Forums » Suggestions & Development Discussion » Rules regarding "real life people" characters

Hello all!

For the last couple of years, the moderator team has been wrestling with the question about how to handle people who are RPing as real life individuals, especially living ones. We do not currently have specific rules that cover this topic.

On the one hand, the RP Repository is a place that is hugely in support of fiction, even sometimes controversial fiction, and exploration of new ideas through pretend. Having key figures from the real world appear in your fiction can create wonderful anchors, rich plots, and allow for examining "how things might have turned out" in a very tangible way.

On the other hand, discovering that someone is writing fiction about yourself that you did not authorize, that may contain descriptions of you doing things you find objectionable (committing crimes, engaging in sex, etc.,) can feel HUGELY violating. We don't want people to have less control over their own selves being "stolen" than they do over their fictional characters being used without their permission.

We played with many ways to evaluate each individual case for severity, what value to the plot the RL person's appearance had, and etc., and found that we wanted to come up with some system that balanced these competing concerns and gave us a way to compare apples to apples, so all moderators were working more or less off the same rubric even if they have specific personal biases about one person or another.

To that end, we came up with the following potential point system.

The idea is: if you hit ten points, the potential distress the RP concept could cause to the individual referenced (or others close to them) outweighs the potential literary/plot value. Very often at this point, it just makes more sense to use a fictional character rather than appropriating a real person to tell your story.

• Is the figure an actor who routinely represents characters not themselves, and what is being used is only their image to represent the look of a character that is otherwise clearly not the actor? 0 points
• Is the person NOT an actor playing a character? +3
• Are both the real name and image of a living or recently living real person being used on the character? +5
• ONLY the name OR image (unless the image is of an actor who routinely portrays people other than themselves) of a real living person being used on the character, but not both +3
• Real name and image not used for the character. The author at one point mentions that the character is "inspired by" a certain aspect of a real person's life, but is otherwise total fiction. -3 Made 0 due to feedback
• Has sexual abuse been added to the figure's past? +8
• Is the figure being used purely for sex RP and nothing else? +15
• Sexual RP is not the only focus for the character, but it's still clearly on the menu +3 +8
• Is the figure sacred in some religion, or otherwise a major hero to a lot of people (Gandhi, MLK Jr., etc.)? +5
• Is the figure more than 100 years dead? -10
• Does the point of the character appear to be solely to mock or degrade the person it's based on? +10
• Does the point of the character appear to be solely to get a rise out of other people by taking a controversial character and lionizing or cutifying them? (ie, "Funny Hitler") +10
• Is the character being used for "torture porn" or frequently subjected to gruesome, graphic violence that was not a part of that real person's life for no clear literary reason (ie, does it seem likely that this is part of some revenge fantasy?) +15
• Has the figure specifically asked that you not play them or write fanfic about them? +10

Before we implement any new rules regarding this issue, we wanted to give the community a chance to see and discuss where we are with it so far, and voice concerns, support, or suggestions for improvements.

I will leave this topic open for public comment for about a week.

I know it's not very constructive but; I love it. We need to give real, living people some respect and peace of mind. I've always found it unsettling to see profiles of real people with no suggestion of it being anything but them role-playing as that person, so I am all for this.

I think this is a good set of guidelines. We've seen examples of how fan fiction (which I think fan roleplays are comparable to) can harm real life people or at the very least make them uncomfortable. The example that comes to mind is that guy Louis from 1d who has publicly stated that fans shipping him with another member of the band damaged their friendship. That wasn't about roleplay specifically, but I think the same principles apply because it shows the impact of writing on real life.

It becomes a major problem when real, living people are treated like fictional characters. It can be dehumanizing in a way. I'm sure that most fans that do it only have the best of intentions and a lot of times it's perfectly innocent, but when it involves explicit scenes that the real person has not ever specifically consented to, it becomes a real ethical issue.

At the same time, I understand you don't want to stifle your users' creativity, so I think this strikes a good balance between letting them have fun and respecting the real-life figures they might want to roleplay with.

My only concern is that the point system might be confusing, but I feel like if the mods and admin are willing to answer questions and explain if the need arises then that wouldn't be as much of a problem.

To be clear: the point system would mostly be an internal tool for the moderators to make sure we were all working from more or less the same page when deciding whether a case crossed a line or not; players would get a much more straight forward rule about treating real life figures with respect and some general guidelines.

I posted my opinion on the facebook post because I was on my phone in the facebook app at the time. But I'll add to it here.

Say somebody gets 10 points. What happens, other than the suggestion that they don't RP as the celebrity? Does the RP get removed? Do they get a warning? Case by case basis?

Case by case basis. It could be a RP being removed; it could be a character profile being taken down; it could be working with that player to retool the character to work as an "inspired by" rather than an outright rip of a real person. Depends very much on how mistreated the original subject is.

What are the thoughts regarding face claims for characters? Would that be regarded as using their image as reference?

I second this. I use face claims now and then, like my OC named Dallas Frostburn. I don't remember the actor's name or the TV show he's from, but I just use the actor's character look, because it fits Dallas.

Edit: The character that I use for Dallas's base is Francis from Reign

I think face claims are not a problem when using an actor, especially if you use a photo of an actor in a movie rather than on the red carpet - in this case you have chosen someone who is deliberately portraying someone other than themselves, and it isn't that much of a step for them to "portray" some other fictional character.

Where it gets dicey is when someone takes photos off of some private person's Instagram feed, especially if they then use that character for sexy times. People posting selfies have a reasonable expectation that what they're sharing is a self-portrait, and not something that will become the face of some other fictional person.

Does that make sense?

Also as a personal aside, the phrase "face claims" gives me the heebie-jeebies. I wish we had all agreed to call it "portrayed by" or "looklikes" or something.

Ah! Thank you so very much Kim! I personally wanted to be certain myself.

Though I do have another question for you.

For my devil OC named Issac, I use Anthony Geary as his base, but I use Anthony's images from when he portrayed Luke Spencer from the Soap Opera known as General Hospital. Would that be an issue?

Example image here

That's Anthony as Luke

Edit: I ask because Anthony is wearing what I consider normal clothes, not something like Dallas's base of Francis.

My point is plain and simple. I disagree 100% with anyone writing a recently living/living person for any sake of roleplay/writing unless it's a side point or NPC/not a main character in the story at all.

I've watched a number of YouTubers beg for people not to write them this way.

Writing fanfictions by yourself is another side, but even then, there are people who have asked for this not to be done at all.

There are major celebrities who even ask that they not be written in roleplays.

It's one thing to use the character from a show with a real face, it's another to write the actor themselves in their day to day lives. I don't see it as something that's ethically friendly. It seems grossly invasive and further objectifies people.

The way I see it? Would I want someone running around pretending to write me out the way they think it would be fun for my life to go? Absolutely not. It doesn't matter their intention at all, the thought alone feels like someone is trying to use my skin for entertainment purposes.
I understand that's a little dramatic, but it could be the same way that these real people feel about it as well.

I like this point system, but I just feel it should be a little stricter.

A term to change to for Face claims, which I have never used face claim, is muse. It's a common trait on Tumblr to call your character/portrayals your Muse instead of a faceclaim.

Purely being cheeky, but the bringing the Buddha in I feel goes a little beyond. I only say this because he is a religious figure, and that's a whole other ball park. Did like it though~

@Winters_Fury

Your worry about Luke Spencer (?) from General Hospital (all I know is that that's a soap opera, I'm butchering this probably so I'm sorry), fits into Kim's response. He should totally be allowed.

I agree that this list is a fantastic idea but I agree with PrettySir and personally wouldn't mind seeing it be a little more strict.

1) People who have stated that they do not want to be used in RP / Fanfiction shouldn't be + 10, it should be automatic disqualification.
2) I also think RPing real people under the age of 18 should be more strictly handled or outright banned.
3) I also personally wouldn't mind seeing a stricter division between worldwide celebrity, and minor Instagram/Youtube 'star'.
The minor stars are often younger, putting their face out there more as a hobby than profit, and have a more intimate relationship with their fanbase. They directly interact with their fans, answer questions, read comments, and talk about mundane things in their lives.
While I don't think it's morally right to RP anyone (and would not do so myself) Youtubers and Instagram stars are often more vulnerable and take even 'faceclaims' more personally than major stars.

I think it's a great idea to become more strict with real life inspired characters, however I feel like there's a leniency in this list that wouldn't dissuade it from continuing to happen in a questionable manner.

For example, using your points system above, I could make a character with the same name and photo as a real person, include sexual RP as a possibility (though not the main focus), but stick a disclaimer on the profile saying the character is just inspired by, and is over 100 years dead (so the role play would instead be with the characters ghost). So that would be okay, when to me that would still be extremely uncomfortable to discover that someone was RPing as me in that manner.

How would it be moderated to determine if a character was mostly being used just for sexual RP, or if it was just an option as well since there's a 12 point difference between the two? If someone just threw in one single general RP to avoid those 12 extra points, I still think that's a person being used to RP in activities that they might deem a violation.

There could also be instances where someone has specifically asked for no RPs to be made of them, but because of a few words as a disclaimer on the character profile that would make it ok on this site, and I think that should be an immediate no.

I think for the sake of being simple (it's going to be complicated to determine whether your character is passable or not using this method), both to players and the mods, a straight up yes/ no for these elements should be put in play.

As long as the point values are subject to change depending on any loopholes that may arise, I think this is the best way forward.

I don't know if the 'inspired by X' disclaimer really helps to make the 'Has the figure specifically asked that you not play them or write fanfic about them?' acceptable though, as the mention of their identity is in a sense attributing them to a RP context. I would still feel upset if someone was playing a character which has my identity specifically referenced in the profile, when otherwise, without photo reference, I could chalk it up to coincidence.

I strongly disagree with the aspect of people RPing live persons. Now I'm not talking using an image as a reference, I'm talking full-on that person as a character.
Honestly, I agree with PrettySir that these rules should actually be a bit stricter.
Personally, if I were an actor, youtuber, etc and I found out someone was rping me, ESPECIALLY if it included sexual themes (not even a focus, just included), I would be really upset and super grossed out. It would be really upsetting to me, even though I myself am a writer and rper. I'm me, not a character that someone can bend to their whim and do whatever they want.
Personally, I think playing living people as characters (unless you are playing yourself) (main, not side or npc charas), should be banned outright. There's so much room for abuse and disrespect of that person.

I personally don't see anything wrong with 'face claims' for a character, especially if said character is more than just 'looking like' a certain person or celebrity and nothing else. For example, a vampire character, or a demon who shares some qualities with said celebrity but are also nothing like them in personality and have other physical attributes of their species. Or playing as fandom characters that are portrayed by a certain actor (Marvel, DC, Sherlock, etc) since it's sometimes easier for a writer to associate with a character they're able to see move around and talk to understand mannerisms and so on.

I do, however, agree that characters that are based on people portraying themselves (Youtubers, Vine stars etc) tends to cross into the grey area. I've seen a few characters that were essentially based on famous Youtubers in everything but name that made me feel a little uncomfortable just reading the profiles, especially when it was clear they were meant to be romantically involved with another character. It felt kind of like...wish fulfilment I suppose?

I also agree that using 'Instagram models' as references is a little squick too, especially since the profiles tend to be based around whatever the person models. For example, a fitness instructor. So it's more like they're playing that specific person rather than a character that happens to look similar to them. But I'm not so certain on 'bigger' models, since they likely have a wide variety of shoots that show various looks, themes, etc that it would be impossible to base a character around the specific model themselves as opposed to taking how they look in that specific shoot and using it for a character. It kind of goes into grey territory for me.

But yes, I'm in agreement with the majority here. I don't think characters based on real life people - as in roleplaying out their actual lives as that person as opposed to using their physical likeness - should be allowed on a site that's based around fictional characters. I know I'd be creeped out if I found someone who was literally roleplaying as me. I'd probably be a little creeped out by someone using me as a 'face claim' too but not quite to the same degree.

Face claims are alright from what I read, correct?


I generally do this until I get art and then from there facial structures and builds evolve. Sometimes it is easier for writers to write when they have something to go off of from a visual stand point. Physical attributes are changed more often than not within the communities that I have seen them written in.

I think each case is different and with this system are you guys going to comb through every character created?

Has their been any amount of abuse or disrespect?

Art imitates life to a degree. And I think actors are aware of what goes on with their likeness. But I will ask in April.

I find it kind of creepy when a person rps a YouTube or one that has passed away.

This goes for Fanfiction. It happens but I find it disrespectful.