[ycleption]

To return a bit to the original topic.

To me, roleplaying is about telling a story. I was introduced to roleplaying by people who shared my enjoyment of improv theater, and saw rp through that lens, which I've picked up to a certain extent.
Now, anybody who has done improv before knows the sacred principle, the most fundamental concept of improv is the rule of "yes, and..." Which is to say, take the information you are given and add to it. I think this is a principle that has a broad application to this game. When you are given OOC emoting or background information, accept it as part of your RP, and use it to create the scene that your character is in, make it part of the story you are telling with your character.

When we are told there is an invisible waterfall *smiles as the spray from the falls hits her*

When we are told Port Hempstead is the largest city in the world, and would not allow fully covered people to blithely enter *removes his helmet as he passes the gate, and spots the gleam of fellow adventurers' armor amidst the bustling crowd*

When we are told Vehl is a seedy den *keeps a hand on his sword, but tosses a few coins to the urchins begging for a true*

When we are told Lor has a lot more guards than normal *slouches nervously, trying to blend in with the crowd and not meeting the guards' eyes*

When we are told Layo is a medieval type world, try to pretend that postmodern concepts would be alien to the general populace.

When we are told that even dwarves and elves and humans have some pretty ugly history with each other, and with the monstrous races even more so, try to pretend like the average party that goes out adventuring together probably gets some funny looks when they come back to the inn after a long day.

When we are told that joe average makes a fraction of what we adventurers spend on our first weapon, try to pretend like the average adventurer gets some funny looks when they wear that weapon to the inn after a long day.

You get the picture... I realize there is a fine line between poor RP because you're reacting only to what's on your screen, and poor RP because you're inventing the improbable or force emoting the masses of npcs. I also realize that there is a lot in this game that has not been well-defined in order to say "yes" so we can RP an "and..." However, I think that there is enough space for a lot of creative RP when we do work with the information that we are given.

And I have to admit, I am not always the best example when it comes to RPing like this; I have a hard time sometimes with RPing by computer, but I'll try to practice what I preach. :-)