As of recent I have cancelled my 2 subs to the game. Although the better half cancelled hers as well, our reasons do differ. Here is my main reason.
Order, and many of those on it, either a) Do not understand Role Play, b) Are intolerant of other styles of rp other then their own or c) just do not want to RP.
Now each of my characters were laid out in advance as to how they would act in Istaria, what faults they had and what good points. Let us see.
Main point from Lore to remember-- The Races are in an uneasy truce with each other.
Bori - The Dwarf-As per the game Lore and being Dwarven, he had little use for those of other races, other then Gnomes. As per his background story he hated dragons ( the story was posted) but since he followed the Dwarven creed of Honor and Justice, if you proved yourself to him, he would accept you. Although grouchy and always picking on someone deep inside he had a soft heart. He never charged for any weapons/tools he made and if he made a deal to do a construction job he kept at it until it was complete.
Sinistre - The Fiend. Sins main fault was he tried to use people to his advantage. If he could twist,cajole a boon from some unsuspecting soul then all was right in his world. His favorite sport was mind games, picking up on someones slip of tongue and then twisting that slip into a dagger and hurling it back. However, he did things in secret that few knew about. Placing essence construction on a building or someones plot without their knowledge. He had his reasons, for in the future he could use this as an "in" to get at someone. However, for some unknown reason he never called in those markers.
Adramaleck - The Dragon- Although following the Helian path he hated the signs of weakness in the lesser races. After all, he was still a Dragon, the most ancient race in Istaria. He had little use for the Lunus and considered them uneducated Barbarians too concerned about where their next gnome dinner was coming from. Show your strength of character to him though and he would fight and die to defend you.
Theftwind - The Human - A bumbling person and a Sorceror he was always searching for his lost flock of "pink butterflies". He was the consumate clown, never knowing which direction to place his feet. Never mean spirited he could still confuse his audience totally by going in the opposite direction everyone wanted him to go.
Dyaus - The Saris. Proud and silent. Being a Monk he made an effort to get along with everybody, from the nice to the mean. However he hated to see those of his race demeaning themselves by mewing, drinking cream, rolling in catnip. That was for domestic house cats and not for someone of the proud Saris Lineage. However, he seldom could get his point across because he was also mute. 34 seasons he made and never spoke one word. Everything he wanted to say he had to emote.
Berglamir - The Half Giant. Slow to anger and slow to speak, nevertheless, he fought until all those around him were safe. He loved animals and never picked on any indigenous species in Istaria. Deers, Gruok, even the normal Forest spiders were safe from his hammer. Creatures of the Aegis however,he considered fair game and attacked them with a vengeance.
Now, each one of those characters had an outline and I let them live out their lives without any more input from me. Yet, I found many on Order, who could NOT understand that it was all Role play, even though I explained it many,many time here on the foums and in the game. The first three, Bori,Adra and Sinistre who were openly antagonistic to others attracted many a tell and harsh OOC comment on the way they acted. The othere three, although receiving tells on how well I roleplayed them, did not bring me that type of grief.
The funny thing though was most of the negative comments I received, did not come from the people the characters were reacting with in game but rather from their in-game friends and guildmates. Very seldom did I get a tell from someone I was interacting with asking me to "cool it" No, it was from those that thought I was being nasty,mean, yadda yadda yadda. I received many a tell from those that wished to commend me on the way I played each toon and many a suprised reaction when they found out "Bori is also Sinistre who is also Adramaleck and so on". Each one I attempted to play in subtley different ways.
Now, I am not asking nor expecting anyone to roleplay the way I do or rather did. I am only asking for some understanding and a bit of tolerance for myself and others like me who do roleplay their characters more in depth then others. My main reason for leaving was Tulgas lack of a response to the RP thread. After 7 pages and many months of pleading and discussing our concerns, they came out with the status quo. They did not offer any understanding into their definition of "High Fantasy" nor did they offer alternate avenues of enforcement other then to zip and bundle up your logs and send them in.
Now I expect to get flamed over this post and certain people will make a point to dissect each and every comment but I owe it to the other roleplayers on Order to provide a reason for my leaving. To those that do take upon themselves to dissect, well, every book,movie,story has its critics and I have dealt with it before. I will say one thing though, if you do decide to point your finger at me to condemn the way I rP'd my characters, remember, there are three fingers pointing right back at you.
Sorry about the length but I had to get all that off my back. See you all around sometimes....someplace...somwhere.