The story and the arrangement behind it
Two abbreviations, that's all it takes. IC means in character – everything that happens inside the story. OOC means out of character – everything the people arrange between themselves beforehand. If you can tell the two apart, you've understood the important part.
The arrangement
Here people talk to each other. That doesn't break the mood, it's what makes the mood possible in the first place.
- When do you have time, and for how long?
- How serious should it be – casual, immersive, serious?
- Is PvP all right? May your ship be destroyed?
- Is it streamed? May your voice be part of it? Are clips allowed?
- What do you expressly not want to experience?
- Reports, blocking, moderation.
These details are marked OOC everywhere on this site. They never appear as knowledge inside the story.
The story
Here characters talk to each other. What is said here counts in the Verse – and only there.
- The contract and the briefing.
- Radio calls, threats, negotiations.
- Factions, standings, old scores.
- What your character knows – and what she can't know.
The last point is the most important: just because you have read something doesn't mean your character knows it.
Three examples that make it obvious
“I've got until 22:00, then I have to go. PvP is fine, but please not right at the start.”
“Broken Wing, this is Escort Two. We have two signatures astern. Hold your course, we'll take a look.”
“Stepping out of character for a moment: this is getting too much for me, I want out of this.” – That sentence always counts and needs no reason.
Why this is kept technically separate
An event has two blocks on this site: the arrangement and the story. That isn't a design choice, it's built into the data model. Date, slots, PvP and streaming consents sit separately from the briefing – and the briefing can later get a visibility of its own: public, participants only, or only certain roles.
That keeps possible what good roleplay needs: that not everyone knows everything. And it keeps out what makes roleplay bad: that someone's arrangement suddenly becomes part of the story.