But like any online experience, there are pitfalls: not everyone is what they seem to be, and not everyone has the same ethical standards. You tend to color the outline of who someone is from your own crayon box, which isn't always relevant to who they really are. Some people are outright frauds - people who are actually role playing without warning you that it is a game to them.
In many ways it is everyday life, distilled and intensified, with a convenient (but not terminal) log out button in the upper right hand corner. Because while the following poem was inspired by my virtual experiences of the last decade, I have also met people in everyday life who are not what they seem, who play a part, whose ethical standards are not the same ones I hold. It's just harder to maintain the illusion in the cool, clear air of reality.
The Rules of Roleplay
by Judith Cullen
© 2018
There are always rules,
for any given role play:
specific points for specific play.
These clothes, but not those;
Roles can do this, but not that;
I know her, but never him.
There are always rules
to the way you role play:
Public is always "in play";
back line is for personal,
the private place for real,
for stepping aside.
But there are rules beyond:
borders you must respect
between gaming and reality.
You may explore your fantasies,
but never at the expense
of someone else's realities.
Never mistake companionship
for saying "I love you,"
expecting that you mean it.
Mistaking the veil of real
between you and them,
for your imagination's annex.
There are always rules,
for every single role play:
understanding the boundaries.
This is the game, that is reality;
This is my play, that is your life;
lines that should never be crossed.
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