The Please Do Not Do These Things Character Secrets DLC pack
Posted by Kalakh on 05/11/20
As an addendum to the last post (also, hopefully, shorter than the last post):
Please do not go around ICly sharing other character's secrets either, unless you have absolute permission from that character to do so. I understand that it's entirely in character for some characters to do this, but even if so, please do not toss that around lightly. It really sucks for that person when people start doing that, at worst it can put their character in actual danger, and at best it's suddenly being shared around as common knowledge to half the game, and quite often this also results in the character whose secret got shared around being completely left out of efforts to act on or get story from that secret (seriously, this particular thing happens a whole lot, don't go spinning off on someone else's secret without at least including that person, it's really shitty and it's the opposite of the reason we give people secrets at all).
Also, please do not assume that someone's secret is common knowledge, because it very often is not, and then go around sharing information that is, while not necessarily the actual secret clue the character was given, more or less exactly the same as telling people what that character's secret is, or, conversely, telling people what the secret is, and, while not necessarily naming the character, giving out information that makes it extremely clear who that character is.
We understand that sometimes a secret gets out and there's no reason not to tell at least some people. But seriously, guys, this really sucks for the players this happens to. If you can avoid it, do, if you can't really avoid it, still don't, if you really, really can't avoid it, then at least have the OOC courtesy not to spread it around, and absolutely do not cut the player whose secret you learn out of plot directly concerning that player's character. Even if you're told a secret, it's still not yours. It's theirs. Stop.
Please do not go around ICly sharing other character's secrets either, unless you have absolute permission from that character to do so. I understand that it's entirely in character for some characters to do this, but even if so, please do not toss that around lightly. It really sucks for that person when people start doing that, at worst it can put their character in actual danger, and at best it's suddenly being shared around as common knowledge to half the game, and quite often this also results in the character whose secret got shared around being completely left out of efforts to act on or get story from that secret (seriously, this particular thing happens a whole lot, don't go spinning off on someone else's secret without at least including that person, it's really shitty and it's the opposite of the reason we give people secrets at all).
Also, please do not assume that someone's secret is common knowledge, because it very often is not, and then go around sharing information that is, while not necessarily the actual secret clue the character was given, more or less exactly the same as telling people what that character's secret is, or, conversely, telling people what the secret is, and, while not necessarily naming the character, giving out information that makes it extremely clear who that character is.
We understand that sometimes a secret gets out and there's no reason not to tell at least some people. But seriously, guys, this really sucks for the players this happens to. If you can avoid it, do, if you can't really avoid it, still don't, if you really, really can't avoid it, then at least have the OOC courtesy not to spread it around, and absolutely do not cut the player whose secret you learn out of plot directly concerning that player's character. Even if you're told a secret, it's still not yours. It's theirs. Stop.