. Recently in my own RPing, I realized that I was becoming completely inflexible in my IC vs OOC interpretation, to the point where I almost chose not to participate in certain plots or take certain RP avenues that would have been fun for ME as the RPer, simply because it didn't fit perfectly into the narrative of my character or appeal to my sense of what was completely IC for him.

So my question is this... is it possible we sometimes let ourselves be SO ruled by a fictional voice in our head that we aren't open to experiencing all the RP has to offer? Sometimes plots will come up, opportunities will present themselves, homework will be assigned, and we can refuse to participate because the voice is silent on it, but WE are the ones missing that chance to play.

If we're honest with ourselves, there are already a LOT of OOC elements to the RP (Hogwarts is still open and professors still employed in spite of years and years of dangerous occurrences and deaths, first years know things they couldn't possibly in classes they've never taken before, the Ministry somehow manages to function without any bathrooms, classes IC take a month to finish, I can go on). I love the efforts we go to in order to make things as canon as possible, but this is also a game and meant to be fun. I dunno... I guess I'm just wondering if I can give myself permission to be a little more OOC when it comes to interacting with the RPG.

I'm not talking about asking a character to react differently to something than is in character for them... more like wondering if I'm taking this whole idea of "I can't control what the voice in my head makes me do" thing is actually detrimental to our own RP and the RP in general. Thoughts?

Ern I think this is a great thing to discuss. I have found others saying this same thing and I do think it limits RP at times. I joined SS by accident and it quickly became a place for me to hide from RL and enjoy the fun. In that fun I have pushed my charries in every possible thing that I can to be involved. I love being super active and involved, so to me pushing them into things such as plots even if they wouldn't be comfortable or it doesn't go with them, because let's face it in real life sometimes we can't predict our own paths so why should we predict theirs. Getting out side your comfort zone can be the best way to meet new people and find out something about your charrie you didn't know.

Ohh, I think I know what you mean!

I think we DEFINITELY have situations where we don't think our charrie would do something, but we do it anyway, because, like you said, this is an OOC game. Hogsmeade is supposed to be third years and up, but we RP any age there. Also, we ALL RP in elective classes, despite the fact that often times our younger charries shouldn't be there. Then let's not forget the fact that firsties and seventh years are all in the same classes together.

Those are just a few more examples I could think of. That's a LOT of missed opportunities and OOC fun to just miss out on because of the character you're playing at the moment. I think of my last charrie, Sierra Greingoth, here. She was VERY anti-social, and after a while, I realized my RPs were starting to be limited to classes, because she didn't desire socializing enough to make friends and allow me to have fun RPs. I loved the character, but I missed the interacting aspect of the RP.

So I agree wholeheartedly. Sometimes, there are ways we can sneak IC references into a situation to make it fit for our character. Other times we can't, but at the end of the day, this is an OOC game, and tweaks have to be made to make it work sometimes.

I agree that sometimes, especially with a charrie you've put a TON of thought into, you can sometimes find yourself limited in IC experiences. My one character, Jack Fritzera, was very timid and usually not one to step up to be a leader, yet I remember one of the plots involved students being mind controlled and fighting over students, and he got sucked into a situation he did NOT want to have to deal with. So I had to explain, via his IC thoughts, how terrified he was and how he had kind of accidentally fallen into the fight and stuff like that. It was fun, but Jack was freaking out in my brain haha.

I try not to let myself get limited to what is IC for Caleb, so I like to have characters who are fairly outgoing and WOULD want to be in the center of everything. If Caleb had his way, I would NEVER attend HoM, Arithmancy, Herbology, etc haha. He is NOT a fan. But I OOC want to earn points for Slytherin and Caleb is driven by a need to get good grades and earn points, so he has to suck it up and deal with it Even when it would be technically "canon" for him to drop those courses after his OWLs I'm sure he'll still attend them, because I personally love the classes and RPing in general and find any way to get involved that I can!

Basically, when a character is throwing a fit in my head about something, I ignore them and force them to do it anyways hehehe. I think that's where charrie growth comes in as well. A first year who tries very hard NOT to get involved in plots could, throughout the years, "mature" and just become more outgoing and it would make more IC sense for them to get involved then. EVERYONE grows whether they notice it or not. When I was younger I was very quiet, but once I hit 7th grade (so around Caleb's age NOW) I started being less afraid to speak in class, start conversations, etc. Now I'm one of those people who isn't SUPER comfortable starting convos, but if you start talking to ME, I'm not going to shut up haha. SO that's another way to combat the IC/OOC thing. MAKE your characters grow and change. It makes them more interesting and more fun to play, in my opinion.

#THIS

I highlighted my favourite parts.

I'm not a believer in inflexibility as a useful strategy in general, it's sometimes helpful in RL, but I think it is especially hindering when applied to an activity which requires a creative attitude to participate in. If you're stopping before you start it can easily become a non-start. And, I don't think that's fair to you as the RPer.

That stated, I think know it's totally possible to get so caught up in what should and shouldn't happen with a character that we forget what this actually is. A game played with real people, behind real computer screens. We start serving the ideal and forget about the reality. Which is incredibly easy to do in a virtual world where lines can get a bit blurry. It's not just that there are a lot of OOC elements in the RP. It's there for us, the RP writers and contributors, to enjoy.

That's not to say that we can't focus on strict IC points if we want to, the rp as it stands is very flexible with regard to building your own experience that way. But, at the end of the day, I have to sleep in the bed I made. So if I make my dominant experience all about a strict adhesion to character, then that's all it is for me. In my experience both off and on this site, there is usually a way to write around what a character does or doesn't do to create a plausible circumstance in which the character could participate IC in something you'd like to try OOC.

I think that you absolutely should permit yourself to be more OOC if there's something you know you would enjoy but are forbidding yourself from partaking in because of IC reasons. It's my personal opinion that you (Ern) possess the creativity to make it seem feasible IC.

"Get out of your own way." -Chaka Khan

While I understand this, for me personally I don't feel like I am missing out when I choose to stick with an IC interpretation because West is the first character that I've gone as IC as possible with, and its a challenge and one that I (usually) enjoy. Its also a challenge as far as writing goes and gives me the chance to flex my writing muscles which is really important to me. I essentially want to write his story in a way that reads well as much as anything. And in books if things don't make sense or seem particularly ooc just for plot or shock value or anything else, then I don't tend to enjoy them. So yeah for me its about the writing challenge of it, after having already got my feet wet with characters with which I have been a lot more easy going with.

At the end of the day if there is something that is ooc for him that I REALLY want to participate in, or make happen, then I will find a way. That's part of the challenge too- but likewise if its ooc for him and I feel like putting him in that situation actually won't be enjoyable to play out, then there isn't much point either.

I guess I've done the whole 'take things as they come' approach, (and actually intend to do so with my next charrie Ruby who is far less particular about how things should BE) so for this particular charrie, being more inflexible about how I play him in regard to IC/OOC was an active choice.

So in short I agree there is a balance, but as long as you're aware of your choices and make them for reasons that are right for you... then at the end of the day you're still getting enjoyment out of the RP and you aren't giving yourself the short shrift.

OH and MLE has bathrooms XD just saying. hah