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Friday: How Did Last Night's Warm-Up Date Go?

1) Find out which quadruple the Mesos put you in!
Search for your name in this document and see your quadruple assignment.


2) Pretend all four of you went on a date last night.
Post in your quadruple’s thread/discussion in the Warm-Up Date category.
Share (imagine/invent) how your date went from your perspective.
Build on each other’s account, and/or contradict each other about the nuances.
Was it comfortable? Awkward?
What went right? What went wrong?
Are you a Thermophile who needs Love? Watch our Intro Video
Read How to Play
You can read about the 5 Genders here
or find out which Gender you are most like here.
Let your personality shine in public posts and comments only
(no private conversations!)
so the Mesos can put you in the perfect quadruple later in the week!

As You, the Netprov Player, Share Yr Experience of the Netprov this week! (Write Sun Nov 6 or later)

TiL_Admin
edited November 2016 in Debriefing: 1) In Character, and 2) as You, the Netprov Player (Write Sunday Nov 6 or later)
What was your experience of playing a character in this netprov this week? How did you create a voice and a personality for your character? What was it like to play one of the fictional five genders? What did you learn about gender in real life?
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Comments

  • obli_indominus_rex
    I kept it loose all week as a netprov player. I tried to make as many jokes as I could, and I certainly engaged in a lot of flirting with other thermophiles, regardless of gender. I also tried to start a little drama between other thermophiles by tagging others and starting rumors with thermophile jargon haha. It was fun seeing how all of the genders started to develop their own styles, both individually and as a group. Obviously the hypes are clear evidence of that with them thinking they are the coolest. Mesos are bossy. This entire project made me realize that gender is a social construct
  • obli_wankenobiobli_wankenobi
    Wow there is so much that I can say as a netprov player, but I think I may keep it short and simple. I have learned so much being a part of this project. It has been an absolutely amazing experience to partake in something like this because I have never done it before. Thermophiles in Love brings forth so many interesting and sometimes even controversial conversations about gender and communication. I liked being aware of how immersed I was becoming with the project, and how serious I began to take it as a project. I found it fascinating to see how other students in classes like mine approached the very new and exciting sort of community with different perspectives and insights. I really loved doing this!
  • acido_lexopholis
    Honestly, it felt a little disconnected as a student with assignments. It's fun to roll play and this interface is cool, good to navigate. I hope everyone else had a fun time with that. I feel like if I was seeking this kind of thing out on the internet I would be way more down to really throw myself into the improv. As it is, I felt like I was just doing a fun little confusing assignment that I enjoyed but didn't really get much out of.
  • acido_quiloniusA
    My experience of playing character in this netprov this week was pretty unique. I kind of just blended in and followed the instructions. It took me to a new world. I tended to blend a little of my own personality into the character I played. Look forward to working with more netprov in the future.
  • acido_wazzy
    This was an interesting assignment and I tried to get into it, but found it slightly confusing. I think it is a unique concept, but I struggled to understand "the point" of it all. Regardless, I tried to make some bad puns and interact with others!
  • hype_corgirexicus
    I agree with acido_wazzy. This assignment was kind of confusing getting into character. Also our quad wasn't really commenting so me and one other thermophile were just going back and forth which I don't really think is the point of the assignment. Overall it was interesting!
  • acido_helliskellitusacido_helliskellitus
    Honestly, I also felt like I didn't have enough of a reference point for this netprov to really immerse myself in my role. I would've loved more context surrounding the thermophiles and about each designation but I also understand that sprt of would've defeated the improvisation aspect of this project. So, I tried my best to assume my gender but I still felt a disconnect.
    The most interesting part of this experience was probably seeing how everyone interacted with each other. Like, it seemed we were all game to go cell to cell in the public forums but, once we were separated into dates, at least for me, the interactivity went way down. People were fine making stuff up in a larger sphere but once it got more personal, they bailed. Which, I think is on par for most internet spaces. Talk a big game in an arena but not on a more personal, almost face-to-face level. At least, I experienced that in my group. Someone else may have experienced something that contradicts my experience.
    Anyway, I think I learned more about how people conduct themselves in an internet/online forum space than I did about gender and identity, but that doesn't bother me. (It might bother the creators though if the latter was one of their main points). Like I said, the gender identities were already so broad going in--which doesn't really mirror reality where they are rather strict or structured--so, I just feel like that contributed to my inability to connect on a deeper level with gender and identity struggles. Maybe if there were more boundaries to push and challenge, that would be a different story.
  • obli_proton
    This was something out of the ordinary but I actually liked it. I was confused through out and I had trouble staying in character but it was fun. I liked reading what other people had to say and how in character they got. It would have been even more fun if my group had cooperated since we would had come up with a scenario and just have fun talking about what happened during our "dates" but that did not happen.
    It was great stepping away from gender identities, judgements and many other things that we face in the real world. We are always influenced by all these norms and it was nice seeing how things would be if some of these did not exist.
  • acido_saneliur
    To be honest I didn't think much of the whole activity of getting into the thermophile character and posting on the forum. The individual posts weren't that exciting. I really didn't know how to immerse myself in character so it wasn't too enjoyable for me. It felt more like a homework assignment. Although I did enjoy seeing some of the other users getting really into character, being silly, and having fun with their characters. What I really enjoyed was pretending to go on a date with a quadruple. I expected it to be a chore to write but surprisingly it wasn't. I had a really good group to work with, and they took imagining the date to a whole other level. I can sincerely say I had a good time reading their "date" reflections and writing my own. I feel lucky to have had such a great, creative group!
  • hype_mitonuclei
    This was a hard assignment for me to do. It was tough getting into character and knowing what to say and when to say it!
  • fac_amoebius
    The experience was a very unique and challenging one. I found it to be challenging mostly beacuse of the role I had to play. It was very hard to stay in character because I kept asking myself what would a thermophile do and being that I had completely no idea made it much harder for me to interact. Another challenging aspect of this was that I was the only member to particpate in the dates so I dindt really get much interaction so I didnt get to respond much and interact with other genders.
  • Obli_Cephalopoda
    I've never had to do something like this for any of my other classes before, so it was a really interesting experience. I liked the assignment because it was a cool way to interact with other people and comment on threads in the way that you thought your thermophile would respond. At first I didn't really understand the point of this, but it wasn't until coach gave us the background on the project that I really started to get into it. The only problem for me was that when it came to the actual "big date" not a lot of people actually interacted with it, so it kind of made the whole thing less fun, and kind of null. Overall fun activity, nice little break from the norm, but I wish there was a bit more interactivity, especially on the "big date".
  • obli_xenogalactica
    I thought this project was very entertaining. Being a pre-med student, I've become accustomed to the typical course layout - but I've never had to simulate an online dating relationship amongst microorganisms with various set personalities. It was interesting to take on the mindset of an obli in particular - constantly questioning myself, feeling reluctant to change, wanting to break out of my comfort zone but unsure if I could. I feel like these are very real insecurities felt by a lot of people today, especially in college as it is a huge transition period. In terms of the actual dates, my quadruple wasn't very active which made it difficult to really engage in that portion of the project. Regardless, I appreciate the point of this task, specifically as it plays on gender identity.
  • hype_sciencerox
    Personally, I did not find this assignment to be hard, but rather enjoyable. It is open to interpretation and allows individuals to express their own voice and see gender as a new construct. Often times, I found myself writing silly posts and making comments I would not usually make because I did not feel obligated to second guess myself about preconceived norms of this society. By permitting me to make my own terms up and make social commentaries on this developed thermo society I was able to gauge how others interact based off the limited information they are given such as personality traits. All in all, I enjoyed the assignment and appreciates its objective to see gender in a new light.
  • Obli_carnivorous
    edited November 2016
    I had to read the profile of my gender multiple times to make sure I was getting into the correct character. The more I read it, I realized that it matched the real me a bit too much. I think I might need to chill out more often and stop being that dude that sticks to the plan. I with the people I was matched with would have responded to my initial view of the big date, but I did enjoy the experience overall.
  • Hype_toranophila
    This was a very weird experience for me because I honestly didn't understand what was going on most of the time; however, it was a lot of fun publicly being someone I am not. I really enjoyed taking on the role of a hype because they're personalities are so carefree.
  • fac_abducensZ
    Like others, I found that I had to keep referencing my gender and what it entailed. This, without doubt, was the strangest thing I've ever been asked to do for a class. I stuck a lot to the characteristics of what would be expected of my character. I tried to work within what was expected of my gender, with only occasional deviations. The events I construed and answers I gave were all representing my gender's tendency. I didn't take the process too seriously. It was entertaining, certainly, but bizarre. I don't feel I learned too much in regards to what this says about gender in reality, but I would guess it has something to do with the social norms we're expected to fulfill. Being told you are to act a certain way or believing you should generates a self-fulfilling prophecy that is difficult to reverse.
  • hype_leocanis
    Overall i thought this experience was a really unique one, and I learned a lot about gender and how gender roles affect interactions between people. Sometimes it was even hard to stay in character as a hype because my own very different personality wanted to say things and respond to people. Because of this, i think my personality on the site often shifted between my own personality and the personality of a hype However, it was interesting to see everyone judging others so quickly - saying things like "oh you're a just a hype" or "who would want two acidos." It makes me wonder if our own lives are dictated so severely by gender and gender roles like on this site.
  • Fac_carrarexus
    I really appreciated the concept of this assignment. Using genders with predecided social scripts separate from male or female puts into perspective how structured gender biases make social interactions. I think it could have been helpful to maybe play a game in class to help us understand each gender, not just our own. We could also maybe interact more in class in quads so we can see how that would play out since it was hard to do that online with so few responses on some threads. I think if this went on longer, it might make everyone get more into character. I learned that it can be difficult to just jump into a character/ voice for writing and that it takes some perspective and background knowledge to successfully develop it.
  • hype_bones
    I had an interesting experience with acting as a Netprov player. I personally didn't find it too easy to create a whole new persona for a character based on a small amount of description. I tried to be the extreme version of my character because I thought that would be easiest to make a bold personality and stick with it the entire duration for the project. I also learned that I am not familiar with a lot of scientific terminology. In regards to what I learned about gender, I would say that I think I learned more about focusing on personalities.
  • fac_stryii
    I also found it really rough. I felt like I did more lurking than talking, because I just didn't know what to say. Biology information/vocab/puns are not my strongest area of expertise, so I felt a little lost. It's definitely a cool project, but it was just hard to put myself out there. However, I did enjoy reading the conversations and interactions between everyone else who were playing their roles very naturally!
  • Fac_kellingo
    There seemed to be both extremes of getting into character and having nothing so really say to carry on the conversation. The concept was interesting, but was difficult for someone who isn't familiar with creativity for role playing. I did want to help everyone find topics to discuss in my different groups, but I was honestly at a loss for words.
  • obli_cytoplasmicphyla
    I found this exercise tough. It was difficult to come up with random things to say that still seemed plausible. Additionally, no one from my group showed to comment on either date! But, it was fun to get the creative juices flowing and to just have fun with the free space to improv. Maybe next time though I would prefer to have a quadruple that shows up!
  • fac_facus
    I thought the project was really cool and gave people a break from the gender norms we experience every day.
  • Meso_Obesusoptica
    This seemed to be a great project but the rough edges of this project is the fact that not everyone was participating. This is a great way to mess around and have fun but not a lot of people were willing to try it out.
  • fac_facus
    But as a student with a lot of assignments, exams and papers this was a bit overwhelming to complete multiple times a day.
  • fac_facus
    I would like to do this again when I'm not a full time student also with a job. But I liked my gender and the concept. It was really fun when i had the time to do it.
  • fac_biaolabiofiliac
    It was a very refreshing experience. I, as a writer, often struggle to find my "voice" and this format allowed me step out of the expectations set by both academia and social circles. Being the voice behind a character meant there was nothing to lose, and the netprov setting of thermophiles provided great inspiration to get a little funky with content.
  • fac_krispyking
    I didn't "try" very hard in the sense that I wasn't trying to force the character. I simply understood the basics of what my character was supposed to be and then just tried to channel that into my writing very organically. I tried to keep it loose and fun while still staying within the general sense of my thermophile. It was helpful that my character was very go with the flow and a mirror of the rest of the room. I enjoyed adding humor and being light hearted as well.
  • Obli_travelersapien
    Personally, I found this whole assignment to be quite stange and did not really see the point as a NetProv player this week. It was really interesting to see a few people get creative and make jokes/puns, but for the most part, people simply seemed to be going through the motions and not really saying much with content. I found it difficult to keep conversations going and I failed to see what the point of acting as a thermophile, something that so little people know a lot about/the proper vocabulary, etc. If it was something more common knowledge to most people, perhaps a lot more people would be more productive throughout the 7 day program.
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