Viewpoint What is 'Literate' Supposed to mean anymore

[Crow]

"able to read and write."

Aaaalright. That's our definition. I am able to read and write, so I am fully qualified for a literate RP as it calls it.

Heck, anyone who is on an RP site is qualified.

But wait, what is 'semi-literate'? If the definition of literate is an absolute and not a spectrum, how can there be a 'semi'? It's like perfection, you're either perfect or not perfect. There's no semi-perfect. No offense, bugman of the non-karate variety.

Or does semi-literate mean you can either read or write, but not both. Maybe I can say stuff like 'I am semi-literate in Japanese', implying I can either read or write Japanese, but I cannot do both.

Is it one of those things where the technical term is different from the general, popularized term? Like how antisocial can be used to describe people who rob banks and stab people for fun, but can also describe the polar opposite - people who can't be bothered to do those things because they just want to hang around by themselves.

Well? What is it?

 

[tuxedo-fish]

I'll be honest, I'm also confused about this, myself.

 

[Folly-Derrezzed]

I always thought it was this advanced category.

 

[Grey]

Like clockwork, this topic.

Literate, in this context, means 'I have a grossly inflated opinion of my writing ability and demand you match my standard.' It may also mean 'I equate quality with longer wordcounts so keep up with my bloviating.'

Semi-literate means 'I have let the people who tag Literate get to me and underrate my writing ability while taking a hobby about pretendy funtimes too seriously.'

Damned if I know where the trend emerged or how it got to where it is, since it seems to be particular to freeform online roleplayers, but that's how I've come to see it over the years.

 

[tuxedo-fish]

I always thought it was this advanced category.

Don't you mean "advance" (present, singular)? :V :V :V

ugh it hurt to write that.

 

[Chordling]

Who knows.

This is why I prefer to write in the forums. I want people to see my writing and collaboration with others so they understand what they might be getting themselves into.

I will say that it can be confusing and difficult to describe your writing style and capabilities so using labels such as "lit" and "semi-lit" can be easy shortcuts for people to gauge someone else's skills.

 

[calypso]

The term literate, at least when it comes to RPing, has become equated with detailed RP. Most people tend to understand when someone says that they're a literate RPer, that means they most likely enjoy writing responses of the longer and more detailed variety. Semi-lit refers to someone who falls right in the medium, still somewhat long but not long enough to reach the previous category of 'literate.' Of course, there are people who don't use the term at all so categorizing their writing isn't really a concern to most.

Someone who prefers typing only one to two sentences wouldn't be considered a 'literate' RPer. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with their responses nor can they not read, but they don't enjoy writing posts of the more novella-style. (I use novella here not to refer to super long, but more like an actual book you might read.) I think that's why people tend to abbreviate the words to lit and semi-lit, since literate isn't technically correct. When you use lit/semi-lit, it's like you're using a specific dialect catered towards the RPing community.

Hopefully that makes some sense.

 

[Hyde]

I've found using terms like "literate" and "semi-literate" to be almost pretentious, personally. I saw that they were quite common on Amino for the short amount of time that I spent on there and I was surprised to see those same terms used here. RoleplayerGuild separates their writing levels differently (Free, Casual, Advanced) as does Iwaku (Beginner, Intermediate, etc). I think that those two have better ideas than using "literate" or "semi-literate", but that's just me.

 

[Crow]

RoleplayerGuild separates their writing levels differently (Free, Casual, Advanced) as does Iwaku (Beginner, Intermediate, etc).

Now THIS is a proper description and a lot more accurate. Godspeed.

 

[nerdy tangents]

So I started roleplaying on Gaia and that’s just how you determine post length.

Literate means - I write three paragraphs+ / 300-500 words per post

Semi-Literate - I write one paragraph + / 100-200 words per post

Advanced Literate - 1000+ words minimum per post (although some might define it as closer to 800 words).

Elite - 1500 + words per post (this one I haven’t seen in a long while though)

 

[Folly-Derrezzed]

Don't you mean "advance" (present, singular)? :V :V :V

ugh it hurt to write that.

Dontchu correct me, fish. Ah'll eatcha 'live.

 

[Grey]

Advanced Literate - 1000+ words minimum per post (although some might define it as closer to 800 words).

Elite - 1500 + words per post (this one I haven’t seen in a long while though)

I will not write that much unless I'm being paid because at that point I'd be undercutting my own rates.

 

[Crow]

Elite - 1500 + words per post (this one I haven’t seen in a long while though)

The use of 'Elite' really bolsters the whole 'inflated opinion' and 'ego' thing people bring up here. Good thing I only played Gaia for zOMG.

 

[nerdy tangents]

I will not write that much unless I'm being paid because at that point I'd be undercutting my own rates.

lol Gaia had a trend going for about two three years of competitive writing. People came upping the ante on how much you were expected to write. I tapped out at advanced but some of the elites where genuinely impressive. It’s kinda ghost town now though so I can’t tell if it’s still a thing or people are back to the semi-lit/lit styles.

 

[nerdy tangents]

The use of 'Elite' really bolsters the whole 'inflated opinion' and 'ego' thing people bring up here. Good thing I only played Gaia for zOMG.

Oh they were a very small subsection, as mentioned above most writers tapped out at advanced lit. Tbh the writing wasn’t very ego driven, I think it was more a weird aesthetic thing.

Like I did a fair number of group and 1x1 and never got the feeling people where showing off. It’s just they kinda followed the trend. So like for awhile every group had to have fancy graphics and ask for a minimum of 500+ words.

Don’t ask me how it got started but it was super a group thing. Most 1x1s stayed in the lit category unless you were just naturally wordy (no one asked for 1000+ words but a few folks could write that much without prompting).

Weirdly the post length thing was one of the few areas where people were relatively nice if you didn’t measure up.

Now graphics, yeah people got snobby there.

 

[Hyde]

The use of 'Elite' really bolsters the whole 'inflated opinion' and 'ego' thing people bring up here. Good thing I only played Gaia for zOMG.

That's honestly why I probably find using terms like "literate" to be so pretentious. There is definitely some ego attached (at least on other sites, I cannot say for RPNation or Gaia in specific) where "advanced lit" or "lit" writers will not write with anyone who they deem to be "illerate" which, in my experience, are folks who write one sentence to a single paragraph. It's all terribly condescending and inaccurate. If they were "illerate", then they would not be writing to begin with.

 

[Crow]

Since we were talking about how semi-literate is about people taking literate to heart, and how these standards are based on length, it just gets worse.

I've told this story before but I knew this guy who wanted bulky length without knowing why. He raved and got angry whenever someone started a new paragraph, and called them out for using 'multiple one-liners'. He wanted everything, and I repeat, everything, to be shoved into a single paragraph.

He was also pretty egotistical, and very inflexible, and talks to everyone as if they were idiots. And also he doesn't know how to divert the most basic of worst-case scenarios such as people playing legendary Pokemon or 3rd stage Pokemon from the start in Pokemon RPs, where even the most basic and fresh of the bunch will either emphasize it in their rules or just say no. He legitimately believes that someone would just pick Lugia if he allows everyone to freely pick their starter Pokemon.

He was like a parody of everything discussed here. Seeing everything said in this thread reminded me of him.

 

[adrian_]

bro semi-literate is like when you do something lit asf but it was also sorta cringe

 

[Crayons]

Meaningless words that don't tell you anything about the properties of the roleplay.

If it's word count/length - give a word count. If it's quality - give a writing sample so people can judge for themselves. Maybe we should bring in the reading grade scores as another metric if people want to know if the RP will have high vocab levels and so on. (I jest. But if this is important to people why not?)

The whole high word count = better thing is just ridiculous. Also I really wish people would stop calling themselves "semi-literate" like they are a gorilla banging at the keyboard with a stick.

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

Literacy actually goes beyond just being able to write within the context of RP. It means having a bare minimum understanding of spelling and grammar. The ability to weave and maintain a narrative. I know. I remember, because I was part of that movement.

It had to happen. Many don't realize how horrific it really was at times. In the mid-2000s, illiterate fandom children began besieging RP sites across the web. So you can't spell grammar, let alone write one coherent sentence in or out of character. That's fine, we all have to start somewhere. But these kids have virtually no interest in learning or growing, because evidently rules don't matter.

At a certain point, we decided it's just easier to put up a giant glowing sign that reads "If you can't write proper English, kindly fuck off!" To avoid the 1 liner kids, the kids with broken Shift keys, the -insert actions- kids, and of course, the classic text talker. "U goin to da clubz 2nite??"

People don't want that in their projects.


Crow No, you're not illiterate. So what exactly are we bitching about again?

 

[nerdy tangents]

I think it depends on how much you enjoy writing and how much you write naturally.

I also think that changes over the years.

Back in my active Gaia days I could knock out a 1000 words no problem. I am naturally one to like world building and since everyone else is also writing 1000 words it makes reaching the cut off fairly easy.

Even today when my requirements are like (paragraph and readable) I can probably knock out 500 words pretty easily. I don’t go behind that (outside of openers) more because I am super busy IRL and don’t have the brain space for roleplaying I used to.

So I think how you view (advanced/elite) literate is also going to be influenced by how close it is to your natural writing style in general.

I mean even now three paragraphs is probably my average anyway. So if someone specifically requests it I am not adjusting my writing style in any meaningful way.

If they asked for one paragraph only or five paragraphs minimum I would feel the strain.

 

[Delinquent]

"able to read and write.

That's one definition if it, yes.

But literate can also mean "versed in literature or creative writing" which, I assume, is the definition this forum is using when talking about skill levels.

 

[Syntra]

I agree with the term being sort of elitist and not making much sense, but I don't really think all the users who use the term to describe themselves are arrogant or anything like that. It's a piece of terminology on rp sites, and so I assume many people are like: "...huh, I guess that's the word all the cool kids use. Okay, when in Rome, I guess..."

Anyway, it means basically nothing because these things are subjective by nature. You may think you write a lot, but by someone else's standards, it may not be true. That's why I prefer to link people to my threads to showcase my writing style instead of trying to describe it-- I feel like that isn't really representative of anything.

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

But literate can also mean "versed in literature or creative writing" which, I assume, is the definition this forum is using when talking about skill levels.

I've been a member of all the major sites at one time or another, been in the game since November of '06, and I can count the number of individuals who meet that definition on one hand. The versed in writing part, anyway, if you really want to get that technical. We all suck at writing. We make mistakes and allow flaws in form non-stop because we do it so much. Post after post, OC after OC, project after project. No traditional structure or discipline in most cases, because RP follows few of the structural rules of literature. And most people downplay it as little more than a fun, escapism hobby, so how can you hold them to any sort of professional standard? It's not fair to begin with.

So by default, literary prowess and RP are not mutually exclusive.

 

[ashwynne]

The reality is that lit/semi lit/advanced lit were created to help with the most fundamentally critical part of roleplaying: finding partners.

Are they effective for that purpose? Sort of?

Most of us (myself included) grew up on writing sites that used these terms, or other parallel ones, in order to give other people an idea of what they were in for if they wanted to join that project. I personally never saw it done in an offensive manner. It was always very matter-of-fact and most of the sites I frequented included a glossary with a rough word count/paragraph count that corresponded to the different levels.

Of course, some people were just completely awful in general but they would have been arrogant pricks regardless of what classification system was in place.

So long as the terms are clearly defined, I have no issue with people using semi lit/lit/advanced lit... but they rarely are. It's why I've always personally stuck to word counts in order to try and find a better partner match. It's a consistent metric that can't be misconstrued because "500+ words" is always going to mean "500+ words."

But just for funsies, this was the way that I saw the different classes defined:

one-liner - self explanatory, a chat-style rp
semi-lit - 1 to 2 paragraphs
lit - 3 to 5 paragraphs
advanced lit - 5+ paragraphs

Love it or hate it, it did serve a functional purpose, even if the decision to use "literacy" as the foundation for the scale was a bizarre choice.