World of Warcraft®

Hello to everyone!

It came up in an RP class today that there was some confusion on the proper uses, as well as the amount of usage, of the HearthstoneIC channel. Seeing as it is one of the great things about Cenarion Circle RP, it is both something that attracts new players to the servers, and can also confuse them when they attempt to use it.

So I throw this out there for discussion. How do you use the IC channel? If you don't, why do you not? Are there rules of etiquette concerning the channel that should be stated prior to use? There are no wrong answers, and any insight some of our members can share so that new people have a better understanding of the channel would be greatly appreciated. And who knows, the discussion may bring out some great RP-ers who would normally avoid the channel!

This was my question. Thanks for posting. I have been on the CC server for about 1.5 years since moving to California. I was previously on Argent Dawn, and we had a server wide RP channel that saw a fair amount of activity.

I am curious as to what the purpose of the HearthstoneIC channel is. Planning RP events? Server wide RP chat? Just saying "Hi" (I don't see a lot of that either)?

I hope I'm not stepping on any toes, but I was just curious.

And thanks for the RP class! I was very happy to attend (I was on my Pandaren - Shaipoli).

Hearthstone is designed as a faction wide IC comm channel with limited ability to sense the actions of other characters. Think Iphone. Sometimes it's audio but occasionally you'll get video too.

Things to avoid in Hearthstone:

Knowing people's name, class, gender. Race is debatable, as some have accents or noticeable tones, but I'd avoid it nonetheless. Some hearthstones seem to have a 'video' function but it's silly to assume all do, especially when some aren't aware of this possibility.

But otherwise, it's a great tool. Just remember that it's not a 'room' or 'tavern', as many people seem to assume. You aren't near the other person. But don't be afraid to use it.

I wish people used it more. I used to often get things going in there with alts, I need to do that again.

Pretty much what Ehlina and Arothand have said.

It's a great way to get in some RP whenever you don't feel like being stuck in a single physical location (either an actual RP hub or a channel with a set location).

Sometimes the channel is dead, other times flourishing. Sometimes it is used to keep the community unified with involvement and general planning, other times for unnecessary lore bickering. More of the former and less of the latter make the iStone a clever means of interaction.

Things to avoid in Hearthstone:

Knowing people's name, class, gender. Race is debatable

I'd think that you could assume one's gender from their voice more quickly than you could their race.

10/13/2012 04:03 PMPosted by Finnaeus

How do you use the IC channel? If you don't, why do you not?

I never have, actually. While I'm not a big fan of Hearthstone phones, I've definitely considered trying the channels out. Alas, whenever I think to, I never remember to actually do it.... Shame on me.

I like the idea, but every time I've spoken up (on either my Horde or Alliance characters) it seems like there's someone around to go "Bah! Humbug! Shut up, you noisy pup!" or words to that effect.

Which is all well and good to a certain extent if that's your character, but then the channel just lapses back into silence.

And if we're going to justify it as "in-character behavior; I'm RPing so nyah," wouldn't that beg the question of why such a person, in-character, would ever own a magical group-talking-rock?

I know I, for one, would be more likely to log in and automatically say hi in the /hearthstone channel if it were less likely to get an immediate negative response just for daring to use it.

And if we're going to justify it as "in-character behavior; I'm RPing so nyah," wouldn't that beg the question of why such a person, in-character, would ever own a magical group-talking-rock?

To be honest, that's always been one of my biggest issues with it. That, and when it turns from something optional into something a guild expects you to use ICly, as that then puts all kinds of limits on RP scenarios as "calling for help" or even just "reporting in" suddenly turns into the obvious option. Part of the attraction of fantasy RP to me is that we don't have radios, shuttlecraft, warp drive, and teleporters to use as Deus Ex Machina, yet we seem to keep providing ourselves with alternatives anyway. Then every RP ends up like a badly-written Star Trek episode with the "problem of the week" that stops the Enterprise from just transporting everyone out or destroying the enemy via orbital bombardment (oh, look, yet another planet with something in the atmosphere that interferes with transporter beams!)

Eh, the lore-stuff is bound to happen as long as people say lore breaky/bendy things in Hearthstone.

I don't really count it as a bad thing, either. Some people don't mean to RP outside the bounds of lore, and the Hearthstone can infact be educational.

I don't really have the issue Alelsa has, but I could see why they say what they're saying. But unfortunately (for that viewpoint), hearthstones are entirely within lore (see the varying comm devices, and various quest NPCs using Hearthstones to save people/hearth). It's not hard to lose a simple stone, or perhaps damage it, though, if one's in danger.

10/20/2012 04:07 PMPosted by Skycrusher

I don't really have the issue Alelsa has, but I could see why they say what they're saying. But unfortunately (for that viewpoint), hearthstones are entirely within lore (see the varying comm devices, and various quest NPCs using Hearthstones to save people/hearth). It's not hard to lose a simple stone, or perhaps damage it, though, if one's in danger.

Heck with the intro quest to Pandaria we now have holocoms.

When someone uses an IC medium to nag about lore, or poke fun at other characters, they are revealing a lot about themselves as a person. Hordeside is -infested- with these people, to the point that I don't even bother to use the channel anymore. I just don't feel like saying 'hay' and then getting a lesson in Lore 101.

Its nothing but sad when a useful tool becomes an implement for hazing. Or worse, soliloquy.

I'd say that's a fairly normal reaction whenever something lore bendy or breaky is brought up, especially if the person was already involved in the conversation. It's hard to just have a character smile and nod when you're attempting to play by lore rules and others aren't.

But, to each their own.

I still enjoy Hearthstone, as I always have, and it sees a fair amount of traffic. Perhaps it's not for some - it's open to all, and that can lead to conflict of interests and personality, certainly, but I tend to think most of that comes down to an IC level, and I rarely shy away from IC conflict.

Oh, and as to one of the previous posts involving the 'bah, shut up' sort, I generally have a character carrying a hearthstone, but if they're less-socially inclined, I simply don't have them speak up unless prompted or specifically interested. Generally solves most things, I find.

If you ICly bring up lore breaky/bendy plot points or comments, you should expect to receive an IC reaction. (This could be a non-response, a quick brush off, or a recommendation to visit the Clinic for a head examination. It will largely depend on who is in the channel!)

If folks are *really* interested in turning something into an OOC Lore discussion, there's HordeOOC/AllianceOOC or whispers.

I choose to not use the IC channels. It's pure personal preference, but for my characters, they're generally not the sort to be chatting on a phone/device/whatever all day. They're too busy doing stuff, like either plotting to destroy the world or save it, depending on the character I'm playing. I'm the same way with guild chats that are IC. I mean, how can my character be in a common room in the guild base with other people if I'm mid-flight between Stormwind and Ironforge?

I've got nothing against those sorts of channels, or the people who use them, just my personal preference.

Most of what I actually do in game I'm not doing IC. Ie, Ra is not running around using a Warbot to murder hundreds of critters, or personally killing Malygos with two other friends over and over. There's a separation there, and I find the Hearthstone channel and others like it are quite handy for actually rping a bit when my character would be somewhere else. ICly, Ra might be in his apartment in Dalaran researching. That doesn't mean I have to sit in Dalaran for 12 hours not doing dailies or questing. Likewise, I might feel like chatting idly but also doing stuff, and the Hearthstone channels are great for that.

10/21/2012 02:51 PMPosted by Raoul

Most of what I actually do in game I'm not doing IC. Ie, Ra is not running around using a Warbot to murder hundreds of critters, or personally killing Malygos with two other friends over and over. There's a separation there, and I find the Hearthstone channel and others like it are quite handy for actually rping a bit when my character would be somewhere else. ICly, Ra might be in his apartment in Dalaran researching. That doesn't mean I have to sit in Dalaran for 12 hours not doing dailies or questing. Likewise, I might feel like chatting idly but also doing stuff, and the Hearthstone channels are great for that.

Yeaaah.

Just like I'm not the chosen of Aessina. Or Alexstrasza's best mortal buddy, just because I did those quests. It's a delicate balance of what's IC and what's OOC, but I find Hearthstone and gchat RP to be very useful.

Different strokes for different folks, though.