Reading this thread fills me with a weird sense of deja vu.
Despite us having this conversation every two weeks, with the same people (CABAL, Avalanche, bancrose, Allakai, Thari and More) banging the nail on the head with where CM roleplay stands and what that means for the player base.
Half of the issue comes from an ever divided player base arguing about this simply flawed idea of a subjective and intangible roleplay standard.
We're not gonna come to a conclusive decision about what the best RP is or wether CM is LRP MRP OR HRP. When I say that MRP is this, and people say it's something else, it's obvious it's not a workable guideline.
Instead, as I've tried to reiterate over the past few weeks, CM is an RP server, and the closest thing definition wise would be MRP.
You're expected to play a reasonable character inside the CM universe. I see the CM universe as not just the mega depression fest that many who want us to be an ARMA 3 simulator see, and that's perfectly okay. My CM is a grimdark sci-fi universe that has the capacity for individual freedom and expression, while still maintaining our own setting. We're not Fox's Aliens and we've not been since the start. We need to embrace the server and player-driven culture just as much as the Alien's official lorebooks.
I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect our battle-worn, college frat marines to have the combined IQ of Australian low pop. You're allowed to make jokes and have fun with your friends on CM. This is a video game and setting where death is basically a quick zap and you're back on the feet.
That being said, there is a line (and for me it at least its quite obvious) between RP and no RP. When you fail to play that character, and you're essentially running around screaming memes and not bothering to make an effort in your interactions with other players, that's when you become a rule violation. Is it sometimes hard to enforce? Yep. But it's my opinion that finding the RP balance is just as important as gameplay balance, and just like gameplay balance, it's a total bitch to do. Grimreaper wanted to test things, we might expand testing or change stuff up as we go. We're trying to find that happy middle ground.
But at the end of the day, the endless debates going round In circles blaming new players, being toxic at ones who want to RP or not RP, abusing staff for not enforcing standards doesn't help. We need to find quantifiable metrics and standards to enforce, and that's a process that this community needs to be apart of. Roleplay is and always will be a positive feedback loop on both a staff and player level. Individuals making the effort encourages others online to do the same, and putting the effort in makes a big difference. RP Doesn't have to be write a paragraph about all the campaigns you won. It's playing the game, interacting with others and most of all /talking/, whether it be with xeno callouts, Sir/mam's or the million-page essays snooper writes up during briefing.
We all roleplay differently and it's not something you can force people to do, but making an effort is the first step in raising the RP standards. Even if it doesn't feel like it.