Role Playing in the context of the Therian Community is generally frowned upon. This is due to the issues with people coming into the community with the misunderstanding that Therianthropy is some kind of role playing game or a form of LARP'ing.
RP'er is a term used to describe individuals who appear in the community and are seen to not be taking the concept of Therianthropy seriously.
Things that typically result in one being labelled as an RP'er:
- Claiming one can physically shift.
- Claiming one is a “hunter”.
- Simply not understanding the accepted concepts around the topic of Therianthropy, though still considering yourself a Therianthrope, even though you have not made any effort purposefully to understand.
- Making claims that seem disingenuous.
It is important to note that some Therians do engage in Role Playing games or LARP's. It may be about cool aliens, one specific frame in a video, or about Therianthropy. Except~ they make a distinction between what it is that makes them a Therianthrope which can be spiritual or physiological, and the Role Playing activities which are not related to Therianthropy and are for Hobbies/Fun.
(The following: "~" means an extended sound, instead of writing "Eeeexxxxeeeeeeppptttt", you write "Exept~")