Down with "Roleplaying"!

Did the title get your attention?

A couple of months ago, I was talking with someone (I'm sorry, I forgot who) on the #indierpgs IRC channel who mentioned how much he dislikes the imprecise way people use certain terms, such as "roleplaying". And I'm definitely coming around to his point of view.

After all, what do people mean when they say they "roleplayed" a character? It could mean acting in-character complete with bad accents and funny voices, or just describing a character's actions, or even performing lengthy internal monologues.

How about when people "just roleplayed out the scene"?

The phrase "roleplaying, not rollplaying" is one of the worst offenders. It presents a false dichotomy, and suggests that the nebulous "roleplaying" is clearly superior. Yuck. Where do things like the Dogs in the Vineyard resolution system fit in, with its back-and-forth and developing narration along with die results?

So I'm going to do my best in this blog to avoid using "roleplay" as a verb. I'll tell it like it is--narrating outcomes, negotiating in-character, acting out a scene, whatever term is appropriate.