How can I present evidence to back up a claim?

Private messages (PMs) and roleplays (RPs) are out-of-character (OOC) vehicles for conducting in-character (IC) activity. Describe the IC activity, don't describe the PM/RP.

'PM' and 'RP' mean absolutely nothing to characters within the setting. You cannot present a PM or an RP verbatim as some sort of evidence. You must write within the setting.

If you didn't conduct an RP to obtain hard evidence, then you don't have any. It's as simple as that.

You may present an allegation based on hearsay ("He said this" or "he said that" or "I got told this"). If you are asked for proof then you cannot produce the text of a PM or RP to back it up unless you set about making a recording (via an RP of your own) beforehand.

If you don't want your conversations by PM recorded then just note at the top that it has been delivered by Guild courier, or encrypted, or the paper on which it is written is set to breakdown on exposure to air after 2 minutes, or something of that sort (within the bounds of credibility). If it's sensitive enough, then instead of writing a PM hold a face-to-face meeting using a Cone of Silence via a roleplay written offline by everyone involved and presented by each player in the relevant Covert RP forum areas as a General Story or a Cross Faction Consensual RP.

If you sign a contract, even if it's private, it's not worth the 'paper' it's written on unless all players involved post it up in relevant covert forum areas. If the GM cannot see it in the formalised ruling areas then it doesn't exist in terms of 'evidence'.

All accusations and allegations should be discussed and presented IC: RPs, PMs, emails, and GMs are not deus ex machina ready to prove or disprove whatever you want proving or disproving. Make an accusation, present your evidence if you have any (real or fraudulent), or just hope you're convincing enough to be believed or that your 'victim' is disliked enough that it's easier to believe your story than theirs.

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