I do not present the following as irrefutable fact, merely as opinion. I encourage healthy and deliberated-upon discussion in the replies.
General Opinions
The point of RP is to have fun
The job of an RP authority (whether a person or list of rules) is to maximize the amount of fun a group is having
If the members of an RP group change (which, I believe will happen frequently), such an authority should be discussed on its success in this objective
If such an authority fails to maximize the fun of a group, it should be modified
One RPer should not speak on behalf of another player, or deliver information about a RPerās character/nation, without their consent
An RPer should not expect others to exert the same amount of effort as they do into their projects, as this can limit the amount of fun in a group.
Specific Opinions
Discord is currently only for OOC discussions
IC Discord channels have been inactive in the past and were therefore discontinued
I, and I believe others, have personified our nations for non-canon banter in the OOC channel on Discord at least once in the past.
These interactions have led to confusion because of their placement in OOC channels. Not denoting them as IC was the incorrect decision under the present circumstances.
These interactions were not inherently flawed, and have merit if isolated or marked IC, as to avoid confusion with OOC posts.
Using the name of someoneās RP Nation instead of a pronoun, or marking nation-personified posts as IC in OOC Discord channels, would not alleviate confusion as effectively has having a separate area for posting them.
I find the forum less suitable for rapid responses and discussion than Discord, and therefore would prefer a Discord-based solution to the above problem, especially because I have heard that the forum admins are difficult to convince.
There are three non-canon tags for use on the forum, none of which appear to be associated or standardized
I want to add that I myself have violated some of my suggestions of etiquette (specifically, I have spoken for others on Discord) in the past. I apologize for this, and in the future will avoid heated discussion (or at least, take a few minutes to think before responding) both on Discord and the forum.
The General Opinions have formulated the current ruleset of the Sector A1-0 canon. However, I do believe you also miss the importance of continuity. If we open up the box of Pandoraās this canon would be filled with either retcons or be unrepairable. A lot of community effort has been made on the old forums which sadly isnāt visibly anymore due to the forum transfer. However, Iāll drop some links here so people can see how and why the current ruleset was formed through community discussions. For clarity, some of these discussion have taken place on the TSPRP Discord server of which Iāve found a few to illustrate my point.
As for your specific opinions, yourāre right that those actions werenāt inheritenly wrong. I myself have personified the Stoinian Star Kingdom for some bantz, but Iāve always strived for a clear IC/OOC distinction. As of late, for some that seems to have blurred and become a part of their culture. Personally, Iām not a fan of the growing blurring of IC/OOC personifications. Iām not a proponent for investing Discord infrastructure for it for the following reasons:
It would still stimulate a personification culture, which would eventually spread out into other Discord channels. Which puts us back at square one. The confusion creates a whole array of its own problems and should be avoided for obvious reasons.
The Discord channels of the TSPRP server have always been OOC. Just because a sub-culture of personification has been created, doesnāt mean we shouldnāt take actions to rectify it. Though this is largely a āculturalā issue. The Discord server is meant to host serious discussions primarily and banter secondly. Now sure banter comes naturally in conversations which is a good thing, butā¦
Banter can also be done OOCly. Instead of personifying like:
āāIām going to crusade you so bad for being genetic heretics!ā
One could easily say the following instead:
āāThe [Stoinian Star Kingdom / SSK] to crusade you so bad for being genetic heretics!ā
The former will create confusion for someone at some point on whether it was said IC or OOC. Thatās just the nature of how different human brains interpret things. My point is that we shouldnāt stimulate IC banter on our OOC Discord server. It would confuse too many over the long haul.
Even so, one could always spam in #spam. Or if you want a dedicated place for such IC banter, Iām sure thereās plenty of RMBās out there that could host. Or use the extra-canon tag on the forums.
If such a RMB-style banter/RP is primarily what one seeks, then Iām afraid our forum-based canon isnāt the place for it. Though Iām certain there are other venues which could host it, but our Sector A1-0 canon is based on a few principles. I remember a while back a RPer wanted to have a star nation with modern future tech where KSP space planes were the norm. That isnāt the tech level weāre RPing at in this canon. Nor should we accommodate the framework of this canon for everyoneās niches. This is a place for collaborative storytelling within a community built framework.
I still disagree on your first bulleted point, but as it seems like I hold the minority opinion, Iāll limit my banter to OOC, at least in the main Discord server. The COUS does have a separate server, so I will discuss the option of IC banter there, if that is allowed.
As far as I know, the statement āThe Discord channels of the TSPRP server have always been OOC.ā is incorrect. Although I acknowledge and accept that is the current state of affairs, there is an IC channel for A1-0 in the folder for archived channels.
Iām also a little confused as to the distinction drawn between your fourth and fifth bullet points (IC Banter vs RMB-Style banter/RP). Other than that though, I think weāre on the same page.
I would like to say that while there were IC channels on the discord they were never used in the way you might have thought. The IC channels were used essentially as a port of PNN - Pacifican News Network or Interstellar Holo Quick News to the discord. And forum posts always took precedence to those, as stuff wasnāt considered canon if it wasnāt posted on the forums.
TSP as a whole has several different RP venues. The three official canons on these forums have rules crafted by the community so that as many players as possible can have fun, but also have their creations protected from constant change. The RP isnāt often rapid, or as rapid as one may wish. The three canons are intended for more āseriousā RP, worldbuilding and even simulation, but thereās also room for content that requires less effort. The TSPRP server is mainly for these venues. However, there are other venues for fast-paced and ābantsā RP than the three canons, such as the RMB. Perhaps, if the server merger happens, or even before, there could be a channel for that kind of RP on the main server?