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When I saw that Strawberry Singh's meme this week was to do a tutorial on something I cried. "But, but....I don't know how to do anything!" I wailed pitifully as my mascara melted and ran down my cheeks. It's true. I'm pretty clueless about computer thingies like drivers, routers, and IP's. I don't know exactly what those things are! I don't have photoshop, I use GIMP for my limited post processing of pictures. I have no idea how to take a screenshot of my computer screen.

Then it hit me. I could cry like nobody's business. I could roleplay. I love roleplay and think roleplayers are amazing. They are by definition the most social people on the grid, because they interact with others ALL the time. There is an etiquette to roleplay and common sense rules that experienced roleplayers follow, no matter what type or style of roleplay they engage in. So here is a very basic tutorial on Second Life text based roleplay.

1. When you go to a roleplay sim, read the rules and the backstory. If they calls for a certain type of dress, comply. If you merely want to observe - and I highly suggest observing before jumping into roleplay - follow the sim rules for observers. Roleplay sims are typically immersive environments and it's just common courtesy to respect their right to keep it that way. If you don't like the backstory for some reason or find the premise offensive, just leave and look for a roleplay environment that makes you more comfortable. They're out there.

2. Pay attention to the style of roleplay. By this I mean one-line roleplay - where each post is a quick line of text; paragraph (often called para) roleplay - each post being a carefully crafted and descriptive paragraph; and my favorite - semi-paragraph (semi-para) roleplay - which combines the two. None of these styles of roleplay are wrong, but people have definite preferences and tend to prefer to play with others with the same preferences. If you're new to roleplay, you'll quickly learn which style you prefer by experimenting with all three.

3. In character and out of character are terms that are shortened to IC and OOC. Most roleplay sims have similar rules about OOC postings in open chat. Open chat is for IC. IM's are for OOC unless you need to say something to a group that is assembled to roleplay. To make it clear to everyone that you're making an OOC comment, double parentheses are typically used ((like this)). If you are observing at a roleplay sim and most of the posts in open chat are OOC, then you may want to look for another place to roleplay.

4. Once you've chosen a roleplay environment that suits you, choose a role and build a back story for your character. You should speak with a sim administrator about the roles available, but what you do with the role is up to you. Accept feedback from the administrator about your back story with good grace. He or she probably has a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't in that particular sim. If you want to be a 20 year-old princess from a far away land who has run away from an evil and aged royal fiancee, fine. But if every female roleplayer comes in wanting to be a variant of that same princess, and no one ever wants to be a saucy serving wench whose penniless parents need to be supported by her meager wages, then consider that other idea. Roleplay is more interesting when there is variety.

5. So, after all that observing and creating your character, you're ready to play. Have a plan and a direction you want your character to go in, but stay flexible. Roleplay isn't a novel written by a single author. It's a subtle dance between multiple players. You need to pick up on signals from other roleplayers. For instance, if you decide you want an in character rivalry with another player, explore that idea through your postings. A good roleplayer will pick up on your idea and may be delighted to engage in that rivalry. Or they may not, because their character just doesn't roll that way. Don't be discouraged, try something else. The most popular roleplayers are players who are generous with their storylines, bring others into them, and participate in furthering other players' stories.
 
6. Learn what godmoding is and avoid it. Godmoding is dictating the actions of another player in your post, or refusing to accept the consequences of roleplay. I think it's easiest to understand through example. In the first example:  

• Dolly gives Ayla a tight little smile as her eyes fall on the fragrant peach pie, still warm from the oven. Without considering her action, she picks up the pie, weighs it in her hand and reaches over the small table, grinding its peachy stickiness into Ayla's surprised face. 

That's godmoding. Ayla has no chance to react before there's warm sticky pie in her face. In addition, it isn't Dolly's job to tell Ayla that she's surprised. Instead, Dolly should have posted something like this:  

• Dolly gives Ayla a tight little smile as her eyes fall on the fragrant peach pie, still warm from the oven. Without considering her action, she picks up the pie, weighs it in her hand and reaches over the small table, aiming the flaky pastry straight at Ayla's face.  

See the difference? Now Ayla can react. She can throw up her hands to protect her face, duck under the table, or even accept that she's going to have a face covered in peach pie. It's up to her.

The other example of godmoding - refusing to accept the consequences of roleplay - is less common but more infuriating when it does occur. Let's use the pie example, and this time we'll make Ayla the godmoder:

• Dolly gives Ayla a tight little smile as her eyes fall on the fragrant peach pie, still warm from the oven. Without considering her action, she picks up the pie, weighs it in her hand and reaches over the small table, aiming the flakey pastry straight at Ayla's face.
• Ayla quirks a brow. As soon as she sees the gleam in Dolly's eye she draws a wooden shield from her apron pocket, blocking Dolly from hitting her in the face with pie.

Wait a minute! She had a wooden shield in her apron pocket? Are you kidding? Those are two simple examples of godmoding. Just don't.

7. One last basic rule that may be obvious, but is often flouted - take turns posting. Once you post, your roleplay partner begins to craft a response. If you then post again before they have a chance to respond, they have to stop, read the addition to your post, maybe erase what they posted and incorporate the new material you provided into their response. That is very frustrating with two players. Imagine six players in a single scene all posting willy nilly. It's chaos and doesn't work. Experienced roleplayers often work out an order of posting and stick to it. Wait your turn, even if you think of something brilliant to say!

Well, there it is - the basics of roleplay. If it sounds like too much trouble, then roleplay probably isn't your thing. That's okay. But if the idea of telling a story through interaction with others makes your creative juices flow, give it a try. I hope I was a little help to someone who has an interest but wasn't sure how to get started.

Now excuse me while I try to figure out what an OS might be.

It seems like forever since Ayla and I took a picture together. We wanted to feel comfy and casual for our rainy day in my new Parisian skybox from Barnesworth Anubis, so we pulled on jeans and sweaters from our inventory. We had the usual crashes, and I kept blurring out of focus, resolving and blurring again. But in the end we had a sweet picture of friends. It was worth patiently waiting to come into focus. Ayla has been away from Second Life while she worked on getting healthy again. I'm glad she's back, feeling better and ready to take a picture or two.

This friend couple pose from Flowey was perfect for our photo and aptly titled, "I've got your back."

I have a lot of fun with Second Life photography contests. It's nice to win or place, but I never feel like I lose as long as I'm having fun and am relatively satisfied with my photos. These photos are for the Truth Model Search contest. Check out the rules and submit your photos on his Flickr group HERE.

This contest coincides with the release of six new Truth hairs, new textures and a new store build. It's nice to see even the best and most popular designers on the grid seeking to reach new levels. And taking pictures of beautiful new hair? Nothing better!

Oops! I've been spilling things about my SL life right and left in these memes. The habit has caught on and I actually confessed in my last post that I was wearing shoes that were not matched to my outfit. Do I have any confessions left? At least those that I'm willing to share? For this is the newest of Strawberry Singh's entertaining blog memes - our guilty confessions. You can read hers here.

Confession #1.
I have a game I play with myself about my inventory. I'll type something random in inventory search and see what (if anything) pops up. At least half of my inventory of 33,000 items is dumb sentimental stuff that I can't bear to part with for this reason. If I delete that pink elephant, no elephants will pop up during my game!

Confession #2.
I spend a lot of lindens on things I love in Second Life - clothes, shoes, hair, skins, jewelry, homes, furniture, landscaping, etc. I really should cut back a little.

Confession #3.
I pretend to be kind of clueless. Sometimes I am clueless about what the latest drama might be, but sometimes I just pretend to be. It's an avoidance technique that I probably learned at my mother's knee. I'd rather not hurt feelings or have my feelings hurt. So, rather than jumping into the frey and expressing my opinion, I feign ignorance.

Confession #4.
Berry had an interesting and honest confession in her post about silent boycotts. I suspect we all do that. We do it in real life all the time. For example, I'm not going to Chick fil A anytime soon, because even with a corporate apology, I don't want to line a homophobic senior manager's pocket. My boycott there is silent (well, it was until now).

The same principle applies in Second Life. There are (only a very few) SL people whose creations I hesitate to blog because somewhere along the way I saw that person vent in an ugly or childish way about something. The same thing is true of event organizers. I don't do this at the first sign of trouble.  Anybody can have a bad day and vent inappropriately. I respond more to a pattern of behavior. If someone represents a brand in Second Life, that brand could suffer from silent boycotts if they act like an unrepentant asshole. It is so easy to lose trust and so hard to regain it.

Sometimes I get tired of dressing Dolly up in the latest fashions and still want to mess around in Second Life. Shocking, I know. I've had this new Tee*fy release on for two or three days and HAVE NOT EVEN BOTHERED TO MATCH MY SHOES TO IT!

Whew, with that upsetting confession out of the way, I'll tell you what I've been doing instead - dressing up my homes. Dolly's got several you know. She's quite the jet/teleport setter. I seem to fall in love with all of the latest Barnesworth Anubis releases, and the rainy Parisian skybox at Collabor88 is my new love.

Mixing and matching furniture designers is as much fun as mixing clothing designers. My credits may seem kind of vague, so feel free to leave a comment below if you can't tell where I got something. Also, if the pics seem a little dark, well - I was feeling artsy fartsy and it was raining outside my skybox!

I like the bra and panties set from Fashionably Dead at this month's Collabor88.  The sheer cropped tank fits perfectly over the bra.  I decided to wear it with my new board shorts from coldLogic and felt downright spiffy in a relaxed and lazy sort of way.  My rustic old dock is from the Domineaux Effect, with animations built right in.

coldLogic has some new releases!  I always get excited about such things, and I'm showing off my new favorite casual top with cut-out shoulders for a subtle kind of sexiness.  The messy yet fab updo is a new release from D!va, available at the all new Collabor88, as are the Maxi Gossamer earrings.

When I'm looking for jewelry for my spoiled avatar, I look to a few top-of-the-mind stores like Maxi Gossamer, Mandala and Yummy.  More and more often I'm finding great trendy mesh jewelry at Pure Poison.  The store has just moved and been redesigned with half of it turned over to accessory items.  Check it out and let me know how you like it.  I'm loving all the great jewelry choices.


Credits:

(Top pic)
Pure Poison - Nisaa Necklace - Scarlett
Celoe.nile.hat.silver/dark
Pure Poison - La Rose Dress
Mirror's Enigma Victoria Tan Skintone (Nude/Red)
Dura-Girl*44(Sienna)
Purple Moon Coco Sunglasses in Red

(Middle pic)

Pure Poison - Cat Necklace
Pure Poison - Cat Earrings
tram  C409 hair / maroon (size40)
Emery - Mesh Denim Jacket Hollywood Dark

(Bottom pic)

Pure Poison - Love Earrings - Floral
Tee*fy Odette Dress Springfield
tram  C429 hair(B) / maroon

 I love this new Exile hair.  Hard. I'm not even sure I have anything else to say in this post except yada yada Zaara, Maxi Gossamer, FaMeshed, SLink sale, but have you noticed my hair? OMG.

Seriously, I adore everything I'm wearing.  This Zaara dress is one of the highlights of a VERY top notch FaMeshed event.  The hair isn't even from the event.  I'm just so excited about it because I had some strange idea in the back of my mind that Exile hair might sit too low on the forehead to suit me.  I haven't even demoed an Exile hair in forever.  Well, that's balderdash.  This hair is perfect.  And I'm loving the streaks and fades I can customize on a hud.  Kisses, kisses, Kavar (Truth, I still love you, too)!
Before I forget to mention it, while SLink is having a 30% off sale, it's a good time to pick up a fatpack or two of shoes for our SLink feet.  It's on now through the weekend.

You may be wondering why I don't have a pretty closeup featuring the hair, not to mention showing off the elegant necklace from Maxi Gossamer.  And, you might say, "Aren't those SLink shoes you're covering up in the grass?"  My answer is this - I'm a naughty, naughty fashion blogger today and I blame Whiskey Monday's "I Don't Want to Be a Fashion Blogger" post. Hey! Same dress!