User blog comment:Njalm2/Nanja's Intermediate Roleplaying Guide/@comment-2089817-20151115185635

I just want to add an addendum to the "Read Your Partners Article!!!(!!!)" rule. This isn't really an issue I see on BFF, but I have seen this run rampant on NF before, and I've seen arguments arise because of it.

Basically, we know it as metagaming. Reading your partner's article is crucial, but you also need to be careful to remember that you and your character are not the same. Meaning, just because you can see and know what powers your partner's character can use, doesn't mean your character knows. This is actually more of an easy mistake to make than most people understand, because it doesn't apply only to character powers, but pretty much anything about that character. For instance, I have, in the past, seen characters address Seireitou as "son of the Soul King" or by his full name, "Seireitou Shoin Kawahiru no Jiro". How exactly does your character... who never met mine before, know about something that isn't public knowledge? Sei's full name, for instance, is a secret only three select people know; two of which are dead. So unless somehow you managed to drug and interrogate Raian for that knowledge, I really doubt your character would've heard it "through the grapevine". Sei's reputation is for many things, but his status as a son of the Soul King is one that isn't widely known, and characters shouldn't act like they know it, just because it makes your character seem "all-knowing" or "well-informed". This is a very important part of roleplaying etiquette that is often overlooked, and as I said, while BFF doesn't suffer from this problem (any longer, that is), I have seen this come up a lot on NF and other roleplaying communities, so I feel like it should be addressed if only as a reminder to everybody.