Is RP dying?

[Elle Joyner]

Haha - Not at all... and not what I said, to any degree. I said lazy, sloppy writing. Not new or in need of improvement. There's a very great difference between someone who is young or still learning, and someone who just slaps together a post in five minutes or less, putting very little thought or consideration into it, or into what his/her partner wrote.


We all start somewhere - and you can only improve if you're given the playground to work on your posting style and education to develop your skills... But when someone utterly refuses to make the steps necessary to bettering themselves, or chooses to be cavalier towards the hard work that is put into other player's work... Well, to them I say... Thanks, but no thanks.

 

[hellrazoromega]

Never said you would--hence why I asked, rather than said. ( ) Just trying to understand your position. Could you give me more specificity here, define what lazy and/or sloppy means to you in this context? Lazy/sloppy can mean a great many things from my point of view. For instance, some would call a short post lazy simply by virtue of its brevity.

 

[Elle Joyner]

Roleplaying requires a dynamic between players... It requires a sense of realization that yours is not the only character in the plot - and the ability to write in a way which gives your partner(s) something to react to, as well as shows that you are reacting to those things which they've included in their own posts.


Indications of laziness or sloppiness to me are one liners, which add nothing to a plot or scene and reveals no character depth, which are clearly the product of someone realizing it's their turn, and shuffling a post out as quickly and effortlessly as possible. It is responding without proof-reading... with a post filled with -obvious- spelling and grammar errors. It is refusing to adjust or fix those errors or others... insisting it's 'fine' the way it is or suggesting the other players 'gets the point'.


Basically - the difference between someone who is new and trying is going to be pretty clearly different than someone who's been RPing for a while, yet just refuses to grow. I'm patient ... and I love to assist less experienced players (going off of 18 years of writing, myself) in strengthening their abilities... but I won't waste my time and energy writing opposite someone who won't put the same effort and context into their posts that I put into mine.

 

[hellrazoromega]

Ah grammar got. Yeah does not bother me. I know it drives some people bats. To each their own, but I think there are bigger fish to fry in the world. The purpose of communication (any form),IMO, is to convey ideas or concepts, if you get the point across then---mission accomplished as far as I am concerned. Oh sure you can split hairs over things like "Let's eat Grandma," vs. "Let's eat, Grandma." But as far as I'd argue you know damn well that the person is not referring to eating their grandma and if you suspect they are, you've got bigger things to deal with than grammar. Now surely there are times when poor grammar can make things confusing, but compared to those where the context tells you what the writer intended they are quite rare. I deal with that stuff day in and day out editing history papers far too much to proof read everything I write for fun (and I freely admit I type like a rabid monkey, sitting on a jackhammer, during a 9.2 earthquake). The world is going to hell in a hand basket in many aspects and for me picking nits for a language that none of us will recognize and that will have entirely different rules in 200 years is silly IMO. I know it floats some peoples boats but I agree with James D. Nicoll, who said --


The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and riffled their pockets for new vocabulary.


Not to say you are wrong, just not my thing. I'm with Voltaire on that part--


“I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.”


I suppose I can say that I do agree with the refusing to fix it part--I make edits and corrections later, but I also admit to making a post in haste when I was short one time (which is a LOT lately) so that I don't hold everyone else up.

 

[Elle Joyner]

xD I think you're misunderstanding what I'm saying - or else just picking it apart entirely too much. These aren't solitary or even one-time events that I'm referring to... it's a combination of and continuation of, indicative of someone who just, frankly, doesn't care otherwise. -- Believe me... I'm far from perfect, in writing or any other aspect of my life. But self-improvement is crucial in roleplaying as it is in society. Those who choose willful ignorance are, in my book, not worth my time. That's really all there is to it.

 

[hellrazoromega]

Ah I see now. The willful ignorance part makes it more clear, I think I see now. You'll forgive me English is not my first language so though I tend to be decent a speaking and writing it and have used it almost exclusively for 35 years I still, to this day, have hiccups with the way I understand some people's explanations---if that make sense....

 

[Elle Joyner]

Totally get it No worries

 

[welian]

RP elitism is one of the reasons I left my old stomping grounds, so I got a kick out of that entire exchange.

 

[hellrazoromega]

RP elitism is one of the reasons I left my old stomping grounds, so I got a kick out of that entire exchange.

Yeah, not to accuse anyone of expressing that outlook, but I am no fan of elitists of any kind.