Other Roleplay Pet peeves

[nerdy tangents]

A lot of the time for me it comes down to communication and or simply doubling. Although some people may not have time time or motivation for doubling.

For romance rps it's truly just communication. I often try to ask my partner
"What direction were you hoping to take this, were there any scenes you'd like to do in the near future" and this question really lets me see what kind of person I am dealing with. How into brainstorming they will be in the future and how easy they are to communicate with.

Before starting an rp I often look at it from an angle of "what am I getting out of this and why am I sticking around".

A pet peeve I come across often is just the unwillingness to plan and that's what tears everything down. And I dunno if it's just bad luck, but it is always strictly mxf (female role) players that don't communicate with me.
(Alternatively, those who play the more 'submissive' role)

Oh I absolutely think it’s a communication issue. I think the asking about direction is a good idea, I’ll have to borrow that in the future.

I think in the past I have tried to kind of make my own narrative for love interest only end up boxed into a corner because it’s always “oh that’s not really what I had in mind” or “I’m not feeling it.”

But asking them to explain the direction they want to go in is a much better way to do that.

 

[Jannah]

So I clearly hit a nerve and I apologize for that. But if you look at my post

1. I edited it to be more clear on the exact issue I was addressing

2. I attempted to specify I was talking about romantic roleplays specifically not 1x1s in general. I did this poorly hence the edit.

3. I did not say they only wrote straight fantasies. I said they wrote romantic fantasies they can project themselves into.

This is a very well known phenomena in romance writing in general. Straight women actually write a lot of gay romance (in fanfic, roleplay, and published romance as well). It’s because they can still project themselves into the story if both characters are male because they just project into whoever is opposite of the object of their own personal attraction.

It’s why you don’t see as many lesbian pairings as you do straight or gay pairings. It really is because the majority of people on this site who write romance are straight women.

I am not saying no straight woman will write a lesbian romance it’s just the ones who will are the minority.

But that’s not really a pet peeve so much as it’s me being really nerdy about romance genre and trends.

Hence why I made the edit. I clarified that my main pet peeve is people who are too focused on their own romantic fantasy and forget that roleplay is about a shared narrative.

It's actually very common too. One of my RP partners from another site is a straight woman and she only writes MxM romance. That's sort of why I got burnt out on MxM myself. If I wanted to write romance with her then it had to be MxM.

 

[nerdy tangents]

It's actually very common too. One of my RP partners from another site is a straight woman and she only writes MxM romance. That's sort of why I got burnt out on MxM myself. If I wanted to write romance with her then it had to be MxM.

Yeah I get that same way with Canon x OC pairings.

I don’t actually mind writing canon characters in Canon x OC but when it’s all I’m asked to do for multiple roleplays it can get kind of repetitive.

 

[Jannah]

Yeah I get that same way with Canon x OC pairings.

I don’t actually mind writing canon characters in Canon x OC but when it’s all I’m asked to do for multiple roleplays it can get kind of repetitive.

I can't stand canons in RP's. I'm a strictly OC x OC person.

 

[Shawdios]

A pet peeve of mine is the sheer amount of Romance in the 1x1 section. To the point where I prefer to just throw my interest check out into the wild and see who returns it.

I’ve tried writing romance in a RP. But I just don’t understand it at all and all I’m ever doing is mimicry of stuff Ive read. When it’s my own two characters, it’s easier, but again. Still mimicry and me BSing my way through it. I don’t understand the desire for a kiss or the desires involved around romance.

But eh, I’ve found the rare gems of RP partners from just casting my thread out like fishing line and waiting for a bite. Being patient is hard though.

 

[blutgang]

this is an issue i've encountered more-so on other sites than here (for now), but. like.

me: i am a horror writer. i like to write horror. i explicitly want to write horror with someone who also likes and wants to write horror.
someone: are you interested in a slice-of-life domesticity plot?
me:

 

[Yunalescaa]

It's that time again where I beg all of you perusing this thread to stop writing interest checks in 7pt font without an accessible version. Or just put it in a legible font. I'm happy you have 20/20 vision and can read it. I cannot, and will most likely nope the heck out of your thread and hit ignore because I don't think I'll be able to read anything else you write. If I can't read it, there's probably several others out there in the same boat. Please, just make a version we can read.

 

[Kaiju Cat]

It's that time again where I beg all of you perusing this thread to stop writing interest checks in 7pt font without an accessible version. Or just put it in a legible font. I'm happy you have 20/20 vision and can read it. I cannot, and will most likely nope the heck out of your thread and hit ignore because I don't think I'll be able to read anything else you write. If I can't read it, there's probably several others out there in the same boat. Please, just make a version we can read.

This! This is a problem along with making graphics not mobile friendly.

 

[GammyWamzee]

It's that time again where I beg all of you perusing this thread to stop writing interest checks in 7pt font without an accessible version. Or just put it in a legible font. I'm happy you have 20/20 vision and can read it. I cannot, and will most likely nope the heck out of your thread and hit ignore because I don't think I'll be able to read anything else you write. If I can't read it, there's probably several others out there in the same boat. Please, just make a version we can read.

I also have to add on the non-mobile friendly versions or having a gray font or any color that is not obvious. I cannot read mid toned fonts. Just keep the base color I beg of you.

 

[animeloulou]

I also have to add on the non-mobile friendly versions or having a gray font or any color that is not obvious. I cannot read mid toned fonts. Just keep the base color I beg of you.

Plus, when you have to highlight the text in the interest thread because the font colour is fading into the background

 

[Yunalescaa]

Everyone has incredible points as to why mobile friendly or accessible versions of your search thread should exist.

Today my pet peeve is word banks. And not just like, "Here's all my ideas but I'm added a bank at the bottom so this thread populates in a search". But people who say they want to roleplay and throw up a bunch of stuff in a "word bank". I don't know why this is so wildly popular, more so on other websites than this one. It just goes back to not really telling me enough about what exactly you're interested in. "Fantasy" is a wide genre. "Vampires" is a wide genre. And I feel like without any substance, you're telling me right off the bat I gotta come up with the ideas and you won't help. I know that isn't always going to be true. I just don't understand why this is becoming so common.

Happy friday y'all.

 

[Shawdios]

Today my pet peeve is word banks. And not just like, "Here's all my ideas but I'm added a bank at the bottom so this thread populates in a search". But people who say they want to roleplay and throw up a bunch of stuff in a "word bank". I don't know why this is so wildly popular, more so on other websites than this one. It just goes back to not really telling me enough about what exactly you're interested in. "Fantasy" is a wide genre. "Vampires" is a wide genre. And I feel like without any substance, you're telling me right off the bat I gotta come up with the ideas and you won't help. I know that isn't always going to be true. I just don't understand why this is becoming so common.

I never understood their purpose whenever I saw them in a thread. It always confused me and so I just shrugged it off as an aesthetic Choice

Nice to know that they apparently had a use I guess

 

[Yunalescaa]

I never understood their purpose whenever I saw them in a thread. It always confused me and so I just shrugged it off as an aesthetic Choice

Nice to know that they apparently had a use I guess

I mean, I'm just basing the assumption off of my time being in charge of optimizing search engine results for companies. In some threads you'll see people lay out exactly what they want and then simplify it with a word bank. My brain just goes to "I want this to show up in a search if people are looking for key words". This may not be the case and I may be thinking too hard into this. When it's "word bank only and nothing else" is probably when it's an aesthetic choice.

This is how I use them as well. You're just more likely to show up in a general search if you use the right keywords. If anyone else here uses those "word banks" for any other reason I would genuinely love to hear them (probably in a different thread than the pet peeves one).

 

[WhiskeyMarten]

Having so many ideas for roleplays, but zero motivation to make them. Not so much a pet peeve, just a current annoyance

 

[GrumpySwallow]

I've said this before and I'll say it again: please, please, please read the first page of the threads associated with the RP you want to join! It's very likely the questions you have in regards to the game is in one of those threads! I'm very simple, I just make a RP thread and an OOC thread. Just read the first page of each! It's not hard!

It's getting to the point where I've been considering rejecting character sheets because it's very clear the people sending them to me did not bother to read the first page of the RP's OOC thread. I want to try and give people the benefit of the doubt though, and generally the people who join my RPs when I know they didn't read the rules don't typically hang around long.

 

[StuartAnderson]

It's getting to the point where I've been considering rejecting character sheets because it's very clear the people sending them to me did not bother to read the first page of the RP's OOC thread. I want to try and give people the benefit of the doubt though, and generally the people who join my RPs when I know they didn't read the rules don't typically hang around long.

I've become much stricter now. I've come to realise that there is a direct correlation between effort in the first message and effort in the roleplay. So, if there's a clear lack of effort early on, I don't bother because I know it's just a waste of my time.
This is my hobby, it's meant to be fun, not stressful.

 

[StuartAnderson]

Because I think people forget sometimes that roleplay is a two way street. Where there has to be something for both people to latch onto to keep the story going.

But a lot of the time it’s about “well I have this romantic fantasy that I really want to explore and I need you to write it for me.”

This is why I never do OC x Fandom roleplays.

I have yet to see one which isn't blatantly someone wanting to fulfill their own fantasies with a character

 

[StuartAnderson]

people who say
'up for anything'
'don't mind'

its really unhelpful and frustrating. I wonder if they actually want to rp with me. i'd much rather they just said no

 

[CrimsonDawn]

people who say
'up for anything'
'don't mind'

"Gee, thanks, that narrows it down a lot."

 

[Steve Jobs]

When someone has banger writing, but you remember they ghosted you before.

 

[Daisie]

When someone has banger writing, but you remember they ghosted you before.

Your profile picture is just perfect for this

 

[StuartAnderson]

When someone writes RP replies to you in such a way they're making you do the work and aren't really contributing to the story

 

[CrimsonDawn]

A wall of text. A giant wall of text with no end to it. A single paragraph that stretches to more than a page. I can't make heads or tails of that stuff because I keep getting lost in it. It's exhausting to look at and it's confusing to read because I keep losing track of where I'm at and what the next line is.

It also means two different characters speaking will inevitably occupy the same paragraph, which is another pet peeve of mine. I prefer when a new person speaking is on a new line.

 

[Goonfire]

When an interest check is laying out the facts about one's world and plot, but its verbiage includes "kind of", "probably", or "maybe", it's a huge turn-off in most cases. To me, these words and phrases convey uncertainty about one's own subject matter, a gray area. Though it's good to offer flexibility and invite others to add to said world, the GM acts as the narrator and expert on the world, so it also undermines their own authority and makes them sound like an unreliable narrator before the roleplay even begins. It also obfuscates the severity and complexity of a matter.

Take this, for example: "The house kind of got demolished." Those two little words suddenly make one question if the statement is even literal. Therefore, this statement could mean, "The house's interior was left in complete disarray", or "The house was literally knocked down with a wrecking ball."

The terms do have some valid uses. The inclusion of indefinite language makes a statement vague, which is good if the GM is presenting a mystery that will be explored in-character, or if any writer is purposely making the character give a vague statement. Also, saying "kind of" can be effective in dialogue when used to imply someone was partially correct, right before clarifying. Outside of instances such as these, it's worth reconsidering one's wording.

---

I must also agree that a wall of text with no capitalization or punctuation is infuriating. It's appalling when I see this from native English speakers and writers. They should come to me; I'll gladly re-teach them punctuation. Hell, why stop there? I'll even show them the difference between "your" and "you're".

On a similar note, there are also those writers who purposely don't use caps. I find it impossible to wrap my head around the argument, "It's an aesthetic choice." This is what goes through my mind: "How is your blatant disregard for core rules of the English language aesthetically pleasing?" My logic dictates there are some things one shouldn't sacrifice for looks. A crucial part of every single sentence is one of them.

 

[Goonfire]

I'm trying to sleep, and another HUGE pet peeve just popped into my head. I have to let this out or it's going to keep me up.

I look at group interest checks a lot. I prefer to know what I'm walking into, so I do some research—read the thread title, look at a few of the GM's and other players' recent posts, analyze the setting and tropes, and always check the dates. It irks me that people ask "Is this still open?" when the thread and anything related to it hasn't seen activity in years.

Honey, the last in-character post was made during the Obama administration. The GM and half the players were last online in 2017. It is 2023 now. Do you think it's still open?