Action and Interaction
In roleplay, perhaps two of the most significant items to keep in mind are not to force actions upon others and to provide some sort of 'hook' in your posing. The degree of how much 'force roleplay' is appropriate to a particular situation can vary greatly from game to game and theme to theme, but basically boils down to the idea that you should let the character's player decide the outcome of actions bearing direct effect on their character, i.e., it's better not to hit someone in the face with a stone; throw the stone at the character, and let the other's player decide whether their character takes the hit, or avoids it in some manner.

Providing 'hooks' for roleplay means wording your pose in such a way as to offer a means for response from those with whom you are roleplaying. Poses constituted simply of speech with the addition of a says/grins/nods/smiles prefix can not only read repetitively, but give little to flesh out the details of one's character or to invite response. Is the smile impish, inviting, or shy; is the glance coy or challenging; is the nod abrupt or indecisive; is the tone uncertain, determined, gratingly cheerful, given in an unusually low or bass voice or a scratchy soprano; did one trip and fall down into the seat upon saying the last few words; was the speech accompanied with some movement, gesture, or particular mannerism (like an arching of the brows or the swirl of a finger midair)? Working details like these-recognition in the pose of the surrounding room and its contents, indications of your character's 'physicality' (its appearance, body language, etc.) and other aspects-can add to the depth and description of your roleplay as you become more aware of the world around your character.

In a related caution, however, be sure to distinguish in your poses what people can respond to, and what they can't. Unless it's within the game's theme, 'Johnny wonders what he can do today.', while it provides some indication of what the character is considering, offers no means of response from those with whom Johnny is roleplaying--for the pose gives no visual cues, no indication of how those with him might notice any changes in Johnny's aspect or movement which might allow them to comment or interact with Johnny. People generally are not telepathic (in a few places at least) and have no way to tell what a character is thinking. Though most seem to. There are times, however, when it enhances the roleplay to comment on a character's state of mind as explanation in a pose, such as:
Johnny glances at Jarien, startlement plain on his features. "Are you sure you want to do that?" he questions in a cautious tone, not wishing to get in trouble himself.
The dividing line between what works and what doesn't in the roleplay is fairly fine, and can as well be individual to player and to game or theme; it's up to your discretion as to when and how to employ such.

As a corollary to this these points on roleplaying, when moving from room to room, if you leave roleplay behind, offer a concluding pose and allow time for a response from those with whom you're roleplaying. Additionally, if you encounter a character in a room through which you are passing, it is polite not to leave the room without having posed and waited for a reply from that character before continuing; while it's possible the other might be idling, he or she may also be hoping for roleplay, too. A finer distinction to this practice is not posing greeting another person in the room you have just entered (as distinct from a pose noting the circumstances of your arrival in the room) until they have acknowledged your presence; while that character might be the only person in the room at the moment you happen by, if it is a place like a forest or a Great Hall in some castle, the character could be interacting with others (whether recently-departed PCs or NPCs) so that the character is hard to spot if the room's stage is crowded with other characters or virtual objects. If your character was hiding in a tree, it's a distinct letdown to have the first person who enters the room immediately spot you while tucked fifty feet above the ground behind a concealing brush of leaves.

It's also annoying to some to have the individual looking for you to instantly find you. A character entering a crowed room may not automatically spy the person he or she has been looking for and run up to them in the first pose. It would be awkward if the person in question was having a private conversation, or something not of your character's business.

If exploring or otherwise moving through the game, it is impolite in the extreme to enter a private room without receiving the owner's explicit permission beforehand, and their willingness to have you visit; a room set JUMP_OK does not constitute automatic permission. Not only might he be in the private room because he is unable to roleplay at the moment, but he could be conducting private business and may not be amenable to an interruption. Even if it appears the character is alone, this might not hold true--a player set UNFINDABLE might be present with him. Entering private rooms on a game without permission is tantamount to breaking into a bedroom, and not everyone cares to have their steamy tinysex scene interrupted by an unannounced visitor.

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