Do you keep RPing a secret? Is it safe?

[Kidd]

I generally treat role playing the same way I treat my sexuality: if it comes up, I'll talk about it. If not, whatever.

The only time I really actively talked about role playing was with the table top group I joined my freshman year at college (everyone graduated though so I'm alone now, lol) and when a friend and I were still close. Haha, now I'm sad. Oh well.

Plus I'm buddies with some former RP'rs so I bring it up with them if I'm in a particularly good RP.

Then there's this strange relationship with another kinda friend? And we both RP a lot but we never talk about it? It's like a Fight Club thing between us, lol

So Idk. Overall, it's not fun talking about it with people who don't do it in my opinion. And it's hard to find people who do it.

[Silverwind Blade]

It's a hobby. I have many hobbies. Sometimes I talk about them with my friends. Most of them are like 'sounds pretty cool, whatever keeps you happy', rather than anything else. Which is why they're my friends, y'know?
Other people, depends if it comes up or not. I don't really care what they think. If they want to be dicks about it, then whatever. They're probably not worth my time anyway.

[Rare]

Kidd said
I generally treat role playing the same way I treat my sexuality: if it comes up, I'll talk about it. If not, whatever.

I'm the same as well, if it comes up, I will tell them. I can't just lie to them, I am not a very good liar.

[Gwazi Magnum]

Silverwind Blade said
It's a hobby. I have many hobbies. Sometimes I talk about them with my friends. Most of them are like 'sounds pretty cool, whatever keeps you happy', rather than anything else. Which is why they're my friends, y'know? Other people, depends if it comes up or not. I don't really care what they think. If they want to be dicks about it, then whatever. They're probably not worth my time anyway.

^This

This is what I'm like, and I seriously don't get why more people don't think like this. :/
I mean seriously, you're better off with friends who are actually your friends and not a bully under a guise.

[Kidd]

Rare said
I'm the same as well, if it comes up, I will tell them. I can't just lie to them, I am not a very good liar.

Haha, I don't lie about because I don't feel like there's a reason to. Most of the conversations go
"I like role playing."
"What's that?"
"Writing with other people."
"Oh, okay."

Magic Magnum said
^ThisThis is what I'm like, and I seriously don't get why more people don't think like this. :/I mean seriously, you're better off with friends who are actually your friends and not a bully under a guise.

Yeah, I agree. Though it doesn't generally come up with a lot of my friends because I'm just not interested in talking about it with people who just don't get it? I think a majority of my friends know I role play, but talking to them about it is probably the biggest waste of breath, lol. So for a lot of people it might not be "I'm worried about getting judged." It could be "this is a hobby that isn't fun to talk to people about who don't do it."

And I think that goes for most hobbies and interests: you can really only have in depth an engaging conversations about them with people who get it. Case and point: sports go over my head so my friends who like them don't talk about it with me. And they shouldn't because I won't be able to follow so I won't care and it'd be so one sided.

Only time this is an exception is when someone seems interested in trying it out themselves, at least for me.

[Foster]

henrypotema said
Do you keep your roleplaying a secret from those you know in real life? Your friends, family? Are there some who do know, others who don't?

If you do, why?

(just curious!)

I generally keep my real life secret from people I RP with, and refrain from bothering people IRL about my RPs.

When I do introduce someone to it, I usually mention any particularity 'epic' moment in a 'game', and then let them wonder what game they need to go buy to do that with.

[Rica]

I do and I don't. I don't tell every stranger and random acquaintance I meet because people have a bad habit of assuming roleplaying = sexy stuff? When it really doesn't. So I pretty much always have to explain that it's basically collaborative writing and that's it. It gets exhausting. xD

My closest friends and family are familiar with what I do. I roleplay with my roommate on a semi-regular basis (we're both nerds like that) and my family is mostly amused but not entirely sure what to think about it so they don't bring it up or question it.

Then again I've been roleplaying since my Habbo/Yahoo! chat days when I was just a kid so it's nothing new to them at this point.

[Gwazi Magnum]

Kidd said Yeah, I agree. Though it doesn't generally come up with a lot of my friends because I'm just not interested in talking about it with people who just don't get it? I think a majority of my friends know I role play, but talking to them about it is probably the biggest waste of breath, lol. So for a lot of people it might not be "I'm worried about getting judged." It could be "this is a hobby that isn't fun to talk to people about who don't do it." And I think that goes for most hobbies and interests: you can really only have in depth an engaging conversations about them with people who get it. Case and point: sports go over my head so my friends who like them don't talk about it with me. And they shouldn't because I won't be able to follow so I won't care and it'd be so one sided. Only time this is an exception is when someone seems interested in trying it out themselves, at least for me.

Oh I get that completely, sometimes it's just not relevant or no mutual interest.

Maybe it's just the people I've been exposed to, because normally when I see someone go "I don't tell people I RP" they don't mean it in a "It's just not relevant" manner like you mean but they mean it in a "If I say so, people will think I'm weird. And make fun of people! I can't let the outside world now! It will end me!" sort of way.

Rica said Then again I've been roleplaying since my Habbo/Yahoo! chat days when I was just a kid so it's nothing new to them at this point.

Which habbo?
If it was Habbo.ca I might have ran into you, I was known as Uzamaki.
I had a reputation for pissing off the heads of both the Naruto and Star Wars RP communities.

[vancexentan]

I don't go into depth with it into people but if someone asks or I am just casually chatting i usually reference it.

[Rica]

Magic Magnum said Which habbo?
If it was Habbo.ca I might have ran into you, I was known as Uzamaki.
I had a reputation for pissing off the heads of both the Naruto and Star Wars RP communities.

Nah it was just straight Habbo.com, I spent most my time in the Pokemon rooms. I was (still am) obsessed with Pokemon at the time. :P

[Gwazi Magnum]

Rica said
Nah it was just straight Habbo.com, I spent most my time in the Pokemon rooms. I was (still am) obsessed with Pokemon at the time. :P

Ah, most RP activity seemed to stem from the .com version.

Plus, most people are still obsessed with pokemon. :P

[LancerDancer]

henrypotema said
Do you keep your roleplaying a secret from those you know in real life? Your friends, family? Are there some who do know, others who don't?

If you do, why?

(just curious!)

I keep it secret because I lead three separate lives.

At work, I am a man's man, full of gruff, grizzle and bravado to portray my dominance as an alpha male to my colleagues. I also grow my beard to help this image. I talk about nothing other than the amount of beer I consume, the difficulties of trying to find a decent car insurer, the rising cost of living and current political events.

On a night out, I am the funny guy who takes nothing seriously and pokes fun at people for a whole range of reasons, sometimes ending in scruffs with some of the more sensitive victims. I believe I am seen as "cool" and "fun" to hang with, and appear as your average male.

At home I am Garador, level 7 Paladin with a hankering for some goblin blood.

Never shall the three meet in any one place, in case it destroys the space-time continuum.

[Crimson Flame]

I hide it from my parents. Knowing them, they'd just bitch if they knew... :/

"Why do you talk to strangers online but you have no real friends?"

"Don't you know it's not safe?! There are dangerous people online!"

And other things. :/ I'm 24, not a child... I know internet safety.

[Squad 404]

I refrain from talking about roleplay because of the unfortunate implications that the words "Role Play" can have.

[Kyrianei]

Valor said
I refrain from talking about roleplay because of the that the words "Role Play" can have.

I know that feel.

Crimson Flame said
I hide it from my parents. Knowing them, they'd just bitch if they knew... :/

"Why do you talk to strangers online but you have no real friends?"

"Don't you know it's not safe?! There are dangerous people online!"

And other things. :/ I'm 24, not a child... I know internet safety.

Jeez and I thought my parents were bad. xD I sympathise with you

[gorgenmast]

There's no benefit to telling anyone about RPing as far as I'm concerned. I can count on one hand the IRL people who I've had to explain roleplaying to and every time it's just a pain in the ass. Half the time, their immediate response is "Oh, so you're into kinky shit huh?" and then you have to talk them down from that. Better to just let the plebs play their Cawladoody and Madden 20XX.

[TJByrum]

It's more like it's not an issue. I've written stuff countless times while they're around but they never bothered to ask about it. And there's no real reason to bring it up in a conversation. So I've been doing this for 5 years and no one has really bothered to ask what I was doing. But now when I roleplay it is when I am bored and have nothing else to do, which means no one is around for me to do anything with, so I do it as a sort of side hobby.

I might tell my cousin about it. She's only 10, but she seems to be into this sort of stuff. She'd probably have questions about it, but that's cool cause she's cool (to be 10 anyway).

EDIT: whoa, I just read on the previous page one of you was in 4th grade when you started RPing? Geez, so my 10 year old cousin could roleplay by that standard. She's smart, she might would like it.

[Brian Stryker]

I tell some. Mostly people that understand are those that play games like D&D.

[Gwazi Magnum]

How are there so many people who have friends that would honeslty confuse roleplaying with Kinky stuff? o.O

Basically everyone I explain it to (which is basically everyone) knows better than that... :/

[LancerDancer]

Magic Magnum said
How are there so many people who have friends that would honeslty confuse roleplaying with Kinky stuff? o.OBasically everyone I explain it to (which is basically everyone) knows better than that... :/

To be fair, when I told my best mate I did some "part time online role playing", he assumed I pretended i was a chick in some seedy chatroom. In fact, if I recall, his exact response was "What the fuck, man?" then I explained to him it was just creative writing lol's with others, and he told me it would be best if I went along with the seedy chatroom image instead. He is a funny man.