how would you describe yourself?
I try to avoid describing myself, because it gets too complicated to accurately answer in anything less than an essay. It's also confusing, as there's a lot of contradiction in me (which makes more sense when you take into account that I'm bipolar). When I have to summarize myself, I stick to easy, verifiable facts such as: I'm a 20 year old woman studying Spanish in the midwestern United States.
what could someone learn about you by looking around on your hard drive?
Hmm. First and foremost, they could tell what kind of music I like...almost everything, with a distinct preference toward metal and its subgenres. You'd also discover that I collect dragon image files, and perhaps you could infer that I like dragons very much. You might get a very small insight as to what I find funny (I save such files occassionally) as well as a small introduction to my artwork (visual and written, I keep a small amount in my files). You'd also run across a good deal of my college essays, so I guess you'd learn what kind of classes I've taken and how well/poorly I complete written assignments for them. You'd also note that my files are kept in strict order, with patterns of folders and subfolders and filenames -- I'm a very organized person.
would you classify your computer as a personal space?
YES. I keep very personal files on my computer, for one thing, so in one way it's like a journal. For another, I use it to communicate regularly with my friends, family, and boyfriend. You mess with my computer, and you will have serious problems from me. Hell, you might even run across problems with me if my computer is messing up on its own.
how do you think people "see" you? (how do you think others describe you?)
Depends on the person. As I've mentioned, I'm bipolar, so I'm capable of some very differing extremes. Also, I'm less open around certain people, more kind around others, more of an ass around others, etc.
what is your character in the RP like?
I have a mass of characters, well over three dozen, so it would take a long time to answer this as thoroughly as it could be. There are...a LOT of personality types, but I favor three types in particular:
headstrong characters
intensely shy characters
blissfully happy, to the point of apparent ditsiness, characters
would you say that the characters are like you? if so, in what ways? if not, in what ways is the character different?
All of them are like me to an extent, as they would have to be. Like Priam explains, they are products of my mind and my understanding of the world. Because my own personality can vary so drastically, there are few traits I can say are never like me. The only kinds of traits I can say are definately never like me are such things as, say, a fear of spiders...straight-forward, factual, objective like traits.
does your character reveal things about you that most people wouldn't guess?
Maybe? If you were really insightful? I couldn't say.
does your character have relationships? how close are his/her/its relationships?
If you mean relationships in the boyfriend-girlfriend-fiancé/e sense, then yes, a small minority of my characters are in relationships. One is close, one isn't, one is in the middle. I honestly don't RP relationships much.
are you emotionally affected by the game? i.e. if something bad happens to your character do you feel bad? if something good happens, do you feel good?
Definately, I have a strong sense of character empathy. I rely on it to RP my characters realistically.
do you feel that you've developed special skills for the game?
Hm. Yes. I've developed my writing skills, to a small degree. In chats, I've developed an ability to make sense of a jumble of messages, learning how to tell what messages are directed at whom and in response to what, even when this is not clear. I've also developed a sense of when clarification of my own messages (both content and to whom they are directed) is needed. I've also learned RPing jargon, and RPGWW-specific jargon, minimal as that is.
how many hours per week do you spend on the computer?
Too many. About 4-6 hours a day, each day, so that's 28-42 hours. Depends on my school workload and other factors, such as interesting books I'm reading, visitors, etc...
of those hours, how many are spent doing something related to the RP?
All of them, and yet not quite. If I'm online, I'm almost always in the regular chat room we have going here. However, I'm also almost always multitasking -- talking to my boyfriend, family, browsing comics, answering emails, etc.
____
do you feel that you are more apt to play one character over another when you are in a certain mood?
I would say yes, based on intuition, but giving the matter more thought, I don't think so. Somedays I feel like RPing one person over another, but there seems to be little rhyme or reason to this. They're just random urges, like food cravings.
do you find that people treat you differently when you are playing one character, as opposed to how they treat you when you are another character? (male character v. female character, beautiful character v. ugly character, smart v. dumb, etc)
Nope. However, the vast, vast majority of people in this community know me passingly to very well. They have an overall sense of who I am, separate from my characters.
Relatedly, I'll note that a good number of people on this message board know my full name, my age, where I live, and several even know my phone number and how to drive to my house. I meet up regularly with a group of the forumers who just happen to live nearby (about an hour and a half drive away).
you also implied that even though you are male, you have some female characters, (since i'm fairly new to RPs in general, bare with me here) is this common? when you are RPing, is it typical to not know whether the sex of the RPer behind a character matches the sex of the character?
Well, I'm female, but I have some male characters. This is fairly common, for RPers to have characters of the opposite sex. Some people RP them very well, and others have troubles. I find it easiest to RP males who are either very young, very old, or an unintelligent beast (such as a dog). I know for a fact this varies greatly with different RPers.
Around here, at RPGWW, I know everyone's proper sex, because I ask. A few people have tried to avoid giving their sex, which results in a negative backlash. These people never stay. I imagine it's much the same for the others here.
do you feel that your male characters express a different aspect of your personality that you don't get to express in similar ways in real life?
Nope. Then again, I'm a tomboy to an extent. :D
could you please define the community?
RPGWW is a meeting of terribly groovy people. There few exceptions. That sums it up right there.
what is this comprised of? friends? RPers? strangers?
All of the above.
do you feel that you have a responsibility to the people that you interact with here?
Only my friends and the people I respect (which are normally one and the same). <p>
<small><center><font color=navy>Take these broken wings
And learn to fly again, learn to live so free
And when we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up and let us in</font>
{
RPGWW -- an RPing community} -- {
Rydia's Pocket Dragon Encyclopedia} -- {
Fantasy Dragon Oekaki}</small></center></p>
Edited by: pd Rydia at: 10/23/03 9:56 pm