Last night was my first evening in CD and I must say it was quite an experience. My character arrives and the first thing he runs across is a detailed, multi-person RP of a crime scene (10+ if I recall). Injured and perhaps soon to be dead people are not something that a priest--or at least this one--can run away from. So I stayed, prayed and hopefully contributed to the story.

But during the "RP by immersion" process, I did have a couple of questions. I was fortunate to be able to engage in some OOC chat via IM later in the evening that helped answer some of them, but given that I am probably not the only person who may have them I thought I'd post them here. Before doing so, I searched around the website, re-read the Roleplay Guide and tried running a few searches through the forum to see if I'm just reinventing the wheel. I couldn't come up with anything, which is probably my fault so don't hesitate to send me a link. I am hopeful that somewhere there is an "Advanced Roleplay Guide" I just overlooked. If not, perhaps this can be the start of one.

Some questions:

(1) The Titler: what is/are the recommended uses for the titler, how does one use it and does the color of the title have any importance?

By this I'm not talking the basic "CD Citizen" title but rather the colorful, somewhat lengthy and to be frank, sometimes distracting paragraphs of information hovering over a character? Does that info "trump" whatever is in their picks description in the profile? Some of it seemed activity-specific (e.g. "leg is broken") but other seemed to be more of a permanent nature. I gathered one of its uses is to denote that the AV is playing a different role than usual. Is this correct?

(2) Roleplay timing: Why such long pauses?

I was surprised by the length of the pauses between each RP post. At first I honestly thought something was wrong with my computer, or maybe half of the discussion was talking place via voice. But the more I watched it appeared that they were responsive to each other, but just occurring on a slow pace. I was informed that it arises from the turn-based approach used in fighting. Is there a preferred order that should be followed? I certainly don't want to step on anyone's toes by jumping the queue but at the same time, I found myself getting a bit frustrated waiting for someone to do or say something!

(3) Gestures/Animations: Are they commonly used?

While I acknowledge that emoting is the norm, SL does provide more than a text based interaction. For example, I've been collecting priest-specific animations (e.g. making the sign of the cross) that I'd like to use as well as emoting the action. Does anyone even notice what the AVs are doing or am I just simply wasting my time?

(4) NPC RP: What is the recommended usage?

I noticed that on occasion it was necessary for someone to "NPC" some activity (presumably because there wasn't a PC to the action accomplished). Who decides how, when and why to use it?

(5) Chat transcript: Fair use or off-limits?

In some of SL, what happens in chat is considered public information and can be used accordingly (i.e. in blogs) without needing prior approval. In other section of SL, no repost of chat is allowable without first getting the okay from all the participants. What is the custom here in CD

Thanks in advance for your replies!

God bless,

Fr. Nishi