After all this time, I am still not entirely sure what “RP server” really means. I once tried to ask that question on these forums, but I asked badly, so the answers were interesting, but not really enlightening.
I remember looking at the server recruitment forums several times, but that didn’t help either. Way too many of these “RP servers” are “(E)RP servers”, and I haven’t been into cybersex since my teenage years on Achaea 
The few non-E RP servers I looked at had some (IMHO) weird requirements, such as “you must have Discord and be willing to use the voice chat”.
So maybe if I ask here, someone will finally help me understand: what makes an RP server an RP server, in concrete terms?
I’ve seen a lot of that on official PVE-C servers: PVP players who come to PVE-C servers and act like total dicks. Some choice examples of “bringing PVP to PVE-C” include:
- harassing newbs
- ganking people who are simply working on building their bases, over and over until they log out
- calling you names if you run away from a fight
- building tons of claim spam
That said, PVE-C servers are weird in their own special way, because the vast majority of players on them tend to get extra-pissy if anyone fights them anywhere outside the player-built arenas with Battle Standards. That leaves people like me scratching our heads, because what’s the point of PVE-C in the first place, if you insist that all combat must be prearranged and consensual? That’s literally why Battle Standards were added, so that you can have your consensual-only PVP on PVE servers…
Maybe that’s what RP is supposed to be about? Would one of the defining characteristics of an RP server be “PVP is governed by a set of rules established by the admin”?