CM-SS13 has seen several shifts in tone throughout my years on the server. From overly constrictive standards on rules, to a more relaxed yet still believable environment. However, as of recent (The last year or two), the tone has shifted far from where we started. As of current, RP in CM is essentially non-existent outside of those who try to force it upon other people. There is this stigma around roleplay that it was "Dumb" and whatnot, and argument over whether the server was LRP or MRP. Despite all the cries as to what the server once was, the truth is that CM-SS13 used to be Medium Roleplay. Regardless of this title that everyone so hated, it was hard to tell because it wasn't forced on anyone. We didn't have marines constantly spewing memes and netspeak ICly, or posting links on comms. Back in 2019>, marines actually properly interacted in a good way. They would crack jokes, and fuck around. Yet today, anything outside of "Deploy, kill, die, repeat" is frowned upon for absolutely no reason, beyond those who take it way too far.
The community randomly grew this anti RP outlook for seemingly no reason, and now it has grown to the point where it is un-ignorable. Everyone from the older days always say things such as "2018 was better", "2018 was more fun", etc. This wasn't because the gameplay was better, we learned from that of the classic CM server. It was simply because of the setting. In 2019 back, the server felt "believable". It was a little forced at times, but no one was simply shitting on the rules either. Unfortunately, no one cares anymore, and the server and it's playerbase has taken a toll. This isn't something that staff can just fix. This is an issue with the playerbase itself. That being said, staff are not helping the issue.
Marines who actually attempt to do something outside of the current norm risk being banned for "LRP", which is incredibly ironic considering the entire server is essentially NoRP. As of recently, there was an incident with marines having a fire extinguisher fight after an argument escalated from "I am the strongest here", to "Lets prove who's the strongest here." Everyone involved in this incident got a 3 hour ban. But in a different scenario, a doctor randomly walks up to a marine and Overdoses them on Oxy because of an OOC metagrudge (Literally 0 IC incentive), and they essentially get a slap on the wrist at worst.
As a Community, we need to come together and fix this. I am not asking for everyone to become forced personalities and shitty wannabe action heroes. We just need to stop acting like the server is a COD lobby. And I ask that staff try to keep a consistent standard on the issue of roleplay, because this inconsistency is a large part of the reason no one even tries anymore. They don't want to risk being banned for trying something new, and they don't care enough to try because no one enforces the rules against people who ACTUALLY consistently ignore the roleplay standards.
So please. Try a little harder to keep the mood. You don't have to act like a real life marine, just act like a human being at the very least. Otherwise, this server truly will have become a Team Deathmatch game, with absolutely no variety in each round beyond what map it is and if an admin is doing an event.
-Survivor (AKA Pierce Jackson, Tank Moore)