TZ is being dumb in his explanation.
Free-form forum roleplaying is easy to god-mod, but also gives players a lot of freedom. Standard forum RPing rules such as "No godmodding" can hardly be quantified in free-form roleplaying, so the most players can do is go by judgment calls. In free-form roleplaying, there are usually some sort of adjudicator to make final decisions.
Part of the challenge in free-form roleplaying is handling such situations. IMO, such an RPG is most successful when the players work towards producing something that is fun both to read and to write, and not "to win." I have not played many RPGs (probably less than 20), but judging by what I have seen in many other RPG threads (both in-character, IC, and out-of-character, OOC), most RPGs do not have a direct objective or enough control, which usually leads to godmodding and dying RPGs because players get bored.
Really, if you're going to play a forum-based free-form RPG, you should be playing primarily for fun, not to win. Winning in RPGs that don't have a specific direction really REALLY defeats the point of having a direction. Even in fighting RPGs, although one aims to win, one should provide others equal opportunity to win, so that it keeps the RPG running smoothly and to provide readers a better experience.
>_< I can't explain it very well.
Even if ones characters die, one does not (usually) "lose." If one realizes that the character will die, one should merely play along and make sure that the death is at the very least enjoyable. It's always best to plan such sequences with other players to produce the "best result," which is a very enjoyable reading-writing experience.
IMO, forum-based RPGs should always have two primary goals: to have fun and to produce high-quality reading material. Other factors like "victory conditions" and writing style/spelling/grammar all come together to achieve the two goals. If it's not fun to read, it probably wasn't fun to write (and if it was, then the roleplayers are probably either BAD, INEXPERIENCED, or SCREWING AROUND).
BTW:
People who are "doing it wrong" are the ones who "LOL I DOJ'D IT!" They should remember that they are merely interfacing with a literary universe, and that they themselves are not the actual characters within it. They should disregard self-preservation in favour of making the RPG EPIC.
YAAAA-crude-example
A: I throw my HANDAXE OF DESPAIR at your head.
B: I dodge it, but it cuts off my ear. I'm dazed.
A: I run you through with my SPEAR OF HATRED.
B: I get ran through with your SPEAR OF HATRED, and my guts spill out on to the floor and blood drenches the ground beneath me. With my dying breath, I cast ASTRONOMICAL CATASTROPHE.
A: I'm laughing maniacally and I don't hear your incantation.
*ASTRONOMICAL CATASTROPHE HITS, THE WORLD EXPLODES*
(Problems here are that I'm playing both sides, so I know how I want to do things. Another ISSUE-as-opposed-to-problem: usage of personal pronoun makes writer more attached with character. Inexperienced RPers might cause the RPG to suffer because of invoked feelings of self-preservation.)
Fire_Kame
