Out of Character

The concept of Out of Character knowledge is nothing new to role playing games; Simply put, if it's something your character wouldn't know, you cannot use that information to influence your actions.

OOC Channel

SS13 comes with a pre-built OOC channel, accessed simply by using the command 'OOC "text"'. OOC is for asking simple, non-game mode questions, commenting on the current round, and discussing cloning/borging going on in game (such as asking someone who saw you drop to clone you, or asking someone to return to their body for cloning or borging). What you have to remember is that no in-character information (beyond cloning requests) can be stated in OOC. This means no asking questions about what kind of round it is, no getting pissy over dying, or even mentioning that you're dead.

That said, here's an easy guide:

OOC IS FOR

Asking (hypothetical) questions. Questions pertaining to whatever it is you're presently doing should be adminhelped.
Talking about how funny the clown is
Talking about something completely unrelated to the game
Talking about recent updates, in moderation.
Throwing about ideas for the game.

OOC IS NEVER FOR

Asking how to be a wizard/rev/traitor
Mentioning anything related to the game mode
Bitching about your death and/or mentioning who killed you
Saying anything that might not be public knowledge out-of-game.

A good rule of thumb is if someone not playing the round or involved in a scene can still tell what's happening, it's IC in OOC. If you ever have to question whether or not you should say it, DON'T FUCKING SAY IT.

The difference between IC and OOC

KNOWING THIS WILL PREVENT YOU FROM BEING BANNED

If you've never roleplayed before, IC stands for "In-Character". The concept is that your knowledge and your character's knowledge are separate; you might know that, say, welding masks prevent being turned into a revolutionary, but your character doesn't necessarily know that. Using anything you've overheard in OOC in character can be a reason to be banned.

OOC in IC (Out-Of-Character in In-Character) is

Taking grudges from round to round (VERY frowned upon)
Rage killing
Using any knowledge heard outside of normal game speak to your advantage
Talking about mechanical or metagame concepts in game, such as damage scores or the idea of "rounds"

DON'T DO THIS SHIT. YOU COULD VERY WELL RUIN THE ROUND VERY QUICKLY!

Deadchat

If you've died and the temptation to vent about it is too great to resist, deadchat (accessed via "say" whilst a ghost) is the place to do it. Ghosts are already privy to everything that is going on in the station and it is already common practice, live players cannot hear your ramblings. Other meta concepts tend to be discussed here. But keep in mind that using knowledge attained as a ghost in-game is a very frowned upon form of meta-gaming.