IC vs OOC



Just because a player has certain beliefs, attitudes and/or knowledge on a topic, it doesn't mean that a character has anything close to the same. Players are people, characters are fictional constructs. Keeping this in mind is really important when it comes to keeping IC (in-character) roleplaying separate from OOC (out of character) chatting.

A character should only learn new information about themselves and other characters from things they see, hear and experience from the roleplay. For example, it is very bad player etiquette for a PC hero to suddenly and mysteriously know that their love interest is cheating on them because they were told so during an OOC voice chat session. Likewise, if a character learns their love interest is romantically involved with someone else, it is very bad for the player to let their character's feelings imprint into their feelings and reactions so that the player is suddenly jealous or angry at the love interest's player.

Keeping IC/OOC separation is one of the core challenges that players face while storygaming. It sounds easier than it is.