MySpace Roleplaying June 15, 2006
Posted by David Kaye in : MySpace, Social Networking , trackback
When someone mentions online roleplaying, your first thought tends to be of dragons, wizards and a certain online world with a population roughly the size of Denmark.A quick surf around MySpace, however, reveals a different form of roleplaying entirely. I’m not talking about the inexplicable thousands of fake Paris Hiltons. Look more closely, and you’ll see something quite distinct from that is going on.
This page is an example of what I’m talking about. Have a read, and you’ll see the page’s owner makes it clear: this is about making a new fictional character, not faking a celebrity. This blog entry sketches roles out in impressive detail:
.:Mischa Barton:. - Amy Marie Davis
-Age: 19-
-The sweet girl of the group-
-Use sweet pictures of Mischa, NOT sultry-
-Amy is a photographer, and loves walking around beaches taking pictures of the ocean and the people around-
-She’s single, not really looking, but wants that special guy-
-She doesn’t like rushing into relationships, and her first love [[@ age 16]] just recently died-
.:Alexis Bledel:. - Hannah Lee Roberts
-the caring one-
-Age: 18-
-Hannah loves her friends, whenever they have a problem, she is always there to help-
-She is completely head over heels for her boyfriend Kevin-
-loves the moon && stars-
-plays soccer but still likes having fun with her girls!-
.:black hair-Ashlee Simpson:. - Tori Lynn Eliot *taken*
-the punk//prep-
-Age: 19-
-loves to dance, ballet, jazz, you name it-
-obsessed with alternative “punk” music AKA Panic! At the Disco, Say Anything, ect. ect.-
-wants to be a host on MTV-
All this made me curious, so I decided to see if I could find out who is doing this, and why. I’ll follow up with what I found in another post.
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[…] A week or so ago, The Razor published a pair of articles on MySpace Roleplaying. The first described the phenomenon of MySpace profiles that are fictive renderings of celebrities or of the characters they play on TV. The second is an interview with a MySpace roleplayer, which contains the ffollowing gem of a quote: […]
This fascinates me, to be quite honest. I just now googled “myspace roleplaying” and found this blog entry.
The reason I did this was because something very confusing happened to me a couple months ago.
I was bored and playing iSketch, the online pictionary game you may have heard of, and this girl comes into the game and starts talking to me. She said her name was “Luxx Andrews.” Sometimes she only used one “x.” We joked around for a while, and she sent me to a online photo album with pictures of her. I was looking at the pictures, and noticed that each one had the name “Lux Andrews” crudely photoshopped onto it. She claimed to be from California.
We would contact each other on iSketch for the next few days, and I started to sense something fishy. There’s always the chance that someone sending pictures of “themselves” over the internet are really frauds. I started to think that that was what was going on. Go figure.
iSketch automatically determines your timezone for everyone to see. I noticed that her timezone was not PST. I also remembered that she would sometimes misspell her name. I asked her to identify certain objects in the photos of her, and she could not do it– for instance, she couldn’t tell what a t-shirt said in one photo.
So it was pretty apparent that the Lux Andrews I knew was a fraud. I decided to investigate some more. Most of us kids have myspaces these days, and Lux Andrews is a very unique name, so I went on myspace to see if she had one. Sure enough, I found Lux Andrews’s myspace, and it had all the same pictures as that online photo album. I looked around the site and read things about this girl named Lux Andrews. She was apparently an actress in California, and starred in a teen drama pilot, and I don’t recall the name of it. When I read about it, I googled the name, and looked all over the internet for it, and didn’t find anything. Not one bit of information. I decided I would ask Lux, the next time I had the opportunity, if she had a myspace. If she said no, then I would know for sure that she was fake.
Then I noticed something that had been right under my nose the entire time. There was a blog on the myspace that was titled something like, “Disclaimer// This is the real me!” I clicked the link and I was absolutely confused by what I saw. This girl claimed she actually lived in Florida and was named Kendal. She even included a real photo of herself. The photo was taken from an angle and with poor quality, so I still wasn’t sure if it was the same girl from the Lux Andrews photos. I’m pretty sure now that it wasn’t.
So, I asked myself: if Lux Andrews isn’t a real person, who is the girl I’ve been talking to? Is it the real girl, Kendal? Who is the girl in the Lux Andrews pictures? Is her name really Lux Andrews? Does she know she’s being impersonated? Where does this Kendal person get all these photos?
I later got in touch with “Lux Andrews” on AIM (her screenname was luxx andrews, with two x’s), and called her “Kendal” to see how she would react. Of course, she didn’t know what I was talking about. I then told her that I found the “real” Lux Andrews’s myspace, and she blocked me.
I haven’t even seen her on iSketch since then.
I still didn’t understand what was up with that girl, Kendal, and the Lux Andrews photos until today, when I revisited the myspace, and saw that she was “quitting” the Lux Andrews character. Then it made a little more sense– this was a game. A roleplaying game. I visited some of her friends’ myspaces, and they would headline the page with things like, “This is a roleplaying account.”
This was one of the weirdest things to happen to me, on the internet or in real life. Not only was this an example of myspace roleplaying, but also someone (only god knows who) roleplaying as someone who is roleplaying as someone on myspace.
Sorry, I just felt the need to tell someone.
myspace roleplaying is fine unless there doing something rong
for instance i am a roleplayer myself and am verry proud of my myspace role playing…. but i role play as my own made up charecter on myspace and so do planty other people … the role playing i do has nothing to do with real life so fwah…..
*leaves the room with a mad face*
I personally don’t see anything wrong with Myspace RP itself, only with certain people doing it. Look, I’m a Rper as my own made up character, who is based off of a ficticious Mafia Family as part of the Godfather Roleplaying Group. Stop raggin’ us and leave us alone.
*gets in the back of the limo, surrounded by guards and drives off, swearing loudly in Italian*
you suck cock your such a bitch
Wooooooooowwww..
This is kinda creepy, this is yes
the real lux andrews
no lie. I’m very serious
except there is no real lux andrews
I made her up omg.
My real name in kendal and i’m a normal girl
and thats ittt.
and nice oliver with the whole mafia thing hahaha
I have a new rp named Paige Sommers
btw. =) kthnx.
Myspace Roleplaying is a fine thing to do. But to someone that doesnt know what it is and someone that has never heard of it wouldnt really understand how it worked. Most people think it is someone that is pretending to be someone else. When it isnt. You can take characters from movies or books and you can act them out as if you were them from where those stories or movies left off. Or you can make up your own person and act it out from the beginning. I am an advanced roleplayer myself. I have more then three myspaces that are devoted to roleplay and from most people that I talk to on there OOC (out of character, when you want to talk to other roleplayers and not stick to character.) say I am very good and what not. It is a very fun thing to do. It gets you away from real life drama and brings you into a whole new world. Myspace RP gives you a bit of creativity and what not. It also stretches out your ability to write and come up with stories and thoughts better. Like for instance ever since I got into roleplaying say…in May or March I had been getting better grades in school and what not. They also let you meet new friends from other places. Like now I have friends in Georgia and Florida and New York and other places. So really all I can say is dont say horrible stuff or even dont say anything about it until you try it and see how fun it can actually be.
i have a lot of myspace roleplaying acounts it is very fun and alot safer my most recent rper is her http://www.myspace.com/ilyglen
People who MySpace roleplay are pathetic wannabe teenagers with no life and an MTV2 addiction. I don’t mind when they make celebrity characters, but when you STEAL snother user’s photos, that’s just sad and completely unfair to the subject. Even more sickening is that one of these RP girls says that Panic! at the Gay Bar is “punk,” but let’s not get into that. These kids have shitty self-confidence and don’t want to live in the real world. Yes, I know that it’s entirely too easy to lie about yourself on the internet, but MySpace was created as a real-life online networking site. Fake and RP profiles are obnoxious, and the owner is usually really vain even though they’ve never posted a real pic of themselves.
Hey Ace, Its not that big of a deal!!! Its just acting, You see people do it every day. I am not a RPer but I have several in my friends list and I have to say I see nothing wrong with it. Unless someone steals you and your pics. ya need to relax!! Its good entertainment for the rest of us!!! If you dont like RPers then dont add them!!!
PLAY ON PLAYERS, PLAY ON!!!!!!!!!!
Aight heres the deal on this one.. The people who roleplay are people that need a break from the things of reality and have some fun in someone elses shoes, I do this myspace roleplay because Its like writing a book of my own with others and its nothing more than a game to me where the character I play came from my head, my idea completely, the fake Celebrities are not roleplayers.. these people ARE pathetic. If you look hard enough youll see there are people base their person on modern life, some stick to the D&D style and Whitewolf, some use the ideas found in different Animes from Japan like the half human half cat (neko), Obominations (Vamp/Werewolf), Vamps, erewolves (of course) its really one of those things you have to experience to understand and it requires a lot of imagination and a good bit of intellegence or people will be confused by what you do or say. And that is what the REAL Myspace Roleplay is
ATTENTION MYSPACE ROLEPLAYERS: Due to the demand I’m seeing from all the visitors who get here looking for info about MySpace roleplaying, I have set up a dedicated forum. Go to MySpace Roleplay Center at http://www.myspaceroleplay.info and continue the discussion!
Alright, I’m pretty creeped out by this whole Roleplaying thing because I found a girl using my pictures and putting her ID on them.
I don’t think it’s okay to steal another girl’s pictures even if it’s for roleplaying especially if they ask you to take them down.
So, if a roleplayer is refusing to remove my pictures and refusing to take her ID tag off my photos, I think that’s wrong.
How funny, the Hannah Lee Roberts account was mine. I stopped using her as it was getting quite boring. I just found it interesting
There are many forms of roleplay onmyspace it depends on how good you there are about two forms the first is the regular people that roleplay they usual type less than anyone for example role players that just say hello the second for of roleplay is Paragraph Roleplay it is typing out whole paragraphs of what your character does
Roleplaying on MySpace isn’t as bad as a lot of people make it out to be. I’m not “vain” and “obnoxious” at all. I’m a GIRL and I roleplay as Captain Jack Sparrow, Dean Corso, Edward Scissorhands, Ichabod Crane, Willy Wonka, John Wilmot, Gilbert Grape, Roux from Chocolat and Mort Rainey, AND I have my own account. And before anyone says anything, it’s not because I’m Depp-obsessed - I just love all those characters.
Roleplaying is just writing stories with other people, and I must say I love it. I don’t use it because I’m afraid of the real world or anything; it’s just a way of being creative.
What most people see as roleplaying is, how can I use an example…
Okay, some girl using Keira Knightley’s pictures, pretending to be Elizabeth Swann, and posting comments saying “hi how r u” to Jack Sparrow’s in a hope of being married. Now me, I don’t agree with that. You may as well use your own pictures, as I’ve said on my RP accounts.
PROPER roleplayers have a decent set of rules, they write more than two paragraphs full of detailed words and interesting scenarios. And it’s not as easy as people seem to think, either.
And I suppose it can be used as a form of hiding, because a lot of people that are now some of the most awesome people I’ve met would never have added me if I didn’t have Jack Sparrow pictures. They added me for my interests and talents - unlike why people would add me on a real account.
fuck u all
umm you dont have to write detailed paragraphs to be considered a roleplayer. I have been through tons of rp accounts and yes on many of them i have Semi and Para-Roleplayed but One-Liners are fine. RP can be done either way. Its possible to do all three (Semi,Para and One-Liners) you did not create RP so who are you to say who is or isnt a Proper RP? you have no right to say that. Everyone has their OWN way of RPing and you may not agree with it but that does not mean its wrong.
Cheapest fioricet….
Fioricet message board….
take photos from the wrong photographer and endup with a lawsuit
riaa doesnt have people representing them in congress.
To all those pro RP…RP is fine for those who appropriately display a disclaimer…but with your games comes consequences. this RP thing, is just another way in for the sicko and perverts of the world. i have a 13yr old daughter…i speak from experience.
Roleplayers have added me to Myspace and copied my pictures, posting them on another site and posing as some guy with mental health issues. I saw the funny side at first, but what if people see that profile before meeting me? They’re going to have a whole loads of assumptions about me that are not going to be true, and I may be none the wiser. I don’t think that’s fair, these “roleplayers” are pathetic and could really affect somebody’s life in a bad way. Contrary to what a lot of these roleplayers are saying in the comments I’ve read, I actually think the celebrity ones are harmless. A little sad maybe to roleplay as somebody else, but at least the real people viewing the profile are going to know that it isn’t Kiera Knightley or whoever. I just think it’s wrong to steal somebody’s identity and create a new life for them. I don’t agree with it in the slightest, and would like to say a huge “fuck you” to every roleplayer who reads this.
Oh-me-oh-my. Well what do we have here? A discussion about myspace roleplaying? I, myself, have been roleplaying for about…lets say 2 years now–and it hasn’t gotten old. Though boring at times, roleplay can truly give someone an edge in school due to enhanced writing ability as well as a significant boost in creativity. However–lets not mistake roleplay with the…idiots…who tend to love to act as if they are celebrities. It’s quite insane, really, and not in the least bit ‘cool.’ I’ll admit, I’ve gotten my share of fire from people in school and such, yet I’ve allowed myself to zone it out, maintain friends, and actually turn my character’s storyline into the very basic story for a book; which I intend to work on over the next couple years before beginning writing. Though I’m late with posting something like this, I only feel it respectful to take a say in the matter.
There are basic-type roleplayers, those who post short sentences or very speedily write *tackles* or such. It’s not uncommon, I started that way. There are then the more advanced caliber, those who slowly progress from the one-line posts to a more sophisticated paragraph format, than multiple paragraph format. I suppose I have said enough, and with that, I play my ending to this message.
Free incest stories….
Incest cartoons. Family incest photos. Incest. Gay incest. Incest sex. Lesbian incest. Incest stories….
Hello there. So, I have been a role-player since the winter of 2005, and I would love to share what I do and why I do it. Some of the things people mentioned above me are true, and some are definitely not.
I began role-playing a few months after I created a fan site for one of my celebrity role models. I role-played characters from my favorite tv shows like Sophia Bush from One Tree Hill, Eva Longoria from Desperate Housewives, and this past couple years I’ve been playing various characters for the Harry Potter series.
I love to write, which is one of the main reasons why I role-play. Getting lost in your favorite movies, being able to change some things, switch up who gets to end up with who..it was all fun and games. I was a Hermione Granger role-player for a while until I heard about canon/non canon characters. I created my very own Harry Potter character, sorted her into a house that I wanted her to be in, and even create my own role-playing family.
When you have a role-playing family, they really do begin to grow on you after a couple years of being with them. I made tons of friends, and that’s where the whole “rl blog” comes into play. Some of us rather not share it because it’s private information, but others, who only add a selective amount of people and trust them, they let them see who they are behind that character. And either they don’t have their blog set as “friends only” or somehow you befriended one of them. You should not be upset at them or send them hate mail because you thought you were talking to the real so-and-so. This is why we created a rules blog, for the disclaimer, telling you guys that we aren’t the person in the picture.
I have, however, met some strange role-players. Some would have the most bizarre storyline I have ever read, some are mentally disturbed, some are too graphic when it comes to pictures, and some even claim to be that person. Those are the people you should stay away from. But I can assure you that role-playing is usually all fun and games. It’s a place to write fan fiction stories, a place to get away from the drama in real life, a place to make new friends. It helped me boost my vocabulary, it pushed me to want to become the next JKR, and so on..
Role-players do not become role-players just to write about incest. They are not idiots, they are not sickos, and they are not uncool people. Nearly all of us can balance life as a role-player and life in the real world. I have my “group” of friends back at home, I go out every weekend to party, I get A’s and B’s, I work part time as CNA, I’m taking college classes on the side of all that.. I’m not offended by some of your poor judgment calls, but if you want to call out names, take a look around. There ARE weirdos on myspace and they aren’t role-players. They’re people your parents warned you about - rapists, perverts, people lying about their identity, blah blah blah. It’s everywhere. Don’t target those in which you know clearly nothing about.
As for role-players copying your pictures, that is a true statement. But it’s not just role-players who do it. It’s you too. Some people pretend to be someone else to make it seem like they’re some beautifully thin brunette with gorgeous blue eyes, when they’re really some obese girl with serious insecurity issues.
If they use people’s faces, other than celebrities, most don’t ask for your permission. They could either be feared of being rejected or questioned. I don’t role-play much anymore because for one, it’s getting kind of old, and two, we’re all getting older and moving on from writing stories about Harry Potter. I still, however, have a role-playing family. I use Megan Fox as my playby, and two out of my six other family members use non-famous people’s pictures. They made sure they asked though. I wouldn’t want my pictures plastered all over myspace for the sake of my privacy, and if you feel that people are stealing your pictures you should do the following:
-Set your profile as private so only your friends can view your page and pictures.
-Go through your friend list and delete people you don’t know.
-Tag your pictures if you absolutely need to. (usually it’s your friend id)
I hope I helped you understand the gist of what we do and why we do it. I’m just a role-player, just an average seventeen year old girl, just like you. I love the people I have got the chance to know over the years, and this summer I’m even meeting up with a group of role-players. Some role-players that have added you or that you’ve taken a look at their profile..they gave you a bad impression on who we are. Next time you see a role-player, don’t smother them with hate mail. If you have a question, ask them in a polite manner. Most of us are good people. Most of us are just like you.
[…] http://razor.dbkconsultants.com/2006/06/15/interview-with-a-myspace-roleplayer/ […]
hello
im new on this forum….
I roleplay as well and have a myspace dedicated to it. I roleplay as in, I get on IM with a friend(particularly a guy It just works better for me) and I create a rough plotline, then we create characters then just go. As in we play out this plotline as those characters. it is pretty much just acting like a movie or play just in IM. it is sooo so fun especially for me. Some people do it in very strange and stupid ways like the whole “Luxx Andrews” thing. thats stupid. For me roleplaying is a creative outlet because I am a writer myself and write supernatural fantasy stories constantly, but sometimes it just isn’t enough. I need to act it out, I need someone else to do it as well to give MORE to the story itself. Some people think of roleplaying as “bondage sex” ort shit like that and it isn’t. It is so much more, in fact friends of mine have been known to sit beside me for hours on end and watch me and a friend roleplay. they say it is just like watching a story(movie ish) just come to life. all you have to do is be willing to read. They eat it up lol. an example of one of mine is:
Orianthi: 18 yrs old
Daughter of king Lucian Delimore
Curvy, tall build, long dark brown hair curly but her length weighs it down to loose waves to her waist. Her skin is pale, not ghostly, just pale as of someone who does not get out much. Her eyes are a mixture of light brown and green with a faded yet visible gold ring around her pupils. She is passionate of music, plays the violin, piano, cello and Harp as well as being a gifted Soprano.
She is quite the rebellious girl since her father is ridiculously overprotective. She has never even been outside the castle walls. She loves to run around without shoes, since it drives her maids up the wall by how “unlady-like” she constantly acts. She is kind and sweet by nature, but is also very independent and spirited when called for.
Plotline: Her father Lucian is a paranoid man. For generations kingdoms of humans and supernatural creatures alike have prospered in peace with each other. But he firmly believes demons of creatures are not to be trusted. and so when he raises to power, he starts to attack, killing them as many as he can. Demon kings, any of them. He quickly develops a following in his people as they are easily persuaded to do so and they also become merciless toward whom were one their allies and friends. The creatures are forced into hiding and off of their own lands as their numbers decrease daily. After several years only one demon king in his entire country is left. this king still wishes to bring back peace but is rapidly losing faith.
A rogue demon is captured, a terribly insane bloodthirsty man..he is sealed inside a cell by a witch so he may not escape. The king is secretly using the witch to force them into submission and attack their own kind, helpless to the magic overtaking their own minds. He decides he will do the same with this demon as he is so very powerful.
Orianthi will be trying to escape from her fanclub of princes, and hides in the dungeon. it is pitch black and she cant see so does not realize she strays too close to the cell and he grabs her, threatening her if she does not let him out. She does so, and to escape easily he takes her with him so that they will not attack. it works and he escapes with the princess. Orianthi is terrified, angry of course trying to escape anytime she can but he always catches her, finding her amusing to keep around and also useful if the time comes that he is hungry and wants blood…
Orianthi finds herself growing used to this demon. At first she is absolutely terrified of him, as she sees him kill again and again and it scares her to see how much he seems to enjoy it. As time goes along in their travels she finds herself not afraid anymore. She gets to know the real him, the sarcastic, humorous, somewhat perverted side of him and she finds herself enjoying his company..this man that kidnapped her…or in a way, saved her from constant boredom and solitary confinement…Over time Orianthi knows she cannot stand how her father treats people and these supernatural creatures. Through her demon, she gets to know many of them in their travels and finds they are just as good and friendly as any human. Why such horrible treatment of them? She loved her father but as she learns of his true nature how could she just…stand by like that…She feels obligated to protect these creatures against her own father’s cruel nature…