What makes a good Clown?

[Crazyabe]

This is a question along the lines of which is better The clown that is brand new to the job, and causes problems through shear incompetence, or the Clown who walks around splashing people with sweedium, and tossing freeze balloons. Generally say what ya like seeing in a clown and who the best clowns you've seen were.

[Arborinus]

You'll know when you see them, and when you least expect it. Each clown has a unique flavor. There isn't a standard of clowning besides making people laugh.

[Frank_Stein]

A little bit of both. A clown that is skilled enough to recognize exactly how they can completely fuck everything up with one banana peel slip and make the whole thing look like it was an innocent accident. To them, the station is one big Rube Goldberg device of tragic comedy

[NateTheSquid]

Best clowns are the ones that do pranks, gimmicks, whatever, to make people laugh, but then when there's danger, they step in and save the day

[Gannets]

Yeah, it really depends on what you're looking to do as a clown. There are many paths to comedy!

[Fenriswolf1991]

My clowns are almost ever a combination of pranksters, outright dumbasses and/or my own incompetence. I am not that good at telling jokes, not even in my native language german, so I never play a jokester clown, although I like those the most if they are played by a humorous player who sits in the radio station all round and tell some good ones.

[sydne66]

Best clowns hold on to their equipment especially their fancy squeaking shoes, if you lose or even worse ditch them you're as good as dead.

[Boon Yoon]

Being actually funny and creative. This doesn't include powergaming the same routine every round. An all access clown with security gear, every round, over and over, doesn't really meet the mark.

The only use a funny clown would have for sec gear is using a stun baton incorrectly, or perhaps putting it in a pie, with the sole objective of creating a moment with which to honk.

Some clowns just don't understand that while they are technically miscreants, doesn't mean they should play it like a normal miscreant. It's totally missing the fucking point. Your objective is to be funny, not to "win".

[Dr Zoidcrab]

Pick a costume and gimmick and stick to them. If you're wearing the clown suit get white gloves from medbay to go with it, and KEEP THOSE SHOES ON. Nothing is more sickening than seeing a clown in a clownsuit without the shoes.

[Vitatroll]

The bare minimum is never removing your clown regalia, even under threat of death. That means no breath mask, no taking off your shoes for a perilous path, and no switching out your uniform for something that isn't the red/blue/formal suit.

If you can't do that, then you're not even a bad clown; you're just not a clown.

[Maegor]

I like clowns when their head is detached from the neck
Things I dislike about clowns:
A clown that breaks into stuff for no reason. Or clowns that are rush on inside making some horrible unfunny demand and keep messing your surgery, experiment etc. Even clowns that after you throw them out, create a vendetta against you, chasing you the entire round. Generally annoying clowns that interrupt you.

Things I like about clowns:

[CounterfeitFaker]

A good clown knows the difference between funny and obnoxious. It's a very fine line and it's kinda different for everyone.

Obnoxious, I guess, would be harassing people who are doing important stuff like borging or cloning, breaking into places without having any particularly good reason and then leaving them wide open for everyone else to wander in, throwing annoying chems at people, et cetera. It's sort of subjective, I guess, and most pranks you pull on people will annoy the victims at least a little; it's knowing when it's only funny to you and not any onlookers that's the problem.

Funny's also kinda difficult. Usually I just fill a fire extinguisher with pee and spray it in front of the janitor. Messing with particularly self-important crewmates can also make for some funny moments. Pushing dudes over and farting on them is also a good time (and easily weaponizable if you're a traitor with the mini-bible; push a guy over and fart on him, and then 'accidentally' fall over with the bible in hand, and 99 times out of 100 he'll come over to fart on you in revenge).

Clowns who save the day, who act as the last refuge against the methed-up nerd with the c-saber who's been chucking pipe bombs at everyone, who manage to knock him over and fling him off the station, are a rare breed; plenty of people try, but most aren't very good, and almost everyone who tries this path forgets to entertain anything but their own dreams of robustness.

(I'm probably guilty of being more obnoxious than funny on occasion, so I guess take this with a grain of salt.)

[Tom Clancy's Gay Ghost]

I personally like nice clowns! Every staff assistant and Bubs' mother can break into places and make people mad, but a clown should be everybody's friend. Give out balloons, make funny jokes! Juggle firearms!
Also clown surgeons. Clown surgeons are always the best surgeons.

[Tarmunora]

I like clowns that don't melt their way into security and ruin the brig every single round. Like, that's not even funny once.

[Noah Buttes]

The best clowns are those who manage to infuriate the entire crew without actually doing anything illegal.

The floor buffer is usually a good place to start