Antler comment

antler comment, antler question, n.: an out-of-character remark, so designated by holding one's thumb to one's temple, with the other fingers spread. [FH]
----
Addendum: This is a reference to a Monty Python sketch where a boss puts on a moose-antler beanie to signal when he is talking directly to his secretary, rather than dictating a letter. (I always thought this was an idiosyncrasy of my gaming group, until I saw three different people do it at three different games at a con.) [FH]
Addendum #2: I've seen the same idea as the "Antler Comment" come up in LARPs in my area, but it was done a bit differently. When speaking out of character, a player would place his hand over his heart or breast to signal the change. This came from the practice of wearing name tags that displayed the character name on them. When a person wanted to speak out of character, they would cover the tag to show that it was not the character speaking. This was very common for a while, and some of my friends will absentmindedly do it during tabletop gaming as well. [CB]
Addendum #3: A variation on the antler comment is the "moose rule." This is a way of identifying whether a statement/question is In Character, In Game/Out of Character, or Out of Game, and goes something like this. A player asks the question "What is the time?" If s/he a) has neither hand near his/her head, then the character is asking the other characters or an NPC what the time is; b) has one hand open with the thumb against his/her head (thus making a single moose horn, the "half-moose"), then the player is asking the GM what the time is in the game without his/her character actually voicing the question; c) has both hands open on the sides of his/her head (the "full moose"), then the player is asking the group what the time is outside of the game (for instance if they have a bus to catch home and forgot their watch). [AR]
Addendum #4: Yet another version of OOC signaling! In the Camarilla, in the Northwest at least, the preferred way to signal an OOC comment was to hold up crossed fingers. To this day, even long after leaving Cam, I find myself doing this absently and wondering why nobody seems to be playing along.