quick and dirty newbie guide
Feb. 19th, 2026 10:56 pmI like RP, you like RP, presumably you're looking at this because you may be new here and you want some tips about DWRP culture!
Looking for somewhere to jump in and test a character? Come see what's happening at![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
testdrivememe !
Primer about how to post and comment and such on Dreamwidth.
- When RPing a character, you make a journal for them. This is similar to making a tumblr blog or a twitter account, you can even pretty it up in different ways if you'd like using layout codes or stylesheets.
You can use the same email address for all your journals - there is no restriction on how many you can have tied to the same email! This is recommended, because then all your replies go to the same account inbox!
Here is a way to do gmail filters, if you use a gmail account to sign up!
The big difference is that with journals, you upload icons and can use them in comments, rather than using them in posts like on tumblr (or using none at all, as with twitter). They're 100x100 (pixels) maximum; for best viewing results, it's recommended you stick to the 100x100 ratio.
A good place to start finding icons is communities likedwrp_icons .
Generally it is good practice to have one character per journal. If you want to list lots of journals in one go, you can use an entry to show off your journals; this is what we call a muselist.
Muselist example code
Layout example code
Example of a character journal with a bunch of random shit in it:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lightlessfuture
Note that you don't have to make your journal fancy: think of it as a place where you can dump stuff about your character, as well as indicate where other people can find you to contact you and play with you on-site or off-site.
- When RPing, generally types are split between PSLs (private storylines) or games (public or semi-public communities in which you apply to play a character in that setting with other characters).
You can make open posts in your own journal, so that people can come directly to your journal to start RPing, or communities in which you can organize bigger things. Many people use a personal community as a 'musebox' - a place to store all their PSLs.
- A lot of people use Plurk as a social media site, but it's not mandatory.
- A good place to find active games (RP communities that are advertising and interested in new players) or offerings for PSLs are on places likeenablemeplz
- DWRP is a site that has a high percentage of canon characters, though we have lots of OCs too nowadays! If you're looking for canon or crosscanon RP, you have a higher chance of finding it here.
No matter who you're playing, though, remember to be polite and be patient.
A note on OCs and assumed relationships between canon characters
DWRP tends to make distinctions between 'canon-related' and 'setting' OCs; characters who have a strong bond to a canon character vs one that happens to exist in the same universe.
Games have different rules for apping setting OCs depending on the game; it's always good to check the FAQ or ask if you're unsure.
In addition, if you play OCs that are closely related to canon characters, it's a good idea to check with the player of that character first before tagging them by DMing their journal! They may not want to deal with the idea of a character having a long-lost child or a sibling, etc, so it's good to communicate before you jump in.
The same thing goes with relationship headcanons and assumed history when you're playing canon characters. Remember that the person on the other end may not share the same headcanons as you - talk it out if you have something in mind.
Everything goes more smoothly when you're on the same page!
Glossary - General
IC - In character.
OOC - Out of character.
CMO - Call Me Out. A CMO post is used as a general RP post, where people will tag in and call out the characters they want to RP with on that person's muselist.
HMD - How's My Driving. May be posted in a character journal if the player is open to potential criticism about how they write or rp this specific character. Fairly obsolete.
Opt-In - Posts that usually detail specific kinds of character power or interaction (the ability to detect special information about another character, the ability to read their minds, etc); this gives other players a chance to read and decide whether they'd like their characters to be affected by the power in question.
Opt-Out - Some characters have specific and unavoidable elements that will come up during threads, or may be uncomfortable to play with in specific IC ways. Opt-out posts are there to let the player of that character know who would prefer not to tag with them for any reason.
Permissions Post - Permission posts give a quick overview of what you, the player, are comfortable doing with a character (fight threads, affection, etc). Most people have them so that others can know at a glance what kind of threads you'd like to do with them the most.
Tag Out - Tagging other people's toplevels/top comments.
Toplevel - A starter comment in which threads can be started from, usually with prompts for people to reply to if it's an event.
CR - 'character relationship' (i think) used to refer to a character's friends/acquaintances/etc. See also: CR charts, which are a catalogue of a character's opinions on other characters they're close to.
Cross-canon - Two characters from different canons interacting with each other. Some people may ask, or indicate they are open to, cross-canon interaction - this means they don't only want to restrict themselves to characters from the same canon, but they're open to different ones as well!
Fourthwalling (in character) - Characters who, by virtue of their canon, have knowledge that they or others are fictional.
Fourthwalling (meta knowledge) - When players use their ooc knowledge of a canon to influence their RP with another character (ie, character A knowing things they haven't learned yet about character B because the player of character A knows character B's canon). Frowned upon.
Tag - a singular rp comment (i just finished this tag!), also used as a verb (as in tagging another). Equivalent of reply, reblog, etc on other sites or formats.
Thread - a chain of comments. You initiate these chains by using the reply function on a comment, like a reblog or a reply in a DM, except more readable.
Boomerang/boomeranging - Rapidly advancing a thread by tagging quickly to each other.
Threadjacking - Tagging a thread as a third party to interrupt it or branch off another conversation from it. Usually seen on network posts, to mimic the functions of social media.
Open [x]/OTA - OTA stands for Open To All. Someone may indicate in their subject line or log that a post or comment is 'open', which means anyone can tag them. If someone has a blank subject line/doesn't specify, you can assume that they're open to being replied to.
Closed [x]/Closed to [x] - Indicates that the RP thread/log/etc in question is closed to a specific character or specific person; don't reply to these unless you Are that person, or part of that group.
Brackets/action - A style of tag formatting. [ Can look like this ] or [ Like this ], with the second style using the 'small' HTML brackets. Actions and internal monologues/thoughts are put into the brackets, and dialogue goes outside of them.
An example tag might look like this. [ I said, explainingly. ]
Prose - A style of tag formatting. No brackets, descriptions are in paragraphs, and "Dialogue is denoted with quotes!"
"An example prose tag might look like this," I said, explainingly.
Formatting doesn't matter very much; in my experience people are happy to match you in format no matter what you prefer to use.
Glossary - Game content
Fourth wall event - Generally an event that's 'noncanon' to the game as a whole, opened to non-game players. Everyone can come in and tag on the post.
AU - Alternate universe. An AU game means you're required to make an alternate universe version of that character that exists in the game's setting.
OU - Original universe. The 'canon' version of a character.
CRAU - A character who has history and development from a previous game, brought into a new one.
Jamjar - A 'characters are brought to another universe and dropped in there' style of game premise, much like dropping them in a jar like a bug. It's very popular.
Crack - A game style which is generally wacky and humorous; anything goes, anything happens. The tone is generally ridiculous and lighthearted. Has mostly fallen out of fashion in the present scene.
Application - A form you fill out and submit to the moderators of a game, to prove the suitability of a character. The intensity of an application varies depending on the game.
AC - Stands for activity check. Usually monthly. A game provides activity checks of some kind so that you can prove you're active enough to be part of the game. Intensity and detail varies, and can take the form of submitting valid comments, tallying up points, or simply just checking a box.
Rewards - Many games offer RP incentives for consistent AC, and will have you tally points for this purpose.
Test drive meme - A public post made by a game, so that prospective characters can see how they'd do in the game's setting. Think of it as a demo for what the actual game is like!
Open/public game - A game where anyone can apply, and everyone has access to the community to read it.
Invite-only game - A game where you must be invited by a player already in the game, or the mods, in order to be able to apply. There is usually a page where you can apply for a mod invitation.
Private game - Private games are limited to a specific friend circle, usually friends of the person modding the game. It's up to the mods (and their friends) if they want to let in newcomers.
Memloss - Stands for memory loss. Memloss games are where characters lose their memories and slowly regain them through RP.
Meme comm - An open community where people can post 'memes', essentially prompt posts to facilitate public RP with one another.
Murdergame - A fast-paced game style where a small group of characters are placed into close proximity and high stress situations. Characters will kill each other in rounds, and then others will investigate, leading to trials in which they try to find the murderer of each round. There are usually good endings and bad endings. Time-sensitive; don't apply for these unless you are prepared to do a lot of tagging very quickly.
Teamnesia - A game style in which characters are inflicted with amnesia and placed into teams. They must work together to play games in which they regain memories gradually.
Log - an 'in person' post in a game; generally for characters to interact with each other physically.
Network post - refers to a 'network' in a game. Post format similar to posting on social media/from a character's phone or communication device. Most networks have an audio/video/text division, allowing characters to text each other, have video calls, or have phone calls.
Event - Generally monthly, though this varies by game. A game event affects the whole playerbase, and is there for players to react to. Mods will usually put up an 'event log' with all the details.
Phew, you got to the end! Good job!
If there's anything you're unsure about, communication is key! Ask if you don't know.
And have fun!!
Looking for somewhere to jump in and test a character? Come see what's happening at
testdrivememe !Primer about how to post and comment and such on Dreamwidth.
- When RPing a character, you make a journal for them. This is similar to making a tumblr blog or a twitter account, you can even pretty it up in different ways if you'd like using layout codes or stylesheets.
You can use the same email address for all your journals - there is no restriction on how many you can have tied to the same email! This is recommended, because then all your replies go to the same account inbox!
Here is a way to do gmail filters, if you use a gmail account to sign up!
The big difference is that with journals, you upload icons and can use them in comments, rather than using them in posts like on tumblr (or using none at all, as with twitter). They're 100x100 (pixels) maximum; for best viewing results, it's recommended you stick to the 100x100 ratio.
A good place to start finding icons is communities like
dwrp_icons .Generally it is good practice to have one character per journal. If you want to list lots of journals in one go, you can use an entry to show off your journals; this is what we call a muselist.
Muselist example code
Layout example code
Example of a character journal with a bunch of random shit in it:
lightlessfutureNote that you don't have to make your journal fancy: think of it as a place where you can dump stuff about your character, as well as indicate where other people can find you to contact you and play with you on-site or off-site.
- When RPing, generally types are split between PSLs (private storylines) or games (public or semi-public communities in which you apply to play a character in that setting with other characters).
You can make open posts in your own journal, so that people can come directly to your journal to start RPing, or communities in which you can organize bigger things. Many people use a personal community as a 'musebox' - a place to store all their PSLs.
- A lot of people use Plurk as a social media site, but it's not mandatory.
- A good place to find active games (RP communities that are advertising and interested in new players) or offerings for PSLs are on places like
enablemeplz - DWRP is a site that has a high percentage of canon characters, though we have lots of OCs too nowadays! If you're looking for canon or crosscanon RP, you have a higher chance of finding it here.
No matter who you're playing, though, remember to be polite and be patient.
A note on OCs and assumed relationships between canon characters
DWRP tends to make distinctions between 'canon-related' and 'setting' OCs; characters who have a strong bond to a canon character vs one that happens to exist in the same universe.
Games have different rules for apping setting OCs depending on the game; it's always good to check the FAQ or ask if you're unsure.
In addition, if you play OCs that are closely related to canon characters, it's a good idea to check with the player of that character first before tagging them by DMing their journal! They may not want to deal with the idea of a character having a long-lost child or a sibling, etc, so it's good to communicate before you jump in.
The same thing goes with relationship headcanons and assumed history when you're playing canon characters. Remember that the person on the other end may not share the same headcanons as you - talk it out if you have something in mind.
Everything goes more smoothly when you're on the same page!
Glossary - General
IC - In character.
OOC - Out of character.
CMO - Call Me Out. A CMO post is used as a general RP post, where people will tag in and call out the characters they want to RP with on that person's muselist.
HMD - How's My Driving. May be posted in a character journal if the player is open to potential criticism about how they write or rp this specific character. Fairly obsolete.
Opt-In - Posts that usually detail specific kinds of character power or interaction (the ability to detect special information about another character, the ability to read their minds, etc); this gives other players a chance to read and decide whether they'd like their characters to be affected by the power in question.
Opt-Out - Some characters have specific and unavoidable elements that will come up during threads, or may be uncomfortable to play with in specific IC ways. Opt-out posts are there to let the player of that character know who would prefer not to tag with them for any reason.
Permissions Post - Permission posts give a quick overview of what you, the player, are comfortable doing with a character (fight threads, affection, etc). Most people have them so that others can know at a glance what kind of threads you'd like to do with them the most.
Tag Out - Tagging other people's toplevels/top comments.
Toplevel - A starter comment in which threads can be started from, usually with prompts for people to reply to if it's an event.
CR - 'character relationship' (i think) used to refer to a character's friends/acquaintances/etc. See also: CR charts, which are a catalogue of a character's opinions on other characters they're close to.
Cross-canon - Two characters from different canons interacting with each other. Some people may ask, or indicate they are open to, cross-canon interaction - this means they don't only want to restrict themselves to characters from the same canon, but they're open to different ones as well!
Fourthwalling (in character) - Characters who, by virtue of their canon, have knowledge that they or others are fictional.
Fourthwalling (meta knowledge) - When players use their ooc knowledge of a canon to influence their RP with another character (ie, character A knowing things they haven't learned yet about character B because the player of character A knows character B's canon). Frowned upon.
Tag - a singular rp comment (i just finished this tag!), also used as a verb (as in tagging another). Equivalent of reply, reblog, etc on other sites or formats.
Thread - a chain of comments. You initiate these chains by using the reply function on a comment, like a reblog or a reply in a DM, except more readable.
Boomerang/boomeranging - Rapidly advancing a thread by tagging quickly to each other.
Threadjacking - Tagging a thread as a third party to interrupt it or branch off another conversation from it. Usually seen on network posts, to mimic the functions of social media.
Open [x]/OTA - OTA stands for Open To All. Someone may indicate in their subject line or log that a post or comment is 'open', which means anyone can tag them. If someone has a blank subject line/doesn't specify, you can assume that they're open to being replied to.
Closed [x]/Closed to [x] - Indicates that the RP thread/log/etc in question is closed to a specific character or specific person; don't reply to these unless you Are that person, or part of that group.
Brackets/action - A style of tag formatting. [ Can look like this ] or [ Like this ], with the second style using the 'small' HTML brackets. Actions and internal monologues/thoughts are put into the brackets, and dialogue goes outside of them.
An example tag might look like this. [ I said, explainingly. ]
Prose - A style of tag formatting. No brackets, descriptions are in paragraphs, and "Dialogue is denoted with quotes!"
"An example prose tag might look like this," I said, explainingly.
Formatting doesn't matter very much; in my experience people are happy to match you in format no matter what you prefer to use.
Glossary - Game content
Fourth wall event - Generally an event that's 'noncanon' to the game as a whole, opened to non-game players. Everyone can come in and tag on the post.
AU - Alternate universe. An AU game means you're required to make an alternate universe version of that character that exists in the game's setting.
OU - Original universe. The 'canon' version of a character.
CRAU - A character who has history and development from a previous game, brought into a new one.
Jamjar - A 'characters are brought to another universe and dropped in there' style of game premise, much like dropping them in a jar like a bug. It's very popular.
Crack - A game style which is generally wacky and humorous; anything goes, anything happens. The tone is generally ridiculous and lighthearted. Has mostly fallen out of fashion in the present scene.
Application - A form you fill out and submit to the moderators of a game, to prove the suitability of a character. The intensity of an application varies depending on the game.
AC - Stands for activity check. Usually monthly. A game provides activity checks of some kind so that you can prove you're active enough to be part of the game. Intensity and detail varies, and can take the form of submitting valid comments, tallying up points, or simply just checking a box.
Rewards - Many games offer RP incentives for consistent AC, and will have you tally points for this purpose.
Test drive meme - A public post made by a game, so that prospective characters can see how they'd do in the game's setting. Think of it as a demo for what the actual game is like!
Open/public game - A game where anyone can apply, and everyone has access to the community to read it.
Invite-only game - A game where you must be invited by a player already in the game, or the mods, in order to be able to apply. There is usually a page where you can apply for a mod invitation.
Private game - Private games are limited to a specific friend circle, usually friends of the person modding the game. It's up to the mods (and their friends) if they want to let in newcomers.
Memloss - Stands for memory loss. Memloss games are where characters lose their memories and slowly regain them through RP.
Meme comm - An open community where people can post 'memes', essentially prompt posts to facilitate public RP with one another.
Murdergame - A fast-paced game style where a small group of characters are placed into close proximity and high stress situations. Characters will kill each other in rounds, and then others will investigate, leading to trials in which they try to find the murderer of each round. There are usually good endings and bad endings. Time-sensitive; don't apply for these unless you are prepared to do a lot of tagging very quickly.
Teamnesia - A game style in which characters are inflicted with amnesia and placed into teams. They must work together to play games in which they regain memories gradually.
Log - an 'in person' post in a game; generally for characters to interact with each other physically.
Network post - refers to a 'network' in a game. Post format similar to posting on social media/from a character's phone or communication device. Most networks have an audio/video/text division, allowing characters to text each other, have video calls, or have phone calls.
Event - Generally monthly, though this varies by game. A game event affects the whole playerbase, and is there for players to react to. Mods will usually put up an 'event log' with all the details.
Phew, you got to the end! Good job!
If there's anything you're unsure about, communication is key! Ask if you don't know.
And have fun!!
