Deal Breakers. What makes you "walk" away?

[rae2nerdy]

B

Maybe it's just me being stupid, but I see absolutely no reason why the first version is worse than the second one.

Because she would grab a gun isn't an action. It's more like the pov character (she) is daydreaming about doing something. So from the other character's perspective pov character is just standing there doing nothing.

Whereas she grabs a gun is an action that actually takes place and thus something the other character can react to.

 

[memphis]

That being said, I absolutely hate past tense roleplaying. I know where it comes from, a phobia of god-modding, but come on! If you say, "she would grab a gun, and would fire three bullets towards the man," then I'm tempted to say, "No, she would not!"
It's aggravating, every single time. Please use present tense. "She grabs a gun and fires three bullets at the guy."

I just have to say, as someone who roleplays exclusively in past tense, I would never type something out like that. For me, personally, it would be, "she grabbed a gun and fired three bullets toward the man". With this example, it has the same practical meaning as the present tense version. rae2nerdy explained why your example of past tense would be wrong perfectly:

Because she would grab a gun isn't an action. It's more like the pov character (she) is daydreaming about doing something. So from the other character's perspective pov character is just standing there doing nothing.

Whereas she grabs a gun is an action that actually takes place and thus something the other character can react to.

 

[Winter_Wolf]

First, a reply to Saathiel.

This is a bad thing, and you should call those players out on that.
You call it "server roleplaying", I call it "bad sportsmanship". This is most likely a difference in expectations. On a forum, you have plenty of time to formulate a response, and multiple threads for in-character and out-of-character chatter. The fourth wall is very strong, and breaking it is frowned upon. You can't "miss a beat" because you're probably the only one online at that moment, and the proverbial heart here is beating about once an hour. In a game, be it WoW, GTA 5, Minecraft, CoD, etcetera, you don't have a lot of time because everyone's there. You can freeze up and you'll have to roll with it as a character's quirk. You can't play multiple characters because the game gives you only one avatar to use. The fourth wall is weak and often broken, because there's no in-game distinction between in-character and out-of-character.

Forum roleplay are more professional, more structured, more rigorous, while being somewhat less demanding because you can always take a break for a day to do things in real life and nobody will notice you ever left the keyboard.

In forum roleplays it is generally expected that everyone is in on the plot, and the characters remain totally unaware. You should be able to say in the OOC chat that your character is an FBI agent, and someone else's character should still drunkenly flirt with them, because the character doesn't know they're actually an FBI agent. In fact, sometimes stating those things can help your partners interact with your character in more interesting ways. We're here to have fun, not to win a D&D campaign.

That being said, I absolutely hate past tense roleplaying. I know where it comes from, a phobia of god-modding, but come on! If you say, "she would grab a gun, and would fire three bullets towards the man," then I'm tempted to say, "No, she would not!"
It's aggravating, every single time. Please use present tense. "She grabs a gun and fires three bullets at the guy." This is okay. This doesn't violate anyone's character. What you're trying to avoid is landing the punch, not throwing it. "She grabs a gun and nails three bullets squarely in his chest," is not okay. Don't do that. But also don't tell us what she would do, tell us what she does do. Please.

The example you gave is not past tense though. I don't know what that even is, if it's a tense. Would tends to be more of a present tense or future thing if anything--I WOULD do x, but I am doing y, or WILL DO z instead.

 

[Ferociousfeind]

hrrm, I guess you're right.
I'm sorry past tense, but the english language is broken and it's not my fault.

 

[Winter_Wolf]

but the english language is broken and it's not my fault.

Now is that a fact

---------

At this point, discord. I'm tired of seeing discord here, discord there, not necessarily on this site but practically the entire internet, and I will not remember to go onto two sites for the same roleplay(s).

 

[memphis]

At this point, discord. I'm tired of seeing discord here, discord there, not necessarily on this site but practically the entire internet, and I will not remember to go onto two sites for the same roleplay(s).

This is a very good point you bring up! I personally absolutely despise using instant messenger type platforms for roleplaying (they're just not built for the detailed, long-term roleplays I prefer), but that's not even the biggest issue I have with them. I know everyone has their own preferences as to where they like to roleplay, I do too, but it does get a bit complicated because it is difficult to keep track of roleplays across multiple different platforms. The easiest way for a roleplay to die is forgetting about it altogether. Email has always been my go-to because it's easy for me to check both on my computer and phone, everyone has it, and even if I find partners on different websites to write with, I can direct them all to one place.

 

[Filianore]

Everyone complaining about discord, I relate.

I feel that any IM system has too much pressure. People know when you're online unless you appear offline and when it comes to discord, they can often see if you're gaming or doing anything other than RPing. I found it makes people antsy and I don't like the pressure if knowing they're not just waiting but watching. Sounds like I'm paranoid but it's happened before. Waaaay back in the days of MSN and AOL messenger that was an issue, too.

E-mails and forums are just so much more relaxed in that regard.

 

[Emmi]

Oh, I have quite a few.

1.) Real Life Face Claims
I'm a girl who lives under a rock. I don't know anyone. Heck, I just found out who Beyonce was last year, and I'm seventeen currently. I mean, I understand it gives you an image on how the character looks in real life, but, what if your character is an orc? How the fuck will you find an orc real life face claim? I'll stick to anime or digital art, thank you very much, since anything is possible there.

2.) One Liners.
This makes me cringe. Seriously? No detail? No information? I understand if you're interacting with someone, but still, can't you explain your character's thoughts and feelings, even actions? Can't you post adjectives, verbs, and make your sentences juicy? "Mary cried at the sight of her dead golden retriever. She cried and cried, until she finally got up, and wiped her tears." What did she do with the dog? Bury it? Eat it? WHAT DID MARY DOOOOO!?

3.) FUCKING TEN PARAGRAPHS
Complete opposite of a one liner. It's amazing how you have all that detail, but seriously, that's too much. No one's going to fucking read that mess. I usually write 1-5 paragraphs. Not fucking 6-infinity paragraphs, what the fuck.

4.) Picky GMs
You have a really good roleplay, cool, but once you create a character, they nit pick at every single detail. Heck, they'll even nit pick your posts. I once had this character which was denied because of his personality. There was a war-related rp, and I decided to create a teenager character. Cool and all. Their personality is "outgoing" and "witty", or even "flirty". The GM denied him, why? Because he was "too flirty and funny". Dude, my character, who is a teenager, isn't supposed to take war seriously because he's a fucking child. A sixteen year old! Does it hurt to add in a fun character? If the rp is too serious, it won't be interested, idiots.

5.) Planned out rps.
Basically, the rp is planned out, and there isn't anything interesting going on since you already know what will happen. Might as well write a damn book, since you already know what will happen. **shudders**

6.) Godmodding NPCs
...

7.) Writing Backstories and GM Expects every detail.
I hate writing backstories because a.) time consuming, and b.) you want people to be surprised. I had a character who was a retainer, and a fun and childish teenager girl. The GM was extremely shocked she was an ex leader of a feared terrorist group and has short term memory loss. It played into the story well, and made it more dramatic. That's why I love it when no one writes backstories. It makes the character and RP interesting.

8.) Paragraph Requirement
I know it's to prevent one liners, but seriously, what if the user has nothing else to cover? Already had nice adjectives and such, but what else will they write?

9.) Unoriginal Characters.
...

Spoiler: Me:

10.) User Online and Well in OOC, But Does Not Post IC

Spoiler: Me:

I have more.. but this'll turn into a huge post that everyone'll hate.

 

[Kumii]

Umm everything that she said ^

 

[Emmi]

Umm everything that she said ^

Credit to you for the Mary and Dog one liner idea.

 

[Kumii]

Everyone complaining about discord, I relate.

I feel that any IM system has too much pressure. People know when you're online unless you appear offline and when it comes to discord, they can often see if you're gaming or doing anything other than RPing. I found it makes people antsy and I don't like the pressure if knowing they're not just waiting but watching. Sounds like I'm paranoid but it's happened before. Waaaay back in the days of MSN and AOL messenger that was an issue, too.

E-mails and forums are just so much more relaxed in that regard.

I must say, I disagree. While some people may be impatient when it comes to this, not everyone is. Those that are, are just bad GMs. Though you have to take everything with a grain of salt.

 

[memphis]

Spoiler

Complete opposite of a one liner. It's amazing how you have all that detail, but seriously, that's too much. No one's going to fucking read that mess. I usually write 1-5 paragraphs. Not fucking 6-infinity paragraphs, what the fuck.

Agree to disagree with you, but I would most certainly read ten plus paragraphs. I don't expect my partners to write as much as I do by any means, but sometimes a scene calls for a lot of detail, and I deliver.

 

[Emmi]

Agree to disagree with you, but I would most certainly read ten plus paragraphs. I don't expect my partners to write as much as I do by any means, but sometimes a scene calls for a lot of detail, and I deliver.

That is true, however, writing too many paragraphs is a waste of time. Reading ten paragraphs is time consuming, and extremely annoying for me. Sometimes, too much detail isn't really good. You can be outside in a rp, and write three paragraphs on the scenery. That, in my opinion, is a bit too much. Writing detail must not be kept at a minimum, but certainly not maximum.

 

[Bone2pick]

3.) FUCKING TEN PARAGRAPHS
Complete opposite of a one liner. It's amazing how you have all that detail, but seriously, that's too much. No one's going to fucking read that mess. I usually write 1-5 paragraphs. Not fucking 6-infinity paragraphs, what the fuck.

4.) Picky GMs
You have a really good roleplay, cool, but once you create a character, they nit pick at every single detail. Heck, they'll even nit pick your posts. I once had this character which was denied because of his personality. There was a war-related rp, and I decided to create a teenager character. Cool and all. Their personality is "outgoing" and "witty", or even "flirty". The GM denied him, why? Because he was "too flirty and funny". Dude, my character, who is a teenager, isn't supposed to take war seriously because he's a fucking child. A sixteen year old! Does it hurt to add in a fun character? If the rp is too serious, it won't be interested, idiots.

5.) Planned out rps.
Basically, the rp is planned out, and there isn't anything interesting going on since you already know what will happen. Might as well write a damn book, since you already know what will happen. **shudders**

7.) Writing Backstories and GM Expects every detail.
I hate writing backstories because a.) time consuming, and b.) you want people to be surprised. I had a character who was a retainer, and a fun and childish teenager girl. The GM was extremely shocked she was an ex leader of a feared terrorist group and has short term memory loss. It played into the story well, and made it more dramatic. That's why I love it when no one writes backstories. It makes the character and RP interesting.

8.) Paragraph Requirement
I know it's to prevent one liners, but seriously, what if the user has nothing else to cover? Already had nice adjectives and such, but what else will they write?

You and I are practically total opposites when it comes to roleplaying. Good to know.

 

[Emmi]

You and I are practically total opposites when it comes to roleplaying. Good to know.

lol

 

[memphis]

Reading ten paragraphs is time consuming, and extremely annoying for me.

I think that's probably where we differ. Because of my schedule, and the difficulty of finding partners who have super compatible schedules, sometimes my partners and I will only get in a reply once a week or every other week. As a result of this, I'm much more excited to find a nice, long response in my inbox rather than a paragraph or two that do the bare minimum of moving the plot along. Though I definitely agree with you that too much detail can come off as overzealous and unnecessary, I can appreciate some extra prose thrown in there.

 

[Emmi]

I think that's probably where we differ. Because of my schedule, and the difficulty of finding partners who have super compatible schedules, sometimes my partners and I will only get in a reply once a week or every other week. As a result of this, I'm much more excited to find a nice, long response in my inbox rather than a paragraph or two that do the bare minimum of moving the plot along. Though I definitely agree with you that too much detail can come off as overzealous and unnecessary, I can appreciate some extra prose thrown in there.

True. My schedule is packed, including school, clubs, homework, etc.

 

[King Crimson]

Agree to disagree with you, but I would most certainly read ten plus paragraphs. I don't expect my partners to write as much as I do by any means, but sometimes a scene calls for a lot of detail, and I deliver.

I would say it depends on who's writing the paragraphs and how.
If they can make it an engaging and gripping read, you might read through the whole post without even realizing how long it is.
If they're a bad, dry writer, however, it can become a chore just to read through two sentences.

 

[Lincs]

Well, I'm your typical guy that's gung-ho about battles, sieges, explosions, boss fights, wanton property damage, etc. etc...

But, I'm also secretly a sappy old bastard. I love a good romance subplot; a well-done love story (that may or may not end in tragedy and death) between two characters does absolute wonders for the impact of a story.

But the worst is when romances are shoehorned in, fanfiction-y, and just plain BAD. All the schoolgirl blushing, exaggerated stuttering, forced awkward dialogue stuff, it kills me. Not only that but it distracts from the what's going on in the story by causing a scene, rather than developing the characters naturally and thus augmenting the story. Blegh.

The other thing would be flat characters. Make a mary sue if you want, but please give her some kind of development? A character arc?

I don't mind when someone roleplays the Legendary Chosen One. But I want them to make some mistakes, have some bad feels, decide to be different about something! Similarly, I don't mind if you make your character Normal McPeasant, and they grow to become powerful, but have them stumble a bit on the way and come to see things in a new light. Mr. and Mrs. Emotionally Perfect are the most boring people in the universe.

 

[Sara Sidereal]

I had never heard the term "face claim" till I joined this site, I just called it "a picture of my character"

Unrelated, people who think requiring lots of words will magically lead to lots of information density are funny to me, it pretty much always ensures the opposite

 

[Sara Sidereal]

Maybe it's just me being stupid, but I see absolutely no reason why the first version is worse than the second one.

It's a conditional statement with no condition. "She would X" isn't complete without some "but Y stopped her" or "if Y happened"; I.e. the condition. It's like an if then statement with no then. "She would X" causes the reader to think, "well, does she or doesn't she? what's stopping her?"

"She does X" is a complete statement. It's not dependent on anything.

It's also because no human being writes or talks that way in real life, which makes it super jarring. Sort of like uncanny valley for writing.

 

[rae2nerdy]

\

I had never heard the term "face claim" till I joined this site, I just called it "a picture of my character"

Unrelated, people who think requiring lots of words will magically lead to lots of information density are funny to me, it pretty much always ensures the opposite

Information density?

 

[Sara Sidereal]

\


Information density?

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?...ved=0ahUKEwjByP-54cTZAhXJx1kKHdHYBcoQgQMIJTAA

 

[rae2nerdy]

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?...ved=0ahUKEwjByP-54cTZAhXJx1kKHdHYBcoQgQMIJTAA

But like what do you mean as it related to roleplays? Are you trying to say that you think people who ask for a writing minimum are using this as a means of determining overall literacy or what? Like I don't need a scholarly definition I just need to know what you mean about information density as it relates specifically to roleplaying. As I don't think I've ever heard that term OR heard anyone asking for it in roleplays.

 

[Sara Sidereal]

when people say "I set a minimum length so I have something to respond to" what they're actually looking for isn't words, it's meaning. the greater the information density of a passage, the more meaning it contains per word.

the reverse is also true: for a given amount of meaning, increasing the number of words reduces the information density. so by setting a minimum word count, all that's accomplished is diluting a post's meaning by spreading it over more words, which is the opposite of the requirement's goal.