Bad habits of RPrs.

[Alter Ego]

Hah! You all thought I had gone and forgotten about this thread, didn't you? Didn't you? *Pokes* Well, no such luck for you. xD

Originally Posted by Jyukai

My Reasons for Dropping
A little defendant for the people who drop roleplay’s. I think that everyone who signs-up for an RP, had interest in that RP. But for me, when time goes on, sometimes the RP just goes in circle’s, because nobody’s bold enough to make something happen. Or maybe it’s just that some actions of other characters bother me enough so that I lose all interest in even wanting to be around their character. And one thing that bothers me the most: Same faces. PC’s Rping section consists of the same people, over, and over, and over again. I do love Rping with my friends and such, but, after seeing the same style, same layout of character, I just can’t help but feel completely unmotivated to interact with the character in question. (I know I’m being hypocritical, but let’s ignore that fact for the rest of the post so we can just get this over with. XP)

That's a good point about the 'same faces' thing. I mean, some are skilled enough to make very different characters and even narrate differently to accommodate them, but eventually everything becomes 'been there; done that'. Still, all it really takes is one or a few new ones to stir things up and make an RP that much more interesting. *Sigh* We really do need new blood here.

Originally Posted by Jyukai

And though it’s an effective revival strategy, I can’t help but feel positively irritated when RP masters PM me asking me to post. It’s like, “I’ll post when I’ve got something to say, yeah?”

I know what you mean. Being nagged is never much fun, even - or rather, particularly - when you know it's justified.

Originally Posted by Jyukai

RP Masters
I, as an RP master, usually dislike accepting people I know who may have a good sign-up, but honestly can't RP in actuality at all. D: I know that I dislike declining people, because it’s just not a happy thing, but accepting people left and right is worse then just declining someone. I think you have to really think about whether or not this person can really commit. And at this point, I don’t start my own RP’s anymore, because I know that I, personally, can’t seem to commit to my own RP’s.

Kind of makes it hard for people to prove that they've changed, but I relate to the feeling. Sometimes I've even found myself going 'please don't try to sign up, please don't try to sign up' in my head when I see certain people watching my RPs. I know it's mean, but there are some people you just know are going to do all the wrong things and are most likely never going to produce an acceptable profile. -.- I'd go off on a rant about RPing commitment too, but I think you all know my feelings on that subject by now. xD

Originally Posted by Jyukai

Quality of Posts and Sign-ups
But what I'd really like to address is the quality of RPing lately. I sure as heck wasn't here for those 'golden days' that everyone here seems to so enjoy talking about, but I know that I've seen WAY better days then this. I think we all hold relatively similar views on this subject, we just don’t voice it. (I don’t because I’m afraid I’ll offend someone…) But I do agree that people who accept under-average sign-ups are just promoting low-quality Rping. But I think it’d be unfair and too restrictive if people were made to accept only good quality sign-ups, because newer Rper’s would never get the chance to progress in their learning, and would simply be dropped on the spot.

And here's another big point. If we let them in, they'll think they're doing fine, if we don't then they don't have a chance to improve. And of course, telling people 'Yeah, I'll accept you but you should really improve' probably isn't going to go over well. >_< I've been known to critsize posts that go blatantly below quality limits or conflict with the setting or logic and people hate me enough for that. Just imagine what they'd think of someone constantly on their case. .___.

Originally Posted by Jyukai

Solutions
I've discussed with Origin about making a sort of RPing school, or an RP to help teach the less experienced RPer's, but honestly, it all comes down to whether or not these RPer's would join or not. :/ And judging by some of the more active RPer's, well... I highly doubt they would consider themselves un-experienced enough. D:

I know for sure that I'd join to learn a little more, but I don't think that just me would be a very successful place, and I sure as hell don't want everyone hanging over my shoulder pointing out every little mistake of mine. D:

Yeah, I vaguely remember this idea from that other thread and the percieved experience issue as well. Personally, I think the best shot would be trying to promote some kind of 'everyone learns' image. I mean, you said you wanted to learn a little more, I'd like to learn more too (I know I have my weakpoints in RPing, but I never ever get feedback on them and it's a bit too awkward to just badger someone into giving criticism >_<) and I'm sure that goes for a lot of experienced RPers here. If people who are obviously not N00Bs (Or am I being too presumptious in thinking of myself as such? xD) get into it, it certainly couldn't be seen as 'just a N00B thing'. Dunno' how many would be up for it, but meh...it's just the way I see it. And it's true about the critcism. It would take some kind of system to regulate it so people don't go overboard, especially the kind who like to feel smart by echoing what someone else has already said.

Originally Posted by Jyukai

You haven't the slightest idea how much I wish and wish and wish that we could just do a thread that deals on the styles of every roleplayer. D: Like, a thread that would just be there so people can put in their opinions about other people's roleplaying, and what they could really work on. But I can't help but feel an ominous preminition that that's just not going to work out okay, especially since some people might word it in offending ways. >.<

Somehow I feel very pointed out by that particular 'some people'. But yes, I see what you're saying, a thread like that would have to have really tight discipline on manners, both ways, or we'd have critics and RPers trying to tear each others' throats out before you know it. D:

Still, it would be worth a shot, I think. Odds are that it would become a playground for seasoned RPers first, anyway, since they're the ones who usually read these threads. And let's face it, I just love the idea of a thread where I could babble on about style, narrative technique and all that Grimer with people who actually give a damn. xD

Originally Posted by Jyukai

Discussion Thread
I like that idea, but it only focuses generally, and doesn’t pinpoint what one certain member needs to work on. I mean, it could be only one person in the entire Rping population who needs help on say, developing more original characters, but they may never even stumble upon the page, or even consider that the point is directed at them.

True, but I thought it would be a logical first step. While you might not be able to get a complete personal analysis out of a thread like that, it could at least yield some general things (always a start) and who knows? It might enocurage people to ask for more in-depth stuff. After all, it's not like it would be explicitly forbidden to go into personal detail, even if it wouldn't be the main focus of the topic. At this point, I think the important thing is to start getting something done (Besides discussing matters, that is) to counteract this decline. It's just a starting idea, anyway, and could certainly be devleloped as necessary or just plain replaced once a better one comes along.

Originally Posted by Jyukai

Adopt a Roleplayer
I’ve had some people ask me to do something similar to ‘adopt a roleplayer’ with them, and I’ve agreed. I have to say though, it was not an enjoyable experience. No matter how many times I would tell them to improve on something, the next post they made, well. It was not improved. And then, sometimes I would get roleplayer’s who were absolutely fine, and they’d be insisting on critique, and I simply can give them the critique they need. It also ate up my time, so I personally didn’t enjoy doing the adoption, but I would certainly take the time to look into the idea if any Rper’s would be willing be adopter’s. (But, that would depend on my idea of whether or not that adopter would be suited for adopting.)

That's very true. Teaching takes more than just skills, unfortunately. Like a saintly tolerance for people who just don't get it and a way to get your message through. :O I'd volunteer to give it a shot, but with my current timetable beings what it is, I just don't have the time. Besides, my nerves are always a bit stretched after studying, not to mention that I'm a prick about grammar and spelling, so I'd probably be a grouchy adopter anyway. .__.

Originally Posted by Jyukai

@AE: If you do get a good idea, PM me first. ;3 –shot-

Lol, I'll keep that in mind. No gems this far, though. I'll give you a call if I find any.[/Lame Crystal phone conversation reference] :3

[Bluehawk Dustorm]

Originally Posted by Alter Ego

That's a good point about the 'same faces' thing. I mean, some are skilled enough to make very different characters and even narrate differently to accommodate them, but eventually everything becomes 'been there; done that'. Still, all it really takes is one or a few new ones to stir things up and make an RP that much more interesting. *Sigh* We really do need new blood here.

You rang?
[insert obligiatory ego-deflation mechanism here]

One thing that kind of annoys me personally is the overzealous antigodmodder. I will admit that I have, occasionally, gone a little overboard in RP fights. The last RP board I actively participated in (for five good years) had a really strong Freestyle PvP culture, and most of the RPers there tended to have one or two main characters that they would use. As such these fights and tournaments became "canon" of sorts for our already well-adventured RP characters. And so, naturally, I allowed Bluehawk's powers to develop some.

The thing is, eventually I actually came to expect a challenge from these fights. Every one of Hawk's abilities was dogged with SOME kind of weakness (and not something stupid like "ONLY A LIGHTSABAR CAN DE-FEET HIM LOLZ", I mean strategic weaknesses that just about anyone can exploit IF they're clever) and every move I made ensured that Hawk's abilities were used to their maximum efficiency. But what happened? Because I contrasted with a bunch of people who do nothing but hurl a bunch of random attacks at their opponants and hope for the best (and I don't go for that, I try to actually CHALLENGE people and have FUN with a battle, not "oh guess i use this move next m i doin it rite?") I was suddenly branded a godmodder and mocked out by several of the mods when I attempted to explain my case, not to mention threatened with banination with I objected to said mocking.

Yeah, I'm still kinda sore 'bout that one. Once upon a time the only real way to offend via godmodding was by controlling someone else's character (including closed-ended attacks) or occasionally by having omni-powers such as shields that nobody can get through.

Interestingly enough I've just heard a very similar complaint from one of my friends - that a lot of people complain that their attacks are being evaded too much but they don't actually put in any effort to ensuring that they hit an agile foe or one who can defend against their attacks. A fight isn't just "lol attacks lol"! It's about constantly finding new and improved ways to implement one's abilities effectively against another's! Ugh.

...So yeah anyways, heads up. If you're ever in an RP fight with me, perhaps not so much with my Light-side avatar here as he's pretty inexperienced at the moment, but later on especially, I will expect a certain level of effort before I begin yielding any decent hits.

[Igiko]

Originally Posted by Charon

That's not how it's spelt!
I got SO angry at this. I'm European. There are many subtle spelling differences between US spelling and UK spelling. This has only happened once or twice, but one time I was signing up for a so-called 'advance' roleplay, and over and over again, I was told off for spelling colour 'wrong', and told I wasn't a good roleplayer for this. ¬¬;

If it still matters to anything going on, just tell them that they're spelling it wrong. We Americans altered English, and were too lazy to put that 'all too important' U in there. So we say color instead of it. Don't worry, you're saying it completely correctly, it's we Americans who are arrogant enough to not know that, and think we're right all the time and everyone else is wrong. ('cept for me XD)

Originally Posted by Bluehawk Dustorm

You rang?
[insert obligiatory ego-deflation mechanism here]

One thing that kind of annoys me personally is the overzealous antigodmodder. I will admit that I have, occasionally, gone a little overboard in RP fights. The last RP board I actively participated in (for five good years) had a really strong Freestyle PvP culture, and most of the RPers there tended to have one or two main characters that they would use. As such these fights and tournaments became "canon" of sorts for our already well-adventured RP characters. And so, naturally, I allowed Bluehawk's powers to develop some.

The thing is, eventually I actually came to expect a challenge from these fights. Every one of Hawk's abilities was dogged with SOME kind of weakness (and not something stupid like "ONLY A LIGHTSABAR CAN DE-FEET HIM LOLZ", I mean strategic weaknesses that just about anyone can exploit IF they're clever) and every move I made ensured that Hawk's abilities were used to their maximum efficiency. But what happened? Because I contrasted with a bunch of people who do nothing but hurl a bunch of random attacks at their opponants and hope for the best (and I don't go for that, I try to actually CHALLENGE people and have FUN with a battle, not "oh guess i use this move next m i doin it rite?") I was suddenly branded a godmodder and mocked out by several of the mods when I attempted to explain my case, not to mention threatened with banination with I objected to said mocking.

Yeah, I'm still kinda sore 'bout that one. Once upon a time the only real way to offend via godmodding was by controlling someone else's character (including closed-ended attacks) or occasionally by having omni-powers such as shields that nobody can get through.

Interestingly enough I've just heard a very similar complaint from one of my friends - that a lot of people complain that their attacks are being evaded too much but they don't actually put in any effort to ensuring that they hit an agile foe or one who can defend against their attacks. A fight isn't just "lol attacks lol"! It's about constantly finding new and improved ways to implement one's abilities effectively against another's! Ugh.

...So yeah anyways, heads up. If you're ever in an RP fight with me, perhaps not so much with my Light-side avatar here as he's pretty inexperienced at the moment, but later on especially, I will expect a certain level of effort before I begin yielding any decent hits.

Which is the exact reason I completely gave up on roleplaying. I hate it when people start fights with me. I knew what I was talking about the whole time, and those stupid noobs who neglect the rules try to tell you otherwise. There isn't much you can do about that but laugh at their ignorance.

[Bluehawk Dustorm]

Originally Posted by Chikara

[FONT=Calibri]
Which is the exact reason I completely gave up on roleplaying. I hate it when people start fights with me. I knew what I was talking about the whole time, and those stupid noobs who neglect the rules try to tell you otherwise. There isn't much you can do about that but laugh at their ignorance.

Well, the thing that hurt (and it did hurt) was the fact that I used to be quite highly regarded and respected as an RPer on that same board a couple of years back, and the fact that I'd basically called the place home (moreso than any actual residence, as that place had been "with" me through a lot more of the good and bad times than any house has I know it sounds really really sad when I try to explain it, but I promise I do in fact have an active social life ) for a good four and a half years only to be quite abruptly backstabbed by the very people who were supposed to remain impartial and consider everyone's point of view.

Kind of ironic that the place I used to go to as an escape from life under a load of high-school bullying eventually became the place I started getting bullied at. And the change occurred right when my social life picked up too. XXD

...I've gone and ranted about my personal life yet again. Please just tell me to shut up when I do this, it happens a lot.

[Igiko]

Originally Posted by Bluehawk Dustorm

You rang?
[insert obligiatory ego-deflation mechanism here]

One thing that kind of annoys me personally is the overzealous antigodmodder. I will admit that I have, occasionally, gone a little overboard in RP fights. The last RP board I actively participated in (for five good years) had a really strong Freestyle PvP culture, and most of the RPers there tended to have one or two main characters that they would use. As such these fights and tournaments became "canon" of sorts for our already well-adventured RP characters. And so, naturally, I allowed Bluehawk's powers to develop some.

The thing is, eventually I actually came to expect a challenge from these fights. Every one of Hawk's abilities was dogged with SOME kind of weakness (and not something stupid like "ONLY A LIGHTSABAR CAN DE-FEET HIM LOLZ", I mean strategic weaknesses that just about anyone can exploit IF they're clever) and every move I made ensured that Hawk's abilities were used to their maximum efficiency. But what happened? Because I contrasted with a bunch of people who do nothing but hurl a bunch of random attacks at their opponants and hope for the best (and I don't go for that, I try to actually CHALLENGE people and have FUN with a battle, not "oh guess i use this move next m i doin it rite?") I was suddenly branded a godmodder and mocked out by several of the mods when I attempted to explain my case, not to mention threatened with banination with I objected to said mocking.

Yeah, I'm still kinda sore 'bout that one. Once upon a time the only real way to offend via godmodding was by controlling someone else's character (including closed-ended attacks) or occasionally by having omni-powers such as shields that nobody can get through.

Interestingly enough I've just heard a very similar complaint from one of my friends - that a lot of people complain that their attacks are being evaded too much but they don't actually put in any effort to ensuring that they hit an agile foe or one who can defend against their attacks. A fight isn't just "lol attacks lol"! It's about constantly finding new and improved ways to implement one's abilities effectively against another's! Ugh.

...So yeah anyways, heads up. If you're ever in an RP fight with me, perhaps not so much with my Light-side avatar here as he's pretty inexperienced at the moment, but later on especially, I will expect a certain level of effort before I begin yielding any decent hits.

Originally Posted by Bluehawk Dustorm

Well, the thing that hurt (and it did hurt) was the fact that I used to be quite highly regarded and respected as an RPer on that same board a couple of years back, and the fact that I'd basically called the place home (moreso than any actual residence, as that place had been "with" me through a lot more of the good and bad times than any house has I know it sounds really really sad when I try to explain it, but I promise I do in fact have an active social life ) for a good four and a half years only to be quite abruptly backstabbed by the very people who were supposed to remain impartial and consider everyone's point of view.

Kind of ironic that the place I used to go to as an escape from life under a load of high-school bullying eventually became the place I started getting bullied at. And the change occurred right when my social life picked up too. XXD

...I've gone and ranted about my personal life yet again. Please just tell me to shut up when I do this, it happens a lot.

Shut up XO *smacketh the Hawk*

Well that just stink. And the RPing here is basically dead.There's just no good place to Roleplay anymore *sigh* Well as I said, just laugh at the peoples ignorance. They're just online anyway, right? What can they do? Call you a noob? How hurtful ;;

The best thing you can do is just try to lay low for a while. Don't try to stand out or that might make people get onto you like they are now. I dont know though, I barely understand the situation here, so I'm giving the best advice I can muster to the moment '

[Scales]

Originally Posted by Chikara

Shut up XO *smacketh the Hawk*

Well that just stink. And the RPing here is basically dead.There's just no good place to Roleplay anymore *sigh* Well as I said, just laugh at the peoples ignorance. They're just online anyway, right? What can they do? Call you a noob? How hurtful ;;

The best thing you can do is just try to lay low for a while. Don't try to stand out or that might make people get onto you like they are now. I dont know though, I barely understand the situation here, so I'm giving the best advice I can muster to the moment '

Mainly the reason RPING dies is because people become bored with it and stop posting. The only way to keep a roleplay alive just like a fire is to stay in contact with it and continue to use it.

But if you are desperate to roleplay just create one. Its not that hard. The simplest ideas are usually the best ones

But this is partially the roleplayers fault. Because they accept someone who is likely to leave a roleplay it is partially their fault. People have to accept people not just on their signup sheets. But on how trust worthy they are in posting in a roleplay.

Plus in order to keep a roleplay going you need to keep it interesting. So come up with the most original piece to add to the roleplay. Like art a roleplay must make sense and functions well with the story

Thats my advice for roleplaying

Well, the thing that hurt (and it did hurt) was the fact that I used to be quite highly regarded and respected as an RPer on that same board a couple of years back, and the fact that I'd basically called the place home (moreso than any actual residence, as that place had been "with" me through a lot more of the good and bad times than any house has I know it sounds really really sad when I try to explain it, but I promise I do in fact have an active social life ) for a good four and a half years only to be quite abruptly backstabbed by the very people who were supposed to remain impartial and consider everyone's point of view.

Kind of ironic that the place I used to go to as an escape from life under a load of high-school bullying eventually became the place I started getting bullied at. And the change occurred right when my social life picked up too. XXD

...I've gone and ranted about my personal life yet again. Please just tell me to shut up when I do this, it happens a lot.

Well anyway if you want to roleplay this is a pretty good place. There are experience roleplayers here. But mainly I see nosebleed roleplayers just leave the second people need them the most

Anyway my advice to you is dont give up on this board. I may start a Starwars roleplay in the near future

[Bluehawk Dustorm]

Well, what looks like being part of the problem here is that people seem to create new characters for every new RP thread they join. As such you can't spend too much time thinking about the preliminaries of the character and you don't get a whole lot of time to develop them either. Obviously this isn't going to change overnight but (in my experience) it works better when there's a whole bunch of different, often shorter RPs that affect the respective canons of every character involved, and then diverse inter-character relationships and issues are more likely to form, which then affect the way a character acts and thinks for years to come, giving rise to more depth.

[Alter Ego]

Originally Posted by Bluehawk Dustorm

You rang?
[insert obligiatory ego-deflation mechanism here]

Why yes I did, good sir. Welcome to the not-yet-fully-deceased RP section. :3

Originally Posted by Bluehawk Dustorm

One thing that kind of annoys me personally is the overzealous antigodmodder. I will admit that I have, occasionally, gone a little overboard in RP fights. The last RP board I actively participated in (for five good years) had a really strong Freestyle PvP culture, and most of the RPers there tended to have one or two main characters that they would use. As such these fights and tournaments became "canon" of sorts for our already well-adventured RP characters. And so, naturally, I allowed Bluehawk's powers to develop some.

The thing is, eventually I actually came to expect a challenge from these fights. Every one of Hawk's abilities was dogged with SOME kind of weakness (and not something stupid like "ONLY A LIGHTSABAR CAN DE-FEET HIM LOLZ", I mean strategic weaknesses that just about anyone can exploit IF they're clever) and every move I made ensured that Hawk's abilities were used to their maximum efficiency. But what happened? Because I contrasted with a bunch of people who do nothing but hurl a bunch of random attacks at their opponants and hope for the best (and I don't go for that, I try to actually CHALLENGE people and have FUN with a battle, not "oh guess i use this move next m i doin it rite?") I was suddenly branded a godmodder and mocked out by several of the mods when I attempted to explain my case, not to mention threatened with banination with I objected to said mocking.

Now that seriously sucks. Mods shouldn't go about flaming people, no matter what the reason. T_T As long as you weren't having your character mysteriously manifesting precisely the kind of skills he needed in the middle of a battle or having all your attacks make contact without giving the opponent a chance at countering then it wasn't godmodding. I do agree that people should try to do it logically, not 'He threw the deadly shoe of doom at his opponent and killed him instantly'. <.<

Originally Posted by Bluehawk Dustorm

Yeah, I'm still kinda sore 'bout that one. Once upon a time the only real way to offend via godmodding was by controlling someone else's character (including closed-ended attacks) or occasionally by having omni-powers such as shields that nobody can get through.

Interestingly enough I've just heard a very similar complaint from one of my friends - that a lot of people complain that their attacks are being evaded too much but they don't actually put in any effort to ensuring that they hit an agile foe or one who can defend against their attacks. A fight isn't just "lol attacks lol"! It's about constantly finding new and improved ways to implement one's abilities effectively against another's! Ugh.

...So yeah anyways, heads up. If you're ever in an RP fight with me, perhaps not so much with my Light-side avatar here as he's pretty inexperienced at the moment, but later on especially, I will expect a certain level of effort before I begin yielding any decent hits.

Okay, I agree with what you're saying, but...keep in mind that all of the RPs here aren't combat-centric, meaning that people might not appreciate battles between two people going on page after page like strategic PvPs tend to do. So yeah, hope you like something about RPing besides the violent bits. ;D

Originally Posted by Chikara

Shut up XO *smacketh the Hawk*

Well that just stink. And the RPing here is basically dead.There's just no good place to Roleplay anymore *sigh* Well as I said, just laugh at the peoples ignorance. They're just online anyway, right? What can they do? Call you a noob? How hurtful ;;

The best thing you can do is just try to lay low for a while. Don't try to stand out or that might make people get onto you like they are now. I dont know though, I barely understand the situation here, so I'm giving the best advice I can muster to the moment '

I'd love to scream 'noooo!' at that statement about RPing here, but it's all too true. I mean, almost all of the good RPers are gone at the moment and posting activity has been very bad. Mika-chan promised that she'd get some posts done, but I'm still waiting for those, so I dunno', Charon won't be back until some time after the 15th, Jyukai is still on vacation and the rest of them are MIA. T_T

So yeah, the situation here is that most of us are basically forced into waiting for the absentees because we're the only currently active RPers in our respective RPs. I'd start a new one myself, but with the current amount of people here being what it is...urgh, I don't know if it's worth it since there might not even be enough people willing to join. >_<

Originally Posted by Bluehawk Dustorm

Well, what looks like being part of the problem here is that people seem to create new characters for every new RP thread they join. As such you can't spend too much time thinking about the preliminaries of the character and you don't get a whole lot of time to develop them either. Obviously this isn't going to change overnight but (in my experience) it works better when there's a whole bunch of different, often shorter RPs that affect the respective canons of every character involved, and then diverse inter-character relationships and issues are more likely to form, which then affect the way a character acts and thinks for years to come, giving rise to more depth.

How ironic, I seem to find the direct opposite to be a problem; people are posting the same sing-up sheets everywhere, with no consideration as to whether the character will fit the plot or not. I mean, I've seen some go around copy-pasting the same, hastily scribbled, sign-up sheet into every new RP around. I get what you're saying about characters with history, but I for one can't really bring myself to take a character from the middle of an ongoing RP (the conflicts of which have yet to be resolved) and put him in another. I mean, he still isn't done developing in the first, dangit! >_< Mika-chan and Charon have some characters with RPing history, though, so I've seen what you mean, but myself? I haven't gotten there yet, unfortunately. .__.

[parallelzero]

Originally Posted by Alter Ego

I'd love to scream 'noooo!' at that statement about RPing here, but it's all too true. I mean, almost all of the good RPers are gone at the moment and posting activity has been very bad. Mika-chan promised that she'd get some posts done, but I'm still waiting for those, so I dunno', Charon won't be back until some time after the 15th, Jyukai is still on vacation and the rest of them are MIA. T_T

What? I don't get honourable mention? XD. Kidding, kidding, I'm not that splendid anyways. Well, it always gets dead around this time of the year due to summer starting and exams, along with other various tasks. I'm personally swamped with homework because exams are next week for me, and I'm sure there are others under similar circumstances. I'm going off to Europe for 2 weeks at the beginning of July, and I'm hoping the trip will help me to think up something new and original, since all of the RPs lately have felt to be the same. (Not to mention I'm getting sick of all the RPs on the same topic. Naruto, for example)

[Animehero]

Originally Posted by ~Ozy~

Well, as with all things online, the quality of role-play tends to come and go. And yes, there is a reason I posted this here instead of in the RP Lounge, namely that the Lounge tends to be overlooked. However, if either of the mods feel this is not a good reason, feel free to move it. I just used my best judgement as to what would attract the most attention. Anyways, back to what this is all about: a list of bad habits that all RPrs, old and new (myself included) should attempt to avoid. This is not meant against anyone in particular, just a few things that I would like to see people make an effort to correct.

The Slapdash Character: Try to spend a decent length of time writing a new character. I try to take at LEAST 15 minutes, 20-30 for ones I intend to reuse. Believe me, a hastily-thrown together character shows, and they aren't much fun to RP as or with. If you're reusing a character, modifying them to the RP is an obvious move, but also try to correct the things you found made them less fun to play as in previous RPs.

The Cliche Character: Yes, we've all been there, particularly when we start RPing. But theses are characters such as the Cynical Mercenary, the Angsty But Still Good Demon, the Warrior With A Tragic Past, etc. etc. Yes, these can be fun characters to play at times, but they're incredibly common and it's nice to see an RPr take the effort to come up with something out of the ordinary. I'm guilty of creating and using such characters myself, but I try to avoid it.

The One-Liner: I disagree with the decision to enforce a four-line/one-paragraph rule in the RP forums because circumstances do arise where such a rule is, quite simply, inane and actually DETRACTS from post quality (this is especially true in drawn-out conversations), but it's nice to see people make the effort to add as much detail as possible.

The No-setting Plot: You can have gobs of plot in an RP, I mean, and immensely detailed, drawn-out affair, but what about the setting? What season is it? Is it mountainous? Humid? Does it snow almost year-round? Is it far to the north, or equatorial? All these things effect the setting of the plot. Like, if it's far to the north or south, the seasons won't be as diverse, and the days and nights, much longer, depending on the season. The Araura Borealis (or Astraulias) will show up too. Is it a rich county or a poor one? Densely populated? All of this is important.

The Not-applicable-to-element Character (applies to elemental RPs only): I know I spoke against cliched characters earlier, but if your character has control of a specific element, they're HIGHLY likely (read: certainly) to reflect traits of it in their personalities. So a water-element mage isn't going to be hasty or reckless, as those are traits given to the fire-element. Similarly, a light-element character isn't going to be a hyper-depressive cutter.

The Optional Personality: This is a personal pet peeve of mine. I HATE seeing the Personality in an RP sign-up made an option. It should, in my opinion, be a required field, along with Appearance, Name, Gender, Race and Age. There's a good reason for all this, there's a good reason for a Personality field, namely that it give you a way to force your character to act. Real people don't simply skip around from emotion to emotion, they typically have a set group of reactions and emotions. So should your character. Even better is a history that agrees with this, e.g., a happy-go-lucky, carefree character isn't going to see their parents brutally murdered in front of them when they were six.

The Punctuation And Capitilization: Put them in, and put them in right. Proper nouns, new sentences, acronyms, and "I," all get a capital. Spaces after commas, periods, question marks, semicols, etc. etc. Study the rules of punctuation and commit them to memory.

The Post That Obviously Didn't Get Read Over: I'll admit that I've done this too, when a lot of people are RPing and I'm trying to keep up, or when dinner's almost on and I'm rushed, but in general, read over each post for typos. Because typos are annoying.
Alright, that's what I personally would like to see improved upon. Just a helpful (hopefully) little list.

I caused major confusion because of the fact I didn't look at this.

[Flygon trainer]

I haven't seen any official rule on it or anything, but I've been browsing the RP threads for a little bit, and maybe I haven't browsed enough, but I have the following questions:

1. Is there a preference on the forum between playing as a Pokemon or a human?

2. If there is no preference, are modified pokemon allowed?

3. On a similar strand as earlier, what about Pokemorphs or pokemon/human mixes?

[Alter Ego]

Um...I'm not really sure how this fits in with the topic here, but since there isn't really a more suitable one I suppose I'll try answering this. =O

Originally Posted by Flygon trainer

1. Is there a preference on the forum between playing as a Pokemon or a human?

Well, in most cases you end up playing both since the humans tend to have pokémon (both of which you control). As far as the 'main' characters are concerned...it seems to be mostly trainers in the spotlight, moreso now than before unless my memory is deceiving me. But yeah, I guess it's just easier to handle things from a human perspective. Speaking of personal experience, far too many of the RPs without human protagonists have been disappointments because the 'pokémon' have acted and reasoned just like humans, which sort of defeats the purpose of having a pokémon character in the first place. :\

So yeah, I'd say that people generally tend to lean towards human characters.

Originally Posted by Flygon trainer

2. If there is no preference, are modified pokemon allowed?

Umm...just what do you mean by 'modified' pokémon? If you mean like pokéfusions (homg I've got Venucharistoise, all bow! >O), fakemon or pokémon that have just been granted extra abilities for no apparent reason then I'd say that we - thankfully - don't get a lot of those. That 'thankfully' could just be my personal bias speaking, though, because I dislike concepts that leave so much room for blatant powerplay. (pokémon miraculously manifesting a new ability or move just when they need it comes to mind <.<) But no, there's no rule against 'modified' pokémon, as you say, but the people you RP with have to condone it.

Originally Posted by Flygon trainer

3. On a similar strand as earlier, what about Pokemorphs or pokemon/human mixes?

Ahh...Pokémorphs, those were all the rage back when I was still a n00b here. x3 Haven't seen any Pokémorph RPs for a while (at least not anything with enough quality to bear mentioning), but yes, they are allowed (though, again, only at the discretion of the RP master). I suppose they've just sort of fallen out of style, though I do have a few ideas for those sketched out in my mind. It will take a good five months before I get to implement any of them, but that's a completely different story that I won't get into.

So yeah, they're not the hip and happening thing right now, but pokémorph RPs are A-OK. :3

[Flygon trainer]

Well, in most cases you end up playing both since the humans tend to have pokémon (both of which you control). As far as the 'main' characters are concerned...it seems to be mostly trainers in the spotlight, moreso now than before unless my memory is deceiving me. But yeah, I guess it's just easier to handle things from a human perspective. Speaking of personal experience, far too many of the RPs without human protagonists have been disappointments because the 'pokémon' have acted and reasoned just like humans, which sort of defeats the purpose of having a pokémon character in the first place. :\

.... They don't? The Pokemon from Mystery Dungeon and multiple pokemon from the anime seem to act and reason much like humans. Perhaps I'm mistaken?

[Alter Ego]

Originally Posted by Flygon trainer

.... They don't? The Pokemon from Mystery Dungeon and multiple pokemon from the anime seem to act and reason much like humans. Perhaps I'm mistaken?

That...is a matter of interpretation. Personally, I'm opposed to that notion. Pokémon being as intelligent as (or even more intelligent than) humans I have no issues with, but equal intelligence doesn't mean thinking in the same way. I suppose that a domesticated pokémon that has spent the better part of its life in human society (and thus would have picked up some habits on the way) could be justified in using concepts related to human society, but even in those cases I like to keep the original instincts in place, like having a Victreebel instinctively attempting to devour any suitable creature that comes into reach or having a Tailow think of bug types as food rather than intelligent beings etc. Intelligent or no, pokémon are still animals of a sort and should act as such. This is probably what bugged me most about MD too; I mean, a bunch of random pokémon species inhabiting structures built with human architecture and not at all suited for them? Wtf? o.O

So yeah, I'd love to argue longer on this, but I've got a bus to catch so that will have to wait. Suffice to say that I'm opposed to the anime/MD interpretation of pokémon behavior. :3

[Loki]

Hmm, and this really doesn't belong in this thread. D:

I'll leave these posts intact but in the future Flygon Trainer, try to limit your questions to PM, since they're irrelevant to the topic presented in this thread.

[Ninetales]

Originally Posted by Xhaiden

Hmm things that irritate me about roleplayer? That is indeed an interest question. I strongly dislike first person point of view in rps, mainly because in rps there are usually more then one person and it can get confusing. I also agree with Alter-Kun on the picture thing. I can not STAND it when people just rip off of another anime or something for a character unless they are rping that particular character. It shows lack of creativity and those people should not rp unless they are willing to make their own characters. (Not counting rps that are of actual Manga/Anime/ect.) This thread amuses me greatly I must say...

Yes, I hate that too. I see a lot of people put random anime pictures for appearances, especially. I mean, pictures are a wonderful thing in RPG's--they're worth a thousand words, after all. They especially help when you're creating a non-human character, like a Pokemon or Digimon. (I have the common habit of making Digimon out of Pokemon I created, developed, and have pictures for...)

*looks at her own sig* No, none of the characters listed there are anime ripoffs. I repeat that.

Originally Posted by Charon

I got SO angry at this. I'm European. There are many subtle spelling differences between US spelling and UK spelling. This has only happened once or twice, but one time I was signing up for a so-called 'advance' roleplay, and over and over again, I was told off for spelling colour 'wrong', and told I wasn't a good roleplayer for this. ¬¬;

That must be harsh... And to think, I chose to spell everything that way...

Originally Posted by Phanima

Okay, first official peeve is the standardised characters in RP's being used and reused over and over again. I'm not pointing the finger at anyone, but I've joined about three to four RP's in the last fortnight or so and some of the other members who have also joined in the same RP, use exactly the same character. And the thing is, they're continuing to use the same character over and over again, without making any improvements or changes to their profile. The only solution I can come up with if I'm ever in an RP with a profile I've seen three or more times before, is that I'll just withdraw from the RP or decline them immediately.

Actually, recycled profiles can be good if they're a good enough signup overall. Wait a minute, I'm speaking for myself again... I admittedly recycle profiles very frequently--when I sign up for an RPG, about 75% of the time, I take out a character from my "character bank" and put him/her into the RPG. However, whenever I do this, I make any necessary changes to their history, especially, to fit the RPG. Sometimes I might just copy over things like Appearance and Personality, but those two fields hardly ever have to adapt to a specific RPG anyway--they're just part of a character. And occasionally, when signing up, I find something new to add to the character and throw that in. Also, one thing I very commonly do in a Pokemon RPG is experiment with giving my characters different Pokemon, yet keep some of their favourites--for example.
*So this is not lack of creativity--it's character development. Because RPG's die and whatever. Or at least, 95% of RPGs I've been in never got very far. Maybe I'm just unlucky...

Another 15% of the time in a signup, I RP a character I haven't RP'd in a long time, so I completely re-do the profile, while looking at the old signup as a sort of template. The other 10% percent of the time, I create a completely new character for an RPG.

But sometimes, characters change as I change, sometimes slowly, sometimes very quickly. One interesting RP experience I'd like to share is: Back in October of 2006, I signed up for an RPG, signing up as a character I newly created. This RPG went on for over a year and a half (and is still active now), and since then, that character has drastically changed in appearance, history, maybe even personality a bit... Plus, the RPG has been revived twice, and in the most recent version, I even modified my signup slightly so that it wasn't completely outdated, yet still was close to my original signup in order to keep my character consistent... So yeah... currently I'm RP'ing the outdated Lupin in one RPG, the up-to-date Lupin in another, and as an NPC in a third (with his son as my main character).

[Brad]

The worst is me. My profiles are overpowered...

[Phanima]

Originally Posted by Ninetales

Actually, recycled profiles can be good if they're a good enough signup overall. Wait a minute, I'm speaking for myself again... I admittedly recycle profiles very frequently--when I sign up for an RPG, about 75% of the time, I take out a character from my "character bank" and put him/her into the RPG. However, whenever I do this, I make any necessary changes to their history, especially, to fit the RPG. Sometimes I might just copy over things like Appearance and Personality, but those two fields hardly ever have to adapt to a specific RPG anyway--they're just part of a character. And occasionally, when signing up, I find something new to add to the character and throw that in. Also, one thing I very commonly do in a Pokemon RPG is experiment with giving my characters different Pokemon, yet keep some of their favourites--for example.
*So this is not lack of creativity--it's character development. Because RPG's die and whatever. Or at least, 95% of RPGs I've been in never got very far. Maybe I'm just unlucky...

Another 15% of the time in a signup, I RP a character I haven't RP'd in a long time, so I completely re-do the profile, while looking at the old signup as a sort of template. The other 10% percent of the time, I create a completely new character for an RPG.

But sometimes, characters change as I change, sometimes slowly, sometimes very quickly. One interesting RP experience I'd like to share is: Back in October of 2006, I signed up for an RPG, signing up as a character I newly created. This RPG went on for over a year and a half (and is still active now), and since then, that character has drastically changed in appearance, history, maybe even personality a bit... Plus, the RPG has been revived twice, and in the most recent version, I even modified my signup slightly so that it wasn't completely outdated, yet still was close to my original signup in order to keep my character consistent... So yeah... currently I'm RP'ing the outdated Lupin in one RPG, the up-to-date Lupin in another, and as an NPC in a third (with his son as my main character).

Wow, I posted that ages ago, when I was still a newbie. XD

But anyway, you're talking about Space Shield Crisis right? I was actually looking forward to joining it when it got revived the first time, since Sunflorazumarill is scarily competent when it comes to detail and the plot was extremely engrossing, but in the end I got sidetracked and ended up lurking for a while, heh.

And that's a good point about the profiles, but at that time, I was getting a little irritated with the amount of characters I saw over and over again in every RP I joined, and even some of the ones I didn't. Plus, because I was taking my time to make up new and more plot sensitive characters for every RP I joined, it kind of irked me that some people were using the same character they signed up with in a Pokemon RP that also got accepted in a non-Pokemon RP.

Of course, I'm up for character development, where there is significant potential, but back in the day, it was the cookie cutter and recycled profiles that annoyed me the most. I used to do the same thing when I first started, believe it or not (try not to though XD), but I kind of moved out of doing that, since there were a lot of RP's I wanted to join and using the same character would've bored me to hell. So I started branching out a little, you know, like; swaping genders, making personalities that I wasn't familiar with and the like. Well, I'm still trying that now, cause if there's something I don't like, it's generic and cliche characters. *shudder

But again, experimentation and development are all good, it's just a matter of stepping out of your comfort zone...that or people need to stop being lazy. XP *is guilty

Originally Posted by Brad, Apocalypse Lord

The worst is me. My profiles are overpowered...

I have to admit Brad, your profiles have caught my attention...but not for the best of reasons. DX

I'm joking of course! But yeah, sometimes it's hard to tone down our characters when we're exposed to series that are often cliche and highly popular. I know that when I read mangas like Bleach and Naruto, it's hard not to make a character that is as strong as an eye-patch-less Kenpachi or a five open gates Rock Lee, since they undoubtedly make things interesting, BUT, I also found out that minor character roles can also be fun and unique in their own sense. It might just be personal opinion, but I like taking on personalities that are completely different from myself or what I'm used to, cause it's new and exciting and unexpected. Of course, I guess that's normal for a lot of roleplaying forums. I mean, we come here to become characters we wish we could be or just to get away from our real selves right? Right?!

But I digress, experiment! I'm in no position to lecture people since I'm ever learning myself, but I think it's a good suggestion. Now obey me and be different! >D

EDIT: Oh bugger, I forgot to mention something that's recently bothered me...lack of motivation! D<

I've gotten used to it though, with the majority of RP's dying due to inactivity, I mean, the last time I saw an RP actually finish was almost a year ago. That was something special...

But anyway, I'm not really complaining, since it's not that big of a deal (so far...) but just for those who are reading and are currently roleplaying: keep it up people!

[Idiot!]

I've seen my writing sample being stolen before. It was completely copied word for word, even a small typo mistake was left as it is. Guess what? The writing sample was reposted in the same RP thread by some moron desparate to get accepted but couldn't write a good sample. Won't anyone notice the same sample was used by two different people, and was obviously stolen?

[foxfiredemon]

That all depends. If the storyteller doesn't really READ the Post just sees it as Long, and seemingly well worded. They'll just accept it. Not all of them do this but you see it happen with RPs with no real plot and the person who started not having a grip on the English Language. I probably used Cliches, I've only ever made one original character and the name and basic Arch type was seemingly stolen by the makers of Devil May Care. But no matter. I still try to keep my posts fresh without stepping into the world of Godmoding/Making myself seem like I can do anything. I do sometimes do it without thinking and sometimes don't even realize it until a day later and by then the plot has advanced and such and it's too late. I also try to make a post long enough to make it interesting but I don't like acting for other people which would help me advance my post abit.

[The Mega Champion]

You want to know what I hate? RP's that end abruptly. Also known as RP's that end before the story ends.

*runs away really fast from angry mobs, mods, or whatever else happens to be chasing me*

[Sayaira]

I have a few things to add; though I'm not sure anything could be added that wasn’t already..

@Champion (the post above me): I guess that really has to do with the Thread Creator/Role-play Master.. As mentioned a lot in this thread, an incompetent R.P Master really ruins the whole experience for me.

If the creator has this well thought out plan to make a thread (with a good plot, setting, etc. etc.), posts it in the RP forums, then decides last minute to abandon it leaving no further trace of them ever again.. Isn’t that frustrating to anyone else?
It's all well and good if they say that they're no longer interested and plan to leave, but why let the people who signed up (hoping for a good role-play, and just might have spent time and effort on their character profiles) sit there to rot for eternity?
Either:
1. Say you're going to leave, so at least everyone else know the thread's original creator is no longer there..

Or

2. Again, say you're going to leave, but pass the position of RP Master to someone else, so the thread can continue.

Another thing that would contribute to a short thread would probably be the role-players themselves - for reasons too obvious to state.
If the RP Master allows the less experienced RPers to join (please note I have nothing against newer Role-players, as long as they can type properly and have a general idea of what they're doing), who post one reply then leave due to their own impatience, then others will pick up on the vibe and probably leave to.
This has happened to me, and often spoils my mood in that thread - causing me to leave disappointed.

Or, the fact that there are bad Role-players in the thread scares off any of the truely competent/good (or whatever else) ones.
Just an opinion though, as most of this entire post is.

--

I also read a few pages back about how super-powerful Pokémon, cutesy Pokémon, or "eevee-lutions" (or however it was spelled.. Either way, you get my drift) being on a team is annoying.
To a point I agree, and again, to a point I don’t.

What I can say is that, yes, super-god-like-untouchable-somethingyoucanneverbeatinyourlife Pokémon are MUCH too annoying to express (in my mind, if you cant loose at least once or accept that at least someone is better than you - then something is indeed wrong.. Having ambition and such is fine and all, but there is a boundary), but I have no idea how the cutesy-type would have the same effect.
If the trainer happens to like that Pokémon and added it to their team solely for that reason, (if it brightens up their team, its just a side thing I suppose) I don’t see a problem with it. Personal taste comes into effect here, I suspect.

Now "eevee-lutions".. Well.. I cant actually badmouth them. Yes, they are very old in a sense that practically everyone has one on their team - but since I have a fetish for Vaporeon (meaning if I can obtain one in a game/role-play, I'll probably end up getting one) I'm unable to say anything beyond that.

[Loki]

Originally Posted by ★ラティオス★

I've seen my writing sample being stolen before. It was completely copied word for word, even a small typo mistake was left as it is. Guess what? The writing sample was reposted in the same RP thread by some moron desparate to get accepted but couldn't write a good sample. Won't anyone notice the same sample was used by two different people, and was obviously stolen?

Well, if this ever happens in PC, I will forcibly beat that bad habit out of them.

Either that, or the infractions'll beat them out of PC entirely. :x That's plagiarizing, and it's worth four permanent red infraction points. (Which really hits home.)

If plagiarism occurs, please report it, and PM me with proof as well. ^^



Anyway, bad habit.

Timely Posting.

The first post is really important. It sizes up what you're made of, whether you're going to make business in the thread or just flop like a dried up Magikarp. And you're going to dried- and fried, if you make the entire thread wait for your first post. Timely posting habits are good. People don't like to wait for you as much as you don't like to wait for them. And making everyone wait for unreasonably long periods of time, or making the RP master come after you to harp for posts, certainly do not raise your bar. If you can't post in a roleplay on a regular basis, (Unless the RP isn't moving at a regular basis speed) then don't join. Get out, get out, and don't come back until you have the time. <_< And if you promise someone that you'll post at a certain time POST BY THAT TIME for sweet mother of jesus sakes. x_O;; (though I'm being hypocritical about this)

So many people just sign-up and are like "Oh, I totally forgot I signed-up for that RP, LOL!" <-- Yeah well, you know what the rest of the thread is thinking? "GTFO."

[The Mega Champion]

*comes back*

I agree Sayaira. In fact, I've checked the RP Master's information of the RP I was in. He hasn't been active on PC since, IIRC, the 21st of March. I suppose there could be other factors involved, but, yes, he should of said he was leaving and/or said it and passed on control of the RP to someone else. Yet, he doesn't come on, and is just to lazy to cancel the RP or pass control of it on to someone else, and seemingly acts like the RP never existed.

Of course, once again, there could be other factors involved here, but, that's just the way it seems to me right now. Which is why I took back the rights of the RP character I was using so I could use it in another RP that won't die. ^_^' If one exists.........

[Sayaira]

@Champion:
I was thinking of making a role-play myself soon.. (since I have over 15 posts now, and can posts images/urls) So if you're interested in a Pokémon related one, send me a PM.

Its really like what Loki said.. The RP Master has (or someone else joins with) a short lasting enthusiasm, has a whole bunch of people sign up, then he either gets bored with the idea, or, decides he's over his head and abandons the whole thing to rot (or get taken over by a more competant RP Master, which is what most hope for when the other leaves with his tail between his legs).

If the guy still does come on, and just pretends that RP didn’t exist, then someone PM's him about it; things can go either way:
1. He doesnt respond.

2. He responds but says: "I totally forgot I made that RP. LOL!" <- Gtfo.
or, "I've been way to busy to manage that board and didn’t have time to tell anyone!" <- Bullfeet. Why are you responding to this then?

3. He picks a fight, saying he did remember the RP, the site just didn’t work on his computer, or it wouldn’t let him post.. etc. etc. and whatever, whatever. We all know its Bullfeet.