Good Role Playing

I have mentioned plenty of times how in my view the main ingredient in a good RP partner is sincerity and commitment to the scenario. It's not technique - there is no "right" way to do it. All that is required is for my partner to react genuinely as if she were in the peril (or the moment, wherever we are in an RP).

It occurred to me that this might be seen as incompatible with a true "role play" in the sense of, say, a superheroine character who is very extensively defined as to capabilities and personality.

I don't think so. Anyone RPing such a character is doing so because it gives him or her a thrill or some other rewarding experience. So even if the character has personality traits unlike that of the person typing at the other end, he/she has (ideally) revealed something by choosing that character. If my RP partner is fully participating in a fully reactive way, writing as if she *were* that character, then her role is still sincere. If she is second guessing her response, consciously checking for consistency, it's not genuine and then, for me, not fulfilling.

I actually do think I can tell the difference. It's harder with email than IM -- in IM indifference or calculation reveals itself in countless ways. But even in email the truth ultimately comes out.

Oh yes, and if I have written something for you, and you like it? I do expect a little reciprocation.... let me in. Make a little effort and I'll meet you 90% of the way your end.