Common throughout most media, the fourth wall exists to separate the fantastic from reality. It's the indelible boundary between the pretend and the truth, and it's an infallible source. It's a construct both necessary and instinctive. Since the dawn of a person's ability to conceive fantasy, it's there. Granted, as children, it's a malleable thing, but as we age it becomes the solid barrier it's supposed to be.
There are few instances where "breaking the fourth wall" makes any kind of sense. Deadpool, the Marvel Comics character, is a notorious breaker of walls; in fact, it was one of his schticks. The film "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" is another example of the loose adherence of fourth wallness. Eddie Murphy is also a culprit in several of his earlier films.
What makes these examples acceptable is that it's used sporadically, and artistically. It's not jarring; rather it can add to the entertainment value of the particular source. Would "Ferris Bueller" be as funny, if Matthew Broderick didn't directly address the audience? I doubt it. He takes us from a group of passive observers, to active tag-alongs in his adventures. It creates a firm emotional bond with the character, which in turn creates a more enjoyable movie experience.
He can get away with it. And he does.
But in role playing, busting through the fourth wall is generally bad fucking etiquette. Its primary purpose in RP is to distinguish between In-Character and Out-of-Character interactions. It keeps confidential character information unknown until certain criterion are met. It allows people to play something anathema to themselves in a safe environment. It's also supposed to keep drama at bay.
Running into a person who doesn't have a firm concept of the separation of IC and OOC is a chore, and generally an awful experience. He is the person who thinks his character is God's gift, so how dare you react poorly to his boorish personality. She is the player who thinks her character is the hottest, most attractive woman in the world, so therefore you must be completely fucked-up to not fall ass-over-tea kettle in love with her. These are players who are experiencing life vicariously through their pretendy fun-times extracurricular hobby, and are instead treating it as SO IMPORTANT rather than the hobby it's supposed to be.
They are people who will make it their personal goal to try and explode into drama if you don't agree on their characters. Some of these cuntweasels will go so far as to start shit OOC simply to get back at you. Their ability to discern the walls between reality and fiction are so distorted, they should not actually be role playing. I may not be a psychologist, but I know that it is not a sane person who blurs the lines between what's real and what isn't.
Through their inability to accept the fourth wall and behave maturely, they create a swarm of drama that is difficult to defuse. Part of that is that they feel justified in taking their hurt feelings out on other people, simply because they said something insulting about the character, or didn't give it the respect they think it deserves, or they were laughed out of a scene for being utterly ridiculous. So, they will now spend precious time concocting schemes, rumor milling, and basically behaving like a douchenozzle because they feel slighted.
Had said player been of a stable mindset, and mature personality, any discrepancies could be civilly addressed with the other party. Misunderstandings could be cleared, and everyone could go back to enjoying the game. Unfortunately, the faulty wiring in the headmeat of the player has made such considerate methods of problem-solving moot. Nothing but the utter ruination of the offending party will salve the injured player's ego. And really, is it worth it?
These people make role playing tedious and terrible. They can exist wherever role playing can happen -- table top, LARP, MMORPGs, and their abilities to behave poorly are not subject to which medium it comes in. Real-life acquaintances can be just as prone to fuckassery as internet ones; the only leg-up the internet ones have are the inherent caveats of anonymity the internet has. That, for some astounding reason, seems to really bring out the worst in people.
It's all right to occasionally get upset if something negative happens in play. The thing that matters is how you handle it. The majority of the time, simply talking to the other player will clear up problems. If feelings are so sour so as to make that impossible at the time, find a neutral third party to help mediate the issue, or take a few days to chill out. Taking it to extremes, though, is never the answer. And exploding into a drama ball that shames teenage girls in its sheer stupidity is never going to solve the problems. It's just going to cause more of them.
And all the other people, who are considerate enough to uphold the fourth wall, will think you're nothing more than some gibbering moron who likely still lives with your parents and never really grew up. So, fourth wall breakers, grow the fuck up, or get some goddamn help. No one wants to play with someone who can't separate what happens to their fictional persona, and what happens in real life.
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