It came to my mind out of nowhere really, but I thought it might be an interesting topic to discuss/see how many people utilize these things.

I have noticed that there are many things that can aid towards creating a cohesive team of players in a roleplay; similar interests, instilling friendship rather than a sort of business-like relationship, etc. But one that has seemingly popped up more often lately is the use of chat rooms outside of RpG. Outside of the OOC.

Skype groups, IRC rooms, you name it. From what I have seen, roleplays that utilize these more often create a more connected player base. They interact more as friends, leading to a more fervent interest in the roleplay as a whole.

What does the rest of RpG think of this? Do you see that same thing happening? Do you think it is an effective/useful tool? Do you use a chat group/other method?

I like to get to know the people I RP with and I'm not opposed to sharing personal information about myself but I feel like a lot of people on the site prefer the anonymity and business like way of approaching a RP so there's always an awkwardness about it. There are people on the guild who are super friendly and enjoy chatting about things outside the RP but there are also people who feel uncomfortable with it. Either way it doesn't really bother me what someone's preference is, I always make sure everyone knows they can tell me to shut up if they want to, hehe.

Are you thinking of creating a chat room with your next RP?

I use Steam and Skype to coordinate posts all the time.

I couldn't imagine not having some sort of personal relationship with the people I roleplay with. As it was mentioned by Lazio, it can be VERY awkward if people just have a business-like approach to it. I just can't see how it can be fun being so impersonal while doing something like this for a hobby, you know? It would be like being on a sports team and not having any of the comradery or friendships that come out of that.

I agree with Dervish. I use Steam, IRC, and PMs to communicate with my friends from RPG whether about writing or otherwise. Some I've never written with...I won't name names though.

I had a game once back in the day that took place across instant message services, the thread itself and even had a few texts and emails. All in character, and it made for a very engrossing world.