In-Character vs. Out-Of-Character
In the MUCK world, there are two forms of communication and knowledge: in-character (IC) and out-of-character (OOC). All thoughts, speech, actions, and knowledge of any character fall under one or the other category.
IC
The thoughts and feelings of the woodlander or vermin character that you are playing fall under the category of in-character. Until a character states his or her name, your character doesn't know it, just as in real life. Until a character enters a room (with a pose), they aren't there IC, just like in real life. The IC knowledge of your character only includes what has and is happening to him or her IC, not some new character who pages you from some far off island that you've never met before. When they come and greet you, you have to ICly meet them for the first time. Very simply, IC is the character you are playing.
OOC
Your own thoughts and feelings. Clearly, you can check the where/find list and know who is awake/online. You know where they are and who they're talking with. This can't be used be used as IC knowledge, because that would be similar to telepathy, which, at least in this MUCK, doesn't exist. Just as simply, OOC is the player of the character. You.
Examples of IC and OOC
Truth: ICly, the character is wandering Redwall Abbey. OOCly, someone is sitting at a computer screen and typing.
Being Welcomed: ICly, whether the character likes you or not is up to them. Maybe they're developing a racist personality and so therefore don't like you. OOCly, the only reason someone would be turned away is if there is something very private going on.
Leadership: ICly, each character plays out their part in the Abbey. Perhaps as a cook, that's what they do everyday. Not much say in leadership. OOCly, this character has been around forever, so everyone looks to him or her for advice where it comes to important decisions.
Age: ICly, this character is only a season old, and barely knows anything. OOCly, the player of the character has been around since the MUCK was started, and knows just about all there is to know.
In-Game
In the game, there are ways to show if you are speaking or acting IC or OOC. The first is your status. You can set yourself to be IC (or DYN - dynamic role play, also is IC) or you can set yourself OOC, by typing status [ic/ooc/etc]. That's a basic way to tell who's saying what. Character or player.
Speaking and moving while IC is very simple. Use the 'say' or 'pose' commands. To say something, either type say [message] or " and then your message. Note: You don't need to put in the end " with either command. Either way, it will read as: [yourname] says, "Hello everyone." To do something instead of speaking, or to move and speak, use the pose command. Type pose and then what you pose, or : and then your movement and it will come out as: [yourname] waves to everyone. Note: you don't need to put in your name, the program will do it for you. If you want to speak, just add the "'s in yourself.
What if I'm IC and want to say something OOC? Do I have to change my status? No. There are commands to use for this too. Room-page is used to talk to the other players in the room. Greetings and suchlike. To roompage, type rp [message]. You can also pose in roompages, and for that type rp :[message]. To speak to someone not in your room, use page. Type page [reciever's name]=[message] and the page will appear to them.
What if I want to say something, but don't want everyone to hear it? Well, for IC, either say it and just pose that not everyone can hear it, or use whisper. As you guessed, type whisper [reciever's name]=[message]. If the message is OOC, just use the page command as explained above.
No-No's
Using OOC knowledge for your IC character is the biggest no-no. It's like having telepathy or something. For example: Two cities are fighting, and one plans to make an attack at a certain place. Because you have two characters, one on each side, you learn about this. So, taking this knowledge, you lead the best defense ever exactly to that place. How awful is this? Suddenly the interesting plans and interesting RP coming from them is ruined. It's like insider information. It's not fair to the other groups/players to use it. This is a big don't! If other players catch you doing it, you will get in trouble for it, and most likely insulted over it. As much as we try to keep everyone courteous, some people are rude anyway. And besides, this counts as rude behavior if you do it, so please don't.
Last Updated: 4-15-04
