I'd probably go for a, but choosing my replies to try and keep them firmly grounded in game reality. ("Say, wanna come over to my place in Kings Row and listen to music? I've got the latest Rikti trance records.")
Being in this situation a lot (what can i say, female toons look good) i tend to avoid Rping in that are just out for the Xp, i also tend to quit those teams though.
i have an SG that all like to build the Chars of the toons they have created to a degree, so a bit of IC stuff is always a giggle, though it helps that we have the OOC knowledge that its Just a way to make the game more fun, rather than to be uber serious or to trick or embarrass anyone.
it's a fine line to walk, but i think i would do A) then B) if it was starting to get out of hand in any way, so he can get out of it with out looking like to much of a Burk.
I do usually save my RPing for IC team-ups or GG/CT but, in a situation where I was RPing in a PuG - which has happened on occasion - I'd more than likely go with a) but only to a point.
If it reached a stage where my character was insulted by the come-ons and made some IC retorts or I got the impression the other player was taking IC comments seriously, I'd definitely stop and shot them a quick tell.
Of course, having said that, there is the danger of going to far IC without realising it and non-RPers not really understanding what you're doing when you - for instance - mock their chat-up lines IC.
I worry - rightly, wrongly or too much - that non-RPers may find IC comments too much and feel belittled, even after you explain your RPing. Hence, I chiefly remain OOC outside of known IC groupings.
I do have "((Roleplayer))" in the bios of all my RP characters and will gladly answer any curious questions (to the best of my ability) or engage in some IC banter if someone seems up for it.
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So, what do you think? Roleplaying should be acceptable everywhere, and non-roleplayers can damn well put up with it? Or roleplaying with non-roleplayers can be misleading and therefore cruel?
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Personally, I can't see any point in RPing if it's causing others discomfort, you're only ruining their enjoyment of the game and I know only too well how irritating it can be when non-RPers rudely interrupt an IC meet. So I wouldn't want to do the same to others.
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Any situations you refuse point-blank to play, even amongst close friends?
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Torture. Now, I haven't tried it and while I have characters who might engage in it, I don't think I would be able to RP it. Same goes for [forced sex]. I might say it happened but I can't see myself RPing it actively.
Having read what I've written, it seems quite rambling but I hope the gist of it is there. 
In CoH/V I always save the roleplaying, well saved the roleplaying for specific times and places, or if agreed before starting a team that it would all be in-character.
As much as I love roleplaying, I feel there's a time and place for it for me, and the other times, all I want to do is get on with playing the game and seeing all the content.
To be honest, this is precisely why I dont like roleplaying members of the opposite sex (ie female)... it feels awkward. I wouldnt mind roleplaying a female if I was with roleplayers (although it does stretch one a bit), but its this peculariaty you describe (very accurately) that puts me off.
Its a shame really, since I have a few female toons with great (I think) concepts that I would like to do some light-RP with. For some reason, some concepts for me only fit females, some with males for historical/cultural reasons
Tricky one, if it was a non-roleplayer we randomly picked up into our group, then they would of been told that we are all rping (It happens quite a bit, and most people dont seem to mind...And its allways fun watching the vile taint of rp slowley infect them 
).
Usualy I try to make sure any team I join knows if I am rping..But if for some reaon I had not told them then I would go for "B".
Things I dont touch ingame....To be honest anything that does not add to the scene. Id not describe a torture scene, instead Id describe the aftermath ( "Character X walks from the room, his face splattered with blood and a cold smile on his face").
In the end less is more
I tend to keep my Roleplay "on" only around other Roleplayers; short of making a few flavoured warcries, I'll act OOC in a group if it's clear being IC isn't on their priority list. After all, if I started to team to Roleplay and people were acting OOC (in a disruptive manner), I'd be undestandably miffed so why should the opposite be any different?
One thing, however, that really gets me with some Roleplayers is them Roleplaying away despite the team not wishing to do so. Roleplay with clearly OOC things to annoy and irritate ("m8? FORSOOTH! THIS MAN IS POSSESSED!"). Obviously, Roleplayers can be harassed back, this particular thing really got to me.
As for stuff I wouldn't Roleplay out? Well, I'm normally quite open-minded, but under no circumstances would I take part in something related to snuff, or brutality/humiliation that's aimed at others. Against my character - with the latter, NOT the former - I'm "fine" with it; I know the character can deal with it, and I have the element of control there, but against others....eh. It just gets to me on a really deep level.
Although - as horribly sexist as this sounds - I've found it only gets to me when the victim is female. Films, art, etc, it's one of those things I can't really explain. Seeing guys in those situations makes me uncomfortable, but with women it takes on an entirely different set of feelings.
A combination of A and B - I tend to flit in and out of character very quickly, depending on the situation. I'd probably play along for abit, using game context replies, sending a tell if that isn't enough of a hint.
And no. Absolutely nothing. If the roleplay goes into interesting waters, and there are good friends who are mature and comfortable, it is possible to roleplay anything and have fun. (Making use of the less is more approach that davidG mentioned, for stylistic reasons more than anything else)
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a). Play along?
b). Send him a /tell explaining you're roleplaying?
c). Stop roleplaying immediately and excuse yourself from the team?
d). Explain to the whole team you're roleplaying and risk embarrassing the Tanker?
e). Rolepay the scenario to fruition, where it becomes horribly apparent you are (IC) pre-op.
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Actually light petting is female, I don't rolepay (the old PvP cartoon about 'if you have to look at an [censored] for 8 hours straight it might as well be a nice one' springs to mind). That being said, I did pop along to a couple of the early RP things (in the night club, not GG, that's how early it was) and one of the recurring themes were Male heroes complimenting me on my behind (I put a LOT of work into getting the proportions exactly right) to the point where a friend (male/female in RL? dunno) playing a female got really hacked off with it. It was fairy straightforward to put them off in character, as I used to hang round with an incredibly sarcastic lesbian friend who has a LOT of put downs prepared.
Of course, there was then a PLing italian firetank who just wouldn't get the message (of course, the response 'wanna cyber anyway' did throw me) - but that's what /ignore is for.
It should be possible to put people off IC without it being a big deal but if someone's going to be dense about it, there's always option e
Synaesthetix:if your mum wasn't already dead I would go kill her for bringing
you into the world
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For instance: You are a male, playing a female character. You join a PuG and decide you'd like to roleplay during tbe missions, without knowing whether or not your teammates are roleplayers. The trusty Tanker (a real life male, you assume) starts to chat-up your character.
Do you:
a). Play along?
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Maybe they are roleplaying, their toon happens to be a sexual predator who would turn their heads at corpses given an opportunity and you turning around saying you really of the opposite sex will blow it for them. I cant imagine why a guy would chat up a girl with just the knowledge that she is female without real evidence. But i know it happens alot.
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b). Send him a /tell explaining you're roleplaying?
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Nah keep on roleplaying dont ruin it for youeself, its much better to be able to stay in character as much as possible. He is a bit silly to even bother chatting you up just cos you have to sit down on the loo.
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c). Stop roleplaying immediately and excuse yourself from the team?
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Nope keep on roleplaying, bear in mind some people just like to get in and out of a mission with minimum fuss so your *bites lip* comment *looks over at the guy who needs tender loving heals* followed by *what should i do* is not as good as getting on with the heal. I quit teams the moment i as a hero discover the rest of the team must be villains becaise they play in a way to try and get eachother killed. Which is almost everytime i log on heroes. More so on defiant than union but barely ever on vigilance so far. No wait once on vigilance people didnt play the best way for my dark defender to support them so i got my forcefield bubbler out instead.
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d). Explain to the whole team you're roleplaying and risk embarrassing the Tanker?
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If he was worried about embarressment he wouldnt take any risks.
If you ever hear on defiant or union Arena "No <ADD NAME> I will not PL you!" that'll be me 
He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.
Good topic, Stasis .
I am IC most times when ingame, and I do very rarely pick up groups, so my answers are tilted because of that.
If I am playing female character and someone flirts with me, I flirt back if that fits my character. I won't send tells stating my RL gender, marital status, age or any other personal information. So I'd go with a) Play along.
Is it cruel to lie about your RL gender to random people in pick up groups? It depends. Lot of guys lie and say they are girls because then they get free stuff. Some women lie and say they are guys to avoid harassment. .... no, I don't see it as cruel. First case, if someone gives free stuff solely because someone says he's a girl, maybe he deserves to be lied to Second case, protecting yourself from harassment and random annoyance is justified.
I think common courtesy fits to RP in random non-RP groups. If the one person's RP gets in the way of the group or annoys them, then it shouldn't be done. But if it's harmless, then go for it. Example: If your character is terrible sexist pig and flings out abuse to all women and refuses to heal them (being defender) and causes group to faceplant, then it's bad. But if you add some "You're under arrest $target! Come peacefully and no one gets hurt!" or other little IC-remarks here and there, go for it. Or just react to the others as your char would instead of the player (in sensible limits of course). It can enhance the others experience even if they aren't RPers . In other words, only kind of "solitary RP" where you aren't expecting / requiring any kind of IC interaction from others. In no circumstances should there be confrontations raised because of IC reasons when you KNOW the others aren't RPing.
I as well dislike the method of answering clear OOC-ness with IC. That breaks my immersion even worse than the first OOC. If someone speaks in abbreviations, or uses gamemechanic info ... "You have xxx skill, do you find it useful?" NOT "How do you know I have that skill? Info box? What madness is that?"...but ooc-tell with either answering his question, or saying you're roleplayer and don't want to discuss gamemechanics.
Bonus question: I can and will play all kinds of IC situations and scenes. There was one scenario a couple of months ago that did make me uneasy (and this is the first time it has ever happened during years of RP). I don't know if I had played it (or agreed it had happened) if it had come to that, but circumstances changed the situation. If it would come up again, I think I would go with it (instead of saying OOC, this isn't a thing I want to happen with my char, let's not do it) but I doubt that particular thing will come up so I'll never know.
Of course what and how I will play with total strangers and close friends is totally different thing . I urge all players to be aware of their limits and when the situation gets too much for whatever reason, SEND OOC TELL AND SAY SO (and be clear about it). If the other person isn't willing to step back and find a way to make it enjoyable to all, then just abort the RP. It's not nice thing to do, but if you aren't having fun, then what's the point? If the other person doesn't care about how you feel, why should you care about their enjoyment?
Blackdove
Roleplaying is an art. Anyone can dab paint on a canvas, some people can make good looking pictures, some masterpieces, but there will ALWAYS be critics.
To me, it's sort of like a cultural heritage of telling stories and examining the behaviour of others; but like any art, you really shouldn't do it in public as people will think you're bonkers.
Ms. Paragon has been chatted up before, numerous times, and mostly I reply with "Dude, I'm a bloke", which would be b); but sometimes it's not that simple.
D) is nasty in most situations. C) doesn't really affect me unless they REALLY don't get it. (Some of the tells I get really make me despair about the male population.)
I admit to having done A before, but it's not due to malice, just to try and improve my RP. Usually I'd say I already had a boyfriend just to stop the Cybor.
Rp'ing with non-rp'ers is problematic, but as long as you don't over-RP, I'd say it's fine. Let's face it, Non-Rp'ers will be cruel about you at times ("You didn't pick Haste? Noob!") and there's always the chance you'll convert someone. Most of our group will respond to the NPC's threats now; and the battlecries are often purely RP.
Bonus Question : Yes, and that's incidents that will cause distress to others. If I'm on a team with someone I know can't stand something, or states that; I won't touch it.
If I'm with friends though, and it's agreed, ANYthing goes. Just know your (and others) limits.
[Edit: One more thing, you are playing a game where you can't die, wear spandex (and usually look good), throw fireballs etc.
How are you NOT roleplaying? ]
[Edit The Second: If you use phrases like 'plz' 'haxor' or any other leet speak, you are roleplaying unless you talk like that IRL. Role playing = Playing a Role.]
[Edit the Third : Like all other occupations, there are quite a few BAD roleplayers. There are also idiots who say they are roleplaying when they're just disguising their own prejudices. Don't be put off RP by running into one of these. Just have /ignore or /petition ready if they don't take the hint.]
[Edit The Fourth : Weasel and Stasis are in love, as are their players; but it doesn't mean that in the Arena I won't try my best to kill her off. Equally, Notion thinks Stasis is a criminal and Vainglory thinks Mongrel is a worthless moron.]
/e facepalms...
Oh the memories... For the record, I am a bloke but for some reason I get most enjoyment out of playing female characters. I don't see this as weird, just that my character concepts seem to work best with women than with men. I have been in this situation many, many times for various reasons. These days I obey a simple little rule: unless the team is a visibly RP group, I don't RP with them. If I spot another roleplayer in the group, I'll send them a tell and we can often get a little IC chatter going but I generally avoid it as I've had too much grief about being a roleplayer in PuGs to make it worthwhile.
As for being chatted up, yes this has happened to me. Many times, especially when I was playing a lady who was exceptionally flirtatious by nature. Most of the time, I'd go with option A, simply because it doesn't break me out of RP. The only time this hasn't worked out was when someone (ironically a tanker) decided to chat me up based on the character bio. For some reason, even though the word "Roleplayer" was there in big bold letters in the bio, he didn't seem to be able to separate me from the character (he was very obviously OOC). That did require a tell to clarify things.
However, I have managed to do A and D at the same time in a way. I was in a PuG, not roleplaying and having a terrible time of it. During a break, I left my character (female) in the kneel position. One player decided to make unsavoury comments about what I could do while knelt. I decided to give him an IC reaction by slapping him about the face, calling him a sexist pig and walking out. I left to a mixture of calls to come back and the rest of the team berating the guy for being such an idiot. Rather satisfactory I must say. 
@Dante EU - Union Roleplayer and Altisis Victim
The Militia: Union RP Supergroup - www.themilitia.org.uk
If someone is flirting with one of my characters, I expect that player to be fully in-character (as we are speaking about computer generated characters, mind you).
If the player needs to get personnal info on me (as a player) to be able to continue his "roleplay", it goes beyond the limit I set.
As a general rule, I don't give a lot of personnal infos on me (for several reasons), I don't answer to questions but I reply saying I won't.
If, at that point, a player isn't satisfied by not knowing more about me, personnaly, it's someone I most probably do not want to roleplay with, anyway.
So I don't have to lie to other players.
I also do not want to know personnal things about other players, even if some of them sometimes spontaneously share details about them.
I am interacting with their characters, that's what I am looking for and that's enough for me.
I'm in an interesting situation with this kinda thing:
It all started when I was playing my first non-trial account toon, Smashinatrix. I made her to look like a normal woman, i.e. reasonable sized boobs, not disturbingly slim e.t.c.
Now for some reason, when lots of guys see that, they automatically assume I'm a girl playing a girl, even when I'm not roleplaying, as no guy would ever make a 'normal' woman (or so they think)... it also seems that my in-game mannerisms reinforce things as well, as even when I've told them streight out that I'm a guy, they just won't accept it!!
Now I'd just ignore this, but guys have tried to hit on me when I'm playing Scatman McJones too, a male animated corpse... kinda creepy really... in fact, when I first joined the forums people assumed that Quilla was the male of the relationship and I the female... All a bit odd...
To answer the question: If people seem to be actually tryignm to hit on me, then I point it right out to them in a /tell. If they just keep trying then I say in team chat "Quit trying to chat me up, GenericHornyTeen001, I'm a bloke", and the embarrassment tends to shut them up. Unless the rest of the team then says "You are so a girl"... that's happened a couple of times.
There are some people who are always in-character when ingame; and there are those who save the IC shenanigans for select groups/times/places. But where would you draw the line?
, and though amusing, I'm wondering whether it's, in fact, cruel to lie to my teammates.
For instance: You are a male, playing a female character. You join a PuG and decide you'd like to roleplay during tbe missions, without knowing whether or not your teammates are roleplayers. The trusty Tanker (a real life male, you assume) starts to chat-up your character.
Do you:
a). Play along?
b). Send him a /tell explaining you're roleplaying?
c). Stop roleplaying immediately and excuse yourself from the team?
d). Explain to the whole team you're roleplaying and risk embarrassing the Tanker?
99% of roleplayers understand the IC=/=OOC line, and that insulting Ms. Paragon* IC does not mean you dislike them OOC/Letting Flittermaus* hook up with Notion* IC does not mean their players are dating OOC; but are there any situations you wouldn't roleplay in?
Recently, I've been playing in a few PuGs and have been pretending to be male IRL (as Infy says, "It's disturbing how well you pull that off"); amazingly, this doesn't cut the "Zomg! Pix plz!!!12" down
CoX is a MMORPG, true the "RPG" portion of the title isn't massively supported - but roleplaying is available and encouraged, but does everyone who picks up the game understand they will likely encounter roleplayers? Should I be saving the roleplaying for GG/Clocktower meets? Do I have to check with every PuG I join?
So, what do you think? Roleplaying should be acceptable everywhere, and non-roleplayers can damn well put up with it? Or roleplaying with non-roleplayers can be misleading and therefore cruel?
And a bonus question while we're here: Any situations you refuse point-blank to play, even amongst close friends?
*Weasel's and Stasis' characters, chosen because I'm lacking imagination.