Roleplaying:
to assume the attitudes, actions, and discourse of (another), esp. in a make-believe situation in an effort to understand a differing point of view or social interaction: Management trainees were given a chance to role-play labor negotiators.
Hmmm... The definition of RP'ing is watered-down. Any RP'er can tell you that just by merely entering a virtual world (visual or not) a person is performing a very basic level of roleplaying. People tend to do anything to insist they are not RP'ers when in fact they are... but not very good at it.
Everyone has told some form of a tall tale (a lie of some sort). Lets not get side-tracked by words, but let us assume that RP'ing is what is defined as 'make-believe'. So, in that small but convincing moment of your life, you told a tale so convincing that someone actually believed it. Imagine if you slowed down that tale, added some depth, background and a setting worth dying for... Wouldn't your tale begin to come alive?
Roleplaying begins when you enter a virtual world. It grows as you take action within that world. Whether you stand by a lamp post and /yell "Spare Change Please!" or open your inventory to sort your belongings, these are the foundations for expanding your play.
As I said, everyone roleplays. Some use eloquent speach, others show courtesies. RP'ers don't care who is about, they are determined to continue to build upon a tale that they weave. One guy entered am RP World, ran around town /yelling "You guys suck!", "LOL", "HEY WHERE IS THAT BLACKSMITH DUDE?"...He was quickly dismissed as the village idiot.
One gamer entered an RP World and quickly levelled to the cap. He complained and cursed that there was no content or anyone to share it. Three months later, a Guild of RP'ers found him face down on the 3rd level of a remote dungeon. One person looked at the other and /say, "Tsk, Tsk... ", he *covered the body with a nearby blanket*, "when will they learn?"
As one gamer stated, "These days, roleplaying is what you make it." I agree.
