If you have been playing MMORPGs a long time, you probably remember that in the long long ago, it was super common for games to offer a roleplaying only or roleplaying enforced server where people who routinely disrupted open chat with real-world nonsense were squelched or even booted. You didn’t really have to roleplay, just not ruin chat for everyone else with non-game chatter, so a lot of adults would beeline for these servers to avoid the chaos of regular unmoderated servers and their endless flow of toxicity.
Those server designations have fallen out of fashion these days; even Lord of the Rings Online just uses “RP encouraged” for its servers, with no real repercussions for ignoring the social convention at all. But dang if the thread about election spam in global chats back in October didn’t make me yearn for the old RP servers all over again.
Should MMORPGs get back to offering roleplaying-enforced servers? Or has the time for such servers passed? Would you play on one if you saw it?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
