On MUSHes, MUXes, MOOs, MUCKs, and other text-based role-playing environments, players describe what they are doing by means of poses. Here is a typical, if slightly boring, example of a pose.

Esmerelda crosses her legs and lights a cigarette, sending a smouldering glance in the direction of the handsome bartender. "Hi," she purrs.

However, some players feel the need to put extra information into a pose -- information that nobody witnessing the scene would have any real way of knowing. Such information can include details about the character's past, her emotional state, her attitudes toward other things going on in the room, and her twinky supernatural powers. This is called metaposing, and it is considered a mortal sin by a lot of MU* players. Here is an example of a metapose:

Esmerelda the ancient vampire sits at the bar, thinking wistfully about how, as a mortal eight hundred years ago, she was able to drink beer whenever she wanted. But ever since her dark embrace, she could drink only blood! Her heart overflowing with regret, she sends a smouldering glance in the direction of the handsome bartender (whom she intends to seduce by means of Presence 1 later tonight, and drain of blood before dawn). "Hi," she says.

In an ordinary novel, this might be an acceptable paragraph. (Actually, I know it's an awful paragraph, but bear with me here.) However, in a role-playing game, this kind of writing is problematic: since Esmerelda has not really said anything, the other players have no way of knowing what their own characters can know about her state of mind. This makes it difficult to react. Furthermore, on games where masquerade is important, it can lead to IC-OOC leak and misunderstandings.

One of the most irritating uses of metaposes is to insult other players in an underhanded way, leaving them unable to defend themselves.

Esmerelda cannot understand how Juliette could possibly be so stupid. Isn't it obvious that going through with her plan would get them all killed? "I think it's a good idea," she says.

Unless Juliette's player engages in some metaposing of her own ("Thanks," Juliette replies, happy in the knowledge that her idea is a brilliant one no matter what any stupid vampire might think), she cannot respond to the buried insults in Esmerelda's pose, since the other character did not say anything aloud. This sort of passive aggressive behaviour can make players feel hurt and frustrated, and moreover, it can remove a great deal of mystery and elegance from the story.

Some players have no tolerance for any metaposing whatsoever, going by the dictum "show, don't tell" in all things. Others, however, enjoy metaposes if they are literary enough. Dream sequences, flashbacks, and other "advanced storyteller techniques" can benefit from metaposes in a way that ordinary scenes do not. Also, players whose characters know each other very well may feel comfortable putting feelings and opinions into a pose, under the assumption that the other PC will be able to detect them by interpreting body language that might be too tedious or irrelevant to describe in text.