by Kaet
Here is a list of abbreviations and other terms you may come across in the roleplay.
- PM: Technically an abbreviation for "puppet master," though the full name is rarely used anymore. It means the person behind the name in the chat -- the real-life person typing entries, also known as the player. You.
- PM: Okay, we know this is confusing. A PM is also a "private message," also known as a "whisper" in some other chats -- a message that is only viewable to one person. To send a PM in our chat, either click on the handle in brackets to which you want to send it (NOT the name on the sidebar) and then your message, or type "/TO Handle", a space, and then your message. These sometimes get messed up and go in the main chat, because if you don't get it exactly right it sends as a post, but it's more funny than embarrassing and happens to everyone.
- OOC/IC: Abbreviations for "out of character" and "in character," and used to talk about things that happen in the game versus those in real life. As you've read, OOC talk goes in some form of parentheses or brackets, and is talk between PMs (the people); IC talk is outside of those brackets and is the interactions between characters.
- to lurk: Lurking is when people hang out in the chat for OOC talk and don't RP. This happens for a variety of reasons -- not enough time, or maybe they just don't want to rp -- and is completely acceptable.
- lurking handle: A lurking handle is a handle registered in the name of the PM -- not a character. Many people use these when they don't have the time or inclination to RP, but want to hang out in the chat.
- clc: Steelsings-only slang; it means "character location check." If you're rping and someone asks for a clc, just type an OOC response saying where your character is and if they're talking to anyone. This is useful to assist people who are entering characters into the RP, so they don't run into the middle of a catfight or a fire in the kitchen and not realize it. It's nice if you glance up a couple lines to get an idea where everyone is, but if it's too hard, just ask for a clc.
- brb: Pretty much the only acceptable netspeak. Means "be right back" and is used to alert people to your absence. It's important to say this if you have to do something else briefly and are RPing with someone, so they don't wait there getting more and more annoyed because you aren't posting and there's no reason why you shouldn't be. Other net abbreviations are used sparingly and it is never okay to use letters for words. This means no "u", "r", or "y".
- GM: GM stands for godmod, and is used to describe an action that dictates what someone else's character does. For a more detailed explanation of godmodding, see How to RP a Fight.
- TS: TS stands for transcript and means a copy of a certain roleplay in a word processing document of some sort. Some people keep TSes of nearly every RP, and most people keep TSes of special RPs -- proposals, weddings, death scenes.