Hmm... to hopefully spark things off, we'll answer the thought experiment.

"RPGN" said How would your character react and do if they were to wake up one morning as the opposite sex with no given explanation? How would a situation like that play out?

Well, the character would have a -5 due to confusion, that's for sure. It would probably cause all sorts of havoc, probably somewhat different depending on what gender change it was. We imagine our characters would have all sorts of confusion with having new hormones flowing through the body, as well as a few different organ setups. It would probably not be pleasant. One factor we'd think as affecting the confusion is whether the sense of own gender is affected. If (S)he thought of self as the new gender in mind, it would be less confusing, but if say, a he still thought of it as himself, rather than herself, it would be harder to accept.

Then there is the issue of how the body is shaped and how to clothe it. Males-turned-female would probably have a bit of trouble adjusting to feminine clothes. This would of course be affected by era. In a medieval society, it would be very different from a modern/futuristic era.
Another important factor to consider is body size/weight and balance. If the male-turned-female has the type of boobs that many of the less mature males salivate over (i.e. huge ones, if you were in doubt about reference), the character would have a lot of balance issues. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that huge boobs are heavy.

We could probably go on quite a lot further, but we think we covered the basics of our characters' probable reactions on a general basis.

So, I have to ask, where is the best place for people to have in depth "discussion" (I use that term loosely given how it usually goes...) about the state of/fate of/etc. on the guild? Off-Topic doesn't seem right, Roleplaying Discussion doesn't either. Obviously News is banned (IMO For good reason, should be locked so only mods can post here if that's possible)

Off-Topic is actually the best place, I think.

And we're fine with keeping threads open for response in News; that's how questions like this get answered. ;)

The editorial on the state of the Guild was very nicely said. I think most of the people being vocal about it, on both sides of the issue, are simply passionate about the site and community. Some folks get a little over the top and emotional, which is when the insults start flying, but I think overall it's a good sign of the health of the community. The fact that there are so many people willing to angrily defend the site from detractors shows that there is still a solid core to the place that will remain loyal through thick and thin, and that is very much a good thing for the future of the site.

Speaking as one of said detractors, the complaints stem from a similar place. I've been part of Roleplayer Guild on and off for, shit, five years now. I was driven to bring up the problems that exist because it sucks seeing a site I once enjoyed hanging out on become so bogged down with bugs and lag and crashes that it ruined the whole experience for me. I have no desire to see the Guild fall and die; rather, it's just the opposite in that I want to see it become great again. If I didn't still care about the place I wouldn't have bothered arguing about it, or coming back to check it to see if any updates have been made (which I've been doing once a day or so), or so on. If I didn't care I would have just left and been done with it.

So the moral of the story here is that we all want the Guild to be a great place, we just have differing standards and opinions about what that means. That's not something we should be fighting each other about, so keeping any discussion on the matter civil is really in the best interests of everyone involved.

Jorick said So the moral of the story here is that we all want the Guild to be a great place, we just have differing standards and opinions about what that means. That's not something we should be fighting each other about, so keeping any discussion on the matter civil is really in the best interests of everyone involved.

I think this is the most important part to keep in mind. We don't always get a lot of good examples in politics of people showing class and graciousness towards those whom disagree, so I can understand why we grow up thinking that debate consists of insults and contempt, but the Guild can be better than the political establishments of our respective countries. ;)

Ellri said
<SNAP>

That's interesting. Where are we supposed to be responding to these questions? I'd like to answer a few with my characters.

Feel free to put up your response here Teknonick. I look forward in seeing what your character's responses would be.

In response to the "What If" questions for our characters: What if your character woke up as the opposite gender?

I have multiple characters I think I have filled out enough to do this, so I'll say what I think for each of them.

Mimic
Mimic is absolutely my favorite character I've created. He's evil and twisted, yet sad enough to be likable. He has enough of a background to make players feel bad fighting him, but enough hatred and evil powers to be a powerful foe. Currently, I've only RPed him with his magical powers, so his 'before' state is questionable. I've thought about it a lot, and I think he was a much meaner man before... so, I'll give two versions of him.
Before 'the accident', Mimic would have taken the gender swap... probably immaturely. Very much so. Only until he would be pushed around and treated unfairly as a woman would he become angry, and want to change back for his old power. Another idea might be pure horror, terrified that he has become a weak and useless 'girl'. Though, the first option is probably a closer fit to his personality.

The 'after the incident' (Or was it an 'accident'? :3), he would be 100% indifferent. Mimic has the superpower, so that whenever he touches someone, he gains all of their past thoughts, as well as their body. Everyone he has ever touched he has stored their thoughts and looks inside of himself... though, the more there are, the more insane he becomes. Most of the time he has so many thoughts inside his head, he has no idea who is who, or even who himself is.
If it was the very first change he went though, he would have all the thoughts of the person he changed into, so that would help ease it over... but he would take it differently before his powers. He would probably not even notice it for awhile, until he came to the fact of being told, or seeing herself (Formerly himself) in a mirror. It would take a long time for him to understand what was going on, until he would eventually ease into it. Not to mention, sometime after, he would probably change into someone else... and then he'll understand more.
If this was after several years of 'collecting' people's thoughts, looks, and powers... he would be indifferent. He would have forgotten who he was before, and become bored with life itself. He would deal with it just as he had many times before.

Kassy
Generally being 11 years old, she would probably handle it pretty well. She has had to deal with waking up as a 20 year old, with 9 of her years missing from before... and she dealt with that easily. Suddenly being gender swapped would probably not effect her very much, but she would be very much scared. She would probably try to convince everyone she knew who she was, and try to figure out how to return herself back to normal. Dealing with it at her age would be hard, as she's usually known for having weird situations like this... being changed into an Enderman, an adult, a Piplup... she would probably deal with it like she always does. Scared, but understanding... without knowing why either.

Josive
Josive is around the same age as Kassy, probably 13. I don't think I ever set an age for him, but he has only been used in one RP... as a Pokemon Trainer setting out on a journey after his parents were murdered by a wild pokemon, and himself saved by his Torchic. He wouldn't deal with the swap very easily, having two female friends and being interested in one of them would make it very awkward for him. Not to mention one of said friends would tease him and make it his worst nightmare. He probably wouldn't be able to talk to his other friend at all, meaning he probably wouldn't see the mean one either. If he did see the nice one, she would probably try to ease him into it... making it very awkward for him.
Josive also writes in a journal, so that would be a very embarrassing entry log he would be fighting to put in. Overall, I think Josive would be embarrassed over the whole thing, and struggle to deal with it. He would try to solve it on his own as much as he could, though probably with the help of his pet (As is currently, only Torchic).

Liera
Liera is a very strong woman, though not human. She has the mind of a human, but is truly a dragon. She's been cursed with a magical sword to become human whenever it is not in her possession, or with control when it is. The other dragons of her clan absolutely hate all other lifeforms, and thinks of her as being inferior for liking humans, and being so much like them.
Becoming a man for Liera would probably be very strange for her, though she would handle it with over-pride and probably just like becoming human. She would end up putting up a disguise to pretend she's not who she is to hide, and figure out how to solve the issue (Isn't that the case with all my characters?) She would probably be angry as well, not being able to control it like she can her human form. She tends to result in anger for everything that goes wrong. She might deal with the best, aside from Mimic, but always be looking for a way to get out of it. Of course she would never admit who she is during that state.

Herobrine
I do count Herobrine as an actual character... though, I can only talk about him as his evil state, as the other state is currently secret. His evil self would think of it as a curse, and probably destroy a few of his minions out of anger. From then on he would not take to seeing visitors, and set out on his own to take care of the problem. Of course he has magic, so he would probably be able to cover his voice and form for as long as he would need. Of course, being evil, he would use his new form as a tool to help him. And being evil, he probably would simply despise the female gender. Though... technically he isn't male, he just tends to form as them as the 'dominate' gender of races. Wow. That would be weird to see him attempt to take over a group of generally/all female race. That would be turn out badly for him instantly... even with all his power! xD

Anyway, that's all I have. There are a few more characters I have, but they're not as thought out as the rest of these characters. Jolion would probably joke about being a girl, and be a little curious. Rob the Creeper would probably have no idea. Aaron probably would be worth writing about... but I'm not sure. The three skeletons would have a very immature look at it, but probably stand manly up towards each other and try to find ways to still look masculine. Ooh, Christopher would be a good one to write about maybe! He's another one of my favorite characters. He probably would be confused, though deal with it well. Being a paladin would be hard for him... but it would give him a lot more respect for woman, even though he has quiet a bit already. There's also Minaki, my first. Maosu, Naoto, and Josia might be an interesting trio to talk about. I'm not sure what other characters I have... but if I can't remember them, they probably wouldn't be good to type about.

o.o Oh wow. Apparently I really need to get back into reading the Guild news, and poking around the community in general. I had no idea anyone had started up a new art contest!

RPGN said How would your character react and do if they were to wake up one morning as the opposite sex with no given explanation? How would a situation like that play out?

Hmm... Alright, let's see, with all my characters in currently active RPs:

Tyrael Marchrosias - Depending on how blatant possible no reaction. He was never really all that appealing as a male and I'm certain as a female there wouldn't be much difference, what with being a demonic orc and all. He's already emotional stoic and yet secretly passionate, so even as a woman there wouldn't be much of a change to his personality. He would be more worried about how it happened and if his condition could potentially become dangerous, for whatever reason he could think of.

Lucilia Riovas - She'd be much more worried. She actually does make use of her status as a woman for her own gains as a classical "Vamp", though she'd adapt to her new form. She'd still try to return to her female form the best she can however unless she looks really handsome.

Annabeth Gulch - Initially very embarrassed. While already rather beefy and tomboyish, she still see's herself as a woman and simply wouldn't know how to deal with being a man. She'll need some convincing by her friends to decide if she should try to return to being a woman or stay as a man. Aside from the initial shock, her life doesn't really change all that much except maybe romantically.

Anari - Given that he is a sentient shapeshifitng weapon, there likely won't be much of a change with this character. Perhaps more prone to creating weapons suited for women, if even that.

Gren Orchid - Rather unnerved. He'd likely look like his sister whom he respects greatly. Will suddenly become insecure with himself despite extensive cybernetic enchantments.

Donny Yang - Shocked, but would be oddly cool with it. He'd look like a fat girl and may finally be inspired to get into shape just so he could look at his own hot bod. He'd look to get as much enjoyment from this new form that he can.

Retsu Goroshi - Some shock but won't last for more than a few minutes. Will immediately begin to make use of her new male form to express her authority more aggressively within her family and school life. She may let the power get to her head though, but would feel liberated in her male-dominated family life.

Damon - As a demonic shapeshifter, gender has no real meaning to him. No noticeable effect.

Noel Yang - While visually he doesn't look any different (He was always a very feminine looking guy), like Gren he may actually become a bit more self conscience. Normally he's pretty cool with showing off his body and being naked whenever possible, but may feel the need to be less shameless as a woman. For a while anyways, until he decides to just go with the flow. He was a man-whore before, and that doesn't change just because he's a woman now.

HeySeuss said
Off-Topic is actually the best place, I think.And we're fine with keeping threads open for response in News; that's how questions like this get answered. ;)

I meant prevent non mods from making threads haha, of course you should leave responses open.

RPGN said
-snip-

"Ah, hell. What did I bloody do last night?!" -Miles (non-American edition)

"What in God's name- how's this even possible?" -Miles (overseas edition)

Nah, I can't come up with excellent responses to that, even though I have actually RPed a situation somewhat similar to that.

Do you guys need some sort of 'respect' metre to post here? 'Cause already I feel like a fool.

nah. All you need is the guts to do so, and considering how the insides of your bowels look you do have that. Mind you, we'd get that gash in your abdomen checked. It might need stiches.